They’re Going Green – my hair turns gray with my my new cell phone
September 2, 2010
even grannies use cell phones
Alright so I know EVERYBODY other than your Grandmother has a cell phone, but it’s taken me a few years to actually get up the courage to get a ‘real’ cell phone.
Why do I say ‘real’ cell phone?
Because I’ve had a kind of throw away version for awhile just to take on trips and to text my nieces, as we all know that is the only way to reach young people today.
Anyway my fabulous business partner Ian is coming to town this month from France and I wanted to be able to do international calling and texting which I can’t do on my current pitiful little cell phone. Thus the upgrade.
I took the plunge and bought a super groovy, adorable, chic and cheap version of the Iphone. Well actually it wasn’t that cheap! But it’s more my style than the super-jam packed Iphone which I know I couldn’t use!
It came with the assumption that I would have no idea how to use this phone. I am over 50 and thus do not have the natural brain cells for figuring this stuff out.
my groovy new phone
My sister who’s had an Iphone for years reassured me that if her husband could figure it out, then so could I. But alas I did not buy an Iphone, I bought a Samsung Messager Touch which is similar a whole different animal.
I sat down to try my hand at it and within minutes had developed a horrible headache! For one thing the instructions were so small that I had to go find a pair of those magnifying glasses to read it – ARRRGH!
Then of course I couldn’t get any of it to work:
- I couldn’t set up my voicemail – damn!
- I couldn’t delete things I’d done – annoying!!
- and there was no information at all on the camera – hmmm, what’s going on here?
I got so mad that I finally decided to call the company and yell at someone! I thought that would at least get the stress out of my system and restore my brain power, so I could think logically about operating my phone.
Just kidding! I didn’t yell at anyone :>) But I did plan to spend an hour on the phone with them while they explained everything to me.
Oh I forgot to mention that before I called them I actually went on Youtube and looked up the phone and there were at least 4 videos, all done by 13 year-old boys! I’m not kidding, look it up yourself and you’ll see that this is not a storyteller’s fabrication.
They spoke so fast and in such a garble (they are 13 after all) that I had no idea what they said and realized very quickly that they could teach me nothing. I am over 50 after all. We speak different languages. Thus the call to the company, who then told me to call the manufacturer, Samsung, so I did.
Samsung said to me, “Oh we don’t send the manual anymore. We’re going GREEN!”
Going green???????? You don’t send the manual because you are going green? Now I was turning red. This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!
they're working on my phone
And it gets worse! You know what ‘going green’ really means? It means that I have to print out the 165 page manual myself. At the cost of paper and the stress on my ancient printer, gee that sounds like the green really means -
We’re too cheap to do this ourselves!
If I still have to print the manual, then in the bigger sense of the world, we have not gone green at all, it’s just that the cost and the effort are all on my side and that is not a nice message to send your customer, don’t you think?
So here are my suggestions for you Samsung: (note the green color here)
- I love your phone, it’s really cute and groovy.
- I like the idea of going green. I just think we need to be clear what that means.
- Why don’t you create a nice little card that you package with your phone that explains your eco-philosophy and the fact that since many people throw the manual in the trash, you are saving paper.
- I would be cool with that and thus I would think that you are a cool company, rather than cheapskates who are burdening me with a task that you should have done.
Got it??
I love the phone. I stayed up until mid-night learning it. In my learning curve, I called a wrong number and got someone who texted me back and said, “Who is this???”
Alas, it’s proving to be a great way to meet new people in other parts of the world!
All in all it’s been a great, green and groovy experience, getting me up to speed with technology. Now I just have to go re-dye my hair as I think I got a bit more gray in the process.
Thanks Samsung and thanks little Cricket phone – I’ve named her “Jimminy”. Stay tuned for more story-phone adventures in techno-wonderland.
Yours in story and always keeping up to date with the 13 year olds,
Annie
Video: Stories From the Heart of the Cosmos
August 30, 2010
This is a wonderful video short of my body of work called, “Stories from the Heart of the Cosmos” done for me by friend, filmmaker Tim Kelly. It gives you a sense of the characters and stories that make up my world. I am publishing this again because I’m going to use some of the stories for my forthcoming book. Hope you enjoy a trip through the cosmos!
Featured Video: A Pale Blue Dot
August 29, 2010
Nothing more beautiful than a cosmic earth story, told as poetry.
I’m Back! The Creative Journey
August 26, 2010
enjoy the creative journey
Ah it’s been a great few weeks off from blogging. I love blogging don’t get me wrong, but I had the sense that I needed to take a rest from it all and allow myself to focus in new directions.
And I’ve been thoroughly enjoying myself!
Here’s what I’ve been up to:
- writing stories, almost every day in my groovy purple notebook – yay!
- working on my book which is finally coming together after many months, not ready to come out in public yet but the story idea is nearly clear – wonderful!
- I’ve been working with my business partner on my new website and brand. He is an expert in marketing and branding (thank God for that) and very soon the new, upscale me will be revealed - can’t wait!
I’ve learned a lot on my creative journey of these pasts few months. Here are some of the highlights:
- You can’t rush the journey – it takes it’s own time, it is a meandering path and it is subject to the whims of your muses. So just relax and enjoy the journey.
- It has a life of it’s own - you are not in charge, even though you think you are. The journey of life wants to take you somewhere and writing a book, or creating a project is just an excuse for the process of self-transformation.
- It’s meant to be enjoyable – ah yes that old stress demon takes over too much of the time. Life, creativity and creating things can be fun and enjoyable!
Well thanks for hanging in there with me during my hiatus. I have a lot of great new stories to share, a new blog coming and a whole new look.
Stay tuned and stay in touch!
Yours in story,
Annie
Super Duper Foods for Life
July 28, 2010
super duper foods
Why am I writing about food? Well food is life and I care about life, so it makes sense that I would to write about the Super Duper Foods for Life that I highly recommend.
First I’ll tell you a little story about how I came to know about these foods I had the great good fortune of being sick for many years and didn’t know what was wrong with me.
Doctors are inadequate in this regard for me, especially involving nutrition, so I had to dig around a lot on my own. What I found out is that modern food cultivation and preparation practically ruins everything we eat.
While many foods are touted as ‘fat reducing’ etc, if you really look at it, they are artificially synthesized foods. This never works well for the body. If you get back to basics and draw from the best of nature, you will be in good shape.
It’s not fats or carbs that are a problem on their own, it is the way food is produced, what we eat and how much we eat.
But beyond this, there are also some super duper foods that are extra good for you and that almost no one knows about. So being sick was life changing for me because I got a chance to research and listen to my body and discover things that I never would have known otherwise.
I never restrict what I eat, I just enjoy a nourishing palate of amazing foods and I am happy, healthy and wise. Well the last one can be contended! But these yummy goody goody good for you foods make all the difference in my life. I enjoy what I eat and look forward to every single day. So I thought that I’d share my Super Duper Foods for Life with you.
green smoothie
So here are my top five super-life changing foods:
- I drink a Green Smoothie every single day. I know that is not a single food, it’s a drink but I had to include it. My smoothie includes fruit and some kind of raw dark green vegetable blended up in a blender. Wow, my skin is gorgeous and my energy level soared after I began this. I am barely hungry until lunch time. Then about an hour later I drink a second smoothie with several of my top foods right in it. They are:
- Spirulina – what the heck is that? It is a blue-green algae (I know that sounds gross but read on). Spirulina lives off sunlight and is one of the most nutrient packed foods I know of, plus is 70% protein. Can’t beat that! Then I also include another yummy treat in my smoothie which is:
- Raw chocolate – YUMMMY! I read a book called, Naked Chocolate years ago (I know don’t you love that title!) and I was amazed to discover just how many nutrients raw chocolate (aka cacao) has. It has to be raw though, once it’s cooked they disappear.
- Ready for this one? All you former pot heads will be happy about this, Hempseed is also one of the most nutritious foods around. Great in smoothies or on salads.
- Last but not least a favorite for health of the intestines, which is crucial for immune health, is the delicious homemade Kefir. Kefir is a naturally fermented milk drink, like a yogurt only more beneficial and it keeps you happy, healthy and long living. It’s super easy to make at home. You just need a starter.
So there you go. Here are your Super Duper enjoyable healthful foods for life.
Video: I Change People’s Lives
July 27, 2010
The Beauty of Creating Out of the Mess
July 22, 2010
If you can weather the feeling that you’re going to be a failure, then the journey of creating something new is totally worth it.
This year I’ve had two amazing opportunities thus far to reap the pearls out of seemingly hopeless mess!
The first was in creating Retreat 42, a retreat in daily life. When I set out on my own personal retreat I asked the question, “How can I get bigger projects off the ground?” I was really stuck and I wanted to find out how to break through that.
I didn’t set out to create a program, write or book or do any of the other amazing things that came out of it. I just set out to answer one HUGE question but much to my surprise, out of that mess came a whole host of beautiful creations.
Voila’ out of the mess comes amazing new life. That is if you can weather the discomfort of it all.
So what are the challenges and discomforts of creating out of the mess?
- we hate to feel like a failure and when you’re in a mess it feels like anything but success.
- you feel confused, so you might consider yourself off-track but you’re really not.
- messy times are so darned uncomfortable that we tend to avoid them, therefore very few people know how to support you through the messy times.
- it feels just awful sometimes, kind of like being covered in mud or sludge.
So think of it this way – mess is part of nature and the natural cycle of life. Your garden is a good example.
At the end of the season everything is dying and worn down. It all rots (smells awful) and goes back into the ground where it reemerges as fertile nutrients.
Think lotus rising out of the muddy pond and you will get the feeling of the potential of the messy bogs of your life.
Don’t be afraid of them, don’t back off, don’t believe what anyone 
else tells you.
The messy, boggy, sloggy and muddy side of life is fertile ground. Today enjoy the beauty of the mess. You just might be onto something.
So just remember:
P.S I’m not talking mess in the sense of leaving your dishes undone or your clothes all over the floor!
Video: My Video Tips
July 20, 2010
Will My REAL Life Please Show Up
July 19, 2010
the good life
There I was living in Europe with my gorgeous European (Italian or Spanish) husband, my beautiful children and living the good life. I was always eating delicious food, being totally loved and adored and it was always sunny.
That is in my dreams and fantasies about my life!
But that life has not happened, nor anything even close to it. Yes I have traveled and lived in Europe. Yes I have dated European men, but I am not married, do not have children, do not live in a Tuscan village and do not receive foot rubs every day as in my dreams.
So the question is – when is my REAL life going to show up??
That answer is – it’s not. The life I’m living now is my real life. It’s the life that I never thought I’d be living but it’s exactly the life I’m meant to have. God forbid I should even be grateful for it and not wishing for that fantasy life that I envisioned for so long.
Now I am the first one to believe in dreaming and envisioning things, but in my Peter Pan-ish youth, I didn’t understand the reality factor of these things. We don’t, in my humble opinion, come into this life to ‘manifest our perfect dream life.‘
the perfect dream life
Much to the contrary, we come to grow, be humbled, to be challenged into changing ourselves and ultimately become a better person. This doesn’t necessarily happen by receiving the picture-perfect dream life.
So how do I reconcile those dreams, visions, fantasies and wishes? I don’t. I always live with this idea of an ideal life inside of me but on a regular basis I try to be cognizant of what I actually have.
I am not saying this is easy. I still want my fantasy life. But I would hate to be at the end of my life and realize that I wasted huge chunks of it, waiting for something that was never meant to happen.
What a waste that would be.
Neither do I want to stop dreaming and wishing for a life beyond what I have now. That’s not good either. Our spirit always needs to grow, expand and fly.
I think of it this way – life is made of sugar and salt. Salt is the tougher element, the one that breaks down other elements of nature. Salt is the part of my life that challenges me to grow beyond what I think I need.
Then there is the sweet side of life, the ‘dolce’ in my vita. That is the part of life that is naturally easy and pleasurable. It’s easy to love this side of life, but hard not to hate the other. But all sugar and no salt would be a sickeningly sweet life.
Try to convince me of that when a gorgeous Italian male comes to rub my feet and you’ll see that I’m a liar, but since that’s not going to happen today, I’m going to accept the sugar and the salt and love them both.
salty and sweet life
I do love salty potato chips and I do love chocolate, so if you eat chips and chocolate every day your life will be just peachy. Oops that’s another sweet!
You get the idea. The life we wish for is never going to show up like we see it in our inner movie. Does it mean we should stop dreaming? Absolutely not, but at the same time when we accept the salty, life naturally gets sweeter.
Viva la dolce vita!
Video: Dare to Be Yourself
July 13, 2010
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