all this has happened before ...

This is what I came up with this week in my quest to regain my identity as "artist":

If it looks like nothing, that's because it kind of is. It's not done yet. Or maybe will be when leave it behind as I begin something new "new." *

 I came back to it after letting it sit for a while, and it occurred to me that I just have to slap a garbage can on there and suddenly it's 2008 again.

(

)


Except less interesting and more...you know...orange.


* ... and all this will happen again. End of line.

this is what i do

The Ugly:
I stubbed my toe today at Target. In a nail-tearing blood-gushing kind of way. I didn't really know what to do, so I just pretended like the blood wasn't pooling on my flip flop and carried on.

The Sorta Good:
To my credit, I decided to check out right away and buy dish soap another time.

The Really Ugly:
I was too lazy to fix it up when I got home, so I waited for it to dry and figured I'd deal with it when I shower next. In the morning, tomorrow.

The Good:
I was wearing this shirt, recently sent as a gift from my adorable family.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/97412592/keep-calm-and-pull-the-lever-kronk-t

Also, I found a $22 pair of athletic shoes.

The Bad:
Yes, I was in the shoe section, trying on shoes, when this foot-blood-gushing incident commenced.
And I think that t-shirt is somehow the best possible description of my current mental state.

a face!

I made art today. If you haven't been following my life lately, this is unusual. My sweet little brother, who is on a mission in Brazil, remembered that I like painting pictures of statuary in cemeteries, so he sent me some pictures of just that. I thought the face on this one was beautiful, so I did a quick study of it.

 It's not much, but it's better than nothing. There might even be more to come, stay tuned.

oppressive--an outsider's perspective

Here's something new:

 

(If you're from a place like I am, where measurements of humidity only appear with images of Smokey the Bear...

. 

...this article is a nice summary of what "dew point" means). 


I love how the highest and lowest ratings are named subjectively. "Humid" and "Very Humid" conjure up factual, scientific references, but "Oppressive" makes it sound like we're making bricks without straw. Which, actually, I'd prefer to walking around with the dew point above 70. 

And as far as "Comfortable"...maybe knock that 60 down 1 or 20 degrees, and we can talk.

talent

Wanna know something I'm good at? Ruminating. If there were a regional ruminating competition, I bet I'd win at least an honorable mention. I'm so good at ruminating that I ruminate about ruminating.

I'd quit, but if that competition ever rolls into town, I hear the prizes are anxiety, weight gain, hair loss, and general regression. Who wouldn't want to win all of that? I'd better keep practicing.

New York, New York

Yep, I went there. Finally. After all these years seeing it only in crime television and romantic comedies, I saw it for reals. And once I was able to forget every episode of Law and Order ever broadcast on television--(because I suddenly recalled them all as soon as I stepped off the train in Grand Central Station)--I did indeed heart NY.

Day 1:

• Grand Central Station
• New York Public Library
• Times Square
• American Girl Place
• Allow me to here disclose that this was a totally random stop. I passed it on my way to central park and thought, "hm, a little childhood nostalgia could be fun." It turned out to be the one of the creepiest stores I've ever seen. 
• This is also the time that I thought "Hm, I should probably be taking some pictures." So the fact that there are no pictures to this point is not an indication that I liked the AG store more than Grand Central, NYPL, or Times Square, just that it took a while to occur to me that I might want to use my camera.

The doll holder in the bathroom stall -- yes, this is the first picture I took in New York

The Doll hair salon. Like I said, creepy.

• Saint Patrick's Cathedral
• Another random stop

• Central Park

Hey look, it's me! And I'm making one of my weird taking-a-picutre-of-myself faces!

• The Met

Yes I visited that pretzel cart.

Do you want to see a ton of blurry pictures of the things inside? I thought so!

• Central Park (again)

• The LDS temple/church building
• Saco's Pizza -- so yummy
• Staten Island Ferry

• Ground Zero

Day 2:

• The Frick

• Bastille Day celebration on 60th St.

• M&Ms Store
• Hershey Store
• Bryant Park
• Grand Central Station

What was that? You want to see more pictures of blurry interiors?

And then home!

Highlights: I loved it all, and I realized how much I love being in big cities when I don't have to drive in them. The pizza place was definitely a highlight (it's always about the food). I loved the Met and the Frick. I just loved walking around and people watching. 

New York, you don't disappoint.