This week I hit the magic number of 3000. The 3K hours needed to sit for the MFT licensing exam. So now I start the process of studying for the exam. I hope to be licensed by the end of the year. This part of the journey is nearing an end. It was a long road with lot of highs, and a few lows.
Now I'm in Toronto for a week with plenty of time to think about the future.
I'm ready.
Tomorrow will be our final day in Alaska. Not sure what to say but other than it's been an amazing trip. Alaska is really the last great frontier. I had many crazy experiences here, things I never thought I'd do. All the people we met here, and I mean all, were really friendly and welcoming. I hope to come back some day, but I am looking forward to coming home, thawing out, and getting back in the mix. Some more pics..
Before I give the brief Alaska Update I wanted to ask my 6 loyal readers for some help. I'm going to start blogging for OC Family magazine and I need to come up with a name for my blog/column. I will be writing about various problems that effect families, couples, or adolescents, and various ways around these challenges from a poststructuralist/narrative approach. So what's a catchy title that would keep you coming back? If you're too shy to leave a comment please email me your much needed suggestion to narrativechris {at} gmail.com. Thanks!
Alaska is awesome and beautiful. The Iditirod has been a amazing experience. The musher community is very inclusive and friendly. We've had a great time making new friends and taking in the experience. We now head to Alyeska to play in the snow. I'm sure I'll update later. Some pics:
I'm about 9 months away from this. Not a mid-life crisis, just going to win a bet and make a few changes in the process.
..And so is resistance.
Sorry for the lack of stuff around here. I'm trying to write a review of Jeffrey Nealon's Foucault Beyond Foucault for possible inclusion in a journal, and that's taking up all my brain power. Well, that and the fact I'm in one of my "want to crawl in a hole and disappear" moods.
All the art fairs are happening in LA this weekend so that might be a good diversion. I'll snap out of it. Promise.
What is hopelessness insisting that you understand about your life? - Kaethe Weingarten
A friend posted the following on Facebook today. I've been re-reading Kaethe Weingarten's writings on hope, and the need to move from an individualistic view of hope, to acknowledging hope as the responsibility of the community, a view of hope as something we do together. Weingarten believes that hope and despair are unevenly distributed in lives, and positions us differently and calls for different actions. One of these actions is encouraging and supporting others to resist the powerful pull of fear .. as a way that we can do hope together. Weingarten also believes that hope is a resource we hoard at our peril, just as the effects of hopelessness are profound, so are the effects of hope. Weingarten believes hope to be a human rights issue, and so do I. So over the next 30 days I will participate in Chloe's move away from fear and isolated hope in her life and witness, offer, and imagine hope with her.
This is me earlier today right after I thought I broke my arm. Fortunately it's not broken, just in a sling for the next few days. Allegedly I can play again next weekend. It hurt so bad I wanted to throw up. I love hockey.
So it’s that time of year when the top ten lists start hitting the interwebs. Lists of the critic’s favorite movies, albums, plays, etc. We are also fast approaching the turn of a New Year, a time where many a resolution is made and then promptly broken. I thought I would try and do a combo thing. Stuff I thought was pretty exceptional over the last year coupled with some of my hopes and dreams for the coming year. My own hybrid ten list if you please. So here it is:
Art: My art life took a hit during grad school and in some ways I wasn’t sure if I was going to get it back. I have a lot of artist friends and many of them would share with me how they have had to take time to undo what the pursuit of a MFA had done to their creative practice. Because I was entering into a different discipline I didn’t think that I would be affected, boy was I wrong. (On many levels.) On a whim, I started painting this year. Something I’ve been threatening to do for years. Thankfully the painting reignited the art flame. Some of the projects I have planned for the coming year include a re-start of the OC Art Blog. I plan to spend more energy writing about art, the process, the people, the exhibitions, and the craft. This blog might suffer in the shift of energy, but it’s time. A re-launch party is planned for February in the Santa Ana Artists Village, so look for announcements soon. I also plan to show work again. I’m going to show one of my photo based works in the Centered on the Center show this January at the HB Art Center and I have a new project in development (with help from Naida Osline) that I hope to show at Soundwalk next year in the fall. And finally, the project I’m most proud of is the Hoff Foundation. Formed by Michele and I as a grassroots private foundation to support artists in a difficult environment, the foundation has awarded over $30K to various artists and arts organizations located in Orange County and Long Beach since 2008. Today I received an email from an artist who we notified yesterday that she was one of our 4th quarter grant recipients, and in it she said “I have literally been jumping around the house I’m so excited.” There’s not much better than that in my opinion.
The Narrative Project of Orange County: So many doors flew open last year as Anne and I started out on the process of establishing the Project as a non-profit that it started to get a little scary. First the Public Law Center of OC stepped up, and then it was UCI’s Economic and Community Development Law Clinic. We both feel blessed and fortunate, but we also know that there is tremendous need in our community for low cost mental health services. As the year came to a close we began a conversation with our first potential partner, a local soup kitchen that serves 450+ homeless, seniors and working poor daily. Hopefully as 2012 progresses I will have much good news to report, including our newly acquired status as a 501(c)3 and new community counseling partnerships. Stay tuned!
Poetry: I wrote two drafts of poems in 2011 and finished neither. Ugh. That has got to change. My intention in 2012 is to write enough new stuff so that I can submit an application to attend the Poetry Conference at the Frost Place in New Hampshire in July. I love the Frost Place and have been there several times with Michele during trips to New England. Whenever we’re near the White Mountains we always pay the Frost Place a visit just to walk the woods, where there are plaques displaying poems written by Robert Frost while he was in Franconia. It’s a little slice of heaven on earth. I’ve wanted to attend the conference for the last couple of years but couldn’t make it happen. I hope it happens this year.
Spanish: Call it ambitious, but I want to learn to speak Spanish, or at least start the process. Michele and I came dangerously close to hiring a tutor this last year but we couldn’t make the schedules fit. Michele is taking group classes at this point while I’m falling farther behind. Trying to decide if I should do the tutor thing or take a class at the local community college. Opinions?
Fitness: Yeah…. exercise. We’ll see. Now where did I put that Cigar? Oh, next to that cookie.
Midnight in Paris: OK, a movie made the list. Woody Allen captured the city of my dreams in its entire poetic, mysterious, and romantic splendor, while dispensing the all too forgotten message that the golden age is now. The best movie set in Paris since Amelie. I’m going to live in Paris some day dammit! That dream just wont die.
Travel: Michele and I spent last New Years Eve at a street festival on the lake in Zurich, Switzerland. We rang in the New Year with thousands of Europeans from many different countries. It was one of the best New Year celebrations of my life. In March Michele and I will be going to Alaska for the first time to ride in the first leg of the Iditarod, otherwise known as “Last Great Race on Earth.” Since meeting Michele, travel has become a very important part of my life. I’m not sure of any better way to “open a mind” then to spend time visiting with different cultures and experiencing different viewpoints. I hope to continue to travel to new places, experience new things, meet new people, until it’s time to call it a day on this mortal coil.
Private Practice: So the travel piece is a nice segue way into something I’ve been thinking more and more about lately. How am I going to make a living in this new career of mine? How am I going to be able to keep doing the things I truly value, like the foundation, travel, provide low cost counseling, etc.? I bought myself a window of time with the sale of the business, but it’s time to start getting serious about how I’m going to make this all come about. Unfortunately, I need to make money. So now I am considering how I step into all that is required to build a successful private practice. This last year my private practice work grew slowly but surely. Toward the end of the year I was seeing clients in the double digits weekly, thanks to many great referrals. (Thanks!) By all accounts my first year in a private practice internship was a great success, or at least I think so. But now I feel the need to consider the economic realities of building a practice. This includes raising fees for new clients, building yet another website for my private practice, and working at expanding my visibility. I know what you’re thinking, how much more visible can I get? Well, it’s probably more about getting visible in the ways that build a private practice. I’m not sure what this will look like yet, but these are all things at the front of my mind as we enter the New Year. Should get interesting.
Family: One of the more exceptional things that happened this year actually happened two days ago when my little brother Tim let me know that his wife Kelly was expecting their first child. This is a BIG deal. Tim was the last hope that my parents would become grandparents. My older brother Michael wasn’t going to have children, and either were Michele and I. Tim and Kelly were the last hope, and after trying for a while, Success! We don’t know boy or girl yet but it doesn’t matter. I’m just so excited to have a new addition to the family, and I’m looking forward to the role of uncle. That is going to be one spoiled kid.
Miscellaneous: There are several new exciting things that will get started in 2012. I will officially start my teaching career in the coming year. After the initial self-doubt and panic, I hope to settle in and have a lot of fun. Can’t wait. I also start with the City of Huntington Beach’s Human Relations Task Force in January. My hockey league starts in January as well. I played my first pick-up game in quite some time last week and man was it a blast. More on that later I’m sure. This year I should probably figure out if I’m going to go for that PhD or not. I’m sure there’s more but I’ll try and save some stuff for later posts. If you’re still reading this, thank you. I hope your new year brings much possibility and I appreciate you taking the time to read this blog. Hopefully you’ll come back some more next year!
Happy New Year.
I did not open one present this season, that was by design and I'm happy about it. However, today my little brother and his wife Kelly let me know that I'm going to be an uncle for the first time. That was a gift. I'm going to be the best uncle a kid ever had. Merry Christmas. Some photos from the day..
This morning I was notified that I was being recommended for appointment to the City of Huntington Beach's Human Relations Task Force by Council Members Joe Shaw and Mathew Harper. The appointment will be made at the 1/17/12 HB City Council meeting. The Human Relations Task Force promotes and celebrates diversity in our community through education and understanding. It also works closely with the Police Department to strictly enforce and monitor all incidents that could be classified as hate crimes. I'm really looking forward to this new role and the opportunity to bring together and make more visible all the rich cultural diversity that is located in our community. Plus, there might be some art stuff involved.
For a nation of talkers and self-confessors, we are terrible when it comes to talking about God. The discourse has been co-opted by the True Believers, on one hand, and Angry Atheists on the other. What about the rest of us? - Eric Weiner
Wanted to point DB readers to a couple of opinion pieces in the NY Times I found interesting today. Earlier this week I was having lunch with my Australian friend Ellie and she shared an interesting perspective about how we in America have mixed politics and religion in a way that wasn't recognizable to her or her experience of her home country. In the article Americans: Undecided About God? Eric Weiner points to this link as one of the reasons many americans are opting out of both religion and politics. The solution? He thinks someone needs to invent a new way of being religious, a sort of entrepreneurial answer that would provide space for doubt, encourage experimentation, and allow some of us an opportunity to talk about God without embarrassment. It's worth a look HERE.
Next up we go to Africa again to learn The Art of Listening. Henning Mankell looks to Africa to re-learn the art of listening and describes how many people make the mistake of confusing information with knowledge. Take a look HERE.
image: Esther Pearl Watson
Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Michele and I are off to hide out in Las Vegas for a few days. As you can tell we're pretty traditional when it comes to Thanksgiving.
I am experiencing a good amount of gratitude these days. Lots of things coming together and lots of possibilities are in view.
This week I had my first ever teaching interview. I got hired. Looks like I'll actually start teaching Psychology undergrads in the spring or summer. Pretty cool.
The family decided this year that rather than give each other gifts we're going to pool out gift money and make several microfinance loans via KIVA.ORG in an effort to crate opportunity around the world. I'm pretty excited about that.
Like I said I'm in a good place, experiencing gratitude. I wish the same for you.
I posted this image on facebook a few days back. I thought it was a pretty humorous critique of our consumption culture. But if the truth be known, I knew all the brands, but couldn't tell you the name of one of the leaves. It kinda hurt.
I've fantasized for years about living more of my life in the outdoors. Michele has been pretty patient and supportive in my desire to get a cabin in the middle of nowhere so I would have an escape. We came the closest to actually doing something this year when a friend let us know that a place was available in Taos, NM. We didn't pull the trigger.
I bought a tent a year ago. I have not used it once. I think it's time. I'm going to learn the names of all those leaves. Who wants to go with?
Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to get together for lunch with my friend Suzanne Broughton. Because of our schedules, it seems that Suz and I can only get together once every six months. For those that don't know, Suz has been the biggest influence on me with all the online/social media stuff that I do. Suz was the one that bullied me into starting Dharmabum, getting on Twitter, and hooking me up with the OC Metro writing gig. At some point yesterday our conversation turned to the influence of Twitter. Suz is a big proponent of the power of Twitter and its potential reach. I wont bore you with all of that, but she did suggest that I get a little more detailed with my Twitter profile. There's not much you can do in a 160 characters, but surprisingly it did cause me to pause and think about who I am these days. In a nutshell this is what I came up with:
Narrative Therapy/Inquiry Practitioner. Blogger for @OCMetro Magazine, Social Entrepreneur, Community Worker, Art & Poetry Enthusiast. Test Pilot & Raconteur
Now that might not seem like such a big deal to anybody, but two pieces hit me in a enlightening way.
Social Entrepreneur: Yes, I have a long entrepreneurial background, and have even spoke about social entrepreneurship at a conference, but I never identified as a social entrepreneur. Until now. It struck me that what Anne and I are doing with the Narrative Project of Orange County is establishing a social enterprise. A low/no cost community counseling clinic that will serve our community in need. I have to say, it felt good to try on this new identity.
Community Worker: But I think it felt even better to discover that I am at a place, where at times I wasn't so sure I wanted to be, working in the community giving back. As I look back now it all makes sense, all the schooling and training, the amazing people that have influenced me and my world view, the theory, the practice, the hard times, all of it has brought me to this place where I can call myself, a community worker. I'm right where I've always wanted to be.
So who knew a conversation about Twitter would lead me here, but that's what happens when you have lunch with Suz. I suppose I should also apologize to all my friends in advance, now Suz wants to me to get on Foursquare. Sorry.
It's been a crazy week. In the midst of all the teaching stuff there has been some great news to report on the Narrative Project of OC front. Yesterday Anne and I went to UCI to meet with the crew at the Economic and Community Development Law Clinic to begin setting up the structure of the NPOC as we move toward non-profit status. I feel very fortunate that they took on the Project, and are working hard to make it happen. As it progresses I'll continue to update.
I would also like to introduce the Project's legal eagles, Christina, Susan and Katie. Thanks guys!
Tonight I had the great opportunity to go back to my alma mater Pepperdine University and give a guest lecture on narrative therapy in Dr. Amy Tuttle's MFT II class. I felt it went really well and it seemed that the class was pretty engaged in both the lecture and the exercises we did. I received a lot of great feedback which was nice because when I do these things I always hold several concerns. Two of the concerns are that I hope I represent Dr. Tuttle well because of her trust in asking me to do this, and I always want to convey how important and wonderful this way of working can be. I really began to feel comfortable doing this kind of thing tonight. It was nice to experience that. Following are some photos from tonight.
This is Brooke. She let me know at the beginning of class that she was a fan of this blog. I was surprised that there was a reader/fan in the class! Hi Brooke, thanks for the nice words, and for reading.
Hi Hoda
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