A handshake and a pat on the head

January 20, 2009
Former President George W. Bush shook my hand and patted me on the head.

W came home to Waco/Crawford last night and I got to see it up close and personal. Big fan of the former prez or not, definitely a once in a lifetime experience. My dad got to shake his hand, too.

Almost more exciting than meeting the president was seeing Air Force One (well, a presidential plane that looks just like Air Force One, but is not called so unless Mr. Obama is on it.) The plane is gigantic. And very official looking.

I watched the inauguration yesterday morning as well. It was a very nice event. I especially enjoyed the poem.

Praise song for the day.

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

--by Elizabeth Alexander

Shower invitations

I'm working on an invitation for a friend from Longview...they are going to do these cute flower arrangements made out of fruit. Ediblearrangements.com

Crazy new year so far...

The White House called last Thursday. We've been really busy helping them plan a Welcome Home event for soon-to-be Former President Bush. It's on Tuesday...so basically 1.5 weeks to plan and execute a huge event. I MIGHT get to meet him. It's very possible. (fingers crossed)

I also get to go to an AAF conference in San Antonio Jan. 22-24. That should be pretty cool. It's called mad Lab. Geoffrey is going with me, too. One of the events at the conference is at this art museum, and I think it looks pretty cool. Their web site impresses me, at least.

In other news, the box that I designed for the grand opening of our new building won an American Package Design Award! We found out on Monday, and I was completely surprised! A photo of the box (taken by Jason Hagerup, thank you!...if you click on his link, there's a photo of the box) will be featured in the March 09 of GD USA magazine.

I'm going to be working on a template site for TriWaco...the triathlon that Geoffrey and I are participating in...I'm excited for this experience considering my goal of learning web stuff this year!

Julie (little sis) is coming to visit this weekend! It's kind of a last minute plan. I'm not sure what we are going to do while she is here, but I'm sure it will be fun. (except for when I have to bike for 8 miles and run for 30 minutes...that part of the weekend will stink)

One last thing: and there will be more surrounding this idea...but if you could come up with a single typeface to represent one of the states in the great United States...what is the typeface and what state does it represent? Why? This could be an interesting experiment. I mean...something corporate or trendy comes to mind for New York and of course something western for Texas, right? I dunno...

Quilting underground and other ramblings.

Well, kids, I've decided on my quilt pattern. I think it is going to be great! I have also set up my quilting frame...even though I won't be needing it for quite a while...there are lots of things to do before the quilting part. 

All that to say this: I won't be blogging about this quilt anymore. I'll show a finished product, but from here on...that's all you get. I know you'll all be sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to see, but you'll just have to be patient, won't you?  hehe...

Tri training started on Tuesday with running. IT IS HARD. So far, I'm just trying (or tri-ing...wink) to stay up with Geoffrey. He's in way better shape than I am. Tomorrow we bike five miles...not a long ride in bike world, but next week we'll have further to go...and then more the next week....yikes! This is definitely a day by day thing. Right now, completing a tri in July looks impossible. Fo sho.

I've been kind of freaking out about being 24 years old lately. For some reason, I just don't like the idea of getting old. I know, I know. 24 is not old. I just want to be a kid. Well, a married kid... I'm freaking out about being old because it bothers me that I sit at a desk everyday from 8 to 5. Sometimes I feel like I'm wasting away....no, not wasting away...but not making a difference? Or maybe losing that idea that I had when I was a kid and thinking that I was going to grow up and make a difference in the world? My sister is graduating from high school this year, too. She can't be old enough to graduate from high school! BUT she is. And she's awesome. I think that she could change the world...and I hope that she doesn't lose that hope that she can.

The truth is, I've always had this idea that I was going to change the world through design. Well, not the whole world. It started when I was a teenager, though. I used to read this magazine for Christian girls and it sucked. I'd get my seventeen magazine and spend hours looking at it. I'd get the Christian one and spend 5 minutes. It felt sugar-coated and safe...not very real. But I knew that everything I was reading in seventeen magazine was not a positive influence. I decided one day that I was going to work at the Christian girls magazine and make it cool...make it relevant and real. Cool clothes...real teenager problems...good stories...good design. Something that EVERY teenage girl would want to read. And that was my driving force when I decided to be a graphic designer as a teenager. I'm not sure my desire still lies in designing magazines for teenage girls...but I still want to design things that change peoples lives. That's never really left. I think that translates into how I look at each little thing that I design. Right now, when I'm working on our quarterly magazine, I'm thinking about how this one piece is going to help our organization communicate effectively...and in a way that is relevant to our community. When the piece fails to meet my lofty expectations (and it often does...), it bothers me to the core. That's just one of the reasons that it is hard to do what I do.

This post is why I should not drink three cups of coffee at 9 p.m. on a Saturday night.