OUCH... Stop It....That Hurts

I have managed to go 47 years without doing too much serious damage to myself... Little did I know, that a man made Bamboo plant would take me down.

I guess it's karma... speak your mind about something and it will come around to bite you in the lower back.

It feels like a 1978 Pinto, rammed into me, dead square in my lower back. I never did like Pintos, the horses are OK I guess., the beans , not so much, the exploding cars.. no thanks.

I lifted an 8' tall fake bamboo plant into a 5' tall container. Apparently I shouldn't have. Why, you ask, did I lift said fake plant into said container? I'm a giver. yeah that's it, That's my story and I am sticking to it.

I like to give....

Advice, instructions, opinions, directions, (my favorite direction is to get on the 38 Geary bus, go to the end of the line, cross the street, board the bus heading back and ask the driver your silly question.) It's a wonder I haven't been shot by a tourist from Kalamazoo or El Segundo.

I also like to give grief, at least that's what they tell me.

Really, the back wall of that tradeshow booth looks like Walt Disney's tomb lit up for St. Patrick's day. Upon hearing this, some said I was harsh, some said brutal. All said OMFG.

Good design can go bad with a simple wrong choice of a color gel. Green lighting belongs at Disneyland and the nearest Irish bar on March 17th.

Apparently, mediocre is good enough, Not for me it isn't.

Life is full of compromises, but I don't compromise on design. If its good, I will tell you, if it's bad, I will tell you louder. I expect the same.

And don't play at being designer, it's insulting. Leave it to the professionals. I have never heard of an amateur skyscraper window washer. At least not a live one.

Being a designer takes years of study, whether formal or not, a keen eye for detail, and the ability to look at something and translate that inspiration into something fresh and different. Another aspect of design is the ability to foresee something working the way it was intended. Color, light, shadow, scale, positive and negative space, spacial planning, texture, did I mention color?. How will all these elements work together in the space you are designing? If the light is too harsh or too bright, how does that effect the other elements? If there is too much black showing on the charger, what does it do to the dinner plate? EVERYTHING matters, its the details.

Some mistake my passion for bitchiness, yes I am bitchy. It's part of my charm. But above all I am passionate about what I do, I design.

Words used to describe me in the recent past have included.. bitchy, caustic, harsh, honest, sweet (thanks mom), kind, generous, professional, talented, exuberant. I will take them all.

I will also take a crane to lift me off this couch.

There seems to be a trend these days towards a kinder, gentler attitude of "oh, it's OK, No one will notice". I NOTICED. Just OK is NOT good enough. It can be perfect with just a little attention to the details and a little listening to a professional.

That's where I come in.

And now back to our regular programming...