Archives for posts with tag: relationships

lil interview

The first set of questions L’Artiste had thought up were clearly geared towards me. I thought the idea was to ask non-specific questions, but then, I am not taking part so it is none of my business. Anyway, L’Artiste disappeared again to come up with new questions for Lil’ Sculpture. No, L’Artiste isn’t the fastest runner out of the blocks but finally, finally, he was ready to present our mascot with his questions.

1. You are obviously an outsider, but having said that, is there anything you have in common with the Dedes?

Lil’ Sculpture: We are all made from recycled materials.

2. What sets you apart from the Dedes?

Lil’ Sculpture: I am cut from a different cloth. I am made from  polystyrene and twigs, while they are made from newspapers.  I am just dumb padding, while they carry the knowledge of the world in them.

3. Outsiders often have a better insight. What do you think about the Dedes?

Lil’ Sculpture: They are a great lot. I certainly wouldn’t say anything bad about my hosts. It was generous of them to take me in, otherwise I would have landed in the big skip. I will always be grateful!

4. What is your biggest problem being a minority?

Lil’ Sculpture: I can’t really complain. I have become their mascot. I have found my place. I am convinced this is the best job I could have landed here. On the other hand, to be really honest, it can be a little depressing to think that this is the best job I can achieve here. It is very clear this is the pinnacle of my career. This is how close I can get to the Dedes. I will never be one of them. I am only their mascot and when I am depressed it feels belittling. They obviously don’t trust me to make a good decision. As a mascot I get blamed when things don’t work the way they should and I am not allowed to offer any suggestions.

5. What is your biggest dream?

Lil’ Sculpture: I hear I am not the only polystyrene sculpture. There are other ones out there just like me. One day I would like to catch up with some of them. But then, I am also a bit scared as we grew up in different places. We might look the same but there is a chance that we have absolutely nothing in common. As long as I don’t meet them I can dream on!

lartiste and lil

We all know now that L’Artiste doesn’t cope well with rejection. After I declined to answer his questions on Sunday night he went away and I thought that is it… He broke the link and this means the game came to an end. But last night he showed up again and said: “Okay then, if you are such a spoil sport, I am going to tag Lil’ Sculpture instead!”

“Oh L’Artiste,” I said surprised, “Lil’ Sculpture isn’t a Dede either. You are pushing it a bit here. Why do you want to do that?”  I was sure he did it to spite me.

“Isn’t that what I am meant to do? Push the boundaries?” L’Artiste answered unwavering. “Anyway, I see it slightly differently. Lil’ Sculpture is our mascot and this makes him part of our society. If we include him in our games rather than make him watch from the book shelf I am sure he will feel more welcome, more integrated, don’t you think?”

Before I could answer, Lil’ Sculpture had jumped down from the shelf and given L’Artiste a hug.

lartiste very close

L’Artiste wanted to tag me and he had thought up some curly questions. Unfortunately I had to disappoint him and decline.  I was busy sanding wooden window frames yesterday. Admittedly not one of my favorite past-times and therefore I wasn’t in the mood to answer anything last night. Thankfully I have a good excuse. The game they are currently playing is called “Tag-a-Dede” and I am not a Dede, or am I?

socialite and witch

We were very suprised that Witch wanted to tag Socialite. It is an open secret: there is no love lost between the two of them. Socialite is an outgoing champagne kind of gal, while Witch is a staunch teetotaller who loves to stay at home. There are worlds between them. Anyway, Witch presented the questions to her nemisis. And Socialite jumped right into answering them.

1. Describe yourself in three words?

Socialite: I am outgoing, it is easy for me to make friends and I have a great fashion sense. I know what’s hot.

“Three words” Witch reminded her.

Socialite: Mhm outgoing, driven, sharp and gorgeous of course.

2. What don’t you like about yourself?

Socialite: I like myself. There is nothing that needs changing. Oh, my big nose maybe. Yes, definitely my big nose. One day, I will fix it.

3. What would you save if your house was on fire?

Socialite: That is not difficult. My big collection of lip sticks. I feel naked without my lippy. I wouldn’t go anywhere without it.

4. What is your biggest dream?

Socialite: I want to do something really, really big. Something I will be remembered for forever. What exactly… I don’t know yet, but it will come to me!

5. If you would volunteer, what organisation or job would you choose?

Socialite: This question isn’t fair! I don’t have the time to volunteer right now, so I haven’t really thought about it. Sure, I will do it one day. But I know already I couldn’t volunteer in an old peoples home. This really would depress me. Nor could I help out in an animal shelter where it stinks. Help migrants settle maybe? No, I am not patient enough. That rules out anything with kids as well. What a silly question! I don’t know, I’ll have to think about it.

devil under tree

The Dedes were very upset that I brushed them off on Friday night. Quicker than I had anticipated, they re-instated Devil as their spokesperson.  It was a unanimous decision, mainly because nobody else wanted to do the job and Devil wasn’t really that serious about handing in his resignation. Secretly, he was chuffed everybody voted to have him back in the job.

Being earnest about his new, old, position he  came straight to me and aired the concern that bothered everyone. “Have you fallen out of love with us?” he asked outright.

“Of course not!” I said. It  must have sounded pretty lame, rather like I wanted to fob him off again.

“But why are you not writing about us then? There is still stuff happening in the Dede world. You simply don’t report about us anymore! When we look at the blog there are only photos of things we don’t even recognise. I don’t know how many times I have to remind you, it is our blog and it is your obligation to write about us. At least that is what our contract says, or am I wrong?”

Devil, we never signed a contract!”

“Ah well, naming the blog dedepuppets.com is as good as a contract!”

“I agree, it is your blog and yes, it has your name.”

“So, do your job then. I’ll watch you!” he said and turned away ready to leave.

“Hang on, hang on…” I said. I wanted to ask him what they would do if I don’t comply. Are they going to find themselves a new artist? Tough luck. Let’s face it, the Dedes and I are linked, come hell or high water. I have to admit, at the moment I am sick of these demanding little critters who can see only their own perspective. Oh, I would so like to give them a piece of my mind for a change, but I bit my tongue.

“Look Devil,” I said instead, “I am a bit pre-occupied with building stuff at the moment. It won’t be forever. To be honest, I would rather write nothing about you than crap. If I write rubbish, that won’t help your cause either. You do understand, don’t you?”

He looked at me for a while. I could tell it made sense to him but he was in a bind. He needed to go back to the rest of the Dedes with a more positive answer.

“Okay” he said at last. “I have an idea. Let’s have a week of  ‘tag-a-Dede'”

“What is that?” I asked.

“You ask a Dede of your choice 5 questions and the Dede has to answer it as honestly as possible! That would mean we are running the show and you don’t have anything to do with it. Mouse can help us putting the answers up on the blog. She is good at that.”

“That is such a brilliant idea!” I could have hugged Devil  but he is not the huggy type. I was so relieved he came up with a solution that meant less work for me for a change.

‘I can make a start and tag Witch tomorrow. I always wanted to ask the old girl a few things.” Devil was really excited about his idea. “I have to come up with 5 really good questions. Maybe some of our readers want to help me! So if you have a question for Witch, our health freak, let me know.”

meeting

I knew it, I knew it. I am in trouble with the Dedes again. They constantly watch whether I spend enough time on their cause. I think I finally figured out what their ultimate goal is. Even if they would never admit it, they want is to be famous…. at any price.

Of course they are annoyed that I put my photographs on their blog  for a week and worse, these photographs got more likes than their stories usually get. For them it is pretty simple. They blame me for everything. They say I am not representing them in the right light and I am currently neglecting them. I am far too busy with other things and I don’t spend enough time with them.

My experience tells me it’s futile to try to defend myself. Once an idea has taken hold in their minds it is a hard task to change their opinion.

Last night they all had a go at me again. I can tell you, it was the last thing I needed at the end of the week. I told them they need to organise themselves better and not rely entirely on me. If they have something to say, they should send their spokesperson.

You might remember Devil has resigned from the spokesperson’s position. So with this move I bought myself some time. They first have to fill the position before they can approach me again. Knowing how the Dedes run their meetings I can relax for a while. I guess  nothing will happen until next weekend :)

nail

This item is so typical of my youth. I got it from the person I had my very first crush on. It is a nail to fix shoes to a horse’s hoof. I don’t know if it is universal, but horse shoes are supposed to be lucky charms. Well, nobody ever gave me the shoe. I had to make do with the nail. But I’ve learned in the meantime they can be just as lucky. You only have to believe in it.

dare devil writing

In typical Dede fashion all the puppets have ideas about what we should do next. So we have around 46 new ideas and everyone is convinced their idea will be an absolute hit. There seems to be a common theme though. They all want to do more films! However, with the precedence L’Artiste set, they all want to feature in their own little films.

L’Artiste of course wants to do another art film, not necessarily a sequel to “Life of an artist” but one where he is the star again and shown in a better light. Devil would like to re-enact what happened at my work this week. Obviously I have been complaining a bit too much at the dinner table. He believes what I have been through all week offers the perfect material for a drama/comedy and the main character would be tailor-made for him. Witch is very keen on doing a cooking show as they are so popular on TV. Her cooking show will of course be totally different as it will promote a healthy lifestyle. And she believes I owe her one since I totally neglect her on the blog.

I of course curse the day when I opened pandora’s box. This morning at breakfast I told them they should put forward their ideas in writing. Socialite volunteered to be my assistant and help vet the scripts. Of course scripts that feature several puppets will have a better chance than those that only feature one. I explained: “Do your math, guys, if everybody got their own film, and it takes at least a weekend to complete one, we would need a year.” I had barely finished when they all ran off to look for pencils and paper and find themselves a quiet space in the house.

“It’s not a competition and speed is not the essence,” I added, but they were all gone already.

monkey cup

There was a little bit of excitement last night when I came home. The Dedes were sitting around a parcel that had arrived while I was out. Two weeks back we ordered a cup and a few t-shirts from the new dededesign store. The parcel was too small to contain everything and it was obvious it could only be the cup. As a graphic designer I have very high standards when it comes the quality of printing. It is always a bit of a worry until you actually see the finished product. To check  whether everything turns out the the way I intended, I also ordered one t-shirt on dark apparel. This apparently takes a bit longer, as a white under colour – the canvas for the image – has to be applied first so the true colours come out.

Everyone stood around while I opened the parcel. I don’t want to plug it too much, but I have to say I am very impressed with the quality of the cup and the printing. It looks absolutely fabulous. And the puppets obviously thought the same. The cup was mine for as long as I held it in my hot little hands. Just long enough to admire it. The second I put it down, Monkey grabbed it an dissappeared with it up the scaffolding. I only hope he doesn’t drop it!

rose2

A rose is the ultimate token of love, isn’t it? This tatty old plastic rose is a painful reminder of my youth. I personally can’t understand why people want to be young again. All the pain you go through in your teenage years. The longing for acceptance and respect. You want to be different and stand out, but at the same time you want to fit in and be exactly like everybody else. What a dilemma. No way would I want to go through that again.

I don’t know exactly how I obtained this rose. I can’t remember whether I bullied the person into handing it over to me or not. My memory about this has faded, but the pain I feel when I look at it suggests that it was not given to me voluntarily. I know who I got it from and I remember the situation. It was at one of those travelling fairgrounds with a shooting booth. Teenage crowd, typical situation: girl loves boy, boy loves another girl,  the other girl couldn’t care less and second boy loves first girl, all without anybody really knowing what love actually means. Everything happens in secret, well hidden, or so they think, convinced that nobody except themselves knows, despite it being so blatantly obvious.

As you grow older you watch the next generation repeating the pattern. And just like we were, they are convinced nobody will notice. What can the old folks possibly know about the pain of searching for true love. Weren’t they born old?

What is most surprising though, is that for some people it never seems to end. Watch people in the rest home… It goes on, the craving for respect and acceptance and the search for this one special person.