I mentioned earlier this month that I wanted to bring back my AuGuest month of guest posts, and today I can confirm it will be taking place. Each Monday in August, I will publish a guest post from someone I have met or worked with in my adventures online.
This year it will be a bit different, though, in that each Thursday I will then right a response or commentary to that week's guest post, as opposed to just finding as many guest posts as I can, and leaving comments on same. So this year AuGuest will be more of a conjunction of ideas between myself and my guests. I hope some interesting discussion as well as some new readers will result from this year's event.
So, do check back in on Monday, when AuGuest kicks off with a post by confirmed extrovert, Zoyah Thawer. Don't miss it.
Showing posts with label guests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guests. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monday, August 16, 2010
Coming into the Light: A Shot at Opacity, by Mehnaz Thawer
All my life, I've been invisible to some degree. For those that already know me, you'll know I have a penchant for complete candour, and you can hear my rambunctious ramblings from a mile away. This isn't what I'm talking about.
Much like many introverts, I take a liking to "behind the scenes" types of work. I used to be in a choir and subsequently, a stage manager, a communications manager and all kinds of managerial posts that required that I be behind the scenes. Given that these were supposed to be fun endeavours, it was always a lot of work. When I was thanked on stage - as often is the case when you have a big blow-out-end-of-the-year concert - I would have to come onto the stage, under a spotlight, which would cause me to blush (given my naturally dark skin-tone, you can imagine this might have been quite the feat)!
It's not so much that I didn't want my work recognized, and that I didn't appreciate a thank you here and there; it's just that I worked really hard to appear invisible when I could. Call it a natural aversion to attention or what have you, but I have to say, after a while, it started to get old.
Recently, I spoke to a woman who pointed out that I very much liked being alone, and being recognized meant taking responsibility for myself - something I appear not to be completely comfortable with.
I got to thinking about how this connected to my life. I noticed that I tended to bury myself in work until nobody could really find me. I make excuses for my invisibility (and not strangely, I know a lot of people who do).
While being okay with your invisibility is fine (we're not spotlight-mongers), we tend to miss out on opportunities that really benefit us, when people recognize who we are and what we do.
As lame as it sounds, my concerted effort to walk into the light is going to be by joining something - for fun! It has to be something where I'm not working, where I can use my skills and my language to network, and to be grateful for praise and attention.
If you're anything like me, and spend your life hanging out "behind the scenes", make an effort to do something where you are forced into the light. Might sound like it's on the lighter side of being too XYZ, but you'll be surprised how difficult it is.
At the risk of sounding frivolous, be opaque, so that people don't look through you, so that they remember to recognize you properly for your contributions, your humour, your brief moments of endearing stridency.
What have you done lately to come out into the spotlight?
Mehnaz is a professional writer in Vancouver and the owner of "Speak Softly and Carry a Red Pen".
Much like many introverts, I take a liking to "behind the scenes" types of work. I used to be in a choir and subsequently, a stage manager, a communications manager and all kinds of managerial posts that required that I be behind the scenes. Given that these were supposed to be fun endeavours, it was always a lot of work. When I was thanked on stage - as often is the case when you have a big blow-out-end-of-the-year concert - I would have to come onto the stage, under a spotlight, which would cause me to blush (given my naturally dark skin-tone, you can imagine this might have been quite the feat)!
It's not so much that I didn't want my work recognized, and that I didn't appreciate a thank you here and there; it's just that I worked really hard to appear invisible when I could. Call it a natural aversion to attention or what have you, but I have to say, after a while, it started to get old.
Recently, I spoke to a woman who pointed out that I very much liked being alone, and being recognized meant taking responsibility for myself - something I appear not to be completely comfortable with.
I got to thinking about how this connected to my life. I noticed that I tended to bury myself in work until nobody could really find me. I make excuses for my invisibility (and not strangely, I know a lot of people who do).
While being okay with your invisibility is fine (we're not spotlight-mongers), we tend to miss out on opportunities that really benefit us, when people recognize who we are and what we do.
As lame as it sounds, my concerted effort to walk into the light is going to be by joining something - for fun! It has to be something where I'm not working, where I can use my skills and my language to network, and to be grateful for praise and attention.
If you're anything like me, and spend your life hanging out "behind the scenes", make an effort to do something where you are forced into the light. Might sound like it's on the lighter side of being too XYZ, but you'll be surprised how difficult it is.
At the risk of sounding frivolous, be opaque, so that people don't look through you, so that they remember to recognize you properly for your contributions, your humour, your brief moments of endearing stridency.
What have you done lately to come out into the spotlight?
Mehnaz is a professional writer in Vancouver and the owner of "Speak Softly and Carry a Red Pen".
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Announcing "AuGuest"
After about five months of what I would call moderately successful blog posting here at Too XYZ, the time has come for me to allow some guest posts for the very first time. And to kick off that part of this blogs evolution if you will, I will be presenting several guest posts throughout the upcoming month of August. An event that I am calling AuGuest. (Enjoy the quasi-pun while you can; I almost never use them.)
As you can probably deduce, each post and guest poster will share one thing in common at least; that being that they are their writings have struck me as also being Too XYZ. That is to say, the ways they think, work, perceive the world, blog, date, whatever, are (for reasons that can't quite be quantified) a bit removed from the norm. Not congruent with convention. A bit of a square peg. You know, like most of what I post here myself.
Other than that, expect virtually anything from the guest posts. I am not editing them for length, or content. The whole point of Too XYZ and of allowing guest posts on same, is to embrace one's unique voice without conforming or shoehorning it into something else. I have given basically carte blanche to the people I have invited to guest post here in August. I would have it no other way.
Those of you on Brazen Careerist will recognize many of the faces I have invited to write for me this coming month. And while not every single entry this month will be a guest post, I do still have some room for a few more slots. So if you think you too may be Too XYZ about something, (read my previous posts to get an idea of just how that works) and think you might be interested in guest posting here, feel free to contact me at tythewriter@gmx.com, and we'll talk about it.
This is exciting for me, and I hope for regular readers of Too XYZ as well. Let's see where AuGuest leads, shall we?
As you can probably deduce, each post and guest poster will share one thing in common at least; that being that they are their writings have struck me as also being Too XYZ. That is to say, the ways they think, work, perceive the world, blog, date, whatever, are (for reasons that can't quite be quantified) a bit removed from the norm. Not congruent with convention. A bit of a square peg. You know, like most of what I post here myself.
Other than that, expect virtually anything from the guest posts. I am not editing them for length, or content. The whole point of Too XYZ and of allowing guest posts on same, is to embrace one's unique voice without conforming or shoehorning it into something else. I have given basically carte blanche to the people I have invited to guest post here in August. I would have it no other way.
Those of you on Brazen Careerist will recognize many of the faces I have invited to write for me this coming month. And while not every single entry this month will be a guest post, I do still have some room for a few more slots. So if you think you too may be Too XYZ about something, (read my previous posts to get an idea of just how that works) and think you might be interested in guest posting here, feel free to contact me at tythewriter@gmx.com, and we'll talk about it.
This is exciting for me, and I hope for regular readers of Too XYZ as well. Let's see where AuGuest leads, shall we?
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