Iz my day off

Right not I am huddled over the laptop with a cup of tea and crumbs from my toast, and am glancing at the gray day outside my window. Thankfully I do have the day off.

The picture above? That's my family. I love them. I'm on the right in the photo -- the yawning girl. It fit my mood this morning.

This past weekend was full of all sorts of funsies: date night to Hungry Mother, Neighbors for Neighbors citywide kick-off event, Boston Book Festival, last-minute church singing on Sunday followed by a sunny walk through the Common, the JP Lantern Parade and a pumpkin-carving party.

I'll post photos soon. Or you can just view them here.

In the meantime, I have lovely plans for today: yoga, cleaning around the house, reading more of Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces and making granola!

I'm pretty excited about this recipe, as it came from an email exchange last fall that I recently remembered I had. I plan to cross-reference it with Mark Bittman's, too, in order to keep the sugar a little lower.
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Granola

Ingredients:
7 cups old fashioned oats (not quick oats)
1½ cups light brown sugar
1½ cups raw sunflower seeds (roasted pumpkin seeds good too - no shells)
1½ cups shredded coconut
½ cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups dried fruit (bananas, peaches, cherries, blueberries, mango, papaya - pick your fav combo) or nuts (not for small children)
1/2 cup additional shredded coconut

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 °. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Heat oil, honey, syrup and vanilla in microwave on high for about 2 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Stir well and pour over dry ingredients. Stir vigorously until granola is well coated. Pour mixture on cookie sheets with high sides (we use jelly roll pans). Mixture can be piled high on the pans. Cook for about 15 minutes until granola is browned,stirring after each 5 minute period.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly. When still warm (but not hot) mix in dried fruit & additional shredded coconut.

For crunchier granola, cook 5-10 minutes longer.

Good combos:
-Apple Pie: Dried apples and raisins, and add 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon (or apple pie spice) to baking trays.
-Banana Nut Crunch: Dried bananas, crumbled walnuts, & peanut butter chips.
-Tropical: Cystallized pineapple, dried mango & papaya, additional coconut.
-Sweet Tooth: Cherries, cranberries, & carob or chocolate chips.

Healthy Additions:
-wheat germ
- tiny bit of flax seed oil (too much alters taste) at end
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Enjoy!

A Good Foundation

A recent entry in the New York Times blog Room for Debate featured commentary from various authors and scholars on why women gravitate toward wearing high heels. Naturally, its title was "Why We Love the Shoes that Hurt Us, " and it prompted me to reflect on my own experiences with heels.

My immediate reactions were of both shock/dismay and intrigue. The shock came from seeing images from Paris Fashion Week, which featured footwear towering to 10 inches. Isn't that just a tad ridiculous?

My intrigue came from the notion that high heels are cute and sexy: If I'm having boring day with an evening out ahead, the first thing I'll contemplate to change my mood is usually changing my flats or sneakers for something with a little more lift.

But that doesn't make them comfortable.

For me, high heels have gone from something I would wear more often than not to shoes that only come out on special occasions. I'm not sure if this comes from my move to Boston (and just plain learning that heels and cobblestones don't get along) or growing older and opting for comfort over height. I still have a few pairs of heels, but they spend more time in the closet these days.

Aside from heels (clocking in at 3.5 inches, thank you) for my sister's wedding, my shoes in regular rotation haven't been high at all. Flip flops, flats, sneakers, clogs, boots have taken over my repertoire instead, and my "dressy" shoes feature a 1 inch kitten heel. I'm seemingly "over" heels instead of head-over-heels for them. Well, almost.

In August, while primping for a party, I reached for my patent leather d'Orsays with the bow at the toe. They matched my dress perfectly and provided a welcome retreat from an otherwise humid and boring Tuesday. I shoved them on and my feet ached even as I looked in the mirror. Deep down, I knew that -- even if I loved the outfit -- there would be no feasible way I could even make it out of my house in those shoes, let alone to the subway and to the cobblestone streets of Cambridge. Reluctantly, I put them away for a more sensible pair of Mary Janes and made my way to the party. And I still threw my shoes off at the end of the night.

My Sister has a Mister

This past weekend we celebrated my sister's marriage to a great guy.

Congratulations, you two!!

(photo by Katie H.)

My Spiel on Personal Branding

There's so much hype everywhere I look about personal branding --how to Tweet this, blog that, make your own Facebook fan page, Linked-In groups, etc -- that I'm feeling overfed from my Google Reader(to be punny). Articles on alumni websites and forums such as Brazen Careerist explode on screens as they discuss the right way to approach an online presence (and I'm not even talking about the photographers hired to consult for Facebook profile pages) or how to streamline a personal brand.

Using the latest and greatest technology for marketing isn't a new concept, but the fact that these applications are web-based seems to revolutionize it, which makes people a little too excited. But what exactly *is* a personal brand?

I have a list of ideas of what it shouldn't be: it's not your "baseball card," nor is it a fabrication of what you really do/are/have the potential to do, nor is it a combination of your personal and professional personas. But does the answer lie in the opposite? Not exactly. A brand is used to describe a product: think Heinz ketchup, Levi's blue jeans, Maytag washing machines.

Brand = Identifiable Name + Product

That said, my interpretation of a personal brand is defined by the presence of a product:
Personal Brand = Identifiable(Your)Name + Product

That's it. It's just a matter of how to market your products or services. For instance, as a music educator, I design my website to cater to potential students and employers. Another friend of mine who is an opera singer designs her website to cater to opera companies and arts patrons. In addition to these websites, we have business cards, posters and performance invitations. In all of this, we're branding our services and past success as our products.

Cases when you do not need personal branding: if you're applying for a job in which metrics are in place for services you can offer (accounting, medicine, clerical administration, engineering, etc.), if you're already employed by a large corporation or loyal small business, if you already run your own business from word-of-mouth advertising and have no need to expand, and -- especially -- if you do not have a clear idea of what your product or service is.

Just remember, web-based applications like Facebook, Twitter and blogs are -- above all -- methods for communication, distraction or just plain wasting time. They aren't designed to escalate you to the next level of your career (or even begin one), but might help you along the way if you already know what you want.

Sweet Tooth

I have a gelato problem.

Working in the financial district puts me entirely too close to the North End, Boston's version of Little Italy. On clear days I often stroll along the waterfront of Christopher Columbus park, along Commercial Street, and meander to the Italian main drag of Hanover Street. Therein stand the locations of many an indulgent activity: rich food, bakeries, wine, pizza stands and -- yep -- gelato.

The sudden insurgence of warm weather isn't fighting my case, either. Find me at one of a few gelato shops in the neighborhood, usually hunched over a dish, eating while walking, and trying not to spill my fast-melting treat.

You're invited to join, too. But let me know beforehand, please.

I'm trying to cut down to just once a week.

Tanglewood Recap

I've just returned from a glorious week singing in the Tanglewood Festival Chorus in a concert of Act III of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg and can't say enough how wonderful it was to sing in such an exceptional collaboration. Maestro James Levine taught all of us what it means to perform together in a taxing ensemble piece, and I will take his words to heart in many lessons and rehearsals to come.

Levine emphasized the meaning of ensemble and collaboration in this opera. Wagner was a pioneer in his concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, or great work of art, which means that every little facet from regional dialect in the libretto to the second violin part has a distinct meaning that has been painstakingly tweaked to perfection. Dynamics and tempo are exaggerated to add to the emotion and excitement of this act, and the orchestra plays as important a part as the principal roles.

We in the chorus also learned a lot from Levine's knowledge of the staging of Die Meistersinger and how important it was to remain engaged as if we were townsfolk mingling in the festival scene, and how we were to laugh and scorn Beckmesser's poor interpretation of Walther's song -- not an easy task when the single act is over two hours long.

My single take-away from our intensive rehearsals and concert is how important collaboration is in performance, that learning a single part or overview isn't nearly enough to properly interpret a piece of music. Our rehearsal notes stated this concept ad nauseum, so I think our conductor on to something.

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Saturday's concert was a success, though extra-dramatic due to a strong thunderstorm. The Shed proved to be a fantastic venue and our audience was enthusiastic, if a little water-logged. I couldn't ask for a better TFC debut!

Look for me in the NY Times photo shown above, too! Upper right corner, third row.

For Ladies and Gents

Nothing brightens a plain jane outfit like a great accessory, and no place does this and a few clothing items, too, like Salmagundi.

Vist them on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, where co-owners Andria and Jessen will help you play dress-up in style. Like in this photo, which features a sweet, sweet hat won by yours truly at one of their store parties. (Ribbon not included) A an J are truly fantastic people and run their business in with a friendly flair, and Salmagundi offers a playful mix of awe-inspiring headwear, crafty trinkets, unique clothing items and tons of fun.

Also, take a look at their blog for the latest!

Salmagundi: another reason to love the 'hood.