“Charismatic Shopgirl” takes us on a mini-tour in Japan. Dervala’s eye for detail and her appreciation of nuanced cultural differences even within the petri dish of globalized marketing make her the perfect guide to Japanese mall culture.

She has been off-line working in Japan for a month, and I’m glad to see her back.

La Parilla, Mission, San Francisco, originally uploaded by Dervala.

Hard to believe she is even prettier in person. Easy to believe that she’s one of our better writers. The Irish have a way with the English language.

She devours experience and shares what she learns. For instance:

“When we hired you, we weren’t interested in your experience. We were only interested in how fast you could learn,” I was once told. At 24, that’s flattering. It’s also a relief—thank God, it doesn’t matter that I know feck-all. I’m a little bundle of potential. But at 34, it’s disconcerting to have a dozen years of your life dismissed. I could have stayed in bed rather than bothering to get trained on Wall Street? I didn’t need to sweat through those startups to learn why entrepreneurs have more in common with artists than with MBAs, and what it really takes to turn an idea into a change? I needn’t have bothered with volunteering, with learning to write, with riding the public buses around Bolivia?

For all that this amoral economy suits me well, I’m making a promise to my future self that if I hear at 54 that my experience is uninteresting to capitalism—and I expect to—I’ll stand up, excuse myself with a big smile, and go back to the woods for good. We’re human beings. Our stories matter. Grown-ups have more to contribute than babies. And where we have been and who we take care of matters more to me than symbols, models, and theories.

Dervala treats us to a story…

Beth said, “When we go to Woods Hole this fall, let’s take some time and visit Nantucket.”

“Only if we can have a Limerick writing contest,” said I.

And speaking of Limerick…

Shelley has signed off Burningbird.  Julie Leung is going through changes.  Robert Scoble has cut the number of feeds he wishes he could read to about a hundred.  I may have suffered a ministroke today.  Ronni is moving to Portland.  Chris has cut off his pony tail.  I mentioned the cerebrovascular discomfort to Beth but she didn’t hear me.  So we progress deeper into our folie a deux.  Niek is off to the beach.  Halley has gotten so fucking precious I want to grab her shoulders and shake her and say “Get real, girl.”  There’s a personna thing that happens that drives out personality.  Suw was skirting on the edge of that, but she is so fucking brilliant that she’s allowed.  Ninety-nine percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.  I didn’t make that up.  Denise is a one percenter.  I’ve been experiencing so much ageism lately that I’m suspecting a practical joke.

Beneath all this there is bedrock:  Dervala is back with a couple of warm-ups and a beautiful pitch.

Hay que ir adelante.