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Hey, it's International Women's Day!
Google has a cool video on their search page with Jane Goodall, Malala, and other gals showing the world what a gal can do.
Back in the mid-1990's I applied to film school in Los Angeles. I got in. Someone there told me that had I tried only a decade or two earlier, it's unlikely they would have accepted a woman into the cinematography program. Ha! That's nothing compared to what a woman goes through on a film set.
But you know what? If you're strong enough to prove to the boys that you're not to be messed with, they protect you. You're a sistuh. I had a great time in my movie days.
Some years later, I moved to Spain—this was 1999. Not 1899, nineteen hundred ninety-nine—but it sure felt like a century earlier. Ran around Madrid with my proposal for a documentary about the rainforest (the precursor to LUCITA, btw), meeting with former presidents of countries, newspaper magnates, business executives, attorneys, to seek funding and support. Sooner or later in our conversations, they all asked me two questions.
"Are you Catholic" and "Are you married."
I wish I could say I was kidding. You can't make this stuff up.
I went back to the US and had a company set up in two days.
We women don't hand it to one another too easily, either. Despite all the talk about leaning in, we still have some way to go and really support each other. I remember working at one of the major animation studios here in Silicon Valley (again, mid-1990's) where a woman (my supervisor) conspired with another woman (her boss) to get me fired because, as I was later told confidentially by a fellow employee, my supervisor felt "intimidated," "threatened" by me.
They had a hard time finding reasons to fire me, but they did it.
Shock. Intimidated? Threatened? I didn't want her job, for heaven's sake. I had far greater dreams! Ironically, in wrongfully terminating my employment, she helped made those dreams possible. I fought back, went straight to the head of the company—no attorney because I couldn't afford one—negotiated a small settlement, and moved to Spain (see paragraph above).
So LUCITA was born. To add even more glorious flame to the irony, my supervisor's first name is partially embedded in my company's name. And I swear to you, I literally JUST realized this. All these years later.
Ooh, shivers!
(This is what being a writer does to you. You see metaphors and meaning everywhere.)
This morning on Facebook I was going to post something along the lines of "I want to live in a world that doesn't need to celebrate women on holidays because it already does so on a daily basis." But I erased that because I realized, I want both. I want a world that celebrate different types of people on different holidays–because there are a lot of days in the year for everyone.
I'm blessed to have numerous bright, passionate, successful, supportive women all around me. Here in California, Colombia, Turkey, Australia, the Carolinas, Connecticut, India, and yes, Spain, too.
You all know who you are. You're reading this.
And to the men reading this, be proud of your ladies. We love you guys.
~ Birgitte
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Last chance, you guys! Fourteen days left for a chance to win one of five amazing chocolate prizes. (Seriously, I would much rather be rollerblading than counting down the days to the launch, but once March 22 hits, that's it! Plus it's too cold out right now. 57 degrees.)
I know, we had four prizes last month. Well, we now have five! A chocolate shop tour in New York City, a chocolate factory tour in Guatemala, a special chocolate-making workshop in London, an annual membership to the C-Spot, and the Grand Prize, a box of Heirloom Cacao tasting bars.
What do you need to do to enter? Pre-order a copy of "The Jaguar and the Cacao Tree."
Any method counts: my web site, Amazon, the event at Dandelion, or the Impact Hub event in Berkeley. Bottom line, if you've bought a copy on or before March 22, and we have your email in the system, you're in.
Important: if you go via Amazon, email me the receipt so we can add you to the cacao pile.
One more thing.
I think I said at some point we'll draw the winning names on March 22. My brain must have been cacao-starved when I said that. We obviously need to wait until midnight of March 22 to give everyone a fair shot.
We draw the names on March 23. From a bowl of real cacao seeds from Venezuela.
And don't worry. I'll pester your Inbox one more time this month to remind you. Because Max and Itzel want you to read their story, and to win a prize. Max says if you don't win a prize he can send you a box of his own handmade choco-like confections.
Between you and me, I wouldn't take him up on it. If you got anywhere past Chapter Two in the book, you know what that "confection" consists of. I'm telling you. Go for the real chocolate prizes.
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Ready to immerse yourself in the mesmerizing world of chocolate? We launch on March 22, and we have events for kids and adults alike. Come join us!
Wednesday, March 30
Panel with me and Greg D'Alesandre from Dandelion Chocolate
Impact Hub in Berkeley
6:30 to 9:30pm
$10 early bird; $12 at the door*
RSVP to Impact Hub
RSVP via EventBrite
*Ticket proceeds cover the costs of the event. Chocolate is included.
Saturday, April 2
Dandelion Chocolate Shop & Factory in San Francisco
11am to 1pm
This is a free event designed primarily for kids.
RSVP via EventBrite
Also coming up:
• CJ Olson's Fruit Stand in Sunnyvale
• Food Book Fair in New York
and other events. Details TBD.
Woo hoo! See you there!
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You are receiving this message because you have signed up for my mailing list, registered with a user account on my author's web site, sent me flowers or dark chocolate, survived a live television program with me, or otherwise communicated with me and/or shown interest in my work or the official Birgitte Rasine author web site, or because you are someone I know personally. If you have any questions, please contact LUCITÀ via email at info@lucita.net or by telephone at +1 408.542.9942.
Copyright © 2016 LUCITÀ Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
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