I'd Rather Be Reading

The first of October is probably an auspicious day for many people, for a variety of reasons. For me, October 1, 2019, is the day I was unceremoniously dumped from my Dream Job working for the Santa Barbara Downtown Organization. I worked for this organization for more than 6 years, but it was a large part of my life for more than two decades, as a downtown business member (with Borders), as a volunteer, and eventually in 1999, as a member of the Board of Directors. Downtown Santa Barbara as a location was part of my life, living/working/dining/entertainment, since I moved there in 1995. To be “unceremoniously dumped” by this organization was a huge punch in the gut. But since I clearly survived that stunning and life-changing day, I owe a debt of gratitude to so many people. My first call after I left the office that day, Millie in tow, was to Maggie Campbell – she of the clear-headed, no-nonsense advice, and my friend and mentor. My first text, moments later, was to Hattie Husbands...

Before I dive too deep into this blog post, two things:  *   Yes, it really has been nearly 7 years since my last post. Shame on me. *   But oddly, my last post is a nice intro to my next post…because once again, I’ve jumped into a big change. So: Managing Change, Once More with Feeling. I’ve moved. Packed up the condo, sold it, moved to Arizona. And that is the “in a nutshell” version. The full-on version, well, that will take a few more posts to get through the entire story. But let’s start with that last blog post. It was indeed my “dream job,” Marketing & Communications Director of Downtown Santa Barbara.  Working in an office I loved, I was suffused with a sense of pride, of history, and of pure joy, knowing I was working with great small businesses, non-profits, cultural venues and other members of the business improvement district. As the daughter of a small business owner, I appreciate and support small businesses wholehe...

In my years as a Borders Manager Trainer, I trained many new or newly promoted managers in a variety of management-related segments. But my favorite segment was "Managing Change." This topic included, as you can imagine, the importance of change in an organization (such as your Borders store), how to help your staff with change, WHY change is good, etc. I had stories and anecdotes and real-life examples and visual aids, all to help get across my message in my 90 minute segment: Change is Good and Here's Why. And at the beginning of every one of my "Managing Change" segments, the opening sentence out of my mouth was, without fail: "I'll admit it. I hate change. Hate it." "But," I continued, "I get it. I understand why change is important and necessary and I know how to make it bearable, and I've accepted many changes in my life. But I hate change."   And now, my life is changing in one of those big Life ...

Remember the 2002 horror movie The Ring ? Scary as hell, starring Naomi Watts? I watched it at about 2:00 AM one morning, all alone, scared shitless - but I could not look away. When my bathroom sink recently became too clogged to drain quickly, I expertly pulled out the plug and unearthed this: Well, it looked like this, or at least like this hair. Yeah...gross. Despite throwing up a little bit in my mouth, I got rid of this clump of nastiness and tried to put the plug back in its hole and move on. But it didn't work. I twisted and turned the plug, certain something would work, something would catch, eventually. I've pulled many a plug out to clean out many a drain and I know how it works. I finally got a mini flashlight to find the little thing that connects the plug to the whatever - the thing that makes it work . But it wasn't there - nothing to fit in the hole in the plug was visible. Damn. So I figured I could live with it for a while, then s...

What better time to think about Maurice Sendak than Children’s Book Week ( http://www.bookweekonline.com/ )?   Never met him, but he’s one of those icons, those amazing “I grew up with this book!” author/illustrators from our youth. And who hasn’t read his books to kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews? Lord knows I have. We all remember the big hoopla surrounding In the Night Kitchen, don’t we? How shocked we were when some library somewhere banned it? It was because the small boy, falling dream-like through the sky, was sporting the full (albeit teensy) monty. How hysterical to think of that now, right? Those were more innocent times, I guess. While I was working at Borders in Oak Brook, Sendak was developing his Where the Wild Things Are opera in Chicago. So one day, since I had to head to Chicago from the ‘burbs anyway, I brought along a poster of Where the Wild Things Are . Just in case I could get to the rehearsal studio, meet him, and get him to sign it. Amazin...

I love seeing people – catching people – reading. It’s so low-tech, so comfortable, so solitary. It’s heartening to drive by a person sitting on a bench with a book, or standing in a long line behind a reader. I used to toss around the idea of a photojournalist-type project: take photos of people reading, wherever you find them. Like the guy I saw yesterday, stretched out on the short wall that separates West Beach from the running path. He was lying on a cement wall , but he looked as content and comfortable as if he’d been lounging in his backyard in a hammock, probably because he was totally absorbed in his book. Wish I’d had my camera. So to that end, I’ll make that a goal for this month – since I already carry my camera along nearly everywhere I go, I’ll use it more often, to catch people reading. I’ll post those photos here in my blog, and maybe some on facebook. With that goal in mind, allow me to take this opportunity to remind everyone that May is Get Ca...