A is for Adulthood

Thank you once again Instagram for allowing me to meet another cool person. A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking with Ben Staley, a filmmaker that I stumbled upon while on Instagram early one morning. He had posted an image of the two story log cabin he was raised in while growing up in Alaska with no electricity. I was immediately hooked, I had to know more about this childhood that seemed so foreign to me. What did it look like? What did it feel like? What sort of grown up do you become when you grow up in Alaska and now live in L.A.?As a storyteller, Ben likes to share some of his life's stories on a blog he hosts on his website. I encourage you to check them out, especially the ones about his youth in Alaska. In the hour I spent on the phone with him, I was able to take an audible snap shot of a self sufficient storyteller with a thirst for knowledge and an Emmy at home! http://www.dailystaley.com/stories/

Burning man is that annual event that takes place out in the desert where adults feel free to act like kids... and smelly people and druggies, etc. This episode I got to investigate a little further to see if Burning Man was really all the drugs and dirty r(c)ock and roll that it is made out to be. And perhaps in many ways it is, but on top of that is a layer of so much more... I think . Join us as we chat with Ryan and Reiff about what really happens for a week every August in Black Rock City. 

This week I sat down with my little sister to chat about the youth of today and what she wants to be when she grows up, since she is heading off to college in the fall. This episode made me feel like a grown ass adult... "kids these days". 

An audio documentary about Growing up.

I sit down and chat this week with friend and sometimes co-worker, Ryan Bartley. We laugh about film set hijinks and have a candid conversation about why we do what we do. If you like working hard and playing the lottery, this is the industry for you.

This week I chat with vocalist Kia Hamm. Why did it take typing her last name to realize that her last name has to do with food, you will just have to listen to this episode to understand the reference. Kia is always on the move, going to school , working out and singing. I believe she was driving and cooking during this chat.  No one was harmed in the multi-tasking of this episode. Enjoy!

On a street corner just up the block from Colorado Blvd in Pasadena sits an Arthur Murray dance school. I've been in the vicinity plenty of times to drop off dry cleaning or grab some late night Del Taco, but today I step into Arthur Murray to chat about dance. When I was in elementary school I remember that I wanted to be a dancer just like Michael Jackson. Somehow I thought that was a solid career choice...but perhaps I wasn't all that wrong . This week George Estrada shares his love for dance and how it allows him to help others. He also offers up an interesting suggestion that those who are still wandering in search of direction should contemplate a career in dance. Dance isn't just a career , it's a life. 

This week I chat with motel owner and operator Kumar, of the Wigwam hotel, located on historic route 66. Motels came into existence at the dawn of the highway system in 1920's America. With more people than ever traveling by motor there was a demand for roadside rest stops. Around that time, Frank Redford established the Wigwam motel chain. The wigwam is/was a chain of seven motels with rooms shaped like teepees. In 1949 the San Bernardino Location was constructed ( One of three remaining). To this day the motel continues to serve as a road side attraction and rest stop destination for route 66 travelers and wanderers alike.What would it be like to tend to travelers day in and day out? Motels operate with small staffs, often requiring around the clock availability. Would you be willing to let your job become your life?

This week my co-host Scheereen joins me to gab about her career venture into the world of State Park work . She left a job that she could no longer stand, to return to school so she could discover the career that would bring her satisfaction. Collegiate studies played a role in her new discovery, but not in the way that one may have thought. Education is a life-long process that comes in all shapes and forms, and Scheereen's story is a perfect example of such. 

This week I talk with Joey the cat (no he is not a cat) in San Francisco about his career in the tech startup industry and his new transition to running his own skee-ball arcade company.  This podcast reeks of entrepreneurship and cats!

Friend and fellow Pasadenian, Oscar Gutierrez joined me on my couch for some Guacamole and chips and green beer to talk to me about just what a social worker is and what a snap shot of that career can look like. Social work is a lot more than just placing children in foster homes. So much for my television educated understanding of social workers...

Inspirational survivor and Olympic hopeful Kevin Pearce, is a snowboarder that was forced into early retirement  after suffering a traumatic brain injury.  A hard working go-getter since childhood, Kevin molded this experience into a new path in brain health and injury advocacy. I chatted with Kevin over the phone about what he wanted to be when he grew up , life as a snowboarder, his on-going recovery and the success of " The Crash Reel" , an award wining documentary of which he is the star.

This week I ( Jeanette) sat down with Eric Barry at his home in San Francisco to talk about his podcast and previous work experience, and how that has affected his future endeavors. If anything is to be learned from this podcast, because I feel like all podcasts should be an after-school special: Don't judge a book by a cover, or rather, don't do it too often.Enjoy! (That's what she said)

In this podcast I chat with Sara Farr of the Puppet Improv Project in Austin Texas. We chat about puppetry ... one of many things I am a nerd about ...deep in the heart of Texas (clap clap clap)! This is another episode about grown ass adults doing awesome youthful things. - J

This week we talk about those who still live at home with the folks and family into adulthood.I was shocked at how little living at home frazed Scheereen and this week's guest. I guess I am just crazy :)