Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
Her smile is infectious, her drive for helping brands meet their potential is undeniable, her passion for raising awareness about HPV and cervical cancer is fervent, and her three-time fight against cancer is nothing short of inspiring. Meet Kate-Madonna Hindes (@girlmeetsgeek).
Professionally, she’s a journalist, publicist, content-creator, marketer, and ideator who drives brands and individual professionals find their sweet spot and achieving their full potential - reaching the right audiences and the right time. You can check out Hindes’ work over at GirlMeetsGeek.
On top of that, in 2013, Hindes launched BeenThereRockedThat.org, a non-profit with a mission to change HPV education. The organization works to “de-mystify the causes of abnormal pap smears, educate the public about their risk for certain types of gynecological cancers and empower every human being to ask better questions of their medical providers."
Hindes is a pretty amazing lady, to say the least. Which is why you should definitely check out her Lady Geek of the Week interview with Being Geek Chic!
Q: How did you discover your passion?
A: Passion it a lot like breathing. It’s a struggle to run a marathon if you aren’t taking air in. And, it’s difficult to live a life of authenticity when you are struggling to find your purpose.
My passions, just like my first breath, just kind of happened. In 2005, I was passionate about becoming a mother for the first time and doing everything I could to give my girl what I believe she deserved. Then, in 2006, my passion became fighting cancer. I’ve never had to search too hard to find a way to live with purpose, I believe purpose found me. My children are a guiding purpose in themselves, and my day job helps keep me motivated to risk more and dig deeper. Right now, I’ve been throwing myself into a non-profit that I began in 2013. BeenThereRockedThat.org has gained incredible traction in the past 3 months, serving as a education tool for non-profits that work with HPV-positive cancers.
If you have to play "hide and seek” to find something to get excited about, then you’re in for the best moment of your life. When we step away from what drains us, we become ready to soak in what the Universe is telling us to do. I had to leave Corporate America at 27 and take a risk at a $15/hour job with the State as a workshop facilitator and case manager for MNFIP families. To this day, that job and the people I met, were some of the most life-changing catalysts for my personal and professional growth.
I found that true passions come as almost a reminder of, “why aren’t YOU doing something about this?” I’m not a religious person. I believe in science, fact and karma. But, from a spiritual sense, I acknowledge that I’m only aware that I have one single life- so I breathe. When the time is right, the next opportunity will find me.
Q: Proudest accomplishment?
A: I’ve had some pretty incredible opportunities. I worked a bit with the White House, Office of Public Affairs. I’ve keynoted rooms of thousands and written books. I’ve had some, “big-name” clients and of course, I have two gorgeous babies.
At this moment, I’m really proud that I’m HAPPY. This has been a very difficult year. I feel like this is the year I finally stopped worrying what others thought and let go of the pain and guilt from what I allowed to pile up. I keep rediscovering my strengths and weaknesses in a way that has helped me to evolve my business and personal life to a cadence of joy and peace.
Happiness is wholly under-rated. We’re taught to sacrifice our happiness for money and then spend the money on items that will make us, “happy.” I skipped the last part and focused on taking clients on were of the same blood- we are a good fit because we understand and appreciate each other. I’m not chasing money, I’m choosing to be happy and I’m more successful because I’m doing it in a way that makes me feel GOOD.
Q: When did you discover you were “geeky”?
A: I started GirlmeetsGeek as a equally humorous and condemning testament to my dating life- why wasn’t I married like my other friends? I actually bought the domain name when I was with an organization in 2006 and mentioned it would be a great company blog that was partial to website development and twenty-something antics. The first tagline was, “I can’t go out with you tonight, I’m backing up my server.” I designed the site in Dreamweaver and I felt like a rockstar.
When the company I was with sold, I negotiated being able to keep the domain name and branding. I loved it. I had started coding Ruby on Rails and finding out that there really were other women who stayed up all night PC gaming in the 90’s and lost themselves in trance music in the 2000’s. I was a closet geek for many, many years simply because I was afraid I wouldn’t be as, “fun.” Which to me, is exactly why women need to be pushed towards STEM careers- especially in high school. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are some of the best ways to make the future and our planet, better.
A “geek,” isn’t just about technology, it’s everything in-between that describes a passion so fierce that you just HAVE to share it. I’ve been living my, “geek” life out-loud for a while, officially on the wordpress site since 2007, (and on a Life Journal site before that.) When I fixed my dad’s computer, I knew I had finally made it. (He’ll deny that, but we both know, dad.)
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: I’ll take Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly for 100, Alex. Joss Whedon’s writing is so spot-on. I’d probably drink Earl Gray hot tea, (with lots of lemon.) It’s my go-to for meetings and basically- life. I’m not a huge drinker, (total lightweight,) and I’d want to make sure I was on my toes for his quick wit.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: What wouldn’t I tell my 13-year-old self! Knowing who I was at 13, means I wouldn’t have listened to a word. The speech might go like this,
“Kate, some serious shit is going to happen in your twenties. You’ll break off more engagements than a soap opera. You’ll shock your Irish-Catholic family with a child out of marriage. You’ll beat cancer 3 times. You’ll literally fail in a way no one has failed before and then… you’ll win.
You’re going to look back in your early 30’s and realize a few things:
- Nirvana’s Unplugged in New York album is still relevant, 20-something years later but not because it was GOOD. It’s because of how it made you feel. Nothing stands the test of time like a memory of a song and where you were when you heard it. You cut the grass to Nirvana’s album every week for 2 years and you’ll remember the smell of the grass and the burns on your arms. Your mom was wrong, you won’t grow up to make poor choices because of the music you listened to today. You grew up to feel more and be okay with the pain and loss.
- Your mom and dad love you, but it doesn’t mean you need to spend your life waiting for their approval- they’ll get over it. (Really.) Also, black nail polish and lipstick is not as rebellious as you think. When you pierce your nose and get a small wrist tattoo after cancer at 32, you’ll start to hate it when you realize EVERYONE HAS THEIR NOSE PIERCED. At least you hand-drew the tattoo. You’ll deal.
- You will one day own 3 wedding dresses that never graced any aisle. No man will ever match up to any movie, song or daydream that you concoct. Dating is this: Find out what boundaries are acceptable to you and be okay making difficult choices. At almost 33, you’re going to be a serial fiancee. Make peace with the fact that you were brave enough to search for what you truly wanted.
- Cancer will change you, and break you, and kill a part of you and that journey will make you exactly who you are supposed to be.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
Last week, I shared some free printable space themed ornaments. (GO DOWNLOAD THEM!) After printing them myself, I decided to take my lovely TARDIS, Bow Tie, NASA and Firefly ornaments and give them some sparkle.
Snazzing them up was super easy.
1. Buy some great cardstock online or at your local craft store (I bought this glittery cardstock
loveliness for mine)
2. Cut out circles with a puncher (I used this one
) that are the exact same size as the printables
3. Apply two-sided adhesive (these rollers are easiest to use
) to both and smash them together just right.
4. Use a hole punch through both and cut a piece of twine and string it.
See! Easy!
When I started to think about how I might like to decorate my tree this year, I could focus on only one thing:
Why isn’t it Christmas already - I want to watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special!
And so that became my inspiration. Space! And the TARDIS and Firefly.
I really could have gone on and on with this theme, but a girl has got to try and keep things manageable. So I hope you love them!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SET!
This set of four printable ornaments is easy enough to understand:
First, download the PDF (CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SET!)
Did you download them? Good. Now:
You’ll get four ornament printables:
Two Doctor Who themed varieties: one with the TARDIS, pictured above, and a “Bow Ties are cool” themed ornament.
One Firefly ornament: Mal says the darnedest things in the show. And “Mighty Fine Shindig” is one of those things. And honestly, that’s what the holidays are too, right? Mighty Fine!
One NASA ornament: I am in love with this galaxy image from NASA. I’m also a big fan of this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” It’s something to keep in mind year round.
Happy holidays lovelies!
*Note: when you click on the link, your virus software will try to scan it. Hit “Download Anyway” - it will make your life easier.
Firefly’s Our Mrs. Reynolds tells an age-old love story: boy meets girl, they’re drunk, they inadvertently perform the local marriage rituals, the town elder gives the girl to the boy as payment for his debts, and the girl, in an attempt to prove her worth on the spaceship, whips up a hot meal thus impressing the boy’s shipmates.
Apparently, life on a spaceship, rattling around the fringe of the universe 500 years in the future does leave much in the way of high-end culinary opportunities. When Captain Mal Reynolds tucks into his hot plate of dinner prepared by his newly accidental wife, Saffron, shipmate Wash swoons over the prospect of “fresh bao.”
You’ve probably seen fluffy, steamed char siu bao on dim sum carts. This recipe makes about 40 dumplings, which may seem like a ton, but invite your best spaceship-mates over for a dumpling-making party and freeze the leftovers.
First: make your bao dough. You want a fluffy white bread bun that is going to stay soft when you steam it. This recipe is loosely adapted from Momofuku’s famous pork bun recipe.
You need:
Mix yeast, sugar and water in stand mixer bowl and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. If the mixture doesn’t froth and expand, your yeast has gone bad and needs to be replaced.
Add the rest of the ingredients and attach the dough hook. Turn the mixer on low and mix until all of the ingredients have come together in a soft dough. Allow the stand mixer to knead for 8-10 minutes.
Place your dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Set in a warm place for an hour and allow to rise. When dough has doubled in size, punch down and allow to rise a second time for 20 to 30 minutes.
BBQ Pork Recipe
NOTE: Pork butt (also called picnic pork or pork shoulder) works best for this, but pork belly is also a good substitute.
Ingredients:
Mix garlic, five-spice powder and brown sugar together with a fork until fully combined. Pour in the liquid ingredients and whisk together. Stir in the pork and mix gently until coated. Allow to marinate at least 30 minutes but up to 12 hours.
Drain from marinade, then cook for 5-8 minutes over high heat in a cast iron skillet or a wok.
Set filling aside to cool.
Fill a stock pot with water and set to boil. Add a steamer insert or set a bamboo steamer on top when the water starts to boil.
When dough has risen the second time, pinch off a golf ball-size lump of dough, then pinch and flatten until it’s roughly the size of your palm. Be careful not to stretch the center of your wrapper too thinly, or the pork will poke through it.
Spoon 1 teaspoon of the pork filling into the center of your dumpling, then pull the edges of the dumpling wrapper up. Pinch the edges of the dumpling together like a small purse. If you like, you can make five pleats like a star.
Steam the dumplings in batches, set about 1 inch apart in the steamer basket. Allow them to cook 12 to 15 minutes.
Serve immediately with hoisin sauce or soy sauce.
Emma Carew Grovum is a data journalist working at the Chronicle of Philanthropy in Washington, D.C. She previously worked as the Digital Editor for The Cooking Club of America and blogs at kitchendreamer.blogspot.com Emma loves Star Wars, pandas and all things Joss Whedon. Find her on twitter at @emmacarew.
It was brought to my attention this week that commenting on this website is a bit of a trick. And I get it. Most people don’t want to log in with a Twitter or Facebook account and who uses Google + anyway.
I wanted to try and show you how you can use Disqus to comment with JUST a name and email address.
First, start by writing your comment. Whatever you like. Then, write your name in the Name box. When you hit “Post,” a new box will appear and ask you for your email. Type that in. At this point you can click the box to Register with Disqus, which is the program that runs the comments here. If you don’t want to - no biggie. Just hit Post. If you do, fun.
There is another option of course. You can follow this blog on Tumblr. Just click that little “Follow” button when logged into Tumblr and you can reply to posts that way.
Alright, we good? Thanks for all the commenting this week. You have no idea how stupidly happy it makes me.
The iPhone 5 will be 16x9
I was once internet shit-stormed when I complained about the fact that Apple products weren’t designed in 16x9. My logic was simple: any practical media sharing/viewing device should be in that aspect ration. Oh did the haters come to the yard. I’m so jazzed to get a new iPhone (P.S. I hope Society 6 will upgrade sizes ASAP for other iPhoners) and I have to say I TOLD YOU SO about the 16x9 issue. There. I’m good now.
Nathan Fillion is adorable
I think I miss Firefly more than I would otherwise because I don’t like that show Nathan Fillion is on now. He’s so great - but he’s better when combined with Whedon. Further proof, Much Ado About Nothing. Bromance in action. Their friendship sounds sweet and supportive. Further proof that Whedon is the best person in Hollywood.
And hey, I write things for Apartment Therapy: that’s awesome!
