Hi Friend!
I watched a 2-minute clip of a
TED talk about how to have better conversations. Included in one of the ten things you need to
do is not to pontificate. They went on
to say that if you wanted to go on and on about your own opinions without giving
anyone a way to respond, you should start a blog. And I thought, hey, I have a blog, I should
get back to that. I’m starting to think
I’ll never be a good conversationalist.
It’s been a year or three since
I’ve tried to write one of these. As
many of you know, I got really into sending real letters in the mail as a way
to keep connected to people, to spread a little joy. I’ll start that back up as soon as I come up
with a new, spooky, idea, but in the mean-time, digital connection is totally a
thing!
I think trying to recap the last
year might be weird, but I’ll give it my best shot. I used to work at Microsoft on Halo &
Xbox consumer products, and then suddenly I didn’t. It’s cool though, I was told while I was on
vacay in Puerto Rico, in an alley, surrounded by stray cats. I took it pretty well, though. And the 4 months following that day was probably
the least stressed I have ever been in my life.
My biggest challenge was how to vacation and be available for interviews
at the same time. If you aren’t using
TikTok for interview advice, you’re missing out. Although, recently I saw one that said the main
way that one interviewer evaluated a person was if they returned/washed their
mug or glass after the interview. I have
racked my brain ever since on whether I did that – and I’m 88% sure that I
did. Right before I nearly blew the interview. You see, I was interviewed by 9 of the 20
people at the company. I was on my very
best behavior, did not lie once (and as many of you know, this can be a problem
when I’m nervous.) I had a great big bag
of games, and my hand on the exit door handle – so close! – when the CEO said
good-bye and “Don’t play them all at one time!” and I immediately and instinctively
said, “Don’t tell me what to do! Haha!” and left the building. I got a
job offer the next day. I should do my
own TED talk on what you shouldn’t do in a conversation.
My summer was off the hook and
also did not look like any summer in Seattle that I’ve had previously. I mean, it’s the end of August, and I haven’t
jumped in the lake once. I think this
had a lot to do with Covid, having visitors 26 of the 30 days in July, and having
a new job. Oh! And Luke and Emily got
married smack in the middle there.
AND Lindsay and Nate got engaged
in February, and then again in August. Zach and Fran got engaged in April and
then married in May. Excitement overload!
Let me go back a bit. 4 days before St. Patrick’s day, I asked if people
wanted to go to Vegas, and it turns out I got Jackie, Nate, Lindsey, Lucas,
Emily, Dawne and Jordan to go. Which is
so Vegas, right? Apparently, Stacey prepped Jackie that the fam
really loves Bailey b/c of all the time she’s spend out here. Which I thought was odd, until we got into
the car at the airport and Jordan immediately said, “I want to hear all about
Bailey.” And I was like, “Um, we can do that, but this actually Jackie.”
Now, I do have some stories from
when I went to Egypt, but in case I run out of energy, I’ll just jump to me
getting back and having Covid and then I wasn’t able to play with Julie for the
two days she was here to visit. Which in
itself isn’t a big story, but it might explain why I managed to not get Covid
the following two “opportunities” that arose this summer.
The first was when I was deeply
obsessed with the Crave series by Tracy Wolff, but also “helping” with wedding dioramas
at Dawne’s. Zach went to urgent care
with “allergies” and then took benedryl and slept next to me on the couch, and
the following day, when I came over to read next to Dawne who had a “migraine.” It was slightly shocking that the following
day, when Lucas had Dawne take a Covid test that both she and Zach had covid,
and I had to run out the door b/c I couldn’t be sick b/c I had to, you know,
start a new job. And then, fast forward
to after the wedding, a month later (and 7 days before my “immunity” wore off),
when half the guests got sick, including like 10 of the 20 people staying with
Dawne – all of whom I spent countless hours with – and I managed to skip the
sick. Which all means that for 4 weeks
of the summer, I wasn’t exactly hopping in the lake. It has now risen to the top of my to do list
for this weekend.
So that’s the last 8 months or
so. Here’s my fun anecdotes from Egypt:
Becky will want you to know that
she got to witness me at my quirkiest before we even left Seattle because the TSA
agent pulled everything out of my well organized suitcase, including all of my
individual bags, so that he could put all of my liquids in one ziplock, which caused
total havoc with my brain, but I was trying to still be polite. Next to me, Becky had to bite her tongue not
to say out loud, “I know she’s laughing but she actually wants to punch you the
face.”
I also was the only one to
actual read the itinerary, which meant I was the only one constantly trying to
adjust my expectations. Becky: You’ll
think you’re on vacation but you’re actually seeing all of Egypt!
Conversation on our Egypt trip
through the Sahara:
Becky: Does anyone see a mirage
yet?
Traveler 2: Will everyone see
the same thing? Maybe we'll see something different?
Becky: (Traveler 2)’s mirage
will be a crowd of tragic, emotionally stunted detectives who just need a
woman's love to heal their hearts. My mirage will be an ocean of kittens.
Tiffany: My mirage would be the
perfect itinerary that never changes.
Traveler 3: This to the budget
(punch in the eye) hot air balloons!
Becky: I am going to go ahead
and say that “ safety and consent” are not pillars of Egyptian culture.
After our guide told us, and
then again me, specifically, that we couldn’t take pictures:
Becky: You look mad.
Me: I’m not mad I’m seething.
And then later after Becky brought
the incident back up…
Me: Is that after I cried and
before he told me to smile?
Guide: Oh by the way this
Muhammad Ali is not the boxer.
Me: Definitely think you should
have started with that.
Traveler 1: You’re utilitarian -
aren’t you impressed I used that word?
Traveler 2: No, bc you heard
someone else say it earlier and just repeated it.
<Pause>
Traveler 2: Oh wait did you want
me to be honest or kind?
Traveler 2: I like to fool
people and you’re an easy mark.
You’re unbearable (French
stranger on the plane to the most chill person in our group.)
Who wore valley of the kings
better - me or Tut?
Traveler 1: So you’ll call and
text?
Traveler 2: No.
And in no particular order b/c
it was a couple of months ago, this is what we did! Quick boat ride across the
Nile to the west side and then visited the Temple of Hatshepsut. She made
herself look like a man and then ticked off her stepson, so he went ahead and
destroyed her likeness (how sweet!). Then off to the Valley of the Kings, home
to the tomb of Tutankhamon! (Yes, I took a disrespectful pic of his mummy.) All
the most powerful and influential kings of Ancient Egypt were buried here, and
we went to see the Seti and Ramsses III and IV tombs. Saw how Alabaster is
made, and then a quick pic of the Colossi of Memnon. Visited the Temple of
Horus at Edfu - one of the best-preserved shrines in Egypt built in the
Ptolemaic Kingdom between 237 and 57 BC. The ceiling is black with smoke from
when people occupied and built fires much much later. Coolest part of the day
with a breezy 94 degrees. And evening stroll at Temple Kom Ombo an
unusual double temple for the Crocodile God and Falcon God. Partially damaged
during an earthquake. Surgical tools, calendars were depicted in hieroglyphs,
and we saw a system they called a Nilometer that wasn’t a well but sure did
look like one. (Maybe I wasn’t paying as much attention …) Then off to the
Crocodile Museum to see mummified crocs. We also had traditional
Arabic food tonight and the Koshari was the best food I’ve had yet, and the
desserts were super yum. We woke up at 1:45 am so we could travel across
the Sahara to Abu Simbel Temple - which was completely moved to higher ground
in 1968 to avoid being submerged from the building of the Aswan dam. Built in
Ramesses II reign for the Gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty and Ptah. And then he built a
smaller temple next to it for his chief consort Nefertari and
the Goddess Hathor. And, we checked out the dam in Aswan then flew
to Cairo. From there we went to the Church of St George, Saints Sergius and
Bacchus Church (where it is said that Jesus, Mary and Joseph stayed during
their journey to Egypt) and The Fortress of Babylon (where maybe Joseph worked
for a bit?) and the Alabaster Mosque and medieval fortification of Saladin
Citadel, on top of a hill in central Cairo dating back to the 12th-century. We
then went to the Khan El-Khalili neighborhood and its historic bazaar where I
got some chicken Shawarma (sooo good!) and traditional pastries.
I have many more stories, but I
think it’s good to just get an update done, and then maybe I can actually be
more regular about this, even if I have to jump around for content.
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