When I grow up...

Something quite extraordinary happened in my life recently.
One of my oldest (and forgotten about) dreams came true!

When I was little, my favorite aunt, Tia Tenchi (short for Hortencia) worked at a Car Wash.
She pick my sister and I up from school and gave us rides often. I have the most fond memories of seeing her car and knowing that I would be greeted with a smile, a joke and August's fried pie when I hoped in. Every Friday, my Mom paid Tia Tenchi with a check and 1 Coors Light. She was one of the most carefree and independent people that I have ever known. She was partially paralysed and could not walk very well, but that didn't stop her from living a happy life.

From a young age, my sister and I decided that we wanted to be like Tia Techni and "work at the Car Wash!!"

Tia passed away when I was in Junior High. I was lucky to inherit her beautiful wood headboard and dresser which I have to this day.

I recently connected with a random client who "needed some business cards." I worked up the business cards and my client said, "I might have a really big project for you. You can design anything, Right?"

Well, the big project happened to be the remodeling of the Car Wash where my beloved Aunt used to work. And the project I was hired to design was the signage for the new Car Wash.

It seemed surreal that after all of these years -- my dream of working at the Car Wash has finally come true! Life is amazing.


View the Sign Installation of Brown Design for Racer Car Wash

Oh My Stars

I spent this past weekend on vacation. A real vacation. I thought for a while that I would even leave my laptop at home.. but in reality there is little that could separate me from my laptop. I am proud to say that I only checked my email twice while on vacation! wooohooo.

Family friends invited a huge group out to their ranch for the weekend. We were south of Dallas in an area that reminded me so much of the Hill Country near San Marcos. 2 fishing holes, a swimming pool, fire pit, delicious food and great family.
 We built a "Tent City" and slept under the stars. Each night as I lay down in my surprisingly comfortable tent on the earth -- I heard coyotes! Real Coyotes.
The air was crisp, cool, and filled with stars! I don't think that I have ever seen so many stars. It was beautiful.

And unlike I had lead myself to believe. The world (my world) did not crash into an oblivion because I took a day off of work. There were no Design Emergencies that couldn't be left for another day.
My mind and body are now thanking me for the sense of clarity which comes with a little rest and relaxation.