The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Reconciling my Personal & Professional Lives – or Not

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    Ruth Carter

    A friend recently suggested I write a blog post about how I reconcile my professional life with the fact that I do flash mobs and wear pasties. My initial thought in response to that was “I don’t.”

    Ignite Phoenix After Hours #3 - photo by Devon Christopher Adams
    Ignite Phoenix After Hours #3 – photo by Devon Christopher Adams

    For anyone who doesn’t know, I’m a lawyer by trade, I do flash mobs with Improv AZ for fun, and yes, there are times when I appear in public wearing pasties instead of a shirt. I’m also a runner, a basset hound owner, a Star Trek geek, and a singer. My standard “uniform” is jeans and a t-shirt but my closet has everything from business suits to miniskirts and tank tops to ball gowns.

    When I say that I don’t reconcile my professional and personal lives I mean that I’m not a different person in personal and professional settings. Wherever I go, I’m always me. There may be topics I don’t bring up in certain settings, but if they come up, I’m fine with it. There’s nothing I do in public that I wouldn’t own in any situation.

    When I was first getting involved in social media professionally, I asked if I should have separate Twitter accounts for my personal and professional lives. The audience responded with an astounding “NO!” They said that people want to know the whole person so there’s no reason to separate the personal from the professional sides of my personality. They said that some people will seek me out because I’m different than others in my field – and that has totally been true! I had one person schedule a consultation with me after his daughter saw me at one of my speaking engagements. She told her dad that he’d like me because I swear.

    Have there been repercussions? I wouldn’t call them repercussions as much as natural consequences. There are people who are turned off from me because I’m bold and don’t conform to the traditional lawyer stereotype. And that’s ok. On the flip side there are people who like that I’m different and that my personal and professional lives are integrated. It’s so much easier to be one person instead of trying to maintain separate professional and personal lives.

    The only thing I do keep separate is my Facebook page. If you’re not my friend in real life, you don’t get to be my friend on my personal Facebook page. My Facebook page is where I put things that only my friends find interesting, but I’ll still own everything I post if anyone asks. If you’re not my friend in real life, you’re better off liking the law firm’s Facebook page and following me on Twitter.

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  • Growing My Hair Out – Sort Of

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    Ruth Carter

    I’m meant to have short hair. I’ve known that for a long time. Even when I had long hair, I kept it in a ponytail most of the time.  Short hair is versatile and sassy, and if you don’t like it, you can change it pretty fast by chopping more off or letting it grow for a few weeks.

    Shannyn Sossamon
    Shannyn Sossamon

    I’ve been toying with the idea of having a different hairstyle for awhile now, and even when I try new things, it defaults back to my standard style after about a month or so.  My friend suggested that the reason this probably happens is because my hair is so short that there’s a limit number of things I can do with it. He challenged me to let my hair grow until the end of July. I’m usually in the salon every six weeks, so letting my hair grow for three months will be a commitment. He may be right and so I have accepted the challenge.

    Jodie Foster
    Jodie Foster

    And this is going to be a challenge for me. I don’t like having hair in my face or having the sides so long that they can tickle the insides of my ears. And I hate the grow-out phase when I’ve grown my hair completely out in the past. It’s awkward when it’s too short to pull back and too long to do anything with. I suspect I’ll be rocking bobby pins or a headband by the end of this adventure.

    Charlize Theron
    Charlize Theron

    There have been a lot of pretty short hair styles I’ve considered over the years. The longest one I liked was Shannyn Sossamon’s hair in 40 Days and 40 Nights. Recently I’ve liked Jodie Foster’s hair in Elysium, and Charlize Theron was breathtaking at the Oscars this year with her short pixie. There was also a nameless bridge officer on Star Trek: Into Darkness with short platinum blonde hair that looked so good I’m contemplating changing the color of my hair as well as my coif.

    Nameless Bridge Officer in Star Trek: Into Darkness
    Nameless Bridge Officer in Star Trek: Into Darkness

    I’m curious to see what style I end up selecting for my first haircut once this is over. There are so really cute styles out there, but a lot of them have bangs that can easily hang over your eyes. That’s impractical and it’s the type of thing that will make me crazy when I’m stressed out. If I go with a sassy style like this (and I might because it is that cute), I’ll have to have a headband that lives on my desk so I can whip my hair out of my face when I need to get work done without any distractions, including my hair.

    UPDATE: My friend appears to have identified the nameless blonde bridge officer from Star Trek: Into Darkness as Jodi Johnston and found a clear picture of her.

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  • Bonding with my Fellow Geeks at Phoenix Comicon

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    Ruth Carter

    It’s Phoenix Comicon this weekend! I feel like Geek Christmas is upon us. I love going to geek events because from the moment I walk in, I know I’m surrounded by people who “get it.” We don’t have to explain why we love what we love, we just get to enjoy it with our fellow geeks. This weekend, we’re taking over the Phoenix Convention Center. It’s going to be a fun time.

    Ruth Carter at Phoenix Comicon, Photo by Devon Christopher Adams
    Speaking at Phoenix Comicon 2012 – Photo by Phoenix Comicon and Devon Christopher Adams

    I’m excited that the powers that be at Phoenix Comicon have asked me to be part of two panels this year:

    • The Legalities of Fan Fiction and Fan Art – Saturday, May 25th at 3pm
    • Comic Creator Rights – Sunday, May 26th at 10:30am

    The variety and array of events at Phoenix Comicon this year is huge! I spent a good chunk of last weekend going through the schedule and building out my conquest. Here’s what’s on my docket besides my talks:

    Friday, May 24th

    • Deep Space Nine: 20 Years Later – I’m a huge DS9 fan so I’m super excited for this.
    • From Bullying to Harmony: Understanding and Dealing with Bullying – great panel for this audience.
    • Phoenix Ultimate Geek Smackdown III – this is definitely one of the best events at Phoenix Comicon.
    • Awesome Hour with Wil Wheaton – If I haven’t turned into a pumpkin yet.

    Saturday, May 25th

    • Hit Phoenix Public Market for lunch before going to Phoenix Comicon.
    • Klingon Language for Beginners – I’ve always wanted to learn Klingon. I tried to learn with the tapes, but I only picked up a handful of words.
    • Trek Fandom in the Valley – I’ve been thinking I want to do more with the Trek community.

    Sunday, May 26th

    • Wheaton and Scalzi, Together Again – I’ll go if I’m not conned out by this point. Given that I’m a massive introvert and don’t particularly like large crowds of people, I probably will be.

    There are some sci-fi speed dating events. It might be interesting in doing this, but given that a lot of people go to cons to hook up and that’s not my bag, this might not be for me.

    Of course there is also the vendor room at Phoenix Comicon too. I’m always on the market for a good geeky t-shirt. The challenge is finding ones that aren’t printed on super cheap itchy shirts. Having custom shirts made at Brand X has turned me into a bit of a t-shirt snob. I’d love to get a Star Trek or a Wheaton’s Law t-shirt.

    I’ve lost at least 20 pounds since my bought my Starfleet uniform so now it’s too big for me to wear. Seeing the new Star Trek movie has inspired me to get a new one. I’d love to have Uhura’s dress from the movie for when I’m feeling sassy and a gray-and-black jumpsuit from Deep Space Nine for every day wear. I’m also on the lookout for a morphsuit too – probably in royal blue, though it would be fun to get one in black and pretend to be people’s shadows.

    I’m really looking forward to getting my geek on and bonding with my fellow nerds this weekend. Hopefully I’ll see you there!