from the top, now ...

I choose to hope. I choose to believe. I choose to dream.

Stay tuned.

from a bemused mind, despite the ill body

One benefit of being sick is that it forces your small, aching brain to focus on one thing at a time. Like, the urgent need to make chocolate pudding, or read a book, or browse through magazines you've stored away for obviously important reasons that you've now forgotten, or listen to random why-on-earth-do-I-have-this-electronica-song tracks TWICE on iTunes, just because.

You also get to think. A lot. Even though it hurts.

For instance, I keep thinking about making collages and mixed media assemblages and 3-D art from randomness that I find in my ever-so-random world. Which reminds me. I missed this month's flea market at the Tennessee Fairgrounds. Shame. I alway find great ephemera there, along with buttons that old men are practically ready to throw away because they mean nothing to them. Once, I scored some wonderful purple glass bottles. I need to put them up somewhere in the sun sometime soon. Really.

I also need to try my hand at letterpress for once. My school actually has a class. The problem is that the class is in the daytime. I work in the daytime.

Then there's this nagging desire to start my own business. What business? Well, three years ago, I would have said stationery (has it been three years already? How time flies!). Now, I say I don't know. I just want it to be mine. And I want to make just enough money to pay for the bills and a little extra and finance all the international travels I'd like to make. Don't get me wrong: stationery is great. I love stationery. I am so happy for all my Paperpreneur friends who went on to stationery greatness while I lagged behind.

And writing. Can't forget that. The one thing I can do to make something from nothing and possibly collect a profit from my efforts. Why I don't pursue it more than I do here is a mystery to me. It's only the one lifelong obsession I've had.

Oddly enough, I'm not restless, like I've been in other years in which I've posted my heart on my ... blog. I'm actually doing something proactive. (Going back to school, that is.) On Monday nights I suffer through a business law class. On Tuesday nights I am actually astonished to find that I ENJOY accounting (so far, anyway). This bodes well for running my own show one day. On Sundays, I meet with 4-6 other grad students to study for an Economics course, that, despite being the death of me and a constant source of mathematical frustration, is still fascinating stuff. And in between all this, I cram in some Business Report Writing homework time and upload homework.

Am I crazy? Maybe. Okay, more than likely. But, despite this miserable flu, I'm actually happy. Next, I'll join some student networking organizations, and, once my head is back to its normal self, I'll sit down and figure out ways to meet other business women who can help mentor me in my endeavors.

I'll also start crafting again. Collage has definitely attracted me. I think I have found my personal artistic medium at last. Maybe I'll sell some stuff on Etsy. That would be a step in the right direction. And maybe I'll write about it and see if a publication bites.

Ah, the hopes and plans of an influenza-riddled brain.

The Cons of Going to School

#3 No more free time
#2 Feeling old sitting next to 18-20 year olds
#1 Catching the latest flu bug and being laid low for an entire week

Yep, it's all happened.

Just lovely.

A New Way to Brainstorm

"I'm going to church in my head, y'all." –Me

We were coming up with product names for a piece of religious jewelry. I was trying to come up with words I associated with the idea. That is what came out. It ended up on the white board in the conference room, in quotes.

Incidentally, I'm not fond of the current culture of "Christian" products that so saturate the market. It makes me feel like the true meaning behind it all has lost some of its sacredness and mystery.

Things That Should Never Have Happened

This image is brought to you by the good people of Cracker Barrel. I found them sitting on a display full of similar items. I don't know what is scarier ... that people actually buy these horrific saccharine creatures of pastel ceramic, or that they exist in the first place.

My Nashville, Part I

Sunset on the "Batman" tower (at&t) from the alley.

Textures from Nolensville Pike. Subway parking lot.

how to ruin somebody's otherwise perfectly fine day

File this post under sub-category: "Vent of the Day"

Thoughtless managerial dismissals and elitist ambiguity lead to the propagation of the ordinary.

a.k.a.

Please Adjust Your Tunnelvision Immediately. There's a World of Alternate Channels Out There That You Just Can't See Through The Snow.

so true Q O'D

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.

-Albert Einstein

At the Office

I got bored. It was fun.

'Nuff said.

Panera Laptop Party!

Whoo-hoo! Melinda J, two laptops, 4+ hours, and a restaurant with FREE wi-fi!

From a Recent Collage Project

Elliott & Morgen - January 5, 2008

So, two of my favorite stubborn people got married to each other on Saturday. As with any wedding, it had its miniature disasters (now I have a KT Tunstall song in my head!), but it was beautiful and joyful all the same. And now, they are off skiing on some excruciatingly high mountain somewhere for the next week.

Cheers!

So, where are my keys?

First day of the new year, and I've already lost my keys.