24 January 2011

Sometimes I doodle. 

I don't think is any great news to anyone - anyone who has ever spent any time with me in a meeting, or at a lecture, or . . .well, maybe it is safe to say - anyone who knows me at all.  

Lately, I have been looking at some of these doodles as I clear off my desks (at home and at work). In truth, there is nothing there but some inner symbol set.  I suspect that little houses mean I am bored and want to go home.  Little stars mean action steps; little arrows mean connections...and sometimes, as in the little bowls above, I doodle the topic of the lecture - Ben Owen III and his wonderful North Carolina pots. But, in the last few months a new doodle has emerged: the beloved ampersand!  I like the balance; I like the different styles: I like the curves and the shapes and the meaning.

&  &  &  

These three are the only ones available to me in the font choices for this blog - and even there you can see it - subtle changes, design possibilities! For a doodler, this is perfect! 

Because of my own compulsions, all this ampersand doodling sent me to "my google" - I do have a personal, possessive relationship with google! - only to discover more about ampersands than most would care to know.  

I am loving it.  The styles are endless.  The wiki page,  a wonder!  Who knew?  I encourage you to take a peek. The history is a riot and I love that I am 54 and never knew all this until just a few days ago. 

In fact, I am thinking a little about writing a children's book called Mr Amper & His Ampersand!  Learning is all about the "and" it seems to me - learning how to know this & that & the next thing, too.  And, of course, it is one more idea, one more thing to do, and that is precisely my point.  Maybe I doodle ampersands at this moment in my life because it is a short hand symbol, my own marginalia for the demands of life.  

This and that and then the next thing on my list and then the car to the shop and the dog to the vet and the bills to be paid and the wine to pour and did you send that email and did you call the doctor for your annual check up and stop at the grocery store and remember to get half and half, and, and, &, &, &.  It's almost like the ellipsis on the end of a sentence, only instead of being dots, in my life, it is a string of ampersands.  

I am not complaining - it's just a little insight into the way I think and the time of life I inhabit. 

So tonight, in the remaining 21 minutes before House begins (& I do love House), I will:

print the picture of Edison dancing in his work room that you sent - how marvelous! 

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finish the last of the left over spaghetti, wondering all the while why it is so much better on the second day

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check facebook for the latest post from my wise friend Mark Bozutti-Jones 

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send the three emails that should have gone today

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make the morning coffee 

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wash my little dish 

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wish you were here! 

Love you 

More along the way & & & 
Always yours, 

Amanda