With closing out my final weeks in San Jose I am feeling the weight of leaving my home, my friends, and my job. Coupled with a busy day at work, poor sleep, friend issues, and rush hour traffic… I found myself unable to breathe and my body completely tense. I called my mom a bit freaked and our discussion quickly moved to packing and moving my apartment. Let’s just say that didn’t help. Luckily, I was soon home and went into my bedroom, closed the door, laid down on my bed and did the one thing that calms all of my nerves…

I edited photos.

I love tinkering on photoshop and seeing what I can create in half an hour. The editing that I did to calm my nerves was take a picture of my sister and her boyfriend and edit myself into them. See, not all photo editing has to be serious. In fact, the more fun the better.

Original Image
Original Danielle Creation

To top it off I sent a very non chalent email to my sister saying I cleaned up the image a bit and fixed the color… something she often has me do for her images. Then waited and waited and waited.

But that’s ACTUALLY not why I wrote this post… it was just my long winded introduction!

My dad recently returned to Ethiopia and took his usual team of miscreants. One of them took some wonderful pictures and I took one of them and edited it, printed it, and gifted it to my father. I think it turned out quite nice. There are many many many layers and I only want to brag about one, you can see it best on the far left but I layered an image I took on my visit to Ethiopia of the material they use to make their mud huts. (Straw and mud basically) Also, “Tesfa” means “Hope” in Amharic (one of the native languages of Ethiopia).

Original Image

Original Danielle Creation

http://photography.daniellenoah.com/

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Send and receive anonymous questions, and learn more about people you find interesting by following their answers.

Social media has opened up a new avenue where a brand has new and hopefully friendlier face. If I want to talk to Starbucks or Levi’s I know where to go on twitter. If I am interested in connecting with Lululemon then facebook is my first choice. There has been no better time for our favorite brands to become our literal friends and this new transparency is only going to get clearer.

I wouldn’t recommend a national brand like Target or local brand like Tony & Alba’s Pizza to use a formspring because it is hard to track and the interface is too simple. But I do love the idea of it. Personally, I can’t help but think how this would be a great type of medium for my dad.  As a pastor in PDX he is constantly flooded with questions whether it be from his blogs or sermons or pesky daughters. I know in the past he wanted to hold Q&A sessions via twitter during services but was concerned with some of the blowback or inappropriateness that could be posted. (We were all 13 once!) Formspring would allow him to receive the questions and then approve them to be answered and becoming public.

We have seen reputations be nationally tarnished in a day or brands come out of no where in success. With each bad comes good and, overall, this culture loves the immediacy and opportunity of building relationships, connecting, and being heard. Brands are no longer out of reach but becoming more and more like our next door neighbors.

Jessica Valley: http://www.jessica-valle.com/

Formspring: http://www.formspring.me/jessicavalle

Image is Found: http://theblogisfound.com/

Formspring: http://www.formspring.me/imageisfound

Image courtesy of Viyay.com

I started a twitter experiment. Life Lesson #. Each morning, right when I woke up, I thought about my entire day yesterday and what was the greatest thing I learned.  It could be silly,  it could be profound but by taking those minutes to really invest it, I was allowing the life lesson to have a greater hold on who I am. Allow it to really sink in instead of pass me by.

My journey to date: (in reverse order)

Life Lesson #090911: Cheating on Boxed In is more fulfilling than sitting there stumped. Sometimes cheaters do make winners.

Life Lesson #090912: Talk Soup is the cure for the common cold. That and Bill Rancic.

Life Lesson #090913: It is not until you are content with yourself that you will find true happiness.

Life Lesson #090914: Never understimate the power of a sneeze.

Life Lesson #090915: Ignorance is bliss. Unless when sneaking you find something you like…that ain’t bad either!

Life Lesson #090916: There is a good & a bad side to every situation it’s how you respond to it that counts.

Life Lesson #090917: Forgiveness & trust are not rights but privileges. Ones we should spend our energy being worthy of.

Life Lesson #090918: Look less, see more.

Life Lesson #090919: Laugh often an earnestly. http://bit.ly/pkanI

Life Lesson #090920: Always find a positive spin. Sunday isn’t the end of a weekend but a fresh start to a new week.

Life Lesson #090921: It is best to work with kindness & grace. You never know when the tables will turn and who may return in your future.

Life Lesson #091016: If you are constantly looking for the better offer you will miss the beauty of life that is happening right now.

As you can see, I took a 3 week break from my experiment and now I’m deciding between continuing it or finding a new twitter schtick. My thoughts are leaning towards “I’m determined” and instead of it being life lessons, but life goals. Those to can range from silly to profound. I will keep you posted.  Until then, follow me at @danidotnoah

I played soccer for one year of my entire life.

3rd Grade

My glory years

Except I was bad, really bad.

I couldn’t quite get the coordination down of running and kicking at the same time. Plus when people are running at you or a soccer ball is flying towards you, the basic reaction is to avoid it at all cost. I WAS good at that.

My dad attended every one of my games faithfully. I am sure my mom did as well, but I cannot remember her at any of the games for the life of me. Probably because my dad was so memorable… He would get so into the game, standing on the sidelines, “cheering”, trying to turn my elementary school co-ed team into Manchester United. Bless his heart, but he was a bit of a “stage mom”. More into the game than the Coach Jordan and yelling what to do with large hand gestures. But because of his… enthusiasm(?!)… I wanted to be better and try harder.

However, I was still hopelessly bad and my Coach wasn’t starting me or pushing to get me on the field. If I was lucky, I might get 30 seconds at the end of the game if we were guaranteed a win.

Editor’s Note: Don’t feel sorry for Coach, I really was awful!

I was counting down the days until the season was over but I also wanted to make my dad proud. I learned to follow Coach around like a shadow. I was cheering on my team by her side and ready to go into the game *just in case* with an attitude that said “winner”. Most games it worked too, Coach would put me in because I was ready (not really able!) and I would push out there like I was David Beckham then avoid the ball as best as I could. She would pull me out within a minute and I would be back at her side asking to go in again.

On one of the bus rides home Coach stood up at the front of the bus to give us a talk after a humiliating loss. I don’t remember what she said before or after but I will never forget what she said in the middle…

If you guys want to be good players then you should start acting like Danielle. She isn’t the best person on this team but she is always close to me ready to go in. And although she doesn’t get much playing time when she isn’t on the field she is cheering and supporting the team.

I was elated! I thought I was a star. It took me about 10 years to realize that little speech was slightly demeaning but I’ve only recently accepted how terrible I was. I have come to realize that her speech spoke worlds about my character and set a tone for my life. I can’t be the best at everything but I can try and give it my all. With the right attitude, eagerness, and readiness I might even get some playing time.

If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat. – John Ortberg

It is officially, the entire Noah family is on Twitter.  Some of you may not be familar with my parents or sister but let me tell you why I think you should follow them:

Ray [@rnoah]: When my sister and I were still living at home, he successfully survived years of being the only male.  We got him countless male dogs but in the end Squire or Jake can’t protect him from 3 women.  Not only has he seen The Notebook, listened to Hilary Duff (and enjoyed it), folded our underwear and been told many stories of boyfriends who deserve to be exes BUT he has survived!!  By following his twitter, you will get daily updates on his blog, non-profit, and random RNOAH facts usually involving coffee.  He hasn’t quite mastered the fact that he too can follow people, but hopefully soon…

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Linda [@LindaNoah]: You have been warned… I am her mini me.  We look alike, we act alike, and we talk alike.  This can only lead to trouble.  When we are not fighting like cats and dogs over our similarities she is conquering the world one personality at a time.  She is a behavioral guru and can understand a person within a single handshake.  Team building, public speaking, marriage counseling, and parenting are all in her repertoir.  Having just joined this past weekend I cannot make any guarantees as to what will be tweeted but an estimation.  By following her twitter, you will potentially get links and tweets regarding communication arts, parenting, and updates usually centered around missing her daughters.

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Ashley [@ashleynoah]: Without shame I can promise you, Ashley is my better half.  If we were combined, we would create the perfect person.  She is book smart, while I am street smart.  I trust no one, she trusts most of everyone.  Tall, short. Blonde, brunette. Funny, funnier. Doesn’t matter who is who (Except I am the funnier one ), although we are different, our interest and passions are the same. Or maybe I am just a true younger sister and copy everything she does! Ash is currently getting her MBA at Kellogg in Chicago and still raising awareness and support for Ethiopia.  Needless to say, but I will say it anyway, Ashley is a giver and a world changer. Just like Linda, she is new to the twitter world but what I expect to read from her is her daily happenings in Evanston, MBA studies and activities, and Soli, Soli, Soli.

That is my family in a nutshell and hopefully you can get to know them as you get to know me as well.

For those not following me on twitter, you can find my updates at @dani_noah

Article and photography courtesy of Diablo Magazine

NFL Meets Friday Night Lights

Valley Christian High football has a heavyweight roster—of coaches.

Photography by Jose Carlos Fajardo

John Parrella watched as two orderly rows of young football players jogged onto the practice field at Dublin’s Valley Christian High. The players wore red-and-black shorts, gray T-shirts with Vikings Football across the chest, and glistening maroon helmets fresh from the factory.

“The helmets look sweet!” the former Oakland Raiders defensive lineman bellowed.

Not all of the players knew what to do with their brand-new gear. Sophomore Taylor “Tex” Bartlett wandered over, held out the chin strap, and sheepishly said, “I don’t know how to put this on.”

Parrella, the head coach, has embraced an ambitious project at the 310-student high school: starting a football program from scratch. The 38-year-old—who played in three Super Bowls during his 12-year National Football League career—understands football’s value to a community. He played at a 150-student Catholic school in Grand Island, Nebraska, and says, “It changed my life.”

“Football teaches so many lessons about life, hard work, and discipline,” Parrella says. “And I think it’s going to bring school spirit like they’ve never seen before.”

It doesn’t hurt that Parrella has assembled a big-name coaching staff for the small school’s team, including former Raiders teammate Rod Woodson, voted one of the top 50 players in NFL history; another former Raider, Josh Taves; and a respected longtime high school coach, Craig Cook. Although the new program may lack history, it will not lack coaching expertise.

“We’re taking all that NFL experience and bringing it to high school,” says Woodson. “The kids are going to learn at the NFL level. Hopefully, that knowledge will lead to wins and also lead to the kids respecting and understanding each other.”

Parrella and his wife, Leigh, settled in Pleasanton when he joined the Raiders in 2002, after eight seasons in San Diego. They enrolled their four kids in Valley Christian Elementary School at the suggestion of one of Parrella’s coaches, Paul Kelly, and the Parellas soon came to savor the small classes, spiritual inclination, and community atmosphere.

The 36-year-old school had one missing ingredient: football. Valley Christian officials had talked about starting a program over the years, but the idea was always derailed by financial obstacles, meager facilities, and modest enrollment. That changed under the leadership of Ray Noah, the school’s former senior pastor.

Noah worried about Valley Christian’s reputation as a football-less school and how much it hurt enrollment. Over the years, a steady stream of boys left the school after eighth grade because they wanted to play the sport in high school. “There came a point where I thought, ‘We really need a football program,’ ” says Noah, who has since left for a church in Portland, Oregon. “I always believed money would follow the vision. I thought the biggest part would be launching the vision.”

Noah and Parrella were friends through the church at Valley Christian, and the passionate former football player struck the pastor as the ideal choice to lead the new football team. At one of their weekly breakfast meetings, Parrella recalls, Noah suddenly said, “Let’s do it—and you coach it!”

Parrella was hired as head coach in January 2007, and players began a conditioning program in September 2007. The junior varsity launches its first season this month with 50 boys expected to come out, and the varsity will debut in the fall of 2009. Parrella expects football to help expand the school’s enrollment not only because players will stay but because of the camaraderie generated by fielding a team.

Here lies the great unknown for Valley Christian: How soon can the school actually win games? In an area rich with strong high-school programs, from De La Salle to Foothill to Monte Vista, it could take years for Parrella and his dream-team staff to carve out significant success on the field.

“We’ll win from day one,” Parrella says in a moment of unrestrained bravado. “We firmly expect to win and win often.” Then, he catches himself and repeats his mantra, “But if we build good Christian men, everything else will take care of itself.”

The beneficiaries are the fresh-faced kids who will form the first football team in school history. They are kids such as running back Max Kurth and offensive linemen Adam Brissey and Andrew Aqua, all polite and respectful and restlessly excited to face Harker School of San Jose on September 6, the opening game of their long-awaited first season.

“We’re pioneering,” Aqua says with pride.

1. I broke my knee on my 16th birthday, went skydiving for my 18th and had my tonsils removed the day before my 21st.

2. I took time off from university to travel to Africa.

3. I only date risk-takers.

4. My dad is a non-denominational Senior Pastor… PK’s aren’t as bad as you think. (editor’s note: except now I believe he is Assemblies of God)

5. It was once my dream to become a GoGo Dancer.

6. I have cried with an Oakland Raider, helped a Denver Nugget pick out underwear, been ran over by a popstar and had dinner with the President of Ethiopia, Benshangul-Gumuz, and his family.

7. I own my own nightclub, Club RAV.

8. I can say “Thank You” in more languages then anyone else I know and I am positive one day that will come in handy.

9. I sport Patchouli like it’s Chanel.

10. I once saved a Tupperware container of air for a year incase I ever needed fresh air. I only “let it go” once my parents found it under my bed.