Hi everyone! I hope everyone had a Happy Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day! It’s been a very fun-filled weekend making memories out in Texas but now I’m back home in sunny Southern California. I’m emotionally quenched and physically drained. I’m still settling back into things, so it’s going to be a bit of a show-and-tell day and I hope you guys don’t mind!
First on the list, redesigning Valentine’s Day! Definitely a bold challenge to take! I am a firm believer in the creative process. I don’t know any other method that solves problems in a systematic logical way but also allows for creative spontaneity. So it is not surprising that like the scientific process, objectives are defined, research is done, hypotheses are made, you experiment and you test for results. I LOVE IT!
Anyway, I love one of the goals that Studio 360 set in their effort to redesign Valentine’s Day.
“Goal No. 1: Clarify expectations
Sorry single people, this day is not for you. Father’s Day isn’t for mothers and Mother’s Day isn’t for fathers… you have Spring Break, what else do you want?
Applies only to romantic love between two people, so if you want to celebrate friendship you will need to find another day.
Responsibility for displays of affection falls on both parties. Men screw up enough throughout the year to put the weight of a holiday on their shoulders.
On January 1st discuss with your partner whether you will celebrate Valentine’s Day. Sign a piece of paper if needed.”
I am really torn about the design solution presented but I love their creative process! Check out how in depth it is! Studio 360 Challenge: Redesign Valentine’s Day
“It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. And, regardless of what you do or don’t do on Valentine’s, a simple “I love you” might be enough.” Perfectly said.
Numero dos. I don’t think anyone really sets off to be a knife maker as a career profession. In fact, it seems like life doesn’t work out the way you planned or expect for most people (more on that later). I respect people who become experts in their trade and/or field of work due to their own perseverance and diligence. This was a short interview about a man who decided one day to make knives that I found refreshing and definitely inspiring. Again, a brief look inside at the process. Cut Brooklyn: On the Inside
Third is just a story I want to share. I’ll leave it open to you all for interpretation on how you feel about it after the end of the story. It’s definitely put me in a very reflective mood today. On my flight back from home from Texas, I was fortunate to make a new friend that helped make my flight home a little bit more enjoyable. He was bit older than me. He revealed he was born on the year of the rooster in our brief talk about Chinese new year weekend, so I guess I’d peg him being born in 1969. We talked about goals, life and aspirations. It was general small talk with strangers I suppose. “Do you love what you do?” he asked me after I went on and on about design and what I hope or wanted to accomplish. I replied, “Absolutely.” He was a doctor, so I felt inclined to ask him the same; and to my astonishment, he didn’t reply anything. He gave it deep and considerate thought for what seemed like an awkwardly lengthy period of time. I asked him again in an uncharacteristically blunt and probably crass tone, “I mean, you have to love it for all the hard work you have to put in to get to where you are at. You save lives. You make a lot of money. How do you feel when you wake up every morning?” Finally he just says to me, “I studied to become a doctor for very altruistic reasons. I’m sure many others do. After all that student debt and years of being broke during my residency, there is only one thing on mind after nearly a decade of hard work. Make a shit ton of money.” I grimaced and I think he noticed. We degrade back to small talk and we eventually get around to exchanging business cards.
Number Four. After a long weekend in Texas, I came home and briefly saw my mom that evening before I went out again. She’s noticed me gone a lot this past year – meeting new people, forming new relationships, pursuing new goals, striving towards different things that are harder to define and much more intangible. She gave me money for Chinese new year. I wished her long life, good health, prosperity, everlasting beauty, love and wealth. In return, she just says to me, “I hope you find all the answers you are searching for.” I don’t tell her everything about the happenings of my life and love, but it’s amazing how on the dot she is when she says something. Chalk it up to mother’s intuition. I love her.
And finally. Here’s a headline from last week that I haven’t been able to post up. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/07/connecticut.explosion/index.html
