1. My amazing Apple Mac Pro tower crashed and burned this morning. Complete flatline. A 71 minute telephone help session with Apple Care couldn’t rectify the problem, and the technician really tried with polite patience… but the super-computer was booked into Mac-Hospital and is being resuscitated as we speak.

Now what makes this extra-ordinary is that I am not panicked. I am not flicking my head back, frothing at the mouth and rolling my eyes like a wild stallion. I am calm, cool and collected. I was prepared, all my work is safe. I have burnt DVD’s galore. I have backed up on external drives, Time Machine is in effect, blah blah blah. I have my laptop able to step in as a temp workstation. My local Mac dudes, Lightforce,  are really great at what they do, so I choose happiness and relax.

What a difference the way I feel today, as I remember the first time I experienced a major computer crash. It was just weeks before one of my first gallery shows. And with all of my artwork complete, I was trying to burn a disc for the printer, to output all my pain-stakingly created pieces. The computer just bombed and I went into a comatose state, so beyond emotive outburst. I couldn’t even verbally abuse the inanimate object, which would be the normal course of action…I put down everything and just went to cinema, and got a ticket to whatever was showing (Jurassic Park 3?).

After an hour of sitting in the dark with screaming dinosaurs and people in far worse situations than I (OK, so it was CGI danger, but still, that T-Rex is scary), I was able to return home, and deal with that evil machine…which was horrifically expensive and soul destroying. Somehow I made it to the exhibition!

And how is this for timing! My Mac Pro was just delivered back to me, given a clear bill of health ( misbehaving video card) and is back to its robust self – YAY! And I didn’t gnash my teeth or freak out once – now that is out-of-the-ordinary (for me!)

Ulysees Butterfly in my studio!

2. Experience two is having a giant Ulysees butterfly flying all around my studio! I have been photographing them as I am going through a butterfly obsession at the moment. Their wings are brown and drab on the outside, and the most AMAZING irridescent blue on the inside.

The challenge is, they sit with their wings closed, and that amazing blue that I am trying to capture, is hidden… until they fly! So I have been chasing the butterflies all around my studio and into my offices. Its a lot of fun and a wonderful way to spend the day! I want them to sit on orchids, but so far they are choosing my chandelier and unicorn head (I found it in Florence – isn’t it divine?) to perch on. But as has been proven by scenario 1 on my out-of-the-ordinary day, I am nothing if not patient.