Inklings

Blog

  • Paper Route

    One of my first paying gigs as a kid was delivering the local paper. For maybe a year or two I shared this responsibility with my older sister and younger brother. I still remember the delivery truck dropping our route’s stack of newspapers at our doorstep before sunrise. From there we rapidly tuck-rolled each paper and like cords of firewood filled the front and back pouches of the canvas delivery vest. It was a relatively easy route; four cul de sac streets, a couple apartment complexes and some outlaying developments – still a fair amount of work for kids (and helpful parents) willing to earn a dollar.

    I didn’t mind the delivery, it was collecting subscription fees that really stunk. I still remember going door-to-door with that ring-bound book of perforated date tabs printed on index card-sized pages each bearing the subscriber’s name and address. I recall knocking timidly on all those subscriber’s doors awaiting an answer and simply uttering the word ‘collect’ when someone did. Looking back I think they despised the whole process as much as we did. In fact, I would bet that many simply didn’t answer to delay having to pay for the paper. I really didn’t care if they did, because it made the unpleasant task much shorter.

    As miserable as delivering fish wrap was, it did require a lot of values that I wish to teach my boys. I don’t know that I’ll ever encourage them to don the canvas delivery vest anytime soon to hoof through the neighborhood during the wee hours of daybreak, but a good dose of responsibility beyond doing household chores would certainly prepare them more for the adult responsibilities of employment… On second thought, do households of delivery boys get a FREE subscription?

  • Creative Juices

    There’s a popular misconception that some people have about creatives. They assume that they’re always creative. That they only need to push a button and BOOM –  instant creativity. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s simply not that way (though at times I wish it were). Creatives are not machines. Their output can’t be calibrated in ideas per second. They’re people. Sometimes quirky, obsessive compulsive, overly sensitive and emotional people, but people nonetheless. I think that’s why it’s difficult for those outside the design profession to work harmoniously or even understand how to communicate with creatives. They have their own ebbs and flows. Some days they’ll be brimming over with creative ideas, other days they’re simply fresh out.

  • Sleeplessness

    You ever have one of those nights where, try as you might, you just can’t fall asleep? It seems to get worse for me with each passing year. I go to sleep fine, but then I wake up at 3am and my brain instantly starts going through all the things I need to get done. Over and over again. I attempt to push it out of my mind but often give up after about an hour to begin my day two hours earlier than normal. The lack of sleep hits me much later in the day, but it’s usually ‘too early’ for me to think about going to sleep, so I stay up later until I’m totally beat then surrender. It’s frustrating because my body’s tired but my brain doesn’t shut down.

  • Ideation

    A blank page is liberating but can also be very intimidating. When tasked with coming up with ideas and creative solutions there are often road blocks. I think every creative is seeking that surefire way to push past these obstacles when often the answer is at the end of their pencil. Transposing any and every thought onto paper is usually my first step, though I believe the methods for generating ideas will be different for every creative on any given day. Ultimately I think it boils down to finding inspiration. What inspires me may irritate someone else. Likewise, suggesting that there is only one way to solve a design problem is faulty logic. The curse of contracted creativity is having to sell your solution, regardless of your methodology, to the client with limited vision. It’s much easier to create for the sake of creating. Assigning purpose and function that the client agrees with is the real challenge.

  • Watch Your Step

    I’ve undertaken a sizable home renovation project recently and have been spending time clearing out some of the demolition. Most of the work right now has been clean-up: picking up old paneling and removing nails. My youngest son was kind enough to give me a hand with this task but I was very clear about the fact that he needed to be wearing shoes. I constantly reminded him to be very careful where he stepped so that he would avoid getting a nail in his foot. Wouldn’t you know it, just minutes after that I was moving around him trying to access another part of the board he was working on and I just happened to step on one. In hindsight, I’m very happy that it was me and not him, especially after getting the Tetanus shot.

  • Q-Tips

    I have to laugh when I look at the way cotton swabs are marketed. Q-Tips brand cotton swabs boast that they have a ‘variety of uses’ which, ironically enough, I’ve never considered. I can’t think of the last time I used a swab for anything than what the packaging explicitly warns you not to use it for – swabbing my ear canals. It would be interesting to survey how many swabbers blatantly ignore the package warnings. Right now the warning is fairly discreet on the package. Maybe more users would quit sticking cotton swabs in their ears if there was a much larger, more imposing Surgeon General’s Warning on all ads and packaging.

  • Signs

    I think it’s safe to say that I’ve seen just about every road sign known to the American driver. We navigated through prairies, bad lands, high deserts, forests, mountains, and coastlines. We endured miles of road construction and divided highways. We were warned of falling rocks, steep grades, curves, high winds and animals. We frequented scenic vistas, rest areas, gas stations and lived in motels. After ten days, five states, 3,500 miles, and 55 hours on the road about the only sign I really cared to see was the one that welcomed us back home (my oldest actually gave our house a hug – there’s a good sign). There really is no place like home. It’s good to be back.

  • Hauling

    I’ve often wondered how much work is involved for some people to go on vacation. I can’t even begin to count how many vehicles I passed on this trip that seemed to require EVERYTHING they owned. In some cases I was surprised that the hauler’s house wasn’t also in tow on a flat bed marked OVERSIZE LOAD. Granted, having all the amenities that a souped up RV offers would be nice, but I certainly didn’t envy them having to navigate their six axle convoys through some of the switchbacks in the mountains. I didn’t even want to think about how many miles per gallon they were (or weren’t) getting. I guess as long as we’re all content staying in motels we’ll never have to wonder.

  • TOMTOM vs. MapQuest

    We had the opportunity to take advantage of GPS guidance on our trip (we’re first-timers), and, in most cases the TOMTOM unit my parents lent us was helpful. My wife had also taken the time to MapQuest every stop, print out detailed directions and organize everything into a nice binder (complete with state maps). It took her a fair amount of time to do this AND I’m so glad she did. There were a few times where, had we only relied on the TOMTOM to lead us, we would have added an extra 3 hours onto one leg of our voyage. It also baffled me how, even when we were within sight of our motel, it would tell us to turn around and take a different street or turn in an all together different direction. Overall it was nice to have a second opinion on some routes, but we began to joke about TOMTOM’s math and calculation skills (i.e. Traveling 200 miles on a highway at 75 miles per hour, according to TOMTOM, would take four and a half hours). With our faith in technology shaken a bit, we began to affectionately refer to our little GPS ‘genius’ as DUMDUM.

  • Leaving Cali

    Our last day in California was relatively light with activity. In the morning we visited Ocean World where we learned about some of the creatures that inhabit the waters of Crescent Beach. Suddenly the idea of picking up a sea star or touching a sea anemone didn’t seem so scary to the boys. In fact, we all had the opportunity to pet leopard sharks. It felt nothing like I expected. Petting the shark from head to tail felt like soft leather, but going the opposite direction their skin felt bristly like a pig’s.

    After two and a half days of dreary, overcast weather we finally had an afternoon of beautiful California sunshine. To take advantage of the break in the weather we spent the rest of our last day combing the beach outside our motel. We collected rocks and drift wood of all kinds. The constant abrasive action of the waves makes everything rounded and smooth. Even small pieces of drift wood end up looking like baby carrots.

    The boys bravely climbed the rocky outcrops on the beach searching for sea stars that they would, thanks to their experience at Ocean World, pry off the rocks, handle and then release back into the water. The tide finally dropped low enough in the evening for us to travel across to Battery Point Lighthouse where we witnessed a fabulous sunset. Those final hours of day three certainly made for a nice end to our California stay.