Michelle Smith, Groundwork Providence

Michelle Smith is an AmeriCorps volunteer with Groundwork Providence, asmall nonprofit urban environmental organization in Providence, R.I. Sheworks on integrating the arts into Groundwork's environmentalprogramming.

This morning it's cold and windy, with a slight hint of a possible snow shower in the air; biking to work required thermals and several layers of clothes. A little bleary-eyed and sipping a grapefruit juice, I gaze at the world outside our office windows. We are located in the center of downtown Providence, which means it is always busy outside our window. It can be pretty distracting when you're working at the computer in the front of the office, as I am right now.

But now is the time to focus. Three days and counting until show time, and there are still fashions to be taken care of, hairstyles to worry about, and set decorations to choose. In the world of recycled fashion shows, the drama is in the details.

Yesterday was a relatively calm day. I have a feeling that things will not get crazy until late Thursday, because people have a tendency to wait until the last minute to realize everything they still have to do. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing; sometimes it works out for the best and everything seems to fall into place. But it does mean we are at a weird point in the fashion show preparation process. There is not that much left to do right now, because Dani and I have done most of what we can for the moment. She is working on the script and program with Luis, our fabulous MC, and I am taking care of last-minute details like finding a few more models, getting set decorations together, and buying supplies.

Beyond that, we're basically waiting for other people to come through for us. We are waiting for designers to bring in outfits for our remaining models. We are waiting for someone to build us portable stairs so the models can get on stage. We are waiting for our raffle prizes to be dropped off. We are waiting for slides from some high school students who designed recycled outfits, but did not actually make them. (We will be projecting their sketches on stage, along with the video.) All this waiting is fine with me, because it gives me a chance to breathe and think clearly. The real pressure will come on Friday morning if we're still waiting for some of these things to materialize. But -- knock on wood -- that will not happen!

Yesterday I finished organizing the clothes we have and called designers for some final information to put in the program. I also went shopping for makeup, barrettes, a video cassette, and other supplies we'll need on the day of the show. Today I will not have too much time to devote to the fashion show, because I have a meeting later this morning and an after-school environmental program I run this afternoon. At some point, though, I do need to figure out what I'm going to wear on Friday ... !