You know, I considered being coy about this. But this place is all about change and journey, so I don’t see why I shouldn’t be sharing my own personal change and journey with all of you. It seems somehow forbidden to tell you about the things I struggle with. Like it’s going to make me an outcast or it’s wrong somehow. But I just finished telling you all about how I run with scissors, so I’m going to start living the tag line. It may seem small to some of you, but things look different depending on where you stand sometimes.

I don’t have a resume. That’s right, I said it. I don’t have a resume. And what’s worse… I don’t know how to write one. I have been a government employee ever since I graduated from college. In the government, we fill out a form to get a job, and a form to apply for a new one. I have lots of forms, but no resume. Right this very second, I’m relying on the kindness of friends to help me create something and fine tune it. Because not only do I not have a resume, I have no idea where to even start.

At my age and in this world, that seems shameful to me. But it’s probably not. It’s a product of circumstance. A circumstance I am investigating right now with an eye towards the possibility of change. I feel like it might be time for my own personal shifting of gears. It might be time for a change in not only a job, but in my philosophy of the way I handle my professional life. And right now, it’s going to start with a resume.

But seriously, don’t even get me started on the cover letters.

So this morning I was at Jeff Pulver’s Social Media Breakfast in Baltimore. It was great to have the event on our own turf and to meet Baltimore people that haven’t necessarily traveled to these things in the surrounding areas. It was a very different experience from the DC breakfast, I found. And several others commented on the same thing. The DC breakfast was huge and almost intimidating. Okay, at least intimidating for me… but that’s just how I am. Believe it or not, I don’t function well in large crowds, especially large crowds of strangers. It’s something I’m consciously working on. But in the meantime, large events like that can be mildly anxiety-inducing.

But back to the point. The Baltimore event was smaller and more intimate. And the benefit for me was that I had a chance to connect with people on a more local level. As I met people and talked about what they do and what I do and what there is to be done, a common theme emerged. Baltimore is like a city on the verge of something, but it isn’t quite sure what. It doesn’t have the energy and drive of DC. It lacks the tech savvy of northern VA. But there is still an active scene of social media and entrepreneurs if you know where to look. It’s like a tale of two cities. One is old school media and PR. And it’s secret little sister is this social media cutting edge sort of thing just laying in wait.

I think as a group we could really make something in Baltimore. If we were able to join together, pool our resources and knowledge, and well…. just have some fun. I think we could take these two cities and two schools of thought and join it into one really cool area. Do I know exactly how to do all of that? No, no I don’t. But I think there are enough people covering enough different areas of knowledge that together we could have the answer.

One thing I have to say about these social media breakfasts is that I leave each one energized. Some conversation or piece of it makes me think. On this Tuesday morning, I’m grateful for that. I’m hoping that some of the people I met can turn into new contacts and new friends. I’m hoping maybe we can all be the change I’m thinking of today.

As an afterthought, and a post script to my last entry, I should also tell you I did indeed come up with that personal tag line. These days I am “Runs with scissors!” I grew up believing there are two types of people in this world…. “Plays nice with others” and “Runs with scissors”. On the surface, running with scissors seems uncooperative. Kind of like the dangerous version of “Eats paste”. But I see it a bit differently. To me it’s not a matter of cooperation, it’s a matter of looking at things differently. In my job I spend a lot of time doing things the way they have always been done because that’s the way to do them. Often I don’t agree with the way, but there’s not much I can do about a lot of it. I play nice, I am diplomatic and tactful and all of that. My bosses aren’t afraid to let me loose in public or anything. But I do have a slight edge to me. I do buck against process solely for the point of process. I want to find new an innovative ways to do things. I want to look at things differently and enjoy change. I run with scissors.

Ever since I RSVPed to Jeff Pulver’s upcoming social media breakfast in DC, I’ve been having heartburn over this personal tag line. The invitation clearly states that we are to come prepared with a “Personal Tag Line” to be placed on our name badge. Of course, name badges are no one’s favorite accessory but I do understand the need for them. And I’m also sure there is a nifty use for the personal tag line to be placed on them. But in my little head right now, all I can think of is the fact that I have absolutely no idea what my personal tag line might be. (And somehow I’m thinking that writing “I have no idea what to put here.” will not make me one of the cool kids.) What would my personal tag line even be? How personal should it be? How can I manage to sum myself up and be witty on a name badge, of all things?

First I thought I wanted to collect suggestions from my readers, but that poses a few interesting problems. First of all, I might not get a darn thing out of you. Second of all, well…. I’ll keep that one to myself. After I hit that dead end, I decided maybe I should ask you all what your personal tag line is. Don’t worry, I promise not to copy your work. (Although, you know, I’m still open to suggestions.)

Anyway, back to the point. If you would be so kind, please insert your own personal tag line into the comments of this post. I promise not to call them my own, and I’m interested in what you have to say.

Since my last post about dating and social media, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. (Dangerous, I know.) And it seems to me the issue just grows and expands the more I look at it. Today I can’t stop thinking about The Great Divide. You know, that chasm that exists between your online and offline worlds.

Okay okay, I can hear the protests now. Your online life is your real life. There is no divide. The two are seamlessly integrated in your perfect world. Your twitter buddies skip happily down the lane holding hands with your friends from high school. Wait, what’s that? They don’t? I thought not.

I will admit that for a select few, maybe their worlds are merged. Maybe you have achieved harmony and balance. But for the majority of us, I’d be willing to believe we are playing a Jekyll and Hyde kind of game with online and off. I am not implying that anyone is ashamed of their status in our fishbowl or that we are actively hiding who we are and what we do. I’m just saying that for most of us, there are two categories of people. Those who are online (and inherently get it) and those who are off (and usually don’t). And as a rule, never the twain shall meet.

There are gray areas in my little hypothesis too. It is not neat and tidy. For example, I have two very dear friends who I met in Second Life. We have traveled to each other’s homes, we talk constantly, we share details about all aspects of our lives. These are real people with whom I have a real relationship. But they are still my online friends. And my friend who I’ve known since Girl Scouts understands these two ladies are dear to me, would meet them and hang out with them, but will never quite grasp how it is they became important in my life.

I have offline friends who know about my podcast. I have online friends who know my street address. And both groups would have a conversation with me about any aspect of my life. I am not ashamed of who I am in any arena and I am not afraid to share with people. But with my online friends I see that topics tend towards online things, and with my offline friends I see that we keep mostly away from that. And therein lies the divide.

I am finding more and more that is rare to find people who bridge the divide. It does not mean those connections are less real but somehow they remain contained to their original form. To attempt to stretch them would cause strain and ruin personal dynamics. And so most people tend to stay on their side of the chasm. Online or offline. Apples and oranges.

This all jumps into sharp relief for me as I realize I have met a rare friend recently. The true hybrid. The bridge over The Great Divide. He geeks out in different ways, but is genuinely interested in my online life. He happily listens to conversations about my microphone, my Second Life adventures, or my social networking stories. He wants me to introduce him to virtual worlds and show him what they look like to me. He knows where I live, what I do for a living, how many times I’ve been divorced, what my avatar looks like, and what kind of mixer I have. He thinks it’s cool. And every time we move from chatting about a mutual acquaintance to chatting about virtual worlds, I am always startled by how effortlessly one flows in to the other.  He is a rare type and I am both fascinated by and grateful for him.

So how about all of you. Do you see The Divide in your lives, or have you found ways to bridge it completely? Do you have friends on both sides? Have you ever met a bridge? Do you feel this division in your life, or do you think I’m ranting on about nothing? I’m interested in how other people feel about this.