DREAMFARM

When I first started doing what I do, it would have been called an unusual job. Now, I can probably name several jobs which have facial identity crisis problems : bus driver, ambulance drivers, taxis drivers, conductors, piano players (if they are up against a wall), computer programers (we are getting closer), graphic designers, but at some point all these folks will turn around to face you, and make a little eye contact. I can go a whole day talking over my shoulder and it is rarely expected that I have to make any eye contact. Unless I am getting really serious...and I need a little feedback, perhaps. I started styling my hair with all this in mind. French braids, lovely short curly bobs, crazy hair clips -- clients would nod with approval and say that I was looking good that day. They weren't looking at my face, just the "do". At some point, I started cautiously turning around and trying to inject myself into the day-to-day conversations of the people beh...

It started as a whim and turned into a mild obsession. Every time I began a project with a new client, I would ask them their birthdate. Really what I was looking for was a hint into their personal mythos. This wasn't a party game, this was a serious way for me to determine what I was up against that day. Will I have a churlish or childish day? Is it a teamwork day or planned act of attack? So I would spend a lot of time trying to figure out the weather, before any storms started blowing and astrology would open some crazy window to freshen the air or let me know if there was a hint of rain on the horizon. People I worked with would readily give me the information because it is fun for them to hear insights into their personality makeup. It was easy for them to agree with what I was saying because it was simple, direct and usually true. I wasn't going for doom and gloom, I was looking for the sunny side and the way out of my dilemma of being caught in a room wi...