7/25: DIY and bacon

Hi Pals:

Happy Monday! So, I’m kind of a DIY person. I like the idea of being able to fix, build, and create everything that I need. But let me state for the record that I do indeed buy stuff—it’s the IDEA of making things that I like.

What I like even more is when everyday people create things I would never have dreamed of. Here are a couple of projects I recently came across that really impressed me:

Bacon Roses: http://www.instructables.com/id/Bacon-Roses/

Windowfarms Aquaponic systems: http://www.windowfarms.org/

Drawdio, a pencil that draws sound: http://web.media.mit.edu/~silver/drawdio/

When I see these things, I am amazed and inspired. It’s all in your perspective; it’s really true that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. The thing that these projects all have in common is that the makers all took one object and transformed it into something else--something wonderful and unexpected. These projects are simple in scale but show us some of the things that are so wonderful about humanity: imagination, wonder, whimsy, the ability to make a physical object out of a concept. And, of course, bacon. : )

I hope you have a great week, and that you are able to transform the world around you, and be transformed by it.

-Meredith

7/18: All ages club

Hi Friends:

I have a ton of stuff to do today, but I wanted to check in with you and tell you (if you didn't know) people have been dancing, well, as long as there have been people, and that you're never too young:
 

Or too old:
 

To dance!

It's in our DNA, so get shaking. Have a great week,
meredith

ps. Thanks to Cindi for the inspiration!

7/11: Memorium

Hi Friends:

Recently, I found out that an old boss of mine had passed away. I worked for him through graduate school, making copies, scanning documents, reading files for people. When you have a job like that—one with the high likelihood of becoming boring and monotonous—it’s the people you work for and with who make the difference. With Scott, it was always a good time.

Scott was not a Ward Cleaver, or a Rupert Murdoch, or Mr. Miyagi, though at times he displayed characteristics of all three, in addition to his own Scott-ness. He was always busy—he liked being a mover and shaker—and was kind of sarcastic, but would buy you lunch or dinner (though on the flip side, someone had given him a $10 iTunes gift card—roughly ten songs—and he used to play those same ten songs over and over again because he was too cheap to pay for music), and employed his mom and all his aunties to stuff envelopes and put labels on documents. He had a spiky, “wish I was a Korean soap star” hair cut and wore dry cleaned, pressed button-down shirts every day. He was understanding when I had a lot of homework. I don’t think I ever saw his feet, because he always wore dress shoes. He was very opinionated and loved his son very much.

Every day, we are surrounded by people and whether acquaintance, friend, or family member, we touch each other’s lives. We know different people at different parts in our lives, and they help us become the people we need to be and help us do the things we need to do. And we do the same for them. We connect. And when they’re gone, our job is to remember, even when—especially when it hurts. It’s so important to not forget.

So today, I just wanted to say that I remember him, and wanted to tell you guys a little bit about him. Please take care, and have a great week.  

-Meredith