The bus and light rail were both on time this morning.

Yesterday, I mailed off the script. I hope my play is selected to be performed at Harford Community College next year. Today HCC tomorrow Towson University! Yes, I know dare to dream!

Today, I’m wearing what I like to call my Muppet shirt. It’s a bright pink, yellow, orange, and olive striped shirt. I like to call it my Muppet shirt because it’s the type of shirt that a Muppet might wear. I’m wearing the short sleeved Muppet shirt with blue jeans and new $3 beige tennis shoes from Walmart.

I’m juror number #648 out of 650 potential jurors. I thought it would be doubtful that I would be called to serve on an actual jury. At most I’ll be forced to watch crappy movies all day. It turns out the two movies they showed were Radio and Meet the Parents. It seems like every time I serve jury duty they show Meet the Parents.

Anyway, I was surprised when I got called at 3:45 to serve on a jury. I was shocked because jury service ends at 4:30. I felt that there was no way in hell that we would be selected and hear a case in 45 minutes. Heck, less than 45 minutes if you account for the time it took for us to leave the building and walk over to the other court house, take the elevators and find the courtroom.

As luck would have it the judge felt the same way to. After they took role and the judge spoke to the lawyers they decided to dismiss us all and start with a new pool of potential jurors tomorrow. Thank you God/Goddess! I’m glad that I missed out on that trial because it was a murder trial. The judge dismissed us at 4:15, fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.

In case you’re wondering what I did to keep myself busy while serving jury duty without my much beloved walkman (radios are banned in the courthouse). I bought my new bag along with me. I loaded it with art supplies. I didn’t bring the Alphasmart even though they do allow for laptops in the jury room, which is odd because they don’t allow for radio’s. Anyway, basically, I spent the day sketching people. No one yelled at me for drawing them. All in all I don’t think they much noticed or cared. Maybe, if I’m up to it I’ll post the sketches I made on Monday.

Interesting Jurors: There was this woman who wore a face mask. Why? I don’t know? She definitely freaked me out. Maybe it was a clever attempt at coming up with a ploy not to be selected to serve on a jury, if so, it was good. I felt uncomfortable sitting around her. I’m sure she would make anyone who’s case she sat on feel very apprehensive about her. Was she physically sick or mentally insane? It was kind of hard to tell. However, I never heard her cough once.

Most interesting sight during my lunch break was this black senior citizen sitting at a table in front of Au Bon Pain. He was neatly dressed in a blue pinstriped long sleeved shirt with a tie and blue slacks. He wore a Panama hat and had gray hair and beard with a guitar slung across his back. He was sitting across from this man at another table and they were talking about God. It was a very surreal scene. How many times do you see a well dressed senior citizen with a guitar talking about God with a business man?

Also there was this guy standing in front of Au Bon Pain I thought for a while that maybe he was a security guard for the store. Then I thought that was silly. Who ever heard of security guard for a bakery place? I started to sketch him then he walked away after standing stationary at the door of the store for a good 10-15 minutes. I have no idea what his story was. However, he seemed suspicious of something...

Today, I wore a cream colored brown/red/blue print broomstick skirt along with an ecru colored crocheted top. Along with this ensemble I wore my new $3.00 black tennis shoes that I bought Friday from Walmart.

I am deeply distressed and depressed. It turns out I have jury duty tomorrow. I was hoping I would not have to do it. I had number 648! This I felt was a high enough number that I would not be called in. Oh, well......

The only other bad thing is that my cordless phone has gone haywire. All the lights on the phone keep blinking and I get no dial tone. I think it might be the batteries. I recall my father asking me once, “When was the last time you changed the batteries?” I hadn’t changed the batteries since I bought the phone five-six years ago. So I guess next paycheck I’ll buy batteries for the phone or a new phone depending on which is cheaper.

Right, now I’m wearing a white night shirt with a blue flower design on it. My slippers are blue.

Yesterday, I went to the optometrists office at Walmart and over to my father’s house to drop off school money for my nephew.

Thinking back to the optometrists I can barely remember the style of frames I picked out. The only thing I can remember about the optometrists office is that the male receptionist/assistant/whatever kind of reminded me of forgotten Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic with a beard. He also sounded a lot like Joe Artinger from the Don and Mike Show. If you haven't heard the Don and Mike Show before you can say he sounds like Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

He seemed like such a hippy far out kind of a guy to be working for an optometrist. It was fascinating listening to him talk. I almost expected him to say at any minute, “Hey, man want a Scooby snack?” or “They’re after us Scoob!”

As far as my nephew goes, yesterday I finally gave him his school money. I’m thinking about giving him a little more money when I get my next paycheck. It all depends on how my finances shake out.

Today, I primarily worked on my play. I edited it and ran a spell check. I hope it’s good enough to be selected.

Also, I pray that I will not have jury duty on Monday. I have #648 which is a high number. Hopefully, it’s a high enough number that I will not be called. My fingers are crossed!

Today, I’m wearing a beige brandless polo shirt and jean shorts with red flip flops.

Today, the bus was a little late. The light rail came on time. If the train makes it to my job on time I would have been on time all this week!

Yesterday, after work I went to the Gallery to continue working on my play for Harford Community College. When I got there at around 7:05 I was surprised to find someone sitting in my favorite spot. He had a notebook out and was writing down things. Maybe, he was a college student or worked at the mall and was going over the inventory. I don’t know. All I know is that he was sitting in my favorite spot. I sat a few tables behind hoping that he would soon vacate. I sat patiently nursing an orange soda and pizza nervously looking up every now and then from my Alphasmart to see if he had vacated the area. He didn’t leave until around 7:40PM! The gall of some people! He was there so long you would have thought he owned the spot. I know it sounds a silly but I’ve become attached to that spot.

The play I’m writing is due on September 1, 2004. So yes, I know I’m working down to the wire. I plan on mailing it out on Sunday or Monday depending on whether or not I have jury duty on Monday.

Today, I’m wearing a white shirt, blue jeans, and scary beat up Payless tennis shoes. Yes, business casual day is over with at my workplace!

Again, the bus was late. However, the light rail was on time.

Yesterday, I had quiet a harrowing day on the ride home on the light rail. While on the train at the Timonium stop which is right across from the state fair grounds the train stood at the stop for a very, very, very, very, long time without moving. I began to feel a little worried because the train rarely halts at that stop. Since I always have a walkman with me I decided to see if I could find anything on the radio about the traffic situation.

The main reason I had to find the information is because it’s a known fact that light rail drivers never tell you anything even though there’s an intercom aboard the train. I don’t know if this part of MTA policy to never tell you what’s going on or if it’s up to the discretion of the driver.

As I was tuning around the radio I caught the tail end of a traffic report on WTMD all I heard was Northern Parkway, car, and light rail. I had no idea how they interconnected so I dialed around more stations until I heard the news that a car flipped over from the Northern Parkway bridge on to the light rail tracks. I was stunned. This would probably mean that we would be sitting on the light rail train for a very long time.

I knew I had to tell the other passengers aboard the train about the accident because it was unlikely that the driver would ever say anything. He would just sit there and never tell the passengers what was going on. They all do that. I wonder what they are afraid of? It wasn’t the driver’s fault that a car flipped over on to the tracks. He should have told everyone the situation then let them decide if they were going to wait on the train or take the bus or wait for shuttle buses to come out.

I couldn’t take it anymore as I waited for the distant possibility that the driver might speak up. My voice quivered as I told the passengers on the car I was on what was going on. I stuttered a lot but eventually I got it out. I think I tend to stutter when I’m nervous. Anyway, I couldn’t believe it they actually understood me and did not dismiss me as some kind of a kook!

A man on the train tried to contact the driver about what happened. The driver refused to confirm or deny anything, it was weird. A few minutes later some of the passengers left the train as did I. I decided to walk up to #8 bus stop and take it all the way downtown.

On the bus stop I was surprised to see Cassandra and this guy named Ricky who works in the mail room. While at the bus stop I said “Hi!”, to Cassandra. I wasn’t quiet sure if it was ok to say “Hi!”, to Ricky as we’ve never been formally introduced and he probably doesn’t know me. I think he’s into Star Wars and movies based on comic books. He may even collect comic books too. Those are the only things I can think of that I may have in common with Ricky. However, I don’t really know him well enough to say anything about it.

Anyway, as you can imagine it was a very crowded and long ride downtown. I didn’t make it home until a little after eight at night. I usually make it home around six. So far this year this has been the longest day I’ve spent captive on the MTA.

Today, I’m wearing a black skirt, black Payless shoes and a print blouse. The blouse I’m wearing reflects my favorite painting palette; purple, pink, olive green, and blue. The reason for the skirt is because it’s the second day in a row of business casual day.

Today, the bus was late again. On both days that the bus was late it was driven by the middle aged female driver. Despite this the light rail train was on time. I hope that it gets me to my job 15 minutes earlier than usual like it did yesterday.

Yesterday, I got a call from nephew. He wanted to know when I would be by to drop off his school money. It’s hard to get in touch with him. I tried his cell phone number but when I tried it over the weekend it said to check the number. I checked the number carefully dialed the number and still could not get through. What I really want to know is who is paying for his cell phone? He’s 14 years old and does not have a job neither do his parents. I’m afraid to ask him what he’s doing to pay for the phone. Then again maybe it doesn’t matter anymore it’s possible the reason I can’t get through is because his phone has been cut off.

I’m not quiet sure what happened but I’m wondering when a co-worker will return to work. It seems like something dramatic happened on Friday and she might be afraid to come to work or she is really ill. All I know is that she has not been in the last few days and the lady she drives to work has been taking the light rail and bus. I wonder if they got in a fight or something? They’ve been car pooling to work for a very long time. Oh, well I guess I’ll never know for sure the answer to the Arvada/Cassandra mystery.

In honor of business casual day at work I’m wearing a denim plaid skirt and a brown Henley shirt with kind of scuffed up black shoes. No one knows this but I own lots of skirts. In fact I own more skirts than pants. I don’t wear them much because pantyhose have a short shelf life. You have to constantly go back to replace them. It seemed more economical to stick to jeans and cotton socks or knee highs.

The above is one of the paintings I completed this August. It's almost the mirror image of the painting below. I experimented a little with this one. I was trying to get the effect of a watercolour-like rainbow wash in the curtains. You know the kind like PBS watercolour artist Tom Lynch does with his paintings. Only I wanted the effect isolated to the curtains. It was very difficult to do. So the end result is half watercolour(acrylic) wash and half drawn in colors for emphasis.

Today, the bus was late. However, the light rail was on time. Oddly, enough the train arrived at my end destination 15 minutes early.

Yesterday, at work the computers were down for about an hour. This didn’t worry me much because I leave out early every Monday and Friday.

In art news: I’m still wheeling from the news that someone was blazon enough to go into an art gallery in broad daylight and steal Edvard Munch’s, The Scream. I also heard this morning on NPR that someone stole the bust of the Virgin Mary out of a museum. According to NPR the culprits used the cover of a rainstorm to escape. All in all it’s been quiet a busy week for art theft stories. I wonder if this will be the week that the Mona Lisa comes up missing?

Today, I’m wearing blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a cream coloured blouse that has alternating stripes of olive green, ecru, and pink. I’m starting to get the feeling that the blouse is too fancy for the jeans and I should have worn my black pants.

Also I have to admit that my hair is kind of weird looking today. You see I bought these barrettes yesterday and this morning I was kind of playing around with them in my hair because I had extra time to kill. Before I knew it I looked up at the clock and rushed out because it was getting late. So instead of fixing the weird semi two pony tail look, I decided to keep it. Heck, every one has the right to have a bad hair day every now and them.

The picture above is one of the paintings I completed this month. It’s acrylic on Bristol board. It first started off as a study I did in oil pastel for wetcanvas. I later did two acrylic versions of the oil pastel drawing, one featuring a black subject the other a white. The above is one of the two paintings. With this one I had fun making her shadow blue instead of a more realistic colour.

Today, the bus was late by a couple of minutes. It wasn’t too bad for me. However, the people that have to take the light rail heading towards Linthicum had to run to catch the train which was just pulling up as the bus stopped.

Yesterday, I finally filled out the City Paper’s Best of Baltimore, ballot. I was surprised to find that they have a category for best visual artist. The only category I was aware of prior to filling out my ballot was best Baltimore related web site.

Also on the art front I finished another painting today. This time the subject was male. I did it because the vast majority of the paintings I do are of females. I thought I’d challenge myself by painting a different gender. So for a week I’ll focus on male subjects. Hopefully, the series of paintings I’m working on will be completed some time next week or the week after. It all depends on whether or not I can keep up the pace I’m currently working at.

Today, I’m wearing a bright pink t-shirt that has a pink ribbon in front. Across the neckline is a flower design. With the shirt I’m wearing blue jeans and old decrepit Payless tennis shoes.

The above is an oil pastel I did for the Wetcanvas oil pastel forum. Hey, I just realized that this is my third Sunday in a row of completing an oil pastel! I recall reading somewhere that if you keep something up for six weeks it becomes a habit.

I feel sad to write this but it looks like I won’t be submitting any work for the School 33 (In)Visible Silence Show curated by African American artist Sanford Biggers. My main reason for not submitting anything is because Biggers will be making studio visits to the artists whose work is selected for the show. I live in an apartment the size of a postage stamp and cannot afford to own or rent separate studio space. My paintings for the most part are completed while sitting on the kitchen floor. I’m sure a big time artist like Biggers would prefer to work with artists who have actual real studio space like I’m sure he does. Also the exhibition seems to be geared towards installation work. I don’t know much about installation work, I’m a painter....

On an up note. I’m nearly finished writing my zine!

This evening I’m wearing a blue striped t-shirt with blue shorts. The shoes I’m wearing are bright blue plastic flip flops.

The painting above is yet another picture I completed this month. I was trying to gain an understanding of how to do perspectives. I admit that my perspective painting is a little exaggerated to the point of being cartoonish. It was done on Bristol board with acrylic paint.

The rest of this entry deals with my Friday afternoon at the Hunt Valley Walmart.

Yesterday, I went to the Walmart at Hunt Valley because I ran out batteries. This time I needed them for my wireless Microsoft mouse and my walkman. The gray haired lady was there as usual however as if by magic there was just one person in front of me!

While at Walmart I actually made an appointment to see the optometrist! I think I made my appointment for next Friday afternoon. I don’t know for sure because the guy at the office never gave me an appointment slip.

At last I can be rid of my ratty red paint peeled glasses and join the land of people with tiny squinty framed glasses! I don’t like the look of those glasses because they make it seem as though the wearers are all struggling to see. However, it seems to be the only style of frame currently available. Thus, I can rejoice in the fact that I will not be alone in my squinty eyedness!

Also another exciting thing happened yesterday at Walmart. I was waiting outside the store for the #8 bus to take me downtown when I saw these two guys who I thought were just horsing around. Then one of them took off running then the other followed. I thought to myself, “Oh they're just racing! What a queer thing to do at their age.” They both looked to be in there early twenties.

Then the next thing I knew half the store poured outside to watch them. They all had concerned looks on their faces. Then I knew it wasn’t just a case of two guys horsing around. The only thing I could assume was that one of them had done something bad like shoplifted or kicked a small helpless infant. I do admit that I was pleasantly surprised to find that when the wrong doer of Walmart was finally apprehended that it was a white guy.

Today, I’m wearing a brown short sleeve Henley shirt with black shorts and black wedge healed clogs that I bought at Payless last year.

The above picture is one of the paintings I completed this August. It's acrylic paint on Bristol board.

Today, the bus and light rail were both on time. So as a result of this I’ve been on time for an entire straight week! I hope that the MTA does as good a job next week as they did this week.

Last night I think there was some kind of a get together for people who are members of the crablogs web ring. I didn’t go because I’m lousy with social situations. Now, if they were going to meet at a concert or a movie theater on like they did with the artmob mail list then I would have come along.

The Crablogs get together was at some restaurant where I imagined they all sat around drank and swapped funny stories about working in the computer industry. I don’t drink and as far as talking goes I’m pretty laconic. Also my day job has nothing to do with programming computers. So even if I went I wouldn’t have much to do or say.

Yesterday, at work things were back to normal. The co-worker was back to saying, “Good Morning!” The general atmosphere was bright and cheery. The only unusual thing that happened at work was that Arnold wore a long sleeve shirt. As I’ve written before 99% of the time he wears a short sleeve button down cotton shirt. So whenever he wears a long sleeve shirt, I feel it’s blog worthy.

Today, I’m wearing an olive green t-shirt that I bought from Sears a couple of years ago. I got it because I liked the yellow-green flower design that’s emblazoned across the chest. This I believe is the only item of clothing I own that’s not from Walmart, K-Mart, or Value City. Along with the shirt, I’m wearing my black pants and black canvas Walmart tennis shoes.

This is one of the painting that I completed this month. It's an acrylic painting and it has no title just yet. Looking over it I may or may not decide to change the chair.

This morning there was what sounded like a cricket chirping rather loudly in the hallway of my apartment building. I first heard the chirping at around 5AM which is when I get up in the morning. When I first heard it I thought that maybe it was a security alarm or something like that going off. So I went downstairs to further investigate the chirping. When I made it downstairs to the front door of my building the chirping stopped. Then it started again when I went back upstairs to my apartment. I suppose those crafty little critters must be able to sense motion.

Yesterday, my dvd and soundtrack for Rushmore both arrived on the same day! I won them both on eBay a couple of weeks ago. So far it has been the only movie I’ve ever seen where after viewing it I wanted to immediately go out and buy the soundtrack. It had a nice bouncy faux 60’s sound that was irresistibly filled with piano, bells, and classical guitar sounds. The score was unique for a movie set in that era. There wasn’t any of that paint by numbers 60’s music in the movie. You know stuff like, Sugar Pie Honey Bunch’ Along the Watchtower or ‘Talking ‘Bout My Generation’ that seems to always show up in movies about that era. Former Devo front man Mark Mothersbaugh did an outstanding job scoring the movie!

An Odd Thing I’ve Noticed: Every time that Death Pool Dave or that guy from Stiffs.com comes on 98 Rock’s KML to talk about recent celebrity deaths Lopez takes the next few days off. Makes me wonder if it’s just coincidence or does having them on freak him out. As I’ve written before Lopez was recently diagnosed with cancer. The last day Lopez was live on air doing the news was Monday. Hmmmm, Monday, the last day the co-worker said ,”Good Morning!” Coincidence?

Today, I’m wearing a multi-colored print t-shirt. It has a diamond design that contains nearly every colour I use in my palette. The colours in the shirt are, purple (prism violet), blue(cerulean blue), pink(magenta), black(Payne’s Gray), and white(Titanium white). I’m wearing the shirt with stone washed jeans and tennis shoes.

The picture above is the watercolour painting I completed on Sunday. I used Prismacolor watercolour pencils. The subject matter is rare for me because I rarely do landscapes.

Today the bus and light rail were both on time. It looks like I’m going to be on time today! Hopefully, this trend will continue onto Friday.

Yesterday, the angry from chipper co worker was still acting out of character. Every morning she used to say, “Good morning!”, to everyone. She hasn’t cheerfully said, “Good morning!”, since Monday. It’s like the sunshine has gone away to be replaced by dark threatening storm clouds. I hope that what ever is wrong in her life is worked out.

On the art front: I’m surprised to find that I have completed nine paintings so far this month! It looks like August is stacking up to be a very productive month for me. I hope that I will be able to keep up the pace I’ve set.

Today, I’m wearing my rarely worn at work Today Show circular rainbow shirt. It’s paired with stone washed jeans and tennis shoes.

The bus and light rail were both on time this morning. This time the bus driver was the same one we had in the early part of last week.

Yesterday, I had a very productive painting day. I finished four paintings. Just so that no one is misled into thinking that I had a massive creative explosion, these were all paintings that I’ve been working on for some time. I rarely start and finish a painting in one day. I will be posting the paintings throughout the week.

Also on Sunday I finished up a watercolour painting. I admit watercolour is not my forte. Nevertheless, I’ll post that one as well.

Yesterday, at work I was surprised to find a co-worker who is normally chipper, mad as hell. It was really weird. She was slamming things around and cursing under her breath. I wonder if I did anything unbeknownst to me that upset her or if she was still mad at our supervisor over something he said earlier or if it was something entirely non work related.

I always feel uncomfortable when people are angry because I always feel it’s something I did but was unaware of....

The truth of the matter is that I don't feel any animosity towards anyone. For the most part I live in a bewildered, befuddled state, constantly trying to figure out how the world works. I'm too busy trying to navigate throught the NT world to purposely go out of my way to hurt someones feelings. Besides, I'm horrible at interpreting the motivations, feelings, reasonings of others. So when someone's upset I always find myself thinking, "Uh-oh, what did I do this time?"

Today, I’m wearing a purple shirt with lavender crochet trim around the neckline. With the shirt I’m wearing black pants and black canvas tennis shoes I bought from Walmart.

The bus was running late as can be so I took a cab. The cab driver I had this morning was an American. He kind of reminded me of my ex-boyfriend, Michael. I can’t think of a celebrity to compare Michael to so that you would know what the cab driver looked like. Anyway, the driver was friendly and jovial. I gave him a tip after I left the cab. He said, “Thank you young lady!” Young lady! It’s been ages since anyone’s called me that. It’s amusing to hear. Needless to say, I had a smile on my face when I left the cab.

In GJ Willis’ Art Notes web site news: I kind of like how my page counter used to always be stuck on 1500. I thought it was kind of cute in an avant garde kind of a way. You know no matter how many times you come by here it’s always 13 o’clock. I feel distressed that the number is now higher than 1500. Apparently the company that runs my displayed page counter was going through some kind of a company reconstruction or something. So for the past few months I suppose they weren’t bothering to keep track of the counters that are on web sites. Like I said it was fine by me when the page counter was stuck.

By the way the actual real life page hits is higher than the one displayed. I am so much of an insecure artist person that I have not one but two page counters on my site. One with a displayed count number the other is not displayed.

Hey, I can’t help it I have to know how many hits this site is really getting. And also I like to know what keywords people used to come here.

Which reminds me the most referenced entry on this blog has been my description of actor Eric Sheffer Stevens in a play I saw at Center Stage last year. I admit that I was laughing my head off when I wrote that one. So it’s nice to see that others found that entry funny as well.

The first blog site I found it on was CTR ALT DEL under the entry for November 13, 2003. The blog appears to have been abandoned since December 2003. The entry has appeared on other sites but they are updated more often than the example given.

Today, I’m wearing a lavender Coca Cola t-shirt I picked up from Value City a while ago along with jeans and sneakers.

Today, nothing particularly earth shattering happened. I just worked on my paintings. I finished up an oil pastel for wetcanvas' oil pastel forum.

I have to admit that I finished this one up rather quickly. I was done in about an hour. There are quiet a few things I'd like to change with this picture. The reason why I posted it in spite of it's short comings is because I needed to look at it outside the context of paper. Hopefully, by looking at it on a computer screen I can gain a greater insight on what needs to be changed.

As I write this I'm wearing a blue floor length sleeveless night gown.

Friday the 13th I spent over my father’s house. I went over there to pick up some books I ordered on eBay about zines.

As I’ve written before it’s been awhile since I’ve put one together. The last time I put together an old skool(Yeah, I meant to spell it that way) zine, it was the 80’s. So I imagine things must have advanced since then. I’m sure I could probably put one together on my computer. I think I have some kind of desktop publishing software that came with my Mac.

The books I bought from ebay were >Zine Scene by Francesca Lia Block and Hillary Carlip. I’m familiar with Block through her book Weetzie Bat and Carlip through her Girl Power book. Carlip’s book was featured on Oprah a while back. So I imagine you can consider Block and Carlip as two original Riot Grrrrls.

Two other books I have are >Jamming the Media and Webworks: e-zines: Explore On-Line Magazine Design. I hope that the addition of these two books helps to give me a more well rounded view of today’s modern zine.

As I write this I’m wearing a red t-shirt, jean shorts, and beige sandals.

The above picture is one of two I completed this week. It’s my attempt at a Sci-fi like theme. It’s 11x14 acrylic on bristol board. I haven't named it yet. All the work I’m doing now as I’ve probably written before will either be slated for eBay in the fall or a local art show.

Today, is Friday the 13th. Bwahahhahaha! Well, I've got that out of the way. Back to the usual format of this blog....

The bus and light rail were on time. However, we had the anal retentive bus driver again. I noticed that she had a knitted or crocheted Mickey & Minnie Mouse hanging from the fare box in a clear plastic bag. I don’t know if they were possibly gifts for her grandchildren or something left behind by a passenger?

It turns out yesterday that I did feel out it without my blankey ‘er walkman. Since the age of twelve I’ve always carried a walkman with me. Without it I feel naked. You see, “I just can’t live without my radio.”

On the art front: In total I have completed four new paintings this month. I’ll post them as soon as I scan them. Also, I’ve completed and sent out two mail art pieces. Sorry, I didn’t scan the mail art before I sent it out. The reason is that usually after you send out mail art the person/group you sent it to posts it to their web site.

Recently, I got another e-mail from Gary Kachadourian. School 33 is having a call for entries for an upcoming show they’re doing on Invisibility. I believe the show takes place during Black History month and the curator is an African American artist. Entries for the show have to be in by mid-September. I’m seriously debating about this one. I’ve never been part of a show at School 33. The one thing holding me back is that they want slides of your work. As I’ve written before I’m a very 21st century artist. The vast majority of examples of my work are in jpeg format. However, a while ago I recall hearing about an on line company that converts jpeg files into slides. I would like to use there service. That is if I can find the name of the company and whether or not they are any good.

As I write this I’m wearing a blue daisy waffle print short sleeve blouse. I got it from Walmart. Also I’m wearing jeans and tennis shoes. I’m sure you probably know where I bought my shoes from...

So far this week I completed two paintings. The above is one of the paintings. I’ll post the other one tomorrow. I’m not sure what I’ll call it. I’m leaning towards Golden Girl, or something like that. It’s acrylic, my paint of choice, on 11x14 bristol board.

Today, the bus was five minutes late. We had a different driver than we’ve had this week. This time it was a very anal retentive middle aged woman. She seemed to be on the verge of an angina attack if you crossed over the white line at the head of the bus.

Big news of the day is that I forgot my walkman. So I’m writing this without any musical stimulation. This will all be alleviated when I get to work. I always keep a spare, albeit, bargain basement, walkman in my desk drawer. I will probably feel a little discombobulated today but I’ll get over it....hopefully.

Bizarre unexplainable site: Yesterday, I saw Brian, my supervisor, lurking outside the building. The whole episode was weird. The reason for my unease is that I don’t usually see him outside when I leave for the day. Seeing him made me think that maybe I forgot something or did something wrong like forget to turn off my computer.

One evening last year I forgot to turn off my computer and was greeted the next morning by a post it note scrawled in large angry lettering, “TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER!” This was during a week when it seemed as though he was angry at me for everything. To this very day I have no idea what I did to set him off. All I know is that I hope that this isn’t the start of another period like that. I know I’m not perfect but during that period if it was raining outside he would blame me.

Today, I’m wearing a blue and white t-shirt with a nautical theme. It has red and gold accents on it. It’s part of a short set I own. Since we can’t wear shorts to work I’m wearing jeans and my trusty Payless tennis shoes.

Yesterday, I reached my breaking point. I couldn’t stop thinking about Joel. I had to know. So I finally did it. I signed up for the Gold Membership package at the ubiquitous classmates.com

It turned out that the photo was different from the ones on his web site. All I remember about the picture is that he had a playful coy expression on his face. He still looked great not quiet Brad Pitt but still cute as hell.

The most intriguing thing was that the answers to his relationship status were blank. He didn’t fill in if he was married, single, or in a committed relationship. Why, oh why did he leave that part of the survey blank? It was the only reason I signed up for membership! I wanted to say, “Oh, he’s married now. I’ll have to get over it.” This non answer business makes me just wonder even more. Then again it could be that the answer was unavailable. The only unavailable answers I can come up with is that possibly he’s a widower.

Anyway, I guess I’ll never know for sure if he’s married, straight, widowed, or gay. You know in a way by leaving that part blank it’s almost like he’s coyly saying, “Wouldn’t you like to know?...” One things for sure he looks great for a man in his early 40’s. Yeah, I know I should just “get over it”, but with a non answer on his survey it makes me wonder what the deal is. Maybe, that was the point to his non answer, to keep you guessing...

Today I’m wearing my short sleeved royal blue top, black pants, and again the black Payless shoes.

The bus and light rail were both on time today. Also, I noticed that I have a new bus driver. I don’t know if he’s filling in for my regular bus driver or if they’re doing the seasonal MTA driver switcharoo.

I’ve been getting an awful lot of e-mails from Classmates.com telling me that 8 new people from my school have added their names to the web site. So last night I broke down out of curiosity and took a look. I did see some familiar names listed but none worthy enough to make me break down and pay for the 15$ gold membership. Then I saw that Joel Tallman had added his name to the teachers list. Joel not only added his name but a photo! The only way to get to the picture was to pony up the cash. The question now would be are those new photo’s or recycled photos from his web site? Also how much of the questionnaire did he fill out? Let’s face it the only answer I really wanted to know was is there a Mrs. Tallman yet?

I think I’ve already wrote somewhere in this blog about Joel. Aha! It appears on my June 2, 2004 entry. I suppose you’ll have to scroll down to find it. After looking at that entry I’ll have to upgrade the celebrity he most resembles from Paul Walker to the highest props humanely possible Brad Pitt. I have yet to have seen another person in my lifetime who was eligible for Brad Pittdom other than Joel in the 80’s.

Anyway, I don’t have to pony up the cash! I could just go over to his web site to look at pictures of him! Heck, the photos on his site even include the always adorable, Baby Joel. No, it’s not a site he set up just for former students to fawn over him. It’s an educational site for his current international students.

Today I’m wearing a very Catholic School pair of cotton blue plaid pants and a white button down blouse with my black Payless shoes.

It’s a miracle! Today, the bus and light rail were both on time this morning! It was a smooth event less ride.

Since deciding yesterday to come up with a zine, all I have to do now is come up with a concept. Also I have to decide if the zines will be for sale or simply given away for free. If I should decide to charge for the zines I would have to share the profits for all the zines priced over $2 with the Baltimore Office of Promotions. I don’t know if I’d want to share the profits or just give them away. Then again I don’t expect my zine to be a million seller blockbuster. Decisions, decisions...

The zines I’ve made in the past were all free and were distributed among family members. Some people like to take it easy and relax during the summer months. I on the underhand enjoyed making fake magazines devoted to my favorite subjects.

I have something to confess...... I have never been to the Book Festival. I’ve walked by it numerous times on my way to Center Stage when I used to work there.

Today, I’m wearing a purple short sleeved v-neck top, jeans, and cheap Payless tennis shoes.

The above is an oil pastel painting I completed today. I did it in response to a challenge from the Wetcanvas oil pastel forum. We had to complete an oil pastel in under two hours time. The above is the result of what I can do in under two hours with oil pastels.

Right now, I’m thinking about whether or not I should submit something for the Baltimore Book Festival. You see about a week ago I got an e-mail from Gary Kachadourian, asking local artists if they would be interested in submitting something for the Book Festival.

I have not made a zine in ages. I don’t currently have any laying around the house. So I’m thinking whether or not I should come up with one for the Book Festival? I'm currently working on a play for the Baltimore Playwriter's festival as well as one for Harford Community College. I'm also trying to finish work to submit to a local art show as well a for eBay. If I did the zine I would have up until early September to finish it. Also if I did the zine would I be in danger of becoming the Max Fischer of Baltimore?

Who’s Max Fischer you ask? Max Fischer is the lead character in one of my all time favorite coming of age movies, Rushmore. In my book it ranks right up there with The Graduate. One thing I have to say is that I admired Max’s chutzpah and undying ambition.

You know right now I’m thinking, what the heck! What have I got to loose? I’m just a tiny, nameless, faceless, cog in the wheel called Baltimore. I’m at a wonderful juncture in my life. I have no reputation and nothing to loose. So what the hell! I’m doing it baby!

Right now, as I write this, I’m wearing a blue bathrobe with fuzzy pink slippers.

I was again researching my disorder today. I find myself doing this a lot on Saturday’s. Anyway, I’m absolutely floored to find out that Steven Spielberg has Asperger’s Syndrome. This is someone I’ve admired for a long time. I worship at the film making alter of Steven Spielberg. I’ve seen nearly all of his movies. He is my all time favorite movie director and to think we share something in common.

Just in case you’re keeping score, Steven Spielberg is the only famous person to my knowledge who is 100% out about having Asperger’s Syndrome. Other famous people alleged to have the disorder are Bill Gates, Andy Warhol, Keanu Reeves, Andy Kaufman, and Glenn Gould.

Right now I feel like I’m playing a version of whose gay or whose a Jew, in this case it’s whose the Aspie. Also through my searches I found a much better definition of Asperger’s Syndrome on the Wikipedia web site.

Today I’m wearing a pink short sleeved print top and a cotton blue skirt. I would never in a million years wear this ensemble to work.

The above picture is of a car I encountered in my father’s neighborhood a couple of months ago. It accurately depicts how I’ve been feeling the last few days.

Today, was one of my worst MTA nightmares realized. This mornings light rail train kept breaking down and stopping. The situation was so bad that we had to switch trains at the North Avenue stop. To further exasperate things there was a wheelchair bound woman on the train. This meant that the light rail driver would have to help her off and onto the new train. I hate when that happens. It means only one thing, I’m going to be excrutiatingly late this morning! As it turns out I was fifteen minutes late. I HATE THIS!!

I also hate going to the Hunt Valley Walmart in the afternoon. I have to go there this afternoon because the batteries to my trusty Alphasmart are finally running down. In case you don’t know the Alphasmart is the device that I carry around with me daily. I write this blog as well as other things with it. I like it because it’s light weight and operates on 3 AA batteries that can be purchased anywhere.

Anyway, the reason why I’m not too crazy about going there is because the woman that works at the Customer Service Counter is always slow as molasses. The reason why I have to go to the Customer Service Counter every time I go there is simple. Walmart, has a policy where all back packs have to be checked at the counter. I always carry a backpack because I have to have a place to put my Alphasmart and digital camera in. Hey, I’ll be damned if I’m going to walk around with them in my hands.

Anyway, back to my gripe. I don’t understand why she is always the ONLY ONE working at that counter in the afternoon. Don’t they have other people capable of working there along with her?

Interesting bit of trivia: I get on the light rail train with her every morning. The celebrity she most resembles is Barbra Barrie.

Trivia about me: Today I’m wearing black pants, a white t shirt, and black Payless shoes.

Today, the bus was on time. However, the light rail was ten minutes late. I hope that the train’s lateness doesn’t make me late. My stomach is growling and I can’t wait to get to work so that I can eat my breakfast.

Yesterday, I almost had several panic attacks. The bus on the way home was getting crowded. The more crowded the bus got the more panicked I became. So I decided to get off the bus and take the light rail downtown. Before I knew it the Timonuim light rail stop became crowded with people heading to the Orioles game. THE ORIOLES GAME! I had no idea that they played on Wednesdays!

It was like a situation that would not let me go. I left a crowded bus for a possibly crowded train! To calm myself down I tried in vain to read a book. The activity was useless. My mind kept wandering back to the crowd. Counting each person, wondering if there would be enough room.

I don’t understand how this could have happened! Yesterday, at the same time the bus wasn’t the slightest bit crowded. One thing I’ve noticed about the #8 line is that they come when they damn well feel like it.

Yesterday’s, Interesting Site: I saw a man wearing a t-shirt with Bush and Cheney on it under the headline, Dumb and Dumber. I wanted to ask him where he got it but I thought the better of it. What if he started yelling at me or something? One thing’s for sure I have to get my hands on that t-shirt!

Today, I’m wearing a royal blue short sleeved top with black pants and Payless black shoes.

Last night I got a good night’s sleep. The temperature was just right in my apartment. So there was no tossing and turning going on.

Yesterday, I got the cd replacement for my Violent Femmes cassette, Add It Up (1981-1993). The cd sounds great!

Next I would like to get the special reissue of there debut cd. It’s a 2 cd set that contains the original version as well as demo and live versions of there songs. Right now, I’m currently bidding on the Violent Femmes compilation cd Debacle: the First Decade on eBay. An interesting thing about this cd is that it was never released in the States. The main reason I want this cd is because it contains Children of the Revolution and Nightmares.

My fascination with the music of the late Harry Nilsson continues. On eBay I’m bidding on Nilsson’s, Son of Schmilsson. I suppose in a couple of weeks I’ll be bidding on more Nilsson cd’s.

In unusual news: I got an e-mail from TeAnne from Wetcanvas. Apparently, she googled her name and found the entry in my blog where I mentioned wanting to beat her 70% completion rate of projects at Wetcanvas. I never thought that anyone I wrote about in my blog would ever e-mail me about what I wrote about them. Besides, I made that entry ages ago and had long since forgotten about it.

It turns out that the e-mail I received from her was jovial and good natured. She wrote that she had given up trying to complete all the projects on Wetcanvas. This is a shame because she was like the Tiger Woods of Wetcanvas. Since originally writing the entry I have to admit that I have long since given up trying to match TeAnne’s record. But come to think of it with TeAnne out of the running...... Well, as they say, dare to dream!

PERSONAL USELESS INFORMATION Today I’m wearing a pink stripped shirt, jeans, and old worn out Payless tennis shoes. My favorite song of the week is the Sterophonics, soon to be classic, Movie Star. To the best of my knowledge this song only exists as an import single. I can’t wait for them to cobble together enough songs to make a full cd for US release.

Last night I could barely fall asleep. It was very hot in my apartment. I had two fans on. So I got up at 4:30 instead of my usual 5:05. I was curious to find out how hot it was. I got up and checked the weather on Yahoo. They said it was 72'. When I got outside it was extremely hot outside despite the temperature reading of 72’ from Yahoo’s website. There wasn’t a breeze in sight when I went outside. No wonder it was so hot for 72’. Temperatures that low are usually accompanied by breezes.

I just heard on the radio that it’s 82’ on WTMD. Now it’s 74’ according to 98 Rock. Hmmmm, maybe I can’t trust the accuracy of the weather on Yahoo or the radio. However, I do feel that the WTMD's reading is closer to the truth. All in all it feels unnaturally hot for 6am in the morning.

THREE RANDOM THOUGHTS

I recently found out that 30 people showed up for the art mobile’s 6th Annual get together. I had no idea that there were that many people there.

Since seeing Rev Paul, who is the doppelganger of my former chemistry teacher, Mr. Flodstrum, it makes me wonder if I had a doppelganger what would she be like? Does she look and sound just like me? Is her life better than mine?

After seeing Fahrenheit 9/11 I’m feeling cynical about the new terror warnings. I feel tt’s all just an attempt to keep Americans scared and Bush in office. They are so transparent. The information they are working on is over two years old. Come on! I suppose they leaked the information because Bush was taking a dip in the polls. However, If something does happen, which is doubtful, I stand corrected.

The above photo is of a painting that was in the Hall of Portraits at Artscape. I don't know the artist's name or the title of the painting. All I know is that I admired it enough to take a picture of it.

Today, I have a scheduled day off. I’m taking the day off because it’s, Lammas. I always take off work every first day of Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring. I also take off for Imbolc which is February 2nd and of course Lammas which is August 2nd. Why do I take these days off? I do it because it’s the pagan thing to do.

Even though I follow an earth centered religion, Wicca, I’m pretty much a borderline Unitarian. I hear they have a very liberal congregation and set of beliefs. Besides how many churches do you know of that have a pagan branch.Also, noted Wiccan and NPR correspondent, Margot Adler attends there services in New York. The one thing preventing me from attending on a regular basis is that Sunday is my sleep day. Also the local First Unitarian Church of Baltimore’s web site is hard to navigate.

Yesterday, my nephew called. He needs money for school. I think probably he’s asked everyone in the family to donate to his favorite charity, him. I can’t fault the kid. This year he’ll be starting high school.

The above is a picture of my Dana doll painting that was up in the Pinkard Gallery during Artscape. It has a little bit of a glare on it.

It was based on a doll I own called, Dana. The doll was part of the Kenner, Darci World of Fashion, line of the early 80’s. Yes, I’ve owned the doll for that long. I even still have some Fisher Price toys I used to play with as a preschooler. Anyway, the doll is pictured above.

Today, I had to pick up my work from the Pinkard Gallery in the Bunting Center of Maryland Institute College of Art. The above is a picture of the Bunting Center taken on the actual day I first dropped off my work.

To pick up my work I had to be there anywhere from 10:00am to 4:00pm. I wanted to get there early because I had a coupon from the Plaza art store that I wanted to use. It’s a coupon where you get 30% off of purchases. The coupon expires on August 9th. So, today was a perfect day to take advantage of it.

It was cloudy outside when I left out. By the time I got to the light rail station it was raining cats and dogs. When I got to the Bunting Center there was already a girl inside who I assume had picked up her work. She was talking to the guy inside. I believe it was the guy who was there when I originally dropped off my work. He was a standard issue generic art guy. You know dressed in black from head to toe with dark rimmed glasses.

I walked up to him not quiet sure what the procedure would be. All the paintings were still on the wall. I wasn’t sure if I should just take my painting down and leave or if he had to check something off first before I could take it. He told me I could just take my painting down. So I went over to my painting and took it down. A thought occured to me. I could have taken someone else’s painting instead of my own. It wasn’t like he was actually checking who I was. He never asked my name or anything.

I could have had a Barbara Treasure watercolour!! I really like the colour scheme she had going in her painting. Then again my tastes tend to go in the direction of blues and purples.

However, I don’t think I could have gotten away with the Stephen Parlato. He did this massive kick ass collage of Jesus that consisted of guns. I don't think he would of believed that I was Stephen Parlato. Then again he wasn't actually checking names.....

In the end I took my own painting. Damn, why do I have to be so honest. I could have had a Barbara Treasure or that kick ass Stephen Parlato collage.

When I got over to Plaza Arts it was around 11:15 and still raining outside but not as hard as it was earlier. I wasn’t quiet sure if the store was closed because the store looked dark from the outside. As I approached it I noticed a sign on the door that said it would be open at 11:00 on Sunday. I also noticed a sign on the door that said to check all bags at the door. I had my painting in a big yellow plastic bag. I went to check it at the counter. The woman at the counter looked bewildered. Then I told her that I was checking it at the door because of the sign I read on the door.

I then explored the art store. I wanted to stock up on paint. I rarely ever go to the art store when I’m out of paint. I rarely have to because I’m always stocking up. I buy paint about two to three times a year. I always buy around Christmas time. Usually from a catalog. I also get a lot of gift certificates from Plaza arts around Christmas time. This helps out a lot in replenishing my art supply.

When I was ready to buy my paint I noticed that despite wearing the generic art uniform of black the woman at the counter was anything but generic. She actually beamed when I handed her my Plaza arts coupon. Usually, there kind of expressionless and surly looking. She had short curly red hair and wore a black Plaza Arts shirts. I was so shocked by her friendliness that I forgot to pick up my bag that had my painting it. So after leaving the store I had to rush back in and get my painting.

When I finally got out of the store it wasn’t raining anymore. However, the bus was crowded. When I got down to Fayette Street there was still a lot of people from Otakon milling around with suitcases and things they bought. Maybe, next year I’ll actually make an effort to go. Then again maybe not......