I Dreamt of Amarna

Trials, Errors, Prototypes

For many nights, I have been pressured to come up with the souvenirs that we will be giving away on the fast-approaching World Convention.  I wasn't the only one put up with the task but in the long run, I was left alone to crack my brains out and figure out what to make during the initial stages of the project.

Fast forward a few months later, my boss on the project said he wants something Egyptian.  Of course, a stream of ideas piled up and in the long run we decided on tablets with the faces of Akhenaten, Maat, and Nefertiti.  Fast forward a couple of weeks more, I have been bothered by the choice of designs.  A realization that came through a dream reminded me that in Akhenaten's reign, the Aten was placed above all the other deities of the Egyptian pantheon.  Maat should be pulled out from the equation and should be replaced by Aten.

I was glad that my boss gave me free reign on how I should come up with the prototypes and was given ample budget just to get things done.  We have decided to get it done with plaster of Paris and should be painted with different colors.  I had problems on how to put the base on the tablets but a dream helped me find a solution.

The mass production of the souvenirs had been paused for a few times because I was encouraged to come up with a convincing prototype that would meet the boss's standards.  One time I brought a sample still wet with paint and was told that it looked like a project of an elementary student.  I was pressured to give the best that I could give or the whole project will be terminated and the burden of its failure would have to rest on my shoulders since I did not set an organized time frame to get things done.  I was just glad that after so much pressure the prototypes finally had a seal of approval.

Now that was just the easy part.  After a week of insomnia and painstakingly producing plaster figurines with silicone molds, the cleaning part came next.  For sure I couldn't do it by myself with the little time left on the board and the boss and apprentice didn't have enough hands either.  That's the part where the rest of the team came in and though the beginning caused a misunderstanding, I am glad they volunteered to help.

It took us about three days of tiring cleaning (carving, smoothing) the plaster items before we finally had to paint them.  Not all of those who volunteered to help were experienced painters though they really did try their best to make the items look good.  However, the boss has such discriminating taste that he only wants the best to be distributed on the Big Day.  Nefertiti with her regal splendor was such a challenging lady, she had to be set aside and pulled out from the project because not everyone gave justice to her beauty.  Sleepless nights followed for painting and when we were finally done, we were tired.  Tired but fulfilled.

Amidst the tribulations and the obstacles that kept appearing on our path, we're finally done with our task.  I couldn't have done it without the souls who sacrificed their time, energy, effort, and sleep time just to get things done.  Love for God, Love for the Orders and Love for Service became the driving force of those who made the souvenirs.  May they have Cosmic blessings for the rest of this lifetime and in the next...  Now we can sleep.  

And I could now continue dreaming of Amarna, the land of the Aten in my previous life...

These folks made it into the goody bag! Bye Nef, until we meet again!