Then we watched last nights episode which was intense !.. There was lots to see:.. the smoking truck, Andre returns, son of gasifier , the traders return, ND the big fight between Amy and Joey . Man things were getting stressful by that point..Even as drama filled as the show was last night.. I have to tell you the situation in the Colony was even tougher than it came across.. I remember, for example.. that the day the truck was smoking.. it hit over 97 degrees inside the building.. it was 105 outside. I also remember being light headed for lack of food.. and never dirtier in my life. We were down to 18 gallons of water that we knew we had to make last a week !!!!! It was really tough times.. The TV freaked out in the last minute of the show.. but we turned it back on just as we saw Mike being pulled from the wreckage.. I don’t know what was shown last night.. but I can tell you that it was a scary scene.. I did see the pool of blood as the closing scene.. let me tell you.. that was real.. as was the battery acid and sparks around the wreck. I can’t wait to see what happens next !
We got home last night around 11:30.. then I had to pack.in time to leave home at 5:15 AM.. Yawnnnnnnn to fly to Chicago to attend this conference. I actually am splitting my time.. I’m putting in a full day of IBM work suring the day .. then attending the two days of conferences in the evening. it’s like being in two places at once.. but not really being in either..
I’m here at the request of some friends at IBM headquarters who volunteered me to speak at this eclectic design conference. The conference approached IBM looking for a ‘quirky’ speaker… and, they told me , I came to mind. I think they meant ‘quirky’ in a nice way.. but I’m not too sure.. Anyway, the conference is amazing.. though it’s nominally about ‘design’ . it’s got folks from all sorts of disciplines.. It’s being held in the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. which is a beautiful setting.
Today we heard form a doctor, an ex priest wrapped in chains and bubble wrap (I missed that one). a cartoonist/writer/ an Islamic cleric, a twitter geek. a pilates teacher and a 150 piece student orchestra.
myself suddenly shy.. So shy that I can’t muster the guts to go up and
talk to anyone. though I find I’m good if someone engages me first. I
cant figure out where this shyness is coming from.. normally I’d be
bouncing around working the room. I think I’ve had so little privacy
over the last few months.. that I’m looking for a little space.
Even so I did have some great conversations with a few folks at dinner.. One of my favorites was with Lynda Barry.. a cartoonist and writer who does the Marly comic strip we get in Funny Times
She gave a wonderful talk today. One thing she said that If the voice in your head that was always criticizing you and holding you back was another person.. you wouldn’t listen to them.. you’d dismiss them as a jerk.. so she asks, why do we listen to those voices ? Good advise..
She also said everyone in the audience was an artist.. and challenged us to go off and make a traced hand turkey to re-prove to ourselves that we were artistic. I maintain that she’s a bit overoptimistic there.. and offer the attached sample of my own work as proof.
Goodnight my friends.. Good night Sam
-me