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sam, this one’s for you

June 25, 2008

I know we are all special. I know there can never be another you. But I gotta tell you, if there could be another you, I am totally the girl to figure out who it is. Of the many disorders I have revealed in this space of mine, I’m not sure I’ve shared with you my obsession with discovering your look-a-like.

I met Ellen Page at the conference last weekend. You know, from Juno?

No, of course not really. But I did meet Sam from The Listeners Post. She is Ellen Page’s twin in real life I think. Hil. Arious. She looked really familiar so we played the name game until we figured out the loose connection we have. (She went to college sort of in my town. Sort of.) Then later I realized it was probably the whole you-look-just-like-Ellen-Page thing that caused me to think I knew her.

Sam is so much fun and I was disappointed that I didn’t get a photo of her at SheSpeaks. Actually, I’m kind of lying. I did get a photo of her.
I call this one Stalker With A Great Zoom Lens. I’m definitely climbing up the bff ladder in her book for posting this, I’m sure.

Sam is another one of the surprise gifts I received this weekend. She kept us laughing at the conference which is always a plus for me. More than that, she allowed herself to be moved by God’s hand and she didn’t let fear keep her from being vulnerable at His feet. I like that.

Let’s hear it for Sam! And is there anyone else out there who never sees a unique face because everyone you meet looks like someone you already know?

Filed Under a freak, a friend 10 Comments

unpacking treasure #4

June 23, 2008

I will be posting more about SheSpeaks in the days to come. Some of you have asked for more details on the conference and I would be ever so glad to share them with you. For now, I simply had to reveal another unpacking treasure, as it has been my traveling companion for several weeks now.
Enough with the Glamour Gals and Barbie turkeys, I’ve finally found a treasure that is worth more than sentiment. When we bought our camera last year, it came with 2 lenses. I used the 18-55 lens because it was more practical. Somehow, this 55-200 lens got pushed into the sock drawer. And then disappeared forever.

Or so I thought.

Until Alisa showed up one day with her zoom lens and I saw the photos she took with it and all of a sudden, I couldn’t sleep until I found that lens. Which was bad because I couldn’t find that lens. But then we moved. And everything turns up when you move.

Allow me to demonstrate the wonderful-ness that is the zoom lens. This was the view from my seat at a dance recital.
With treasure #4, I can see faces, fingers and expressions.

Then there’s the wedding. It is always a waste to take photos during wedding ceremonies. First, the lighting is rarely good. Then, there’s all the heads. Not to mention I’m never close enough. This was our view at a wedding recently.
Can you even see the bride and groom? Pull out the zoom lens, and they magically appear.
I watched nearly the entire wedding with one eye squeezed shut, looking through my viewfinder, snapping photos as I went. I felt like a spy. A friendly, invited spy. But still.

I’m so glad I found this treasure lens!

Filed Under a photographer 30 Comments

she spoke, she wrote

June 22, 2008

Well, SheSpeaks is over and I am overwhelmed in many ways. Mostly good ways. It is humbling to realize how much I don’t know about things, but I am also equipped to learn more about that which I am passionate. Namely, writing.

I enjoy writing. Have I mentioned that here before? I sat in workshops about writing, taught by women who have written all their lives, surrounded by women who love words. It was divine. It was exciting, scary and divine.

No one had rocks in their pockets. The women in my peer review group were gracious and helpful. They made some great suggestions as well as encouraged me enough that I’m almost convinced I’m not crazy.

During the main sessions, I had a sweet glimpse of the Father’s heart toward me. He is gracious, patient and kind. He has brought a sense of clarity in the foggy mess that is my mind these days. And He is excited, too.

Finally, this thought: I always think the best gifts are the ones we don’t expect. Especially when they come from God’s hand.
This is Karla, Megan, Jami and me. We knew each other vaguely through our blogs before the conference, which is how we connected once we got there. And oh, how we did connect. As much as I love words, I can’t think of any to describe how thankful I am for them this weekend.

When I signed up for this conference, I didn’t know a single person attending. I didn’t expect to make friends, much less friends who are funny, who watch The Office, who love words as much as I do, who aren’t afraid to cry in public. What a blessing to discover these comment box robot people not only exist, but they are vibrant, emotional, beautiful women with real lives, real kids and real faith. I’m so glad I met you, friends.

Filed Under a friend, a writer 23 Comments

she speaks, she writes

June 19, 2008

There’s nothing like paying for a sitter so that you can go to the Panera parking lot, eat lunch on your lap, contort your body to type on the keyboard that has mayonnaise all over the “w” and update your blog by mooching off their wi-fi. Not because you don’t have internet access but because you have 3 kids.

There’s also nothing like having people walk by your car, see you on the computer and think you are doing something important. But really you are just desperate for some time alone and for a place to speak it. Which I guess is important after all.

I know I could go inside. But there are people inside. So I sit here in my car with mayonnaise on my keyboard, thinking about why I write and those of you like me who write because you can, because you want to, because if you didn’t, you would be denying a part of yourself.

And I think about blogging and how it is a place for those of us who love to write and kind of sometimes have something to say but don’t have to have an agent or risk rejection to do it. And we can be the editor, publisher, AND the author and use all the run-on sentences that we want. And begin lots of fragment sentences with conjunctions.

It’s all very egocentric, really.

I’m going to She Speaks tomorrow. It’s a conference held by Proverbs 31 ministries to encourage and equip women who speak, who lead and who write.

I will be among those who write.

I signed up back in February and, like a raving mad lunatic, also signed up to be in a peer review group. That’s when you bring something you’ve written and let other people read it while laughing and pointing and throwing rocks at you. Who would sign up for a peer review? Why am I subjecting myself to the madness?

Some of you I will see there, I know. I look forward to meeting you, as long as you kindly leave your rocks at home.

Filed Under a girl, a writer 25 Comments
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