Dana (scribblers sanctuary)'s Blog – December 2010 Archive (17)

This is my favorite time of year. I know, weird. Whatever. I love the music, the crowds, the lit up trees. I love looking for the perfect gift, sitting in front of the fire, baking sweet treats. I love surprising people with gifts who least expect them.  I love bells on my Christmas socks, my Santa hat, and my Mrs. Clause dress. (of course I have one) And I particularly love irritating the hell out of all the Scrooges at work.

 

Anyway, I thought it might be appropriate to…

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Someone asked me the other day if I was glad the holidays were over. No, in fact, I’m always a little sad when the holiday season ends. “But you are not a Christian” she said. Oh? By whose definition? How do you know I’m not a Christian? (The reason this came up at all is because she does not approve of my particular religious upbringing.) I got a bit snippy and asked if her preacher had bought the rights to Christianity lately because the… Continue

Art is personal.



Happiness is a choice



Gratitude is essential



Authenticity is rare





Anything free comes at a great price



Respect is earned



A sense of humor can save you



Words are magic



Strength is mental



Joy is attainable



Work is… Continue

Earlier this year I went to Des Moines, Clive to be exact, to teach a couple of classes. I had never been in that part of the country so I began asking clients about what to do, where to go, points of interest. The resounding…

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There are times when I sit down at my computer, lay my hands on the keyboard, and thoughts form, words appear on the screen, ideas flow seemingly out of nowhere.…

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There has been some discussion about art of late. What is it? What makes it good or bad? Valuable or worthless? For what it's worth, here are my thoughts on the subject...…

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In the late 60’s we lived in Memphis. My father was active duty navy and spent a lot of time on aircraft carriers. He looked quite handsome in his uniform and he was my hero. He was stationed at Memphis for instructor duty. We used to go to the base and I got to get in the flight simulator that they used to teach sailors how to… Continue

(Sorry for the Re-run but I like this blog. :c )

My first day off in two weeks. I head for the bookstore. I love the bookstore. The one closest to me happens to be Books-a-Million. I can't decide if I like the name or not. What I do enjoy is wandering about hoping to find a treasure. I left with a bag; although I'm not sure any of my choices could be considered treasures. Unless you count the pen with the light up Skull on it. You hit it on the counter and multi-colored lights…

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When I was in third grade, Mrs. Powell, the most wonderful teacher in the world would tell her unhappy, scowling students, “You’d better straighten that face up. It’ll stick like that.” Almost always, all the other students would start making the face too, and soon the entire class, including the grumpy kid, would be laughing. Mrs. Powell always said, “Now THAT’S a face to get stuck with.”

There was a time when all I had to do to find some fabulous blog to read was turn on my machine…

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I like to make things. I love to play with my camera. I adore words. Here are a couple of my most recent collages. The first is a declaration. The second is a journey. Both, at least for me, were necessary. My brain seems most comfortable when it is occupied with creation of some kind. I wonder why that is. What drives one to build, create, imagine? There are those who engage in destruction and have taken even that to an art. I find that confusing as well. What compels some to scatter…

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I've been watching the blogs. Some I actually read. I have been looking for a new blog home for over a year, since my original blog, and to date, the only one that was even remotely satisfying, went belly up. It’s still there. I even went back. But the host site didn't tune into the burgeoning environment and something much less desirable for…

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In addition to standing behind the chair, I teach continuing education for my company. In fact, I just returned last night from Houston. We have a model we follow regarding the structure of the programs we teach. One of the things we DON'T do is introduce ourselves. No one cares who I am, how long I've been doing what I do, or anything else. It isn't about me. It's about them. They took time out of their busy schedules to do something to advance their careers. They care about what I came to… Continue

We had a staff meeting a while back. The boss started out with a question and asked everyone to tell one thing they learned in kindergarten. Most said things like “play nice”, “share”, “follow the rules”, “raise your hand”. I said “Naps are good” and “don't throw your food”.



There was a bit of discontent where I work at the time, hence the kindergarten lesson. When you put a fairly large number of people in a relatively small space, there is bound to be an occasional bit of… Continue

I answer questions on allexperts.com and recently had a question about how to achieve a haircut inspired by a 1968 Elvis. I answered the question and suggested to the questioner not to be surprised if he was met with some incredulity as we don't often get requests for hairstyles from 40 years ago. It reminded me of a client I had several years ago.



I was working in a small, privately owned salon and I was often the last one to leave. One night, shortly before locking the doors, a man… Continue

I've been keeping a gratitude journal. Sometimes, just in my personal thoughts. Occasionally, I make a list. I like keeping things to myself. I tell the designers I teach and work with to make living a grateful life their first priority. Sometimes, in classes, we have an activity where we start a gratitude journal. Surprising as it may seem, I often have to suggest that waking up and breathing can count for two of the 5 entries I request. I find that a little sad.



So, I wanted to… Continue