Over cocktails and tapas at Extra Virgin with Best Friend last night (delish!!), I was accused of being very smart and having all the answers. Sweet, but both claims are false, I assure you! Unless I've lived your life and walked in your shoes, there's no way I can have all the answers you need and know what's best for you. (Those who claim to know for certain are full of themselves.) What is true however, is that I listen and I ask tons of questions to the people who claim to not know. In looking to validate their reply, sometimes they discover they've had the answers they seek all along and didn't realize it. The challenge in getting to these answers within you is to quiet that inner chatter that keeps repeating misinformation and buttressing your unreasonable fears. The voice that says you can't and shouldn't and how dare you. It's normal and natural to have those doubts and fears echoing with your inner voice. It's like your own built in parent and you're still four years old. But how to quiet that? When facing those big-picture "what should I be doing with my life" kind of questions, my advice (being a list-maker) is to write down—specifically—all the things you enjoy doing, the things you'd do even if you weren't paid to do them. Like helping little kids tie their shoes, being outside, driving a forklift, painting portraits, whatever. The answers may already be within your list. If you were looking at your list as an outsider, what would you recommend? What things could you combine in a novel way? Since I believe that we teach best what we most need to learn, I need to get it in gear! I need to make my specific "what Cami likes to do" list. It'll be huge. Then the list of "what Cami doesn't like to do." That'll be smaller. From there I hope to discover what wonderful things await me. Thanks for reading, Cami =) Last night's full moon and the icicles hanging from my house, taken with my cell phone of all things. Thanks for reading, Cami =) For those of you who have been keeping track, this is my 100th blog post in a series. Why is this a milestone? My darling mentor, Peleg Top, challenged me back in December to make 100 blog posts by March 25th, the day he's back from sabbatical. Well Peleg, welcome back! I did it! :-D And what does that say? It says, in all caps, "IF I CAN DO IT, SO CAN YOU!" Thanks for reading (any or all of the 100 posts), Cami =) Why is Kansas City so great? 4. It's the biggest small town ever. Kansas City may be the biggest city in the state (even larger than the city of St. Louis), and the second largest metropolitan area in the state, people are still friendly—they'll say hello to you on the street and even wave back at you! I've lived in large cities, from Oakland to Dallas, and this small-town feel is great. What started as a cowtown (hence the cow logo for Irish Fest—"Celtic Pride in Cowtown") also has all the big-city attractions. There's a great video on CBS that sums up the highlights of KC. We have more restaurants per capita, more BBQ joints per capita, and more fountains than any other city in the world except Rome! Travel + Leisure named it the #1 affordable getaway. There's tons of free stuff to do, from First Fridays in the Crossroads, to touring Hallmark's headquarters. We also have one of the best performing arts center in the world, the Kauffman Center. Yes, it's that great. And I work just one block from where this lovely photo was taken by Eric Rogers. If I think of more, I'll continue with reason #5. Thanks for reading, Cami =) Why is Kansas City so great? 3. Barbecue. It's the one thing Kansas City does better than anywhere else in the country. There are more barbecue joints here than you can shake a stick at, and no matter what kind you like, you'll find it here. My personal favorite, is a Z-man sandwich from Oklahoma Joe's. (Yes, I do realize the irony there.) It's located in a gas station and, on any given day, the line will snake through the building, out into the parking lot. The line always seems to go fast, and the food is SOOO worth the wait. (photo by Matt McCabe.) They have several other locations, but I'd go If you need something more upscale, Jack Stack is my second choice. So while you're here for the KC Irish Fest, you can grab some great Boulevard beer, and some great BBQ. Thanks for reading, Cami =) Why is Kansas City so great? 2. Boulevard Beer. We have the best "micro" brewery in the country. What started out as micro (teeny) has become ginormous (in 24 states!), retaining the micro-brewery awesomeness. Mental Floss magazine agrees, touting the Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale as one of five to try. Personally, I like their Dry Stout. As it happens, at least one of the Kansas City Irish Fest crew works here. Coincidence? Probably not. Thanks for reading,
Cami =) I've moved 27 times in my life. I know, right? No, not an army brat. No good excuse really—a story for another day. I grew up across the bay from San Francisco, and have lived in all the cities along the East Bay. I've lived in cities in California, Illinois, Texas, Missouri, and Kansas—and Kansas City is by far the best. It's the first place that's felt like home. Why is it so great? I have so many reasons. 1. The Kansas City Irish Fest. The welcoming people who are involved in the Kansas City Irish Fest don't care that I couldn't trace my Irish lineage to save my life. They welcomed me as part of their own, regardless. We get together at least once a month, and it doesn't even seem like work putting on the third-largest Irish Fest in the country. That's me up there giving bunny ears to Dan Regan, my pal in crime. He's the reason I got involved in the first place. I sent in a nice email saying we'd had a wet blast at the fest after attending the first KC Irish Fest, the one that almost got washed away in the rain, and we've been pals ever since. I get to design the program, I used to run (baking, knitting, brewing, and photography) contests, I help coordinate the travel area, I help shuttle entertainers to and from the airport, I help out pretty much wherever I'm needed, and we all have way too much fun working this hard for free.
If you need something to do Labor Day weekend (Fri-Sat-Sun), make plans to come here. You'll have as much fun as we do. And you certainly don't have to be Irish! Thanks for reading, Cami =) Last Sunday, I was "marching" in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Kansas City; it was 35°F and raining/snowing/sleeting. The Friday before that, it was 79°F. Thank goodness the parade wasn't this Sunday! We have what Son calls "a crap-ton more snow" today. It's wet, sticky snow. It looks as though my backyard has been flocked. I can't imagine the Irish dancers trudging through this, or people lining up along the mile-long route in this. It's beautiful from inside, but marching through it, yeah, no thanks. What's the weather like where you are? Thanks for reading, I had the pleasure of meeting this amazing young artist a couple of years ago. She's already met with great success, and deservedly so. If I remember correctly, Beth Nybeck is from Iowa, but fell in love with Kansas City (as I did). She's been commissioned to work all over the country. The little bear cub that she's currently working on is part of "a family of bears for a park in Palo Alto, California. The family is much like my own, three cubs and a mama…the first cub is complete." She's got a wonderful fluid style and I always look forward to seeing what she has cooking next. Thanks for reading, Cami =) After seeing Aaron Draplin speak this morning, I am reminded again of just what makes him so awesome. Besides his hugs. It's because he does Aaron Draplin perfectly. There is no one else—and I mean NO ONE—who could pull off being Aaron. He's a self-proclaimed large man telling tall tales. He admits to crying when stuff blows his mind. He collects stuff others might not consider worthy of looking at twice. He tells his audiences boldly what he loves and what he hates. The best thing of all is that he is completely authentic—100% with no holds barred. I just love being around people like Aaron, who know who they are and unabashedly share themselves.
A little Cami background: Growing up, I was the nerd's nerd—the gawky kid who everyone picked on, even the nerds. It took a while for me to get through that; I don't know that I'll ever be over it. I've learned so much from it; it's part of what defines me. And I've been on this planet long enough now to know who I am and what I want from life. And to know when someone is not being authentic or trying to bullshit me. So when you're selling your design to your client, when you're selling me a recycling bin at my front door (happened yesterday), I can smell your line a mile away. It's MUCH more effective when you drop the bull, abandon your "line" and just talk. What's your story? What's your motive? What is it that you really want? Who are you, really? You're the only one who's gone through the things you have. You're the only one who'd process the information the way you do. You're the only one who will react exactly the way you do. You have something unique to bring to this world. But if you're too busy trying to be like someone else, or copying someone else's style, you'll come across as a cheap imitation, no matter how good you are at it. Stop trying to get people to like you (or what you create), you're just wasting your time. And mine. Just be yourself, damn it—you're the one worth knowing. Thanks for reading! Cami =) |
Cami Travis-GrovesGood juju-spreader, speaker, graphic designer. I'd love to hear from you! Archives
June 2014
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