What would you do if you were an out of work art director with some free time and you wanted to help fight the Swine Flu epidemic plaguing Mexico (and looking pretty grim all over the place)? Irina Blok decided to get creative with some fashionista surgical masks. She says: With all the paranoia about swine flu i think there’s an opportunity to do something cool – design fashion surgical masks! Not only they are aesthetically pleasing, they can save your life (well.. not really.. they mostly just look good.)
My favorite by far is the awesome Domo-Kun reference (in the center). She’s going to produce limited quantities of these masks and sell them for $10, and you can email her if you want one! All proceeds go south of the border to help fight the flu epidemic. No word on where she’s donating though.
There isn’t much to say about this task, other than to say that it’s done! I’m very glad that this is out of the way. I actually found myself standing in the cafe queue at lunch time, trying to determine which meal would be easiest to draw!
I think I deserve extra credit for going to a birthday party in the middle, where the food was served in a variety of bite-sized pieces.
I arrived at work two Mondays to find that the phone was already ringing off the hook. I had six million emails and a to-do list that stretched over multiple pages. It was just a couple of days before my boss was to head off for three weeks personal leave, pretty much tripling my workload.
It’s safe to say that I let a few blue words slip that morning. (And lets face it, most other mornings too – that’s how this challenge was born!)
I mentioned the idea of the two-week swear jar to one of my colleagues that day, and she suggested that we both begin it immediately. With a little help from my label-maker my coffee mug was converted into a swear jar, and it’s slowly been filling ever since.
It’s hard to know exactly how much I have contributed to the jar, but as it lived on my desk I’m sure I was the most honest participant. Each morning I would throw in a few dollars for the misdemeanors of the night before, and if I knew I was about to have a particularly bad meeting I made sure to raid petty cash and change a five dollar note into 50c pieces.
It’s been a funny experiment. Some of the bigwigs at work have started visiting more often, emptying their coin pockets into the jar as they tell me their latest drama. People have been leaving my office feeling as though they’ve truly unloaded and atoned for their sins. For some of us it has been like therapy!
My aim was never to cure my swearing completely, as I still maintain that a well-placed bleepable can make or break a story. Besides, there’s a set of words that I have actively decided aren’t right for me. Instead, my aim was simply to reduce the amount of swearing that was done subconsciously or habitually. I’m happy to report that it only took me couple of days to feel the sting to my wallet and think harder before speaking.
I recommend that everybody try this – even if you love your swear words. It’s pretty funny when you find yourself lost for words, because your usual way of communicating a message is too expensive!
You know that feeling you get on the first day of a vacation, when the days ahead feel free and full of promise? That’s how I’ve felt all weekend, and I don’t know why. I’ve somehow managed to purge my brain of the 29 letters I need to write at work tomorrow morning, and just enjoy the simple pleasures that the weekend has brought. Truly. It has been bliss.
So this weekend has brought us two mornings of sleepy morning cuddles, freshly plunged coffee and good music. The fridge was filled with fruit & vegies from our local Saturday morning market (where I bought my first persimmon), and we ate homemade Thai pumpkin soup while we listened to the rain. Saturday night was spent with wonderful friends who fed us like royalty and provided a baby to cuddle. Does it get any better than that?
It always surprises me how naturally the creativity flows during times like this. I can go for a few months without indulging that side of me, but inevitably something “snaps” and I find myself elbow-deep in a project. Today I was torn in three directions as I (almost?) finished a painting, repaired some old jewellery and made some new pieces.
The first necklace was the more involved project, and really needs some natural light to do it justice. I’ll update this post with a better photo later this week.
Today’s zen moment: working on an enormous canvas on the floor beside the back door, puppy by my side, and listening to the rain fall. It’s amazing how weather can dictate my mood. And while I’d obviously prefer to do it all again tomorrow, I’ll go to work rested and inspired and feeling as though I truly made the most of this weekend.
