"And the Oscar goes to..."

As in today's “Bottom Liner” comic strip, the actress says to the Director, “By the way boycotted the Academy Awards, after wasn’t invited.”  (Please see http://www.seattlepi.com/comics-and-games/fun/Bottom_Liners/)

I was never invited. My unofficial, personal boycott started with the February 21, 2016 Living Stones post: “Trophy Worthy...Not: Make the change. Be the change. Live the change.” 

My gift bags were nonexistent. I filled a reusable Traders Joe shopping bag with a few umbrellas from my coat closet and a couple pairs of clean dry socks from my dresser and a few hats I had loomed. I added three small trophies I bought at a local thrift shop.

As I travelled up and down the city sidewalks with the cold rain blowing, I stopped at each person along the way who apparently lived on the street. I explained the items in the bag and each person could choose one. I was amazed the three trophies were taken first as each person placed them in their bags or coat pockets. I prefaced the trophies by saying that you can keep the trophy, pass it on to someone who is trophy worthy or sell it. I believe the trophies will be kept because people want to fill appreciated.

After I arrived home and settled in, I placed the DVD of “To Kill a Mocking Bird in the player,” that I checked out the day before at my local branch library.

Before watching the movie, I scanned comments about the Academy Awards on Facebook, including this string of comments by a Girl Scout Leader, GSL), her friend (F) and a local Pastor (P).

GSL: “OMG!!! Chris Rock just said "everybody buy Girl Scout cookies" while holding s box of Thin Mints and an open sleeve of Do Si Dos!!!!”

P: They sold in the middle of the Oscars and at one point had made 65,000.

F:  A bunch of Girl Scouts came out and Chris Rock told all the millionaires to open their wallets and buy some cookies!

P:  They were older scouts which was cool.

This sounded cool; however, I wrote on my Facebook page before my viewing:

"Is is true that a guy named, "Oscar" is on tv tonight?

I plan to honor Harper Lee and watch 'To Kill a Mocking Bird.'

Does the below quote describe acting? Or is it something else?

‘You really never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. –Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.’”

I figure someone would proof-text the quote and think it was about acting. I was wrong. A childhood friend and next door neighbor growing up by the name of Laura responded, “It describes empathy which is sadly lacking in our culture.” (Our seventh grade English teacher, "Mrs. Trager taught us well, Laura.")

I usually do not view a movie more than once but I am glad I did. As the movies ended and Scout asked Atticus about Boo, "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" 

I learned a little bit more about and reflected on culture last evening. Some of us have a Girl Scouts with cookies and others have a girl who is name “Scout." And we have the opportunity to sing like a Mocking Bird or not. This lesson translates into my personal life and will carry over into the workplace with empathy and appreciation being key.

Tear Down This Wall

Let us not place blame. Let us seek resolution. Let us seek answers.

As President John F. Kennedy was quoted, "Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

I may not be a great President; however; I am a good person, who is not a polictical beast. With that said, I am tired of the news and the sound bites surrounding the Presidential primaries. So I have decided to write my political story. It is not a RANT or a RAVE. It is what has been, and what it has become for me.

I met Ronald Reagan during my junior year at Northrop, and it was one of the times I wore a dress during high school. My mother told me to behave myself. Wearing a dress and behaving were not a good mix. There was a brief silence when I met Governor Reagan with my mother’s voice in my head…”Behave.” I slowly asked in a matter of fact speech, “How is the Borax team?”

He politely smiled.

I calmly stated, “I understand you made a movie with a monkey.”

Still smiling.

“Now, you’re in politics. (Pause) It seems like a good career progression from the Borax team and a monkey.”

He broke out laughing. His eyes were kind and sparkled as he smiled.

It probably was a good thing I did not inquire about Jane Wyman, “Falcon Crest,” and the script changes I desired, and how to rewrite those storylines.

After the Governor left to speak at the War Memorial Coliseum, one of his security men walked up to me, and said, "Governor Reagan would like your name and address. I scribbled down the requested information as I quipped, “Do you plan to run background checks on my mom and dad?” He stared and gave me a stern, “Thank you.”

I received in the U.S. Mail two weeks later an autographed photograph with a handwritten note from him. I voted for Ronald Reagan because he had a sense of humor, seemed authentic, and had integrity.

In my high school yearbook, there is photo of the back of my head with my friends listening to Dan Quayle. Our Principal Ms. Todd greeted the students at the door. She looked at me and blurted out: “You’re in this class?!” I found her statement strangely complimentary.

Mr. Quayle could not answer my question during our Government class, and I repeated it three times. He gave me three different answers. “Did I vote for him?”

You can vote for a party. Or you can vote for the people with platforms that parallels with yours. My friends and neighbors have written my name in on their ballots numerous times throughout the years, and I am honored. So feel free to write me in as your candidate since I do not take funding and I have no funding.

Some candidates want to build walls. I encourage you to be open and may other walls come down. As President Reagan exclaimed, "Tear down this wall!"

Yarn Donations Needed

Do you live in the Seattle area and have yarn you are not using?

My volunteers would like to make hats. Or you are welcomed to join us in giving. 

Please contact us today!

Please Like & Share: The Purpose Project

Mark Wright and Mimi Jung on KING 5 Morning News talked about the Passion Project. I submitted about Living Stones Ministries Rock On! as my passion project on the King5 Facebook Page. Please hit Like on my post at https://www.facebook.com/KING5News/. See the sidebar. Thanks!

Here's the Original Post:

I love providing activities that give seniors purpose, where they can give back to others. I would like to set this idea up as a non profit. I even have a name for it. KING 5 also was instrumental with my idea when you presented the series during Holy Week about Church on the Rise in Seattle. Please see https://www.linkedin.com/…/living-stones-ministries-rock-ju… and https://www.linkedin.com/…/giving-heart-praise-necessary-ju….

Help me make my passion a reality!

The Time is NOW!

I never know what I will learn when I read comic strips. I read “Heaven’s Love Thrift Shop” on Sunday morning, February 14, 2016, and it stayed with me throughout last week. Dag "is the "well-intentioned but somewhat scattered worker bee of the operation, who is also a recipient of the shop's efforts to help people who need help in becoming self-sufficient members of society," talks about God not providing. It is amazing what we do not see. Or what we have forgotten.

I was somewhat reminded of a lost personal plan when Wilson, who is "the rational and learned director of the thrift shop and its outreach programs" asked Dag, “So, Dag, what made you decide to go back to school?”  It was still vague. I then cleaned out a stained box of notebooks and paper after that. I glanced at the pieces of paper before placing each of them in the shredder.  I thumbed through an old notebook and stopped on a college ruled page with my scrawling. “I will complete my master’s degree.” That was a number of years ago. 

I have been researching programs on this rainy afternoon and sending out emails to the appropriate ones. I am now researching scholarships and grants.

(Please see the post: "Help Needed Finding My Passion & Working It" at http://livingstonesministriesrockon.blogspot.com/2016/02/help-needed-finding-my-passion-working.html.)

I am still looking a full-time career position; however, I can complete my master’s degree on a part-time basis.

The Time is NOW!

This Too Shall Pass

Stop and listen. With the overcast skies and the rain hitting my living room window, there is an afternoon calmness. Just be.

Trophy Worthy...Not: Make the change. Be the change. Live the change.

Isn't there some trophy worthy awards show on tonight? Not.

I understand another trophy awards show aired last Monday night, and they started at the same time as another paranormal episode of "The X-Files." During commercial breaks, I checked a Facebook friend's timely and sometimes snarky one-liners on his page. I instantly laughed or I thought about the comment. Now that's trophy worthy.

I mostly rent my movies from the Red Box and I use a promotional code where I receive movies to view for rent on and receive one free. Or receive 50-cents off. I have received movies free or for cents-on the dollar plus tax.  I have recently viewed the films: “Woodland” and “War Room.” Both have inspired. Both made me cry. I will make a War Room. I rented “Straight Outta of Compton” this past Friday night. The language turned me off yet it told a societal story and gave me a piece of history. So did “Bridge of Spies:” This piece of dialogue has stayed in my head since I rented it from the Red Box:

James Donovan:  Aren't you worried?
Rudolf Abel:        Would it help?

It would not help me to worry about being trophy worthy or not. I would like to have the cost of the $200,000 gift bags. How could I help the homeless that were asleep in my neighborhood last night as I took my evening walk?

I would watch the Academy Awards in black and white and look at the gray space. Instead I see in living color, the realties like in the photo from in the darkness last night.

Look at the 78th Academy Awards. “Crash” won for Best Picture, and It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from "Hustle & Flow." The best Academy Awards was this one in 2006.

I remember the first time I watched Michael Jackson with the Jackson 5 on television as a child. It was as easy A-B-C. I was color blind. I was proud of Michael Jackson and hisbrotherson "The Ed Sullivan Show" because they were from Indiana, and dreams were possible.

Michael Jackson wrote the song. “They Don't Care About Us,” which was the fourth single from his album released on March 31, 1996: "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I." "The song remains one of the most controversial pieces Jackson ever composed.”

Jackson also wrote: Man in the Mirror.

“I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change.”

Make a change. Or as Gandhi said and as he lived, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPTjtZ31lwk

I encourage you to share this message.

Help Needed Finding My Passion & Working It

I have reflected on the author Simon Sinek's quote that continues to be posted on LinkedIn: Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion. Sinek's words have inspired me to ask, "Have," "How?," and the question he is known for asking, "Why?"

Q:  Have I ever had work that's my passion?  

A:   I am not sure so so I looked up the definition in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  Passion is defined as a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something.

I have had work that brings me joy, not passion. When I worked as the activities coordinator at Exeter House, I said, I feel blessed to work with teammates who have integrity and honestly care about each other and the residents. It is a joy to come to work and spend quality time with the residents.

Employee of the Month

Q:   How do I find work passion?

A:   I am reaching out because I need help. I need guidance as I move forward. How do I move forward? How do recruiters and hiring managers look at the transferrable skills?

Q:   Why not live my work passion?

A:   I believe in synchronicity.  I read Sinek's saying this past Sunday. I also read an article in The Seattle Times' Employment section, titled: No raise this year? 3 ways to make more money By Cameron Huddleston in the Sunday edition.

Under the heading: Start a side business

You might not like the idea of taking on a second job to earn more by working even longer hours. However, if you build a side business doing something you care about, you’ll likely have more motivation to put in the extra hours, says Tom Corley, author of “Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals.”

For example, Corley says that the Wright brothers ran a bicycle business full time, but on the side they were conducting their famous experiments that eventually led to the invention of the airplane. “When you do what you love, you are somehow able to find the energy and the time to devote to your passion,” says Corley.

I am not a proponet of a second job; however, I have launched Living Stones Ministries Rock On! that is volunteer based organization, where seniors give back through intergenerational activities.

My volunteer work is focused and  passion filled. Now, my work can be focused and passioned filled, too. I have not doubt.

I welcome learning about your organiztions and the career openings leading to the possibility of work with passion. 

Let's talk today!

Who is your favorite author? Why?

A Facebook post can speak volumes: Who is your favorite author? Why? 

My friend B posted the following. I am J. Mrs. Trager was my English Teacher in Junior High School.

Kurt Vonnegut is an acquired taste and not for everyone, but I think I learned more about the real world from his novels than anywhere else, except for living in it.

Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.

- Kurt Vonnegut.

J: "There is synchronicity in your post, and how they generate thought within me. Hearts do harden yet there is beauty.

I agree that Kurt Vonnegut is an acquired taste. I was given permission to dream as a student at Shawnee when Mrs. Trager taught “Breakfast of Champions,” My  “wow” moment was when I realized Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis.  It was a beautiful place when I dreamt of purpose through Vonnegut’s written words.  I reread “Cat’s Cradle” last week. This passage resonated with my present thought about “purpose.”

In my words, 'Memories will stay with us no matter how painful. How do we open our hearts and surrender the pain and give gratitude for the good and reflect on the growth and light in the journey? My answer is: Seek, Ask, and Believe.'”

B: "Yes, God's deliverance of free will! Love it."

No Lenten Loans. Only Giving Back.

My friend, Linda, mentioned late on Monday that Easter is early this year. I usually look at the present day, not too far ahead into the future. So I took note and checked the February 2016 calendar. Ash Wednesday is next week on February 10th, and a reminder: "Lent is not a time to make a loan and expect it returned in full after Easter Sunday."  This was my belief as a child when I attended church with a friend’s family. The Pastor used the word “Lent,” and the plate was passed. I placed my coins in the plate believing it was a loan.

Instead of lending during Lent, “What do you plan to give back?”

Theresa V De V​ loomed and donated the hats in the photo for "Ringing in Warmth for the New Year," January 2016.