This week's lesson was unexpected. I hadn't planned to start actively "learning" new things until next week, once my room and apartment had been appropriately tamed and my mind was a little more clear. But, this one snuck up on me.
In the process of redeorating/cleaning, I decided to paint some large picture frames to match my new comforter. This is not a difficult task, nor did it turn out to be. When I sat down to get started, I turned on NPR, as it is my constant companion when I'm working with my hands and can't look at a TV. I happened to catch Terri Gross talking with the creator and writer of Madmen and HE taught me something.
Well, okay, maybe he didn't directly, but I took something valuable away from the background he gave on Don Draper. Before we go any further, I should put together a little disclaimer/warning:
:I don't watch Madmen regularly because I don't have cable. Lets not talk about cable. I've seen an episode or two. I also don't know how many of you DO watch Madmen, so if you DO and you haven't seen the end of this past season, SPOILER ALERT, maybe. I'm not clear on what is and isn't a spoiler, since I don't really watch the show. None of this is the point.:
Everyone good? Great.
Apparently the dapper Don is actually someone else, or at least, Don Draper isn't his real name, rather an acquired identity that he has adopted to make a life for himself. The concept of swapping identities is damn seductive! To leave behind your past and your roots, to set out on becoming someone totally different with brand new goals and ideals, sounds pretty fabulous. If you don't like who you already are.
I know that Don/whatever his real name is, comes from a different era, a vastly different background, and is not a real person in the lives-in-reality kind of way. But, he sure is compelling. This season sets up the running theme of Don's disappointment with the plan he was working to build to fit this identity. The slow decay of all those perfect things, and the changing times (I think this season starts in '64) play pivotal roles in his development and arc in the story. The thought of having not only that kind of duality but also that level of self-regret was the catalyst for this lesson.
I tried to imagine, while painting on the floor, if I could pick a new name and a new life, what would I really want? What job would I do? What would that plan be? That got me thinking about what my own real life plan was...
When I was little, probably five or six, I can remember standing in my bedroom, looking at myself in the mirror and imagining myself as 15 years old. In my mind that seemed grown up. I imagined that I would look the same, but my head would be bigger. I didn't imagine what I would be doing or who I might be dating, or even if I would go to college. I just imagined myself the same, but with a bigger head.
Fortunately for me, I have grown proportionally over the years, but it does speak pretty plainly to the way I've always looked at my "future." I'm a very driven person, but I don't exactly have a plan. I landed in Production Management as haphazardly as I landed in intelligent lighting design, and as haphazardly as I landed in my BFA program (I marked the wrong bubble on my application to UT and it was the best error I've ever made).
Did I set out to be a girl who can easily destroy a good pedicure within 48 hours? Did I imagine that I would break some kind of record for how many parking tickets one person can amass in a span of years? Did my principal goals include figuring out that if you are low on money and/or time, you can pretty easily do a small load of laundry in the bathtub as long as its not humid outside and that pasta-sauce can work as a food group? That I would use my college degree to end up sitting on the floor of a small theatre company at 1am assembling a chandelier that only came with instructions in Polish? To endeavor to be the person who is addicted to eyeglasses, pop music, and chex mix? Not by a long shot.
My 15 year-old self wouldn't have had any idea that in 2004 I would spend three nights sleeping on my pull out couch with my first roommate in Chicago under four blankets and a heating pad because our crazy landlord broke our heater in the middle of the winter. I probably also wouldn't have guessed that those three days are some of the fondest memories Katy and I would have of that apartment, and the weird food, and loud cats, and constant watching and quoting of Bridget Jones' Diary, and the galloping around, drinking gin and tonics and singing way too loudly. That probably wouldn't have been in the plan for "things I think I should do when I grow up."
But, those are all a part of my real life, which seems to be far more compelling than a brand new identity. Plan or no plan, I am incredibly fortunate to work in a field that I love, to teach inspired students who are positively hilarious, to be surrounded by friends (and my fella) who have seen the best and the worst of me and still want to hang out, and a family who I just couldn't live without.
The bottom line is that I am a happy woman to be where I am. Chipped toenail polish, parking tickets, and all.
Lesson learned.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Lesson 1: Change, Re-arrange, make a mess.
You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs. And, you can't clean your room without making a giant god damn mess. I was all outta eggs this weekend (har har) and decided to tackle the great cluttermonster that is my bedroom.
I know this doesn't fully tie in to the process portion of this blog (though I did learn something valuable), but I feel it is a crucial step in getting ready to start learning. I feel like I am the most successful when I have space around me to think, play, paint, make another mess, whatever. This past weekend, with a 15% off Anthropologie card to blame for it all, I started down the road to room deep cleaning and redecorating.
Perhaps I should have taken a before picture, but I prefer for you to think of me in my *new* state. Forget the caterpillar, this butterfly has a brand new comforter and a snappy room to match. No one needed to see my creative bra-drying-storage or the remnants of what it looks like to fall victim to bronchitis twice in six weeks. Read: my room was totally gross.
Five hours, three trash bags, and four donate-to-goodwill shopping bags later, the room is cleaned, purged, reorganized and redecorated. For extra credit, I also cleaned and purged the bathroom and discovered that I should never buy Robitussin again. Three full bottles are now looming down on me, with their bad-tasteness crowding the upper right hand shelf.
I fully committed to the flip of my closet (the pile of sweaters has been moved into the appropriate under-bed storage, etc.) which means that it will probably snow tomorrow. Sorry about that y'all. My nightstand is no longer a wasteland of books, receipts, cross stitch supplies, and prescription bottles. What a relief to be able to hit the snooze button without causing a landslide. Seriously.
Without going into further detail and alienating clean freaks from my life forever, I'll just say that it was an undertaking that was long overdue! But, well worth it. Here I am on my bed, looking across at the three picture frames I painted with the slightly silly drawings I did filling the empty space until such a time as I can decide what in the world actually GOES with this comforter.
The lesson here is: you have enough. I did the majority of the work in my room by getting RID of things, rather than bringing new things in. Aside from the new bedspread, everything else is re purposed from a different place in my apartment. My closet actually has room in it for the clothes I want to hang up, and despite my attempts to throw away absolutely everything, I realized that I have enough. More than enough, and I'm a lucky lady. For someone like me, that's a lesson I need to be more conscious of now that I have this new Target down the block...
I know this doesn't fully tie in to the process portion of this blog (though I did learn something valuable), but I feel it is a crucial step in getting ready to start learning. I feel like I am the most successful when I have space around me to think, play, paint, make another mess, whatever. This past weekend, with a 15% off Anthropologie card to blame for it all, I started down the road to room deep cleaning and redecorating.
Perhaps I should have taken a before picture, but I prefer for you to think of me in my *new* state. Forget the caterpillar, this butterfly has a brand new comforter and a snappy room to match. No one needed to see my creative bra-drying-storage or the remnants of what it looks like to fall victim to bronchitis twice in six weeks. Read: my room was totally gross.
Five hours, three trash bags, and four donate-to-goodwill shopping bags later, the room is cleaned, purged, reorganized and redecorated. For extra credit, I also cleaned and purged the bathroom and discovered that I should never buy Robitussin again. Three full bottles are now looming down on me, with their bad-tasteness crowding the upper right hand shelf.
I fully committed to the flip of my closet (the pile of sweaters has been moved into the appropriate under-bed storage, etc.) which means that it will probably snow tomorrow. Sorry about that y'all. My nightstand is no longer a wasteland of books, receipts, cross stitch supplies, and prescription bottles. What a relief to be able to hit the snooze button without causing a landslide. Seriously.
Without going into further detail and alienating clean freaks from my life forever, I'll just say that it was an undertaking that was long overdue! But, well worth it. Here I am on my bed, looking across at the three picture frames I painted with the slightly silly drawings I did filling the empty space until such a time as I can decide what in the world actually GOES with this comforter.
The lesson here is: you have enough. I did the majority of the work in my room by getting RID of things, rather than bringing new things in. Aside from the new bedspread, everything else is re purposed from a different place in my apartment. My closet actually has room in it for the clothes I want to hang up, and despite my attempts to throw away absolutely everything, I realized that I have enough. More than enough, and I'm a lucky lady. For someone like me, that's a lesson I need to be more conscious of now that I have this new Target down the block...
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Ready, Set, Go!
The Idea:
I turn 30 on July 10th, 2011, and I'm challenging myself to learn a new skill each week until then. Some of these are certainly going to be smaller than others, and I'm trying to keep the scope under control to keep this from turning into a full on "bucket list."
The whole thing started when I realized that I still don't know how to do a certain something which shocked several people. Here is an example of this conversation unfolding:
Me: Yeah, I don't know how to change a tire.
Everyone else: What! Really...? Seriously, you don't?
Then, I started asking friends about what skills they either 1)think are good to know or 2)also have an interest in learning.
While brainstorming with two of my best girlfriends and a handful of co-workers, we came up with a pretty interesting jumping off point:
-learn braille
-take a nude figure drawing class (nude models, not nude artists!)
-learn to drive a tractor
-learn CPR and first aid (check!)
-salsa dancing
-swing dancing
-Serbian folk dancing
I'm sensing a trend...
-how to french braid
-how to plant a garden
-how to mend a hem and sew a button (check!)
-how to weld
-how to solder (check!)
-how to start a fire from scratch
-how to throw a punch
You get the idea. Things like "learn French" and "play the cello" are on a life long list, but don't fit the criteria of something that could be taught and/or learned over the course of a week. I'm also trying to keep the financial scope somewhat limited as well, so things like scuba diving or flying a helicopter don't fit on this particular challenge. Maybe someday!
Since I've gotten a late start, I'm going to double up intermittently to make up for lost weeks as the lessons go forward, working towards a final tally of 52 lessons by July 10th, 2011. Here goes!
Well, that's about it! Here goes!
I turn 30 on July 10th, 2011, and I'm challenging myself to learn a new skill each week until then. Some of these are certainly going to be smaller than others, and I'm trying to keep the scope under control to keep this from turning into a full on "bucket list."
The whole thing started when I realized that I still don't know how to do a certain something which shocked several people. Here is an example of this conversation unfolding:
Me: Yeah, I don't know how to change a tire.
Everyone else: What! Really...? Seriously, you don't?
Then, I started asking friends about what skills they either 1)think are good to know or 2)also have an interest in learning.
While brainstorming with two of my best girlfriends and a handful of co-workers, we came up with a pretty interesting jumping off point:
-learn braille
-take a nude figure drawing class (nude models, not nude artists!)
-learn to drive a tractor
-learn CPR and first aid (check!)
-salsa dancing
-swing dancing
-Serbian folk dancing
I'm sensing a trend...
-how to french braid
-how to plant a garden
-how to mend a hem and sew a button (check!)
-how to weld
-how to solder (check!)
-how to start a fire from scratch
-how to throw a punch
You get the idea. Things like "learn French" and "play the cello" are on a life long list, but don't fit the criteria of something that could be taught and/or learned over the course of a week. I'm also trying to keep the financial scope somewhat limited as well, so things like scuba diving or flying a helicopter don't fit on this particular challenge. Maybe someday!
Since I've gotten a late start, I'm going to double up intermittently to make up for lost weeks as the lessons go forward, working towards a final tally of 52 lessons by July 10th, 2011. Here goes!
Well, that's about it! Here goes!
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