Fluent Self Item!A somewhat goofy mini-collection of stuff I’ve been reading, stuff I’ve been thinking about and oh, some completely random crap.

Basically the stuff that never gets mentioned here because I’m not the kind of person who can just make some teeny little point. Not into the whole brevity thing, as the Dude would say.

Actually, I’m under the strict compulsion to write ten pages about anything on my mind. So this is me. Practicing brevity.

I’m writing this Tuesday night hoping hoping hoping that by the time this is published Wednesday morning I’ll be back home in Portland.

It’s been ridiculously hard just getting out of Tennessee and even making it to Atlanta launched another saga of complications.

But enough about my complicated life and on to the Items!

Item! Post No. 32 in a series whose existence continues to beat the odds even while I’m on the road, apparently.

Item! So beautiful!

I am madly in love with Elizabeth’s blog. It’s called Retinal Perspectives and it’s pictures. And words.

Gorgeous, gorgeous pictures. And words.

Her tagline is “finding beauty in the ordinary — and in the extraordinary” … and that pretty much sums it up.

These yellow flowers make me too happy.

Or this beautifulness from the Lake Oswego market. This to me is summer in Portland.

Item! Miliblogging.

I love this post because it reminds me of the never-more-than-five-line emails my friend David and I sent each other over the course of years and years and years.

Of course, I can’t blog like this because for me, anything under a thousand words is excruciatingly painful and takes twice as long to write.

But I love the concept. I love the freedom in it.

Or, really, the combination of freedom and structure, liberation and discipline. It’s very Shiva Nata, as a concept.

“What would you say if you had to keep your blog post/email/whatever less than five sentences long?

You’d have the same resources — including time — to write a shorter body of text that would give the same impact.

What are the benefits to the reader? What would you have to do differently?”

You can answer his question here.

And really, how can you not read a blog whose tagline is Flogging A Dead Horse… and other animals?

He’s @neonpaul on Twitter.

Item! I can’t stand having to write about myself.

Even though I have my wonderful First Mate to turn down almost all interview requests and the like, every once in a while I get roped into a thing.

A thing where I’m expected to write something. About me. And what I do. What?!

As if I have even the faintest idea about what that is. Ridiculous, I say!

Shouldn’t people already know who I am? And if not, can’t we just let them figure it out over time like everyone else?

If I can make a very good living not having any idea what I do, why can’t we all just go on with the not knowing?

Anyway. Enough whining. But my problem is that as soon as someone asks me to write about myself, I get all goofy.

Here are some of the little bio blurb-ey bits I’ve written but haven’t sent:

“Havi: pirate queen — Selma: dancing queen”

“Havi: silent partner of international drama queen diva Selma the Duck, who has appeared on German television and even had her picture in the New York Times and stuff. Twice.”

“Havi has an unfortunate disease which results in her not being able to talk about herself in the third person without giggling hysterically.”

“Havi’s Right People are kind enough to not really care what she does or why, so she’s going to keep being mysterious and not explain it, if that’s okay.”

Item! Wordnik!

This site! It’s called wordnik.

And really I should not have to say any more than that to get you to click through.

Marissa told me about it. She’s @marissabracke on Twitter.

Item! 200 women.

The brilliant and fabulous Sally Jacobs, ladies and gentleman.

She sent me this. Because she sends me things.

“Daily Zen –> 200 women clock in @ the westinghouse factory in 1904. I thought they all had the exact same hair, but not if you look close!”

She’s @sally_j on Twitter.

Item! This logo on YOUR website! How could you not want that?

This is super mean and I should know better.

But every once in a while I’ll be reading someone’s sales page and something will just hit me right in the funny bone.

So yeah, I’m not even close to being one of the Right People for this program. Which means that this page isn’t for me. It’s for other people.

But I read it anyway and then laughed for almost ten minutes. All because of this one question:

“How would this logo look on your website?”

I can’t think of an appropriate answer to that question (though I also can’t stop asking it and then collapsing in giggles) so I’m going to stop right here.

Item! Comments!

I loved the other week when I got to work on my practice of how I ask for stuff and you guys gave me the most amazing recommendations.

Here’s what I’m wishing for comment-wise:

  • Things that make you laugh inappropriately.
  • Things that are good about Wednesday (either in general or related to the particular Wednesday-ness of today.

My commitment.
I commit to giving time and thought to the things that people say, and to interact with their ideas and with my own stuff as compassionately and honestly as is possible for me.

Even though asking for what I want still feels awkward for me, I’m just going to remind myself that this is a thing I’m practicing.

That is all.

Happy reading.

And happy Blustery Windsday. See you tomorrow.

The Fluent Self