Words Can Be a Thousand Pictures

I've made a living with words my entire professional life. I am often disappointed with the limitations of expressiveness of the written word as we most often use it today.

Most of us are limited, when we type, to expressing tone with bold face or italics. I might underline for emphasis or combine what's available.

I might be rude and SHOUT with caps.

I might go really wild and use a different color or point size.

In the end though, my attempts often fall short of the tone I am trying to convey. I come across as amateurish and the nuances of spoken language are lost.

But who has the time to write by hand any more?
And writing by hand is not great for editing, or producing longer works.

Back in the day, I used to work at a company that printed wedding and other invitations. I could identify fonts by sight. I could tell you by name if it was a serif or sans serif font. But sadly, that's as far as my ability with type goes. I'm more the wordsmith and proofreader. I can tell you when something is wrong with type. Whereas my sister has the gift for design. 

It's something of a family tradition. Our grandfather worked in printing. It's nice to know we both carry that on in one way or another. I recently told a friend that I am genetically predisposed to reject broken type.

This bit of design envy I have concerning the limitations at my end of the medium is why I've been enjoying a blog I came across this morning.

 All rights reserved by Hannes Beer

Typeeverything is eye candy for those of us who like to see how expressive type can be.

The first entry I saw was this one, which sums up my attitude on many a day--usually when arguing with my cats. I like the expressiveness of the "Hell" and the absolute firmness of the "No!"

http://friendsoftype.com/

This entry makes me envious because I tend to be a huge fan of well placed sarcasm, but it's often lost in translation when I'm writing an email.



And it led me to another site http://friendsoftype.com/, which is full of more fun visual distractions.

Both of these images need to be up on the wall in my office and I could spend the whole day scrolling through these sites if I didn't have important work to do this weekend. 

So back to work it is, but I've added these sites to my list of blogs to read. I'm looking forward to more typesetting deliciousness later.

Pottery Class Session 2 Results!

I am so very thrilled with the results of my second session of lessons at the New York/New Jersey Academy of Ceramic Art. I made nine pieces this session. Most of them are gifts so this first shot is the last time they were all together in one place.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

I made this one for my mother. (I need a better picture.) The dogwood flower was added as an applique. I applied latex to the flowers and stem before the initial glazing. Then I removed the latex and painted the flower and stem with glaze.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

This scoop missing from this bowl was unintentional. It broke off when the piece was leather hard. I like to roll with the "oopses." My niece says it makes the bowl easy to hold.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

I had a vision for the glaze on this one. I am thrilled with how it came out.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

Some Days Need a Little Sparkle

I was having something of a long day. Feeling a bit low on energy and focus--a grey cloud hanging overhead.

I decided to combat that with a bit of sparkle. So I donned the little tiara my friend Selina gave me when she stayed with us for Celebrant Graduation. I think everyone should have a little sparkle in their lives.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

Silly as it is, when I catch a glimpse of it in the mirror it tends to cheer me up. The tiara reminds me of a great weekend and good friends and to make sure that I do a little something for myself in the midst of a busy day.

Today, whenever I saw my reflection, I also reminded myself to take it off before I went out. Of course, I forgot. I went to the vet to pick up Frankie from her Chemo session wearing my tiara.

When I got home, there it was still perched on my head--though towards the back by my pony tail.

I'm not sure anyone noticed. I probably shouldn't care. Who would begrudge a person a little sparkle after all?

In college I had a hat that was my thinking cap. It was Figment the Dragon from Epcot center and was a souvenir from a trip to Florida. (It looked like this.) I wish I had a picture from graduation, I wore that had and made a mortar board for it complete with tassel. My tiara is my thinking cap now.

If you have a tiara, or a thinking cap, or a viking helmet, or ratty, worn-out baseball hat that perks you up on a hard day, I say wear it with pride!

©Cristina Kollet 2011

Another Facebook Scam??

Normally I don’t blog about the tech stuff, but this seems like the best way to get the word out en mass to my friends and social media students.

This morning I found this email in my SPAM filter. It said someone had posted a link to my Wall on Facebook. It was odd because this was for an account I had made by mistake in my early attempts to create a Fan Page—back when they made the links to starting one less obvious.

Account information and URLs obscured.

My spidey sense was tingling so I checked the Wall in question directly, rather than clicking on any of the links in the email.

Sure enough, no sign of this person’s post. I checked my settings and “Friends can post to my wall” is not enabled.  Also this account has no friends to begin with.

Friends can not post on this wall

This account has no friends

Now I would have deleted this post anyway had it been there. I don’t like SPAM but the fact that the email appears legit is cause for concern.

So my advice—if you get an email claiming to be from Facebook that doesn’t seem right don’t click the links. Go directly to your Facebook account to see what’s there.

Better safe than sorry.

The Evolution of Hacking

©Cristina Kollet 2011

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Stories (Or at least two I can think of)

Saturday I posted about a series of events that led me to be in the right place at the right time. I forgot to mention this picture. It’s not my best bit of photography. I saw these things as I was driving and had to make a wide circle around several blocks to come back and take the picture, which I took through my front windscreen. (Don’t worry, I was pulled over.)

What struck me was the stories this collection of objects might be telling. A lone set of crutches leaning against a tree with two or three pairs of hockey skates at the base. Did the injury end someone’s fledgling hockey career? Or is this a random collection resulting from an annual purging of the garage?

You decide.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

Timing is Everything

Today was one of my busier Saturdays. It began with a long drive to Hamilton, NJ for a baby blessing ceremony. I had been anticipating the same kind of cold, damp, dreary weather we’ve been living with for the last week, but it turned out to be a lovely, sunny day. Good weather, as it turned out to find myself running back and forth across the Garden State Parkway.

Now, I don’t know why this is, but in five years of being a Life-Cycle Celebrant®, I have yet to have a ceremony start on time. Today’s ceremony was about an hour late. As I am currently not in the habit of double booking myself, this was okay. My only concerns for the rest of the day were for getting to the pet store before it closed.

[Addendum: I did also stop on the way to take a picture.]

It was my need for cat food that led me to get off the Turnpike on the way home in favor of the GSP—a more familiar road for me and one I consider easier when I have to go to the pet store.

And because of the cats and the late ceremony, I once again found myself the first responder at an accident. I didn’t see today’s accident happen. It must have occurred a few miles and minutes ahead of me. But when traffic backs up, I start looking and when I saw the first of the three vehicles involved had it’s airbags deployed it was time to pull over and call 911.

Let me take this opportunity to say—and I can’t emphasize this enough—always wear your seat belt. There were three families in three cars involved in this accident and I have no doubt that seatbelts and child safety seats saved their lives. The front of one vehicle was gone. The car it hit was pushed to collide with another car so those people felt the force of impact from the front and the rear. The car the middle car hit was impacted so hard the back windshield shattered. While multiple ambulances were called to the scene, I am sure it would have been worse without seatbelts.

After I made the 911 call I spent my time running back and forth between the three vehicles checking on the passengers, making sure everyone was breathing, and encouraging everyone to stay put. As none of the vehicles were smoking or on fire, the best place for the passengers was in their cars both to avoid getting hit by oncoming traffic and to prevent moving something they might not realize had been injured.

I am very grateful to the corrections officer who also stopped to assist at the scene. With one car on the right side of the road and two in the left lane, it was good to have someone with the passengers of the third car. They had already exited the vehicle when I stopped, their car was full of glass. He was able to alert the EMTs of the need for another ambulance when one of the passengers of the third car complained of back pain.

©Cristina Kollet 2010

On the flip side, I am annoyed with the other motorists. At first everyone was driving past slowly. But eventually traffic began to resume a more normal pace and that was dangerous—first for those who’d been in the accident, then for me and the corrections officer, and finally for the EMTs and police who responded.

Complain as we might about rubber-neckers it is good that people slow down when passing an accident. You don’t know if someone might suddenly exit a vehicle either because they are in shock and don’t know what they’re doing or because the vehicle has caught fire. It’s also safer for rescuers. EMTs, police, and fire personnel who may have to cross traffic either in their vehicles or on foot. No matter what you’re rushing to, it’s not worth hitting rescuer to be on time.

I’m going to close this post with my hope that the people involved in the accident (six adults and five children) are all safe and well. I know this was a scary day for them.

Thought of the Day

The things we think should go without saying are usually the things that most need to be said.

Thought of the Day

We should not fear those who are different from us or smarter than us. But rather beware of those whose power over us is fed by those fears.

The Beginners Guide to Self Promotion

Last weekend I watched the class of 2011 graduate from the Celebrant Foundation & Institute.  106 students and alumni received certificates and began their Life-Cycle Celebrancy practices with specialized training, a wealth of resources and a strong desire to bring their skills and talents to the world.

But how to get started? Many of us are hesitant to talk about the things we’re passionate about. We’re afraid of appearing pushy or that people may not want what we have to offer. Of course we have websites and ads and social media to get the word out, but nothing replaces face-to-face interactions—especially if your business can benefit from word-of-mouth recommendations.

This is true, not just of Celebrancy but many, if not all small businesses. So here are my tips for self-promotion.

1. Get comfortable with the idea that you have something to offer that people want and need.   If you encountered someone with a flat tire and you had a jack in your car would you say “I’m not a mechanic.” Or would you say, “I have a tool you can use to fix your tire.”

Whether you’ve been trained in your field or built up real-life experience—if you can honestly say that you have something to offer, get comfortable saying so.

Start with telling friends and family what you want to do. It will get it out in the open, make it real, and help you develop the words you’ll use when talking to strangers.

2. Talk about it to everyone. “What do you do?” is one of the most common questions people ask to get to know each other.  Don’t fall back on answering with the day job if that’s not where your heart is. Talk about what you really are. “I’m a Life-Cycle Celebrant®/artist/singer.” “I act in our local theatre.”

Remember the power of word-of-mouth. Then next person you speak to may not need you but may recommend you to someone next week or next month.

3. Get business cards and keep them with you at all times. If you don’t feel you’re ready for “business cards” print up calling cards. What you want to do is make your contact information available to people you meet and leave them with a reminder of who you are and what you spoke about.

Everyone gets my business card. I’ve given them to restaurant managers, doctors, nurses, dental hygienists, my mechanic, people on jury duty. I’ve left them on bulletin boards in bagel shops--and gotten clients that way!

Business cards are cheap, portable, and easily replenished. Use them up and order more.

4. Carry and pen and paper with you at all times. Yes, we all have smart phones now but in the time it takes to boot up the right app you could have lost the attention of the person you’re talking to. A small notepad and pen or even just a piece of paper and a golf pencil are indispensable tools. When you give someone your cards, see if you can get the person’s email address in return. That way you can send them more information later and they can view it on their time. (This is why I specify email address rather than phone number. It’s less intrusive. If they want you have their number, they will take the opportunity to give it to you.

The Pottery Results are In! or What I Made on My Mental Vacation

Ten weeks, three hours a week (some weeks more) and fourteen pieces to show for it!

©2011 Cristina Kollet

In the end glazing turned out to be the most difficult thing. Most of the mugs are decorative rather than food-safe because of spots inside where the glaze didn't cover. But I am thrilled with the results.

It is amazing to be able to start with this

©2011 Cristina Kollet

and turn it into this

©2011 Cristina Kollet

and wind up with this!

©2011 Cristina Kollet

Tea tastes better in a mug I made myself. Cheers!

©2011 Cristina Kollet

A Tale in Seven Parts

Last week was one of busiest weeks in recent memory. Some events I could never have predicted.

©2011 Cristina Kollet

Monday my cat was diagnosed with Lymphoma. This was actually the better of possible diagnoses, as Lymphoma in cats can be treated with chemotherapy and there is hope that she may go into remission. (Fingers crossed.)

One of the things we need to watch her for is dehydration, which was a problem last week. To treat it, the vet taught me how to give her subcutaneous fluids and I performed that procedure at home Monday with Paul’s help.  It takes both of us and there was a false start, but we were ultimately successful.

©2011 Cristina Kollet

On Tuesday, I was the target of an under cover sting operation by police.

Stress

It's been a long month.

I lost my job. Paul and I waited for weeks for an urgent package that seems to have vanished somewhere between Ireland and New Jersey.

Today, I found out that my Frankie is very sick and may have lymphoma, which the vet tells us is the most common form of cancer in cats. She's lost a lot of weight and has not been herself.

Most of today has revolved around a visit to the vet. I sat parked outside with Frankie before they even opened. I sat and waited while they took blood and x-rays and was sent home to wait while they arranged for an ultra sound and biopsy. I went back with Paul and we discussed options and I learned how to give Frankie IV fluids to keep her hydrated.

There was a lot of waiting and I kept glancing down at my phone and seeing this.

Its an app that's supposed to tell me the safety status of other apps I've downloaded to my phone, but today I hoped it was a personal assurance that "everything is OK."

Tea Time

©Cristina Kollet 2011

Writer for Hire

Life in over my head has gotten a bit deeper.

As of February 5, I am (for the first time in 15 years) without a "day" job. The contract I was working ended and was not renewed.

It's been nine years since I've been actively engaged in scouring the want ads. (My last job found me.) I know my skills are needed, though finding a job in the niche I am best experienced at may be a challenge.

Still, even the ads for jobs I'm not qualified for show that my skill set is needed. Take this one for instance. I don't have experience with HTML or "marketing automation skills" but I do have a well developed sense of irony.

My New Super Power

I've been taking pottery classes--a gift from my wonderful husband and well timed. The classes were to get me out of the house and to relieve stress. There is something about getting one's hands dirty that is very therapeutic. This is the one scheduled activity I have where I'm not shooting for perfection, as I do with the day job and the ceremonies I write for my clients, and when I'm teaching.

It's good to be a student for a change. When I'm at the wheel it's about fun and learning. When a piece collapses on the wheel it's all part of the fun.

This week I made a break through. I created three pieces and two actually came out more or less as I had intended. (My previous attempts can be best described with the words "let's see what happens this time.")

And so, my new super power is revealed. I can turn this

into this

and this

into this.

Of course sometimes things still go a bit wonky.  This

was headed towards becoming a nice cylinder when it collapsed.

But I still had clay to play with on the wheel and, while unstable and unpredictable, I was still happy with the results, so I kept it.

More Pics from Ice World

I had some fun with cropping. I think these tell a story.

All images in this post ©Cristina Kollet 2011.

Ice Henge: Brought to You by Rubber Pants

I bought a set of rain gear (pants and jacket) for my Whale Watching excursion in San Francisco back in August.  It’s been one of my better purchases. In addition to keeping me dry at sea, I’ve realized that it’s also pretty good in the snow—the pants especially.

Thanks to the added waterproofing I was able to kneel and lay in the snow for about 40 minutes fooling around with my camera and some icicles. Originally I was hoping to do a Superman, Fortress of Solitude thing, but the ice wasn’t the right shape, so instead I created Ice Henge.

© Cristina Kollet 2011

© Cristina Kollet 2011

© Cristina Kollet 2011

© Cristina Kollet 2011

© Cristina Kollet 2011

© Cristina Kollet 2011

Got milk?

©Cristina Kollet 2011

I'm Published!

Celebrant Foundation and Institute Association members are contributing weekly articles to Spirituality and Health Magazine's weekly newsletter. I've been helping organize the submission schedule in my role as the Foundation's Head of New Media.

I also had the opportunity to write one myself. You can read it here: Replenishing the Well: Sustenance Rituals to Get You Through the Winter

This was a lot of fun. I look forward to doing more things like this in the future.

I Made This!

Things have gotten very busy since the holidays.  I have lots of things I want to post about, but no time to write. Hopefully I'll get caught up soon.

In the mean time, I wanted to show (ok, show off) some of the fruits of my labor. I've been taking a pottery class. Last weekend I made these!

©2011 Cristina Kollet

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Wookie and I welcomed the new year on the banks of the Hudson. The first time we did this the night was clear enough to hear the cheers from Times Square. 

Tonight wasn't clear enough for that but it was nice to be out there with other people waiting for 2011 and to watch the fireworks over NYC after.  (I forgot my camera so these are from my phone. Please pardon the photo quality.)

©Cristina Kollet 2010

©Cristina Kollet 2011

©Cristina Kollet 2011

Thank you all for reading these last few months. I look forward to the adventures 2011 will bring and I wish you all a safe, healthy, prosperous new year filled with love, laughter, and celebration.

-Cris