elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 07:30 am
I don't know when, if ever, i'll become visible in the tech community i'm currently working in. That's OK, but i fond myself wondering how much of an investment to make. Do i stretch myself to talk with strangers or do i take the rest i need?

Last night, watching Christine cry from the pain of the wisdom tooth extraction (a short release of the stress -- she was cheerful after as she went about some chores), i choose staying home with her. I did spend much of the evening in meta-community, fiddling with Twitter data. It's not the same thing.

***

With Quaker community, a blog interaction lead me to an interesting Quaker document from the past: http://www.qhpress.org/texts/balby.html . It connects with some of my other thoughts about the role of recorded membership and my pondering about what does it mean to be "Quaker." [livejournal.com profile] kibbles has taught me much that is *finally* sinking in.

A FB link to this reflection on Karen Armstrong's book was also good food for thought this morning. I logged the link with the note, "A examination of how Armstrong reveals the historical and global importance placed on practice as opposed to statements of belief. While not specifically Quaker, it reminds me of some of Barclay's positioning of the society in the context of the Catholicism of the time (eg: indulgences as perverted practice) and the Protestants who were beginning this descent into statements of belief."

***

What (in large numbers) Twitter and FB do that LJ no longer does for me is provide those reading references. Go look at this funny thing, go read this useful thing, have you heard about this new thing. In a way, i appreciate LJ becoming more exclusively an individual's reflections or stories, while i can skim the RSS feeds of Twitter and Facebook shared links and explore.

***

I was tempted by Hackerdojo email and knowing that one person i've met through LJ is playing there. Ah, there's someone who crochets there! But, honestly, another community? The Friday nights in January and February are nights for 'makers' in Friends community. Those 'makers' are there in the Friends community, but how to bring out that thread of the tapestry of experience? For the moment, i need to continue to commit in that community.

(But i may go play at hackerdojo if something specific comes up.)

***

So, thinking about goals for the holidays, perhaps simply focussing myself on the library committee --we'll have two worknights -- and the oversight work and the preparing for the winter nights in Jan Feb is PLENTY.
elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 07:47 am
After i started thinking about community yesterday, i followed up on some emails that were bothering me in my role as liaison to the congregation that uses the Meetinghouse. I have again spent this morning with those emails. Somehow, this doesn't register in my consciousness as doing or giving or participating, despite the reflection i need to go through. These emails in particular are difficult because i'm in the "landlord" position, and i'm trying to negotiate my way between the clerk in charge of the building and the congregation. There's something bothersome about how she addresses the congregation through me: a presumption of them overstepping bounds as opposed to balancing needs and uses. It's much more rule-oriented than creative.

So i am ministering here, serving, both in mediating the Meeting's relationship with the congregation and in trying to reflect back some of the inclinations of the building clerk.

***

Work was OK yesterday, although i found that work that was reported completed wasn't, and a number of pull-my-hair-out things came up with the Product staff member. Everyone else was out of the office for a long variety of reasons.

After work i rode to dinner listening to the game, happy that there's a game six. I had hoped to catch some of the archived game last night after, but it wasn't available.

Dinner was with the Minnow work colleagues to celebrate a birthday for the young mom. Christine joined us, and it was a pleasant evening. I felt strained by the end of the three hours, though. I don't know if that's because i kept to my diet and and wasn't indulging, or just the dynamics of being with this group.

I was happy to keep to my diet though, i think i may simply try to make this my diet going forward. In fact, i wish i had skipped the desert. My body has adjusted to the simple diet and i find myself thinking that i don't want to risk having this rich thing, that alcohol, this other hunk of bread. I only ate the lemon cream filling and the meringue out of the desert (yeah, there was probably butter in that) and found leaving the sugar crust a simple choice.

I don't know how i'm going to manage challenges for dairy (again) and corn with November as it is. I'm off to a conference for the next few days.

***

I did go walk for twenty minutes, reading notes about goals on my treo, beginning the check-in for the next goal season: November and December get treated as "the holidays."

One goal for this season: twenty minutes of basic activity every day. There's no reason i can't do it now. I've done it sporadically, i know how it helps at work, i have a way to do it at home.
elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 06:47 am
Once upon a time (in April of this year) [livejournal.com profile] tenacious_snail asked me, "How did you come to be involved with the Society of Friends? What is your spiritual journey? "

I kept putting off answering that to when i could do it justice, which is the general mode of my procrastination. Yesterday, i saw the meme from [livejournal.com profile] batswing that asks
The problem with LJ: we all think we are so close, but really, we know nothing about each other. So I want you to ask me something you think you should know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away.

Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you.


I figured i should answer the last question, first, since what with "The Death of LJ" being a constant theme showing up in a variety of places, i shouldn't waste any questions.
Long, Part 1 )
And, after a call from my sister and some unhappy physical experiences, i must get off to my day!
elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
Friday, July 3rd, 2009 06:48 am
In this age of connections and communication, i'm glad i found out about Bonnie Tinker's death at Friends General Conference Gathering through a direct message at Facebook, and not one of the tweets. I'm not close to Bonnie, but i can't imagine what it would be like to find out in 140 characters, especially if you were simply following the hash tag for the gathering -- in which case you may not know the person posting the 140 characters. However, there's something meaningful to scroll through tweets from the conference: Bonnie wasn't the only serious injury so far -- someone else has been taken to the hospital after a skateboarding injury.

While i don't think of being a Friend as safe at all, i never really thought any of the risks might be mitigated by helmets. (Which is not to say either Friend was not wearing a helmet: i do not know.)

Bonnie meant much to the LGBTQ movement in Oregon and the Northwest of the US, working with schools for respect and support for children with same sex parents since 1988, and until her death vice-chair of the Sexual Minority Parents Advisory Group. Since the early 90's she's been involved in a number of ways, leading discussion about gay and lesbian relationships. I hadn't known she was a radio talk show host for a while. Imagining a Quaker as a radio talk show host certainly leads immediately to the comic for me, remembering the general horror of 'Dead Air,' but i suspect it was a venue she was able to turn to thoughtful and compassionate ends.

I posted this in the LJ Quakers community

I'd only met Bonnie once, at the FLGBTQC gathering in Portland in February. I'd seen her posts to the lists and had begun to know her a little better in Facebook. I had been clear from my early impressions that Bonnie's way of being with others in this world was one of compassion and integrity. I know many others must have known her more deeply and are much more touched by the loss and grief. I know Bonnie's immediate family has been contacted, her spouse and son are headed to Virginia to join her daughter(s).

A post from someone at gathering, sharing some of the Remembering of Bonnie is at
http://imperfectserenity.blogspot.com/2009/07/remembering-bonnie-tinker.html

A short biographical sketch can be found on Love Makes a Family's web site: http://www.lmfamily.org/index.php?n=Main.AboutBonnie
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