On Jane's Desk

Small stuffed creatures are certainly somewhat questionable on the desk of a professional woman wanting to be taken seriously, but this guy has more to him than most. Darko (my partner) has had him since he was a little boy, and when we moved in together passed him along to me. At first glance he is a goofy little Penguin, but pull back his head/mask and he reveals himself as a small, somewhat confused Bear missing an eye.

I love him just for his oddness, but there is also a good reason he has migrated to my work space. As a consultant, as an ex-Internet entrepreneur, as a newly-minted modern furniture importer and retailer, and as an artist completely incapable of schmoozing dealers, I constantly feel like a Bear disguising myself as a Penguin. I am always scrambling to be the right person for the job at hand, and that person almost never feels like the "normal" me, at least not at first. Or maybe all these experience are adding to the "normal" me, and eventually I will "Be the Penguin." But I think I'd rather be the Bear.

-- Jane