Things People Give Me #33 and #34

For the past 7 months or so I've been volunteering with a group of middle school kids who were going on an exchange trip to their sister city in Kusatsu, Shiga-ken, Japan. I got involved because one of the organizers/chaperones is my neighbor as well as the mother of a girl I went to school with from elementary through high school. The group returned from their 10-day trip last week, and my neighbor invited me over to show me pictures and tell me all about their experience. They visited a number of elementary and junior high schools in that city, and one of the schools greeted each visitor with a hand-folded origami bookmark. My neighbor let me have hers, as well as a box of tea that she bought while there. Thanks, Ms. Sturgis!





Today I received a free lunch bag from my bank, as a token of gratitude for being a member for 15 years. And I was so confused. Fifteen years? Since when did I....? And then I remembered that I've been with the same bank since elementary school, when my mom signed me up for the "little savers" program (or whatever it was called), where they let us kids open bank accounts and make deposits once a week to teach us about saving. I might just give the lunch bag to her, since she's the reason why I have the account in the first place. Thanks, Ma! And thanks to my bank!

Things People Give Me #32

When your best friend since 2nd grade has a Netflix account and you don't, and she invites you over to her family's house to spend the day watching What Happened to Monday and the first season of 'Stranger Things'

...and when you arrive you're greeted with a large hot honey lemon tea with two sugars from Tim Horton's, plus warm jiffy cornbread muffins that your friend made herself, plus other snacks

... and your friend insists you lay out on the big couch and lays a blanket over you that she'd warmed up in the dryer just for this occasion

...and then her parents come downstairs to join the binge-watching party, and when dinnertime comes they make hot sausages and tater tots and salad and everything is so so so good

...and you're reminded of how necessary it is to cherish people who make you feel safe and welcome and free to laugh as loudly as you please, and how necessary it is to spend time with said people

...and you're reminded that God has called all of us to LIVE, and you been slippin'.

Thank y'all.

Things People Give Me #29-31 (Office Edition)

I haven't done one of these in over six months, so I'm sure I've received plenty of things in the meantime that I neglected to appreciate fully. But recently I've received a few gifts from co-workers in particular, so I wanted to take time to acknowledge them. The names mentioned are not real ones, though they do refer to very real, and kind, people.

First up, two of my co-workers went to the Pacific Northwest on a business trip a couple weeks ago, and one of them bought this keychain just for me. It certainly doesn't hurt when a city's major colors also happen to be your first and second favorite colors ever! Thanks, Anita!

Back in December, my boss's boss had everyone participate in Secret Santa by giving compliments instead of gifts. Each of us had to write something nice about every member of the team, and then send them to my boss's boss. Everyone then received their own list, compiled by her, of all the nice things that were written about them. That was December. Last week a package of mouse pads arrived at the office, each customized with each person's list of compliments from the Secret Santa activity.  To be honest, I'd thought the activity was corny and unnecessary from the beginning, but it was representative of the team's character which I've gotten used to by now (excessive compliments to compensate for non-excessive duckets). Plus, my boss's boss likes to put a lot of though and care into her presents, so I corny or not, I couldn't not appreciate it. Thanks, Renn!

Speaking of last week, a new employee joined the team, filling the in-office team roster for the first time in many months. Lovely woman, talkative, young but especially young at heart. I'm not sure if she's still trying to ingratiate herself with us or if she's just this type of person, but at the end of her first week she gave everyone a card and a piece of Brazilian candy to express her gratitude for the warm welcome. Thanks, Drew!

Things People Give Me #28

For various reasons I haven't gone into the specifics of where I work or what I do, but basically I work in recruiting. Technically I'm not a recruiter, but rather I gather all the information that the recruiters whom I'm paired with need in order to do what they do.

Our team is split between the Americas team/company headquarters here in the states, the Asia team (with members based in the Bay Area, China and Hongkong), and the Europe/Africa/Middle East team (with members based in England and Paris). This past week the head recruiter for Asia, the head recruiter for Europe, and the boss of the entire worldwide recruiting team paid a week-long visit to HQ to touch base with everyone here, get acquainted with employees they hadn't met in person yet, and of course, work.

Well one morning, our collective boss went around to all the members of the recruiting team to give each of us a golden starfish paperweight, carefully wrapped in tissue and marked with a glittery tag that read, "[Name of person] - Star Recruiter".

Now, when it comes to work I am very serious. Even if, for instance, I don't care very much about what I'm doing, if that's the task that I have to do, and I've got no where else to be but this cubicle for the next eight hours, then that's what I concentrate on to make the day go by. I do not come to socialize or make friends, I come to sit down, get things done and leave. I am by no means anti-social. But I like to be able to focus, and idle fraternizing is not conducive to my particular stye of productivity.

The only thing is, holed up in my cubby with that mindset, I sometimes forget the environment I'm in and it slips my mind that the company culture is actually considerably open, friendly, and collaborative. On the recruiting team especially, people usually make a point of thanking each other for their contributions and making sure that their fellows feel appreciated. I should not have been surprised that our collective boss has a similarly generous character, and she even came bearing gifts.

Thanks, Renn! It was nice to finally meet you in person.

Things People Give Me #27

This past Sunday I spent the day visiting my good college friend Irene in her hometown. I hadn't seen her in a year since the last time I visited after I'd graduated undergrad, and now not only has she graduated as well but she's also on her way to the Bay Area to pursue a PhD!

Our only plans were to go see Kubo and the Two Strings (marvelous film, by the way! review coming soon!), leaving the rest of the day pretty open to do whatever else. But we ended up spending most of the day at her house. As I often am, I was deeply impressed by her and her family's kindness, and was especially astonished by her mom's hospitality! Irene's mom was making lunch for us when I arrived, and I sat at the table together with her and her parents conversing and enjoying haemul pajeon, Taiwanese tempura, miso soup, and a medley including potatoes, mushrooms, mini sausages, green beans, and onions (forgive me if this dish has a name that I'm unaware of).

When Irene and I returned from viewing Kubo at a nearby cinema, we spent a couple hours chatting, drinking lots of tea and water (I was and still am having sinus and throat issues), and baking and eating Korean sesame bread. Then her brother came home with his girlfriend and Irene's mom made dinner for the whole family and two guests, a meal which included fried rice and homemade sweet potato and satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato) chips.


It truly was the best day. Just three days prior I'd met up with another college friend who's about to move far away and embark on an new journey of her own, and Sunday was another day that made me recognize how many brilliant and compassionate human beings I have in my life. A simple, uncomplicated day full of candid conversation, laughter, food, and small gestures that reminded me, Hey, there are some extraordinarily kind people out there. And I'm blessed to know some of them personally.

To top it all off, Irene gave me a few souvenirs from her two months of traveling around Asia this summer! She wrote me a lovely note (if you don't know already, Irene is good for a well-written, thoughtful and sincere note), and included with it some Japanese candy, a sage seed, and a cute little ram-shaped ceramic pot to plant it in. "It's good to have something to take care of", she explained. She's very much into the outdoors, vegetables, herbs, gardening and the like, so it was a very Irene-like gift to give. And I appreciate it so much!

Thank you Irene and family for your warmth and top-notch hospitality. You are phenomenal people and deserve nothing but all the best things. And good luck in grad school, Li-chan! I'm sure that you'll love the Bay and that eventually it'll love you back!

Things People Give Me #26

Turns out paying it forward is rewarded sometimes.

I've been kinda neglecting myself this week and haven't been taking food to work with me the past three days. Been waking up feeling like I just want to get up and get out, so I go to work unbothered, resolving to tap away all day at that computer and not be fazed by any hunger that surfaces until it's time to go home. I've done it before, so I wasn't expecting this week to be any different. Oh, but it was! On Tuesday one department had a lunch meeting and another department had an in-office party, and both had food left over, so I ended up with two full meals on someone else's dime. Then yesterday, in return for making a work-related connection for some people I was handed a Panera gift card and told, "Have lunch on me today". And then today, one of those people gave me a small package of gratitude from their mom. A card, a brownie, a lottery ticket, and a penny to scratch it with. 

What a surprise, it was free food all around for me this week!  I'm not so adept at asking for things, but if it's offered I will gladly take it. Thanks to Barb, Jess, Mrs. L, and my overly-prepared co-workers. I was being lazy and stubborn but still ended up fed thanks to y'all!

Things People Give Me #25

My friend from high school is currently living and working in Germany, and we've been exchanging messages occasionally to keep abreast of what each of us is up to. This morning I woke up to a new message from her, and I enjoyed it so much that I asked her for permission to share it, with minor omissions and whatnot. It makes me so glad when people trust me with their thoughts and tell me things like these. It's a lengthy offering of honesty and reflections on applying to grad school, selling yourself, teaching, progressing at a job you might not have felt cut-out for, and discovering what you like and want to do most. Very timely and relevant for other 20-somethings like us who might be struggling in this wonky phase of post-graduation or preparing for post-graduation. For your reading pleasure:

[her original message]

 Hi Danielle, see? It took me more than 3 weeks to respond. How are you? It's been a busy month for me. Although we had winter break until the 11th, I still felt really busy. I've been working on my grad school apps this whole month. U of [Whatnot] wanted a 4-6 page Statement of Purpose AND a 1-2 page Personal Statement!! Too much!!! I am a really slow (and reluctant) writer so it always takes so long. For some reason, I don't have any sort of writing process and I always feel lost when I write. Somehow I can't get my thoughts together because I have so many. And especially because this was an application essay, I felt really under pressure because it determines the next two years of my life. It's just so hard to sell yourself honestly, you know? How do I know what I would contribute? How do I know my strengths and weaknesses? They are asking us to know ourselves and communicate a coherent image of ourself to the admissions committee, but in all honesty, people aren't all that coherent. They are complex and inconsistent. Trying to project a coherent self just feels like a lie and I can't write if I feel like I'm bullshitting. So anyway, it was super hard. I had to ask a friend to help me brainstorm and focus on specific aspects of myself before I could really get the app done. But it got done eventually. Now I'm working on my U of [Whatnot] one and it's smoother sailing because it's not as long and I feel like I've already organized my thoughts when writing my U of [Whatnot] one. What's challenging about this essay is trying to use the Canadian spellings of things. But it's not that big of a deal. 

Teaching is alright. Definitely different from what I expected. Have you taught anyone before? Stood in front of a classroom and sweated? I thought that with my years of tutoring experience, I'd be well-prepared, but teaching is a different game altogether. It's psychological. It's figuring out how to motivate people to want to learn. It's learning group dynamics, which people work well together, who distracts whom, considering their age and maturity level (The 9th graders are in the gender-split phase where the boys refuse to interact with the girls and everyone is apathetic because it's cool. Little do they know that the world is not driven by apathy, but by passion). It's recognizing that different classes have different personalities and you have to be ready to adapt, be flexible, get the quiet classes to participate and the loud ones to calm down. It's learning that your plan never goes as expected. As a student, you never realize how much planning a teacher does. They structure the way the class runs. I'm always surprised by how much authority I have too. Whatever I plan for the class is what we do. It's a weird, new experience, but I'm happy I get to do this for 10 months. It's not exactly my cup of tea, but I'm learning a lot, and it's helping me strengthen my weaknesses. I hate public speaking, dealing with discipline problems, raising my voice to be heard, but I'm being forced to. And I know all of it will get easier as I go along.

I think the best part of this whole experience is the freetime. I was really lost my senior year. I was having panic attacks the summer before my last year, which I had never had before, because thinking about the future and not having something concrete was really scary to think of. It's like you've been walking around this whole time and suddenly you come to a cliff and you look down and panic because you don't know what's down there. I really felt useless, having studied German. Like, German is a good to know if and only if you have a main skill too, which I don't. So I panicked all the way through applying to the [Whatnot] and the Austrian version of the [Whatnot]. And then I breathed a bit when I got the grant because now the cliff was a bit further away. And now I'm here and the freetime has allowed me to really think of the stuff I want to do. You spend like 16 years straight through being educated that you barely have time to think about your own passions and your long-term goals because you have so many short-term goals in front of you (finishing that paper, studying for that exam, doing required readings). Once you have free time, you fill that time with what you want to do and it helps you see yourself so much clearerly. Having time to just think and reflect was really valuable because I realized that I really like building things, designing stuff, figuring out how things work, programming. But most importantly I really like to help people. And maybe one day I could help more people if I had more money. Tip better, donate to Wikipedia, stuff like that. And I can't do that stuff with just a degree in German. I want to learn to make programs /websites/applicaitons that help others (it also pays well). It became totally logical that I should apply for a Master's so I did. And I hope I get in so I can continue to work on my goals. 

What have you been up to now without the bookshop? I too worked in retail before and I know I can do better than be walked on by people with money all day errday. So can you. What have you been doing with your freetime? Volunteering? Finding another job? I wouldn't be too hard on yourself either because like I said, freetime also has its value ;) I hope you are doing well despite the insecurity, and I have absolute trust that you will figure it out eventually :) Take care!

Sorry I wrote so much haha! honest writing is the only writing I like doing

[in response to my response to her original message]

Aww, I'm glad you liked my message - of course you can reproduce it if you want haha! I'm applying to the School of [Whatnot] because they take people from basically any major since [whatnot] is an interdisciplinary field. I am an interdisciplinary at heart, so it should be a good fit. Plus I will learn how to program and design applications. And then I will finally have a main skill to pair with my German. I'm applying as a citizen and hoping the spellings don't matter because I have been integrated too long in American society d: I really enjoyed reading your message too! And never worry about "making things about" you. That's what friendship's about! (among other things). I'll send you another message next month, but until then, keep doing you in all your writing, cooking, reading, twerking glory ;)

Things People Give Me #24

Today I received a card from my friend Kristi! She took it back to our pen pal days by writing a nice note and mailing it to me, just to check in and say hello. We met at a fine arts camp called Blue Lake during the summer before 8th grade, and from there we kept in touch as pen pals. Then email and Facebook and texting happened, so we don't write each other in letter form as often. She asked for my address last week but didn't say that she'd send me anything, and then I forgot about it all so this was a very pleasant surprise. Thanks, Kristi! 

Things People Give Me #23

As of last night I am now the owner of a Casio PX-120 digital piano, all thanks to the benevolence of my favorite family friend/pretend aunt Ms. Yvette!

Back in July after I'd just ended the jazz workshop, for some reason Ma, Ms. Yvette, and got on the subject of pianos and Ms. Yvette remembered that she had a keyboard collecting dust in her basement. She said it was all mine as soon as she could find all the requisite parts! Last night Ma dropped me off at the Lianne La Havas concert and hung out with Ms. Yvette at her place nearby, and then Ma took me back there after picking me up so that my famished self could eat their leftover pizza and rib tips. Once I got there Ms. Yvette revealed that she'd found the parts to the keyboard, and that I could take it home right then and there, free of charge! So after setting it up to make sure it worked, Ma and I packed it into the car and now it's mine! I'd never really wanted a piano or keyboard, but now that I have one I'm so excited! I have something more accurate to tinker with when writing songs now! And Ma might even start back up playing the piano again!

Thank you so much, Ms. Yvette! We'll have to come up with a way to repay you somehow.  

Things People Give Me #21 and #22

Haven't done one of these in a while, and coincidentally both of the items are work related.

Yesterday I rang up a customer who bought a small journal to add to his collection because he uses them to "jot things down at work all the time". I heard that and didn't think anything about it, until he continued to tell me that he's a chef, he used to work for The Food Network, and he's trying to spread love for bacon and cooking around with his new book, Bacon Man!. He even made a point to show off his faded bacon wallet, which I hadn't noticed at first. Then he handed me this card promoting his book before thanking me and leaving. Now, I'm not much of a bacon enthusiast, and since I don't have the Kindle app I probably won't be checking out this book as I'd promised. But that's no reason for y'all not to, if y'all are interested! It's cheap ($1 ebook), and contains 20 recipes−ranging from breakfast to dessert−all of which include bacon! I'm sharing this because I liked the clear photo of bacon sizzling used for the card, and because I appreciated this customer's pleasant attitude and tenacity. Thanks Jay, and good luck to you!

The next one is pretty self-explanatory, just read the note below. Every week someone on the bookstore staff is recognized by a co-worker for demonstrating any of the seven core values listed at the bottom of this nomination form. And I guess this week was my turn! Thanks, Steve! And thanks to the lady I helped last week who called! It's not too often that we get people calling just to say good things, so you are very much appreciated!

Things People Give Me #20

top to bottom: Lemon, Strawberry, Nougat, Cola, and O.G. Caramel

Carambar. Portmanteau of "caramel" and "bar". Akin to a French version of Tootsie Rolls or Laffy Taffy, "except wayyy better", explained my friend Nyasha.

Today was the last day of  my French Linguistics class, and our professor ended the turmoil with a game, followed by Carambars for everyone. According to her, they're the best French candy ever.

To be honest I don't even eat candy. Apparently I care so little for it that I hadn't seen nor heard anything about Carambars during all of my two and a half months in Paris last year. Seems it flew right under my radar, as I'm sure many things did. But today I took one of each flavor that was available so I could try them all. Which one did I like best? It's a tie between "Caranougouat" (middle, with a tiny nougat filling) and "l'originel Caramel" (bottom). 

Merci Professuer Violin-Wigent pour les bonbons! J'ai beacoup appris dans votre cours, meme si je trouve toujours que la linguistique est très difficle!

Thanks for the candy, Prof Violin-Wigent! I learned a lot in your class, even though I still think linguistics is really hard!

Things People Give Me #19

While I was in class this afternoon, I received an email from my dorm about picking up a package. Color me slightly confused. Huh? I didn't order anything... Reading through the email, I noticed a line at the end indicating that this package contained a "perishable item", and that I should come get it as soon as possible. Color me very confused. Perishable item... like food? Somebody sent me food? Ma sent me a care package for finals week that one time back in freshman year, but... nah, I don't think she's doing that again. But seriously, who would send me food? Watch it be something I don't like so I won't even be able to enjoy it. Pssh, I might not be able to eat it anyway because a stranger sent it! What if it has poison in it? How would said stranger mysteriously get my address anyway? And why send poisoned food to me of all people? 

Imaginative guessing aside, between classes I made my way back to my dorm to see about this mystery at the front desk. I hand the girl my student ID, she looks my package up on her computer, she goes to the back to get it. And then comes back around carrying a big ol' bouquet of purple flowers, in a real glass vase, with a purple ribbon on it! Now color me all kinds of confused! Exceedingly and abundantly confused! In my head, my immediate response was, Whose is this?? She needs to go put that back, 'cause I know that's not for me. The girl saw my face and chuckled, "You weren't expecting this, were you?" Not at all, not at all.

Usually when I retrieve a package I turn around and leave as soon as they hand it to me, but since I was so sure that this bouquet wasn't mine─and since I noticed there was a card stuck in it─I stayed put. I  opened the card in front of her just so that when I told her that she was mistaken, she would be right there and ready to take the flowers back. The card read:

Danielle, congratulations on your graduation! Sorry I can't be there but know that I am so very proud of you! You have a very bright future ahead of you so "walk" with pride! Take care!

Yvette Stephenson

Ah, so they were for me. Ms. Yvette sent them!

She already told me a few days ago that she can't make either of my commencement ceremonies because she'll be away on vacation, and I told her it was cool, no worries. I thought that was the end of it. But I guess she still wanted to do something nice for me, so she sent me this early token of congratulations. No one's ever sent me a bouquet of this size before! How beautiful, and thoughtful, and timely! Right after my carnations from the Parade of Honors died (see bottom right of the top photo), the magnolias on the tree behind my building bloomed, and I was thinking how nice it'd be to have live flowers in my room again. And bam, my mom's friend/my "aunt" surprises me with these. Now my room smells like a garden. I'm so happy! I'm really starting to have a thing for flowers these days, and this is just helping me get more and more into them. Thanks, Ms. Yvette! And thanks Hyacinth House for the lovely arrangement!

Things People Give Me #18

Yesterday morning I went to my French professor's office to turn in a paper that I'd forgotten to write over spring break (woops...), and he handed me this book in return. It's a copy of the play Hiroshima mon amour (lit. Hiroshima My Love) by Marguerite Duras. Set in Hiroshima after the dropping of the atomic bomb, apparently it's a series of conversations between a French woman and Japanese man who are ending their relationship whilst discussing the complexities of memory and trauma.

This particular professor knows that I study Japanese, and since he "didn't have use for it anymore", he'd decided to give Hiroshima mon amour to me. I was quite touched that he remembered this interest of mine and thought to let me have this book. I've only been reading French literature since sophomore year, and thought I've gotten good at it I could always use more practice. And plus, with me there's no such thing as too many books! So I'm happy to have this one to add to my collection.

Coincidentally  in my Japanese lit class we've been reading a novel about the bombing of Hiroshima (Ibuse Masuji's Black Rain) for the past three weeks, so receiving Hiroshima mon amour now is almost eery timing. AND, to add to the creep factor, the lead actor in the movie adaptation of this play is the same lead actor in Woman in the Dunes, a film we recently watched in said Japanese lit class.

(Side note: I've noticed since high school that this happens pretty often. When I  learn about something significant or spend a considerable amount of time studying a certain topic, that same topic then frequently and randomly appears through other mediums in my daily life. Like in an episode of a TV show, or a joke on the radio, or something I read on the internet, or a conversation that I overhear. Or in this instance, a book that's gifted to me. Not sure if this is kismet or just a coincidence, i.e. me being more sensitive and observant of these nuances because I have that subject on the brain so much at the time. But anywho...)

Merci beaucoup Professeur Ahmed de m'avoir donné ce livre!  Ça a l'air très intéressant et j'ai hâte de le lire!

Thanks Professeur Ahmed for the book! It seems really interesting and I look forward to reading it!

Things People Give Me #17

Late this past Saturday I was at Hilena's dorm room trying to prepare for open mic night. Basically I was just singing through songs that I've written and getting her feedback on them and whether she thought they'd be good to sing on Tuesday. 

Hilena's definitely not a slob, but the order in her room had definitely digressed since the last time I was there. And so while I was idly sliding my feet along the carpet I happened to step on this coin, and she let me keep it! It's an Ethiopian 10 cent coin that Hilena brought back from one of her trips to visit family there. And while she insisted that it was basically useless (worth less than one US penny), I thought it was so cool! I still have money that I've kept from going to Quebec, Japan, France, and England, so getting my hands on another foreign currency is exciting to me. Now I have one more to add to my collection! Thanks, Hilena!

Things People Give Me #16

Today was my last day at my internship, and much to my surprise my boss, supervisor, and co-workers sent me off with a card with their messages written inside, a $25 gift card, hugs and hand-clapping, thanks, and well-wishes. I'd expected to just say a quick goodbye and walk out the door like I always did at the end of my "shift", so this was totally unexpected.

To be honest I feel bad that I didn't make more of an effort to develop camaraderie with the people in my office. They're such casual and good-humored people. But I was always focused on coming in, sitting down, and doing my work, and unfortunately I wasn't even able to finish the project I was given to work on all this time. Still, it was nice to hear that y'all liked having me around and that y'all appreciated my contributions. I appreciate your kindness.

Thanks for everything Debbie, Dawn, Lydia and Josh! Shoutout to the Arts Council of Greater Lansing! Some mornings were more difficult for me than others, but I learned a lot and I really enjoyed the work I was doing. I will keep in touch!

Things People Give Me #15

Here's another email from Ms. Yvette. She emailed me yesterday to wish me a Happy Belated Birthday, but of course she had plenty of other things to say too. I read the email to Sue today and she said, "Wow. Everyone should have a Ms. Yvette in their lives." And I agree.

[subject: Happy Belated Birthday!]

Hey Danielle.  Happy Belated Birthday!   I don’t know why I keep thinking your birthday is on the 5^th instead of the 3^rd.  Well I hope you had a wonderful day yesterday!  Thinking of you today, made me think of the time you spent the night with me when you were around 5 or 6.  I could not believe your vocabulary back then.  I kept saying to myself “This little girl has a vocabulary of a grown up”!  You amazed me then as you are amazing me now.  You and I talked until 3:30 am, about anything from TV commercials to wearing make-up and dresses!  Remind me to tease you!  You told me that night that you would never wear make-up!

I still haven’t seen you!  When are you going to be in town? I just shot your Mom an emailing asking the same thing, but haven’t heard back yet.  You know we have much to talk about!  Even though I was reading your blog while you were in  Paris, I want to hear about your experiences first hand.  I must tell you Danielle, you certainly changed my mind about your overseas travels.  And you know how I felt about you travelling ALONE  overseas  (“TAKEN”)!  But  I couldn’t wait to read your blog, to see what fascinating things you were doing, people you were meeting and sights you were seeing.  And  Even though I didn’t like the fact that you were in a night club LATE AT NIGHT,  I was disappointed that you didn’t get up on stage and sing before you returned home.  Danielle, you have the most beautiful voice!  I was stunned, mesmerized and mystified when I heard you sing!  Where did that beautiful voice come from?

I surely hope your are continuing to sing.  I can’t remember if your Mom told me that you weren’t singing anymore with your partner that played the guitar.  And I know you did not re-join the gospel choir at your school.  But please, find some way to sing!  You have a God-given talent that should be heard!

Even my nephews said you have a beautiful voice.  And my older nephew is the worst critic of all.  I think he thinks he’s Simon Cowl from American Idol.  But of course he had a “recommendation” for you to Improve your sound.  He said you should always stand up when you sing. It gives you more power and better use of your diaphragm.  He and his brother went to a performing art school  and they think they know everything about music.  Well I went to the same performing art school and I  think I know a thing or 2 about music and I think your voice is heavenly! 

Well, I hope you are getting excited about your upcoming graduation.  I know I am!  I feel like a proud Auntee!  And don’t sweat feeling any anxiety about not knowing what you want to do when you graduate.  We all had that feeling.  I know I did.  And unfortunately for me, I got into a career field that I knew nothing about, and still don’t!  But my good government job afforded me the opportunity to travel throughout the world and I appreciate that. I would have never ventured out and travelled to Iraq at my age!  And I’m not telling you this, so that you will “settle” for something you don’t want to do.  By all means go for your dreams and follow your heart.  You will definitely be more fulfilled and look forward to a prosperous career. And there is no doubt in my mind that you will do just that!  Can I get an AMEN??!!!

Oh, I must tell you that I was going thru a lot of containers I have in my basement.  Luckily, I kept all of the ticket stubs and programs from all of your school performances!  I sure do miss seeing you perform!  Especially when you played in the band with that crazy band director you had!  He was hilarious!

 I’m gonna find the time to put all of this in a scrap book!

Well I hope to see you soon Danielle!  Take care!

Ms Yvette

Things People Give Me #14

I got this today, which was my birthday, but this isn't a birthday present (something I was supposed to receive) so I'm writing about it. 

Our last project in my Japanese class was a group skit where we had to use lots keigo (respectful language) and present it in front of the class today. There were six groups, and everyone voted for "Best Group" and "Best Pronunciation". I was the person who won "Best Pronunciation", and so I got first pick of all the random prizes that sensei had brought from Japan/Novi. I saw this odd little trinket, and knew it was for me!

My prize is a miniature  琴 (koto), made of wood and yarn. Koto is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument, and I actually got to watch a demonstration and try playing a song on one when I was in Japan last year. Sensei saw what I chose and talked about it as if it was just a weird piece of junk, like it was kind of embarrassing and useless but she just threw it in with the rest of the prizes anyway not expecting anyone to pick it. But I think it's cool!

Thanks to my classmates for voting for me, and thanks to Endo-sensei for providing prizes like this one!

Things People Give Me #13

Below is an email that I received today from my mom's longtime friend Ms. Yvette, aka my kinda-but-not-really aunt. We were supposed to catch up and talk about my experiences in Paris during Labor Day weekend, but we weren't able to get together during that time. So she sent me this instead.

[subject: Hello from Detroit!]

Hello Ms Senior!  How’s it going?  Hate I missed you Labor Day weekend.  You know I have much to ask you about your adventures in Paris.  I was reading your blog when you were there, so I know pretty much how it went.  I could tell you didn’t like your job or your boss!  But I was so proud to read that you had a great work ethic.  Don’t let anyone tell you that you are too serious or work too hard.  That’s a compliment if you ask me.  So keep being serious and have integrity in everything you do.  I know you got these excellent traits from your MOTHER!

I was so worried when I read you were going to England to visit your friend.  I emailed Miriam and she told me how you text her when you left, when you got there and when you came back!  I told Miriam “ you raised Danielle right”!  I’m so glad you were in constant contact with your Mom when you were travelling.  That is a sign of maturity!

I was also worried when you met that African guy.  I met a few African guys when I was in Iraq.  After they get to know you, they start asking for things.  One had the audacity to ask me to “buy” him an Ipad.  But after I thought about it, I said to myself, “it's no way Danielle will let anyone swindle her out of any money, not the way she hates to spend money!  And I had to laugh!

Hope this year will be all that you hope it will be.  I know  you are still contemplating what you want to do after school, but knowing you, you will find your way Danielle.  You’ve got nerves of steel!  I would have never done half the things you have accomplished in your “young” life.  So be proud of all you have done!  And “KEEP DOING”  I’m expecting great things from you!

Take care and God bless!

Ms Yvette

PS Send me your address so I can drop a few dollars to you.  I know you are probably sitting on a fortune!   And I love that about you!  Keep being frugal and don’t get any credit cards!

Still got an opinion on everything, still got that sense of humor! It's nice to know that you haven't changed. Thanks for thinking of me, Ms. Yvette!

And to anyone reading this, I highly recommend that you give a big hug or send a big "Thank you" to the folks in your life who encourage you whether you ask for it/believe it/remember it or not. Encouragement is hard to come by these days, so folks like these are golden!

Things People Give Me #12 (Paris Edition!)

I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned all of these gifts individually, but I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude again for all that I received while I was in Paris. Who knew that the French people I got to know would be so generous!

 

Thanks to R-M for these earrings, this elephant figurine, and this ceramic thingamajig made in Limoges!

Thanks to M and R-M for these clothes and accessories, respectively!

Thanks to my boss at La Métisse for giving me all these CDs!

 
Thanks to R for giving me this book!






Thank you all for your generosity and kindness! I hadn't expected to receive anything from anyone before I'd gone to Paris, but I ended up coming back home with all of these new personal treasures. Merci à tous!

Things People Give Me #11

The three sisters who live used to live down the hall from me left another card on my door! I came back from my last final this afternoon to start packing up my car, and there it was.

The inside reads: Wishing You a Very Bright Summer! So sweet.

Thanks again Susan, Anna, and Heidi! Have a great summer! And congrats to Heidi on graduating this weekend!