Something about dreary weather makes us all a bit melancholy. On one such dreary day I was lamenting out loud to my sister-in-law. Even though my online network made me look quite social, offline I was feeling isolated and lost. Something was missing from my (un)wired world. She thought for a moment and then said, [...]
About chameleoneyes
Author Archive | chameleoneyes
Parents as Doormats
My brother and I, both MBA’s, often viewed family events akin to corporate conferences. We sought different ways to minimize chaos and maximize the quality of our time together. Although Thanksgiving Day is a prized group celebration, we decided that other days in the long weekend are best split up in smaller breakout sessions so [...]
Well, Thanks a Lot! Gratitude from Martinis to Midnight Conversations….
Thanksgiving, as any holiday, is full of die-hard traditions. In my family of hearty eaters, we were always sure to have spiral cut ham in addition to a massive turkey. The stuffing recipe was passed down from generations and could not be altered even by one thyme sprig. Always present was also a suspicious looking [...]
Jumping Ship: Naked and Fearless
As I was researching remedies for both Writer’s Block and the flu I was battling, a friend called to interrupt my desperation. Someone had seen my Twitter post “Why I haven’t killed myself yet” as a cry for help. “Um, Heidi, what’s up?” “Ihavenoideawhatiamdoingwithmylife…..” “Er, slow down….that was one syllable,” said a voice that had [...]
Why I Haven’t Killed Myself Yet
After coming out of the closet with my metaphor masturbation, the rainbow city of San Francisco finally saluted me as one of its own. The sun was warmer, the people friendlier. I stopped driving and started walking, no longer in a mad rush of self-absorption. I took the time to grin widely at sidewalk pedestrians, [...]
Las Vegas: The Glitz and the Gritty
Las Vegas is a city to be both loved and deplored. It’s the city of sin, status showcase and escape. In a place where everyone is a tourist, new friends and new experiences are givens. My recent visit to the fantasy façade was for a birthday, filled with toasts and laughs. However, I still managed [...]
Metaphor Masturbation
A friend of mine recently wrote me a beautifully raw tale of her ongoing journey of self discovery. She writes: “I am trying to find out who the authentic ‘me’ is and bring it to life. I see glimpses of it in different things I enjoy. But there is so much more to explore. I [...]
Re-inventing Writing and the British Invasion
“Hi Heidi.” A voice interrupted my 180 rpm workout at the gym. “Are you adjusted to being back in San Francisco yet?” I wiped the sweat off my brow and smiled silently, not knowing how to answer the question. I was still figuring things out, making mistakes, learning, trying, exploring……I wasn’t sure if this was [...]
Deepavali!
When we are young, naïve and hopeful we dream big. We throw our love out into the world, confident it will boomerang back and find us. Anything is possible whether it is being an astronaut or falling in love. I was shipped off to Space Camp, Orchestra Camp, and Girl Scout Camp encouraged to seize [...]
Mistakes
To tighten the verbiage in my proposal I needed to start writing more of the actual book. Themes were getting twisted up in one another and I needed to be sure my message was clear. However, this week I was thwarted from writing much of anything. I was supposed to flush out my concept of [...]
Naked
To write well you must be willing to go naked into the world. -Daniel Keys Moran After multiple wine sessions, friendly reviews, non-friendly reviews, and a handy “cliché-erasing” pen, my book proposal is nearly finished. After another week of sober editing, I will hopefully deem it worthy to send out to agents. In my progress [...]
Re-Writing
Writing a book proposal has been the hardest thing I have done in my life. While on the road interviewing women, writing was easy. The women’s stories poured through my veins onto paper, metaphors and adjectives effortlessly dripped from my pen. After four hours and three cups of coffee in a café, I had a [...]
San Francisco-The Book Writing Begins
I have been back in San Francisco for a week now, right in the height of its personal Indian summer. While the rest of the United States was skipping around in flip flops and bikinis in August, the citizens of San Francisco were shivering, blanketed in an icy fog. The prolific mist has since gone [...]
The Final Interview: One with Myself
Location: San Francisco Mileage: 8,002 Women Interviewed: ~30 (depending upon how one defines an interview) Cities Visited: ~23 (depending upon how one defines a visit) Items lost: Mac powercord, umbrella, jean jacket, gas cap, keys to NYC apartment I set out two months ago with no real expectations for my writing project except to capture [...]
A Treasure Chest of Vice, Adventure and Love
Location: Portland, Oregon Mileage: 7,386 Music: “Portland, Oregon” by Loretta Lynn and Jack White. Meal: Holladay Plaza Split Pea soup and Buffet Salad The drive from Kennewick to Portland started out as desolate. One must first pass the Umatilla Army depot in Eastern Oregon where a large plot of land has been used to store [...]
A Changed Place
Location: Kennewick, Washington Mileage: 7,200 Music: “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac Meal: Alderplank smoked salmon with garden vegetables I left eastern Montana for the west, heading into the most beautiful part of the state I was born in. My car chugged up the switchbacks at the foothills of the Beartooth mountains. I looked fondly at the [...]
Montana: Boom and Bust
Location: Billings, Montana Mileage: 6,500 Music: “Dakota” by Stereophonics Meal: Soup and Sandwiches (on Montana Wheat) The highway between Minneapolis and Billings was a 13 hour stretch of hilly lands, badlands, and no man’s land. Immersed in miles of flat were sudden mounds of earth, positioning themselves around grassy valleys, and deep cut rivers. It [...]
My Mother’s Minneapolis
Location: Minneapolis/ St. Paul Mileage: 5,160 Food: Beer at Palmer’s Bar Music: “It’s a Beautiful Day” by White Bird With my last formal interview behind me I drove onward with a new destiny, to drive back across the north to recapture my family’ past. I started in Minneapolis/ St Paul, a place where my mother [...]
From a Barrel Racer to a Sculptor
Location: Chicago Mileage: 5,160 Meal: Spicy kielbasa and rice (I made a worthwhile exception to meatless fare) Music: “Sweet Home Chicago” by the Blues Brothers Driving across Ohio and Illinois requires patience. The incessant roadwork prohibits speeding, multiple tollbooths deplete wallets, and there is wind so fierce it threatens to steer you off the road. [...]
An interview with Singer/Songwriter Clare Burson
No travel details to display; An interview from a concert past, memories of melody in NYC When a friend in New York suggested I go to Joe’s Pub to see his friend perform, I agreed. Clare Burson was releasing a new CD, titled Silver and Ash, as a tribute to her grandmother’s escape from Holocaust [...]