Yeah, so, there’s a couple of really good Dorking Out episodes you should listen to … if I don’t say so myself.
My mighty, mighty good man David and I dork out about the new documentary about Mister Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” We have a lot of thoughts and feelings about it. Spoiler alert! I sobbed repeatedly throughout the movie. It really is good for the soul. You should see it and then listen to us talk about it.
We talk about summer movies. I don’t mean movies coming out this summer. I mean, movies that remind us of summer. It was a really fun conversation because we got to explore what summer means to us. Plus, it’s always super fun talking to Margo.
If you’re expecting a movie list filled with obvious picks of “Jaws” and “Star Wars,” think again! We acknowledge those movies, but we made a rule that those movies could not be on our lists.
So many of my picks were because of my time working at the movie theater. Shout out to my people from Regency Cinemas in Pleasant Hill, Festival Cinemas in Walnut Creek and Chico Movies 10.
Yeah, so, The Man and I don’t have much in common. He’s really into hunting and camping, and I’m a vegan whose idea of roughing it is staying in a hotel that doesn’t include a hairdryer. And to say that we don’t agree politically would be an understatement.
But, we do have a few things in common. We’ve both got a wicked sense of humor. We love baseball. And, we love movies.
The Man and I touring AT&T Park on Father’s Day 2011. I was about six months pregnant with Calvin at the time.
I sat down with my dad and recorded a podcast about movies. We planned to talk about “Rio Bravo,” starring John Wayne and Dean Martin, but it turned into a conversation about a variety of different movies, including “Footloose,” “Grease,” “Beastmaster” and more. We talked about the movie he loves, and why he doesn’t go to the movie theater anymore.
When I first asked about recording a podcast together, he was a little hesitant about doing it and kinda dismissed the idea. But, then a few minutes he had his phone out and was trying to pick a date. And I think he was kinda nervous when we started recording, but by the end of it, he was enjoying himself. He even suggested we do another one!
You can listen to Dorking Out here, or you can find us on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube. If you listen to the show, I’d love to hear what you think. You can comment here, or on our website or Facebook page.
My mighty, mighty good boy Calvin is really into “Peppa Pig” and watching fan videos on YouTube featuring this little British boy. He learns a lot from what he’s watching, so he’s been saying “fonz” instead of “fans.” People think he’s really into The Fonz now.
Calvin is staying with my parents this week, so my mighty, mighty good man David and I are going to be childless. Check out my Instagram to see how much beer, baseball and restaurants we can cram into the week.
The other day David and I watched 1951’s “His Kind Of Woman,” starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russel and (my favorite) Vincent Price. It’s super good, you guys, and you should check it out. I got the recommendation from the Pure Cinema Podcast, and once again it didn’t steer me wrong.
And, just a heads up … I’m REALLY excited about this week’s Dorking Out podcast. The Man – that’s right MY DAD – came on the show to talk about movies. We talk about John Wayne movies and more. It’s going live later this week, and it’s a good one.
Here’s a few episodes of Dorking Out that you might like:
One of my favorite podcasters and people, Margo D. from Book vs. Movie and The Best Neighbors Podcast, came on the show to talk about our favorite true crime movies, TV movies and documentaries. This one is SUPER FUN. You should listen.
Yeah, so, I think I’ve finally figured out what I want to do when I grow up. I mean, other than retire.
I recently discovered that I like content strategy.
Weird, right? It only took me about 10 years to figure it out. Around this time last year, I was transferred from the Oakland office to the San Francisco office to join the content team. Instead of just writing content for one of our companies, I’d be working on content for all of our companies.
Shortly after I got there, I was asked by my new boss if I’d like to really do the Content Marketing Manager job. I have the title, but I didn’t work much with the metrics and the funnel, and shit like that. I said, “Sure. Why not?”
Well, it turns out that I don’t like metrics. Numbers are not my jam.
At the same time, I started working on this big, new project. The corporate overlords are launching an entirely new section of their website, and I started working with a Content Strategist named Nina on all the copy. From blog articles to transactional learning content to the micro-content in the shopping cart, I worked with Nina on all of it.
I like it. I like it a lot.
I love writing. I mean, duh. But it turns out I like thinking about the customer journey. I like thinking about creating the content to help them through the shopping process. AND, it turns out that one of the things that’s kinda in fashion when it comes to website content is making it less stuffy. You know, write like people actually talk. Well, I fuckin’ love that shit. That’s all this blog is. Writing like how people talk is so hot right now.
So, I’ve been listening to everything Nina says and picking her brain because she’s all smart and shit. I started listening to a really great podcast by Kristina Halvorson from Brain Traffic. And at Nina’s recommendation, I started reading Halvorson’s book, too.
I’m feeling like a real goober right now talking about work and content strategy, but the truth is … I’m kinda excited, you guys. It’s been a long time since I really cared about work. I mean, I always kinda care. I have a work ethic, and I’m not a completely lazy asshole. SHUT UP. I’m not! You’re the lazy asshole!
So anyway, now I have an idea of what I want to do. I’m not just feeling around in the dark, writing whatever is asked of me without any rhyme or reason.
Does this mean I’m going to go back to school and get another degree in content strategy? Hahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahhahahahahhahah! *deep breath* Hahahahhahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahhahahahah!
Seriously, going back to school is my nightmare. It’s my recurring anxiety nightmare, so that isn’t happening. I can’t imagine anything worse than homework and tests. BUT, I think I can learn a lot at my job and apply what I learn. Plus, it keeps me away from numbers.
Yeah, so, my mighty, mighty good boy Calvin finished kindergarten today.
The first day of kindergarten.
The last day of kindergarten.
I’m so crazy proud of him. He has absolutely blossomed this year. He is talking so much and really improving his social and emotional interactions. He’s quite popular at school. When we’re walking around the school with him every kid says “Hi Calvin,” and every teacher or aide stops us to tell us how much they adore him. (#humblebrag)
Since he’s obsessed with fans, he stopped by the office every day and asked the receptionist to turn on her fan. He made such an impression on a fifth-grade teacher that she gave him a fan to bring home.
Fan boy.
I can’t believe that this August he will be a first grader! Gaaaaaahhh!
He’s got big plans this summer. He’s spending a week every month with my parents in Concord. While he’s there, he going to take swim lessons! I wouldn’t be surprised if swimming turned into a thing for him. I foresee a future of swim meets followed by Olympic gold medals and big, fat endorsement deals, which lead to us finally being able to buy a house in San Francisco.
He’s also doing a week of summer camp at the San Francisco Zoo. AND, he’s doing two weeks of summer camp through the city’s Park Department in which children with autism ride public transportation all day. I know, right?!? He’s gonna to freak out.
Actual footage of Calvin when he learns about the public transportation camp.
So anyway, I’m so proud of my mighty, mighty good boy. He is such a funny, sweet and handsome little guy.
Yeah, so, just in case you missed it we had a pretty big announcement on Dorking Out with Chris and Sonia last week. It’s going to be Dorking Out with Sonia for the summer, while Smith takes a sabbatical and works on some projects he needs time to finish.
But, the show must go on … so I’ve reached out to some of my favorite podcasters, who have graciously agreed to come on the show this summer. PLUS, my mighty, mighty good man David will be on some episodes, including today’s episode about baseball movies, specifically “Major League” and “Field Of Dreams.” Somehow David had never seen these movies until last week. You can listen to it riiiight here.
Smith will be missed, but I’ll definitely try to keep things going in his absence. We’ve had some entertaining episodes recently, so you haven’t listened you should check them out.
We had a fascinating discussion with Chris Taylor from Mashable and author of the book, “How Star Wars Conquered the Universe” about the current state of fandom.
And I loved talking about “Sixteen Candles” with Peter Brown. It’s a movie that meant a lot to me growing up, and we had a really interesting discussion about how we process our feelings about the movies we loved as kids that don’t age well.
We followed that episode talking about the sexism and racism in movies and TV shows in The Random Dorking Out Edition, including our thoughts about Molly Ringwald’s piece in the New Yorker, “The Simpsons vs. Apu” and more.
Oh, and we talked about which movies we’re most excited to see this summer, but we started the episode talking about “Wild Wild Country” because I HAD to talk about it. You should listen.
Yeah, so, I had to travel for work a few weeks ago.
I’ve never had to travel for work before, other than some particularly shitty commutes I’ve had in the past. I mean, driving from Concord to Burlingame can certainly feel like traveling for work.
Seven years I’ve been working for this company, and they finally noticed that I’ve never visited their headquarters in Shoreview, Minnesota. Actually, some of the bosses did try to get me to come out twice before, but I was busy evicting a baby from my uterus and kicking breast cancer’s ass, so, ummm, no.
This time last year, I was moved into a new position, a new office with new coworkers and a new boss. And my new boss doesn’t really dig my whole “Oh, I’m just going to hide in my cube” career path. “No more hiding, Sonia,” she says. “You’re going to go to Shoreview and take your bow for your hard work.”
Well, when she puts it like that, how can I say no? Plus, I really like my new team. We’re divided: half in San Francisco, half in Shoreview. I really wanted to meet the Shoreview team in person. I think it’s important that they see what I goober I am in person. You have to see it to believe it.
So, I packed my bags and got up at 4 a.m. for a 6 a.m. flight. That’s right, 4 a.m.! Did you guys know that there is a 4 in the morning? It’s like 4 in the afternoon but in the morning! When the fuck did that start? Ugh. It’s really early.
Shortly, after I arrived in Shoreview, it started snowing. We don’t get snow in the Bay Area, so this was pretty exciting to me. I practically had my face smashed against the window.
Me: “Ohhhh, you guys! LOOK! IT’S SNOWING!”
Co-workers:
It’s April. They were so over it. I thought it was neat, but I could certainly see how the novelty would wear off. Also, driving in snow sucks ass.
So, yeah, it was really awesome to meet my coworkers in person. We had a team dinner at The Lowbrow in Minneapolis, and it was so good. It had vegan options AND an excellent beer list of local brews. It would definitely be my regular spot if I lived out there.
Oh, speaking of vegan options, there wasn’t a ton to be had in Shoreview, Minnesota. BUT, pretty much every restaurant I walked into had gluten-free options. FYI: About 1 percent of Americans have Celiac disease, while 6 percent of Americans say they’re vegan. It’s more likely that a vegan will walk into their restaurant than someone with Celiac disease, but it’s OK. I made it work. I just think it’s funny that they’ve embraced the whole gluten-free thing, but veganism, not so much.
The other thing about the trip that cracked me up: So many of my coworkers said, “Oh, you look just like your photo.” We have photos in our email, Skype, etc. I kept wondering, “Who doesn’t look like their photo?” Maybe I’ll swap my photo out with the worst wedding photo ever taken.
A week before my work trip, I fell and sprained my ankle, but I didn’t know, because I’m practically a genius. I was hobbling around the office, but no one even noticed. I looked like Catherine O’Hara in “Best In Show.”
It probably didn’t help that there was a huge Super Target nearby our hotel, and one night I spent two hours walking around. My ankle really hurt, but SUPER TARGET.
Every night after dinner I went back to my hotel room, put my foot up and watched the second season “The Good Place.” (So good, you guys! You should watch it.) One night I watched a documentary about Jane Goodall called, appropriately, “Jane.”
On the plane, I watched “Pitch Perfect 3” and “Bad Moms Christmas,” which are perfect airplane movies in that they don’t make you laugh or cry and draw attention to yourself. They were not good. “Pitch Perfect 3” actually had explosions, and I think Fat Amy full-on murders some people. I thought this was a movie about an acapella singing group. WTF?
Anyway, I was in Minnesota for five days – FIVE DAYS! That’s the longest I’ve ever been away from my mighty, mighty good boy Calvin.
My mighty, mighty good man David travels for work all the time. I never do. In fact, when I told Calvin that I was going on a trip for work, and I’d be gone, he said, “Not Mommy. Daddy is going to work.”
David said that Calvin asked about me every morning and every night. Of course, when I would FaceTime, he would give me the cold shoulder, but at least the pets were happy to see me.
Actually, when I got home late Friday night, Calvin will still awake, and he insisted I get into bed with him. He really missed me, and I missed him terribly. For about a week after I got back, Calvin was watching me like a hawk, never letting me out of his sight. It was nice to be missed.
After I fell, I had some bruises, and my ankle was ankle sore, but I figured that’s because I caught it on the bench. It’s why I fell. I continued walking on it, thinking it would just get better. [Narrator’s voice: It didn’t.] Instead it got worse. I limped around on it for two weeks before I finally decided to go to the doctor.
We did an X-ray, and luckily, it is just a sprain. I was starting to worry that it was a hairline fracture or something. The doctor very politely explained that I’m too old for this shit.
Apparently, it’s not a good idea to walk around on a bum ankle for weeks at a time. Who knew? She also told me to wear a brace for two weeks, and if my ankle isn’t feeling better that I need to come back for a MRI. Oh, and no yoga or treadmill for those two weeks. Also, lose some weight, fatty.
OK, she didn’t say that last thing, but she was probably thinking it.
You guys, I fuckin’ LOVE this bag, because it carries everything I need. I walk to BART for work, and I was carrying my purse, my lunch and my work laptop. I wanted to get a backpack, but all the backpacks were so backpacky. I did some poking around, and I found this awesome bag that carries all my purse stuff (wallet, brush, 500 red lipsticks), my lunch and my computer. Oh, and it’s cute.
As you guys know, I don’t get paid for this blog or anything I write about on this blog, so I’m not shilling for Minkeeblue, but, ladies, this bag is rad. And this one in particular is vegan, too! It’s got a steep price tag. I signed up for their emails to get $20 off the regular $172 price tag, but it’s super worth it because I use this bag every day
I feel like I grew up drinking Sierra Nevada, because I went to Chico State. Sierra Nevada is brewed there, and it’s the most common beer everywhere you go there. I was never a fan of super hoppy beer and IPAs, but I always loved Sierra Nevada.
My mighty, mighty good man David is a big fan of IPAs, and after years of taking a sip of his IPAs, it has finally clicked for me, I like IPAs now, too. One of my recent favorites is by Sierra Nevada, of course. I love unfiltered IPAs, and this is a good one.
3. This toothless grin
My mighty, mighty good boy Calvin has lost a few teeth, but there’s something about losing the two front top teeth that makes me realize how much he is growing up. He’s getting so tall, and he’s talking so much. And now he’s losing his teeth!
My obsession with lipstick is well documented. I’m obsessed with the Kat Von D lipstick right now, because it’s a long-lasting matte lipstick that doesn’t dry my lips out. I have Nahz Fur Atoo (dark red), OG Lolita (dusty rose) and Double Dare (kind of a pinky mauve).
Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Double Dare – I think this one is perfect for work.
I’m kinda paranoid about getting skin cancer. I guess having cancer twice will do that to you. I’ve been looking for a daytime moisturizer with a high SPF that isn’t thick and gross, and I finally found this one.
I feel like it’s protecting my face, and it doesn’t make my face break out. Plus, when I put makeup on top of it, it doesn’t make my foundation look all caked on. I’m sure that shopping with Avon is super old lady of me, but I like ’em. I like that they give money to breast cancer research, and they don’t test on animals.
