The Writing on the Wall: note to self
By Jeannine Patané • October 2005

    Whether I’m caught in a moment that inspires me or I need to record information for accurate work, writing becomes a necessity. Some common places to record information are: scrap pieces of wood, sheetrock, wall studs, plywood, cardboard or whatever material I’m using on the job. The writing implements are just as varied; pencils, pens, china markers, crayons, even scratching the surface with a utility knife or the tip of a screw. Whatever works. However, it’s nice (and more efficient) to have the proper writing tools. A good example of this is my shower incident.

    When I was in the shower the other day, I had an epiphany and felt compelled to record my thoughts. Short of interrupting the hot, few-minute luxury just to track water through the house in order to write down a few key words, I came up with another solution. I took the bar of soap and invisibly wrote key words on the higher shower tiles, and even drew a few pictograms. After my thoughts were written, steam continued to produce in the shower for my next step.
    Swift action was necessary from the time I turned off the water. I grabbed a towel, dried myself off, wrapped it around me, went into the office, got my digital camera, went back to the shower and fortunately, there was still enough condensation on the tiles to make out the soap markings. I had to get the camera at an angle for the best contrast in light reflection, and then photographed the markings.
    Once the images were captured, I took my towel-clad body back to the office and deciphered the key words and pictograms into more thorough translation on paper.
    This is ridiculous! What a fucking process!
    I knew what I needed for a better flow of thought in wet situations. A diver’s tablet. I could really use a diver’s tablet. In fact, every shower should have one. It will go on my list of things I’ll eventually treat myself to, and maybe if I’m at a location long enough, I’ll get myself a bathrobe too.