My dearest friends and family:
A
lot of you have probably been wondering, “Where in the world did Jacqueline
disappear to this year?!” It all started with those simple questions at New
Year’s… you know, resolutions. When asked what I’d do differently in 2006 that
I didn’t in 2005, my answers were:
1) Simplify life.
2) Sleep 6-8 hours a night.
Dropping the umpteen extracurricular projects that kept me from napping more than a couple hours a night took me “off the scene” in many respects. Of course, despite my Waldo hermit antics, somehow I managed to be included in some very cool events throughout the year…
Two of my photography shots with Snap Factory’s Mark Wallace displayed at the Alwun House during their February-March show. Coincidentally, my kabuki sushi platter at the Alwun House from spring 2005 resulted in me gracing the pages of Mark Greenawalt’s 2006 Bodypainting Calendar as Miss April. So who knows what will be next… you may have to go to the 24th Annual Exotic Art Show at the Alwun House (02/09/07 – 03/16/07) to find out!
In mid-March I retreated to St. David’s Holy Trinity Monastery for some quiet time with the Benedictine community. We challenged the normal hurry-rush-madness of city life and took time to breathe in the open fresh air, meditate, and observe the “great silence” together. An incredible experience among the pecan trees and monks, it was also the same crazy weekend when it snowed in Phoenix! Yes, even the heavens knew it needed to be a cold snowy day in Arizona for Jacqueline to find the quiet space of the desert mothers and fathers! I have continued my practice with a Christian meditation group on Sunday mornings at 8 AM at All Saints. Maranatha! :)
RA Sushi
hosted its second annual
Nicky’s Week
fundraiser for St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital this summer. I rallied everyone to come play
again throughout the week at different RA locations. It was fun getting folks I
hadn’t seen in a while all together to enjoy some delicious meals with proceeds
going to pediatric oncology. We surpassed last year’s stellar campaign and
raised over $76,000! I appreciate everyone’s support for a worthy cause. St.
Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families without
insurance are never asked to pay.
July was bittersweet as I contributed to the book Laid Off? Don’t Stress. A compilation of more than 20 inspiring stories about searching for passion and a new career direction after being laid off, I wrote a chapter on what I experienced after leaving MicroAge in 2001. While it reached #12 on the Amazon Top Sellers list for Careers/Job Hunting on launch day, I tumbled in mixed feelings. The Fast 4 Kids Foundation, my passion for the past two years, hadn’t survived despite lots of love and dedication from TJ Millington, myself, and a grand multitude of wonderful people who wanted to help kids with cancer. I inwardly struggled as I wondered… where had my passion gone?
I realized later that my passion in 2006 was all about creating the distinction:
“What matters to me most beyond social status or tangible abundance is that the people in my life know they are loved.”
This showed up mainly in time spent with my immediate family. I also found that I enjoyed further developing my yoga practice, deepening my involvement with All Saints Episcopal Church and singing in its Senior Choir for a sixth season. We're performing J.S. Bach's St. John Passion again this year at the 12:30 PM Good Friday service on April 6th, 2007. It's a wonderful free concert with the Phoenix Symphony at All Saints for Holy Week. Please come join us!
My
grandfather finally moved from the Bay Area to Phoenix in June after multiple
hospital scares and health conditions. Having lived near or in Oakland
Chinatown since I was a toddler, he adjusted amazingly well to the Arizona
heat. I felt so fortunate to have a lighter summer work schedule and free
evenings open to visit him often. We started new routines and traditions of
Friday night family dinners and Sunday brunches together. The only grandparent
I have left, we joyously celebrated his 88th birthday in November. I
am so grateful to have him close by!
My sister Marilyn finished up her undergrad at University of Arizona and moved to the east coast to continue her pharmacy studies. Never having visited the South before, I enjoyed exploring Savannah with her for Labor Day weekend and Hilton Head Island with our parents for the week of Thanksgiving. We went to Sunday services at Christ Church in Savannah, the “Mother Church of Georgia,” founded on February 22, 1733. There was a sign outside stating that George Washington had attended this church in 1791. I LOVE tradition like that!
Now with new focus and vigor, I look forward to the great fun that awaits in 2007. I can already feel the amazing wave of miracles that are ready to burst around the corner. May your surprises in the New Year bring you delight, peace, joy, and light! I love you! Namaste :)
Together making a difference,
P.S. You can keep track of me throughout the year by checking out BlueViews, my Friendster blog. If you are on MySpace, you can subscribe there too.