GJ Willis' Art Notes

Yesterday was kind of like, Night of the Living Dead. I heard a familiar voice in the distance, looked around and saw Keisha. Eeeeek!!!I thought she was gone from this mortal plane! Geez, you eulogize somebody in your blog and they just pop right back up. Now come to think of it.... I recall hearing that she was in some type of a car accident last week. So it’s possible that she is taking time off to recuperate. But why clean off her desk of all personal effects? Why did she return today of all days? As Welcome Back Kotter’s, Vinnie Barbarino once said, “I’m soooo confused!!!”

Also yesterday, I rushed to make it to the Creative Alliance to pick up my artwork. It turned out that they were in fact having an event there. It seemed to be some type of an Indian themed event. They had tables of food laid out right as you entered the door. No one was taking tickets, asking questions, or anything. I could have made myself a plate and left out. Heck, I could have made several plates.

At the receptionists desk was a full figured woman wearing a twa (teeny weeny Afro) and a colorful scarf to match with the event’s exotic theme. She kind of reminded me of a colorful Buddha. I told her I spoke with someone yesterday on the phone and they said that I could pick it up my artwork tonight. She seemed confused. She told me that she couldn’t get to it even if she tried. She said there were tables blocking the entrance to where the artwork was stored. So it looks like I’ll have to make another visit to pick up my artwork.

Bizarre Occurrences From Yesterday. I thought about asking Arvada (she’s short and has curly hair, celebrity she most resembles is a Hobbitt) to drive me over to the Creative Alliance. Just as I was thinking about this like clockwork Cassandra who car pools with Arvada walked over and asked my something about where to buy cardboard picture frames. This was extremely out of the blue. Cassandra has never ever said a word to me at work. It kind of made me wonder at that point in time that if I thought about John Cusack would he suddenly pop up at the office for an emergency film shoot. Alas, it didn’t happen....

Another other odd occurrence.... While waiting for the bus on the way home from the Creative Alliance there was this man who kept staring quizzically at me. He’d walk a few steps stare turn around look at me then walk some more like he was trying to remember something. Then just as he was leaving I realized that he looked a lot like this person I used to IM a few years back. I’d never personally met him. We just communicated through the internet. I remember that he (the person I used to IM) was a college math professor from Pennsylvania. The man who was staring at me as though he was trying to ponder something eventually drove off in a car with Pennsylvania license plates. I’m not sure if it was or wasn’t him. Most likely it wasn’t him. It was probably just a person trying to remember his shopping list or something.

The one thing I can remember about the IM person was that he was a big fan of Elvis Costello. I also like Elvis Costello too. He accused me once of being the type of person who had a record collection that consisted of nothing but Best of’s and Greatest Hits. In fact it’s true, I never told him this he just knew it. It was eery like that. It was like he knew me without really knowing me.

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

The bus and light rail were both on time today. Since they were on time I was on time for work.

Yesterday, I went to one of my least favorite malls, the Towson Town Center. It is an upscale mall for the well off not neer do wells like myself. Let’s face it, the main reason I don’t like this mall is because everything in it is so over priced. I have a family reputation for being a bit of a cheapskate. I don’t want to ruin my good name by shopping in a place like that. Almost everything I own and wear comes from Walmart or a store ending in mart, eg C-Mart, K-Mart. I can’t even bring myself to shop at Target. It’s too upscale for me.

I went to the Towson Town Center solely to escape the heat and the bus I was on. I could have stayed on the bus longer but it was not air conditioned. The bus was getting crowded, hot, and funky with each passing bus stop. I couldn’t take it anymore, I wanted off.

When I walked through the cool air conditioned mall I found myself at the food court. I ended up buying a pizza from the Villa Pizza shop. The foreigner taking my order got my order wrong. I wanted two slices but he only gave me one. Also he didn’t bother to warm the pizza up in the oven like they usually do at other mall pizza places. I’m not a very argumentive person. I took what he gave me and left. The pizza tasted ok, however it wasn’t hot.

Next I visited The Apple Store. The last time I went there was last summer to upgrade the memory on my iMac. Everything in the store looks linear and clear. The computers they have out now don’t look as groovy as my green iMac. I wish they would make more colorful computers like they did back in the day. However, I would like to get an iPod or a mini iPod. I have just enough money saved up to get one if I wanted to.

The last place I visited was David and David’s. I bought some licorice there because it has low points and is low in calories. The main reason I went to that particular store is that I get a catalog from them every year around Christmas. The candy I bought from them like everything else in this mall was grossly over priced.

Also today I will be heading off to the Creative Alliance after work to pick up my artwork. They are supposed to be having some type of an event there this evening up until 8 PM. So instead of taking the bus home from work I will have to take the light rail. I hate taking the light rail home from work. It seems as though people are extra loud when they take it in the evening. I suppose it’s the combination of a work days ending and being with your co-workers. The racket is sometimes so loud that I can not concentrate enough to read my book. The book I’m currently reading is Marcus Majors’, Good Peoples.

Ever since I’ve worked over time last Saturday I feel as though I’m living in one of Dante’s levels of hell. This is like the never ending work week. I can’t wait for Friday to get here. But then I realize that I have to go to the symphony that night. One more commitment to get through.....

Interesting occurrence: Yesterday I saw Arthur on the bus after I got home from the mall. I didn’t get around to asking him if he finally retired from his job or was working another schedule. Anyway, it was nice to see the old guy again. ............ At work we are completely out of all the caffeine rich sodas that I love so much. I'll have to make do with Doctor Pepper. It has caffeine in it but not as much as my much beloved Mountain Dew.

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

My bus was no where to be seen at it’s usual time. I began to feel worried and panicked that I would be late and fired. I do not want to lose my job and be forced to move in with my crack addicted sister. I immediately flagged down the first cab I saw. However, I was saddened to see that a woman was already in it. She was nice and let me share the ride. She told me that the reason she did this was because we both took the same bus in the morning. That was very nice of her. However, I do not recall ever seeing her on the bus. She didn’t ask me for money or anything like that when I got off at the light rail stop so I assume we do in fact get on the same bus in the morning. When I got to the light rail stop it was bare. No one was on it except for this man who works in the mail room in my company. I haven’t the slightest idea what his name is but I always say hello to him in the morning.

Last night I was having a really great time listening to the KROQ station on Live 365. I was giddily dancing and singing along to bouncy new wave hits from the 80’s. The KROQ station’s play list consists of songs that made it to the year end count down from 1980 to 1990. In case you aren’t aware KROQ can be considered as the west coast equivalent to WHFS in the 80’s. Even to this day they almost mirror each other in programming. I also believe WHFS’s current program director came directly from KROQ. One thing I have to say about last night, it was nice to hear the Woodentops once again.

The bus was on time today. However, the train was ten minutes late. I’m not sure if I will be on time today or not. Also I did manage to get a look at the roster sheet on Saturday. I immediately noticed that Keisha’s name was off it. That’s that, Keisha, doesn’t work here any more. So now I have to think of her as being among the dearly departed along with Teneka (had very wild stories about things that happened to her), Gerard (had the hook up for anything), Eric (a Republican, wrestling, and Star Wars fan), Tracy (a quiet church girl), Margaret (quiet grandmotherly type), Darlene (no comment).

There are many others who are among the dearly departed at work, however, there names escape me at this time. They are gone but not forgotten in my heart. I suppose right about now I’ll go out and light a candle and pray for there families.

Speaking of the dead,...Death Pool Dave will be on the radio today. This morning he’s scheduled to be on 98 Rock’s, KML show. In case you don’t know he’s a guy with a web site where you get to vote on the next celebrities to die. With the recent deaths of Ray Charles and Ronald Reagan it was imminent that he would be on the radio. According to celebrity death lore they always die in three’s. So there’s one more celebrity to die for the trifecta to be complete.

My money for the next celebrities to die are either, Scott Weiland, the former lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots, or Courtney Love. They’re both deeply troubled and I expect to hear that one of them will die of an over dose. However, they’re both fairly young celebrities and Ray Charles and Reagan were both up there in age and Republican. So I feel the safe money bet would be on Charlton Heston to complete the Ray Charles/Ronald Reagan death in three’s trifecta. Heston is old and he’s a staunch Republican. I believe he also has Alzheimer’s.

A safe bet I feel would also be on Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. I hear she recently suffered a debilitating stroke. My long shot for next to die would be disgraced talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Easy money, I feel will always be on the Pope. He’s way up there in age and could go at any minute. Well that’s enough celebrity death talk....

Yesterday, I finished reading The Mists of Avalon book one Mistress of Magic on tape. I absolutely love this book!! I can't wait to find out how the book ends. After work I immediatly went down to the library to see if they had the other books on tape from the series. Sadly, the only other book they had on tape was book four, Prisoner in the Oaks. So I picked that up as well as the 876 page Mists of Avalon book.

Also in my King Arthur frenzy I added, Exacalibur, Merlin, Mists of Avalon, Guinevere, Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot of the Lake, Sword in the Stone, First Knight, Sword of the Valiant Camelot, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Prince Valiant to my netflix queue. Yes, ladies and gentlemen I'm gearing up full steam ahead for the upcoming King Arthur movie. I suppose next time after I finish Mists of Avalon I should take out a couple more King Arthur books. I guess in no time flat I will be an expert on all things King Arthur.

Saturday, June 12, 2004

I had to come into work this morning because I signed up for overtime. Yesterday, Jai Li finally, showed up for week. I was extremely happy to see her. She was coughing and stuff. So I can assume that after nearly a week off she is not quiet well. I hope she hasn’t caught SARS or something. Still there was no sign nor mention of Keisha. I’m not sure if she left or not. I’ll have to check the daily stat sheet to see if her name is still on it. Damn, I hate looking at that confounded thing. I always get depressed after looking at it. I guess I’ll have to pump up my dosages of both St. Johns Wort and Echinacea.

Yesterday, I wore the shirt I loved when I saw it in the store. I picked it up because it was my size. I didn’t bother trying it on. I was horrified when I finally put it on at home. It’s one of those stupid tight fitting shirts. I hate shirts like that.

Today, I’m wearing my NBC Today Show t-shirt. I got it when I visited New York a couple of years ago. It came directly from the NBC store in Rockefeller Plaza. When I went to the NBC store I also bought a Friends t-shirt and an ER t-shirt. I wonder if I could buy more TV show shirts online. I’m sure NBC must have a store online as well as the other networks.

Right now as I write this at 6:20 AM, I’m listening to WEAA, 88.9. They are playing a Ray Charles tribute show. I love the guy that hosts the show. I only find myself listening to his show when I have to come into work on Saturdays or when I wake up early on Saturdays. I like the old r&b songs that he plays. It’s stuff like you guessed it Ray Charles, Etta James etc. Sometimes, I think I was born in the wrong era. Listening today makes me realize even more how much I love Ray Charles’ music. I own two of his best of cd’s. So I own almost all of the songs that they are playing this morning. I hope that I will be able to pick up the station at work and continue listening there.

Odd Occurance: Outside the First Mariner Arena there was this man sitting on the sidewalk across from the light rail station at around 5:50AM. He looked a little like Jerry Garcia. He had a sketchbook out and appeared to be sketching the buildings. Who gets up at this hour of the day to sketch? Also it looks like there will be some kind of an event at the arena. I noticed there were a lot of red t-shirts stacked in the windows of the arena. I suppose they were left there to be sold whenever the event started.

Friday, June 11, 2004

My goodness they’re playing my man, Dean Martin on 98 Rock! It turns out that Kirk bought the Dean Martin compilation cd. This makes me happy because that means I’m not the only black person that owns a Dean Martin cd. It turns out that the cd has made it into the top 30. I think I may pick it up. As I’ve written before I love Dean Martin. Heck, I love the whole allure of Las Vegas in the 50’s and 60’s and the Rat Pack.

Also, favorite radio station WTMD didn’t come on air until 6AM. It turns out they were having some type of trouble with there transmitter. At first I thought they gave morning man Stephen the day off for Reagan’s funeral. As you might have guessed I still have to go into work. I think I should seriously look into getting a federal or state job so that I can get more days off.

I’m deeply saddened by the death of Ray Charles. I own two Ray Charles Greatest Hits cd’s. He was the original blind singing man, that is if you don’t count blues legend Blind Lemon Johnson. There are so many Ray Charles songs that are among my favorites. I’d have to say that my all time favorite is, ‘Georgia on My Mind’. I know it’s a predictable choice but it’s a classic.

I just noticed yesterday that I haven’t seen Keisha for well over a week at work. I wonder if she quit or was fired. Her desk is completely cleaned off. There’s not a trace of the photos that were once on it. Also Jai Li has not come either she’s really sick or she quit as well. I’ve noticed that her things are still on her desk so I take it that some day she will return.

I was feeling rather shaky last night so I did a meditation tape to calm my nerves. I hate when people leave. It’s like they never existed. One day they’re here the next there desk is cleared off without explanation at least to me as to whether they jumped or were pushed.

I still wonder if Margaret quit or was fired. The last time I can recall seeing her was sometime around the Thanksgiving holidays. I just looked over to her desk one day and noticed that it was cleared off not a trace of the big silver framed photo of her grandson.

No one ever tells anyone anything where I work. It’s almost like a taboo. I even remember in desperation asking Arnold what happened he of course did not know.

So now I’m deeply worried is this the start of mass firings or did they leave willingly? Keisha was a very good worker. She did have a tendency to come in late every now and then. I wonder if that was the reason? I don’t know all I know is that I feel more nervous than usual. How come know one ever says anything around here? No explanations what so ever. To quote Heather in The Blair Witch Project, “I’m so scared!”

Thursday, June 10, 2004

I hope that I will have the opportunity to do the new work again today. I have’nt seen Li Jai in a week. I’ve been doing the work since Tuesday. Li Jai must be very sick. She never calls out. I hae to admit that doing this work is like a respite from the regular work. Speaking of which, we are a bit backed up. So backed up in fact that overtime was offered for Saturday. I of course volunteered for the over time. It’s only 7 to 12pm. I wonder if they will be offering lunch.

In previous years when they’ve had Saturday overtime they would feed us. In the past we’ve had KFC, generic boxed lunches, cold cuts, or pizza. However, lately when we have overtime on Saturday they just buy donuts for us. They are usually Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts. I suppose it’s not worth going the extra mile to bribe people with elaborate free food any more.

I finally did my grocery shopping yesterday. I went to my new favorite supermarket, Food Lion. Food Lion has supplanted my old favorite Metro which changed its name to Shoppers Food Warehouse. I believe before they changed there name they used to be called Basics, which was a store that my brother loved to shop at back in the day.

Yesterday, there was a heat advisory out. So I spent my after work time at the main library. I picked up five books on tape to read at work. I have The Mists of Avalon, Casting the First Stone, Emperor of Ocean Park (I never started reading it from the first time), an Elizabeth Berg Book called True to Form, and The Clock Winder by Anne Tyler.

Unusual ocurrances, I had a very hard time falling asleep last night because of the heat. My bus was five minutes early this morning. This was very unusual. Also on the way home there was an extremely good looking tall shirtless man who walked by the bus stop. He looked as though he might have been a professional trainer, male stripper, or something. He looked very good shirtless. In my opinion it’s rare to see a guy shirtless who is actually in good shape. It’s mostly guys who are in lousy shape. You know people who can actually make you go blind just by looking at them. This man was like an actual Adonis. He looked as though he worked out 5 times a day. He looked good and he knew he looked good. The bus stop broke into uproarous giggles after he passed out of sight. It was clearly giggles of acknowledgement that we were all checking him out. I had never seen someone so perfect so barely dressed walking down the street before. The one man on the bus stop had a disgusted look on his face. As though he were thinking, ”Jeezus Christ, women get a hold of yourselves!”, or maybe. “What does he got that I haven’t got?”

Wednesday, June 9, 2004

I woke up on time however, I fell back asleep. I was almost late this morning. I ended up flagging down a cab on Baltimore Street. I got that very talkative elderly cab driver that I get from time to time. The first thing he asked me when I got in his cab was what perfume I was wearing? I told him Georgio. I like to wear Georgio but mostly on the weekends. On weekdays I like to wear Sweet Honesty which I buy from Avon. However, I’m starting to run out of it so I have to conserve it. Then the next thing you know he’s telling me about how he used to buy his wife perfume when he was in the service. He told me his wife loved to wear perfume. He also told me he was in the service for 25 years. He was married for 40 years. They were married while still in high school. They were married between there sophomore and junior years. He didn’t get around to telling me how many children and grandchildren he had.

After he dropped me off at the Cultural Center of the light rail train was about to pull up. Right now it looks like I will be on time today. I wonder how long I can keep up being punctual?

Yesterday, I went over my father’s house to drop off my nephew’s birthday present. He told me over the phone to leave the money with his sister, Alexis. When I got there his other sister, Arlesia was there. He said it was OK to leave it with her. It turns out his school is going on a trip to Six Flags on Monday, June 21st. The money has to be in by this Wednesday. Also he wanted someone to go with him on the trip. Arlesia said it was because he wanted to spend someone else’s money other than his own. I was surprised that he suggested that I come along. As luck would have it I’m off on the 21st. It is the first day of summer after all. However, I do not have enough money to go on the trip. Also I don’t have the resolve to spend god knows how lng on a bus filled with middle school students.

When I arrived over my father’s house I also learned that my father had not received his social security check for this month. He feels that the reason for this is because his post office box expired last month and he had to get it renewed a couple of weeks ago. He told me that usually when the box is about to expire they give him a notice. This time they did not give him a notice. Eventually we called up the SSA and everything got straightened out. He should receive a check in 5-7 days.

When I was ready to leave I was surprised that Arlesia said she would drive me home. It was like a prayer being answered. As I’ve written previously my right leg still gives me trouble from time to time. I have no trouble walking down the hill towards my father’s house, the pain starts on the way up the hill away from the house. It’s almost like walking a steep incline. This god send turned into something else altogether. Arlesia took her own sweet time. Before I knew it, it was 8:30 so I decided that maybe it was best that I walked up the hill. My leg of course began to ache as it usually does. But she was taking too long and I wanted to do some grocery shopping. I got home at around 9:30, it was a little too late to get anything done. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so impatient. But for goodness sake I was waiting for nearly three hours to go home.

In closing I still have no groceries for the week. I do not know if I made incentive at work last week or not. I made incentive last week. I always feel uncomfortable when I make incentive. I feel like it’s a mistake and it will be taken away from me because maybe it was made in error.

One odd occurrence last week was when Richard looked at my Lord of the Rings calendar pointed and said, “Hey, that’s Aragorn, isn’t it?” I nodded my head and said, “Yes.” I was surprised he said Aragorn and not something like, “Hey, that’s from Lord of the Rings, isn’t it?” My goodness he’s seen Lord of the Rings. I thought I was the only one who worked there who saw the movie.