1.
... You see, I am a bookbinder and book conservator. There are not many bookbinders anymore, and fewer still who, like me, are in private practice. Most bookbinders these days work for large institutions, such as university libraries, museums, or government archives. There's a good reason for this: it is difficult to concentrate on being a good bookbinder while having to worry about running a business, even a small one such as I have. It hasn't been easy, and there have been more times than I care to recall that I have picked up the phone with a vague dread that it will be a creditor asking about a payment that I haven't been able to make. But I have managed to stay in business for three years now, have learned a lot about being both a bookbinder and a businessman, and am looking forward with just a bit of optimism to continuing in this craft.
I am not a great bookbinder and conservator. The Library of Congress will not call me in to do restoration work on the Declaration of Independence. But I try to be a good bookbinder, knowing full well that this is a craft which will take a lifetime to master, and that in the meantime I have skills I can offer, good work that I can do to help save some of the books and documents that are part of our heritage. I see myself as being like a small-town doctor, trusted in the community to meet most of the needs which will be likely to come up, but willing to refer major problems to specialists when needed.
About one third of the work I do is for one of the State institutions nearby. The University Library is just a block down the street from my shop, and the State Historical Society is in the basement of the same building. The State Archives are only 30 minutes south in the state capitol. None of these institutions can really support a full-time conservator, so it makes sense for them to send the work out when it is beyond the ability of their staff to repair....
I feel good reading this writing posted on the link above. I recall some similar feeling when I read about a morocco-grainer who works on the skins of Morocco goats that could be used in bookbinding and in handbags. The writer of the above text practices bookbinding. It makes me feel good when finding some fundamental ethos living in every craftsman, his calm and soft-reading English, and good examples of English writing. (words of Albert, the writer of this blog)
2.
... As a person who has had over fifty fractures, I can tell you that there have been more times than not when I could have thrown in the towel and called it a life! I have had two near death experiences. Once during an operation the doctors had to use CPR as the last measure to revive me. The other time, I had a respiratory failure because of an pneumonia that I didn't know I had. But why should I let circumstances that I can not control determine my attitude? ......
3.
... I don't have a car, so like many UW students I bus everywhere. I totally understand the feeling of frustration and despair that comes from just missing your bus. There have been more times than I can count where I ran to catch a bus only to have it drive off. I understand I'm lucky that my buses come every 15-30 minutes during normal hours because there are some buses that come every hour (or even just a couple times a day)... But people need to understand the appropriate method for catching a bus.
4.
You can always under-promise and over-deliver, but it’s harder when a service gets hyped. We’ve had numerous blog posts written about socialthing! by other parties, tons of people asking about what we’re doing, and even more emails from people saying how excited they are to use it. When we sent that email on December 18th, we got a lot of attention and a lot of people started hyping things up. Our mailing list doubled, traffic was bigger than when we were on TechCrunch and Mashable, our Twitter mentions were skyrocketing and the number of subscribers to this blog have increased every day since. It was really exciting…that’s for sure.
But then the backlash came and it was all about the wording of that email. We could have essentially said “we’re still here, still working on it, and we’re going to get it to you as soon as possible, but we want it to be the best it can be, so it takes time” and things would have gone much smoother for us. But we didn’t do that, we sent an email that sounded so much more immediate. And there was our flaw. Admitting when you’re wrong is tough to do, especially when the bounce back comes from people you respect. So we have to learn from that.
The truth is, we ARE working hard…and have been all year long. There have been more times than I can count on my two hands that we started working early in the day and ended up going home with the next day’s sunrise. There have been untold meals that we have missed because we were “close” to finishing something. We have been working our asses off because we want this to be one of the best web apps out there.....
5.
We in the Church need to grasp the concept of excellence more fully. I frequently have the opportunity to interact with those involved in worship ministries in churches. There have been more times than I care to remember when I have encountered someone doing a halfhearted job with the attitude of, "It's good enough for church." This attitude is totally opposite from God's perspective.
Proverbs 18:9 tells us, "One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys." From the Lord's perspective, not doing your best is akin to being a destroyer. Clearly God is interested not in a halhhearted effort but in excellence.
6.
... believe God gives us special gifts in that moment when we need them most…. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And there have been more times than I can count that I have needed that unction, that supernatural strength to get me through the difficulties of life. ...
7.
... there have been more times than I would care to admit when I have had about $37 in my bank account and thousands invoiced. Ugh.
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