Confessions of a Camera Obscura

BioMagikus: Dark Energy Device

Hello from Laurel's camera. I have returned, if only temporarily. heh heh heh. I find she appreciates me a great deal more if I go on the occasional walkabout. Maybe I don't have all the bells & whistles of the new cameras, but who wants to make that much noise anyway. Bells--bleah. Whistles--what?

I fear my days are numbered. Is it my fault if she can't hold me steady enough to get the lowlight no flash pictures she prefers? No, I say, a thousand times no! But she casts hungry eyes (isn't that mixed up anyway? hungry is the stomache's job) on the gyroscopic functions that make her microscopic shakes (she likes really low light) a non-issue. Sigh. What's a camera to do?

Answer: Hide! I'm getting good at it. She may replace me, but she'll never get my memory card!

So here we are in the new administration. I'm going to write to Obama & see if he has a job for an old (but gold) camera. I've been around the block--Peru, Ireland, Paris. I've seen things. 

Blog alternative:

163. Take several pictures of something. Close-up. Upside down. With & without flash. 

Asheville's Most Wanted: Angel hair pasta. Probably not armed, or dangerous

Greetings from the middle of January (or dang close anyway).

I guess I haven't talked to you since Christmas, which means you know nothing of the lovely time I had with Nick & Chloe. (Unless you are Nick or Chloe.) (Hi Nick!) (Hi Chloe!) We did art & took walks & saw movies & ate food & made cookies & traipsed all over town in search of diGiornio's fresh angel hair pasta with which to make Italian Stir Fry (a fabulous dish I invented which Nick remembered fondly from childhood). (We didn't quite find the exact thing, but we got a nearly as good (good thing, too, because it was expensive as all get out!) substitute, so Nick was able to inhale at least a small portion of his childhood fave.)

Movies: Slumdog Millionaire gets 5 stars out of 3! See this movie. Pretty please. Your self will thank you for it. The Tale of Desperaux gets 1.5 out of 3, which was disappointing. I bet the book (by the lovely & talented Kate diCamillo) is much better. Yes Man gets 2.679 out of 3, because of a fun script & not too much over-the-top Jim Carey-ing.

& since I dropped the kidlets off at the Tri-Cities airport, I have had much fun doing artworks & writing (even wrote (& mailed off to an editor!) a picture book) & walks & more movies & etcetera etcetera etcetera. My first continuing education class happened. Intro to Photoshop. Lots of fun. I'm looking forward to Flash & Powerpoint. Might have to get my hands on some Adobe. Fortunately I'll be able to get a student discount. (They lure you in with a good deal, because they want you hooked on their software. Like drugs--"Hey man, try this out. The first one's free....") (Well, not anywhere near free, but also not anywhere near the bloated full price either.)

I am going to post this quick, without artwork (sorry Helen), because I don't want to go another day without posting & the camera has gone on an adventure. (Perhaps under a pillow?)

I didn't make any resolutions, but I did pick a word for the year. (See Christine Kane's blog if you want a really wonderful article on the process.) My word for the year: Trust. (As in, relax, you're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing & all is so far weller than well that you can't even imagine (& you know how magnificent your imagination is!) the results that are on the way.)

Blog alternative:

162. Pick a word for the year that will guide your bodymindheartsoul into the center.

Seaweed salad circuit breaker smile

Genius/Genesis

Happy Merry Everyday--oh, yeah, Christmas, too!

I've had a lovely Christmas so far. I talked to my parents in Montana & confirmed that Zach had indeed surprise arrived last night, with cousins in tow. (He picked them up on the way.) Drew a bunch of pictures (see one of them above) while a friend read to me from the words of (translated directly from the Aramaic) Yeshua/Jesus. Ate breakfast. Did some more cleaning to prepare for Nick & Chloe's arrival tomorrow. Discovered that a vacuum cleaner overloads the apartment's wimpy circuit breaker. Finished by sweeping instead (after the breaker was successfully (hurray!) reset). Walked downtown, where most everything (as expected) was closed. The park where the local homeless folk hang out was thriving. I was told by one gentleman, after he wished me Merry Christmas & I returned the favor, that mine was the prettiest smile he'd seen all day, so I gave him another. Then, after I'd decided to take a slightly different route than usual home, I discovered that a sushi restaurant was open so I had seaweed salad & eel avocado roll & Japanese beer. Delicious. You've got to love chopsticks Christmas day. & now I am back home, (e)talking to you. Did I mention it was so warm I wore a blazer & skirt & beret? We have had quite the temperature swings, from 70 degrees to 17 a few days later. (Did I mention my apartment has no insulation? I am so glad for the shrink & seal window film.)

May you find peace & prosperity & joy & love within your heart this day--& every day, by the way.

Blog alternative:
161. Give someone the prettiest smile they've seen all day--or at least a finalist.

Darius the Persian learns PowerPoint

Alpha Beta Delta Theta Phi Machine:
There4 & BCause

11 December.

If we skip one 1, we can pretend it is the first & I am blogaciously efficient. But 11 is a nice number. One of my favorites.

This morning we have rain & around 60 degrees, the same as yesterday. I hope the pattern holds, for it was dry in the afternoon & I would like to do laundry today. I am almost out of socks & do not want to resort to what a friend used to call "doing laundry at Target." But I don't want to lug my laundry outside & down the basement steps & then back, having had the rain undry the top layer...

In front of me I have a couple of textbooks. Textbooks! I'm so excited. I just signed up for a bunch of continuing education classes at ABTech. Spanish I & Wine Appreciation & Intro to Screenwriting & several 1-day-intensives: Flash & Powerpoint & Photoshop. Combine this with all my Teaching Company video courses & I'm one educated puppy! I shall keep you posted. The ABTech classes don't start until January & February.

I'm sure there are bunches of things that floated through my brain on my way to December 11th, that I was planning to tell you, but you shall just have to tell yourself bunches of things instead. What's floating through your brain right now? If it's not a thing you would want to put in there, replace it with something more fun or interesting or enlightening or comforting or joyous or peaceful or (you get the drift).

So now I am planning to peruse my textbooks & draw on placemats & such. Be a great day.

Blog alternative:
160. Learn something or at least plan to. Sign up for a class or read a book or just go to Wikipedia & look up a subject you are curious about. Perhaps Darius the Persian or Chaos Theory or Athena's mother.

Pistachios, picture & perfect

The face of peace
(for Helen, who told me
she likes the blogs with the pictures best!)

Happy Appreciation Day!

By which--if you've been reading my blog for more than 5 minutes you will know--I mean: Happy every singular day.

I had a walk in the woods & a picnic by a lake. Pulled pork sandwiches, pistachios (pre-shelled), chocolate, bottles of water. I did bring a little screwtop bottle of chardonnay, but we decided to wait on that. The temperature was perfection itself--around 60, clear, still.

& now I am going to play cards & eat apple pie & vanilla ice cream, so hasta la tomorrow--or some today after that.

love,
me

Blog alternative:
159. Plan a picnic, even if weather dictates you do it on the floor of the living room.

Baristas forever

An old man leaves a coffee shop. The barista calls out, "Jim? You leaving?" & he raises his cup in salute as he keeps walking. When he came in, she talked about how they were all filled up & his usual table wasn't available. He expressed a little distress that he'd forgot to bring something in for her & she said, "Don't worry about it. You'll be here tomorrow." She told him about a show she'd recently watched, about the worst plane crash ever. (Apparently he's got a fascination for disasters.) He's in some stage or other of disconnecting from this life, but this coffee shop, this barista, are a point of connection. Hurray for him. Hurray for her. Baristas forever!

Zach's friend didn't hear back from the Knoxville car guy, so that ebay deal is a no-deal. I will be content with connecting with Zach by phone & email & warm fuzzy thoughts for the nonce. It's a good thing I didn't go see Nick; he & his Skritter dudes spent about 1 hour NOT working during the period I would have been there. (The content of the non-working hour? Guitar Hero.)

I have a playdate with a new friend (she's a publisher I met at the Mark Strand reading) today at 4:03. Will be fun to talk with her about art & words & creativity in general.

Last night I watched Patch Adams which is based on the true story of one of the first doctors to really use humor & laughter as major components of healing. (You can check out the continuing real life exploits out at patchadams.org if you wish.) It was partly filmed in Asheville! Very uplifting. Gesundheit!

I'm refining my mission statement. Currently it is:

To be an actively contagious example of
joy & peace & creativity.

I'll probably come up with an even better statement soon, but why wait for even better?

Blog alternative:
158. Refine your mission statement.

Puerto Rico quantum fizzikal crockpot refrigerator art

I've been spoiled by organic free-range wifi, & the pesky little devils have been avoiding my apartment. I see their tracks, & their ghosts, but they don't let me me load up. Oh well. It gets me out to coffee shops a bit more often.

Why does it take wifi? Because my apartment is so lovely & increasingly-well-ordered. You should see my bathroom! (That is entirely rhetorical, of course. I am NOT inviting you to see my bathroom, just to imagine a room that has been reinvigorated with cleanliness & simplicity.)

So, it's been a nice satisfying length of time since I posted, while I have been doing & being all kinds of wonderfulfun. Here is a short list. (incomplete & without much detail...)

My uncle came to visit while he was at Knoxville (a mere 2 hours away) in training for his new job. Hurray for the fall of the golden handcuffs. He & I had many hours of congenial talking--which is unusual, given that most of the time when we see each other there are numerous relatives who are talkier than he is, so he is content to put in the occasional word. We drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway & saw the splendor of the autumn leaves, which were a full month later than usual, which I claimed was for his benefit, which then spawned a long conversation on quantum physics & the holographic universe (how many uncles (or nieces, for that matter!) would be all up to speed on current cosmology & quantum reality & such?) & we stood & watched a skateboarding competition at the skate park a few blocks from my apartment & saw part of the Shriner's parade (grown men in funny hats doing high speed formations in itty bitty semi trucks, for example) & listened to bluegrass at Jack of the Wood & had brunch with one of my good friends & just generally enjoyed ourselves. Thanks for the visit, Paul.

Two students from Puerto Rico did a project on "egg horror poem" & wrote me for background info. I was honored they chose my poem & they were honored I wrote back to them & it was a total honor & appreciation fest! (Hi Jennifer & Carlos!) They even sent me a photo of their project, which was fun to see.

I almost drove to Ohio to give Nick & his compadres my old Edenpure heater (I being in possession of a new one) but then they got more travel plans--another language conference, if I am remembering correctly, & ANOTHER grant (yay them!) to help take advantage of such opportunities--so I decided to just send them the heater & drive up to visit another time.

Oh, & I might get to visit Zach if he comes down to my vicinity to help one of his friends buy a car from ebay & drive it back to Minnesota.

More persons (okay, at least one more person (hi Chloe!)) did a 75(ish) things I appreciate list.

I read the current North Carolina Woman magazine which had a guest editorial from Christine Kane's blog (the September 22nd 2008 entry from the archives, if you're so moved to check it out at christinekane.com) entitled "How to Stop a Recession in Its Tracks" which was very lovely & inspiring.

My sister sent me refrigerator art! Done by her own talented hands. Yay. (She sent this to me because I sent her some watercolor pencils & required refrigerator art as a consequence of said action. Then I had to bug her to get the finished product, but it finally came, with the most wonderfully calligraphed envelope. My address has never looked so pretty.) One of the artworks was a little sticky note drawing of a crockpot. (My niece was doing a poem about the crockpot (my other niece did a coffee pot back when it was her turn) for a poem about kitchen appliances assignment.)

This totally inspired me & I went out & bought a crockpot at Bed, Bath & Beyond. (I was going to go comparison-shopping & peruse Target first, but I made the mistake of going out on Saturday afternoon & I was HORRIFIED by the weekend shopping traffic. B, B & Beyond's turn-off was first, so there I went & there I stayed. I had coupons, anyway.) I told the guy who was helping me--crockpot being only one of the things on my list to acquire--that I'd last owned one when it was a pot that sat on a little hot plate thingy & he said, "What, before the industrial revolution?" I said pretty much & admitted that it was 1980. He said, "Well, I was born then." I guessed that he had been 3 then, & he said no, he was 2. Anyway, he was helpful, although he cringed when I brought a "professional" cake pan over to him & asked if he had any "non-professional" ones because I didn't care too much about the quality. He said, "Well, you should!" (This is not a case of my favorite punctuating; I could hear the exclamation point.) Then, when I was getting a baster--recently I cooked cornish game hens & was dismayed to discover I could not baste because I had no baster--he whisked the one out of my hand & said, "No, not that one." (I could hear the italics.) He pointed me to one that had an injection needle & this cute little sprinkling head that would each screw on. Very cute. I love basting things.

Blog alternative(s)(because I'm so excited I can't choose just one):
154. Write a poem about a kitchen appliance.
155. Crockpot (or baste!) something.
156. Send someone art supplies & require refrigerator art in return.
157. Send someone refrigerator art.