The seeker

I now have a name to call myself: Seeker.

I recently connected with one of my teachers from high school. She was one of those people who went beyond 'teacher' and turned into a trusted friend. And I know that I wasn't the only student of hers to feel this way.

In our email conversations back and forth, I mentioned that I wasn't living the life I imagined for myself 20 years ago, but that I'm probably the better for it because of all the cool things I've done instead.

She replied with this:

It is important to you to learn about yourself and the world. You didn't see this in yourself maybe when you were 16, but most people don't. But the seeker comes to respect her own curiosity, her own hunger, as she goes along. Look at all you've done! You just wanted to find it all out for YOURSELF, and not be confined to a syllabus in the process.

I wish I could have had my teacher around these past 20 years because I know she could have helped me 'right my rudder' whenever I felt off course. But I'm thankful to have found that now.

I still feel the pangs of restlessness. I don't think it will ever go away. But the trick is to turn that restlessness into curiosity and from there into making new experiences. I will never stop learning, never stop seeking.

Obama / VMA Mashup

The saddest day

I took this photo Labor Day weekend 2001. Little did I know the skyline would change just a few days later.

My 15 minutes

When my road trip this summer was over, I didn't think anything more would come of it. But when I saw an invitation from my local PBS station to share memories of the National Parks, I thought that it was speaking directly to me. I mean, I just came back from two and had the videos and photos to prove it. I sent an email with my story, a link to my blog and to the photos and videos I took along the way. That was a few weeks ago and didn't think too much about it since.

Last week, I was reminded of my submission when I got a phone call from a journalist from Channel Thirteen wanting to talk to me about my post. Wow!

Dan, the journalist had read my blog and was interested in my story. He liked how I took my job loss as an opportunity and recorded my experience of traveling across the country and stopping in a few National parks along the way. "Do you think you would be able to come into Manhattan for an on camera interview for the segment they were creating?" he asked.

Um, duh. Of course.

So I waited to hear back from him.

The date was finally set for my interview and I cleared my calendar for my fifteen minutes of fame.

---

Yesterday afternoon, I arrived in Penn Station from NJ Transit and since it was such a nice day, I walked north to W. 57th street where I was supposed to meet Dan. I made it there with 30 minutes to spare, which is good because I hated being late. I checked my iPhone again just to confirm the location when CRAP. I wasn't supposed to be at W. 57th St, I was supposed to be at W. 67th St. I checked the map to see if I could still make it in time, it was only 10 blocks, right?

No. I had to walk to the west side of Central Park, then walk up 10 blocks. And I was already sweaty. Cab? I need you now.

Finally I made it to my destination, the right one this time.

I met Dan and his colleague Cathy as the interview before me was finishing up. They were telling me about the cute couple who had gotten married in 1970 and went traveling around the National Parks out west for their honeymoon. Then 25 years later they recreated their honeymoon, even recreating the photos that they had taken the first time around. They were naturals in telling their story. They knew when to pause in the story to allow the other one to finish a thought or to elaborate. After years of marriage, they had their storytelling down to an art.

Dan also told me about other people they had interviewed: one woman who traveled to the Redwood Forrest to scatter her father's ashes; another man who went rockclimbing in the parks and was sponsored by Red Bull.

These stories seemed so amazing to me. And that got me nervous. What did I do? I just drove to California and back. It suddenly seemed so pale in comparison.

Soon it was my time to go on. I sat in the hot seat and waited as they adjusted the lighting, put on my lavilear microphones and I touched up my makeup. Then Dan took his seat off camera and told me to relax.




I talked about the reason for my road trip; my blog, tweets and the virtual company I had from my friends' comments; my impressions of the parks; what was going through my mind as I was on the road.

I also talked about my parents and how they we would always take road trips for our vacations. I remembered sitting in the back of our station wagon, waving to truckers and playing those road trip games where you had to find words on signs starting with each letter of the alphabet. I inherited their spirit of adventure and now love to just get in the car and drive.

I think I did pretty good. I answered Dan's questions succinctly. I was animated. For the most part, I was pretty relaxed. But in the back of my mind I kept thinking "Please God, don't make me look or sound like an idiot."

After the interview was over, I gave Dan copies of my videos of Arches and Joshua Tree and my link to all the photos I took. I signed my release forms and said my goodbyes.

So that's it. Now I wait until it airs on Channel Thirteen, Sunday, September 27 after the Ken Burns documentary "National Parks: America's Best Idea". Check your New York TV schedule. Set your DVRs.

Hope that I don't wind up on the cutting room floor.

Today's Horoscope

Don't even try not to purr. This is one of those days -- the kind that have been specially designed to make all your romantic fantasies come true. The best part is that the person you've been dreaming of sharing this kind of day with is either ready to join you (and one well-placed comment will convince them) or already in the vicinity, making a mental list of activities. See? The perfect day.

This is a ridiculously spot-on horoscope today. Sometimes I think the Universe is laughing at me.

INTJ

I took that Myers-Briggs personality test that's been making its way around Facebook. I didn't take the Facebook version because I didn't want it to pull all my data, so I went and found another one online.

My results indicate that I am INTJ - Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking and Judging.

What this means is that I'm a mastermind. (Ha! That should scare you.)

shhhh

I haven't been blogging a lot lately. I think its in direct correlation to the fact that I don't have a lot to complain about.

I guess that's a good thing.

Back on the Grid

It's been ages...

For the first half of the summer, I was supremely lucky to be out of a job. Sounds strange, I know, but that freedom allowed me to travel like I never have before.

The first adventure was a cross country road trip. For 16 days I traversed the United States, stopping when I wanted, visiting friends and just...exploring. It was liberating. It was exciting. It was amazing!

The next adventure was vacationing in Greece. For 9 more days I explored ancient ruins, sailed in the Mediterranean Sea in awe of sunsets and witnessed the hedonism of the beaches of Mykonos.

It's hard for me to believe that all this happened only 6 weeks ago. It seems like a dream -- a very good dream.

I'm now working again and so far I'm enjoying it. It's the next adventure.

Right now it's a little slow starting, but I see the potential. I will finally be able to do work that I'm passionate about. My ideas are being heard and they're not being resisted; they're being considered. Do you know how refreshing that is?

I'm feeling pretty good about everything right now. It's a good time to be me.

Today's Horoscope

This is only fitting since I'm in the middle of my road trip right now.

Give yourself a break. A brief one, anyway, because if anyone deserves some downtime, it's you. You've been trying to get away from it all -- or perhaps from 'them' all -- for some time now, but your fans (aka your family and friends) haven't been willing to let it happen. It's time for you to take matters into your own hands and let them all know only one thing: you'll go where you want to, when you want to. It's called personal freedom, and you insist upon it.

Doofus & Darling

Another book that I found in Barnes & Noble.

Too many Doofuses in the world and not enough Darlings.

Here comes the sun

I have never felt so hopeful in my entire life.

Last week I was laid off from my job. It was one that I had outgrown and no longer found challenging, but it allowed me to pay my bills. I was not upset that I would no longer be employed there. I was more bothered that the position I had interviewed for several weeks ago and which had given me a verbal job offer had not followed up with me on the specifics. I had started to wonder if I had heard wrong or if I had just made it all up. I was getting nervous.

Today the clouds have finally cleared -- literally. (After a week of rain, today is a beautiful Friday afternoon where the dog and I can lounge lazily in the backyard.) I received the phone call I was waiting for. The job is officially mine. Now I just need to go through the paperwork end of the process with the technology vendor who will be sponsoring me.

So with the employment issue resolved, I can move forward with my newest adventure, my cross country road trip. Oh, it is so on!

I planned on doing this trip exactly like my last one: bring laptop and camera and record the entire trip for friends and family back home. But to improve on that, I'd also be updating via Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. I love technology.

I mentioned this to Steve and he came up with an idea that takes this trip to an entirely new level. Pitch it to the TV networks. Let them follow me on my hopeful journey of taking a crappy situation and as Steve put it "venturing out into a cross-country drive to renew her sense of focus and adventure." I can talk to people on the road, hear their stories. Take my readers to beautiful parts of the country. He's already trying to make contacts to find sponsors for this trip. He thinks its a shoe-in because I've done it before and it was picked up by CNN. It a hopeful story and can serve as inspiration to others who are down on their luck to see opportunity to start again.

So now he's got me all excited about this angle. I want to go out right now and get the Flip UltraHD video camera right now. And waiting until Wednesday for the iPhone 3Gs is torture.

As much as I want to prepare for this trip, I know the most excitement comes from the spontaneity of it. The basic plan is set, but the details will come on the fly.

I can't wait!

Recommended reading

This is the greatest book ever.

Just flip the cards until you find the perfect curse for any occasion.

Becomg an extrovert

I'm not shy, but I don't really like to initiate 'hey, look at me' moments. That's going to need to change.

Yesterday I went to my local ASTD Chapter meeting to watch a presentation on using simulation software for online training. I'm always interested in different software and how people use it. But the real reason for me for going is to network.

Now that I'm not working, I need to find ways to do some meaningful interactions. I can only be on the computer for so long until my fingers start to bleed and my eyes fall out of my head. Although, this time around I'm keeping much more engaged with Facebook, Twitter, Second Life, webinars and blogs than when I was laid off 4 summers ago.

Anyway, at last night's meeting after I found a seat and unpacked my laptop, I got up and went over to a group of people talking to each other and introduced myself. I know it gets easier the more you do it, but it was still a small hurdle to get over.

The good part is that I wasn't alone in feeling this way. The conversation I interrupted was how they have been coping with being 'in transition'. (That's a nice way of saying "I ain't got no job".) Attending these meetings were their way of networking. Collect a business card, add them to your LinnkedIn profile, move on. They have been collecting contacts like they were baseball cards.

Which is exactly what I've started to do as well.

Today's Horoscope

Think about it: Exactly how long has it been that you've been thinking, wishing, hoping and actually dreaming about taking off for parts unknown? (Unknown to only you and possibly one lucky companion, that is.) If you can't remember not feeling that way, it's definitely time to stop dreaming and start making plans. Get together with your sweetheart and firm up some dates. Do your homework on flights, hotels and travel plans in the meantime.

This is awesome! Not only did I book my July vacation to Greece yesterday but I think I'll wind up doing my cross-country road trip at the end of the month.

Time for another road trip?

It was like any other Friday. Quiet. Boring.

Then I got called into the office. "Claudine, do you have a minute?"

I got laid off. Maybe I'll go into it in another post, but don't feel bad for me. I have something else lined up.

But my first thought is Road Trip. Here's my idea...

View Road Trip in a larger map

For now, it's just a thought in my head. Still have some logistics to figure out, mainly where to keep the dog since my parents are on vacation until next weekend. Then there are some other things that are planned. The earliest I could take off would be June 24th-ish -- still about 2.5 weeks away.

So much to think about. But for now, I think I'll take a nap.

web 2.0

Find more videos like this on Innovations in e-Learning Workshops

This is a thought-inducing video about how the internet has changed the way people view communication, collaboration and connectivity.

Mush fest

I don't know what has been up with me lately and my inclination to cry at the drop of a hat.

I watched the movie UP. I had tears streaming down my face during the preview cartoon.

I watched Susan Boyle sing for her Britan's Got Talent audition. Crying mess.

I was with my mom and dad, a US Marine and Vietnam vet, in NYC on Memorial Day. People thanked my dad for his service. Good thing I was wearing sunglasses. My eyes were teary all day.

Today, Jane Bozarth tweeted:

At airport-announcement that plane carrying WWII vets is arriving; invitation everyone to come over to gate to welcome them. How great!

Then again:

http://twitpic.com/6j41p - WWII vets arriving Wah. DC for tour of memorials Arlington Natl Cemetery

Complete mush all over again.

Today's Horoscope

While other people may be looking forward to getting new material things, you have your eye on a prize more suited to your curious, exploratory nature -- something more experiential. Perhaps it's time to start setting some money aside for your next globetrotting tour or those scuba diving lessons. And if you're on the lookout for a gift for someone else, think about a fun activity -- dancing lessons, a restaurant gift certificate -- rather than another bauble.

I love when my horoscope hits the mark. How did they know about the scuba diving??

Passing the torch

I love playing softball. I started playing ball when I was in first grade and played all the way through my high school senior year. I've played on a work team here and there, but it was never the same as playing in high school.

Yesterday my cousin's daughter asked me to help her practice sliding. She's 11 and has only been playing softball for 2 years. I was so excited to show her because 1) I miss playing ball and 2) that she asked me in the first place.

We drove to a softball field near her house. This was also one of the fields I played at when I was her age. Nostalgia took over.

I was wearing a jean skirt and sandals, but that didn't stop me from showing her how it was done. I can still do it after so many years. Being in a skirt didn't change anything. But to me, sliding was so natural, I had to do it a few times so I could think about what my body was actually doing so I could explain it correctly.

I tried several things. First she just tried to copy what I did. That didn't work. Her legs and hips weren't going in the right direction and if she kept it up she would only get hurt. Then I had her concentrate on how she would position her left leg under her right. I had her just lay on the ground in the final 'slide position' so she can feel how her body should wind up. That didn't work so well either. Finally, I had her fall backwards into my arms simulating the moment that she slid into the base. She was supposed to practice bring her left leg up and shifting her hips at the same time. Nope.

I was frustrated because I didn't know what else to do have the sliding motion click into place for her. She was getting frustrated with herself, too. After about 45 minutes, it was getting late and she was getting tired. And I didn't want her to get hurt.

So we called it a night. I was bummed because she didn't get it. But I was happy that she didn't give up on herself and was genuinely interested in practicing so she could get it right. I hope she finds her groove and that she learns to love the sport as much as I do.

A welcome addition

It's pretty rare when you hear that something you said or did actually had an effect on a person.

My friend Naomi has just started a new adventure, leaving New York City after 10 years to start a new life in a new city. She was contemplating starting a blog to share her experiences but seemed to be on the fence about it. It took a Twitter nudge and a Facebook word of encouragement (gotta love that social networking) to get her writing.

Join me in welcoming Naomi to the bloggersphere.

Naomi's Adventures: From "Big Apple" to "Southern Peach"