Quote of the Day

We all hear thousands of phrases daily that float in and our of our brains without any real traction.  "Hello, how are you?"   "Have a great weekend."  "Mommmmmmy I need to go potty!!!!"  Every now and then we hear something so profound that we are forced to stop and let it resonate to our deeper self.

Tonight I was moved while watching "Your Own Show" on the Oprah Winfrey Network. One of the contestants, Zach Anner, was asked what he has learned from the experience of vying for his own television show against 9 other contestants.  His answer was beautifully simple. 

"I am worth my own dreams."

I love that.  He took the words right out of my mouth.

Have a good weekend!

The Beginning of the End...the Resignation.

Today was the day it truly became official. I called my current boss and told him I quit.  No turning back now.  He took it with the calm reaction that said he had been there and done this many times before.  I was happy to hear that he has been very pleased with my work, wishes me the best and wants me to know that I am leaving this job in great standing.  I'm glad I will be leaving with this bridge fully intact.

Two weeks and counting...

Have a good night!

The Acceptance Speech.

Hello Dear Readers,
After a night and day of celebrating my job offer, today I had the fantastic task of giving my acceptance speech.

How I pictured it...

I'd like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my mother, my late father, my husband, my children, my brothers, my law professors, and all of the people who prayed that this day would come.

I am humbled by your offer of employment, and honored to join such an esteemed team of lawyers.
It is with great joy that I accept your offer, and I look forward to joining your organization in the very near future...


How it happened...

Phone rings.  I ask receptionist to speak with hiring partner.  She tells me he is on another call, and connects me to his voicemail.   I put on my best enthusiastically professional tone and calmly tell him how excited I am to be joining the firm and that I will get back to him with a start date as soon as possible.  The end.

Tomorrow I give notice to my current employer.  Stay tuned for the reaction.

A Brand New Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jubilation! Gratitude! Anticipation!

I got the job.

Realistically, there are no words to describe how great I felt to get the written offer this evening.  I tried to find a clip from the "Can You Feel A Brand New Day" scene in The Wiz to demonstrate my joy, but surprisingly, it hasn't found its way to Youtube.    I did find a bootleg version  (see below) that someone created with their own pictures.  To refresh your memory, this is the scene when the factory workers celebrate after Dorothy kills the wicked witch, Evilene.  All of the characters are ecstatic about the possibilities for their future.

I am feeling them tonight.

Give me a day to celebrate, and I'll tell you the whole tale tomorrow.

 

Put it in WRITING!

Hello Dear Readers!
I am still on the brink in many ways. I spoke to my contact at the employer today and he casually assured me that the only thing left for them to put together is the only thing I care about- THE WRITTEN OFFER! I am now a master at feigning nonchalance. I must have said about five words during the entire conversation to avoid inadvertently revealing my desperation. HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT THIS JOB MEANS TO ME. And so it should be.

This experience would make a great short film. I need to write down my ideas so I can write and produce it one day.
Talk to you soon!

And the Winner is...

What a week. I have intentionally remained silent since my last post because I hoped to provide you with an exciting career update several days ago. The wait continues. To describe my current state of mind, picture an Academy Award nominee in the moments before the winning name is announced. The cameras are locked in. The smile is in place. The envelope is open. What happens in the next few moments can be life changing.
I have been suspended there for the last five days...

I can't wait to let you know how it ends!

Talk to you soon.

The End is Near - in a Good Way:)

Hello Dear Readers,
Just stopping in to say that the last 24 hours have been a whirlwind on the job search front. I will post more very soon when I can give a complete report! The end is near...!

In other news, I took the Jeopardy! online test today. The test is offered once a year and is the first step toward making an appearance on the show. That was no joke. There are 50 questions and you have 15 seconds to type in a response to each. I didn't prepare at all because I didn't really know where to begin. After taking the test, I realized that I need to brush up on literature, art and geography for any future attempts. They didn't give me my score, but I doubt I'll be getting a phone call for this go round;)

I have also been diligently working offline on ways to enhance this blog. More to come on that front later!

Stay tuned!

Happy (Chinese) New Year!

Today marks the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit! There are 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac and each year the Chinese calendar cycles through a different one.   This year is particularly special to me because I happen to be a rabbit baby.  Check out what the Chinese Cultural Center in San Francisco has to say about people born in the Year of the Rabbit:

People born in the Year of the Rabbit are articulate, talented, and ambitious. They are virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste. Rabbit people are admired, trusted, and are often financially lucky. They are fond of gossip but are tactful and generally kind. Rabbit people seldom lose their temper. They are clever at business and being conscientious, never back out of a contract. They would make good gamblers for they have the uncanny gift of choosing the right thing. However, they seldom gamble, as they are conservative and wise.

Click here to find out what your birth animal says about you.  I'm told by the folks at the Chinese school my children attend that Chinese New Year is the cultural equivalent to Christmas in China.  We attended an area celebration last weekend and enjoyed live music, dancing and beautiful costumes.  My favorite part was getting both of my sons' names in Mandarin painted on a piece of  paper.  I plan to frame them.  My least favorite part was the food.  Surprisingly, REAL Chinese food is not nearly as appetizing  as Americanized Sesame "Chicken."

Enjoy the new New Year!  At the rate our country's relationship with China is going, we may all be celebrating this holiday in the future whether we want to or not:)

"Famous"

I recognized myself in a song today.  I wish I could say it was an inspirational song of praise by Chris Tomlin or a feel good anthem by India Arie, but it was neither.  The artist, Jazmine Sullivan, is an amazing talent- her smoky voice reminds me of a cross between Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige.  I have become a great fan of her music.  Her style is never clean and pretty, but it is always honest.

Her latest gem is a song called simply, “Famous.” Click here to review the lyrics and hear the song before you read on. I was initially drawn in by the raw beauty of her vocals on the chorus but the lyrics are a powerful commentary on our culture of self.  On its face the song is the artist’s confessional declaration that she is driven  by the promise of celebrity.  Jazmine sings,

No one wants to be invisible
Everyone just wants to be seen.
I know one thing is so irresistible
Cause we all need a reason to be.

In hearing those words, I thought about the exploding popularity of Twitter and Facebook and our societal obsession with telling anyone who will listen about the mundane details of our lives through tweets and status updates.  I thought about the implied influence that correlates with a high number of Twitter followers, Facebook fans, blog subscribers/followers, linkedin connections etc. I thought about the willingness of people to video themselves participating in  everything from brutal bullying attacks to having sex and post it on youtube to be viewed by the world.

I wanna matter to the world.

Although I have never aspired to the kind of household name fame that Jasmine will certainly achieve, her words resonate with my own desire to be known. As she sang the chorus, I reflected on my feelings of validation whenever I post an opinion on Facebook (or this blog) and someone else posts a comment endorsing my perspective.  I remembered all the times I’ve called some public figure a “nobody” because they are not a member of my mental “A-list.”  I considered my dream of writing a bestselling novel and my plan to build the readership of this blog as a platform for that project.  I thought about all of the blogs and books I read about building my personal "brand." 

I share these thoughts with trepidation. I know my true purpose  is to point others to Christ in all I do and I am concerned that the connection I feel to this song reveals that I have been contaminated by self.  I'm honestly not sure how to feel about the way I feel.  Is it wrong to be passionate about something (in my case, writing) and want to be known for my ability to do it well? Is the virtuous mind one that only seeks to achieve excellence for its own sake?

What do you think Dear Readers? Can you relate?