it's my island

Fundraising with Friends, Co-Starring Chocolate and Pork

// August 31st, 2008 // Comments Off // Culinary, Points In Time

Warning, if you are a strong vegetarian onwards you should know I am a great omnivore and only have respect for my foodsources. This article is highly doused in the art of pork and I hope you will still love me in the end.

I think I’m finally fully out of my meat-choco-coma. It took a few days and a lot of chocolate bacon flashbacks, but I think I’m well on the mend. Mine and others in our area were struck with this fantastic affliction last Sunday when Lell Trogdon opened her doors for a friends fundraiser like no other.

Lell in conjunction with Serena, the Grateful Growers wonderful products, the Secret Chocolatier, and a cast of friends and family helped us reach far towards our Terra Madre goal!

Some Snapshots

If you are having trouble viewing what is below check out some of the pictures on flickr.
[swfobj src=wp-content/files/Flash/Fundraiser/Lell_Fundraiser.swf /]

A Day of the Porcinus

It cannot be understated what great pork raisers Grateful Growers are. It can also not be understated what Lell Trogdon can do with such fine materials. Pork shoulder, butt, ham, bacon, bratwurst and more were soaked, slathered, slow cooked, grilled, to perfection. Thunder Cats.. Hooo… oh wait. I digress.

In addition there was scones, cream sausage gravy, eggs with sausage and eggs with green chilis, with cheese grits for breakfast. Lunch onward was served the bulk of the meats and a few vegetables and a vegetarian lasagna made an appearance, but it was mostly about pork.

A meat induced coma was seen drifting in peoples eyes all day. It was awesome.

Dirty Little Secret

The Secret Chocolatier brought his upcoming arsenal of chocolate might out for a tour. Bill Dietz is my chocolate superman, he shares that title by many adoring fans in our area. We’re working hard to grow that fan base (join today!) and to that extent are opening up his culinary war chest to bring out some great eats.

The vast chocolate landscape included an almond encrusted triangular chocolate pate with accompanying caramel sauce, a chocolate mousse, a chocolate torte, chocolate chunk brownies dipped in dark chocolate coating, a chocolate fudge cake with chocolate icing, a chocolate fudge cake with cream cheese icing, and a carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Phew.. if the thought of that at your party doesn’t make you quiver, you don’t love a great dessert.

If the meat didn’t do it, The Secret Chocolatier did. Some looked frantically around for a place to nap. An outdoor sofa awaited many.

Pandora Traffle

Did I mention that The Secret Chocolatier donated a Pandora truffle for raffle? Weighing in at 16 oz it is something to behold, and hopefully to be shared by many. It was contended for, fought over, people schemed, but in the end the wonderful Denise Kuntz was given a phone call that she had won the prize (to the devastation of the still hanging crowd). Luckily Denise is sweet and said she would share!

All For Who? What?

All because Robin and I really want to be a part of a great experience with more great people in an effort to grow, capture, and bring back some of the inspiration of Slow Food’s Terra Madre. We’ve been fundraising for a few weeks and have had a great outpouring from family, friends, and even local farmers who share our passion, or want us to bring them back some of the experience.

Quick Terra Madre Primer, bi-ennial event in Turin, Italy:
What do you get when you build a conference around sharing culture, tradition, survival, and growth of the worlds food system.
5000 farmers, 1000 chefs, 2000 students and volunteers to collectively communicate.

We Help Each Other

I’ve taken to heart over the past few years that friends help each other. It’s been a rocky time for everyone I’ve known, across industries, across regions, but we share out support be it with kind words, time, opportunities, and out of pocket. Our friends are pivotal in our growth and we are so very blessed in having good ones.

Thanks to everyone who made our morning, lunch, and afternoon such a delight. To those who could not make it you were missed and while we tried to make up for your loss, we do poorly compared to the real thing.

Our goal is not met and we’re charging on! If you can help us let us know! (It’s a karmic win too!)

Andy’s Strengths v2.0

// February 21st, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Points In Time

Jeff recently got me the revised Tom Rath book, Strengths Finder 2.0. Somewhere around 4 years ago I completed my first Strengths test and have since gone on to enjoy many works of optimal thinkers.

Past Strengths

Originally in 2004 I tested for the main strengths of:

* Strategic
* Restorative
* Communication
* Ideation
* Individualization

Current Strengths

Retesting in the 2008 Strengths Finder 2.0:

* Strategic
* Individualization
* Learner
* Achiever
* Futuristic

Understanding the Meanings of You

According to Rath version 2.0 includes 5,000 new combinations within the tests responses and that while some may change the likelihood is what does shift was in your top 10 all along. I also believe that we are in constant growth and as we experience new things and different ways of processing we will grow and shift these islands of meta-self around fairly regularly.

In my case I still align with my primary value of Strategic. Others are drifting place or alignment but and I can see myself within the details. Of course some will say anyone can relate to their fortune. Maybe true. Take it all as a grain of sand and build upon it what you will. I am goal oriented and having ideas of where I currently am helps me hone those further and possibly bring others to bear through natural synergies.

I recommend looking in to Strengths Finder and the Authentic Happiness questionnaires at the University of Pennsylvania. If information is vital in the world isn’t it worth your time to understand your self a bit more?

Strengths Finder 2.0 gives a real nice summation to how each strength is put in play. Here’s my primary strength, Strategic.

Strategic

By nature, you usually feel satisfied with life when your innovative thinking style is appreciated. You automatically pinpoint trends, notice problems, or identify opportunities many people overlook. Armed with this knowledge, you usually devise alternative courses of action. By evaluating the circumstances, available resources, and/or the potential consequences of each plan, you can select the best option. Because of your strengths, you periodically identify problems others fail to notice.

You might create solutions and find the right answers. Perhaps you yearn to improve certain things about yourself, other people, or situations. Maybe you are drawn to specific kinds of classes, books, or activities. Why? Maybe they promise to give you the skills or knowledge you seek. Instinctively, you feel wonderful when people value your innovative and original ideas. You are likely to help them envision what can be accomplished in the coming months, years, or decades.

Chances are good that you may pay attention to some of the things going on around you. Perhaps you listen, quiz people, read, or take notes. As you accumulate information, you might disregard what is unrelated, and pay heed to what seems important. Sometimes the more you reflect on what you know, certain problems reveal themselves, and eventually some solutions start taking shape in your mind. Then you try to select the best plan from your list of options.

Driven by your talents, you probably feel very good about yourself and life in general when you know the exact words to express an idea or a feeling. Language has fascinated you since childhood. Your ever-expanding vocabulary often earns you compliments.

Where to Go From Here

A grain of sand and a few seashells adorning the new wing of my mental sand castle. It will continue to evolve and shape, even at times may need rebuilding. This updated information provides me with some new perspectives and thoughts to digest. If you find some of your own along the way feel free to add them here so I might know you even better.

-a

Your Mind and Your Life, Fighting Irrationality

// February 13th, 2008 // Comments Off // Excursions, Life Happens

I love to experience life and the world. To many it looks like I am defiant or full of challenge but really it is a zest for the experience. Maybe I have some kinesthesia issues. Recently during a scuba trip on Grand Cayman I was to find myself in a position I have rarely, if ever, found myself in. Near panic.

When you are a child, or young adult, being locked in a dark place is probably the closet to panic you get. The overwhelming fear of the unknown, a confined space, darkness, can usually evoke a pretty good shriek from many people whereupon you are released by teasing siblings or friends from your torment.

In scuba diving many people cannot do it. Whether it’s the water, a bunch of gear on you, breathing apparatus, or something more simple many people I speak with do not have what it takes to submerge themselves.

Being a Floridian I’ve always loved the water. My mother affectionately called me part fish for my comfort and never ending joy I found in pools or the sea. I started diving in 1992 at Seacamp. While I have more skydives than water dives I have always considered diving like riding a bicycle. Once I learned it’s all fairly rote in my memory. Gear assembly and testing, signs, the only thing I have to reference is my dive tables.

Heading to Cayman this year I found myself with a sinus headcold. For the first two days on island I thought my eyes would never stop tearing due to the unwanted pressure in my head. We scrubbed a few dive days to allow this to work itself out. During which time my wife and I took to snorkeling and free diving. Free diving allowed me to test what parts of my head were clogged and not by having to equalize multiple times and varying depths.

On the third day my head felt clear with minimal if any pressure build ups. We decided to make a comfortable dive at [Eden Rock](http://www.edenrockdive.com/). Robin and I were buddies following my father and step-mother down to Devil’s Grotto (a series of little tunnels and such). Like normal I felt comfortable, breathing was zen like, everything felt good. Robin and I stayed down about 55 minutes in total.

We then went to lunch at the [Sunset House](http://www.sunsethouse.com/), calculating our surface interval we prepared for another dive. I wanted to see the Mermaid again and my new dive buddy Beth and I were going to visit the wall at about 60ft. We swam out to our marker with family, submerged, and slowly found our way to the Mermaid standing tall in waters clear to about 50-60ft. Taking pictures of my dad being a hooligan we turned and began to make our way to a sunken deployment craft.

We descended further and I began to swallow what I was thinking was salt water. I began to think there was a light leak in my mask and somehow during breathing I was inhaling water. Diversionary thoughts began to enter my head as this sensation increased over the next few minutes. My mind was starting to echo really stupid thoughts of, ‘Sure would suck to have to emergency ascend’, or ‘How do I breathe again?’. Slowly but surely my mind began to get on a tear as this fluid—drinking—sensation built. My heart began a sympathetic response and began to race.

With Beth in the lead and my father next to me I motioned that I needed to stop. I was starting to hyperventilate at about 45ft and my logical mind could not for the life of it get my emotional self under control. I knew I could breath, I knew the life line of tubes connecting me to my can of air was worthy so I sank to my knees, motioned unease and held my mask and my mouthpiece. I know stupid things happen in the moment so I just sat there with my eyes closed, letting the sine wave of panic pass through me. I motioned that my heart was racing but how it was perceived I can only guess. I was blowing so many bubbles I went from 2400psi to 1700psi in moments.

We split the group up, Beth to go with my step mother Page and I would return to shallower waters to exit with my father. We turned and parted ways. A few minutes later my heart stabilized, the fluid in my throat stopped running, and my logical self retook control of my senses. I communicated with my father and we tooled around for a few minutes more then exited for what would be a short 27m dive.

When I took my mask off I found out I had a nose bleed, my medical father thinks I had sinus rupture and I was swallowing the drainage / blood from the blow out. What an amazing and frightening experience.

When you find yourself in an alien environment, or maybe just out of your situational comfort zone, and your body begins to abreact at something it can’t internalize properly it feeds your emotional mind a lot of dark fodder. The more I try to be my rational, logical, normal self, the more tenuous the feeling of actual control is when a situation is spinning out of your control.

The best thing one can do is stop and hold on. We are a thermodynamic device so inputs will be cyclical and responsive to what is happening. If you can ride out the wave you will probably see yourself safely through to the end but going all out emotional, or reptillian mind, will only cause you harm. Can you imagine if I had bolted to the surface? I would have put myself from a bad situation to worse in heartbeats.

The next best thing you need to do is extract yourself from the situation. Once I regained some function of mind the safest thing for all of us was to abort the dive. With clear instructions and good buddies I was able to make my way back to safer waters and further regain my faculties and composure. Am I disappointed I didn’t get to see the wall this time? Sure. Am I forever happy to have my health and know I can dive another day? Undoubtedly.

The older I get the more I understand that sometimes we have very little control of ourselves. When the amplitude of panic rises you have to be ready to react in safe manners. Whether it’s deploying a canopy, diving the seas, or driving the highway, you have to be ready for any situation and be ready to try and handle it, or escape from it, like a pro.

Here’s to a safe return and a new story to tell.

-a

Sipping Coffee Thoughtfully

// January 29th, 2008 // Comments Off // Points In Time

Robin and I are out at Smelly Cat in NoDa, reflecting, pausing before running more. I wish I could have bought this place a few years ago. Man I’d have turned it into something special. Ah well, in another reality I’m sure it’s going on and I rock. It’s all good though, we’re going to rock in any reality. hah!

Strobist gave IMI a little link mention with the video we put out of the recent meetup outing. We have nothing but love for the growing communities around us and are glad to see them blossoming.

To the extent that I’ve started a new blog, Charlotte Art (.info), in an effort to start tracking down and helping local artists into the light. There are many and they are all so impassioned.

I like to think I’m building a bridge between the constructive—imaginative local artists and local designers, decorators, project coordinators, editors, etc, that can utilize the talented people around us.

Signups for either way of traffic coming soon. You can email
me as well.

I’ve been running so fast from one event, fire, request, meetup, responsibility, after another. It has been a great pleasure to meet many new faces, artists, farmers, people.

Somehow I managed to create a plethora of new sites (if you use IE stay away for now or install firefox today). More like they have finally matured to semi-usable states. Check out the new IMI landing page and see for yourself. The main Photography site needs love but it feels pretty solid, the real one that I need to finish up is the new gallery / portfolio. I just need more time in the day. Who doesn’t. Luckily I really enjoy the work.

Lots of new initiatives and maturing other ones on the horizon. 2008 is feeling pretty strong.

-a

Farewell Poppy

// January 10th, 2008 // 5 Comments » // Life Happens

On Sunday, January 6th, 2008 my grandfather, Honorico “Ric” Ciordia, known to many of us as Pop or Poppy, passed away. My grandfather was someone very special and dear to me. He had the perfect set of grandfatherly ways. He lifted me up in times of doubt and set me back on the path when it looked like I had wandered a bit too far. His beautiful mix between giving and discipline, listening and action, teaching and watching, was well played and beautiful.

My earliest memories of my grandfather are surrounded by lemon gumdrops. Riding with him in his old cadillac with a secret stash of the sweet and sour treats buried in the center console. He paced me on them but he seemed to always have them. Something about his consistency with this really made an impact on me.

Then came the [Georgia Bulldogs](http://www.georgiadogs.com/). Good ol’UGA. While he went and graduated from the University of Tennessee he had a real team spirit for Georgia. My grandfather and father deeply indoctrinated us into Georgia football. We knew all the fight songs, tales, went through their good streaks and bad. Those times were marvelous and until you experience large scale college football, the communion it provides you won’t quite understand it. Unfortunately UGA didn’t want me so my football spirit waned over the years.

As soon as I was able to reach his bar (which I now use for my elixir, espresso) he taught me how to make the perfect Scotch and water. No matter the time of day, no matter how many had come before Pop would ring out his drinking catch-phrase, “First to day!” followed by “Salud!”. From his home garden he raised his own grapes (among many other good veggies) and used his laboratory space (and assistants) to produce some very fine (very alcoholic) wine. My cousin Kristin McKnight wrote the following in 2003 to commemorate some of our early wine memories.

Poppy’s Wine

Down in his basement he did brew
That muscadine wine with a taste so true

Oh Oh that muscadine wine
Oh Oh made me feel so fine

Made with grapes on the government’s tab
We all know what you were doing in that lab

Oh Oh drinkin that muscadine wine
Oh Oh a great way to past the time

Well you drink with young ones, you drink it with old
No matter what your age the effects are ten-fold

If you were there in the early years, you get what I’m preaching
Because then it was in abundance and forever we were reaching

Oh Oh for that bottle of muscadine wine
Oh Oh hope I don’t get outta line

But who cares … Cuz I’m drinking that muscadine wine

The taste was so sweet, a nectar so fine,
It could only be … Poppy’s Wine!

— Kristin McKnight ‘03

I used to love being at his home in Griffin, Georgia. A classic ranch style house. He always kept a golf-cart for riding around his neighborhood or to the grocery store right down the street. The grandkids, myself included, used to wear that thing out whistling around the yard and street (sometimes on two wheels..). I’m surprised in hindsight we never got seriously injured. The only thing we walked away with (generally) was a lot of itching due to aging fiberglass frames.

His basement was a place I spent a lot of my time. It was filled with the artifacts of his travels, his hobbies (small boat replica’s, collecting, etc), his experiments, his slide reels and more. I could spend hours in a corner just exploring and thinking. Open another door, dig through another cubby, look through another volume of notes, it was amazing stuff.

He also collected wine labels which he would affix to the wall. As we came of age we would send him special labels from our own travels. The collection started small but over the years it grew to encompass two walls. I wish I had my own collection of pictures of this but my memory will have to serve.

While as he got older he faced more struggles and challenges than his body could keep up with I will always cherish the memories we had and work on not forgetting them. From the stories he told of being raised in Puerto Rico, to his time in the Navy, multiple birthdays, trips to far flung places. He was a brilliant man and lived in a world of good order. As I wrote this and went through piles of his life and the memories I have of him I cannot see a trace of regret. He was exposed to many facets of the world and seemed to have taken them in with vigor and determination. We should all be so lucky.

I am thankful to the times we had together and sad at the loss of not being able to have my future children know him. My wife tells me it is now my job to bring his experiences through me to our children. I think I can do that. At a family wedding a year or so ago the groom spoke of how we were where we were because of those that came before us. As I get older I see more of the collection of who I am by those who have been around me and am thankful for their contributed wisdom.

To my dear dear grandfather, Pop, I love you, I will miss you.

Obituary

DR. HONORICO “RIC” CIORDIA
1920 - 2008

Dr. H. “Ric” Ciordia, 87, of Pensacola, FL, and formerly of Griffin, GA, died January 6, 2008. Dr. Ciordia was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Survivors include his wife, Polly Pearson Ciordia; children, Dr. Richard H. (Page) Ciordia, of Pensacola, FL, and Cynthia (John) McKnight of St. Simons Island, GA. He was “Poppy” to his six grandchildren and two great-grandsons: Kristin McKnight of Edwards, CO; Melissa (Mike) Brant of Dublin, CA; Dr. David Johnson of Salisbury, MD; Elizabeth Johnson, Andy (Robin) Ciordia, and Catherine Ciordia, of Charlotte, NC; Cameron Lott of Dublin, CA; and Joey Ryan of Charlotte, NC.

He received his BA, MS and PhD degrees in Zoology from the University of Tennessee. He obtained a research grant from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in 1953 to study the effects of radiation on parasites and on parasitized animals. For 31 years he served as a Veterinary Parasitologist for the Agricultural Research Service, U.S.D.A., Georgia Experiment Station, Griffin, GA until his retirement in 1986. During his tenure there, he served as Adjunct Professor of Parasitology and as Professor Emeritus at The University of Georgia. He was the author of numerous scientific publications in his field. In 1997 he was honored by the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists with the Distinguished Service Award in appreciation for outstanding service to the advancement of veterinary parasitology..

He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Navy. He was a member of the Elks Club of Griffin and a volunteer at the Medical Center Clinic in Pensacola.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to support his interests in education and classical music. Contributions may be made to: Arch Foundation, UGA Griffin Campus, 1109 Experiment Street, Griffin, GA 30223 or Friends of the Saenger, Attn: Renovation, P.O. Box 13666, Pensacola, FL 32591.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at Harper-Morris Memorial Chapel in Pensacola with memorial service to begin at 6:00 p.m. A graveside service will be held at Westwood Gardens, Griffin, GA at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008.

The family of Honorico Ciordia wishes to give special thanks to the staff of Carpenter’s Creek Community, West Florida Hospital, The Haven, and Covenant Hospice for their compassion, kindness, and especially their appreciation of Ric’s humor. He could make everyone smile and laugh. First Today!