The night of Glint, while some of us sat in a warmly lit room hearing stories, people elsewhere in Colorado were allegedly seeing the northern lights. Were you one of them? One of the many who later shared exaggerated photos? Images of what your phone’s camera sensors saw, and your eyes glimpsed weakly?

I have never yet seen those mythical lights, but I will not for a second buy that they look as good as anyone reports. Or that the photos are fair representations of the moment.

But I think that’s true of a lot of photos. For all their optical fidelity, they’re also a kind of distortion. We rarely experience any moment as static, and never just with our eyes. How did it feel in your body? What were the scents and sounds and textures of it? Did it mean anything to you? Was it just cool to see? Had you been hoping to see those lights your whole life?

I think maybe most photos are just for ourselves, and maybe especially for ourselves in the far away future. Just a quick jotting down of a sketch that can later invoke the fuller memory.

If someone else wasn’t there to see the same brilliance, the only thing our images can show each other is that we once thought we saw something wonderful, and it looked something like this. But, if you were there too, maybe you’ll appreciate the prompt. Remember how fleeting it felt, and how much you smiled, seeing something so beautiful.

I think your photos of the sky are hoaxes, but probably so are all my photos of anything. Every one imprecise, both exaggeration and understatement.

—Ivan

Happenings

This week:

Weekly Wednesday Worknight, Wednesday, November 19

The Company is about combining creative work with good friendships. Make an appointment with your side project this (or any) Wednesday at a Worknight, where we oscillate between enforced, focused, quiet time and optional chatty social time.

⚠️ Due to a conflict with another internal event, Worknight timing has been adjusted. ⚠️ You may still come as early as the doors time at 5:30pm, but we will start quiet focus sessions around 7:15pm.

$5, free for Company and Moonlight members

Work together →

In the Making, Thursday, November 20

A show and tell for original, amateur, creative works in progress. Each presenter has 10 minutes to spend however they choose (any mix of presenting, Q&A, workshopping, getting feedback).

Are you working on a project that you’d like to share? Reply to sign up! Otherwise, get tickets at the link.

The list so far: me, Chris, Case, Gabby, Madeleine.

$10, or free for members and presenters.

Make an appearance →

Offsite: Creative Mornings, Friday, November 21

Forgot to mention the last one, but we’ve been going to this for years and we’re not stopping now. (Some of us have already stopped going.) (But the rest of us who have gone will probably keep going, as long as schedules and interest persist.) (But you, dedicated or casual reader of Paperwork, don’t have to go every time! You can go just this once, when it’s at a visually rich immersive art venue, located in a mall that also has a LEGO store, where I will most certainly be stopping by afterward.)

Hang out at the mall with us →

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Also coming up: PowerPoint Party No. 33 (December 6), Glint: Frenzy (December 16), Offsite: Orbis Holiday Disco Party (December 13)

Nostalgia

Do you remember the morning with the intense work stress? How well it resolved? How we took a long recess at the river and admired the ducks while we talked about relationships?

The stunning sunset?

How you came in to surprise only one person?

The recess with the staged photo?

The Glint about opposites? The first one with interstitial music? That you came even though it was your one-year anniversary, because it was your one-year anniversary? Because she loves it? That you sat under the flower arch, wearing birthday hats with hearts taped on? How we heard stories of travels, travails, tags, and translation?

How afterward we heard reports about the northern lights?

Do you remember that day when we looked into our odds? Downloaded apps to get alerts? Made plans for a post-Worknight expedition, but heard reports of cloud cover? How that was the Worknight that included a product demo of backpacks? Our discussion of the clear superiority of Gen-Z slang compared to Millennial slang? Another visit to the vending machines?

The first meeting of The Company Run Club? How you covered a lot of ground, and an opinion was changed?

That we spent lunch, and most of the afternoon, listening to our last likes? That we did a terrible job protecting Michelle from the football but it always worked out somehow?

Do you remember the second meeting of the Ishmael book club? The review, the critique, the questions about population control? How nice it was to read in a group with so much context? That we lingered after and caught up?

The day Bobcat came to visit? The big lunch crew? How it got immediately quiet after, as had become tradition?

And do you remember the night of the poetry grand slam? How we were such a high percentage of the audience? How dramatic it was, in multiple ways? The numbers scribbled in the notebook? That you made it onto the team, a second time? How afterward we went in search of a restaurant to eat in that didn’t have impossibly loud karaoke? That we gave up after the third place, and instead found a drive-through, and ate in the parking lot, while we debriefed?

Bureaucratic Minutiae

• Livvy fixed the pull chain in the kitchen storage room, with advice from Jim.

• At Worknight: Ryan finished his homework; Ivan uploaded artifact and photo backlogs; Mary Ann readied Ridwell recycling; Jacob adjusted UI timings; Jaime edited 3 articles; Alex spent 40 minutes on work deliverables and reread the run club article; and Livvy planned and ordered groceries and went to the shed about help.

• At Glint: Case explored a mysterious travel restriction, Adrianna walked us through the obstacles to a scholarship, Ivan told an origin story, James explained his solution to a difficult prompt, Lauren S. bragged about her recent turn toward lawlessness, and Madeleine shared what it felt like to get a strange massage.

• Finally, a reminder that The Company is a member-supported gathering place, and if you know any of us, you’re welcome to pop in any time for free (outside of events). If you know that one of us is here and you’d like to come by, reach out and we can let you in.

Photos

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This issue of Paperwork was written by Ivan with additional reporting from Jessica S., and was shot by Ivan, Drew J., Livvy, and maybe Sam Ax. Photo selection and editing by Ivan and Jessica S. Editorial support was provided by Livvy. This issue, and The Company itself, was made possible by the support of our members, Halie, Drew J., Justin, Mason, José, Mary Ann, Trevr, Allyson, Lizzie, Elijah, Michelle, Jim, Jaime, Jacob, Mark, Sabrina, Beth, Dani, Chris, Will, Marcia, Rebeca, Sarah, Alex, Jessica P., Jessica S., Mike, Ben, Sam, Liz, Christof, Ryan, Lauren, and Leah.

Do you know anyone in the Denver area who might be looking for creative community? Feel free to forward this email along to them. Everyone loves Paperwork.

😘