Monday, September 12, 2011

endless summer

Last week, I got into an accident on my bicycle, resulting in a neck injury that has kept me from doing any studio work.  For those of you that like accident details, I was doored, which in bicycling parlance means someone suddenly opened their car door in front of me.  One second I was pedaling along, the next second I was flying through the air, and preparing to make contact with the bumper from a stopped truck in front of me with my face.  It's amazing how when you are in an accident your brain is still processing and thinking, and what I was thinking was how much plastic surgery was going to cost to fix my about-to-be-smashed face.  Somehow, I got my feet under me and rolled onto my shoulder, which hurt, but saved the bones in my face.  Somewhere in between the flying and the sprawling on the pavement, I also tweaked my neck.

 I work very little during July and August, and the day of my accident was the same day I was "getting back to work."  I know I should be prepping myself for the holidays during the summer, but you know what?  Fuck the holidays.  I'm sick to death of being a slave to the season. Being off work for another week gave me plenty of time to consider how screwed I am right now.  I made all kinds of false promises to myself about what I would do this summer to tighten up my business, make new work, ramp up my marketing.  All I did was get so lazy that I can barely answer emails.  And, I gained weight  from the gallons of beer I drank in my backyard in between naps.  Honestly, I think I slept more in my backyard this summer than I did in my own bed. Here it is, almost mid-September and what do I have to show for it?  A half completed new website and 5 pounds.


This is the problem:  When the pressure is off, I'm off.  My brain gets all floaty and vague.  My goals get fuzzy.  I forget that I have a job. For me to get shit done, I need to be under the gun. By the way, I think that expression should be the new "Keep calm and carry on" and someone should make a poster of it right now.  And by "someone" I mean "someone else".  I need a challenge, and a deadline to keep things popping in my work.  And I'm ready!  I swear I'm ready to get going again, if only I could turn my head... 

10 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:57 AM

    hi whitney,
    sorry to hear about your accident... i took up cycling last summer and have been astounded by peoples' hatred and abuse of bicycle riders. hoist a cold one for me.

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  2. I feel the poundage and the drinking... I am sorry you are feeling like crap.

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  3. How awful! I'm so sorry. I thought you'd fallen off the face of the earth. This is worse!

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  4. so sorry to hear of your accident. I too have been 'knocked rotten' by a back injury that takes me away from my studio more than I would like. I've been a quit lurking reader of your blog for a while and admire your work. All the best for a speedy recovery- rest, rest and more rest will do it- regards

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  5. Hey, hope you get to feeling better soon. I just got home from vacation. I can't believe I took a whole week away from the the studio. It took me 2 days just to get relaxed. Good for you for saying f' it. Sometimes we need to rest and just 'be'. I'm actually ahead of the game for an upcoming show. While away on vacation I told my wife that I was going to get 100 pots in my etsy shop over the next couple weeks. (Something you told me to do a while back) Anyway, rest up and feel better, you can kick ass when you get back in the studio!

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  7. Ouch, I agree with Ron sometimes you just need to sit back and let life go on a little bit and chill...

    Hope your feeling better and back in the saddle soon!

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  8. love it!! i was riding yesterday (dropping off my mugs to a coffee shop) when someone in a huge truck, double turned me on a left turn accross two lanes!! my life flashed before my eyes...small town though i caught him at the bank machine two blocks away and politely explained the situation to him.
    the only way out of your funk is back to the wheel with a plan and then a quiet ride on the bike away from traffic to get your legs back. i'm thinking of you!! hh

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  9. Shit, Whitney, that's scary. Glad it wasn't worse. fwiw, I do the same thing with slacking when I can and really hitting it hard only when I have too. My wholesale shops always tell me, 'just have tons of inventory ready when we call' and I hide the smirk on my face, as I reply 'sure' knowing full well I will not start cranking until they call, then scramble for two weeks getting their orders ready....
    take care of your body and recover before you start cranking.

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  10. What a terrible time you had. I hope you recover faster and be fine soon. Take care!

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