I am not a pretentious person. I am an even less pretentious entrepreneur.
Still, following the advice of credible-sounding experts and sage columnists, I have been Sands Communications for the past 20 years. But I am not a CEO overseeing a building-full of little gray cubicles and fancy conference rooms; I don't commute to an elaborate, glassy office building filled with the cacophony of ringing phones, shuffling feet, elevator music and suited-up employees driven to "out-hip" each other.
Nope. It's just me, being paid (most of the time) to craft messages and websites that motivate, inspire, inform, entertain or otherwise serve. [Read more →]I am not a pretentious person. I am an even less pretentious entrepreneur.
Still, following the advice of credible-sounding experts and sage columnists, I have been Sands Communications for the past 20 years. But I am not a CEO overseeing a building-full of little gray cubicles and fancy conference rooms; I don't commute to an elaborate, glassy office building filled with the cacophony of ringing phones, shuffling feet, elevator music and suited-up employees driven to "out-hip" each other.
Nope. It's just me, being paid (most of the time) to craft messages and websites that motivate, inspire, inform, entertain or otherwise serve. When you call me, you will not get a complicated network of extensions and procedures; you'll either get me, my voice mail, or occasionally a "secretary" -- one of my four kids or my husband. You might hear in the background the dogs barking, the birds singing, music playing, the doorbell ringing... And my conference room? Usually the nearest Panera.
Yes, I am professional, and I always give my utmost in serving my clients. I have a fully equipped home office (though I'm often writing from the comfort of my sofa on my Macbook), and (being a gadget geek) I'm up on the latest technology. When necessary, I can draw on the resources of the graphic designers and other professionals in my network. And I'm told that I'm good at what I do, and that I'm easy to work with. Isn't that what matters most?
So there's the conflict: Do I continue to bill myself as a company, or as an individual? Does it matter to those who may hire me?
The Museum of Conceptual Art
January 31st, 2009 · Oddities + curiosities, Stuff I like
I stumbled upon this little gem this morning and got sucked right in. It's a highly random but delightfully interesting compilation of essays, humor, letters and other stuff that would be fab in a blog format but rests without pretense on a humble web page. I'm not sure who maintains it or why, but it's worth a visit.
I'm still laughing over the "Masterpiece Helper Photoshop Plugin." Proof of my generally easy-to-amuse nature. → No CommentsTags: random
Nuts in the tree
January 31st, 2009 · Family + friends
I recently had the pleasure of reading Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays -- his account of the brilliantly kooky family from which he came. Sometimes side-splittingly funny, sometimes gut-wrenchingly poignant, it reminds me that all families have their stories, and that, as I learned from minoring in psych, "sane" is just a relative term. (Pun not intended.)
My family of origin is no different in that respect. My parents each came from family trees that bore more than a few nuts, and I loved each and every one. Most are gone now: Kind, warm people with ready hugs, open smiles, and quirkiness that makes me laugh out loud to this day. I miss them, and reading Crystal's book makes me want to set down their stories -- so I don't forget, and so that my kids also can know the joy of relatives that make you go "hmm." After all, my little cluster of leaves on the tree is hopelessly normal. At least, that's what I think. That's probably what those other branches of the family tree thought of themselves, too.
So I think I'll add another category here for my own recollections of growing up in the classically dysfunctional Italian-American family of the 1960s and '70s. Stay tuned. Truth is stranger, and often funnier, than fiction.
In the meantime, do read Crystal's book. → No CommentsTags:
Jackson House view
November 6th, 2008 · Artsy Fartsiness
This is the view from a unit on the rental program at South Walton Realty, a website I designed and maintain for the wonderful people there. I painted it in watercolors from a photo, which causes some distortion.
The light on Florida Panhandle beaches is very bright, probably because it bounces off all that pure white sand. (In particular, walking on the beach at sunset or dusk feels like walking in a watercolor because the colors are so melded and soft -- pale, pale turquoise water and periwinkle shadows.) It's a challenge to recreate that light.
Those railings were a pain but a good lesson in how darker values move an object closer to the viewer.
I have a lot to learn, obviously. But it's a blast! Tired of thinking
October 16th, 2008 · Musings
I am tired of thinking. Absolutely, positively burned out.
I watched the final presidential debate tonight after attending a benefit for Francis House, a hospice staffed by angels who kindly and gently help the terminally ill with their journeys into peace. Well-fed, well-entertained and well-wined, I find that I am exhausted. [Read more →]I am tired of thinking. Absolutely, positively burned out.
I watched the final presidential debate tonight after attending a benefit for Francis House, a hospice staffed by angels who kindly and gently help the terminally ill with their journeys into peace. Well-fed, well-entertained and well-wined, I find that I am exhausted. I'm completely sick of thinking about democrat vs republican, bailout bills, out-of-control spending, abortion rights, an unpopular war and an economy that threatens to drift back into the 1930s. I am so tired of trying to figure out college financing, home budgets, career decisions. Should I vote this way or that? What do I do with seething anger over the economic crisis? How can I convey to my kids the enormity of the debt they are undertaking in getting through college? How do I rail against a system that has crushed the middle class, without taking responsibility and initiative?
But, the benefit reminds me that we all will die someday, no matter how much we own, what party we lean toward, which career path we take. In the face of death, all else becomes irrelevant. Small. Well, almost everything.
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She’s home
November 18th, 2007 · Musings
I have a daughter to whom the world just opened itself.
See, she's 17 1/2 -- a soulful, sensitive, intelligent and beautiful girl who stands at the crossroads between childhood and adulthood. From here on out, everything changes. And from my middle-aged point of view, I know that the rest of life is fraught (or blessed, depending) with change, like a sky's parade of clouds and sun, storms and blue.
She came home today, breathless after her very first weekend away from home without me. After her first plane ride, her first out-of-state college visit. And now there's no going back: She knows.
In one short weekend, she's discovered that the stage on which high-school dramas play out looks very, very small from 35,000 feet in the air. She's learned that her life can take her anywhere, with the right ticket... that education is a multifaceted experience that happens both inside and outside a classroom... that kindness can be found even in a great wide frightening world (thanks to a certain friend's grandma who played a very gracious host)... And most importantly that even as she flies from the nest, the nest stays put. Home is and always will be home, and her family will always be the one constant -- the keeper of histories, the protector of her soul, the solid, unshakeable sanctuary in a world that shifts with the wind.
When the time comes for her to go to college, I will miss her beyond words. But I will relish watching her open her life like a big birthday present, like I've done so many times before.
She is my heart, the tiny baby who changed my life, the little dynamo who knows me, perhaps, better than anyone. So for the time being, I am happy and relieved that she is here, and will be for many months yet. It's easy to talk to her about change. It's much harder to listen.
See, she's 17 1/2 -- a soulful, sensitive, intelligent and beautiful girl who stands at the crossroads between childhood and adulthood. From here on out, everything changes. And from my middle-aged point of view, I know that the rest of life is fraught (or blessed, depending) with change, like a sky's parade of clouds and sun, storms and blue.
She came home today, breathless after her very first weekend away from home without me. After her first plane ride, her first out-of-state college visit. And now there's no going back: She knows.
In one short weekend, she's discovered that the stage on which high-school dramas play out looks very, very small from 35,000 feet in the air. She's learned that her life can take her anywhere, with the right ticket... that education is a multifaceted experience that happens both inside and outside a classroom... that kindness can be found even in a great wide frightening world (thanks to a certain friend's grandma who played a very gracious host)... And most importantly that even as she flies from the nest, the nest stays put. Home is and always will be home, and her family will always be the one constant -- the keeper of histories, the protector of her soul, the solid, unshakeable sanctuary in a world that shifts with the wind.
When the time comes for her to go to college, I will miss her beyond words. But I will relish watching her open her life like a big birthday present, like I've done so many times before.
She is my heart, the tiny baby who changed my life, the little dynamo who knows me, perhaps, better than anyone. So for the time being, I am happy and relieved that she is here, and will be for many months yet. It's easy to talk to her about change. It's much harder to listen.
Educational disconnect
November 4th, 2007 · Oddities + curiosities
Here's an intriguing, thought-provoking piece on the daily lives of college students. Based on what I'm seeing with my high school senior and sophomore, I'm guessing it's dead on -- except for college debt, which I gotta believe will exceed $20k for most students. (I'm still thinking about the video, but the first question it makes me ask is, how have we, in such a "connected" world, become so disconnected?)
→ 1 CommentTags: college·education
Stating the obvious
October 31st, 2007 · The Wall of Why: English Anguish
As any good writer will tell you: It's always better to show than to say.*If you don't get what I mean, you'd best not apply for the job ;-).
Where I’ve been
October 6th, 2007 · Musings
Get your map here.
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Psst: Secret posts
March 25th, 2007 · Stuff I like
If it's true and you've never told anyone about it, put it on a postcard and send it to Post Secrets.
In any case, go see what others have posted. It's a must-see!