Layoffs all around me

Oh, goodness, it's been too long since I last sat down to write on this blog of mine.  Last week I had an unexpected trip to Memphis that threw me off my regular schedule.  I'll fill you in with details later on.  First, things first.

This week started with bad news for everybody.  Layoffs are all over the place and the unemployment rate just keeps rising.  The bank I work for is no exception.  Yesterday, two co-workers of mine were fired.  Literally, they used to sit next to me.  I was chatting with the girl, having a laugh at some funny story of hers.  She answered her phone, stepped away from her desk, and I just continued working on whatever it was I was working on.  She came back silently, came to me and handed out the stuff she was working on and said," I'm giving you this because I'm no longer working for this company."  I looked at her and she had teary eyes. It took me by surprise, and I just felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.  I felt so bad for her that some tears fell from my eyes too.

I guess the worst part is knowing that I'm no better than she is.  I consider myself a mediocre employee, although for some reason my boss thinks the opposite.  I haven't been giving my one hundred percent at work simply because I'm bored with what I do and I truly wish I could move on to other things.  But yesterday I was grateful.  We cannot afford loosing the security of this job right now. Not now, when I'm trying to help out my brother and his family, and his wife just lost her job too.

So today our group is meeting early in the morning to redistribute the work.  We were six, and now we're four, so our plates are going to be pretty full from now on.  I just want this week to be over, so that we can move on and get used to our new routine at work.

Back to reality

It's 11:18 p.m. in this part of the world.  I am about to go to sleep, but didn't want to finish my day without dropping a note.

We got back from our getaway weekend and I'm really tired.  Tired but happy.  We had an awesome time with some newfound friends.  Actually, we've known them for a while, but never ever had we been away with them.  

Tomorrow we go back to work again, and it's supposed to be chilly so I'll have to look through my clothing for my warmest pieces.  Otherwise I will freeze my butt off.

Weekend with friends

We went away for the weekend and haven't been able to sit down to write.  I don't think I will be able to do it tonight either.  But here's a colorful pic I took with my camera phone.  I think I'll be using this little device more often.  Happy weekend to all!!

Living life as art: The exercise of creative thinking

This has been my weeklong subject of research.  I have been searching the Internet for information on Creativity and it's been quite revealing.  I would like to share some final thoughts on the subject.

Prior to this little research of mine, I had wondered whatever happened to the universal concept of education.  The approach previously adopted by generations of great thinkers, where they saw learning as a "universe"of ideas to be studied.  Philosophy, art, mathematics, all these came to exist because the minds of these great thinkers came together to understand the why and the how of the basics of the human experience.  Then, somewhere in the twentieth century, education came to be a more technical matter.  It diminished the universal ideas to a couple of mandatory classes on our schedule, becoming an annoyance in the list of subject needed to complete before graduation.

The creative mind needs to go back to the roots: it needs to focus on the universal ideas that brought us to be in the first place.  Truth, beauty, goodness, these are the most crucial of them all.  To be able to transcend our daily life into grander things, one must direct one's own vision towards these basic concepts.  To acknowledge the beauty of everything that surrounds us; to search for the truth on our own; to liberate the goodness within us: this is the kind of art that moves others and transforms lives.

The TIME magazine published an article a couple of years ago titled "The Hidden Secrets of the Creative Mind".  In it, the authors explain that creative ideas do not come from one brilliant spark of sudden insight bur from " a chain reaction of many tiny sparks while executing an idea".  We must fill our minds with different thoughts, different concepts.  These would eventually turn into the new kind of thinking that could ultimately reveal something completely new and authentic.  In it they also explained how writers lie J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis both engaged on heated intellectual battles with a group of non-traditional  Christians professors called the Inklings.  We all know how these discussions ended: they gave both the ground wrk in which they created these fantastic literary works filled with rich characters and a unique spiritual undertone.

So, regardless of your field of expertise or your own creative affair, you need to give sometime to yourself to explore what's out there.  Read new authors, write on new subjects, photograph different angles, and design something completely different from your own style.  Dare your mind to reach its full potential, and in the process let it absorb the newness of it all.  You'll see how new ideas will eventually pop up and how you'll become a better artist in the end.

Resources:

TIME Magazine

Ted:Talks

Thinking with Somebody else's head Podcast

Wikipedia

Ted:Talks on Creativity and the Playful Mind

I wanted to share with you this video I saw at Ted:Talks on the connection between creativity and play.  You can visit their website for more interesting talks on many other subjects.

Follow the link to watch the video.

Ten facts about me

1. I wear glasses

2. I'm bilingual.  English comes in second.

3. I'm right handed

4. I'm a brunette

5. I love dogs

6. I like tattoos and piercing (although I don't have any)

7. Sometimes, I'm loud

8. I like the Opera and listen to classical music

9. I'm an average dancer (but love watch others dance)

10. I have a good sense of humor

I miss my island...

I was born and raised in an island.  A tiny island in the Caribbean, filled with songs, heat, and humor.  The breeze carries a salty flavor that sticks to your skin on humid days.  A flavor that lingers on your tongue after swiftly brushing your lips in specially hot circumstances.  The breeze, a soft and timid carrier of all kinds of aromas: freshly ground coffee, coconut oil, pineapple juice, cinnamon and sea. 

My island loves music, loves rhythm, loves percussion.  It dances to the sound of drums as if it's possessed by african gods.  Marching its way through the pebbled streets of the old city, it shouts for joy and celebration.  For all the good and the bad.

I yearn for my island.  I miss the people, their smiles and faces.  The familiarity of everything, the streets I grew in, the songs on the radio, singing out loud while driving my old car, my dog, my short pants, my flip flops, the island state of mind, watching the coast fade away on my rear view mirror, the long days at the beach, eating street food and a beer.  Those are the things I miss.

The Creative Mind

I've been searching the web on the subject of creativity.  Art, being the ultimate expression of this brain process, comes in by default.  Being able to express one's own charisma and personality through creative affairs is my ultimate quest, my own personal discovery.

I follow the blog of a talented designer.  His name is Nick Campbell.  He's also greyscalegorilla. 

He posted an entry today that reads like this:

"My advise to students has always been to take more design and type classes, and learn the technical stuff later."

I guess what he means by this is that in order to become a better artist we must concentrate on the creative part first and deal with the technicalities later. Those will fall into place once we know exactly what is it we want to accomplish.  As an aspiring photographer, I need to constantly remind myself this.  I sometimes feel that I am so behind in my goal, that I get anxious and focus too much on the technical aspect of the photo and forget about the composition.

In the meantime I just keep taking pictures, reading as much as I can, and taking more pictures.  You can check out my photo blog to view my favorite ones ( Think!Photography).

Worldess Sunday...we all have days like these

If you look close enough you'll see my reflection in each one of them.  Wishing you a good and productive week....

The Green Stuff

I know it looks disgusting.  You put spinach, apple juice and a banana in a blender, mix it all and you get this.  It's a green smoothie, and it's part of my Eating Well resolution for the year. No, I'm not a vegetarian and I don't have any plans on becoming one any time soon (in fact, I'm looking forward to tonight's dinner out... a juicy Argentinian grill called "La Vaca Loca").  But I do need to increase my intake of greens, and this is a fast and yummy way of doing it.  So far, no volunteers are joining me on this healthy task.  In fact, everybody steps away when they see me preparing my colorful treats.  It's ok...I guess I wouldn't either.

Tonight, after dinner, we're all going to see a photography exhibition at a gallery in the beach.  We've all had a rough week, so a little distraction is exactly what we need.  My sister in law kind of lost her job.  She works at a small image consultant agency that had just started business about six months ago.  I guess their cash flow fell behind and they didn't have enough money to keep paying her salary.  She's a graphic designer and really talented.  You can check out her work here .  So if you happen to live in Miami and think you have a job for her, let me know.

I'm really looking forward for tonight's night out.  I'll bring my camera so luckily I'll be able to take some good shots of our evening.

Daily quote on my journal

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing"- Benjamin Franklin

This quote was my morning greeting.  I opened up my agenda to find it on top of today's page.  It was a real shocker, for it describes the whole reason I'm even writing this post.

My thoughts after a long day

I am feeling so tired today.  I started running again, and my body is killing me.  My legs are heavy, my abs hurt.... I just keep telling myself that is worth it.

I woke up early and went to the gym and ran 3 miles, went to work at the bank, had a crazy day dealing with auditors, made several calls trying to register to this flash photography class I want to take, went to the chiropractor who gave me a lecture for not taking care of my back (he hates that I run), got home, cooked dinner (sigh, tired already), took a bath, browsed this new Photoshop book that I bought and now, after all the craziness of the day, I have some alone time.  Just for me.

It's funny 'cause my husband was telling me the other day about this article he read that said that 46% of the women surveyed actually preferred going online than having sex.  He asked me:

"And you? what do you prefer?"

"Sex... of course." No brainer, right?

Well, not tonight.  He suggested it, of course, but I just need my space right now.  All I want is to lie here browsing my familiar pages, reading something funny or interesting, locating some cool photography site, and then just go to bed. And please guys, don't take it personal.  Try again tomorrow, you'll see, we'll be in the mood.

Mastering the skill... Resolution 3

This particular resolution is in itself a challenge.  For the past year I have been reading, practicing, and reading some more on the subject of photography, trying desperately to move up from being an amateur into becoming a serious hobbyist.  Now, in this year 2009, I want to think I can move towards becoming a professional photographer, and for that, I need to step up my game.

I'm a pretty realistic woman and I know my limitations.  I know I need to be able to reproduce quality images each time I go out and shoot a subject.  I know there are certain technical skills I need to master, and I am already working on it.  So, with some effort from my part, I know I can do this.  I am currently working on a good and solid portfolio, and I am constantly searching for inspiration and ideas.  So, wish me luck and keep coming back for updates on this big project of mine.

Well, these are my three most important resolutions for the year.  I have others that I am currently working on.  Like, for example:

-Running a race (I have one coming up in February, so I'm already training)

-Wearing more skirts

-Overcoming the bad habit of procrastination (this is particularly annoying and I want to be done with it)

I guess I have work to do...

Happy 2009!

Playing with my camera before the clock hit 12AM last night.  Happy 2009!!