Musings of a Graphic Designer

I'm a graphic designer who loves images. Web site: www.terrinakamura.com #Verizon #Brandpartner #GraphicDesign #photography #instagram 

[terrinakamura]

CES 2025: A Day of Innovation, Resilience, and the Sphere’s Magic

January 7, 2025—The First Day of CES, by Terri Nakamura An Early Start for the Delta Keynote Mornings and I aren’t the best of friends, but today was an exception. At 7 AM, I was up and ready to head to the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) West Hall. Why the early start when doors didn’t open until 10 AM? Delta. After missing out on tickets earlier, I wasn’t taking any chances on securing…

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Have You Been Victimized by Hackers?

Hi guys. Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you can take a few minutes to read about getting my 15-year-old Twitter account, @terrinakamura, hacked and stolen. Please watch the video for more information. Thanks again!

My name is Terri Nakamura, I’m a graphic designer and writer, and I’ve been a social media aficionado and netizen since the early 2000s. On March 18, 2024, my tweets and connections were rudely hijacked, and I was shocked to discover that hackers had stolen my paid “Twitter Blue” @terrinakamura Twitter/X account! Has this happened to you or someone close to you? It’s worrisome, time-consuming,…

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[terrinakamura]

Social Media’s Impact on Kids – What’s Next for Tech? By Terri Nakamura

Thank you for visiting my blog. Your feedback is welcomed and appreciated.

Keeping kids safe on social media. Photo: Unsplash with Andrej Lišakov Social Media’s Impact on Kids – What’s Next for Tech? During my four days at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), I had the opportunity to attend only one panel discussion. I’m grateful that I chose to listen and see this particular one in person. A lengthy queue of eager attendees had formed, all looking forward to hearing…

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[terrinakamura]

This week was insane for me🤪. How was yours? I attended an event at Vermillion❣️, a gallery space on Capitol Hill sponsored by Creative Commons (CC), on Monday. Do you know what CC is?  Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that provides free copyright licenses 📝 to creators, authors📚 & artists (including musicians 🎼), which lets them share their work while retaining some rights. I was curious about the reason for the event, so I went. Was it fundraising💵? In a way, yes, similar to the “quiet phase” of a capital campaign 🤫. They were in town meeting organizations that already support them, & it gave them a chance to connect with other supporters 🤝 & gather information. The resources available via CC are not just the arts🎨, like Flickr or Unsplash 📷, or the music site Tribe of Noise 🎶. Some include data sets that can used by researchers📈. As taxpayers, we funded many of the projects. CC helps make the data accessible to the public📢. I spoke with CEO Catherine Stihler☝️. She’s passionate about CC’s purpose & helping it expand to more countries 🌏. Fascinating note: Catherine, pictured in the carousel, was a European Parliament (MEP) member for Scotland from 1999 to 2019🇬🇧. Workwise, 2 of my website projects 💻 are nearly ready to launch🚀. It has been intense & stressful to get to this point😧, but I see the light at the end of both tunnels. Still, I’m exhausted🥱! Last night, as I was tweeting about ChatGPT🐦 with crime photographer @ScotlandYardCSI 📸, our conversation was seen by Colin Baker with Aljazeera 📺. He emailed me, asking if he could interview me via Zoom 🖥️. So, at 1 AM, his producer helped get me set up, & we spoke. Very random! Also in the news, today, my husband, David, appeared in a story on My Northwest 📰 about Seattle Advertising. Not bad for a pair of unknowns 👫! I’m using GPT4 & still amazed. Have you tried it yet? ➡️ Find ChatGPT on openai.com, and scroll down to “Try ChatGPT.” . . Photos: #CapitolHill #ArtGallery #vermillion #creativecommons #ChatGPT #Aljazeera #Twitterposts BOOKNOTES: Warm (HUGS) & thanks to @CarolStephen, Karl Stillman & @sensastone . . . (at Vermillion Art Gallery and Bar) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp7AYkeuuPA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

Are your old-school photos labeled & organized in albums📒? Most of our pictures are in boxes, loosely grouped by the decades, but not really🗃️. A few are occasionally pulled & end up in a separate box📥. They’re the ones mostly seen here. My personal digital photos aren’t much better🤳. I don’t know how it is for you, but the core people in my life generally stay in my life🤗. A few are either jettisoned or fade along the way🚫. It’s not that different from friends on IG. Sometimes I think about a friend here that I haven’t seen for a long time & try to find them⌛. Do you do that? I mention disorganized photos📚 because I was looking for a Polaroid I took of a friend, @lauraurbanperry & couldn’t find it! I was going to include it here🤷‍♀️. Laura worked as a graphic designer & web designer & we first met in the late ‘70s/early ’80s 👭. Monday, I was scheduled to send page designs & images for a website to a WordPress developer💻, but Sunday night, the developer bailed🏃‍♀️. So, Monday was chaotic😲, but thankfully, Laura helped me connect with Scott Marlow, a WordPress pro🤝. Hooray🎉 Scott is smart & talented👍, pleasant, professional & efficient, plus he used to live in West Seattle, not far from our store, @alkisurfshop🏖️. So, we are off & running, thanks to Laura🏃‍♂️! They say old friends are best🏆. It’s beautiful how longtime friends come through for us. I feel such gratitude to the terrific people in my life🙏. So, I grabbed photos from the past 5 decades, Including @barbarajweaverlloyd in the 1970s, me & my husband in the 2000s, & @jackandpele at Alki Surf shop in 2016. It’s a lost cause for us to organize our photos into albums🖼️, so they will stay in boxes. But I love real photographs. They’re tangible reminders of moments in time 🕰️. Are your photos organized🤔? PHOTOS: #Collegeroomies #roommate #oldfriendsarethebestfriends #1970s #1980s #1990s #2000s #2010s #BMW2002 #alkisurfshop #tuxedos #cocktailparty BOOKNOTES: ((HUGS)) to @nixkuroi @smemail2 @peggyyapplee (at Central District, Seattle) https://www.instagram.com/p/CppFz0MurQ7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

It’s so cold here🥶! Spring is MIA. How is it where you live? We just came back from 2 days at our Airbnb, The Horsfall House🏡. We enjoyed seeing the snow fall❄️, but we were really glad it didn’t stick! The past year lots of articles have criticized Airbnb📰 & I understand why. The honeymoon is long over for both the owners of properties as well as the guests who stay in them🥰. Airbnbs used to be a cheaper alternative 💵 & are still a great deal for large groups, but they can also be a pain in the neck🥲. Some hosts have long lists of tasks (strip beds 🛏️, put laundry in the washing machine, etc.) 🧼. Um. No, thanks. When you leave a hotel, the only thing you need to do is close the door. Sadly, we’ve had guests break or take things💔. We’ve lost binoculars, a large bowl, a Pendleton blanket, a collectible vintage Rainier beer bottle & untold numbers of wine glasses🍷 and tumblers have gone missing. Some items are stolen & others probably accidentally broke. A few of our guests over the past 9 years have confessed, but they’re outliers! Also painful for both guests & hosts is the rising cleaning fees. Thanks to Covid😷, it takes much longer to clean a house🏠. Hosts must observe cleaning protocols that add time & require more supplies — all add up. Our house is a unique🏡100+ year old homestead with charming & eccentric features. There is a secret room, decorated by one of our favorite friends, @Wendyadams2724087. It's fun when guests discover it. It’s place to digital detox from SM for a couple of days🤳. When I’m there, I don’t even think about IG, Twitter & others until we’re on the freeway coming home🚘. Do you use social media every day📲? Besides IG, where do you regularly spend time🐦? . . BOOKNOTES: Heartfelt gratitude to IRL friends, @bridge_raftery @alessandrorea @barbiesartgallery PHOTOS: me in @xstitch2018's #cowl #randle #airbnbsuperhost #whitepass #giffordpinchot #mtsthelens #digitaldetox #snowfall #mtrainier . . . (at The Horsfall House) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpXC-GDuhyy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

Snow in Seattle is rare but beautiful❄️. It’s cold, but compared to other cities, we’re lucky. Late today, I took a short walk🚶‍♀️. The snow is gone though there were still small deposits on the north sides of houses. There are NO FLOWERS in sight🚫! I hoped to find some to post today, but winter still has a grip🥶. The best treat was seeing Mt Rainier out in all its glory🏔️. A few days ago, I saw an encouraging story about one of my favorite subjects: Instagram.  Petapixel, a photo blog📷, began, “A new report claims that Instagram Reels views are plummeting while photos are finally performing better on the social media platform. 📰” They quoted Adweek, a US advertising trade publication, which said Reels views are falling as IG corrects its emphasis on videos🎬. Social strategists have reported Reels as earning fewer views, where the performance of photos has improved🙂. (feed-post engagement had decreased by 44%. ) Maybe you’ve noticed fewer Reels in your feed 🎞️ or better performance of your photos🤳? Or perhaps your Reels’ views have been underwhelming 😢?  IG’s change of focus impacts marketers who prepared budgets to create video content in 2023 💰. The changing priorities have messed with many of us, but have also impacted branding agencies, undermining their ability to develop effective strategies for their clients 📊.  At least IG applies pain evenly as both users & advertisers have been penalized by poor leadership 🤕.  Have you ever started a diet, & quit, then wondered 8 months later what would have happened if you’d stuck with it 🤔? IG must have asked itself why it spent so much time & energy to catch up to TikTok 😟. The push was a failure ❌. If it stayed true to its focus, everyone would understand what to expect here 👌. Photographers who fled, would likely still be here; users would’ve felt less angst about posting Reels; & new users would understand photo imagery is Instagram’s strength 🏋️‍♀️. Is this good or bad news, or do you care 🤷‍♀️? PHOTOS: #seattlesnow #wintervibes #babyitscoldoutside❄️ #baretrees #mtrainier #myneighborhood BOOKNOTES: Warm (HUGS) to IRL friends @t1dveganmama @dougplummer @lynn.purdy (at Seattle, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpE_TJLOsp0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

I made lobster tails for Valentine’s Day🦞. Do you like them? They were OK, but I don’t think I’ll do it again🙄. In any case, I hope you had a great day💝! Recently, a few friends who are blogging on Instagram🤳 have asked me questions about visibility🕵️‍♀️. Independent blogs benefit from a niche📥 & IG can work similarly. Sometimes we love a subject & want to only share that topic🤗. Like, if I see @musicol.mandalas, I know I’ll see mandalas💮. Or if it’s @straycat1957, I expect to see a fantastic variety of tarot cards🎴. If we show too much variety 👨‍👩‍👧 🥘 ✈️, it’s hard for IG to understand who would enjoy our posts, and our content isn’t offered to as many of our friends as we’d wish 🚫. A visual niche helps, but sometimes it’s a head-scratcher🤔. I recently posted a photo of my classic 1976 BMW 2002🚘 . I share it infrequently. It had more traction than any of my posts since last fall🚘 & even landed on the explore page🧭. But WHY? The evidence points to a few things. FOR GOOD TRACTION, POST: 🔝 a good photo of a subject that has a large, devoted audience 🔝 a caption that introduces the image, & 🔝 popular hashtags that are regularly searched I was surprised😲. I included a screenshot of the data in the carousel above📊. The photo was taken last minute as I left a car audio shop in Ballard. I wasn’t even planning to post it🤷‍♀️. Although IG’s algorithm predicts what we want to see🔮, & hides other content, lately, I’m seeing long-time friends who vanished from my feed 🥰. It’s great to see them again! The days of seeing all our friends in chronological order are gone forever, but maybe IG realized we want to see anything our friends post👫. Or could it be the algorithm is getting a bit more human🤖? DID YOU KNOW You can find out when you started on Instagram. On your phone: 🔎 Go to the hamburger menu in the upper right corner 🔎 Go to “Account History” 🔎 Scroll to the bottom. Voila! PHOTOS #lobstertail #valentinesdinner #valentinesday2023 #roseslover #rosesofinstagram #bouquetofflowers #floralflourish #floral_shots #shotbypixel #pixelphotography BOOKNOTES Thank you ❤ Wayne & Katrine Otsuki; Karen Padrick @lauraurbanperry (at Seattle, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/Coy9CbYOGTR/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

I’ve driven my BMW 2002 🇩🇪 for 46 years. Last weekend there was a 2002 meetup near @AlkiSurfShop 🏖️. I arrived at the end, & about 10 cars were still there 🚘. CAR STORIES How did you learn to drive 🚙? I took driver’s education in high school. It was great because: • High school teachers 🧑‍🏫 picked up extra cash 💵 teaching kids to drive • Students had affordable access to learning 🎓 • It was “fun” to learn with classmates 👫 In 2002 Washington State stopped funding driver’s ed, but with crashes among teens rising 📈, funding may be returning 💰. I knew nothing about cars when I was 17 🧒. I remember being behind the wheel & seeing terrified male classmates in the rearview mirror 😲. My driving teacher kept his foot poised on the instructor’s safety brake pedal. At first, I was awful ❌. The good news is I became a good driver 👏. FULL OR EMPTY? Do you know the phrase “Semper Paratus?” It means “Always Ready.” I like this motto. It might explain why I usually have a full gas tank ⛽. I feel the same way about my phone battery 📲. During a family gathering at @horsemarkcards, my phone was at 60% & I wanted to charge it before heading back to Seattle 🧭. I wondered if I was a weirdo, so I took a poll. I found people fell into 2 camps: 🔼Those who keep their cars fueled & phones charged 🔽Those who drove until their vehicles were on empty & let their phones get to 2% Today I met @alanabramowitz 📷 & I asked where he is on the spectrum 🌈? We’re kindred spirits 🤗. He calls it OCD, but I call it being prepared 🦸! Is there a regular, in-between type? I’ve yet to find one. Maybe you’re the first 🤷? Are you always prepared, or do you live dangerously? And how did you learn to drive 🤔? . . PHOTOS: #BMW2002 #BMW2002faq #everydaydriver #bimmerlife #bimmerinsta #bimmerlove #Bimmer at Ballard Custom Audio. I missed many 2002s at the meetup, so I'm sharing a few #BMWs from my last visit to see Patrick, Jeff, Colin, Andre, Brandon & Shawn at @midnightmotorsport; #driversed #semperparatus #alwaysready #liveontheedge . BOOKNOTES: ((HUGS)) & thanks @pierluigi_61, Mike Olver, Steve & Priscilla Otsuki . . . (at Ballard, Seattle) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cog72YROSGe/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

Is reading easier than writing? ✍️ IRL friend @Tim_Hughes1 👫 published his 2nd edition of Social Selling📖 & it turned out great! I hope you’ll check it out🕵️‍♀️! There’s a lot of new content & he worked hard to make it happen. (It gave me flashbacks to when I revised my book for the hardbound edition 🤪.) Meanwhile, I now wonder if reading could become more challenging than writing 🤔? Two weeks ago, I wrote about ChatGPT, an AI tool capable of writing almost anything. It passed the Wharton School MBA exam👩‍🎓, & scored in the 52nd percentile on the SAT📈. The more time I spend using it, the more mind-boggling it is🤯. I’ve generated outlines, gathered research & drafted documents that I use in my client work. (NOTE: All information should be reviewed for accuracy!)  INDISPENSIBLE AI APPS I USE: 🧠OTTER.AI— Record interviews or meetings & transcribe to text, including the ID of various speakers. 🧠GRAMMARLY— I use it to fine-tune essential writing projects. It evaluates for tone & audience, context, grammar, spelling, & punctuation. 🧠GOOGLE ASSISTANT— I use it throughout the day. It’s the 4th member of our family & often joins in during dinner. 🧠ZOOM—Zoom uses AI to continually improve & it now offers “intelligent conversational live chat” customer assistance. Haven’t tried it, but, Um. OK. We shall see. We probably aren’t always aware of AI’s presence in our lives. If you use Lensa, other face-altering apps, or Microsoft’s Azure, you’re using AI too!  What do you think? Are you excited🥳 or apprehensive😲? Is AI good👍 or bad👎?  . . FYI: ▶️Instagram #Meaculpa:📱IG says it screwed up by pushing Reels & video on us. Will photo lovers & photographers who fled to other apps forgive it 🙏& come back? ▶️To try ChatGPT: https://openai.com/, click “Try” at the top of the window. . . PHOTOS 🖼️: Me impersonating #ExtraordinaryAttorneyWoo #WooYoungWoo #SocialSelling #Paperback; #BloggingonInstagram #postitnotes edits for #hardbound; #silvertabby #Greycat; #firsttimeauthor with #hardback; #70s #polaroidphoto; #ChatGPT #AI #OpenAI  . BOOKNOTES 📕: Warm hugs & thanks to @MichaelMogelgaard, David & Carol Nakamura, & Melissa Nakamura . . . (at Seattle, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn8y7fWOMYS/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

Do you celebrate Lunar New Year 🎉? Tonight, I zipped over to Kau Kau 🥢, the best Chinese BBQ joint in Seattle’s Chinatown. It’s a family favorite that @rikiyamada4 & I enjoyed last year when he was in Seattle. While waiting for my takeout order 🥡, I remembered that the restaurant might have a copy of the final print issue of NW Asian Weekly 📰. The free paper, founded by Assunta Ng, has been a source of information to the Asian community for 41 years. It’s going to be completely online next month. The cover illustration spotlights the coming Lunar New Year Does your city celebrate Lunar New Year 🧨? Lunar New Year 🧧, also known as Chinese New Year 🇨🇳, marks the beginning of a new lunar calendar. 2023, the year of the rabbit 🐰, the fourth animal in the 12-year Chinese zodiac. People born in the year of the rabbit are said to be gentle, friendly 👋, creative & are good at building relationships 🤗. Are you a rabbit 🐇? Does this sound like you? Seattle celebrates the Lunar New Year in the historic Chinatown-International District neighborhood ⛩️ with cultural events & lots of family-friendly activities 🐉. I remember first going with @peggyyaplee when we were kids. She turned me on to deep-fried prawns. They were amazing. IN SEATTLE, CHINESE NEW YEAR: 🌜Showcases cultural diversity & community celebration 🌜Brings people together & encourages engagement 🌜Boosts the economy & attracts visitors 🌜Provides educational opportunities But it’s also a chance to get out with friends & family. If you live in the Seattle area, you can Google  🌜 “Lunar new year activities in Seattle,” & a list of events will appear. I’m sad that NW Asian Weekly will no longer be in print, but I get it. We still receive print editions of the Seattle Times & Bloomberg Businessweek 📚. As a graphic designer, I think I’ll always love print 🥰. Do you subscribe to print publications? . . . PHOTOS: #nwasianweekly #Chinatown #lunarnewyear #internationaldistrict #seattlechinatown #yearoftherabbit #hinghaypark #taitung #kaukau . . BOOKNOTES: Warm ((HUGS)) to @LoriMcNeeArtist @MartyMcPadden @Mistygirlph @FiorenzaMella & @mitchmitchell_lpool 🤗 . . . (at Kau Kau BBQ Restaurant) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnq37Leu1w8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

Data Privacy Week - Jan. 22-28, 2023

Data Privacy – Women observe security cameras outside the workplace. Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash. What is Data Privacy Day? Most of us are familiar with the sinking feeling we experience when we discover that one of our credit cards or online accounts was breached. Personally, in the past, I was more reactive than proactive but changed to now employ 2FA (two-factor authentication). It is…

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[terrinakamura]

Have you used customer-service "chatbots" when complaining or asking a company about something online? 😖 Chatbots can be infuriating because they aren't human & they're often lame at answering questions. @carolstephen & @lazblazter are the hosts of Digiblogchat each Tuesday at 1 PM/PT. 🗣️ Twitter chats are great for learning & discussing topics with people with common interests. This week "ChatGPT" came up. Lazblaster & @finolainuk were using it. ChatGPT is an AI chatbot system🤖. It sounds boring🥱, but it's impressive. And fun. It draws on massive data from varied sources, so it knows a lot of stuff🧠. You ask questions & receive answers💬, sort of like in an interview🤷‍♀️. If you think of more questions, keep asking. (It remembers what it already said 🤔.) You can rate the results & tell if it was good or fell short👍👎. It learns from your feedback🤓. ChatGPT reminded me of when I tried the AI writing assistant, JasperAI ✍️, which was cool but expensive 💸. Right now, ChatGPT is free 🆓. Maybe you have questions like, "Can you recommend a list of fun things to do in Turin?🇮🇹” Seconds later, you’ll have your answer 🥳 (or just ask @turinepi!). You get the idea 💡. This week I discovered CNET, one of the tech blogs I read, has been using AI to write articles for the past few months✍️. I was floored. I also saw that Actor Ryan Reynolds asked ChatGPT to write a TV ad 📺 for @mintmobile (he's one of the owners). I have to say the commercial was freakishly entertaining 😛. If you try it, let me know what you think 🙏! 👉TIP: To bypass a customer service chatbot, use an expletive in ALL CAPS🤬. The system recognizes you're upset & usually connects you with a human right away🤳. 👉TIP: To try ChatGPT: (go to https://openai.com/ . Click on "Try" at the top of the browser.) . . PHOTOS: #birthdaygifts #exoticflowers #tropicalflowers #protea #orchids #tulipseason #extraordinaryattorneywoo #F4 tshirt #CES2023 #mandalaybay #Google swing #circuscircus 🤡 . #twitterchat #artificialintelligence #chatbot #pixelphotography #ChatGPT #AI #jasperai #firsttimeauthor #over70 . . BOOK NOTES: Heartfelt #Gratitude to @lady_ofshalott_ @TeddyMatayoshi Megan McDonald & Kevin (at Las Vegas, Nevada) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnY1Xnju5cx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

Are you ready to say goodbye to 2022 🙋‍♀️? I am! I'm also excited to attend the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week! 🥳 The last time I was there IRL was in 2020, right before Covid 😷. There were "virtual CES" events in 2021-2022, but as Marvin Gaye & Tammy Terrell sang, 🎤 "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby.🎶" A hundred companies & PR agencies have flooded my inbox with press releases 📧. I chose exhibitors, products & demos to investigate 🕵️‍♀️, including @getpivo, a fantastic content creation tool📱, & @inuru_official, designed to reduce packaging waste & prints light✨, plus a dozen others. There are 11 official venues & 2K+ exhibitors covering 2M sq feet (185,800 sq. meters) of exhibit space 🗺️. Seeing everything is impossible, so I created a list to help me spend my time efficiently 📋. I'll write a more extended post on one of my blogs ✍️ & maybe upload clips on my nearly moribund YouTube channel 🎞️. I'll be at CES alone (with 100,000 fellow tech enthusiasts) on my 70th BD🎈. I started social media when I was in my mid-50s & was already among the older people at the time📱. This is all to say, you can be any age and have fun! Social media has always been a great equalizer ⚖️. You have access to everyone from public figures 🌟 to everyday folks & sometimes surprising relationships form. I sure feel that way about many of you 🥰. I first met @morganfairchild on Twitter (@morgfair) years ago 🐦. A mutual friend brought us together, then we reconnected on IG 🤳. She is super nice & even gave me a praise quote for my book 📖. (Thanks, Morgan!) Thanks to all of you who have let me into your lives & participate here 🙏. Your comments give life to the conversation 💬. I'm very grateful 🤗. Who 😇 or what 💝has made you feel grateful in 2022? Wishing you a safe & happy 2023! 🥂🍾 . . . PHOTOS: #Yearend #randomness #fallenleaves #twinsofinstagram #CES #over70 #goodbye2022 #hello2023 #CES2023 #innovation #lasvegas #LV #technology #happybowl by @paulawong #handsewn #sleepingmask I made for #BFF #wooyoungwoo #extraordinaryattorneywoo #handstitch #topnine Fresh #mochi made by BFF . . . (at Seattle, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm0zEY7Oj7E/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

I think each of us has profoundly affected someone without realizing it 🔮. At 18, I babysat 5 kids weeknights (.60¢/hr) 🧸; was a weekend salesgirl at Jay Jacobs & served on their fashion board 👗 ( $1.75/hr;) & after-school working for the US Coast Guard 🗃️. ($1.50 /hr thru the Neighborhood Youth Corps, an anti-poverty program. I qualified because my dad had left our family). 💸. George Bukota was a journalist 📰 in the USCG Public Information Office ⚓. He showed me how to crop photos, set “type” on a typewriter, & let me design my first brochure for the US Coast Guard Icebreaker, Northwind 🌬️. It was an eye-opening experience. As a high school student, I loved art & sold pen & ink drawings ✒️ in the Blue Banjo Gallery in Pioneer Square 🖼️. Nelleke Langhout, the owner, let me sell free from the commission. It was so cool to make money that way & it made me dream of becoming an artist 🎨. One day George took me aside & said I might earn a more stable livelihood as a graphic artist 💵. After the buzz from the Northwind brochure, it got me thinking & I decided to become a graphic designer 👩‍🎨. He never knew how his words affected me. It was the perfect career for me 😊. A few years ago, I tried to find him. He isn’t on FB, so I sent a message to someone I thought might be his wife but didn’t hear back... 📵 until this week! When we spoke 📱, I recognized his kind voice that helped save me from artistic delusions to find my creative path in graphic design 🌌. I’ve retold this story throughout my life 💬. It points to how we have no idea how our words can affect others 🗣️. My life could have turned out differently 🗺️. Would I have pursued my dream of living in NY as an artist 🖌️? Would I have married my HS sweetheart 👩‍❤️‍👨? Graphic design was the perfect choice for me & I finally thanked George for what he did for me 🙏. Has someone been pivotal in your life? Did you ever tell them? Happy holidays ❤️❄️ . . PHOTOS: @terrinakamura #1972 #firstdog #snowdayfun #snowday❄ #freezingcold #iceicebaby❄ #snowbunny huddled in our backyard; goofy #penandinkart #followyourbliss BOOKNOTES: Thank you @jokeandbiagio @EricKoester @warrenlnaida John Lund . . https://www.instagram.com/p/CmiuNtlu17_/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

How was your week? 🤔 My week was busy, starting with a 4 AM zoom call with healthcare clients in 2 other time zones 🕓🕕🕖. I presented revisions, & the 15-minute meeting led to a critical decision! A benefit of scheduling meetings at ungodly times is that it’s quiet & everyone focuses & feels motivated to get on with their days. ⏰ That said, I was a zombie when it was over. 🧟‍♀️ I’m also working with a client who is a technology genius 👩‍🏫 and has more than 30 patents. Her current focus is an organic farm she built from the ground up. She created an impressive rock wall that borders her farm, and constructed pens, hutches & coops 🏘️. She raises goats, sheep, & chickens🐓🐐🐑 & grows an array of produce & flowers 🥦🍆🍓🥬🍅💐. If you saw “The Biggest Little Farm” (an excellent film! Thanks, @heniereisinger!), you have a good idea of what she’s doing, though on a smaller scale. Progress is being made on the third client’s projects, too. I’m not there yet, but I’m confident we are getting closer to the solution👩‍💻. It hasn’t been all work. A dead car battery & a no-show Uber🚗 resulted in an unplanned 2.5-mile / 4 km walk home 🚶‍♀️ from my dentist. I was amazed at all of the random & fascinating things I saw 😲. And today, I saw my BFF & other members of the Sansei Lunch Club to celebrate a couple of birthdays 🥳🎁. If you have long-time friends, you know how they help us keep it real 🤗. Finally, do you know how we have friends on IG that disappear thanks to Instagram’s algorithm 🕵️‍♀️? Well, I found two of them. One was thanks to @drivin.miss.daisy.pics  🏇, who helped me find Carol Cunningham @destinedtoroam_tv 📺. Carol is soon launching a travel show with her husband! Carol was formerly known as @i_likeit7 & is featured in my book, Blogging on Instagram. 📖 Here’s hoping you are healthy, happy 😊 & looking forward to a restful weekend 🛌. Do you have any plans? What’s on the calendar 🗓️? . . PS. I was sad to learn Queen Elizabeth II had died 👑. She was an inspiring person. . . . PHOTOS: #rainboweggs #littlegreenacres #nigeriandwarf #nigeriandwarfgoats #oldeenglish #southdowns #babydollsheep #csa #sustainability #organicfarm #uber #onmywalk . (at Redmond, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/CiUSvNYO4IQ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[terrinakamura]

Conversation with Neal Schaffer

Thank you for checking out this podcast interview with me and Neal Schaffer!

Terri Nakamura, Hunter Huntington the Maine Coon, and Neal Schaffer Exciting things have happened since I published my book, Blogging on Instagram: Engagement Writing on One of the World’s Best Social Media Platforms. One of the most surprisingly fun experiences has been doing podcast interviews. For those of you who listen to podcasts, you might not be aware of what goes into making them…

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