Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

Well, this Dorothy is ready to be home, and she is not wearing any ruby slippers, she just needs to get in the car and drive. Maybe I am not Dorothy, I am on some kind of journey, but it feels more like a chase...

One more day of this world: Measuring, noting changes in specifications, keeping the fit model happy, trying to maintain the balance of just being 'the temp'

It's hard. I think I have had a hard time being the full time temp because when things aren't permanent, I don't sink my teeth into them the same way. Even if it was the BEST peach, if I know I have to give half of it to my crummy brother, then it's NOT the best peach, y'know?

So I have been extra homesick, I have been extra critical of the job, fellow employees, the system at my workplace, without really being honest to myself about the good things. I worked with an excellent team, and fell into rhythm with the staff very quickly, and if I felt secure in my position, I might have thrived on the challenges, the problem solving demanded, the lack of structure and support for matrices and tracking, because all those things are things I LOVE to deal with daily. But when you know that you solve their problem and then walk away, without any of the positive turnaround, without knowing if someone will unhinge all your work, without knowing that the process will be adhered to responsibly, it makes things just seem daunting, instead of hella awesome, the way I usually see challenges. It's weird that I get all jonesed up about organizing things, since I am a scatterbrain, but I also love puzzles, which is how i try to approach these things. I just want people to care about the solution. I guess it would be like giving up a puppy that you took care of- I'm not even going to think of equating it to giving up a kid, because frankly that's crazy (I don't think ANYONE loves their job THAT much and if you do, you have problems!) Since I knew my job was finite, it was easy to just see all these issues as issues- things which were wrong, and not have the time to fix it, and so I just saw it as negative features of the business. I will remember that this was a mindset to make it easier to let go, not a true reflection of the workplace.

I need to perk up my attitude for my return to The Castle (my old retail haunt, where I will be working part time to subsidize my picky job desires). I need to address my current job situation like a puzzle, and throw an amazing solution (i.e.: me) at all the problems (i.e. job openings) I encounter, with killer resume and kicking style (thank you The Castle, for giving me back my discount immediately, so I can rebuild wardrobe).

One person I love told me I look like Mae Whitman from a new movie where she plays a long lost love interest. She and another love interest fight for the spoils. I will turn this short lived job into a scorned lover, a fling that I not only think on, feel motivated by, and unwisely decide determines my whole life's unravelings. I will use this job to catapult to unreasonable successes, unmeasurable in the natural world. I will refuse to become a cartoon gravity statistic, and I will survive, move forward, and be awesome. Mainly I just wanted to shout out thanks for the compliment, because Mae is a fox, and I think I maybe have the hair. I'm feeling a little zany, so this turned into a ramble, a slightly determined manifesto not to give up, but not be discouraged either. The reality is that the coyote has always loved roadrunner, and I will love this job, when it comes to me at the right time. I will keep chasing it, and I will work harder on looking like a superhero saucepot while doing it.

That's all f.olks

Que Sera

These are a few little crafty goodies I have been playing around with, I bought a felting tool from a crazy quilt shop in the mountains recently, and these are a couple of things I made.... a work in progress, I am sure you all understand... (The one with the word says RUBY, but the camera flipped the image, and my photo editor doesn't have a mirror flip option, so just deal with it!)

I am encouraged in my pursuit of design by several things:

• My art teacher in high school who gave many practical job listings which someone could do which involved art- he pushed you to pursue the marketable nature behind being a hippy dippy pie in the sky creative type
  
• Watching FTV and style.com, you learn that designers often dress far worse than their brains create for others- I have the first part down...
• I love other things too. Meaning if I don't create the next big thing, I will still find something I love to do (I'm even okay if it takes awhile)
• I can (and likely will) jump on board the Etsy train when I finally settle down enough to make some goodies
  
• Some mischief making friends of mine have big plans for a weird creative statement, that I would love to take part in. Think 'Fight Club' project mayhem, but with PRETTY instead of DESTRUCTIVE

What keeps you going? How do you know you are doing what you should be doing?

Back to the Grindstone

Well. Abandonment makes the heart grow fonder I suppose...But I am back. and soon things will be 'back to normal' whatever that means...

After weeks of working with a design team, here are the things I have learned:

• Measuring garments may be monotonous, but seeing things change each time the manufacturer sends them back is in the long run exciting
• Different buyers have different expectations from Spec Technicians. Some of them want your feedback on things such as style, colour, relevance to the target customer. Others think they know best and don't care for feedback
  
• Spec Technicians and buyers often don't agree on what the target customer wants
• Some manufacturers never listen, never learn, and refuse to improve
• Buyers should know their manufacturers, and follow through on canceling when they still have time to buy other product, instead of pushing through product which is not good because they have to have SOMETHING to sell.
  

It's interesting to see the politics and the decisions that have to be made in order to fill stores with clothes. The ins and outs of the work room, all the people coordinating the shipments, orders, and delivery from manufacturer to warehouse to store, it all is a lot more clear than it was in school. It has been the movement from the theoretical to the real, applied experience.

It has been invaluable. Really sad that it won't turn into something longer term, but not the end of the world, because I have been WICKED homesick and weekends have been spent just being lazy and hanging out at home because it's HOME. I think it has been worse because I get to come home each week. If it was farther, I think it may be easier, because I would get used to being away. Which is why I am expanding my search for textile related jobs to everywhere... if I have to be away, maybe it would be better to be FAR away, and stuck there for awhile.

I know that in order for my career to advance, I will likely need to be away from my world for a long period of time. I know that it will be lonely and sometimes discouraging, and the money will probably suck. Bear and I have not decided whether he would pack up and follow shortly after job is obtained, or if he would stay in Edmonton for long periods, or what may happen. We both know that depending on where this job may come from, and how much it pays, and where he is in school, and everything else in the mix of this, the answers may change. We're jumpers, not planners, so I think that deciding in the moment is just how we roll.

Have you ever lived away from what you consider to be your home, for work, temporary or to prepare for the permanent move? Words of wisdom?

The pictures today and what they mean to me, and my upcoming choices:
1) This photo is full of symbology (that's a real word, it's just a terrible word... but it's an inside joke to me, so deal with it) all that 'it's not the destination, it's the journey' jargon....
2) My bear, giving his best puppy dog eyes. In this picture he's asking for a baby, but its similar to the way he looks when I come home- happy to see me
3) This is from a big long trip I took alone last summer, and some beauty that came out of it: sometimes being away from home is awesome- This photo helps me remember that
3) Some clothes I have made, they are an important part of who I am- I learned some important lessons about my design process with these items. Plus my buddy is pretty gorgeous, no?
4) The wind will take me where it may.

Goals: Blog twice a week- once about design, once about my endeavors to get back on the volunteer train with my old community roots. So I will see you guys soon! (For real this time)!

Looking for my Lilypad

So. I am working in my field. The position I have is probably not long term, which makes me sad. It is not perfect by any means, but the longer I work here, the more likely I will prove I have the skills to work elsewhere. I am right now working endlessly trying to find my next step...

At my workplace, many of the staff I work with have identified themselves as planners: they like to know what they're doing in advance. If they are going to a city, they want a hotel booked, with a plan of things to do each day and maps of how to get from each activity.

When I try to plan things like this (for myself) I usually do things like: make a big book of all the things I want to see in all the countries I want to see, come up with the schedule, use a back portion of the notebook to record addresses of the people I know and love to send them post cards- basically come up with my own little 'sho.estring' guide...

And promptly forget the whole thing on the plane, under my bed, or in the airport. I talk a good game, and can even plan the whole thing. It's the execution that i fail at. And I know why...
I'm a leaper. My best decisions come out of just GOING. Just BEING. Just DOING. When I sit around and think about it, I get muddled in the many decisions and decide to do all of them, leading to an overstressed time crunch, leading to pretty much NONE of my plans working out.

So I leap. I am Francois the frog. Or Sabine, because that's a way nicer french name in my opinion. Anyways. Back to it- I leap... From one decision to the other. All that matters is that this next lilypad I am headed to happens to be above water for the time being. By the time it starts to sink from my weight, I will be two lilypads away.... And it works, because if I stop and think about it, thats when my world crashes around me.

While discussing this in the design room.... One of the designers told me she was having anxiety just thinking about how she would react under these circumstances.

That is why the world is so beautiful- I need people like her to reign me in, point out logic, reason, all those things which just don't come to mind when I'm sink or swimming.... and she needs me because I bring the whacky, the unexpected, reminding her that scheduling fun into the mix is important.

So I am looking for my next lilypad right now, applying everywhere from the government, jobs in the USA, jobs east and west, and of course some that land me right back in my pond next to my favorite bear (the DH, who I miss like nuts until our weekends of reunion.) Of course, I would prefer the perfect job at a place which works with design, and they're eco, and they're fashion forward, and kind of sporty, and committed to ethical treatment of factory workers in a very hands on way... Whether I will find that immediately is not going to stop me from pursuing every avenue I can find. It's not settling, it's a stepping stone.

So that's my world right now. I will tell you more about my job next time. Sorry I deserted everyone for so long!

P.s> This picture is from last summer. This geese family tends to nest right downtown, and then has to slowly migrate through traffic and parking lots and past countless startled suits to make their way to the river valley where they take their babies swimming... It's so cute, and causes quite the ruckus. It looks like I am not the only one who doesn't plan ahead and things still turn out ok!

Done and Done

I have finished my placement, 200 hours of my life, most of it in front of a computer.
In the end, my report - the big project of my placement- ended quite well. I had contacted a few folk in the industry and actually got to talk to them about the challenges of their uniforms. I got to speak to people who make the fabric. I figured out all sorts of crazy connections that the makers of Canada's military everyday wear have to the Queen's Royal Buttonmaker (Yes. That's a real thing). I learned all sorts of crazy stuff about regulations and acts and legislation and standards. Boy oh boy. In the end, it was a lot of information to go through, and my boss' and my practicum supervisor all discussed how much businesses could benefit if companies made it a priority to assign workers to researching things. Of course, that's hard to do, which is why I am not getting a job out of this... but my research report looks pretty nice all fancy in a binder, and had some recommendations which applied not just to their niche markets (the big fancy pants industries out east) but also to the other markets they serve: Small based businesses within Alberta and BC need to know about all their weird sales (tonnes and tonnes of serger and sewing thread at $2-3 per giant spool [I think about 10000 m]). I told them about all my friends with small businesses making things like receiving blankets and purses and jewelry- things which need all the supplies they sell. My friends don't come to see the warehouse because they don't know about it. The cheap, easy, fun answer, which also helps market to safety associations and businesses out east? Twitter and Facebook. Ok, I'm not a genius, I'm just 10-15 years younger than they are, so I get how useful it will be. I suggested they post pictures of their customers goods- things made out of their goods. We serve a lot of First Nations bands who buy bolts of beautiful fabric to make dance costumes and flags for their celebrations. We sell high quality dance and athletic fabric for custom dance and figure skating costumes. We sell industrial quality fabric patterns which fit sizes 2 years to plus size (in ONE pattern. CRAZY!) I would love to see the end of all the things I packed up for people. In talking about these things, I think they finally started seeing the relevance of these different networking systems, and have already put someone on staff in charge of getting their profile set up. At least one thing changed from my participation!

One of my personal objectives was to compare the cost of goods to make some garments from this wholesaler compared to the fabric stores I actually used for the garments I made in class a few years ago. Much of the fabric within my site was better quality, and so was a little more expensive, even at the reduced prices of wholesale. Zippers, buttons, thread etc was much cheaper than in the other stores. In the end, the final cost of the garment was 10-15% more expensive to produce, but was made of exemplary goods, so I think my site still came out on top of the fabric stores.

I have a week to myself to pack and get my stuff together for my new job down in Calgary.
Wish me luck!

Decisions Decisions

Speaking of priorities…

How much loyalty do you have to your workplace? How much are you willing to change your life based on what you want to do?

I was offered a position with a design team for a men’s wear line. It’s temporary, it’s entry level. It’s three hours away from my current city.

The Pros:
• It’s an immediate job, in the field I want to work in, which is notoriously hard to get into as a newbie.
• My parents live in Calgary, where the office is located, so while working the temporary position, I have a place to live. (and my dad will probably change my oil for me… awww)
• One of my most fun fellow students is also working there, and we both have big dreams of working with fun outdoor camping gear etc. someday.
• I would have weekends off, so I would be able to come home to my Bear

The Cons:
• I have to quit my current job immediately, meaning I disappoint some very loved management, and fellow staffies…
• I have to live away from my home, cats, clothing that I know and love
• I don’t get to see most of the people that I know and love in Edmonton, because I will be gone most of the week
• I would be gone during the week, and would very much miss my Bear. We are very snuggly people, and it's very difficult to deal with not being together, although we have done it before, for longer stretches than a week

Then the next issue is if the job turns into a permanent job offer. That takes on a whole different whack of questions: my world is built in Edmonton, so when considering a move, one also has to consider what will not only change, but what will be better, what will be worse?

But for right now, that’s looking a gift horse in the mouth according to my husband (except he is terrified of horses so he would never use that phrase). A job offer, in my field, for any amount of time just days after I finish my practicum is pretty much a picture perfect ending right? So I am (we are) moving forward right now on this, with the intention of giving Cow-town (as it’s called) my best shot.

Oh quandary!

Priorities

I am the queen of procrastination sometimes. Not because I like to be, but because I find I always tend to over commit, I also get very unmotivated until a few minutes before the end of the game- that’s when I get all inspired and energetic. I find it is also similar when reviewing my daily ritual. I don’t really get going until at earliest 11 a.m. and I am buzzing at the end of the day when I should be going to sleep. I am usually thinking about all the things I want to get up at 7 a.m. and do, but don’t bother when I finally drag myself out from under the covers at 9… One of the things I have put on the backburner of my summer has been a project I promised to do for the HEcol quite some time ago. It has buzzed at the back of my brain for months, and I think that once my practicum is over, I need to commit to getting it done. I am saying this ‘out here’ in the wide world of interweb because it is kind of a social conscience contract: I need to follow through because I told you (all 5 of you) that I would. Where I am working right now I have committed to finishing a project for them with a concise conclusion. No one knows what that conclusion will be just yet, because it is evolving as it develops. But I will finish it, my grade, my reference, and my pride depends on it. I need to prioritize and respect my commitments and follow through always, as if these important things were always on the line, because from the stance of my personal integrity, that is the case. Plus, maybe I will fall asleep faster.

Workin' in a Coal Mine

Okay. So... Channel the miner within.....

I have been in a mine once - I took a tour of a silver mine in Pitosi way back when I was a barely 18 traveller fresh outta high school. Thinking back on it, or admittidely, during that tour, I was very aware of how differently it must run than mines in Canada, and how incredibly unsafe the practices probably were within the mine. People worked independantly, in their own claimed tunnels, and would blast with open dynamite. The people who survived and made a good living were those who basically lucked out, or got a 'good feeling' for the mountain: inherent knowledge of how blasts would affect the tunnels, a sense of the physics of their operation, leading to continued life. Most chalked it up to leaving cigarettes and beer at the foot of their homage- a shrine of the old earth god in the middle of the mine. The fact that they even let the public into tour the mine was baffling, but was an experience I will never forget.

Now, I am working with the opportunity to help people who already have a tonne of safety on their side, comparatively. The level of safety improvements I can bring involve longevity of wear, the weight and fit of some accessories, as well as the quality of the reflective or fire protective gear provides. It's a big deal, and yet I can't help but feel proud that Canada already protects our mine workers the way we do. We already have put people in a better near environment than many other places do. Go Canada!

p.s. Two posts in one day. Go me!

Today! Good Day! I've Decided!

I bought some gluten free bagels and ate one for breakfast here at my practicum, celebrating the last two weeks of my journey. So far, I have learned a lot about industry regulations related to high visibility and arc resistant and fire retardent wear. For instance, I have learned that they take quite some time to find on the internet. I did it, and thats what matters. Go me!

My project has refined down, now I am trying to contact the end users of these garments: what do they like, what do they need? what could make it better?

Gosh. I wish someone would call me and ask that about my clothes. Then I really would have no time to blog.

Under the Weather

Well, as you may have guessed, I am not feeling well. I spent the weekend fighting a vicious cold, and ended up taking a day off of my practicum in order to rest even more. It was a long weekend to boot, so I spent 4 days basically laid up. I am back at it today, but I am not very enthusiastic, it's midway through the day and I am already tuckered out. That said, I did make a really great soup last night, which is helping me through... I figured I would share the recipe so that I don't forget it...

Alex's 45 minute Do Almost Nothing Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

3 strips turkey bacon

1/2 white onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

3/4 teaspoon cumin

Salt

Pepper

2 chicken breasts, chopped into 1 inch peices

3 red potatoes, chopped into 1.5 inch peices

3/4 cup red lentils

6 cups water

6 branches kale, stem removed and chopped to bite size peices

Steps:

Heat pot, and oil. Medium heat my friends. We can't all be heros.

Add onions, bacon and garlic, and seasoning until onions are sweating/browning.

Add chicken breast, allow chicken to brown a bit, cook about 1/2 way through. (10 minute nap)

Add lentils and potatoes, 3 cups of water, and allow the flavours to blend (10 minute nap)

Add the rest of the water, cover and let it boil a bit (10 minute nap)

Add kale and simmer for 5 minutes.

Makes: 6 cups of earthy deliciousness. Obviously, you can add anything you like- carrots, celery, not add the bacon, use different seasoning... there are variations of every thing... but this is what I did, and it sortof made me feel a bit better.

How does this make me a better human ecologist? Well, I am back at work today, and strong enough to survive till home-time, so I guess thats all that can be hoped for in this ill begotten situation. Get it- Ill? I'm Ill, and it's Ill begotten?

Ha! I crack myself up.