I am very much about planning these days. Actually I have always been. My purse has always been full of post-its with to-do lists. But now with the little lady by my side and back at work, there is really no un-planned minute in my days anymore. Zero. I am planning what I do when, how long I have to prepare for the event and when I need to start planning for my plans. That way I can anticipate that everything works out the way I want it. I sometimes wonder if I spend more time making plans than actually doing things. And that anticipation -may it be positive or negative - is actually taking control. And when I reach the event, it almost feels like time stands still. Are we living in the anticipation space and will never get to the final desired event? Who of you is similar to me?
When you google “Anticipation” you get 19.9 million hits. According to Wikipedia, anticipation can refer to:
There was not that much “technique stuff” as I hoped, but more sellers offering their current lines. But I got something new. It is this:
A tiny “kiln” for enameling pendants and beads.
Look at the tiny pan and the little metal pieces to cool off the elements. I felt like playing in a doll house. I know it is the cheap and simple kind and most of the bead people who have tried it out go to torch-fired enameling – it seems to be a hot trend (if you have not seen the enameled beads of Barbara Lewis of Painting with Fire, then please go here and buy some, they are so gorgeous). I don’t have a torch right now, and it is probably a good thing because if I would have one, with my luck I would probably set the house on fire. So I was wondering if this “kids” version would work as well. It says that the temperature will reach 160 degrees centigrade (320 F), so it might work for polymer beads as well (which can cause toxic fumes when putting them in your oven too long – that would be me as well).
So after not having time to unpack it for a week due to a lot of overtime at my strategy work (talking about a lot of time to anticipate), I enameled my first pieces today. I only got a few colors, to try it out first. I was actually surprised how well the kiln worked and I think they turned out really nice (for my first attempts) – do you like them? I think I will become an addict pretty soon.
What is true about Carly’s song is the waiting piece. Getting prepared for something to happen. Assuming what can be. And time spent for waiting for that event. Can’t we skip this waiting period and jump right into the fun of it? Why we focus on this waiting time so much? On something that has not happened yet. On something that is not real.
So here is my to-do list for today:
1. Enjoy.
2. The.
3. Moment.
Forget your anticipation and to do lists, and go bead.
When you google “Anticipation” you get 19.9 million hits. According to Wikipedia, anticipation can refer to:
- A Guinness advertising campaign
- A type of non-chord tone
- When the severity of genetic disorders increase with each generation
- The early pay-off of debts
- The concept of an agent making decisions in artificial intelligence
- A 1971 song and album by Carly Simon
- An emotion involving pleasure in considering some expected or longed-for good event, or irritation at having to wait.
My biggest take away from the Carly Simon song is that anticipation is a word you can NOT sing in a melodic way: AHHHAN-TICI-PAAAIIII-TIOOOON MAAA-HHAAA –KES ME WAIII-HIII-TING?!?! Seriously, what was she thinking? (sorry to you Carly Simon lovers out there – I am a 70s child, but I guess when I started seriously listening to music, we were already in the 80s).
The biggest beading anticipation I had in the last weeks (certainly a positive one) was waiting for the one and only fair in the area that is focused on crafting. Last week we finally went to the Creativa in Dortmund, Germany. It was huge. We spent the whole day there and saw only about half of the booths. This was me in paradise. Since it is over an hour of a drive to get there, we went only one day (which was also a good choice to make when it comes to my budget for beads and craft supplies and the space I have to store it – maybe we should buy the large empty house of our neighbors?).There was not that much “technique stuff” as I hoped, but more sellers offering their current lines. But I got something new. It is this:
A tiny “kiln” for enameling pendants and beads.
Look at the tiny pan and the little metal pieces to cool off the elements. I felt like playing in a doll house. I know it is the cheap and simple kind and most of the bead people who have tried it out go to torch-fired enameling – it seems to be a hot trend (if you have not seen the enameled beads of Barbara Lewis of Painting with Fire, then please go here and buy some, they are so gorgeous). I don’t have a torch right now, and it is probably a good thing because if I would have one, with my luck I would probably set the house on fire. So I was wondering if this “kids” version would work as well. It says that the temperature will reach 160 degrees centigrade (320 F), so it might work for polymer beads as well (which can cause toxic fumes when putting them in your oven too long – that would be me as well).
So after not having time to unpack it for a week due to a lot of overtime at my strategy work (talking about a lot of time to anticipate), I enameled my first pieces today. I only got a few colors, to try it out first. I was actually surprised how well the kiln worked and I think they turned out really nice (for my first attempts) – do you like them? I think I will become an addict pretty soon.
What is true about Carly’s song is the waiting piece. Getting prepared for something to happen. Assuming what can be. And time spent for waiting for that event. Can’t we skip this waiting period and jump right into the fun of it? Why we focus on this waiting time so much? On something that has not happened yet. On something that is not real.
So here is my to-do list for today:
1. Enjoy.
2. The.
3. Moment.
Forget your anticipation and to do lists, and go bead.
