“Clowns to the left of me…”

~ wings~of~dawn ~ 5 Comments

“Clowns to the left of me…”

It was 1972 when this song hit #6 of the Hot 100 chart. I was twelve years old. The lyrics “stuck in the middle ” flowing in sync from my lips, resonating between my head and heart,  somehow giving me subtle permission to name call.

Age three: my place as the youngest child was usurped by the birth of my baby brother.  Elevated to the middle kid, no returns.

“Jokers to the right”

By the time I was eight, I determined to catch up with my distant cousins in performing the perfect cartwheel. I was prepped and ready to perform when I saw them again two years later.  News flash: the cartwheel was soooo yesterday, now they were spinning front and backflips. (sigh)

Oh, and add being old enough to wear fishnets and miniskirts to that bygone  list as well!

Fast Forward.

To the left of me, I am in touch with my being a late bloomin’ babyboomer only because big sister allowed me to tag along.

Further left (nothing political here) are the tried and true war veterans, workaholics and loyal salt-of-the-earth folk whose handshake is their blood signature. Love them, just not all the minutia.

To my right, some jokers yes, mostly newbies, Gen X, Millenniums and future tweets from a birth canal resident announcing its arrival. Each will soon be qualified to become my next employer. I applaud their social networking speed and ability to still manage their way into my pocketbook. (Pocketbook? Did I really type that word out loud?)

“Here I am.”

As I have experienced, there are many places to be in the middle: family feuds, messy bedrooms, trains of thought, paper to paperless, telegram to Instagram,  the middle of this page, still catching up.      My world is filled to capacity with these elements, and more.

 When it comes to intimacy and transparency, there is no room for middle ground.

“I’ve nothing to hide!” doesn’t mean “bare all.” “You have to be transparent” doesn’t mean diluted delivery to the whole wide world.

When I intend to communicate with you personally, it’s intimate, special delivery and for your eyes (and ears) only…

”Stuck in the middle with you!”

Daily prompt: Nosey delights

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Imagine, had the technology of today never existed, I would miss the talents of Laurie Nichols, a shared remembrance, from one of my treasured places – France

laurieanichols's avatarlaurieanichols

From the yeasty warmth of freshly baked bread to the clean, summery haze of lavender flowers, we all have favorite smells we find particularly comforting. What’s yours?

My all time favorite smell in the world and I do not think that there will ever be another smell to replace it comes from France, of course 😉

Imagine pulling up in your car or slowing down your bicycle and pulling into a parking located within a pine tree grove. You either get out of your car or get off you bicycle, you stretch and inhale. You immediately inhale the combined smells of fresh pine, the aroma of sunshine, the faint whiff of ocean air and the clean scent of age old sand. Each note is singular but they marry together into a scent that is exhilarating, intoxicating and pristine. It infuses you with a calm and peace that washes over your…

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Confession

~ wings~of~dawn ~ 2 Comments

My name is Trudi and I am a recovering IT person’s NIGHTMARE. To think that at one time I seriously believed that the regular use of computers, let alone internet and social media was a CHOICE! Now it’s mandatory. I qualify for this position. I have experience interfacing with “geeks.” My awareness and understanding increased over time from what started with a simple phone call to the IT Department (a one man office allegedly off-site). “What was the last thing you did?” and “What was on the screen before everything went black?”

“I don’t know.” “I don’t remember.”

The most fun from that conversation was my first experience with remote access. Whoa! Whoopie Goldberg and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash!”

Fast Forward.

I am now familiar with terms like “user error”  and I don’t say those words out loud anymore. The communication has changed over the years from the verbal over-the-phone to observation of his/her body language in person.

Clue #1:   an curtain of glaze over the whites of their eyes.

Clue #2:   a glance to the person behind me, if anyone, coupled with a  small step back by the right foot.

Clue #3:   a nod of the head and the anticipated “excuse me for a minute.”

My name is Trudi and thanks for your support. Keep coming back.

ReadMe

Aside ~ ~ wings~of~dawn ~ Leave a comment

This blog is to share Trudi’s musings, observations and thoughts during her career process and life experience.  Some of the recent feedback to her has been: “Hey Tru, what’s with the treasures?”

Response:  her experience, skills, abilities, talents, gifts that she offers to either  business clients or non-business friends.  Add some ado about thoughts, heart, pearls and pigs.

“USE WHAT YOU HAVE”

A little lie came about in her youth indicating that success and fulfillment only came from “the outside.”

Then she heard a story of a prophet who invited himself to the home of a widow who had no resources left to feed her son. He asked her what she had to offer. The answer did not come from outside but from within and God honored her response. That gave Trudi hope and she began to look inside.

She discovered that throughout her life,  she has consistently applied her aesthetic awareness and use of available resources in her environment.

Examples:

* designing her high school senior prom logo

* creating a flow chart for use as technical coordinator for musical dramas

* she has promoted people or helps a client’s business by designing a logo, preparing documents and giving words of encouragement

While she now uses software for some of her creations, she was asked which software she used in making a handmade card. Her response was: “Pen, paper and markers/crayons.”

From her experience in her education, retail and the legal field, Trudi found that consumer satisfaction is not software friendly. It is not frequently updated but requires face to face contact. The customer experience is one system that will not crash or be forced into obsolescence. The same is true with music. It is the language of the heart. Customer satisfaction is forgiving, there are not typos, only the touch of reality in seeing a client’s desire satisfied to the fullest extent possible.