Thinking about this, this and this, lately.

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One of the earliest memories that I have of attending conferences and local developer meetups, between 2007-10, is meeting Derek K. Miller and others involved with the Drupal, Web Developers, Responsive Web Design and Flickr community in Vancouver.

I’m grateful for everyone who shared their vision with a lost and wandering twenty-something me, and continue to do so whenever I pop my head out from the proverbial White Rabbit’s hole of academia. Derek was one of the few people in these many communities that I implicitly trusted and looked up to, in a sea of strangers-acquaintances making their way in this world.

During this instance one year ago, I was very brokenhearted after a breakup.. and was very quiet on the topic of the relationship with social acquaintances, friends, co-workers and classmates for approximately 3-4 months following the crisis.

Derek lost his battle with cancer, several of my girlfriends suffered in car accidents, unexpected pregnancies and abortions, leaving drug-abusive relationships and deaths occurring within their own family household. I felt that the end of a relationship, my reasoning for attending grad school, and questioning my raison d’être: as a designer, as a photographer, as a daughter, and as a human being meant nothing in the wake of mortality.

It was not a pleasant experience for me to shift perspectives and question the rationality of human existence, as we know it. What is life, but a simulation of reality based on sensations?

I am grateful to Andrew Haw, Karen Lo, and Rob Liv, among quite a few others, who patiently listened to my woes. Self-blame and self-forgiveness, in both friendships and relationships, is a slippery slope to conquer. This is something important that I am still confronting each and every day since, then.

I have learned that it is necessary to recognize the past patterns of negative behaviours with friends and alike, acute observations of human nature to satisfying psychological needs, trusting my instincts, and learning to let go of each experience with the lesson in hand, I am aware now that this is a struggle that continues on daily occurrence. Life does not end at twenty-five.

Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long.

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
Walt Disney

The commencement ceremony affirms each student’s search for knowledge.

It often includes a graduation speech which seeks to put their recent hard (or not so hard) work into the context of their future. Many of us hear one or two commencement addresses as graduates or listen to a handful as spectators. Yet — as we graduate from one year to another, one relationship to another, one experience to another — we always are learning.

Though these myriad departures and arrivals of everyday existence are seldom met with ceremony, words traditionally reserved for momentous occasions may ring true and inspirational at any hour.

via The Art of Commencement Speech

Ellen at Tulane Commencement 2009

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005

Conan O’Brien’s 2011 Dartmouth College Commencement Address

What constitutes flirting can vary among different people. The main difference is the “intent” of the flirting.

Flirting with the intent to develop a relationship is usually progressive and escalates, where flirting to just be friendly really doesn’t- it stays consistent.

When someone is interested in you and wants to take things further, they use flirting to “test the waters”. They look to see if you respond positively to each thing they do. So, if they touch your hand while talking to you and you don’t pull away, they might next time see if you reciprocate by touching their hand. Then it escalates to the next thing, like hugging you or touching you a little longer. The flirting and body language becomes more deliberate.

When someone flirts just to flirt or feed their ego, this doesn’t really happen.

They keep it at the same level or find variations of flirting that don’t escalate. They look for positive responses to continue flirting in the same way because your responses make them feel good but they don’t get more deliberate or exploratory about it.” (src: unknown)

I’ve been reading up lately on how to maintain my growing shoes collections, sometimes running between campuses and the downtown city wears out everything so quickly! Especially if when the same shoes are worn for 6-8 hours per every day.. Fab Sugar had a really great article on how to prep your shoes for the summertime wear, and I’ve re-shared the information here so that it’ll be easier to find for future reference

• Sole Salvation: Method Leather Love Wipes ($5)

How to Use: These leather-cleaning wipes are nontoxic, compostable, and gentle on both your leather and the environment around you. Just use these handy disposable towels to refresh your leather sandals (we’re loving these Zara Lined Wedges, $50) and leather handbag while you’re at it. Bonus? It leaves a light almond scent that we can’t resist.

• Sole Salvation: The Laundress Sport Spray ($10)

How to Use: Chances are, you’ll be doing some outdoor running, picnicking, and more during the warm-weather season. To ensure your tennis shoes (read: Missoni for Chuck Taylor in Mint, $200) remain fresh and clean all Summer long, spray this miracle sports potion on your sneakers, on your yoga mat, in your gym bag, and even on yourself — it’ll remove bad odor and put to use its antibacterial properties, too. Not to mention, it’s nontoxic, biodegradable, and allergen free.

• Sole Salvation: Penguin Nylon & Canvas Foaming Cleanser ($7)

How to Use: Take your canvas slip-ons, wedges, or espadrilles (See by Chloé Ankle-Wrap Wedge Espadrilles, $250) and apply where needed. Then, brush clean with a hand towel, and . . . that’s it. It helps scrub away the dirt and keeps the fabric from cracking.

• Sole Salvation: Frye Leather Conditioning Cream ($9)

How to Use: Make sure your Summer soles stay as crisp as the first day you got them. Translation: prep your leather shoes with waterproofing, in case of those unexpected Spring showers. For these Rachel Zoe Gladys Sandals ($235), a neutral-tinted cream should do the trick.

via How to Clean Your Summer Sandals 2012.

Sometimes the secret to happiness is contentment, and a clean streamlined theme that focuses on the content, and not the distractions.

Theme based on this and modified by Eliz.

Download the Manifest Theme here.

Referred to as “Enchanted Forests, (these) locations accessible through doors on enchanted trees in Ur. Inside, multiple Wood Trees grow, which magically regrow when they’re harvested and cleared.” (x) Wandering inside of these ‘unexplored’ dimensions reminds me of the Treehouse from the classic The Swiss Family Robinson’s by Johann David Wyss.

Originally, the The Swiss Family Robinson’s first summer home on the island consisted of a tent spread over the close-knit branches, instead of the Walt Disney’s feature of an elaborate ‘Treehouse’. They were forced to endure living quarters inside of the tree’s trunk with their livestock during the rainy season, before moving into ‘Felsenheim,’ a cave dwelling in the rocks.

These new locations in PlayGlitch contain 9-17 ‘Wood Trees’, the harvested planks of woods are in demand lately, due to the large growth of contruction projects for building new homes, furniture, and the Woodworking skills.

Secret locations of the ‘Enchanted Forests’ world are listed below as follows:

Enchanted Forest Name	Accessible from Street and Region	Number of Wood Trees
Magha Pleat	Magha Shank in Rasana	21
Afar Cleft	Afar Whence in Tamila	9
Grimssea Hollow	Grimssea Bottom in Groddle Forest	17

There are few stranger sensations, than meeting someone unexpectedly whom, upon introductions, reveals that they have been shadowing your events and activities in the interwebs. Such as that may be, and is, the standard protocol of socio-behaviour during first impressions between two people at conferences, local meetups, photowalks and the ilk.

However, there is still a vast difference between these two social introductions: one that occurs between those who inhabits, communicate and socializes to a greater extent, via the interwebs.. versus a situation of one person where communicates largely online, and the other who, doesn’t.

The fact that these occurrences still happen every less often, is only proof that as a matter of time, and the space continuum, is where the human mind never really truly reaches full maturity, and that we are still progressing amidst the unknown, every single day.

“Real conversations involve give and take, one person talking, the other listening: then talker becomes listener, and building a connection.

You stop thinking about what you’re going to say next and just flow— in, short, good communication.” (Kirsch)

Lately I have met several someones who carry a very, very different personality within their messages on Facebook, versus fact-to-face conversations, email correspondences and voicemail or phone as points as contact.

Some of these people were very rude and threatening, others were quite shy and monotone. It has not always been a pleasant experience.. in fact, I shun contact as often as possible with peers and other inhabitants of the public city streets. My oft-online persona is at odds with my reversed mannerisms during physical contact.

While we cannot choose our family, (who seem to, or are supposed to love us unconditionally) I rely on the knowledge that we can always choose to control our overall socio-behavior: our actions, our reactions, and those we choose to associate with. At first when meeting someone, not making assumptions, quick observations, comparisons between prior personality archetypes (ie. schemas of character) and reserved judgement based on self-principles are just a few of the mental gymnastics that I always, do.

There has also always been an over-tendency to side with those who share the same opinion, same tastes and same interests, in essence, those who are similar to myself, however, realizing that each person and event has a lesson to be learned, and a unique experience to carry with me, has always helped me to rationalize when meeting other people with a different impression of this life, and the mental framework that it is built upon.

While there is no reason to state that my judgement is 100% wholly accurate or inaccurate, it is safe to say that the foundation of my understanding of human behaviour, is to focus on the what, how that drives people’s impulses, to do what they do, and incorporate each lesson: as a success and failure, to incorporate into myself to be the best at being me, as much as I can be.

Is it the right thing to do?
How can I ever change things
That I feel?

You can go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way
(Go Your Own Way, Fleetwood Mac)