Lunching today down the street from where I work, I stopped and picked up lunch. I got my order to go and, when I left, stopped to let in three women with various roll-behind suitcases (?) struggling up the steps. One of the ladies, every bit as old (er, young!) as me or thereabouts, was chatting away to one of her companions. I stopped and held the door a good four or five seconds while I waited for them to reach the door. Not one of them made eye contact with me. Not one of them acknowledged me. Not one of them said thank you. So in a voice they could easily hear, and with none of the sarcasm I felt like oozing onto them, and with all the friendliness I didn't feel, I said, "Oh, you're welcome!!" as if they'd said thank you anyway. No eye contact. No acknowledgement. No thank you. Contrarily, yesterday I visited a small shop on the Plaza here in Kansas City, called Bird Sings. (They're around the corner from O'Dowd's, where Bang & Olufsen used to be—still has the B&O name on the door handles.) Not only is it a great little store that supports local artists and businesses, the place has amazing good juju! Thanks to Tim Colley, my coworkers and I who were out for a holiday lunch had a pleasant conversation and an overall wonderful experience. He did not speak AT us (like so many retail people do) but WITH us, individually, and as a group. I recommend visiting the shop, and stocking up on really cool gifts, and definitely stuff for yourself. (My husband—who was not with us; he's such a good sport!—bought me a gift while I was there yesterday. It's a 12x12 gallery-wrapped canvas print, pictured above.) If you're a fellow retailer, take notes on how he treats his customers (I'm talking to YOU, Vinca!). Oh, and Tim, if you're reading this, I'll be back in soon! If you're not Tim, go say hello to Tim. Thanks for reading! Cami p.s. Your good juju today: Say thank you when someone holds the door for you. Really. Yes, the economy has been really sucky the past few years. You probably—hopefully—had nothing to do with that. But don’t let your personal economy suck as well. You can help boost the economy on a small-scale, personal level. You’ve heard that you reap what you sow, you get back what you give, etc. If you can’t be generous with your money (and few can), then be generous with your time or your talents, especially this time of year. Designate a percentage of your time that you’ll do work for non-profits, or start-ups that could really use your help. Pick something that’s close to your heart. Is it a children’s charity? Offer your creative services on a project. You get a little peace of mind, and a tax deduction. Is it music? Maybe you can donate design work for the debut CD of an up-and-coming band (I do this—it’s fun!). You get a great portfolio piece out of it. Or, look to barter for something you could use. I once traded a logo for a lifetime of haircuts from my favorite stylist! Slightly riskier, but you could do work pro-bono for a start-up, with a written agreement to be the company’s exclusive designer once the company grows or once a specific goal has been met. It doesn’t hurt to ask. You’re doing your part to help the economy and, thereby, funding a wealthier personal economy. And getting richer by the minute! Thanks for reading! Cami Do you have regrets? Are they worth hanging onto? How happy would you be if you let them go and just moved on? Remember the joys of being 15? My daughter (far right) had her birthday party last night. MUCH laughter ensued. What fun things do you remember about being 15? Friday night, I had the pleasure of attending an art opening here in Kansas City. One of the artists, Mike Sleadd, was my design professor at Columbia College. There were three other artists, none of whose art I enjoyed more thoroughly than Mike's. The photo here doesn't begin to do the collection justice. They're whimsical and dark, joyful and brooding, and wonderful to get up close to and marvel at the detail. According to Mike, the image here, called Puente, is a person spanning a chasm. But instead of a chasm, I saw a person lounging on a solid white object, with the darkness receding into the background; I saw a relaxed pose, not one of tension. (Had I been more flush with cash, this would have been MINE!!) I wonder what an interpretation is of the difference in what I saw, versus what the artist intended? If you're in the area within the next month or so, I recommend you see the show; it's open through January 11. Mike's work is in the subterranean gallery (I don't think it's called that, but it should be). Thanks for reading, Cami p.s. How pleasant it is to recognize and appreciate talent and skill in others. Fresh input can spark your own creativity in ways you might never know. Bradford pear trees are my least favorite kind of tree. Actually, I kind of hate them. Ok, I really hate them. Monday afternoon, the mature one in our yard lost a huge limb onto the neighbor's fence. Because the wood is weak, and the branch angles are weaker, instead of just losing one limb, the trunked had cracked into three parts. The whole tree needed to come down. Surprisingly, my husband and I were both home. We got out our chainsaws (one electric, one gas) and went to work cutting the entire thing down. He did most of the hard part, since he is the very strong man. But I did help guide the branches down, away from any fences or other trees, with the help of some twine as he was sawing through them. The twine came untied once, and slipped off of the branch once, causing me to land flat on my ass. And bounce. With a little squeak/shriek. I'm so glad no one saw this, although Husband heard it. (This 44-year-old body isn't used to such strenuous manual labor. It's been reminding me all week. I'm STILL sore here and there.) Thankfully, as we were running out of steam, my kids came home. I enlisted my son, and eventually four of his 12- and 13-year-old pals (bribed them with a promise of Sonic treats) to help us drag the limbs to the front driveway for pickup. Daughter had a mountain of excuse, er…, homework to do. Everything but the tree trunk is gone, thanks to the hard work of Husband, Son and his friends and, for a mere $17, the city has already claimed what will become next spring's mulch for the residents of my town. While it wasn't at all fun while I was doing it, not leaving it in the yard—taking care of the issue immediately—makes me feel great about having accomplished it all in one day. There's a lesson that can be gleaned from this, I think. I didn't think much about chopping the tree down, but I really wanted it done—not sitting heavy waiting to be done, taking a chance on destroy a neighbor's fence or other trees, or a mess in the yard half-done. I wanted it done! So in the words of a very wise man I know, "Don't think about it, just do it." Then it will be done. Thanks for reading, Cami =) p.s. Two down, 98 more to go! I've been ready to start, but not sure where to start, and with what. I had some momentum this past spring, but I let so many things get in the way. Notice I blamed no one but me. Yeah, my fault there. Big time. So, thanks to my darling mentor Peleg, I start today. Right now. My goal is to write 100 blog posts before March 25, 2013. I know I can do it. At least today I know I can do it. I want to make making these blog entries an engrained habit. Hence one of the books in my Amazon wish list: http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Habit-What-Business/dp/1400069289/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1OIBRK582PCTH&coliid=ITAWCAYWM9PE6 . Maybe I'll get that for myself for Christmas. What 100 things will I write about? I've no clue. My life in small little bits. Without talking about my mother (she asked me not to write about her). I think I'll start with whatever strikes my fancy tomorrow, and see if a trend emerges. Instead of playing solitaire on my phone (I'm such a solitaire addict!), I'll write a blog. Wish me luck on this "journey," and I'll send you good juju in return. I might just give you good juju before you can wish me luck. So there! Thanks for reading! Cami p.s. Your good juju today: Why not start today? Really, why not? |
Cami Travis-GrovesGood juju-spreader, speaker, graphic designer. I'd love to hear from you! Archives
June 2014
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