Sunday, September 26, 2004

life's fullness

So much to say, so little time and energy to be spent on updates. I spend quite a bit of time on the computer, on conference calls, in the plane and out on playground build sites, and I sometimes forget that there is more to life that work.

Burning Man was a good reminder of Life's fullness! It was incredible out there. The sun, the wind, the high-pressure days and nights, the pocket of desert surrounded my beautiful mountains... The diversity of artistic expression spralled out in an organized fashion across a pre-historic lake bed. By day and by night, the playa's culture and ambiance would never cease to amaze me... the art installations, the art cars, the costumes, the music, the theatre, the dance, the theme-camps... the love, the openess, the positive sexual energy, the freedom... After just a few days, I felt more at home and settled than I've felt in a long time. It was liberating and inspirational.

Our theme camp was "WDYDWYD?" It means whatever you think it means, but we used the definition "why do you do what you do?" for our camp's "event." Basically, we took (and gave out) b&w polaroid portraits of people who would hold up their answer to the question on a piece of paper in front of them... soon, everything will be up online.

After Burning Man, I dove right back into work and began traveling all over again... visiting our playground manufacturer (the one KaBOOM! buys from exclusively), building a playground in Ottawa, Ontario, leading a Design Day in Tulsa, OK... Next week I go to Pittsburgh, PA, to lead my first build. That means that this project is mine, from start to finish. I'm the one that helps the community organize the entire thing, and I'm the one that will be running the show on Friday, Oct. 1... Yep, the playground is built all in one day! 200+ volunteers show up at 8 in the morning, and the playground is built in less than 8 hours! It's a great event because the community comes together with their funding partner in the project, and they produce an incredible child-designed public playspace in no time! (The planning process takes about 2 months--beginning with a Design Day with the kids and the adults of the community.) So, that's my job in a nut shell... or rather, that is the tip of the iceburg, so to speak. More to come later, I'm sure.

Lastly, my sister Heather came for a visit this last week. It was so great to spend time with her, especially because we're perfect partners in crime but also because we're such close friends. We had a great time out and about, exploring the city and meeting new people. I hope to find the time and energy to continue that on my own.