Infuriated by Lost? Get your answers here.

After my first aid class yesterday, I received a number of phone calls from various people. We chatted. I filled them in on my Saturday whereabouts. Then they would ask the inevitable question... "Sarah, you are a designer. Why on earth would you want to take a first aid class?"

Here are my answers listed in chronological order. If you get the heebie-jeebies easily, I would skip this post.

In 2001, I worked at a scenery shop in Manhattan. My boss had a sudden seizure. He flipped out of his rolling office chair and cracked his head on the concrete floor. His eyes were rolled back into his head. There was blood seeping out of an abrasion somewhere on his skull. No one in the shop knew what to do.

In 2003, I was riding a bus on my way to work one morning. As we pulled into the bus stop, everyone on the bus jumped up and started screaming. I was the last to get off the bus. I saw an obviously mentally ill man flailing his arm in the air. His arm was flopping in an unnatural manner. Blood was spurting from the place where his bone was jutting through the skin. (He had been riding on the bus with his arm out the window. When we rounded the corner, his arm was crunched between the bus and a parked truck.) Everyone who had been on the bus was standing in a circle around him, but no one was making a move to help him. And, I admit, it was an intimidating situation.

In January of this year, I was riding the subway when a man tried to hop on the train before the doors closed and didn't make it. The doors closed on his shoulders and he fell forward onto his face. Apparently, something had broken in his back and he couldn't move. It took 15 minutes for the paramedics to arrive.

In March of this year, I was walking down the street when a teenager walked up to me and asked where the nearest emergency room was. He was holding a bloody napkin over a cut on his arm. I asked him what happened and he said he had been attacked by another group of kids. Then he showed me the stab wound in his back.

In all of these situations, I immediately jumped in to help. It's not something I think about. When I see someone who needs help, my first thought is how to help them. Unfortunately, my second thought is: "Crap... what if I just wind up making the situation worse?"

Up until now, I've been lucky. I did exactly the right thing for my boss. I could have done more for the guy on the bus and the kid with the stab wounds if I knew then what I know now. And, lucky for the man on the train, there was a doctor in the subway car.

Like I said, when your living in a city packed with 8 million people, you are bound to run into a few injuries here or there. So, if you are a designer, (or a lawyer/writer/producer/ad exec/house cleaner/etc...) with a penchant for responding to emergency situations, I highly recommend studying up on your first aid skills. You could very well save someone's finger/leg/memory/range of motion/life.

Here is the link for class listings at The American Red Cross of Greater NY. And a link for Red Cross websites anywhere else in the country.

Early Bird Gets the Splint

Hey everybody.

I don't think a single one of you is up yet. Well... maybe a few of you are peeking though puffy eyelids at 7:30 on a Saturday morning.

I am up! I've had my Joe and I'm ready to go...

My friend Julie and I are off to a Standard First Aid class today. Why? you ask...

Well, it's a long story. And a gross one. But, I'll tell you about it later. Don't worry, I'm not concerned about your knee-jerk disgust reflexes. I just don't have time right now. Suffice it to say, I have Samaritan tendencies, but don't know a darn thing about first aid. And, when you're walking around in city packed with 8 million people you are bound to run into a few injuries here or there.

Yikes! Time flies when I'm here and it's almost 7:45... so I'm off! Have a great Saturday and I'll see you on the other side of the CPR dummy.

Over and Out

Papaya!

Here is another flower in my Garden of Bizarre Delights. I love PaPaYa's artwork. Here is a link to Anahata Katkin's blog so you can get to know the mind behind the makings. Whenever I need a good visual infusion, I go there or to Papaya's online store to gorge myself on the color. What a feast!

I miss you
Originally uploaded by Anahata Katkin.

Wednesday and a Star...

I love Wednesday nights...

Well, for the next 3 months I will. I am taking an incredible seminar at Landmark Education called the Living Passionately seminar. (Those who know me know that I already live life pretty passionately - but hey if you're addicted to chocolate, what is there to do but eat more chocolate?)

This is what I am aiming for during the course of the seminar:

1) Getting my own studio.

2) Generating a new, (and very different), future with my husband.

3) Setting myself up so I can move into my dream apartment with joy and ease.

4) Playing for the sake of playing... games that I make up.

Hmmm - I am sure there will be more to come, but that's a good start.

I am so grateful that Landmark Education is on the planet. The Landmark Forum was the greatest ride I have ever taken. I wish I could do it all over again just to experience those first time mind-blowing realizations. If you register - let me know. I love hearing the stories of Forum graduates!

OK - so on to other news: Stardust is coming out this fall. Just in time for my birthday! I have been a fan of Neil Gaiman since highschool (early 90's) and this is one of my favorite Gaiman stories. Here is a picture of Claire Danes as The Star.

Isn't she gorgeous? There are more yummy photos that you can see here.

The design is so delicious - I can hardly wait... OK- off to bed. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite!

The Garden of Bizarre Delights

Super (Mario) Cake
Originally uploaded by alt text.

So, I am starting a segment entitled above. It is to be a smattering of strange and whimsical curiosities. Click on the related label periodically to find what other objects I may place in the Garden...

Here is the first.
*sigh*

Makes me a little nostalgic.

By the way - it's a wedding cake incase you didn't notice Mario and the Princess perched on the top. I wish I could see the rest of the wedding decorations!

Itty Bitty Monday post...

Just peeking in to say hi...

Oh! And I have an announcement to make. I have a new 1st cousin! Her name is Olivia Grace and she was born today to my Aunt Cathy and Uncle Casey. If they send me a picture, I'll post it up for all to see. Everyone says she's beautiful!

That's one of the only drawbacks about living so far from your family... never being there for those moments. Maybe Casey will get a webcam and I'll be able to see them that way! (Hint hint, Casey... and congratulations. I hope she inherits your hug and Cathy's smile.)

On other fronts, another cousin is in town this week who happens to be the managing director of the Richmond Ballet. He always brings a few comp passes for me and my friends... lucky, lucky us! He is also partly responsible for:

1) Taking me to my first live Rocky Horror Picture Show extravaganza,
2) Almost killing me several times during bumper cars at the beach,
3) Getting me an audition at NC School of the Arts... whereby starting my illustrious arts career.

And he put up with me during my loony teenager years. Ask him about my wardrobe sometimes...he loves to tell that story.

OK - off to bed. Sleep tight, peeps. (Not you... all those other peeps I didn't eat for Easter. Lucky little ducks... er... chicks.)

Here is part of one project I am working on...

As you can see, I was a little gloomy this week because we had a great Spring teaser and then the winter weather returned! Sad for me! So, I was in a Poe mood. Those of you who are fans of The Labyrinth will know about oubliettes. For those of you who haven't seen The Labyrinth, you should. Here are 3 good reasons:

1 - classic Henson puppetry.

2 - The Bog of Eternal Stench

3 - David Bowie in tights with killer glam-rock hair.

OK, now that I have Bowie in my head, I guess I'll head off to bed.

*squeezes*

How do you trick a trickster?

So - I hatched a brilliant plan this week.

Luckily, I had the help of two cohorts: Julie and Leese.

But, before I get to that... let me out myself on one small character flaw: I am terrible at creating my own artwork! I mean, I have no stick-to-it-iveness when it comes to self promotional pieces. ARGH! I have battled with myself over this issue for years!

This is how it happens:

SCENE: beautiful Saturday in cozy NY apartment. Sun streaming in windows. Cats purring. Girl sits on couch sipping the last bit of coffee and pondering the agenda for the day.

GIRL: "Hmmmm... great day to start that Kabuki-inspired floral self-portrait I've been meaning to do. Don't you think so, Gizmo?"

GIZMO looks at girl steadily as if to say, "Yeah, right... we've been through this a million times..." GIZMO yawns and goes back to sleep.

GIRL pulls out her sketch pad and starts to clean off the coffee table so she will have a clean work surface. In the process, she uncovers:

(any of the following could work for this scene)

a half finished scarf made of a gorgeous hand-dyed wool/mohair blend...
a scrap of paper with the phone number of an old friend she's been meaning to call...
an unpaid bill that was due two days ago...

which, predictably, throws her totally off the self-promotional track! Kabuki-inspired floral portraits fade from her memory as she gets lost in the task at hand. If only she had uncovered a wacom tablet and the Porcelain font! *sigh*

Happens every Saturday! Sheesh!

So, here's the plot twist that will save our heroine from her self-sabotaging foibles:

SCENE: gorgeous spring day in Central Park. GIRL sits with two friends and adorable Boston terrier. (Scene has been paraphrased due to terrible memory of scriptwriter.)

FRIEND ONE: "So, when are we actually going to see all of these brilliant works you are always going on about?"

GIRL: "I know, I know... I need to get them done. Especially of I'm going to set up my own web-site soon! I just never seem to have the time!"

FRIEND TWO: "Wait a second... every time I call you, you are at home lounging around! What about all that time?"

GIRL sighs a huge sigh. "Oh... crap. The truth is the only time I ever get anything creative done is when (A) it's a present for someone's birthday or (B) I'm doing it for money! I just can't seem to get motivated on my own time!"

FRIEND ONE: "So who has money to pay you for all that self-promotional work you want to do? Seems kind of like the chicken-or-the-egg problem to me."

GIRL: "Yeah, exactly! See how frustrating that is? Why do the work if I'm not getting pa... HEY! Wait a second! I've got it!"

SECOND FRIEND: "By George, I think she's got it!"

GIRL: "What if I pay myself? I just need to put a huge chunk of money in a safe place and make sure it doesn't get back to me until I deliver the pieces I've commissioned from myself! Ha! That'll show me! Yes! Just when I think all is lost, I go and think up something brilliant!"

FRIEND ONE: "Brilliant!"

FRIEND TWO: "Brilliant!"

SCENE 2: ATM machine on a busy Manhattan street.

GIRL takes out large sum of cash and hands it over to FRIEND ONE. Smiles all around. Even the Boston terrier seems to be grinning. GIRL goes home happily, knowing she can't possibly pay her bills until she follows through on some very important commissions.

THE END

So, you see? Who says you can't be your own boss? You just also have to have an extremely trustworthy accounts-payable representative and a little bit of start-up cash. Keep an eye out. I'll post the fruits of my labor here.

I hope you all have a very productive Saturday!

Dancing a Jig!

Dancing a jig... dancing a jig...

So, by now you've noticed that I have a tendency to disappear for long periods of time before popping up again. 'Tis a function of being a whimsical person. I am working on being much more consistent! I really am! It just may take a little time to build up my blogging muscle, so be patient with me!

I'm in a rambling sort of mood, so keep your eyes on the road... some curves are coming up.

Lots going on lately. I...

a) went with Leese tonight to see The Year of Magical Thinking starring Vanessa Redgrave. Not bad stuff, although I think Joan Didion and I have differing opinions on the definition of the word "magical". VR was pretty amazing, though, and I'm glad I can now say I've seen her on Broadway. We will be seeing Kevin Spacey in A Moon for the Misbegotten on the 29th. Leese has made all of the arrangements and I am hugely grateful because I need some good other-people's-drama in my life right now. (fyi - other-people's-drama is always much better on Broadway with respectable stars and a curtain that closes at the end of the show. I don't recommend the other kind... it's always more costly than the most expensive orchestra seat!)

b) have been swamped with work on the Kid's Choice Awards post party. Luckily, I love working in Adobe Illustrator and the days are flying by! It's a great job because Nickelodeon gives me all the ingredients and I get see how many successful recipes I can come up with. If they weren't all studded with sponsor logos, I'd put some up for you to see. Unfortunately, corporate America frowns on that sort of thing.

c) found out I have a thyroid issue that requires medication. Sad! On one hand, it explains tons about my energy levels over the past few months. On the other, I hate being bound to a regimen of meds. *sigh* Still, they may help me overcome the strange aversion to exercise that I seem to have developed. Of course, that could just be due to the fact that I have winter hibernating tendencies.

d) have a overwhelming need to introduce you to one of my favorite people in the world. Her name is Leese and her birthday was February 27th. We met back in (yikes!) 1996, so I have known her for 11 years. She is one of the universe's great gifts to me... and when you meet her, you will not be able to see the depth of her courage, or the breadth of her compassion, or the intricacy of her humanity because she is a humble thing and doesn't let it all hang out until she gets to know you better. She's a lot like a Shakespeare play... she takes some studying to understand, but when you figure out the details, she's pure poetry.

Here are some of the things she has done and been for me that has made my life a little brighter:

1) Caved and picked out a kitten for herself so that the kitten I adopted wouldn't be lonely.
2) Drove a gigantic U-Haul 9 hours from NC to NY because I was too chicken to drive a vehicle that large. (With previously mentioned kitten mewing piteously the whole way there!)
3) Looked appropriately shocked, but equally supportive when I announced I was getting married.
4) Was a gorgeous bride's maid at my wedding who did her job and caught the bouquet!
5) Became a formidable advocate for my well-being during a 4-day stint in a city hospital.
6) Endured, with a grace uncommon in best friends, some of my poorer choices in men.
7) Has become a geek with obsessions rivaling my own.
8) Gently persuaded me into a vegetarian lifestyle.
9) Keeps me inundated with Judy Dench movies, sitcoms, and interviews.

I am very glad she's here. She makes this story so much more interesting.

So - there... someone else for you to meet. Someday, when we're both 82, I'll write our memoirs and you'll be shocked at the details I have left out of this post. Ha! There's a cliffhanger for you. And you only have 52 years to wait!

Bleary-eyed, but standing...

Just a short little post before I crash into bed... which will be bullet pointed for brevity.

1 - Happy Birthday, CB!... it's 12:18 am and I know you're still working, (art directors always go home last!), but I wanted to let the world know that today is the birthday of a great woman. Good work this week. I hope you make it to Puerto Rico. You deserve a "calgon moment" after the last 2 days!

2- Casey found my comment link. Yay Casey! I love you too and I'm very glad you are reading. I think you are right about the mole. Big hugs...

3- J. Lin wrote in to tell me that a) there are too many Lin's in NY to be worried about anonymity and b) he doesn't actually know ALL the names of the Star Trek episodes, only a "select few." Still, if there was a standardized test for Trekkies, I bet he'd score pretty high,even if he isn't one himself.

So, consider yourself updated. I'm going to bed now. Sweet dreams!

Happy Year of the Pig!

Happy (Chinese) New Year, everybody...

This is the Year of the Pig and, from what I've read on my various web jaunts, a year for happiness, honesty, and good fortune. Luckily for me, that fits right in with my theme for the year.

I have been away for a while for 2 reasons:
1 - I am working on a great job for that involves a famous little red puppet, lots of fun graphics to produce, and hours of staring at the computer screen which makes one less inclined to boot up for personal endeavors later in the evening.

2- I have had a cold. Due to the cold, I have been taking drugs. I don't know about you, but I don't trust myself not to say/write/post strange things while on drugs, even if it is just cold medicine!

So - I took a little break. Did you miss me?

Anyway, I am here now. I will tell you that I am generally happy on this 2nd day of the year of the Pig. I celebrated the New Year with one of my favorite families in NY. If you are ever in the New York area, I highly recommend requesting an audience with the Lin's. (If you have been reading you will see that I have edited this post because I got one of my "yes,-you-can-write-about-me-on-my-blog" forms signed.) Mrs. Lin is just a gift to the planet. She is a lucious recipe of love, generosity, and joy packed into a tiny body with just enough room left over for a pinch of humor. Her husband, Mr Lin, is equally as generous and is also a very talented artist. Their son, J. Lin is one of my favorite people, (not the least reason being that he's married to a very dear friend of mine) incredibly intelligent, as big of a geek as I am, (he knows all of the Star Trek: Next Generation episodes by name! I can only recite most of the races,) and who will hopefully let me move into his old room if I go bust in my career and can't afford to get back to my own wonderful family down south!

Can you tell I love them?

Who knows, maybe you'll have the very good fortune of meeting them someday. Your life will be the better for it.

Anyway, we had a wonderful dinner. I got to try some new foods that I had never had before: a bread that is steamed instead of baked, sticky rice that you must eat so that money will stick to you in the upcoming year, and a rice cake with fruit in it that looked suspiciously like the Taiwanese version of a Fruit Cake. It was all delicious and I went home very full of good food and well-hugged by Mrs. Lin.

Thank you, dear Lin's for a delightful evening!

Of course, today, it was back to the grind. I'll be on set for the rest of the week, so I'll post if I can. I love hearing from all of you. Getting a comment is like discovering treasure in those old Sierra adventure games, (King's Quest... remember?)

Happy Tuesday!

S

Sheesh.

Yikes. Time goes by so quickly! I can't believe it's been a whole week since my last post. A lot happens in a week.

I have to be honest and say that I have been very sad over the past few days. I am closing a chapter on a part of my life that I know needs to end, but requires a grieving period.

I had a great moment once where I was crying in an office, (don't ask... long story), and a woman walked by and said "Oh, Sarah, you're leaking." Just like she was talking about the kitchen sink. That always makes me smile.

So, I have leaked a lot lately. But, life is still pretty good. I have really great friends. We'll just call them Les Femmes for now since I haven't checked to see if they require code names on a blog. Tonight, two of them proved they will dance jigs with me in public places. One of them was Cecelia to my Rosalind on a short jaunt in a dark wood. All four of us had Sex on the Table. (A chocolate dessert, silly). And we wrote the first paragraph of the first page of the next chapter in my life.

And I just want to say a semi-public thank you to my sister and my dad. Without you, this next chapter wouldn't be available right now. And to my mom for mentally tucking me in at night and sometimes in the morning.

Sadness is a wonder I have found. Sometimes it comes from lost hopes. Sometimes it comes from broken expectations. Sometimes it comes from cheesy solos in a broadway musical.

Sometimes it is just a gauge for how much you love someone.

Apparently I love someone an awful lot.

A Theme for 2007

At the end of every year, I invent a theme for the next year. Themes are great. I highly recommend them. They are a little like pets... a dog or a cat. Just when you get caught up in the whirlwind of life, overwhelmed by details, or maybe when you get bored or lost and don't know what step to take next, your theme will climb up beside you on the sofa, give you a little nuzzle and look up at you with its big, loving eyes in an expectant way and then you remember to feed it and, suddenly, all is right with the world again.

In 2006, my theme was being peaceful and complete and doing little things that make me happy. After a hectic and unsettling 2005, it was the perfect theme to get me refocused on my own well-being and happiness. I gave myself a break from lofty aspirations. I took up knitting. (I love yarn. So many wondeful textures and colors!) I visited my family twice as much as in previous years. (I love my family. So many quirks and strange personalities!) I saw 2 Cirque du Soleil shows: "O" and "Corteo". (Thanks, Leese!) All in all, my theme did its job and on December 31st, I said goodbye, patted it on the head, and sent it off into the world to find a new human to look after. (It may still be looking, so if you need a theme for the year, I can vouch for it.)

My theme for 2007 is Beauty and Abundance. Yay! I love those words. It's a new theme, so we are just getting used to each other. So far, it is behaving like a purebred. I'll keep you posted on our antics.

Komodo Dragons

So, always the optimist, my friend, Julie, sent me this link.

Surprise! Dragons DO exist!
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/01/24/komodo.births.ap/index.html

(Anyone up for a creation vs. evolution debate? I am a big believer in evolutionary creation myself.)

And, because I am slightly brain-numbed tonight from staring at a computer screen all day, I am going to leave you with this link... they will do the entertaining for me. (Thanks, Eric...)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4212094683742174133&q=Men+in+coats

An introduction...

One thing you should know about me right off the bat: I am in love with the world. I love being here. I really do. The animals on this planet are just stunning! (Anyone who has seen the Nature program on Bower Birds will know exactly what I mean.) And the flowers... wow... nothing makes me happier than a yard full of jewelweed and daylilies. And words... aren't words great? I have so many favorite words! Here are a three of thousands: oubliette, ricochet, frisky.

I haven't always been this way. There have been times in my life when I wish I was living another life, somewhere in another story...

I grew up reading fantasy novels. My dad put Dragons of Autumn Twilight in my hands when I was about 8 years old and I fell into the world of books. Anything with the word Chronicle in it... I read. I loved books that would pull me out of the mundane world of school and, (sorry Mom), church to transport me to a place littered with fairies, elves, jabberwockies, or vampires. As a matter of fact, the only time my parents were called into a parent/teacher conference was due to the fact that I was reading too much in class.

The greatest tragedy of my young life was not discovering that Santa Claus wasn't real. It was when I finally had to admit to myself that dragons weren't real. It may sound silly, but I went though a period of profound sadness. I grieved over the non-existence of my favorite creature for quite a while. I think I was even a little angry at the universe. Life just seemed less majestic without them. But, soon, I had other things to think about like boyfriends and college applications.

I went though many years of small, grey, ordinary thoughts about the world. It just wasn't living up to my expectations! Where was the magic? Where were the heros? Where was the wise and noble mentor who would lead me into adventures that would bring out the nobility in me? Dammit, someone is just not writing this story correctly! *sigh*

Perspective.

Now there's a magic word.

(Doesn't quite have the poetic ring of Expelliarmus! does it?)

Somewhere in there, I finally got some perspective.

It was a mix of things really... a chemical reaction of different ingredients. The Landmark Forum. Joseph Campbell. Steve Irwin. Neil Gaiman. My family. My own desire to be an adventurer in an exotic world.

In the 9th grade, at the behest of the family doctor, my mom took me to get a pair of glasses. Those of you who have glasses or contacts will probably remember that wonderful moment when you put on your first pair. I couldn't believe that the world was actually that sharp, that crisp! I could see for miles! I had no idea backgrounds were actually as detailed as they were. It was a moment of pure delight.

Getting my perspective was similar to that moment, happening over a much longer period of time, but just as delightful. I see the world differently now. I see the magic in this world. A story is just as powerful as a spell. We don't have sorcerers. We have writers and speakers. We don't have unicorns. We have giraffes. We don't have transporters. We have the Internet. We don't have Sam and Frodo. We have Lewis and Clark, Amelia Earhart, Houdini, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Salah al-Din, Ferdinand Magellan, Joan of Arc, Cirque du Soleil...

I am not a hero. I am a seeker of wonders.

It's a great world. I'm glad I am here.