That's What Jenni Said

I’m driving down a long and winding road in the back hills of Virginia. My GPS can’t identify my location, my cell phone has no coverage, and I’m really not concerned. I’ve got the top down on my convertible, the bluegrass music playing, and I feel full and happy. Wait a minute, back up here. The bluegrass music? The bluegrass music! I have enjoyed the small snippets of bluegrass music I’ve been exposed to over the years. So I finally decided to fully immerse myself in the genre by attending a bluegrass festival. My friends in the know who keep up with the music scene told me that the Graves Mountain Festival of Music is the best bluegrass festival in our region. I put the word out on Facebook and Twitter and casually asked around among my friends to drum up support for a group to go together but no dice. I have friends who I can call on in an emergency, friends who will pray with me, friends who will drop everything and fly to London for dinner, but apparently no friends who are i...

Today I am feeling very discouraged about my personality. I’ve always been a bit ‘different’. This difference is not just some imagined phenomenon wrought out of an emotional ‘nobody gets me’ teenage angst. It’s a well documented set of traits objectively observable by others around me. My husband told me while dating that it was my sincere and open/vulnerable kindness (a kind of sweet naivety in his words)  that drew him to me as he found it to be unusual. Friends often tell me I’m quite different than most others. According to Myers-Briggs testing I am an ENFP, which is less than 8% of the population. ENFP summary: I wear my heart on my sleeve; I’m very passionate about things that spark my interest (and very unmotivated to tackle things that don’t); I have the strongest need to be liked/loved out of any of the personality types; I have a directed sense of purpose and require that my relationships and job work toward that purpose in order to feel ok with life; I am intelligen...

It's been another productive week. My days were filled with solving problems at work and my evenings were filled with socializing and a few select ParJen Consulting appointments. Saturday was the busiest day of all. In the morning Jon and I ventured to DC to lead the NoVA walkers on a stroll around Southwest DC on the waterfront. We did 3 miles and then enjoyed brunch at Phillips. Immediately following we headed to Alexandria where Jon dropped me off at a client's home to perform some consulting work while he browsed home depot for our new kitchen appliances. After that we headed to my friend Rho's house for the monthly NoVA Supper Club dinner. The theme was Italian and the food was great. Met some new people who were very nice. Today Jon and I finalized our kitchen appliances purchase at the local home depot. We are going with all stainless steel and picked out an oven, over the range microwave, dishwasher and fridge. I'm excited to finally have a convection oven. ...

This week I chartered three new meetup groups, bringing my total to six. Here is the list. Pass the info onto anyone who may be interested: Northern VA Walking Meetup: http://walkers.meetup.com/218 Our scheduled walks and hikes are of the easy to moderate variety and most are also dog and kid friendly. Plan on leisurely adventures with plenty of time to stop and smell the wildflowers or look at the city landmarks. You are encouraged to bring snacks, a journal, a camera, whatever you'd like to carry to make the experience more enjoyable. About every month or so we hold a Happy Hour for members -if you'd like to join our group but want to get to know a few folks before showing up for a walk we welcome you to join us at next happy hour.   Northern VA Supper Club: http://cooking.meetup.com/343/ The Northern Virginia Supper Club hosts a member dinner each month. One of our members hosts the dinner and prepares the main entree. The rest of the members bring a side to share. Com...

My manager, who I just met for the first time in person (we work across the country from each other) basically told me I don't look a day over the age of 15. Is this flattering or should I be insulted? What specifically about me protects my true age from view? Is it the lack of caked on makeup and lack of wrinkles? (That would be flattering). Or is the distinct lack of sophistication and adult style? (That would be insulting). For those who know me in person, what do you think contributes from my appearance to my youthful (apparently) look?