Team Wet Dog

mise en place

Monday morning. I'm sitting here drinking coffee, writing this, and trying to plan the week.

There's a cooking term that I hear a lot — mise en place — which is French for "setting in place." It's just the process of getting everything you'll need and setting it out, making sure you understand the task ahead and have all your equipment and ingredients.

The idea is as much mental as physical, and I think it's a pretty good example of Monday mornings in general. Thinking about the week ahead, all the things I need to do, the places I'll be rushed, the difficult parts and the easy parts.

I've never really thought about it before in these terms, but I suppose that's the reason I like to wake up early. It just gives time to put your brain in order before everything else starts happening.

Anyway.

It's dark this morning, and something doesn't seem quite right. Maybe this is the first morning where I've really realized how much later the sun is rising. Maybe I'm just really not looking forward to the crush of this week. Maybe I need more coffee. But this morning seems fairly lonely and dark.

I had dinner and drinks with some photographer friends last night. We don't get together as often as we should, and it's nice to see them once in a while. We talked about some grants, an idea for an open studio, jobs and changes and equipment and shows.

I think I'd like to try and do that more often. Maybe a chunk of "being inspired" is being around inspired people. Perhaps  ideas are contagious like the flu.

— Robert

(10/25/06) 
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