Yesterday, aside from consuming a piece a toast, I spent the day at my keyboard, hands shaking, as the launch of My Favorite Find began to unfold.
In 10th grade, I was a short, chubby teenager trying to make my way through high school. I'd recently begun taking carrot pills to try and become tan, to fit into the California look that was popular at the time. Unfortunately for me, the effect was that I turned ORANGE. In fact, I looked very much like an Oompa Loompa. And we all knew it, but no one said a thing. Because that would have just been mean. But one day, as I walked into Social Studies class late, my teacher, Mr. B, announces to the class, "Here's Serena De La Luz, the girl who's gained twenty pounds in a year!" And in that moment, I died inside. It was publicly humiliating. And let's be honest, who wants to be seen as a failure with everyone watching?
I started yesterday as nervous as can be - wanting for you to like My Favorite Find, to join in, and to bring this virtual world to life. And then, there you were. You came! It was a party, and I was so happy. But just as the party was getting in to full swing, there were so many of you that the servers crashed. And for half a second, I felt like I was back in Mr. B's room, and that I had failed.
But I've learned a few things since being an Oompa Loompa. You just deal with it and you move on. And that's what we did. The servers were upgraded, and you were patient. You continued to join the party. And I love you for that.
My Favorite Find is now back in full swing. We want you there at the party, to continue to build the community, share your finds, promote your events and shoppes, and make it the most amazing resource for all.
If you haven't yet joined in, all you need to do is visit the site, request an invitation (we've had to do this to filter out spam and inappropriate content), and then wait a few minutes for your email invitation. (You may need to check your spam folder for the email). Once you receive the invitation, simply click on the link in the email, and you'll be taken onto the website to create your profile.
If you received an invitation via email yesterday, please disregard. The email contained errors and the link doesn't work. You'll need to start over by clicking here.
Thank you for your patience as we work out the kinks and the site evolves. We couldn't do it without you.
P.S. I'm not the only one following my dreams. Here are two dreamers that are special to me:
Heather Bullard's beautiful magazine has arrived. You can see a free preview here. (I'm so happy to be one of the contributors to this amazing new magazine!)
Our boy is making music. You can follow his band here . Here they are playing recently at EMP. You can catch them next at the Bumbershoot Music Festival.
