 Front cover of my Outage Thrive Kit; inside page of the last Outage Thrive Kit, circa October, 2020; back cover of Outage Thrive Kit  Front cover of my Outage Thrive Kit; inside page of the last Outage Thrive Kit, circa October, 2020; back cover of Outage Thrive Kit  Front cover of my Outage Thrive Kit; inside page of the last Outage Thrive Kit, circa October, 2020; back cover of Outage Thrive Kit If I were still at my job, I would be working an outage RIGHT NOW. I’m not going to explain any nuclear power vocabulary here at all. I’ll just say outages require all employees to work six days weekly, for a minimum of 12.5 hours daily. Add the commute time to all of these daily hours. Outage duration might be three weeks or longer, dependent on scheduled work, etc. All outages add up to very exhausted employees. I was one of those glazed eyed, unhappy, exhausted, trudging, trying to do my best, miserably scared of getting sick employees. I was barely conscious of my birthday and Halloween...I was barely conscious at all. My days were drive to job, do my best at job, drive home, do a couple of chores, try to enjoy time with Andy, and go to bed! Quite a few outages ago, artist Carol Trice was having to work some overtime for her job industry. She made up a book similar to this one, with sticker rewards. I adore stickers. I copied Carol’s idea. This was one of the few ways I could still feel like me...adding reward stickers to my calendar day. To earn a sticker, I had to spend at least five minutes on that option. Those minutes were precious. Yes, I had a Must Do List, too. When Andy and I had to work outages, I printed systems for myself and worked them. All of the lists got stickers. Andy rolled his eyes, but I had my list and our outages ran smoother. I threw out this book this year!!! I kept my collected leftover Halloween stickers, because, I love stickers, lol! I kept my instructions for how to make and use another book like this. I prefer to abandon ever needing a book like this again, but life is weird. Maybe I’ll make one for doing art biz things? Hmm…! If you need a thrive kit like this, I’m happy to share my instructions. Step one is get some great, happy, fun, bright stickers like you can find at Dollar Trees in the US. The stickers can be any theme of your choice. You could do like old school and stick to gold stars, too. Next steps are find a cover, make a list, repeat and print the list. Pura vida from Costa Rica, where I’m figuring out what’s next!  I didn’t date this doodle. I found it while sorting my art studio for our move. It was too good to toss, so it lives digitally! Does it matter how a meeting is named?
Here’s a quick list of Big Meetings at My Former Job. Town Hall Alignment Site Update Safety 100 Hours Stand Down… Whenever you have more than 10 people in a room...the behaviors shown in my doodle are on real-life display. The only difference between meetings in 2019 and meetings 2020 to present is a video call-in option, IF your company bothers to give you this option. I prefer video call-in meetings. I prefer having the option of having the video on or off. I still pay attention at (to?) meetings, either way. I prefer to never attend another long, drawn out, carefully curated, propaganda filled, “talk at employees” company meeting ever again. Of course, never attending another one of these types of meetings means the opportunity for a doodle like this will never happen again, for me. That’s fine by me. Do you see these behaviors, etc. at company meetings you attend? What do you doodle during these lost hours?  Tomasina and I in my old studio. We were saying goodbye to the space...and Tomasina helped me smile. Originally posted to my IG.  When I found Tomasina in my art/workout suitcase, I burst out laughing. Andy asked why I bothered to bring her. My reply was for my reaction...to laugh with joy. She’s now on a tiny shelf, looking out at me. In case you hadn’t heard, Andy and I moved to Costa Rica.
Yes, we still have a stake in the USA. So if you have any of my contact info, much of it will still work. It might take a few days to get back to you. Anyway, Andy and I bought a slice of land here in Costa Rica in 2019. We are now renting a place while our new home is being constructed. We’ve officially been here two weeks, today, this posting. Four months ago (or maybe 5? Time is flying...so it was this 2021), I bought some acrylic gouache paint, some paper, etc. to work through Color: A Workshop for Artists and Designers. Andy and I had no idea where we would be living during construction...but I best prepare to have a very, very, very small space for an art studio. This color workshop takes up a small work space and requires a very small amount of supplies. I gift myself a creative break, finally get to learn from this book (had it 6 years!) and still get to PAINT! I filled the carry-on travel suitcase with our gym supplies and my art supplies, the book Color: A Workshop, and a few other things. Art things went back and forth from a storage unit box to the suitcase. I made a promise to myself: whatever is in the suitcase will have to work for me. The next time I’m allowed to open the suitcase is when we are in Costa Rica. The gym stuff was easy, lol! As we slowly move into our temporary home, the last setup is my studio space. My suitcase remains full of art supplies...but I get to rummage through them! I found Tomasina...and burst out joyfully with laughter. I’m so happy to have my old friend with me. Is there something that you packed for yourself and found later that it made you laugh with joy? What was it?  Paper menus and the top of receipt from Versailles Restaurant...just because I don’t have my own photos of the real place, lol.  I originally posted this May, 2011. Most of this still holds true. I’m reposting here because it was one of my most popular blog posts. Andy and I recommend Versailles Restaurant to everyone. I never did the bike rentals at Versailles, France. If you have the chance to take any organized workshop by Cynthia Morris, do it. Her online courses are good, too. I was in Paris, France for four weeks. I was always entertained, sketched everywhere, loved it, soaked up design. I went to bed so drunk on art that my mind spinned all night long. It was a wonderful time. I returned home because of Andy and my mom...because I wanted to figure out a way to stay longer. Without further ado, here’s the original post:
My life in Miami, Florida already includes a Versailles. It is not the palace in Paris, France, but THE Cuban food (palace?) restaurant in town. When Mama and I want a good meal that is bueno, bonito, y barato (good, pretty, and cheap), we visit Versailles. We know we are going to enjoy comfort and an interestingly diverse crowd of people. The real Versailles in France has been visited much more than the restaurant, but not by me. The first visit was in 1987 and the second was 1992. Am now learning that what tourists see of Versailles is but a small fraction of delights to see and experience. Just another reason to spend FOUR weeks in Paris, France: to be at Versailles for an entire day of exploration that tourists do not get. A day of drawing, walking, and collecting patterns off the palace's wallpaper walls! Here's the quick list of what I learned: 1. There are cafes on the grounds for rest and food. 2. Tickets can be bought outside of Versailles so you can save yourself a very long line to get one. 3. Bike rentals are available to view the gardens. 4. The garden's water fountains have shows during the summer, through September and October. 5. The website for Versailles if chock full of goodies or buy a book upon arrival for a self guided tour. How did I learn these things about Versailles? Cynthia Morris of the Curious Excursion spent a bit of time putting together a guide for those of joining her adventure. When that much effort is made, I pay attention. One of Cynthia's tidbits was of her friend Heather's Secrets of Paris website. Super site, and got the freebie guide on Versailles that helped with this Fridays in France post. 2021 PS: If you’d like to meet for lunch or dinner at Versailles Restaurant, message me! Email me! Let’s see if we can!  I originally posted this May, 2011. Most of this still holds true. I’m reposting here because it was one of my most popular blog posts. Andy and I recommend Versailles Restaurant to everyone. I never did the bike rentals at Versailles, France. If you have the chance to take any organized workshop by Cynthia Morris, do it. Her online courses are good, too. I was in Paris, France for four weeks. I was always entertained, sketched everywhere, loved it, soaked up design. I went to bed so drunk on art that my mind spinned all night long. It was a wonderful time. I returned home because of Andy and my mom...because I wanted to figure out a way to stay longer. Without further ado, here’s the original post: My life in Miami, Florida already includes a Versailles. It is not the palace in Paris, France, but THE Cuban food (palace?) restaurant in town. When Mama and I want a good meal that is bueno, bonito, y barato (good, pretty, and cheap), we visit Versailles. We know we are going to enjoy comfort and an interestingly diverse crowd of people. The real Versailles in France has been visited much more than the restaurant, but not by me. The first visit was in 1987 and the second was 1992. Am now learning that what tourists see of Versailles is but a small fraction of delights to see and experience. Just another reason to spend FOUR weeks in Paris, France: to be at Versailles for an entire day of exploration that tourists do not get. A day of drawing, walking, and collecting patterns off the palace's wallpaper walls! Here's the quick list of what I learned: 1. There are cafes on the grounds for rest and food. 2. Tickets can be bought outside of Versailles so you can save yourself a very long line to get one. 3. Bike rentals are available to view the gardens. 4. The garden's water fountains have shows during the summer, through September and October. 5. The website for Versailles if chock full of goodies or buy a book upon arrival for a self guided tour. How did I learn these things about Versailles? Cynthia Morris of the Curious Excursion spent a bit of time putting together a guide for those of joining her adventure. When that much effort is made, I pay attention. One of Cynthia's tidbits was of her friend Heather's Secrets of Paris website. Super site, and got the freebie guide on Versailles that helped with this Fridays in France post. |
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Drawing, painting both analog and digital, and other artsy things while living in Costa Rica.
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