I am a mom, entrepreneur, occasional blogger, and creator. I recently launched Here Comes the Apocalypse, a self-paced disaster preparedness system with a dark sense of humor. My team and I make up Artsy Geek, a top-ranked Bay Area branding and digital agency.
You have stumbled on my little corner of the internet. Thanks for coming by.
I want to live life by the seat of my pants. I want to do whatever it is I want to do every day.
And at the same time I want to be fairly fit and run an awesome blog (or two) and two businesses and one day have a baby. Those things take a routine.
My opposing desires are glaring at each other from across a cavernous divde. The sky is red, their eyes yellow. Who will win? Continue Reading
The phone over at Artsy Geek Designs rang today. It was a surprise to me because our office line (which I get through Comcast) is often unavailable when I need it. I’m always surprised when it’s working. (Btw, I hate Comcast–did you know?)
The nice fellow on the other end had some questions about our web development, and I was, of course, happy to fill him in. They’re looking for someone who can recreate the look and feel of www.wtc.com, the site devoted to the new World Trade Center.
While we spoke I checked out the site. I noted the clean lines, simple navigation, and it’s true–the front page movie was inspiring. Look what they’re going to do to Ground Zero! It will be gorgeous again!
The movie uses Flash. These people want Flash.
I have a love-hate relationship with Flash. I first fell in love with web design when I got my hands on the first version of Flash in 1995. I created some god awful stuff with it, and had a damn good time doing it. Continue Reading
Have you ever stopped and noticed what’s happening in your head only to realize that you’re beating yourself up? Criticizing yourself for–I don’t know–not accomplishing enough last month, drinking too much last night, burning the chili, or forgetting your lunch at home again??
I’ve realized lately that I do this. A lot. There’s a word for this: Self Abuse. And it’s the opposite of Self Love, or the practice of loving oneself.
Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics made a huge impression on me in college. When he starts down the road of discussing friendship (and other relationships involving love), he begins with an inquiry into “Self Love.”
Aristotle suggests that love from other people stems from love from oneself. We should treat others the way we would want to be treated and the way we treat ourselves. Continue Reading
I spotted this billboard for McD’s breakfast deal. Just $2.99!! But what is it?
It looks to me like it’s a big pile of mush. If I liked McDonalds food, I might have been interested in it. As it is, I can hardly tell the sausage (is that even sausage?) from the hashbrowns from the biscuits from the eggs.
I don't think it's my mediocre photo that makes this look like a heap of mush instead of an appetizing breakfast.
My great friend Molly taught me a lot about food in college. A rule of thumb, she says, is that you have a balanced meal when you have a colorful plate. Look for all the colors of the rainbow; find red in kidney beans, beets or red chard, green in, well, greens, throw in some orange carrots or squash…it makes me hungry just thinking about it! Continue Reading
One of my favorite pastimes is noticing brands and imagining the boardroom scene that led up to it. In my mind it’s always a lot like the meetings in MadMen…the advertising guys and gals pitching ideas back and forth before presenting them to moody or otherwise delicate clients.
The branding of Koala Care–those shelves you find in bathrooms for changing babies–strikes me as half brilliant and half preposterous. The alliteration is fantastic, and it makes an adorable if not necessarily accurate logo: Continue Reading
The best part of my day yesterday was how adorable our two cats, Shawn and Gus were.
Shawn moved in last summer and gave the Guster a hell of a run for his money. At one point I resorted to consulting a pet psychic (old family secret for dealing with pet woes) to know how to deal with their frequent disagreements and the ensuing cat mess on my bed.
It turned out that Guster didn’t feel safe using the litter box because Shawn would attack him. What a little rascal! Gus resorted to my bed because my bed is shaped like a litter box and it smelled like me and the smell of me makes him feel safe. What a compliment!
Well, we’ve come a long way since that house divided, and these photos are proof:
I’ve been working on my mix tape of Tom Waits love songs this week.
I have the goal of finishing it by Valentine’s Day, which is a tall order given that I have been working on this mix for over three years.
I first mentioned it back in January 2008 as I bemoaned the lack of love in my life…
“Tom, I believe, is a man unlike the typical man, with a thorough respect and understanding of that incomprehensible mental state called love.” read the rest of the post
In the post I reference his song San Diego Serenade, but neglect to include it. It’s a great song.
This song is definitely making it onto the mix.
Do you have a favorite Tom Waits love song I should make sure to consider?
Once upon a time I had a job where I spent a lot of time in meetings. I endured them all with the help of doodles, and, I hate to admit, my smart phone.
Fast forward a few years and I still attend a few meetings as a member of the Board of Directors for the BSC Alumni Association. Last night found me at one, and it was the doodling of the chicken to the left and the hilarity of my fellow board members that got me through it.
On the way there I ran into my friend Sonja who let me in on a few secrets to surviving long and/or boring meetings. Continue Reading
On Saturday evening, my great friends Nick, Kat, Zach and I tried our hand at making Alice Horton’s Famous Donuts. Will was there too.
The batter whipped together in no time, and I was super careful to follow the instructions to a t. Not privy to the secrets of donut-making, I was careful to avoid any obvious mistakes (such as not sifting the flour).
My best friend g. bakes by throwing all the ingredients in a bowl and mixing well. I was glad she wasn’t there to watch as I obsessively measured and sifted and remeasured and, well, I didn’t sift again. Continue Reading
