kneelingman, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

This is a painting I'm working on. I have to fix the chin a bit... I think I may have to change the lavender colour I used for the shading to something a bit more darker.

Today, I yet again went to my favourite Baltimore Unitarian church. I wonder how long I can keep up being a regular church goer? Any way after church I walked up to The Charles and saw Ladies in Lavender. I figure seeing it would be a nice sweet little Sunday diversion. I’ll leave a quick review for it tomorrow.

QUICK MOVIE REVIEW:

MUST LOVE DOGS
The movie I saw yesterday was Must Love Dogs. As I’ve written before a million times I absolutely love John Cusack and his movies. Cusack was great as usual in this flick. However, the film itself wasn’t all that great. The movie was average. It wasn’t as funny as Wedding Crashers of which I must stress RUN DON’T WALK TO SEE WEDDING CRASHERS!!!

Anyway the one reason I saw the movie was the usual reason, John Cusack! I know, I know, I basically stated that in the previous paragraph. But hey I’m a Cusack fan what more can I say? One thing as a Cusack fan I hate to admit is that the man is starting to look a hagered looking.

Anyway, while watching the film I couldn’t spot any of his cronies. Cusack has this habit of putting his friends and relatives in his movies as extras.

Since Cusack didn’t get caught in the rain or snow in this movie it wasn’t all that great. In my opinion the only memorable roles he’s played are roles where his character gets caught in the rain or snow. That’s right I like Cusack when he’s wet! Gee, that sounded kind of...oh well....

The movie is only worth buying if you’re a die hard Cusack fan. So yes despite the fact that I found the film to be average I will probably be buying it in a couple of months to go with the rest of my John Cusack movies. My final analysis for regular citizens who don’t have a thing for Cusack is to wait till it comes out on cable. WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on black shorts and an olive green short sleeve blouse.

This Saturday I really wanted to head down to the Creative Alliance so that I could get some shots of The Big Show. The Big Show is the Creative Alliance’s annual members’ only show. I contributed a painting this year. Oddly enough, the painting I contributed sold. The reason why I really wanted to go today because today is the last day the show will be up.

As you can recall I never went to the opening of the show. It is my custom to skip opening nights. In fact the only time I saw the show was during the critique this Tuesday.

In the end I had to nix my plans of photographing the show because the #10 bus was extremely late in arriving. If I had taken it the maximum amount of time I could have spent photographing the exhibit would have been about 5-10 minutes. Not to mention the fact that the street in front of the gallery would be blocked off for the annual family day at the gallery which includes sidewalk chalk drawing. So thus there was no way of telling how long a trek it would have been to the gallery. Oh well, at least I know it made me and the gallery a little money....

In the end I decided to go to the movies to see the new John Cusack movie.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a short sleeve turqouise Minnie and Mickie Mouse t-shirt along with black shorts.

Nothing very interesting happened today other than we had a surprise morning get together at work for the new guy we recently hired birthday. The only problem I had with this is that it was way too early in the morning for cake. I swear it wasn’t even 10pm yet.

QUICK MOVIE REVIEW

THE ISLAND
Yesterday, I saw The Island at Towson Commons.
It wasn’t the greatest movie that mankind has ever created. It was an ok movie. I did not feel that I wasted an hour and a half of my life.

I have to admit that I found it difficult to feel empathy towards the clones that the movie was about. However, the action scenes in the movie were great. Steve Buschemi was great in the movie playing a low level worker who befriends the clones.

Ewan McGregor was great in a dual role as clone and the man who the clone originated from. I thought it was interesting that he played the clone with an American accent while the man the clone was based on had a Scotish accent. Overall, I’d say wait till it comes out on cable.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a bright white short sleeve blouse along with a crinkle brown printed skirt....

Yesterday, I was going to see a movie at the Creative Alliance to escape the heat. I decided against it because the movie starts at 8pm which means I would be standing around waiting for a bus at 10pm at night.

So I decided to see a movie at Towson Commons. This summer Towson Commons has become my home away from home. I’ve been there so many times that I’ve memorized the names of the staff. The movie I saw started at 7:00pm. I made it down to theater at 5:15pm. So thus I had time to use up before the movie started.

I wanted to cross the street and go over to Barnes and Nobles but I felt afraid because there was a long line forming in front of the Rechter Theater. The Rechter does not show movies. It’s a concert venue.

I don’t know why but I feel afraid of passing crowds. I know it’s illogical to feel that they all might decide to make fun of me as I passed by or physically attack me. To be safe I decided to stay on the side of the street I was on.

I decided to go back to Towson Commons were I noticed that they also had an art gallery inside. I went in. The woman who was a sitter at the gallery told me that all the work in the show was comprised of graduates of Towson University’s class of 1973. She also told me that she had contributed a piece to the show. Sadly, she never identified the piece that she was responsible for. Also I must say she looked very well preserved for her age. If she hadn’t told me that she contributed a piece to the show I would have thought her to be around my age.

Feeling inspired by all the art I saw I walked up the street to the Plaza Arts, art store. While there I browsed around and finally decided to purchase a black scratch board and scratch board tools. I have always wanted to give scratch board a try. Finally, I can give scratch board a chance!!!

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a cream coloured short sleeve blouse and a black skirt with a cream coloured circle design throughout.

happywaiting, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

This evening I went to my first ever art critique. The critique was held at the Creative Alliance as part of there members only, Big Show exhibit. I admit that my main motivation was not to get my work critiqued but to get out of the unbearable heat that has gripped our fair city.

I made it over to the Creative Alliance a little before the 7 o?clock start time. Just as I walked over to the exhibition area Jed Dodds was either talking to me or the elderly gentleman who stood by me. It was kind of hard to tell whom he was addressing. Overall, I was absolutely amazed that upon seeing me he did not say in a curt manner, ?Who are you? What do you want??, then make moves to call the cops. He was actually personable. I mention this because it seems as though the majority of times that I have run into Dodds he has been downright hostile towards me. I?m not sure if it?s racially motivated or if there was something else going on. Perhaps on the previous occasions I ran across him he was just having a bad day. So now ladies and gentlemen that makes three times this year that I?ve run into Dodds and he?s been pleasant twice. So perhaps as Meatloaf once sang, ?....two out of three ain?t bad??

As the critique started Dodds explained that the entire exhibit was hung by him and a few other folks. He said that last year?s exhibit had an all time high participation of 200 artists. However, with this year?s show the number went down to 175 artists out of 1,000 members.

The work was arranged chronologically according to when we joined up as members. There was an outer wall and an inner wall. The work on the outer wall consisted of members who recently joined. The work on the inner wall consisted of long time members. The most popular form of work this year was photography.

Three people not including me were there when the critique began. The three people were all senior citizens.

At the critique was Skip. He was an older gentleman who wore glasses and carried a cane. He had on a tan Indian like print shirt. Then there was Carol. Carol was an older lady who wore her grey hair in a ponytail. She also had on a seersucker long sleeve top with a jade necklace. Next we have George. George wore a baseball cap along with a rainbow coloured vertically striped shirt. Pretty soon at around 7:10 the number of three went up to four when a young twenty-something lady came in the door. I didn?t quite catch her name. So thus she remains the nameless woman.

The first piece we looked at first was Skip?s. Skip contributed a black and white photograph of sand to the show. The photo had a highly textured feel to it. It looked more like waves in an ocean than sand. It was taken while he was vacationing in New Mexico. I?m not sure but I think Carol might have been his wife. They both seemed to have a close familiarity with each other. Anyway, the main opinion of the group was that Skip should change the mat from grey to white. The reason for this was that the photograph itself had a grey tone to it coupled with the grey mat. This gave it a very monochromatic look. Carol however, felt that it would have looked better with a darker charcoal grey mat.

Next we walked over to the nameless woman?s piece. I learned that she was originally from Massachusetts but is going to school in Maryland. Her contribution to the Big Show was a black and white photograph of a woman with a people in the background. To my eyes the woman in the photograph had very odd eyes. The picture looked very mysterious. The woman explained that it was part of a series she was working on. Apparently, all the people in the photograph are her friends. No one had any real critiques to make about the photograph. Carol said that the photo looked very narrative. Dodds said that it looked like a scene from a play.

For a short while we looked around at other pieces. The group became enamored of Sally Mercle?s very lovingly detailed teeny theatre. I kind of sort know Sally through the Art-Mob mail list. Also she has a blog.

Then next we moved into the inner wall to critique George?s painting. George said that he paints what people might like to see. I liked his attitude. He was like an elderly baseball capped, every-man who just happened to like to paint. His painting was a large oil on canvas of a female face. It had an almost yin-yang feel to it. The overall scheme in the work was red, black, and white. It had a nice linear feel to it. The eyes were done in a realistic manner. This gave it the feel of eyes looking through a mask. One side of the face/mask was black, while the other was white. He said that he was inspired by wanting to paint eyes. He wanted to paint them huge. He also said it was part of a series of four to five paintings. To my eyes the piece had a Picasso like feel to it.

Finally, we walked over to Carol?s piece. Carol said that she was an art teacher at a senior center. She also said that she was developing cataracts. Her painting was a very kinetic looking abstract. The painting was done in pastel coloured scheme. The only critique that came up was the possibility of adding borders to the painting. Then the nameless woman upon critiquing Carol?s painting said that, ?... trying to put borders on the painting would be like trying to put a lid on a trash can.? I do not understand why she had to be so cruel. Carol is an elderly woman who is going blind with cataracts!!! What she said right then and there made me not like her very much. She came off as being a very arrogant, condescending, bitch. I hope never to come across that nameless woman again!

I never did get a critique done on my painting as I did not know where it was located at in the gallery also I was frightened. Everyone there had little stories to tell as they showed there work. I was afraid that I would break down and start to stutter uncontrollably if I said anything. Thus, throughout the evening I stayed my typical quiet autistic self. Also I have to admit that I think I might have openly cried over whatever cruel remark the nameless woman dished out about my work. She seemed to have some sort of weird obsession with borders and mats. It seemed like every painting she looked at she mentioned the mat.

Just to let you all know, I did not find my painting until the critique was well over. It was located on the inner wall. I recall getting an email from Dodds saying that the painting had sold or that someone was interested in buying it. I wasn?t quite sure how to respond to the email, thus I never did write back. I was surprised to find that it did in fact have a red dot under it indicating that it had in fact been sold. I hope that the buyer does not change his or her mind.

Now, I wish I had found it sooner so that I could see what the nameless woman would have to say about it. You see her photograph did not sell. In fact my piece was the only work amongst those that came to the critique that night that sold.

WHAT I?M WEARING:
Today, I have on purple plaid mini skirt and purple v-neck short sleeve blouse along with black slides.

MORNING COMMUTE:
This morning it was very rainy outside. I suppose the reason for this is that there is a warm front on the way. The heat wave that has crippled the other side of the country is moving to our region. Thus when you have a cold front hitting a warm front you get rain. Gee, I wonder if I’ve been following local TV weather too closely?

At 5:27 I got on the #1 bus. The bus’ serial number was #9524. The air conditioner was on. However, it wasn’t too cold.

At 5:37 I got on the North Avenue light rail train. The number on the train was #5036. I was the only person besides the driver aboard.

At 5:55 the B shuttle bus arrived. The number on the shuttle bus was #8912. The ceiling over my seat began to leak when we made turns on the highway. Earlier in the ride when we were on the city streets there was no indication that I was sitting under a leaky ceiling.

QUICK REVIEWS:

SHAGGY at ARTSCAPE
Yesterday, I saw reggae artist, Shaggy at Artscape. I know that I haven’t written this before but a lion share of songs on my iPod are songs by Shaggy. So I had to see the man, the myth, the legend, Shaggy live and in person. I was simply mesmerized by his performance. I was dancing and singing throughout the entire show. Shaggy loved the audience and they loved him back.

I also found it interesting that he does not talk the way he does in real life on his songs. He sounds like a regular person when he’s talking in between songs.

My two favourite performances this year at Artscape are Shaggy and Morris Day and the Time

HUSTLE AND FLOW
I saw this movie yesterday after I left Artscape for a brief point to later arrive to see Shaggy. I saw it at the Charles. There was a ticket taker there wearing what appeared to be a Napolean Dynamite wig. Seeing him frightened him. I think I dropped my ticket in fear when he reached out to tear it. Somehow I made it into the theater to see the show show.

Overall, the movie was brilliant. It’s about this small time pimp who dreams of becoming a rap star. The star of the movie Terrence Howard really made me feel for the seemingly unlikable character of DJay. Despite his character’s obvious flaws you end rooting for a pimp to make good. Also rap artist, Ludicrous appears in the movie as you guessed it, a rapper. Music legend Issac Hayes is also in the movie as a bar owner. All in all this was a very good movie I’d highly recommend it.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on denim capri pants and a watercolour-esq turquiose short sleeve blouse.

After I left from church I walked over to Artscape. A dance troupe was about to start up the day at 12:00. And who should I see sitting on the grass reading a book on the hill by the Sun stage? That cute Amer-Asian, Latino, Fillapino, beautiful foreigner guy that always wears black. He was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. I wonder what book he was reading? He left immediately after the dancing ended.

I’m proud to say that this year I ran into absolutely no one I know personally by name or used to know.

However, I did see local semi-celebrities. I saw Megan Hamilton from the Creative Alliance at the Jah Works/Shaggy concert. I don’t know her personally but I know her when I see her. She left just as Shaggy was about to take the stage. I guess the huge crowds that were beginning to fill in either got to her or she wasn’t that into Shaggy. I also saw a woman who looked like State’s Attorney Pat Jessamy watching the African drummers in front of the MICA book store. She seemed to be very into it.

Well, that’s all for now...

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a yellow short sleeve top that has a pattern of blue flowers on it. I also have on blue shorts to match the top.

morrisday, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

This a picture I took during Morris Day's set. The fuzzy man to the right in the blue suit is Morris Day. The woman whose back of the head you can see is the one who almost came too blows with a pushy teenage girl during the end of the Boys II Men concert.

I did nothing today. I was laying low trying to recover from last night. All day my ears were ringing and I heard a slight feedback sound whenever I talked. The last time this happened was when I went to see U2 a couple of years ago. I guess they must have had the sound up way too loud last night.

QUICK REVIEW:

MORRIS DAY AND THE TIME
They were simply outstanding! Jerome really worked the audience. Morris Day looked the same. One would have thought that every night he wraps himself in saran wrap. The man is ageless and timeless. I took a photo of them when they were onstage. The funniest unintentional thing I saw was when Morris Day took off this white coat he had around his shoulders for the Gigolo’s Get Lonely Too set. The funny thing was that his back side was drenched in sweat. One of the up front regulars said, “Damn! Even his butt is sweating!” Morris Day and Jerome still have it! I suppose this is the closest I will ever come to meeting his purpleness, Prince.

BOYS II MEN
They were ok. I noticed that they were short a member. I’m not entirely sure if they were lip sinking. I think I might be prejudiced in thinking they were lip sinking because they did not have a live band backing them up. They also were wearing these mikes and were able to control sound levels with these small boxes that they had attached to their pants. I know that they are talented and all that but still I’m not 100% sure if it was live or Memorex.

Also a fight almost broke out at the end of the Boys II Men concert between this very pushy teenage girl and this older woman. The older woman was one of the early chair cult regulars. The near fight was caused because the girl almost knocked the woman out of her chair. The girl also almost pushed me out of my chair as well. In the end only words were exchanged.

artscapechairs, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

This is a picture I took of the chairs and people who were out at 4:00pm at Artscape's Sun stage. My chair was at the very far end behind the woman with the umbrella. The man you see in the background with the white t-shirt is the one that comes every year with the two little girls. Unfortunately, the umbrella was so big that it blocked the chair in this picture.

DAILY COMMUTE:
This morning I began my day by catching the #20 bus. The female driver had a flip hairdo. The bus whose number was #9431 was air conditioned.

Next at 5:07am I got on the #8 bus marked Loveton. The bus whose number was #9926 was air conditioned.

Like the majority of buses now days it announced warnings to passengers to be aware of suspicious packages. This announcement reminds of the ones that you hear throughout airports. The warnings first went off at 6:02am in front of Towson University.

With hearing all these warnings every day on a daily basis is it no that I’ve been feeling skittish lately about my safety. All in all I feel good about the measures I have taken. I know that there is nothing I can do to prevent a terrorist bombing on a bus that I’m on. However, I can prevent my apartment from being broken in when I’m away. Next I have to prevent myself from becoming a mugging victim. The best way I think to prevent this would be to learn martial arts....

ON THE WAY TO ARTSCAPE.....

For some unexplained reason my job allowed us to wear shorts this Friday. We were’nt doing anything special like a cookout or an ice cream social. It was very weird and out of the blue. I didn’t wear shorts to work because I found the whole thing bizarre. I mean why allow us to wear shorts if we aren’t going to be doing anything special. Was it all just, “Baby, show us your sexy legs day!” ?

Anyway, in anticipation of the start up of Artscape today I unintentionally got up an hour earlier than usual. I ended up getting into work at 6:10am. The reason this happened is that almost all the clocks in my apartment are set an hour or so ahead of time. So thus, I left out the house with my turqouise blue foldable chair at four in the morning. I guess you could say I was really excited about seeing Boys II Men and Morris Day.

If I have’nt already said it before I like going to Artscape on the very first day it opens. I like to take my chair with me to work then plant it outside in front of the stage so that I can be in the front row. It’s almost like a yearly ritual.

As luck would have it I ended up leaving out from work later than usual. At the very last minute extra work was piled on me.

Anyway, while waiting for the shuttle bus to take me downtown to Artscape I became afraid to get on the bus. The reason was that I saw an older man wearing a turban get on it. I know that statistically speaking a terrorist would most likely be young not old. However, the fact that he was wearing a turban and seemed to be talking rather cryptically on his cell phone frightened me. It made me wonder who is talking to? Was he planning to do something?

Also I noticed that an elderly also held back from getting on that bus. We both waited and got on the next shuttle bus that came. Again, I feel really horrible for feeling this way. I never used to be afraid of Middle Easterners....

When I finally got to Artscape it was 3:53pm. As I put down my seat in the small line of chairs that made up the first row I noticed a lot of familiar faces. I saw the man last year who came with these two girls who looked eerily like younger versions of my nieces. I also saw the big mamma’s boy looking man who seems to come with his mother. I suppose we form a pseudo cult of sorts. The cult of people who set out chairs for Artscape at an insanely early hour. The big shows of the day traditionally start at 7:00. I wonder if I’ll see them again next year? Also I wonder if I’ll ever beat them and be the very first person to put out a chair next year?

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a denim jumper and a striped shirt underneath.

redtieman, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

This is another painting I'm working on. I'm not entirely happy with the shading on one of the hands. Also I'd like to work on the tie a little more. It looks a little flat. I suppose I could add both a little more shading and perhaps highlights.

My security alarm unexpectantly went off this morning. I think it may have done this because the remote may have accidently been pushed when the handbag I keep it in fell down. I paid the fallen handbag no heed as I gathered together trash bags for trash day. The alarm went off at around 5:15, the time I like to leave out the building.

After feeling jittery with the alarm unexpectantly going off I disarmed it then re-armed it when I left the building. I looked back at the building to see if the strange man was messing about. He was no where to be seen. Then as I looked back at the building as I noticed that the third floor light was on. I decided not to go back to the apartment to see if the alarm had gone off again. For all I know the upstairs neighbors probably always turn on their lights at the hour.

MORNING COMMUTE:
At 6:23 I caught the #1 bus. The number on the bus was #9433. I t was not air conditioned

At 5:39 I got on the light rail train. There were five passengers aboard. The number on the car I was on was #5029

At 6:50 the C shuttle bus arrived. It was being driven by the man who looks like a pudgy version of Grady from Sanford and Son. It was air conditioned and it’s number was #8816.

Going home I took the #8 bus. The number on the inside of the bus was #04026. It was one of those German buses that I hate. It was airconditioned which is great in this weather.

Next transferred to the C shuttle bus. I got on the bus at 5:33pm. The bus was air conditioned, tey some of the windows were open. The number on the inside of the bus was #7045.

Finally I made it downtown to the light rail. I noticed that there was a cop stationed at the stop. I got on the train at 6:11pm. The number on the inside of the car was #5045.CONCERN OF THE DAY: Josh Spiegel
Yesterdays, OTL show was riveting radio. Newsman, Josh Spiegel threatened to quit if they played a recorded conversation he had with Chad and Oscar during a commercial break. I don’t see why he went all psycho over it. All it did was reiterate that he did not like them to go into his personal life on the show and that he did not want them to hire a private investigator to find out what he does after work. Even I could tell that they were doing a bit and were not serious about following through on hiring an investigator. How come he couldn’t tell that they were just....joshing him?

The fact that he went nuts over this makes me wonder even more what he does when he’s off work. Is he a Russian spy? Does he keep women chained to the walls of his basement? Is he a part of an elite alien race waiting to take over mother Earth? Maybe he’s running a brothel?

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a dark blue company polo shirt and stone washed capri pants.

DAILY COMMUTE:

This morning I got on the #2 bus. The serial number on the bus was #9953. It again was a NABI and it was air conditioned!

At about 5:43 the light rail train arrived. I got on the very first car as usual. The car was marked #5046. There were just four people aboard not counting me. Also the woman I like to call the make up monster was aboard. I like to call her this because she wears lot and lots of makeup and is always applying it to herself while on the train.

At 5:51 the C light rail shuttle bus arrived. The serial number on the bus was #8816. The one thing I noticed was that there was a clear plastic bag over the fare box. Apparently, the fare box was broken. So our regular bus driver who looks like a pudgy version of Grady from Sanford and Son just waved us all onboard. While on board I noticed the bus was comfortably air conditioned. Another interesting thing I noticed was that the bus made this high pitched screech sound when it hit the highway.

On the way home I got on a B Shuttle bus. It was air conditioned and it was being driven by this Muslim woman who wore a blue head scarf. I feel horrible for writing this but I didn’t feel afraid to get on her bus because she was an African American Muslim. If she were a Muslim from the Middle East I would have felt a bit more apprehensive. I hate feeling this way..

I suppose it’s the current world situation that makes me feel a bit apprehensive towards people who look as though they might hail from the Middle East.

The light rail train I took home at 6:55PM, was marked Cromwell. The car I got on was #5015.

WORK NEWS:
On the up side, we got risers for our cubicle!!! We are sitting at Fisher Price desks no more! So I have no idea what my co-workers are doing in there cubicles. Everything is back to normal. I felt uncomfortable when we didn’t have the risers because it made me acutely aware of some of my co-workers odd habits.

On the bad side they recently painted the corridors to our building. Instead of the light nondescript tan/beige colour they are now an oppressive dark grey and nondescript tan/beige colour.

The new colour scheme reminds me of a prison. I wish that they would have kept the nondescript beige/tan colour or maybe have used the nice bright blue colour of our company logo. I suppose there must have been a discount on prison grey paint....

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on the dark blue jumper dress that has an orange cross design on it. Underneath the jumper I have on a yellow ochre top.

MORNING COMMUTE:

I thought it would be interesting to see if I could do a more detailed morning commute run down. So here goes:

This morning I got on the #2 bus. It was made by my all time favorite bus manufacturers, NABI. The serial number on the bus was #0062. The bus was driven by a pleasant grey haired lady who had a young face. Young in the sense that she wasn’t very wrinkled. I guess she’s one of those people who has premature grey hair.

Next I got on a Northbound light rail train marked North Avenue. The car I got on was marked #5006. There were just three other passengers aboard train.

My regular light rail shuttle bus was late. So I had to take the B Shuttle bus instead. The B Shuttle was #7006. Not all the windows would open up and there was no air conditioning. I got on the shuttle bus at 6:03. I usually get on my regular shuttle bus at 5:50.

Since I took the B Shuttle bus I had to transfer to another bus at the Lutherville stop. I ended up getting on the C Shuttle bus with my regular driver. The C Shuttle bus was #8816 It was air conditioned.

On the way home I got on the #8 bus. It was one of those short buses that are made by this German bus company. I so loathe the design of those buses.

Finally I transferred at the Lutherville stop to catch the shuttle bus. The bus I ended up catching was the B Shuttle bus. The driver of this bus bored a striking resemblence to dancer/actor Jeffrey Holder. The bus # was 8909. There were just seven passengers aboard the bus.

INTERESTING THING I HEARD ON THE RADIO:Yesterday, it was nice to hear on the radio that Mike O’Meara from the Don and Mike Show had attended a Unitarian Church on Sunday. I just found that kind of neat because I attend a Unitarian Church.

This morning my security alarm went off as I was trying to set it. This will be the longest that I’ve been away from the building while the alarm is armed. I felt extremely nervous as I left the building.

As I crossed the street I noticed that the third floor lights were on. I immediately became frightened that I had set up the alarm improperly and it was blaring unmercifully throughout the building. Then again for all I know they regularly have there lights on at that hour. I became torn as to what to do. My bus arrived I got on it.

I again felt a pang of fear. I had to know for sure if the alarm had been triggered. I rode the bus for two blocks then got off and went back to my apartment. When I got back I noticed that the lights were off and that all their cars were still parked out front. So that would indicate that none of the neighbors left out for work. There was one thing left for me to do. I nervously opened the door to the apartment building and heard blissful silence. Apparently, I became terrified over nothing. In the end I was 8 minutes late for work. I believe this is the first time that I’ve been late in ages.

All in all I feel good about returning. It rested my nerves at work. Also after I got home I set up my security camera. I have it set up where it will email me whenever it detects motion in my apartment. If all goes well then all I will have would be a series of pictures of me entering and exiting my apartment.

Hopefully in the end I will have a more peaceful mindset knowing that my apartment is secure. Next I suppose I should focus on personal safety. You know buy pepper spray and maybe learn some martial arts.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on an olive green short sleeve blouse and a very coloful shear skirt. I have on three pairs of under slips because I’m that nervous about the skirt. It’s a very pretty pattern but the material is very shear . It was made in India. You’d think that they would be make things more modest.

Today is the absolute longest I have ever stayed after a church service. The reason I ended up staying a little longer was that I went on a tour of the church afterwards. I thought that I would be the only person that would be there for the tour. There ended up being about four other people there.

There was a young chubby couple who came from suburbia who were engaged to be married. They had already picked out a church to be married in and it was not this church. They learned about this church from the internet as I did. The female half of the the couple was a big Harry Potter fan. She told us all about how she and her fiance had stood outside a bookstore all night to be the first in line to buy the new Harry Potter book. I had so much in common with this couple. I had learned about the church from the internet and I am a Harry Potter fan too. I wonder what their feelings are about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, comic books, and Star Wars?

Also there was a man and a woman who came there separately. The woman was an out of town Unitarian visiting the church. The man was a college student curious about Unitarianism. Before the tour began the tour guide thought that the man and I were together. I believe she came to this conclusion because he seemed to always be standing right behind me.

The church tour ended with a light lunch and a brief information session. I found the tour to be very informative. I learned a lot about the history of the church as well as where alternate ladies rooms could be found.

WHAT I AM WEARING:
Today, I have on my usual irreverent Sunday shorts. So far no one in church has come up to me and said not to wear shorts. Besides I see plenty of men come in wearing shorts albeit along with a Hawaian shirt. I have also seen a couple of woman occasionally show up in shorts. But for me shorts are my summer church going wardrobe of choice. The shorts I have on today are khaki green. With these short I also have on a pink, orange and yellow striped v-neck t-shirt.

This morning I took the #8 bus heading towards Towson to pick up the webcam that I ordered yesterday from Best Buy.

The bus driver was running way ahead of schedule so she kept taking very long stops. It was also very dark outside threatening rainstorms. I forgot to bring an umbrella with me and was feeling very anxious.

Along the way her farebox got jammed so she was trying to clear it with a pencil. Then of all people a little old lady who had her grand daugter with her sweetly handed her a large Crockadile Dundee sized knife. A couple of passengers including myself chuckled over the fact that a sweet little old lady was carrying such a big knife in her purse.

Also on the ride home was the largest number of women wearing dread locks 6 including myslef on the #8 bus.

After I picked up my camera I bought yet another security alarm from Radio Shack. As God is my witness I swear I will set this one up!

After I bought the motion detector alarm that comes with a keychain remote I headed over to the Towson Commons to watch movies. That afternoon I saw Wedding Crashers followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Quick Movie Review Time!

WEDDING CRASHERS

This movie was absolutely brilliant! I laughed so much I became hoarse! If you see one comedy this year Wedding Crashers is it. Yeah, I know the previous sentence sounds cliched but it’s the truth. RUN, DON’T WALK TO SEE WEDDING CRASHERS!!!!

CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Johnny Depp did a great job as usual as did Freddie Highmore the kid from Neverland. The one main problem I had with it was the Oompa Loompa songs. The songs were not very melodic. Also the tune was different when each kid was eliminated. In the 1971 original movie the songs were more consistent and humable. To me the songs in the new version sound like faux 80’s rap composed by a tragically unhip middle aged white guy.

Here’s the part in my blog where I admit that was so geeky as kid that I read the book. No where in the original book does it mention Willy Wonka having father issues. I hate that they tacked this stupid storyline in to explain Wonka’s motivation. However, it was nice to see Christopher Lee play his father.

Overall, my feelings about the movie are tepid. I see no need to rush out and see the movie. My advice is wait until it comes out on cable....

DECLARATION OF THE DAY:
Tomorrow, I will be purchasing security equipment for my apartment. I want to get something that records or goes off when motion is detected.

You know with the campus police patrolling the neighborhood it makes me feel that I should be more proactive about my own security.

I don’t know maybe one day I’ll take up martial arts so that I can stop feeling afraid about everything.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a purple v-neck top and blue slacks.

MORNING COMMUTE:
This morning I caught the #20 bus. I also got on the early light rail train because the bus came slighlty earlier than usual. I caught the B shuttle bus. It got to the Timonium light rail stop at 6 AM. This is the earliest I have ever been at that stop. As I transferred to the C bus I saw a fellow co-worker get on the bus. I made it into the work at 6:20 am. So far this summer this is the earliest I have ever made it into work.

UMAB CAMPUS POLICE PATROL:

When I got home from work I saw the scary elderly stalker man. This time he was sitting on the playground bench down the street from where I live. Where he was sitting gave him a direct view of me walking towards my apartment building. When he saw that I had spotted him he nervously turned away. It makes me wonder how long he’s been doing this?

For all I know he could be a serial killer like that BTK guy they caught. The block I live in is very transient. It consists mostly of graduate students and employees of UMAB. Come to think of it, the street I live in would be perfect for an Al Queda operative or a BTK killer type. Since no one really stays around too long it’s difficult to track irregularities in neighbors.

Anyway, just as I had spotted him on the bench a UMAB campus police car pulled up. Seeing the campus police patrolling the area makes me feel secure. I hope that they will be there tommorrow morning when I leave out for work and when I come home in the evening.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a short sleeve floral short with a silk string tie front. I also have on a pair of green slacks.

I’m still mourning over the death of Freda, a woman I only knew through the magic of radio. I can’t explain precisely why her death has had such a profound effect on me. I suppose the main reason is because her death was so sudden and unexpected. Her death reminded me that we are all on this earth for a short time. Tomorrow is promised to no one.

So far 2005 has been a pretty bad year. You have the death of Luther Vandross, the death of 98 Rock’s Lopez, the death of Don’s wife Freda, the death of David Haines, The London attacks, the loss of Crablogs, the loss of the DaBrettman Speaks web blog, the firing of my long time supervisor, WHFS being a part time music station, and Howard Stern moving to satellite radio. The list of bad things that happened so far this year could go on and on. I think I’ll stop it here or I’ll just get more depressed than I already feel...

INTERESTING SIGHT ON BUS:
An odd thing happened on the morning shuttle bus. A woman all of a sudden took off her top. She then took a very long time figuring out how to put it back on. In frustration she gave up trying to put her blouse back on and rode the rest of the way in a bra with her blouse loosely covering her front. She then quickly fell asleep. I’m not sure but I think she was stoned out of her mind.

No one on the bus was alarmed or protested. The main reason for this is that I take the shuttle bus at a very early hour of the morning. The vast majority of passengers on the bus at that hour are asleep or trying to sleep.

The man sitting next to her didn’t seem to mind much. He seemed very happy at the strange turn of events. I suppose it was a great start to his day. How many guys have a pretty girl take off their top on the bus right next to them? By the way the celebrity she most resembled was Naomi Campbell albeit a possibly stoned Naomi Campbell.....

UMAB CAMPUS POLICE PATROL :) :

It was nice when I left out for work and immediately saw a UMAB campus police car come down the street then another. Both cars stopped at the end of my street to talk to each other. I don’t know how long they will be patrolling my neighborhood.

One thing's for sure I hope that they keep it up because whenever I see that scary elderly stalker man I start to feel paranoid like he’s watching me or going through my apartment when I’m not home. I ’m sure he knows that I live alone and knows when I leave out and come in from work.

Right now I am this close to getting a survelliance camera set up in my apartment just to see if I’m being paranoid for no reason. This man lurking around every summer makes me feel very uncomfortable.

WHAT I“M WEARING:
Today, I have on the striped nautical design t-shirt with the anchor in the middle. Also today for the first time in weeks I’m wearing slacks to work. I wanted to wear something dark today to symbolize my saddness. I had to wear slacks because my black skirt is in the hamper and scheduled to go to the laundromat sometime this weekend.

Today, I’m feeling very sad about the news of Freda Wright-Sorce’s death. When I first heard the news on the Don and Mike Show this afternoon I thought it was a sick joke. You know something Don Geronimo cooked up to get an extra day of vacation. Then I got home and checked out DCRTV and the Baltimore Sun web site and sadly found out that it was no joke. Don’s wife really did die yesterday in a car accident!!! With the realization of the news I found myself crying in front of my computer.

I have listened to the Don and Mike Show ever since they hit the airwaves on WJFK AM in the 90’s. Don’s wife Freda was an integral part of the show. I really loved it when she would call the show to give her point of view. It gave the show a since of levity, that it was not just a boy’s only zone.

Don would end each show by saying, “Love you Freda! Love you Bart!“ I can not imagine the show without hearing Freda on it.

Tonight my thoughts and prayers go out to Mike Sorce (Don’s real name), his son Bart, and the entire Sorce and Wright family.

Also, I’m saddened to hear about the death this weekend of local radio news icon David Haines. He died of a pulmonary embolism that resulted from cancer treatment. Haines did the news on Donnie Simpson’s morning show on WPGC. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Haines family.

Overall today, was a very sad and tragic day for Baltimore/Washington radio. Counting 98 Rock’s Lopez so far 2005 has been a very tragic year overall for local radio. .

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a dark paisley skirt and a royal blue short sleeve top.

As an addendum I found a great site that is almost like a complete FAQ sheet for the Don and Mike Show. It starts off with a lot of cooking recipe’s then you have to scroll down for the show’s unofficial FAQ sheet. http://www.travelbank.com/miscmeda.htm

This morning I went to church. Just before services started some guy named Allen talked to me about the philosophy of the church. I believe this is the first time that anyone said anything to me at the church.

Afterwards I went over to the Senator to see War of The Worlds. The movie has gotten a lot of bad press due to Tom Cruise going nuts all over the place. Overall, I have to say that the movie was better than expected. I believe this is the first Tom Cruise movie that I have seen where he plays a father. He was very believable in the role. Also in the film was child star, Dakota Fanning. I swear little Ms. Fanning is in almost every movie that requires a cute little girl.

I never read the HG Wells book that the movie is based on nor have I seen the 1953 version of War of The Worlds. However, since I am a fan of old time radio I have listened to an many occasions the Orson Welles version of War of the Worlds. On its own I feel that the 2005 version was pretty good.

When I left out the theatre I saw an unusual sight. I saw three little boys I think they might have been tweens or middle school aged with a very goth looking man dressed in black like a character from a comic book or a male character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This guy was also wearing a long black coat on a bright and sunny day. It was obviously a case of an older brother taking his kid brother and little friends to the movies against his will. He obviously had much hipper places to go to.

WHAT I AM WEARING:
Today, I have on blue jean shorts with short sleeved tie dyed turquoise and gold top.

This Saturday I did overtime. For the first time ever I arrived at 7AM. I think this little miracle was due to the fact that I decided to stay on my regular work week schedule. I also was lucky to catch a #8 bus that went all the way to Hunt Valley.

After I got off work I went over to the Towson Commons to see the new Fantastic 4 movie. The main reason I’m seeing it is because Ioan Gruffud is in it. As I’ve written before on many occasions I find him to be a rather fine looking young man. Overall, the movie wasn’t as bad as critics made it out to be. I found it to be very entertaining.

I recall reading from a website somewhere that they had to reduce Ioans package because they were afraid that it might frighten small children. I find this little tidbit to be highly amusing. I can’t wait for the DVD to come out. I’m sure that as a special feature if they’re smart, they’ll show at least a photo of Ioan in his super hero suit without the digital reduction.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I’m wearing green slacks along with a beige Native American-like print short sleeve shirt.

This morning my fire alarm battery went off at around 4:30 AM. Because of this rude awakening I got up a little later than usual. As I was preparing to leave out for work I was feeling antsy due to the incident in London. I finally gathered up enough resolve to leave out the door and face the rainy day.

As I looked across the street at my apartment building I got this eery feeling. Then I saw that creepy man I wrote about a couple of entries ago. He was standing on the steps staring at me like a mental patient. It was pouring down rain outside. He did not have an an umbrella nor make a move to do anything but stare. I feel that this was no accident. If he truly had some place to go at five in the morning he would have attended to his business and not stared back at me like a mental patient. This makes me feel more than anything that it was deliberate.

I hope that he is not a psychopathic killer like the recently caught BTK Killer or an Al Queda operative.

Maybe I should report him to the police? If I called the police, what would I say? “ Excuse me officer, there’s this creepy old foreign man that stares at me in the summer time.”

All I know is that there is something about him I don’t trust. If I come up missing or dead he’s probably the one who would be responsible for it.

I know all of this sounds paranoid but I live alone and that old man scares me that much!!! It’s like he’s always looking, waiting, and watching my every move.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a brown short sleeve Henley and a print skirt.

Tonight my thoughts and prayers go out to the people of London. It’s a horrible shame that something like this happened just after they had such great news yesterday of getting the Olympics.

Since I regularly take public transportation the London bombings really hit home for me. For the first time it made me realize how vulnerable you are riding on a bus or subway car.

There really are no security checks what so ever. Anybody could be carrying anything on them. Right now I’m feeling very anxious and afraid.

I can barely recall what I did at work today. The only thing I can recall is that I was feeling very hesitant to leave work. I was afraid that what happened over in London would be duplicated over hear in the US.

Who Am I Kidding? It’s not a question of if. It’s Now a Question of When......

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a cream coloured t-shirt along with a black mini skirt that has a cream coloured circle design on it.

The shuttle bus driver we had today was new and looked to be in her late teens to early 20’s. In fact she was so new that she was reading her route off of a handout. When the passengers got on at the Symphony stop she cheerily announced that she was the #26 bus. She corrected herself a couple of times before she remembered that today she was driving the B shuttle bus to Hunt Valley. We all knew what bus she was driving because of the sign on the front of the bus. So there was really no need to make an announcement. Ahhh, newbies! I should also add that a passenger had to show her how to get off the expressway and make it over to the Timonium stop.

Also I believe that the bus fare inspector lady was new as well. She was also very young looking. She kept nervously going over a handout and consulting with the driver who was also going over a handout.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a purple v-neck short sleeve t-shirt and a purple plaid mini skirt with black slides

I’m not quiet sure if what I am experiencing is lower back or hip pain. I mainly spent the day in bed shoveling down asprin and slathering arthritis cream on my left hip in hopes that the pain would go away.

Then again it could all be psychosomatic in reponse to saying I’d be over my father’s place for the 4th knowing that if I go there there would be all this drama around my sister and her substance abuse problem.

So you guessed it I stayed home instead of going over my father’s house. I love the heck out of my father but I can’t stand my drug addict sister. Going over his house means there’s a 100% chance that I’ll run into her.

Today I went to church today. It was being held in the place I believe they hold coffee break or coffee hour after church services.

I felt uncomfortable to the ten thousandth degree as there was a mass hugging thing that occurred during the service. I have been to a couple of Unitarian services so I know that this is not a regular feature of a service. I will just put it down as a whim of the lay person who conducted the service this morning. Hopefully she will not suggest that we all just give each other one great big hug ever again.

On the upside I saw someone I knew there that I used to work with at Center Stage. I had no idea that he went to this church. This is the first time that I went there that I saw someone I knew.

After church services were over I went over to Owings Mills to see
Cinderella Man. The movie has gotten a lot of good review and I wanted to see it before it left the theatres.

Overall, the movie was pretty good. However, I do not understand why they released the movie in the spring as opposed to fall or winter. This movie sadly, will be overlooked during Oscar season.

The movie was about the life and times of boxer, James J. Braddock also known as the Cinderella Man. I felt that Russell Crowe did a really good job in the movie. I also felt that Renee Zellweger did a good job as well as his wife, Mae. Paul Giamatti, the man who was robbed of an Oscar nomination for Sideways, was also on the movie playing Braddocks manager, Joe Gould.

The one thing I learned from the movie that I previously did not know is that there were Jewish boxers. I do not know why this had never occurred to me before. You could not miss the giant Star of David on the boxing trunks of Braddocks final opponent in the film, Max Baer, played by the very sexy Craig Bierko. Also I was surprised to find out that Max Baer is that father of Max Baer Jr. who played Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies.

Yesterday, after work I saw Batman Begins staring Christian Bale. I thought it was a very interesting retelling of the Batman myth. I found the movie to be very intriguing. I hope that they make a sequel. One thing’s for sure Katie Holmes will not be in the sequel.

Happy Canada Day! I’m not sure what it is or how it is celebrated. I just noticed it on the calendar when I got into work this morning. Today is also the 20th anniversary of the opening of Baltimore’s Harbor Place.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a denim coverall dress. Under the dress I have on a short sleeve blue striped shirt.