Busy Bee

I'm most successful when I'm swimming in anxiety and ready to break every fragile tchotchke within arm's reach.

Case in point: Once upon a time, I won several awards for an informal essay about stress and how it has become a meaningless scapegoat for all of our problems. Stress, I argued, shouldn't be used as an excuse for failure or misery, but as a tool for perseverance. The irony of my essay's success is that it was written at 3 AM, in a frenzied state of panic, the morning it was due. 

I'll admit, this doesn't apply to everyone. Me, I'm just like my mom - a ball of nerves right up until the deadline, but it always comes together. If you're new to my hectic and yet somehow routine life, I am working on a collection for my upcoming fashion show. This is probably not the best time to get to know me - I'm perfectly content one minute and crying over fabric swatches, the next. I lose something at least seven times a day and it is never, ever my fault - even though it really is.

My workspace is hazardous, a disarray of scissors, fabric, needles, measuring tapes (which I can never find, even though I own at least ten of them), handmade patterns, diet cokes and half empty (today, I'm a pessimist) glasses of iced tea. I am constantly freaking out and yelling about how I can never find anything. Sometimes, I yell in Bobby's direction. When he's at work, Miku takes the blame. But let's be real - it's me. I can say that right now, because I'm in a stable moo. I'm a mess, a complete mess. But by golly, I have been working like a champ on this collection (and wholesale orders, custom orders and new stuff for my site) and I'm darn proud of my line, so far. It may not be for everyone but it suits me just fine. I'm not sure how I have gotten so much done but I'll credit my lack of stability for this sudden pulse of work ethic.

Despite my fluctuating trepidation, at this current moment, I am excited about my show. My flight is in a few days and I'm nowhere near finished, but this self-imposed "stress" will help me work it out.

Love love from the east coast (at 2:29 AM, still working),

Keiko Lynn