Beyond the Carpool: Women Finding Meaningful Work

Anna Edmondson — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:13:59 +0000

Networking and Setting Priorities

Anna Edmondson — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:41:00 +0000

I’m a social creature and even I find networking challenging. This is because I still tell myself that ‘networking’ is ‘fluff’ work, not serious enough to merit being calendared in the ol’ date book. If you, like me, are in transition professionally, we must accept the critical importance of networking. Especially now. No matter how hard it is to climb out of that shell – whether it’s due to shyness, inertia, habit, or fear – connecting with other people is KEY to finding work you love.

Part of networking is setting priorities for ourselves so when we meet people we can talk about our short, medium, and long term goals. I just received an email from a friend, Normandie Ramirez, looking for work and she listed her priorities so well that I thought I’d share these with you. She writes:

“My search is three-fold:

1. Long-term goal: Full time position with an established organization where I could build the next chapter of my career.
Titles might be: Communications Manager, Executive Producer, Media Relations. Companies: Kaiser, Pixar, Lucasfilm, non-profits such as The San Francisco Food Bank and The Exploratorium interest me as well.

2. Mid-term: Project based work.

3. Short-term: Interesting work with good people working towards a valuable mission. Anything “green”, humanitarian based or just plain fun. No ego here. I do want to be paid for my services but the rate of pay is irrelevant. Discovery, learning and networking is the payoff in this category.”

Remember, network and set your priorities. With short, medium and long-term work goals, your networking contacts will have more to work with and more contacts to pass on.

This Mom is Trying to Let Go

Anna Edmondson — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:58:00 +0000

In my last post I talked about feeling addicted to stress. At the root of this craving for “busy-ness” is a wish to avoid difficult emotions like sadness and anger. With less stress or work I have more time to actually feel. And right now, with one child entering puberty full-on, I’m struggling with letting go and losing control. My 13-year-old son is not the perfect student, nor the amazing social mover or shaker, nor any other mold of a kid I’ve projected onto him. He’s becoming himself and it’s not always pretty watching myself struggle to let go. As a woman re-inventing herself, defining a new career path, I am also defining a new relationship with my children – one of greater autonomy and independence. If I can become less controlling and more independent of them “needing me”, my kids will learn how to be more self-sufficient as well.

Hello world!

Anna Edmondson — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:28:25 +0000

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

Addicted to Stress

Anna Edmondson — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:21:00 +0000

It’s the second day of my older son’s Spring Break. He’s gone for the week and so my usual 3:00pm deadline is suspended. No more mad rushing around to do a zillion things before the rush of carpool, homework and dinner. I have more time! You would think this would be liberating but I feel sluggish and off my game. I’ve been trained like Pavlov’s dog to function within a 9-to-3 mindset. With more available time this week I’m working less efficiently and moody. I’m a deadline-driven, collaborative personality who thrives on the adrenaline-induced high of stress. How do I get over this addiction to stress and create healthier work habits that feed my need for achievement and accomplishment? Stress expert Debbie Mendel, offers some good advice.

Banff Mountain International Film Festival

Anna Edmondson — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 06:36:00 +0000

Tonight I was initiated into the adventure film sub-culture of the Banff Mountain International Film Festival at UC Berkeley. It was amazing: from a film about copper mining in the Sock Eye salmon home of Bristol Bay, Alaska, to a flick about a little girl dancer in Peru preparing for her father’s death, it was such a wild ride around the world. Lots of wholesome, handsome young men and women in the crowd. Lots of great outdoor-wear watching. Lots of healthiness all around. I want to go out right now and by mountain bikes for my whole family and move to Alaska for the summer. The event made me feel very “urban” and high strung – which I am – but it also inspired my love of nature and my New Year’s resolution to get out into the wild more in 2009.

God’s Party

Anna Edmondson — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:32:00 +0000

In this season of birthdays and holidays I’ve been contemplating parties and self-identity. Parties big or small bring out the most intense aspects of human nature. Ritualistically we ponder our guest lists and what this says about who we are, we provide food and drink, worrying whether there’ll be enough, we stand in the mirror weighing what image to project. But what if God were hosting the party? How would the experience be different? Read guest-writer Melinda Clemmons’ beautiful riff…

‘If god invited you to a party….’ –Hafiz

“If God invited you to a party, would you worry about what to wear? Would you stand in front of the mirror, peeling off one idea after another? Or would you just go, not even bothering to look down to see what you had on, just go, heading straight to the bar for the best drink of your life. Would you look anxiously around to see who else was there, or would you trust God not to tolerate cliques, and just walk right up to the other partygoers and fall into their conversation? Maybe you’d slip your lipstick out of your pocket and run it across your lips, drag your fingers through your hair. If God invited you to a party, you’d see everyone you’ve ever known, loved, avoided all right there on the marble sky-high glittering dance floor, and it would be okay. You could hold out your hand to your mother-in-law and take her for a spin. If God invited you to a party, the night would go on and on, repairing all the old wounds, nurturing all the old loves. Everyone would wind up in God’s kitchen, huddled around the stove, ice clinking down into glasses, feet shuffling. All around you’d hear exclamations, praise and surprise and reinvention. Someone would ask where God was, and the kid in the corner would say God went upstairs to bed, and someone would open another bottle and pass it all around the room.” – Melinda Clemmons, mblackorby@gmail.com

Barcelona: An Insecure Moment

Anna Edmondson — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:22:00 +0000

Yes this is a very child-friendly place and all that. But, yesterday evening I ventured out alone with the kids up to Park Guell, the park famous for the ceramic lizard designed by the architect Gaudi. The park was great even if the kids balked, yet again, at the aimless walking. They have got to learn HOW TO STROLL. This is a foreign concept to them. After various ice cream and soda-related threats, they sucked it up and went along with my meanderings. We explored the park for maybe 20 minutes then headed down into the Soho-ish neighborhood called Gracia which was supposed to be this remarkably happening place but so many stores and restaurants were closed and I figured this was due to it being August. I had honed in on this cool tapas place called Sol del Solar, culled from guide book recommendations, but without Peter, I developed cold feet – there were absolutely no kids in the place, all the cafe tables were taken- and I just felt self-conscious. We walked from “placa” to placa (little plazas) searching for more family friending dining to no avail – everyplace was either an ice cream joint or a hang out for young adults. I felt disappointed and wimpy, like I’d failed some idea of myself as the sophisticated traveler. Together we hopped into a taxi and returned closer to home where I took the kids out for pizza to a little outdoor restaurant right near our apartment. We were home by 10:30pm. My instincts tell me it´s time for Peter and I to split off for a day and do some independent exploring.

Barcelona Diary: End of Week 1

Anna Edmondson — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:26:00 +0000

It is really hot here. I mean seriously moy picante HOT! So on Wednesday we packed up the van and headed north up to the Costa Brava (which means ´wild coast´) for some needed ocean breezes to the town of L’Escala. This was a great choice. We ended up staying at this 100 year old hotel set right on the beach adjacent to an amazing archaeological site of a Greco Roman city. As soon as we pulled into the dirt road parking lot of the hotel, I felt like we’d finally found our groove. The kids plunged right into the beautiful blue water and discovered snorkeling. The big highlight was Sean seeing an octopus eating a crab under a rock. The beach was packed with tourists from everywhere other than the U.S. and I, lying in the still-boiling heat of 6pm, soaked the ´foreigness´up like a balm. Julien soaked up the toplessness of the women (all ages) with some interest. Sean expressed initial disgust and then after a day, it wasn´t very interesting. Both kids continuously comment on how many people, especially young people, smoke here. They just can´t comprehend it.

Food highlights: gaspacho soup in the heat of the day, anchovies soaked in really tasty olive oil, mashed tomato on whole wheat bread w/olive oil and a little salt for breakfast.

After L’Escala, wanting to honor Peter’s desire to have a little taste of France, we drove across the border, perhaps an hour as the crow flies, to Coullioure, a royal medieval outpost from the time of the Hapsburgs in a time when the land was called Aragon. Very fairytale like, this place. Now it´s a popular vacation spot, packed with tourists of course, but soooo beautiful that painters like Derain, Matisee, and other Fauvists had come here to paint the famous “light of Coullioure”. I couldn´t stop taking photographs. Peter was in heaven sipping his rose wine in one of the outdoor cafes right on the water. We ate local anchovies and caught up on our salad intake since Spain is not big on vegetables or salad dressing. Great croissants and baguettes. Enjoyed being able to communicate really well.

Now we’re back in Barcelona ready for the second half of the trip. More to come…

Barcelona Diary: Day 3

Anna Edmondson — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:55:00 +0000

Today, Tuesday and 3 days since our arrival in Spain, we are still adjusting to the time difference. The kids were up from 3 am, on and off until 7 – not so fun – but we rallied and got an early start to see the Gaudi church, the Sagrada Familia. Julien (12) has declared his new-found fear of heights – walking down through the maze of steeples was not so much for him – guess the paternal genes are appearing because Peter has a small fear of heights as well. We’ve been using these multi-use Metro passes and that has been an excellent choice. We use the metro a lot. After the Sagrada Familia, skateboards in tow, we ventured beyond the city center to the port-convention area and found an excellent free-style skate area that Julien and I had googled from Oakland. In a post-apocalyptic setting of giant blocks of concrete and pavement, small concrete and wood beaches have been created. We saw life guards and old ladies, all kinds of people sleeping on these stone and cement paved patios that plopped right into the water, no sand. Eventually we took a seaside bus that got us closer to the city center but even there we felt like we were in beach resort filled with topless bathers and people walking the boardwalk and eating leisurely lunches on beach side cafes. I tested the water and it’s as warm as the Atlantic. This is so different from the northern California climate. Our “home trade” family headed to California today (we met the whole crew yesterday and Sean and Julien had a chance to go outside and skateboard with the 2 boys) and we´re worried they´re going to be really annoyed by the lack of public transportation and the foggy, cool summer of the Bay Area. Around 9:30pm Peter and I left the kids for 20 minutes to do a food run at the corner store – kind of like 7-11 and Village Market. Prices not super high or low, but lots of people there and we realize that people here have more money to spend on food because they don´t own cars or big houses. At dinner Sean said “why don´t we rent an apartment for a year in Europe some time?” (this coming from the kid who hours earlier said he was having the worst time). Anyway, it is now nearly 11pm and everyone still wide awake after too-long naps. Tomorrow we attempt the driving experience up the Costa Brava to the town of LÉscala and the Roman ruins.