The Relationship Ninja: Vol 2 Bread and Love

   The weather has taken a turn for the cooler part of the year. It's also a Sunday; it's a perfect day to get together and cook. 
    Today we are baking bread. Not what Nina calls "the new fangled way" of mixing water and powder together and sticking it in a bread machine, while you catch up on episodes of "How I Met your Mother." The old school way of mixing all the ingredients by hand, letting the dough rise and actually putting it in the oven. 
   She rustles through the cabinets, shoving pans this way and that until she finds just the right baking pan. "You know my Dear," her echoing voice from inside the cabinet calls back, "you really need to arrange your baking tins better. I cannot find a damn thing in here." She chuckles, her lovely accent shines transparently through her laugh. Simultaneously she hits her head on the cabinet, and I hear another "damn" followed by her intoxicating chuckle.
   My Ninja says making bread is like a relationship that is filled with love. Believe me, I was as curious to find out as you are now.
   Nina adds the first ingredients together. "Warm water, the catalyst for the yeast..or the beginning of, " she pauses as she dumps the yeast into the warm water, then says "the getting to know someone. It's always fun in the discovery stage. You will see how it plays out later, Dear." Then she adds 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. 
"It sweetens the bread." she winks. "Like the courting part of the relationship when you are fascinated with one another.....then we let it sit for a bit." 
  Ten minutes later the yeast is in action. "The yeast, is the catalyst in making bread rise. It is quite similar to the catalyst in relationships where 'like' can to turn love. The warmth of the water activates the yeast, much like the warmth of your heart.." she points her finger at my chest and smiles "It activates someones interest in you."
   After she has added the flour and rolled the dough out on to the counter, she continues her analogy. "Kneading the dough is the getting to know you stage in the relationship." I understand what she means, though I can't help but chuckle as I watch her squishing, squeezing, rolling, and sometimes pounding the dough against the counter. "This is the part where the fascination stops and the reality begins, Dear."
    When she had finished beating up the dough, she rolls it, smacks it one last time, places it in a bowl and covers it with a towel. "When it rises, we will cook it!" Her eyebrows raise as she exclaims 'cook it' giving me the impression that she knows it will be a masterpiece...just so you all know, everything she cooks is a masterpiece.
      The bread dough will need to rise for forty to forty-five minutes. While we are waiting for it, we do a quick clean up of the kitchen, then sit down with coffee. Nina sips her coffee loudly, and let's out something I can only describe as a sigh as she sets the mug back on the table. 
   "You know," she says thoughtfully  "I only realized a few years ago what I am sharing with you now, about bread and love." Her east European accent seems very thick when she says this to me. "Even though I hafe been married for many years, Dear." She places her hand on top on mine, and roughly pats my hand with her fingers, before she pulls back in her chair. 
   Forty minutes later the dough is plump and ready to be kneaded again. She takes it from the bowl and whacks it on the counter. "In life there are so many variables...no guarantees. Do you understand?" She asks while she begins to knead the dough again, adding a bit of flour here and there to keep it from sticking. "You see how the dough got fat? Not the baby yet." She chuckles " That's the two people comfy in their new relationship."
    "And now you are smacking the tar out of it?" My turn to laugh. 
    "Yes Dear, this is the reality part. It has risen once. Now we will see if the yeast has really done it's part." She explains that the bread should come out, having risen again; much like the trials and tribulations that couples go through, they should work things out and rise through the issues. 
"If everything works out right, the bread will be soft and chewy on the inside." She further explains that the soft and chewy part is the forgiving and moving forward. 
"It should also have a nice crust; One that is not too hard and not too soft, but just right. Remember Goldilocks?" She smiles and puts the loaf in the oven. "When a relationship has learned balance," she points to the oven "that is the soft chewy inside.The crust is the shell, the layer of protection from the outside world.
   About an hour later, our loaf of bread emerges from the oven, smelling spectacular! Nina smiles, pulls it from the oven and announces "Bread and Love!... I am certain. But we will cut it in about twenty minutes to be sure."

Copyright 2014 - 2017 Noelle Sangster/Sangster Entertainment LLC - All rights reserved

Noelle Sangster on Amazon

Noelle Sangster on Facebook

Noelle Sangster Worldwide

Sangster on Business Blog

Keep the Blog Alive

The Decieferication of Dem Dare Emails

                                                      Disclaimer: 

                             If you find any of the following remotely alarming,

                             offensive, disturbing, or off color.....DON'T READ IT. 

The inspiration for this piece can only stem from one place. 

   This adventure begins where many of us spend our days, and depending on the project, sometimes our evenings too.

   Anyone who gets up every morning, gets dressed, ventures out of the house, risking life and limb to get there, knows where I'm talking about.

   Some of us get there through seas of endless traffic, freeway accidents, waiting in the cue at the border, even braving the incidental infamous "Road Rager;" the one that you are secretly dying to flip the middle finger up at, but decide that you don't know if they carry a gun, so you turn the music up louder and look away before they make eye contact with you. 

   The signal light turns green and away you go; most mornings on autopilot, coffee cup in one hand, frosted breakfast bar (full of sugar & loads of other crap that taste good) at the ready. You know that a banana would have been a better choice, but you simply love frosting; and it's better for you than a donut....or is it? Besides the line for breakfast at the drive-thru takes too much time, and always makes you late.

   Finally, you arrive, carrying all the luggage that makes you look as though you just got in from the airport (maybe some of you have). Most likely it's because you have a project due that you could not finish in the regular 8-10 hour work day, and like many of us, we find ourselves "living to work" instead of  "working to live."

   You get all of your "luggage" neatly arranged and fire up the desktop while you make more coffee, cause you know you're gonna need it.

   Once you get logged in and click on your INBOX, you have opened the flood gates to the world known as EMAIL. Let the games begin.

   The priority settings, stack your emails so that you receive them in matter of importance; the first being whom you directly report to, then company owner, so on and so forth. You diligently sort and file every email everyday, so that you start over with a clean INBOX every morning. when you left last night, the box was empty....and now over 200 EMAILS!!!!

   You noticed that the gal in the office next to yours (whom you frequently refer to as the 'girl next door') had not yet arrived, and the rest of your team works remotely from another state.    

   Throughout the week, there had been some random bantering emails between the remote team and the 'girl next door', to which you were included in and still have no idea why. But you do have a few thoughts and opinions about it.

   You settle in with your fresh cup of brew and begin reading. The first is the standard email from the standard departments about talking about quotas and the like. You wonder why you are even linked to this email chain. Same person ranting about the same thing week after week..maybe they will eventually get someones attention...squeaky wheel and all that, you surmise; even if you know it's unlikely. As well, this person has been known throughout the company to have a different philosophy, than that of the employer.
   The next is a banter about teamwork between the girl next door and another gal in the remote office. They are literally gushing about how fond they are of one another and how much fun they are having working together. You can literally picture them sending "email high fives."
    The next several emails following the girl next door and remote gal's "high five emails" are slight bit disturbing, as YOU are specifically called out and named in them. 
    You begin opening the other emails as you notice that they are from the same sender. You realize that you were either purposely included or it was like a episode of 'Dumbest Criminals' and you were accidentally included in the chain,
   The irony is that you have neither done nor said anything personally to either of them, so you are completely blindsided by this whole conversation.
    Now you have to, 'read between the lines,'because last time you told the boss what was going on his response was some garbled garbage about "when two alpha females work together" making it sound sound like you have no business bringing anything to his attention, even it were business or life threatening.
     Just as you are completing the email that you will send, your boss walks into your office and advises, that you are in fact correct, and that he was wrong about 'the girl next door.' He further explains that she will be leaving the company very soon as she rumpled all of the feathers of nearly all of the management team.
       Three days later, 'the girl next door' is gone, the scads of endless emails has ceased and you can get back to what you are paid to do..."drama has left the building."

Copyright 2014 - Noelle Sangster/Sangster Entertainment LLC - All rights reserved

Noelle Sangster on Amazon

Noelle Sangster on Facebook

Keep the Blog Alive
 

    

Goth Girl and the Period

In memory of my dear friend Emily. This is the first time I've blogged since she passed away. Not only was she of my most avid blog readers, she was also one of the people that I spent many of my blog adventures with and I miss her like crazy. This piece is one that we talked about often and that I threatened and she dared me, on more than one occasion to blog about. 

This adventure is one that happens about once a month. Although, whose actual adventure it is remains unclear. I suppose it depends largely on the perspective of the person who either is the party or, the the person who is party to the adventure.
      From the perspective of being an actual participant, it's kind of more like an out of control Carnival ride, with salty chips, soda, loads of chocolate, and sometimes cotton candy.  
     This is also dedicated to all the women who have had 'life" happen to them, and the men who happen to witness the happening and those who have lived through it to see it repeat itself....and when I say happen, I just mean that there are times (Men pay close attention) when a woman really has no control  over her emotions. We're not talking about shopping for new houses with pretty kitchens and bathrooms, or for new shoes. Coincidentally, these are both extremely 'emotional' situations for most women....just saying. If what I just said sounds confusing, that's a mere glimpse into the wonderful world of unbalanced hormones.
     Boys, let me be candid in saying that your girl probably isn't demon possessed, even though you may feel at the end of the day that an exorcism could be in order. You may even find yourself 'googling' the nearest Clergyman. 
    And contrary to an ever growing and popular belief, not all women are riding on the bi-polar coaster. ;although, there are times when it may seem that there is no other reason for the way they are acting.   
       The good news is, that there is a reason, and you've met her (the reason), the one who isn't always reasonable; we've all met her at one time or another (some have met her more times than others) Allow me to introduce you to the one I like to simply call "Goth Girl." There is a great possibility that she is a distant cousin to "Hell Boy."
       This is the girl at that certain time of the month that takes over your wonderful angelic girlfriends and wives and changes them into a wicked fire breathing dragon lady. Goth Girl is not a bad girl, she's just mostly dark, brooding, lamentatious; and seemingly  strange and unusual.
    There are a few reasons for her to show her dark spirit, one being that helpless feeling of her body being taken over by an unseen force, sometimes driving her into excruciating physical pain or even making her feel like a completely different person altogether. Even the most "together' gals can quickly become  a "Goth Girl" and some will go a little further and become an "Evil Goth Girl." She is a force to reckoned with and, might I add, that one should use great caution when approaching the latter, as she can be volatile hot mess.
        As many of us know, most experiences with Goth Girl Syndrome is quite temporary, lasting three to five days per month. Be advised that it is best not to anger or upset the delicate balance of  the Dictatorship role that your woman has taken during this time of the month....that's just asking for trouble. 
        The best news is that within a few days, all should return to normal, at least for the next 28 days. :)

Cheers! Until the next adventure.



Copyright 2014 - Noelle Sangster/Sangster Entertainment LLC - All rights reserved

Keep the Blog Alive

Noelle Sangster on Amazon

Cowboy of the Rings

   Many of you have already had the pleasure of "Meeting the Marlboro Man." For those of you who haven't, please simply click the link and meet him. As always all yellow areas are links  
                         Meet the Marlboro Man

For Rob - some things I never say out loud and some things have to be said because someone else needs to hear them. 


"Some People feel the rain....others just get wet." 
                              ~ Bob Dylan


   This is a story that is very near and dear to me; it gets me emotional. It reminds me that timing is everything. It's about a sincere gift of hope from one of the most honest men that I know on this entire planet.
   Some people ask me about them; others simply respect my privacy. 
    I wear two identical rings on either hand. Both on my ring fingers. It has been mistaken and misinterpreted that I am married, which I am not.
My friend, Nick, whom I call the Marlboro Man, gave me these rings about four years ago. 

    The rings spin and have three things written on the bands - BELIEVE, TRUST, FAITH.
    Nick gave them to me, and told me that they symbolize HOPE. That they are for the days when things weren't going right; when I'm not sure what I'm doing or why I'm doing it. 
     He said they would line up whenever I was helping someone who needed me, teaching them to still BELIEVE in things, showing them that people can still TRUST other people, or simply quietly waiting with them to rediscover their FAITH in themselves, love or life.
"It's how you will know you're in the right place, Cupcake. The one on the left is yours, the one on the right belongs to the person who needs you." He said, as he gently placed each ring on my finger. His worn hands, rough and leathery were gentle, and his touch as soft and kind as his deep blue eyes.
    We met at a time when neither of us knew we were gonna need each other so much; His wife had recently passed away, and I was still licking my too fresh divorce wounds. His nephew, Wade introduced us, and he instantly welcomed me into his family. 
     Marlboro Man (Nick) says I remind him of his deceased wife Oliva, whom he fondly refers to as Livvy. "She was spunky like you. Nothing got in the way. She was hard to catch and keep. But I got her eventually." He says, chuckles, lights another cigarette, and then tugs on the chain around his weathered neck, where two identical rings like ones he's given me hang. 
     He continues after what seems on his face like a hard thought to put into words. He points his nicotine yellowed finger tip at me, the cigarette still clenched between them and says 

" Losing your love to death, like mine or to divorce like yours, steals our thunder, humbles us into knowing we can't control the universe even if we think it's ours to control. You follow me Cupcake?" I nod. "The place where the pain begins is the place it always ends..with you....Find YOU, get back on the horse and keep riding. Keep the good memories for when you need them. Lose the bad ones."
     I always say that I got the better part of the deal. He always says "Friendships that know what they have, never let go." 
     The first time he said that, I must have looked at him funny because he added, "Opening yourself up to let someone in, to simply trust someone, especially after a tragic incident in your life, is a condition that we, as people, haven't been used to for so long, it's damn near a lost art form....just an old cowboy's oh two."
  Standing in front of him then was a feeling of pure presence that I cannot easily shake and one that I will never forget, like meeting the ultimate role model.
    When Nick first handed the rings to me, and I attempted to accept them, palm up waiting...he snatched them back quickly, and it reminded me of the Hobbits, in the Lord of the Rings..This man was bestowing me with the power of these 'precious' rings. As he placed them in my up turned palms he said "Be a good steward over what you've been given. It's what's in your heart, at your core, that's pure gold. Not much else matters."

 Cheers until the next adventure!!!

Copyright 2014 - Noelle Sangster/Sangster Entertainment LLC - All rights reserved

Noelle Sangster on Amazon

    

 

Interview with the "Recruiter"... If a JOB could see me now.

   This adventure begins where most of hope us it ends, with the employment recruiter. That is, the employment recruiter telling us that we are perfect for their client, exactly what they are looking for, ecetera ecetera....visions of sugar plums, delusions of grandeur and all that stuff. 
    Unfortunately, that is not his demeanor today. This interview has begun badly. You had everything, and I mean everything planned. You did everything you were supposed to do the night before to make certain that everything was perfect and would go smoothly.
    What made this interview go so badly? What made the 'recruiter' act as if you were divorcing him rather than simply interviewing for employment? We may never know, but let's have a look at the events leading up to the demise of your new found potential future employment.
     The night before, you carefully chose the perfect 'interviewing outfit'; black slacks, a white shell and light black jacket (the summer kind) matched with a pair of heeled short boots, that are smashing on you, Darling. You add earrings and a pendant. 
     In addition to having the perfect 'interviewing outfit' pressed and ready to go; you have all of your documents in order:
1. Copies of your resume, that were emailed to you from a recruiter you interviewed with the previous week. 
2. Copies of your certifications in your specified field. 
3. The three questions that the recruiter asked you to bring with you; written on a small legal pad and answered in your
same neat hand. 
    You have meticulously filled out the online portion of the interview with the exception of creating a video, which you will do at the recruiting office. 
    There was one thing that you did put off until your actual arrival at the recruiting office and that was the 'taxman' forms.
     You arrive at the recruiting office and the gal in the front takes your identification and hands you even more forms to fill out. After you have finished that portion, she disappears into the back and emerges, followed by the "recruiter." Who on the outside and at first hand shake appears to quite normal. You follow him down the hallway to his 'office' which you will soon come to refer to as his lair, for reasons that will unfold accordingly.
     You can't stop thinking of this man as the Vampire Le Stat from Anne Rice's epic novel. He's not really a vampire.....or is he? He seems quite nice at the beginning of course, until he gets you in his office, then the gloves are off so to speak.
      The initial greeting was pleasant, however, once the 'meet and great' was over and the door was closed, you couldn't have been more displeased with his behavior. 
      First he leaned in a little too close with his bad breath and remnants of his breakfast toast still stuck like glue between his front teeth. You can tell it was white bread. 
      Next he told you just how important his clients are and you had an immediate flash back of a bad date with a guy who thinks that the world revolves around him. You see a problem beginning; You're Spidey sense is tingling.
       He asks for your resume which you proudly hand across the desk to him. If anything, you are over qualified for this position.  
      The look on his face is less than pleasant and his lips begin to move. He's asking why your phone number is not on the resume? 
      You answer "Aren't you a recruiter?" Apparently that's the wrong question to ask a vampire who's last meal was white bread. His face twists and he lifts his brow, allowing you to continue.      
     "Shouldn't the  client be contacting you?" His lips purse and you quickly make a note to self - 'don't be smarter than the recruiter.' 
       If the interview hadn't gone South yet, it's now taking a nose dive. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a parachute with me, so I'm gonna hit the ground. Hopefully, like Spider Man, or at least like Cat Woman, who lands on her feet. 
      Lets have a look at what we mostly know about vampires..the suck blood, therefore draining you of energy. Check.    
      They mesmerize you, bringing you first into their hypnotic state and then using mind control on you. Check.
       Not sure I even heard his last question. I just kept staring at the white bread lodged between his teeth and then I heard my voice saying " Yeah, I don't think is gonna work out." I was getting up and putting my resume back into my brief case. 
       The vampire recruiter's face had turned to utter disbelief that I was ending this interview and walking out of his office. I thanked him for his time, turned and went to pick up my identification that I had left with the gal at the front desk.
        A smidgen of dignity still left in tact. Check. Onto to something more suitable and less Vampirish. And away I went smiling all the way. Knowing I wasn't going to be working for that guy. 

Cheers, until the next adventure!!!



Copyright 2014 - Noelle Sangster/Sangster Entertainment LLC - All rights reserved

Noelle Sangster on Amazon

Keep the Blog Alive
       

Real Life MONOPOLY..the Money spends better

   
   Once upon a time... my favorite game (and I still play when I have time) was and is MONOPOLY. The actual board game; Not to be confused with McDonald's win free french fries and a shake. The game where you buy and sell, build and trade, collect rents and hope to own the UTILITY companies; land on FREE parking, avoid going to jail or at least get a "get out of jail FREE" card.

Over many years, I learned how to play MONOPOLY in the real world, and it was just as big an adventure as it was playing the board game as a kid. 
   The first four years of my real life Monopoly career, were the hardest; the learning years. What the learning years really are is little or no money, long hours and complete dedication. Wow, I think I just described my former job. 
    It is, it was, it always will be hard work and dedication, but what isn't? My friend once said that "Nothing worth having is easy." I completely agree with him.  
   The beauty of real Monopoly is that you don't have to be the only employee. Just like in Monopoly, once you actually get those hotels built on Baltic Ave, it is no longer a divey hole; it's a profitable wonderland darn close to Park Place.
   What you can hang your hat on is that real life Monopoly is a profitable outfit and most ordinary people will quit when it gets rough or uncomfortable, sell all their properties and head for the comfort of the sofa, a bag of chips and their television, just like in the board game... maybe throw in a beer. 
    I feel absolutely blessed to have the things that I and many others have hoped to see come to fruition over the years. Like the way Motorola innovated and lead the market with a phone that looked like a "communicator" from Star Trek, Microsoft developed software to make the dream of "a computer in every home" come to life, Apple taught a "team" how to put an "I" it...as in the Iphone, Ipad and Ipod. 
   Now comes the time when you, me, and others like us can make money and OWN a piece of the Utility companies...
Want Some? (click here)


Copyright 2014 - Noelle Sangster/Sangster Entertainment LLC - All rights reserved
Contact Noelle Sangster  at https://www.facebook.com/noelle.sangster

Noelle Sangster on Amazon

Keep The Blog Alive