climb on

climb on, friend. and I'll carry you across the borderline. the borderline of ambiguity...

that's on my very first design camp tshirt. from 02. good year. that was the year chip kidd sang karaoke. that was the year connie showed me how to be classy at a vendor expo by sending loads of paper goods to the car if you can, instead of carrying them around with your hands full while trying to meet people. that was also the year I drove home from design camp through minnesota's autumn-lined highways while my passengers slept...

it's somewhat difficult to avoid rock climbing in Lander. I mean, not that I tried or anything. but it's right there. just up the canyon. and everyone I know goes. and they have gear. and they're willing to climb with me.

so a few months ago (wow. has it been that long?) I took a little seminar called womens rock and leadership. for five days we climbed routes very close to town, I learned knots and safety things and we talked about masculine and feminine leadership styles. it was glorious.

and yesterday: my new harness and helmet arrived! since I (finally) purchased them through a pro deal at work they were shipped to me at work. after lunch I was greeted by a box at my desk. I tried on my green helmet and got a few "that looks too small" comments. worried, I adjusted, and fiddled with it. wore it for a while to see how it felt. walked to a few other workspaces, talked to some climbing instructors. conclusion: it's fine. I thought about wearing my harness all afternoon. but I figured that might be awkward. green helmets at my desk while designing the catalog—definitely not awkward.

tomorrow joanne and I are moving! we're moving to new workspaces. it is bitter sweet. we will be closer (collaboration! ahhhh), it will be quieter (hooray), but I will miss the tree outside my window, and the foliage that now blocks my view of the front door. I used to be able to see who was coming in. now I can only see feet. there are also birds in the tree. and a little nest that I can see when I look up from my computer. I will also miss the odd conversations that come about from sitting near the admissions and marketing people. but they are all on the phone a lot. and they have impromptu meetings with in ear shot. and while it's overall educational, informative, timely, and good to know what's going on in other parts of the school (ie. learning the denali group summited or where the veggie bus is getting it's next fill-up of used vegetable oil or that joe shmoe is on his way to his course and we have yet to receive his health form...) it's all interesting. perhaps life-enriching. but overall extremely distracting in a not-actually-related-to-my-workflow sort of way.

so I am excited for my new space. for more space. for more focus. for plants. to personalize it a bit more than where I've been working. for sitting a moment away from joanne instead of across the room where we call each other and ichat all day. for walls to hang projects on, for accessible magazines...