I started blogging here with the intention of it being where I share links, witticisms, and smart assery should any potential employers, clients, suitors or abductors be looking for more information about me. But this blog is only a small microcosm showing what I’m interested in, an in turn, a glimpse into my personal brand. I am more than an LOL cat aficionado.

After a bit of soul searching, I’m coming to realize that my passion for personal blogging on this blog is waning, whereas writing about Buddhism is where I’m truly feeling my groove . Sounds like I have an existential problem on my hands. In killing my personal blog and dedicating my time to blogging about my spiritual pursuits am I committing digital seppuku? What is the sound of one finger pressing DELETE ALL POSTS in a WordPress admin panel?

I think in the evolution of our personalities (aka -personal brands), we need to rethink our priorities and refocus. As Mitch says in his post:

Focus. Too many people spread themselves too thin. They’re busy Tweeting when they should be Blogging or busy Blogging when they should be creating a video. Know the type of content you are best at producing (text, images, audio, video) and stay focused on practicing it and getting it to be great.

The key in this for me is “spreading yourself” too thin. I’m about to shed some of my layers and get a bit more stealth with how I’m spending my time. I know that digital sabbaticals are all the rage these days, but for me, I’m embarking on a digital refocus.

I couldn’t resist adding another LOLcat there…

I can’t begin to explain how much starting this group has helped me to break out of my comfort zone and I hope has done the same for many of the speakers.

But I was always just able to give the group (and community) 75%. I’m the kind of gal that doesn’t just have one full plate – but a whole cupboard full and while juggling planning the events, finding speakers, promotion and all of the community work that comes with being the gal to contact (ie: helping folks promote their cool events, lending a hand to gals looking for work…), I was also taking French classes, studying and teaching Buddhism, blogging about Buddhism, doing social media campaigns for non-profits, raising wild pugdogs and maintaining a boyfriend who morphed into a fiance and now a husband. Yeah… I’m sure I missed some things in that list.

I’ve decided that it’s time to hand over the keys to the Montreal Girl Geek Dinners group to change things up a bit – both for me and the group.

Your new navigator is Alexandra Dao and you are in exceptional hands. Alex is a born organizer and community cultivator. She comes from startup culture and loves her some internet memes. She is a geek. A girl geek. Huzzah!!! She’s full of great ideas, boundless energy and is just freaking frakking nice. I look forward to what she’ll bring to the group and like a Mama Grizzly, I’ll be around to lend a hand if she needs it.

Georgiana Laudi will be helping Alex out and has already provided me with support on several events in the past. Gia gets social media, goes to a zillion local events and is a huge asset to the group.

Me? Well I have a few other projects cooking up but I’m really looking forward to having the time to meet you. Let’s have a girl geek tea sometime and catch up.

I think much of this can be attributed to my love of multiple interests. I’m envious of people who are focused on one project, passion or priority and are known as “that guy who’s into 1950′s horror comic books” or “the girl who is really into SEO”. Me. I’m a hybrid. I’m a knowledge collector. I’m a digital channel surfer.

After being made redundant a while back, I started on a path of exploration away from digital project management (the blood that runs through my corporate veins) and into different roles that were emerging in digital culture. I helped to work on a community for the advertising industry. I was a Community Manager for a Montreal-based startup. I did a bit of consulting. I finally decided that my low-level of French was a hindrance so set out to take French Immersion classes every day and although I still have a ways to go, I’m much more confident in my ability to communicate and understand.

Now, full circle and I’m back doing digital project management. I think there are those people out there who are natural “deliverers”. Those who love the thrill of completing projects. It feels amazing to be back at it again and surrounded by a great team.

As for my personal interests, I’ve decided that I need to scale back on some of my activities. I’m waaaaayyyyy overcommitted.

Look for another blog post on this shortly.

Sadly, I think I still have heatstroke from the event and am slow to recover. Suggestion – Have an area for the senior citizen punk rockers to enjoy the show from their lawn chairs. I’m tempted to rent a tour bus for next year’s show.. Hmmm… anyone want to go in on this with me?

NOFX- “Mattersville”

There’s a place where some of us choose to live
A gated community cops can’t come in
A neighborhood for punks over the hill
We’re spendin’ our golden years in Mattersville
We can do whatever we want whenever we please
There’s always a keg of beer and a block of cheese
We got charams, pinball, asteroids, space invaders and missile command

We will grow old together
We will play bridge and Texas hold ‘em
Duane and Stevie Cab they still skateboard
But most of us lawn bowl and shuffleboard
We may be getting ripe but we ain’t bored

We got a blackboard with some rules and laws
Hefe’s got an 18 car garage
Most of the cars are smashed and so is Spike
Twice a week on karaoke night
Eric Melvin lives next door to me
Limo and the Locknecks head security
At the end of my cul de sac
Davey Havok’s house is painted black

We will grow old and fatter
We got our ville so what else matters?
Trashy, Mod, and Kath are staying up
Nathan, Matt, and Dad are passing out
When California cracks we’re all goin’ down

I’ve been taking French classes for a few months now and find that one of the best (and most enjoyable) ways for me to develop better comprehension is to watch television programs, episodes of webseries or movies. As a big film fan, it’s a great way to augment my vocabulary as well as get a taste of Francophone culture.

I got to thinking that I’ve been asking many folks for suggestions on what to watch so now I’d like to ask you to help me by posting links, trailers or You Tube clips on your blog of Francophone videos that you recommend.

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J’ai pris des cours de français pendant quelques mois maintenant et de trouver que l’un des meilleurs (et plus agréable) des moyens de me développer une meilleure compréhension consiste à regarder des émissions télévisées, des épisodes de webséries ou des films. C’est un excellent moyen d’augmenter mon vocabulaire ainsi que d’obtenir un avant- goût de la culture francophone.

Je suis arrivée à penser que je demande beaucoup de gens pour obtenir des suggestions sur ce qu’il faut regarder alors maintenant je voudrais vous demander de m’aider en affichant des liens ou des “clips”  de You Tube sur votre blog francophone de vidéos que vous recommandez.

A little while back, the plucky Canadian magazine for young women and trans youth Shameless ran a feature on yours truly for the Shameless Women section of their blog. I’m hella flattered and humbled to have been covered and allowed a space to speak of the Montreal Girl Geek Dinners Group as well as some of my personal perspectives.

If you’re interested, here’s the link to the post for you to check out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/perpetualplum/3995210073/

For so long I never asked myself that question and I was carrying around a sense of general, genuine and perpetual unhappiness. A real dis-ease. That dis-ease started to manifest itself not only in my mental state but physically with some nasty allergies, gut rot and a sense of constant nervy-ness.

As a child who came out of a broken marriage, I never felt a sense of home. Many of us come from parents who were ill-equipped to dole out love in the ways we’ve all craved. Not having a Halmark card kind of life means that you have to work a little harder on yourself – mainly in being gentle with yourself and not listening to the negative self talk that we come to cultivate over time.

Breaking these negative pattens has taken time and I’m now an advocate for helping people break from their conditioning and discover new ways to heal themselves. I’ve been teaching meditation classes to a small group over the past month and have felt empowered by being able to educate people on several tools they can use to help calm their minds. I’m looking to deepen my teaching experiences over time and will be taking teacher training to work with inmates who wish to learn meditation to help them pacify their troubled minds.

I’ve also been lending a hand with the NHC Institute which teaches holistic health care here in Montreal and have been working with this group on various upcoming initiatives. As a cause I’m a full believer in, I’m thrilled to be surrounded by passionate folks who are dedicated to healing and helping alternative health to become an accepted form of medical treatment. I’ve used alternative therapies as a compliment to the advice I’ve received from my traditional doctor and have found it to have helped me immensely.

I’d encourage you to take some time to ask yourself how you’re feeling. Make it a date and pick your brain. Note if any of your physical ailments can be tied in with your mental state.

Are you feeling OK?

Thanks to Dot Wojakowski for inspiring me to write this post.

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I’ve been taking full-on French immersion classes and the effects are remarkable. I’m already feeling so much more comfortable and have noticed my vocabulary is being beefed up significantly. I had been taking classes at McGill for some time but it was only for morning sessions and so much was falling out from between my ears.

For so long, I’d put off dedicating time to learn French and always felt a sense of shame in being so lazy and not sticking with it. Having moved here from New Brunswick, I had a fairly decent base and ear for the language so I have a leg up on the folks in my school who are mainly newly landed immigrants to the city.

This time around, I’m watching many more Quebec movies and tv programs and reading the local newspapers daily. My current faves are:La petite seduction,Tout le monde en parlait and L’épicerie. Oh and I seem to have discovered an interest in Zachary Richard.

I’m planning to start a twitter account to tweet exclusively in French (good practice) and am going to be taking a more proactive focus with the Montreal Girl Geek Dinner group in developing and cultivating an enhanced presence in the local Francophone community.