Blibber Blabber

No rhyme, no reason

 

Yes, I did write.  I wrote eight pages on Monday... and pretty much wiped out all but three through the week.  Per my writing schedule, it's very hard to concentrate when you have to get the kids up, get ready yourself, take a kid to school, etc.  And now, with the recent weight gain and all around "I-don't-feel-very-healthy" feelings, I'm starting my workouts again, especially walking.  So, I'm relegating the writing to the weekend, when I can have a chunk of uninterrupted time in the morning.

I did do a piece for my solo show.  "Coming Out of Her Shell".  It's a snail woman.  What?  You've never heard of those?  Shame on you!

I watched "The Mist" this week, based on one of my all-time favorite Stephen King novellas.  Good... except for the end.  Hated it.  HATED it.  I don't give a shit what Frank Darabont's reason or "proof" was for writing it.  Shame on him.  Ugh.

Is it de rigueur to bash WDW in travel articles now?  The last two travel articles I've read on Disney-- one about a reporter's stay in Cinderella's Castle, and one about a reporter's solo five-day jaunt to WDW-- have been sarcastic, cynical, and overeager to please... well, I can't think of any other word than snobs.  It's as if the editors forgot that journalism should be unbiased.

Now, we all know that WDW is not completely the magical place it touts itself to be-- not with the crowds, and overpriced merchandise, and dying people (okay, last one isn't true, but you sure feel that way at the end of the day), and it's certainly tries to convey a utopia that doesn't exist (although I don't agree with that- I chalk it up to having a brain), and it's *definitely* commercial-- but why hire writers who are going to bash it?  What happened to just a straightforward travel article?  Is that only unique to Fodor's and the like? And never mind the thinly-veiled implications that we're all sheep, or dumb, or uncultured.

One point: the "five days" article slammed parents who take their children to the "fake" Paris and England, when they *should* be taking them to the real places.   Okay, as a parent, there's just so many ways I could rake him over the coals for this statement, one of which would be that I doubt there are too many parents who think World Showcase is actually a substitute for the real countries.  "Look, honey, we're in Paris!" Duh, Dummy Reporter-- it's a joke. 

The reporter, while stating that folks are missing out, completely forgot to convey that people from those countries work there (along with SO many other things).  I've had lovely conversations with some of them, asking them about their countries, if they like it here, etc.  I spent a good five or six minutes talking with a young man from France at the wine country, both of us looking at the map while I pointed out where OD visited, where our relatives live (funny that he hadn't heard of Gradignan, which is right outside Bordeaux).  At the end of the conversation, he said, "YOU need to visit there, too!"

And I will.  But I can go to WDW, too.

posted by: athenawj at 07:08 | link | comments (3) |
movies, writing, disney

HA!

I'm not a lazeabout.  I'm not talking out my ass again.

I sent off two stories this morning.  Older ones, but good 'uns.  Picked pretty much the first semi-pros I came across and sent 'em off.

And I re-read the last novel I tried to write, and it's good- I really like it.  Got stuck on a little passage that took me three hours to figure out what I was writing about (a pedometer with a Velcro strap), but I finally figured it out.  I have enough old notes to carry on, and so I shall.

Happy Easter!

posted by: athenawj at 11:14 | link | comments (3) |
writing

Strange how many of us get this itch when the buds appear on the trees and the days lengthen.  I don't think New Year should be a time for resolutions- those should be made when the earth reawakens, don't you think?

I don't know if it's because OD is excitedly about to embark on a new phase of her life (and please, someone Slap. Me. if I'm talking/thinking/worrying about all this too much, because I really can't stand myself sometimes), but I've taken the past few days to rethink my direction.  I Do. Think. I need to understand and embrace that there are periods of ebb and tide.

I've thought that I'm happy with the position my art is in right now.  I don't really have a need for more money or outlets- for someone like me, what I've got keeps me content.  What will come will come, but I find that searching out more outlets brings on too much unneeded stress.  That's not what I need right now.

I've also had the old stirrings of writing again; the loveliness that is The. Idea.  It's a little too bad that I've fallen out of step with the writing community, but with a few steps I can finagle my way back in.  The good thing is that I don't have to start completely over.  I have enough credits, some outstanding, to create an impressive biblio for my cover letters.  I'm not a Nobody anymore; not someone whom a Certain Unnamed Horror Magazine can look down on anymore (oh, God, don't even get me started on my first rejection letter from a major horror magazine.  Putzes.).

This spring I'm going to work, and have fun, and get carried away by my mind.  And enjoy some fresh air, too.

***

Say Welcome to one of the newest members of our family, Lucky:

Nemo is the other hermit crab.  I'm not sure if Mesh has... meshed with them yet, but no one's lost a claw, so all's good so far.  The most interesting things so far: fifteen minutes after being introduced to his new home, Nemo lifted himself out of his old, cracked, orange shell and lowered his body into a new unpainted shell.  And watching Lucky eat, which I'd never seen before.

I really hope Lucky moves out of this shell.  It's cracked and chipped, too.

posted by: athenawj at 11:22 | link | comments |
writing, spring, hermit crabs

This week has been spent learning all about hermit crabs.  Alas, for everything I did for Tootsie, he died night before last.  Now Mesh is alone.  What I found entertaining when I got up this morning is she discovered the new hidey-spot I created for her, and is sleeping there now.  It also looks like she enjoyed the cucumber I put out for her, though she seems to have eschewed the carrots.

It's always easy to tell when the crabs eat.  They make quite a mess in their food shell.

So, today, after some painting, I'm off to the store to get a couple more hermit crabs so Mesh won't be alone- hermit crabs are quite social.  They'll all get a bath so they smell the same, and I'm going to redecorate the aquarium so she won't be as territorial.  And then it's back to constant checking for a few days to make sure no one rips a claw off another, or something horrific like that.

***

I think this year I have to make a decision.  I've been thinking more and more about returning to writing, but it's extremely hard to do art and stories at the same time.  Another artist and I had a conversation about this recently, about how many people we know who have multiple talents, but just can't do more than one at a time.  As far as show dates, I have June, August, September, and most likely October sewn up, and possibly a couple more online ventures scattered here and there, as well as the times when the gallery asks me for more pieces. And then there's my portfolio, websites, stores that I have to keep up.

I think the decision I have to make is: do I have to quit it all totally at times to be able to focus fully on writing, or can I split up my weeks/months?

It's a challenge.  As much as it seems like I'm not, I'm a pretty lazy person, and I tend to easily get overwhelmed. 

***

Mr. Calm and I have split up the cooking, taking one or two days in a row, then switching off to the other person for one or two days.  It's helped burnout-- I cook too long, and it's too easy to get burned out and just say, "I want to go out for dinner".  I'm finding myself enjoying cooking again.

Of course, Mr. Calm didn't even think last night when he bought dinner- every single thing he picked to cook I was allergic to (crab, shrimp, pasta).  I asked him to boil me a couple of potatoes for me to mash so I wouldn't totally explode.

***

OD and I went out yesterday, just us two girls, like we used to: Mother/Daughter Day.  Raining and a little cold, but we made the most of it.  Went to one of our favorite stores in Hillsboro Village (Pangaea), and I got a beautiful magnifying glass with a jade and pewter handle.  She got a ring with a huge flower on it.  Then, because the Pancake Pantry had a line snaking out into the rain, we drove down to Noshville and had a nice lunch.  Then it was over to The Great Escape, the used dvd/vhs/cd/record and comics store, and I found the new Lenore PVC set.  Probably shouldn't have bought it, as I have no available space left to put my toys.  Lastly, we went to Gigi's Cup Cakes, a newish cupcake store in town.  I tried the Gingerbread and Peanut Butter Cup ones, and OD got Texas Chocolate and Kiddie Kake, topped off with a gummy worm.  I was pleased to see the place was crowded.

She talked alot about how excited she was about college.  I told her that was wonderful to hear, since she had ZERO interest in going at the beginning of senior year.  She wonders if she should start with French I or French II, and is glad she only has to take one math and science class each, and should she minor in ESL?  I told her everything I was worried she wouldn't be able to buy, necessities, and she assured me with a smile that she'd have a job and be able to pay for those things.

It's still hard knowing she's not going to be home hardly at all anymore, but it's reassuring that she's so confident.  So, I guess I did an okay job. ;)

 

posted by: athenawj at 07:25 | link | comments |
art , food, writing, kids, memories, mrcalm, hermit crabs

I kicked myself in the ass on Monday, and drew and colored like a maniac this week, and I'm still not done.  For the most part, I'm pleased with what I've come up with, though I have yet to decoupage any of my boards- all I've done are prints.

We had somewhat of another animal emergency last week.  Tootsie, the male hermit crab, decided to go a'streakin'.  He was sans shell for about a day, thoroughly freaking out YD and casting the poor crab into a less desirable light for her (contrary to what she said, he did NOT look like an albino spider).  This can mean several things: that he's sick, that his shell doesn't fit... So, we went to the pet store, got a few more necessities, and revamped the cage; at the same time, we put him in a small cup with his shell to try to get him to climb back in.  That didn't work, but I'm happy to report that after about an hour back in the cage, he crawled back in.  A little while later, Mesh, his female companion, took one of the new shells as her new home.

Yesterday YD found his big claw in the cage.  Nope, not attached to him anymore.  Apparently hermit crabs do that, and it doesn't take long to grow back, but poor thing has a lot of trouble crawling around now.  Mesh looks huge compared to him now.  We've got them now in a ten-gallon aquarium (the terrarium wasn't heating enough) with more room, and I've got them on the kitchen counter so I can check how the heat's working. 

Gah.  We've had anoles and now crabs, and damn if they're not hard to take care of.  Heating's a bitch.

***

I picked up "Kidnapped", the series from last year, at the used DVD store last night: thirteen eps for fourteen bucks.  I got it because a lot of people at the Law & Order forums have been talking about it.  I've watched two eps so far, and it's really good.   Just shows how dumb the network suits are.

I'm still happy I started watching Law & Order again this year.  With the additions of Jeremy Sisto and Linus Roache (who were also in Kidnapped), and the terrific new chemistry with the entire cast, the show's rockin' again.

And now for an unpopular opinion, I suppose: I finally watched "Schindler's List" last week.  Both girls begged me to watch it, so I rented it.  Um.

It was interesting, but I didn't think it was a great movie.  I found it hard to muster much empathy for Schindler himself, who was, IMO, solely out for the bottom line through most of the movie.  I even saw it when his sympathies had turned.  He was then too self-satisfied.  The ending got to me, though, but I'm sorry to say it didn't affect me like it was probably supposed to.  The problem with the movie... to me, it was almost like Spielberg was telling, not showing.  I felt a detachment that I shouldn't have.  Or perhaps he just tried too hard and it fell flat.  Either way, it didn't quite work for me.

A movie (or miniseries, I should say) that affected me more deeply was "Escape from Sobibor"- one my World History teacher taped and showed us and I now own. Or "The Pianist", and thinking about Roman Polanski's own history.  Even "Conspiracy", about the Final Solution, was more horrifying to me.

 

posted by: athenawj at 06:27 | link | comments |
art , movies, television, hermit crabs

We drove south yesterday to my older niece's 8th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's.  Thank goodness she wanted cookies instead of cake, although the way I feel right now, when I see sugar again it'll be too soon.  Ugh, God, why three kids' birthdays in the span of less than a month?  Every year, I thank my hormones that OD and YD weren't born when they were supposed to be: March 26 and March 18.

Chuck E. Cheese's was fun.  It would have been even more fun if the Skee-Ball games hadn't kept breaking down.

My favorite pictures from the party, courtesy of my two-year-old niece:

Gotta open WIDE to get that icing in your mouth!! ;)

***

I won't post many details yet, but I got an offer to create a limited edition print to sell in a popular online boutique.  The funny thing is, I found the shop a couple of weeks ago, and really wished I could sell something there.  The owner's very nice, and I'm looking forward to working with her.  I'll post the link and everything once it goes up in April or May.

Oh, and the series will be affordable.  That's one of the points of the boutique, something I'm very down with (oo, I'm so hip with the lingo).

***

Lastly, I finally got a breadmaker Saturday!!!  I'm so happy- I've wanted one for ages!  Today I'm making Three Cheese Bread.  I will post if it tasted good.

posted by: athenawj at 09:42 | link | comments |
kids, memories

What's that White Stuff?

We got more snow.  In fact, we've gotten more snow than we have in five years.  At three inches, that should tell you how little snow we actually get.  I'm sure it'll be gone tomorrow when the temp goes back up to 55, but for now, I'm enjoying watching it fall outside my window.

OD had her birthday party at the family fun center last night.  Lots of kids couldn't come because their parents didn't want to drive in the bad weather, but enough did come for her to have a great time.  During the party, Mr. Calm and I drove downtown to go to dinner.  At that time, the skies were pelting us with ice.  That's always fun to walk through, and I heartily enjoyed picking tiny chunks of ice out of my hair.  It began snowing about an hour later.

Driving the girls and YD's friend home after the party was an experience, too. It rained yesterday morning, so the city was unable to brine the roads, which meant the streets were covered with snow.  That's lots of fun, too: watching cars drift in and out of lanes, going thirty-five down the interstate, trying to stay inside your own lane when you can barely see the broken lines.

The cats ran outside after we got home.  They lasted all of ten minutes.  Salem ran outside again this morning.  He set a new record at two minutes this time.  Like I said before, cats don't like wet butts.  Or paws.

I plan on thoroughly enjoying this snowfall, because it's probably the last one of the season.  I'm going to traipse around in it, take some pictures, and probably make a little snowman.  And probably dream of moving to a place where three inches is not a lot of snow.

posted by: athenawj at 07:04 | link | comments |
snow

Happy Birthday!

Today is OD's eighteenth birthday. Eighteen years ago, in Austin, TX, while I was strapped down like Jesus and hopped up on morphine, my firstborn made her way into the world.  My first words to her were, "Hey, Baby", and she looked right at me.

This is my favorite baby picture of her, taken in Brighton, Massachusetts.  Little Girl Blue. :)

posted by: athenawj at 05:50 | link | comments (3) |
kids

A few notes about AI last night.  Don't know why I'm moved to write about it now... maybe because I was a teenager in the 80s, the theme last night, and it's the music I'm most familiar with (although I know plenty of songs that came out before then- I always hate the friggin' dismissive comments like, "Oh, you're too young to remember that one", because I wasn't friggin' BRAIN DEAD before I turned ten!).

I'm SO glad I skipped Luke Menard's rendition of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", because that song blows.  BIG time.  Gah, it aggravated me the first time I heard it.  It's a song designed to make you suffer.

David A.- Okay, he picked another message song with "Another Day in Paradise".  Which would have been fine, except that he gave his pageant answer afterward.  Very calculating to me, but because he's seventeen, I wonder where that came from.  

David H.- I can't even remember what he sang- Celine?  I feel bad for the guy, for the stripper story coming out.  Even if he had more charisma, America can't handle a gay stripper.

Hrm.  Who else?

Michael Johns- I can't like this guy, although I used to.  I can't get past the fact that he stole some of his old band's songs to use on his own demo.  WRONG.  And the singing was, "meh".  Maybe I'm reacting that way because Mr. Calm loves that song, and I can't stand it.

David C.- I hate "Hello" with the fire of a thousand suns.  UGHUGHUGHUGH.  And yet, he managed to turn that sap-tastic song into a good one.  Unfrigginbelievable.  Really good!  Favorite of the night, and I haven't liked the guy before.

Jason C.- I lovelovelove "Hallelujah"- what a beautiful song.  As he's my favorite performer this season, along with Ramiele, I'm glad to see he survived without his guitar.  But that next-to-last note was horrid and cracked.  I loved that he knew it, too- he looked like he was going to bust out laughing after missing it.  But why didn't the judges call him on it?

Chikezie- This was the song he sang at auditions, and I LOVED it then.  Last night it was just okay, but I thought his singing was spot-on.  He has a rich, lovely voice.  But Simon's an ass, saying he didn't like it just because Whitney sang it?  Dumbass, Luther Vandross sang it, too.  Disqualifying it just because a woman's version was the most popular is stupid and close-minded.

Other notes: I wanted to strangle my t.v. every time Paula opened her mouth.  God, somebody please get that woman to quit rambling!!  She makes no sense whatsoever- she even seems to have trouble talking at times.  If "WMUBYGG" is designed to make us suffer, Paula is there to make us want to reach in through our ears and yank out our brains.  Goodness, I want her to Shut. Up.  Useless!!!

Oh!  I forgot about Danny N.- "Tainted Love" is so overplayed, but I lovedloved the new arrangement.  Solid singing, but nothing great.  He's never going to win with Simon.  At least he doesn't tone it down for the old codger. 

posted by: athenawj at 06:05 | link | comments (1) |
television

A Good Day

*Less than twelve hours after I put up "An Old Viola's Parts" photograph for sale, it sold!  It's always a thrill when a photograph sells... because it sure as hell doesn't happen often.

*I found another review of the antho in which the reviewer said that my story was one of his favorites, and "The vivid imagination this yarn encompasses absolutely enthralled me". 

I have another story idea set in this world, but I have yet to figure out the "why".  So... back to percolating.

posted by: athenawj at 06:41 | link | comments (2) |
photography, writing

Cross 'Em!

YD was in the Strings Crossings Honors Orchestra yesterday at Belmont University: a day-long rehearsal followed by a performance.  She'd told us earlier in the week when she got her music that it was a combination of bluegrass and classical, which I'd never considered before, but upon hearing the cd, realized that they are definitely two styles that mesh well together.  The concert turned out to be one of my all-time favorites.

First off was a familiar piece by Bach, then a performance with one of Belmont's teachers (and a singer/songwriter), and a drummer from his band.  He'd taught the kids to "strum" their instruments, and the song had a funk/rock/classical feel.  Think a little George Clinton.  That was my favorite piece of the entire concert.  Then the teacher sang and played his violin in that strumming style-- a really good song.  He wore his electric violin like a guitar, in case you're wondering how he managed to sing and play at the same time.

Lastly was a song by a five-piece bluegrass band that is doing really well after a feature piece in the New York Times.  The last song was an eight-part piece with the orchestra and the band together, as well as a few woodwinds and brass from the university.

Mr. Calm said the whole thing brought more than one tear to his eye.  Me, too, but I'm a big sucker at any event like this.  Just... how amazing to be able to bring music like this to life.

***

I had more than one distressing dream overnight about OD leaving home.  She'll only be an hour-and-a-half away, but still... might as well be across the universe.

posted by: athenawj at 06:32 | link | comments (3) |
music, kids, memories