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My provides me access to arts and cultural events every day of the
week. Plus, I can take mini-excursions any day of the week and
consider them work-related research without bending the truth.
Beyond the arts management consulting I am also able to keep connected
with my extended consulting team in the UK. Leah and I are starting a
new consulting job with Martin who is working with the UN.
Nurturing my inner-artist is also on the radar screen. One of my felt
pieces has been accepted into a show called The Many Faces of Frida
which opens July in Oakland. Now to get more photography into the
mix.
The story of each of these machines is intertwined with the history of the men (and women?) who inherited them and are now in need of liquidity. As we meet these "sellers" we hear their stories which reflect the bittersweet legacies attached to the machines now moving out the door.
Yesterday we journeyed to Van Nuys, CA to meet a guy selling a band saw. At first he really just was a "guy" who was late for our meeting and who, when he finally did arrive, had forgotten his keys. After climbing over the security gate to let us in, the guy guided us to the saw which was berried amongst other sleeping iron giants.
As Rene explored the saw's inner workings the seller began a spontaneous monologue about his grandfather and father who had started the family business he was now regretfully closing. He whispered under his breath "this shop use to be filled with men."
Suddenly the seller had become Andrew and for the remainder of our journey we have been discussing his mixed messages of wanting to sell yet setting up every possible barrier to completing the transaction. As we parted ways, leaving the saw behind, Andrew's reluctance to close the doors was reflected in his lifeless stance. It was obvious to us that he was hearing the buzz of men and machines now gone.
Again, sharing his inner dialogue, Andrew told us that he was the only one remaining to close the doors and wasn't certain the he himself would continue his craft.
Reach your goals by Leading-Together
Follow Amy at http://thekweskinreport.blogspot.com
Follow Amy at http://thekweskinreport.blogspot.com
Not sure what changed. It may be that so many of my peeps are also 40 and some are many moons past the milestone. We're a wonderful vintage, living life to the fullest, clear about our intentions and moving towards our goals.
Breathing easier and deeper.
Through all this talking, which some may consider chatter and others perceive as monologues, (is that not what this blog really is?) a new expectation for communications has been set. You put the word out...and you expect something back, immediately. Ping. Pong.
But then there are those who receive and do not return. Perhaps that's the majority of folks. Those who observe, absorb, consume and navigate the chatter. Is this a dysfunctional yet symbiotic relationship between the extras and intros?
As you can imagine, my circle of close peeps likes to ping and pong all day long. We can carry on a conversation, or email thread, for weeks. A single word back and forth keeps us in-the-know.
Chatting, in real-time and in-person with Leah during our Sacramento road trip, we realized that we are similar when it comes to getting to know someone. When we meet a person that catches our fancy we want to "know all". Romantic, platonic, professional...we are intrigued and invested in building resonance towards shared understanding. We're communicators and connectors. I'm really noticing this in the Bay Area. So many interesting people and so easy to stay linked-in, met-up, face-booked, blogged, emailed, text-ed and twittered.
So when you send out a communication and the ping goes un-ponged, you hit a black hole of communications. Confusion. Is this how our lives use to be? Face-to-face, letters, phone conversations? That was so 2006.
Electronic "Hellooooo....." Silence.
Is this a zen silence? A living in the moment? Sometimes I believe that the crackberry and icrack (my new term for iphone) are living in the moment. But is electronic communications really being "present" or the complete opposite? Are we passively-actively hiding behind these devices when we could be connecting in real-time? How often are we in a room filled with people who aren't talking or interacting with each other but are actively chatting on their devices? Where is the receiver? They could be sitting at the desk next to you or far off in the UK.
We've created a universe in which we are chatting in real time across the planet. It is a new "class" of people. You are hearing it here first, the "Chattering Class."
Are we replacing the cool touch of plastic instead of the warm touch of flesh? The linearity of letters making words instead of the spark of eye contact and reading lips? The sounds of clicking keys instead of hearing someone else breathing?