On Tuesday last week I bit the bullet and drove all the way across the city to the monthly Mommy Owned Business networking event at Arcadia Floors. It's a long drive for me, and I wold have liked to carpool. But I wanted to see the showroom, and have been kinda aching to do some "networking." Even though I haven't yet emailed any of the fabulous women I met, I figured I'd still write up a little blurb about my experience there. As an architect who once worked in an office shared by an interior design firm, I've always been fascinated by samples of flooring and such. Arcadia has LOTS of samples to look at, and I found myself shopping for a good portion of my visit there. I took several pictures of hardwood plank floor samples for my family room. And I found the quartz kitchen counter top samples to be overwhelming. Then I took a photo of some hardware that I would like for my bathrooms. I am in the market for all these things, so of course I couldn't help myself. It would be better to schedule one of their in-home visits, though. I've only been to one other MOB event, and that was back in September with a friend, and when I was recognizable to a couple other of the MOBsters. So this event was a departure because I only saw one friend there who recognized me. (The other acquaintance I had there did not recognize me, and she was too busy to interrupt in my opinion, though I did sit next to her and try.) Luckily the food from Etc. Eatery (I'm guessing at the name) was really great! So I kinda just stuffed my face for a few minutes until someone came and talked to me in the corner. lol! The coolest thing about the MOB events is the breakout groups where we each get to speak a little to a small subset of the attendees randomly chosen at the door via font color on our name tags. In my group I found two amazingly appropriate networking partners to go talk to. I gave those two ladies my embarrassing business card - embarrassing because it's so old I had to hand write updates on the front of it. (I really should just get new ones.) And I got to learn a little bit about them. This makes me want to return to this event next month, which is awesome. Maybe next time I can carpool! There were cider tastings from Ace Craft Cider I think. I tried the pear and pineapple ciders, and they were really super good. I grabbed one of their coasters to bring home as a reminder to tell my husband. There was also a bar featuring One Hope Wines, a company that donates some of its profits to charity I believe. They didn't have the sparkling pomegranate, but the zinfandel was really good! They, lastly, did awesome door prizes - and I won one! I'm very much looking forward to my photo shoot with Images From Amy. I think there were 15 or 20 door prizes in all. It was so nice to see the joy on everyone's faces. Just awesome. I'm looking forward to visiting Arcadia again, and more MOB events in the future.
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Last night I went to my first Kirtan, and it was amazing. I found it on Facebook, and shared with friends that I was going, and a couple of people requested a description after the event. It's been a while since I've reviewed an event, but I used to really enjoy doing them, so here goes. First, the location was a surprise. Temple Apalala is in a residential neighborhood not too far from Sandy Boulevard, which is a major road if you're not familiar. The owner, Tressa, created the space with an eco-minded builder, and it seems new and well-kept. It's a comfortable place. We all sat on pillows or folded blankets placed around the room. I was admiring the light fixtures, and she told me where they found them and a little about the flooring. There's a kitchenette. The bathroom is quite nice. I couldn't help but notice the nine large windows around the main space, which is a good number in feng shui. I'm glad I had the adventurous spirit to go find this place. They began by passing out cacao, or drinking chocolate, for everyone to enjoy prayerfully after setting their intentions. This was not your basic hot chocolate from a store. It was rich and had actual bits of cacao in it. I found it quite enjoyable. I'm not sure my intentions were adequately set before I enjoyed it. The Ecstatic Meditative Kirtan led by Luz Helena Florez was a wonderful singing experience. I've never done this before, but it was kinda like the bible study group I went to as a teenager in my youth leader's house. Only instead of a guitar, Ms. Florez played a beautiful instrument that sat on the floor and looked like it worked similarly to an accordion. Her singing was wonderful. Our singing was also pretty darn good. It wasn't English, but the mantras were short and pretty easy to pick up, and I got the hang of it fairly quickly. There was also a band that included a violinist who also sang backup, a drummer, a lady who played some traditional bells, another backup singer, and the "sound guy." There was also a poet who performed a wonderfully deep piece she'd written that is very timely. I wish I remembered it better. Occasionally some of us wept because they were so moved. One lady to my right, who had been especially nice in the cramped quarters (there were 50 of us there!), began to weep audibly after one of the songs in the middle of the kirtan, kinda like the way my mother wept after listening to the Queen of England's Christmas Address in 2013. Unlike 2013 when my mom was weeping when I was across the room underneath a sleeping baby, this woman was within arm's reach. So I placed my hand gently but firmly on her shoulder in the spirit of the moment, and she turned and looked so happy. Later she introduced herself as Elaine, and confirmed that she appreciated my show of love for that instant. When the kirtan had ended, many people approached Ms. Florez to express their appreciation and love for her work. I was unable to join in this, but wish I had been able. As it was, I was in the long line for the bathroom. The intermission was supposed to be when the Sacred Summit treats were handed out, but they had announced a change of plans at the beginning of the evening, and we simply stretched and spent as much time standing as possible before the Sound Bath began. When Joshua Stoddard rang the bell to begin the 432HZ Sound Bath, we all laid down on the floor with our heads on the pillows we had been sitting on previously. Again, I've never had the privilege to experience this kind of event, and I can't think of anything similar which I have experienced. Mr. Stoddard commented how nice it would be if everyone always just laid right down when he rang the bell for his events. It was quite interesting. His performance of sounds centered on three notes upon which many popular heart-centered songs are also based, for example Stairway To Heaven. The notes correspond to the root, heart, and throat chakras, or red, green, and blue wavelengths. He started out with the lowest note on the bowl (or bell sorta thing), and it was quite loud, filling the whole room and our collective consciousnesses. The performance moved on to include the other bowls, guitars, his voice producing vowel sounds instead of actual words, and I think also a synthesizer. It was quite interesting. But towards the end I found it difficult to keep my thoughts quiet, especially the ones regarding how uncomfortable my back was on the hard wood floor. lol! Also, keeping my feet from touching the roughly five other sets of feet that were within inches of each other started becoming an issue for me. However, soon Mr. Stoddard finished his performance with actual words and phrases such as "I love you all." Again, people could be heard weeping audibly around the room because it was so moving. I really would recommend going to a sound bath at least once in your life if you ever get a chance. After everyone slowly made their way up to a sitting position Dario Barone and the Sacred Summit team passed out their handcrafted Jun Kombucha, which was excellent, and a slow roasted combination of nuts and seeds with a spice mixture that was just right in my opinion. They also had some special doughnuts for anyone with an allergy or intolerance, which I wish I could have tried because they also looked yummy. I have to say that I've gotten some Sacred Summit kombucha before at the farmers' market or the People's Food Co-op, and I really love it every time. They do great work, and I highly recommend you try it if you can. And by then it was 10pm, and after meeting a mom who had brought her ten year old kid there, speaking with the hostess, Tessa, and saying farewell to Elaine, I ran home to my sleeping family. So there's my review of this event for the few friends who requested it. I hope to go to more of these events because it was so thoroughly enjoyable. And I hope to bring friends and make more friends because that place, though not my original idea of a temple, is definitely filled with lovely people and loving energy, and I think everyone could use more of that in their lives.
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Hollie Holcombe is a trained architect, LEED accredited professional, and certified permaculture designer trying to find her way in the world, well, PDX at least. Archives
January 2018
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