Thanks for asking!

Here’s a peek behind the flannel curtain.

I like this picture…because I think it looks like me. It represents who I am. I’m smiling, I’m laid back, I’m wearing one of my favorite t-shirts and I’m by the water.

And through some amazing combination of light, angle, shadow and the wind blowing – I appear thinner than I actually am. This snap was taken on our road trip back from Mexico in the spring of 2009. We stopped to check out the beach on the Oregon coast and let Milo out for a run.

Sell everything and go sailing? Why not?

In August 2008, we decided to sell everything, buy a sailboat and cruise the Sea of Cortez for a couple of years. We didn’t let the fact that we didn’t know how to sail stop us.

By November, we were ready to go. We drove to San Diego, we bought our boat in Long Beach (a 36′ 1984 Catalina we named Pajama Party) and learned to sail it. Then…feeling the fear and doing it anyway…we cast off for Mexico. We sailed over 1000 miles down the Pacific coast of Baja California – getting more than we bargained for on a few occasions. Fortunately…no one died!

That little sailing story tells quite a bit about me. I’ve never really hesitated to make big changes in my life. I’ve taken on things without thinking about how I’ll make them work. I just figure it out along the way. Everything always works out in the end. Sometimes better than others.

This thing other people call “work”

Careerwise, I quit the only 3 “real” jobs I ever held.  (Even the really good one.) I’ve started several businesses. (From “flipping” mobile homes to selling cars from the driveway to writing software…with a bunch of stops in between.)

I’ve failed spectacularly at some things (selling real estate!)…and succeeded wildly at others (computer programming and training…well, as “wildly” as that gets!)

The most fun “work” thing I’ve ever done is stand up comedy. Lucrative it was not. (Total career earnings: $75 and 4 drink tickets.)

Living to learn (learning to live?)

I’m a big fan of learning new things. (But not so much by way of formal education.) I live to learn. Through books and classes and experimentation.

I’m a workshop junkie. I *love* motivational/educational personal development seminars and workshops. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on these…and I will spend thousands more. I believe that personal growth opportunities are worth every penny.

Someone pointed out that our sunglasses make us look like blind people. Which would make Milo our guide dog. Lord help us! I could just imagine Milo pulling us out into traffic after spotting a cat.

In a box labeled “non-conformist” (also: fan of irony)

I’m an optimist and an idealist. An introvert (INTP) and an Enneagram 5. I’m a Gemini. And a Canadian. I have many ex-husbands (some of them are still alive) and no children. I like to read, I have a great sense of humour, I like walking on the beach in the sunset…whoops…wrong web site.

I’m a non-conformist. I don’t eat meat (and yet I’m not really a vegetarian either, because I still eat fish). I don’t wear make up or high heels or pantyhose. I hate wearing shoes. And bras. I like to wear pajamas. Even in public.

I’m not motivated by collecting “stuff” or making money. I don’t want a “real” job – nor do I ever want to “retire.”

I value learning, personal growth and relationships. I’m not much for small talk, I prefer meaningful, intelligent conversations.

I love animals (all animals – not just the house pet variety). I believe in things like fair trade, sustainable organic agriculture and recycling as the *third* R – after Reduce and Reuse. I lean left (surprise!)

I don’t believe in multi-tasking or fast anything. I’m all for slowing life down. Oh…and making fun of stuff. I like that too.

Out of touch with what others call “reality”

I’m a recovering computer geek (I still write some code now and again) – yet I don’t like gadgets. Never have. While I couldn’t get by without my computer, I don’t have a blackberry or a cell phone.

I don’t have much interest in watching TV. (Ours collects dust when it’s not being used to play Wii.)

I don’t know any band names or popular songs past the 80s. Ditto for movies and celebrities. I don’t pay much attention to the “news” because I find it depresses me. I’ve created my own little happy universe – surrounded by the stuff I like and ignoring the stuff I don’t. This was *way* easier to do than I ever expected. (note: I also like the word “stuff” – but only the *word* – I’m not big on owning things of any sort.)

My Personal Philosophy

Life is absurd. Laugh. Make fun of stuff. Be you (everyone else is taken). Be real and authentic. Show up as yourself – even if being yourself means dressing inappropriately, saying what you really think and risking looking stupid.

Choose experiences over objects, growth and learning over safety and stagnation…and laughter over, well, damned near anything!

Have fun. Practice awareness and acceptance. Be kind to yourself and others. And animals. Be kind to animals.

And listen to Jimmy Buffett.