GJ Willis' Art Notes

This morning I got on the #1 bus. The driver whom I’d never seen before had his seat down very, very, very low. I think he did this because he was young and wanted to look hip.

CONCERN OF THE DAY:
I got home from work very, very, very late. I don’t know what happened. I just got caught up in things and couldn’t bring myself to leave. I believe today was the latest I’d ever stayed on a Friday. I’m scheduled to leave at 1:15 on Mondays and Fridays but today I left at 2:30.

I hope Brian (my supervisor who looks like Mr. Clean) doesn’t call a group meeting on Monday to stress the importance of leaving out on time. I always feel that when he calls group meetings about performance that it’s really aimed at one particular person that he feels uncomfortable addressing on a one to one basis.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a green sweater and a green plaid shirt along with blue jeans and brown lace up shoes.

The bus was on time. I got on the #2 bus it was being driven by a man who looked like Channel 2 newscaster Terry Owens glasses and all. I don’t know if he had buck teeth like Owens has.

The light rail was also on time this morning. The light rail shuttle bus was unusually crowded. For the first time since the light rail from North Avenue and beyond shut down I saw my most favorite passenger the Amer-Asian, Latino, Hawaiian, Filipino looking guy who always wears black. It seems that he’s let his hair grow out a little. Despite this, the beautiful foreign looking man still looks hot.

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t watch Dan Rather yesterday for his last broadcast. I was feeling drowsy as can be yesterday so I turned in earlier than my usual 8pm bed time. I think I should be working on a farm with the hours I keep, up at 4 and in bed at 8.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a pink crocheted sweater. Under it I have on a vanilla colored cotton pullover. I also have on blue jeans and my brown leather lace up shoes.

The bus was on time this morning. I’ve just noticed that I usually catch a bus at 5:25AM. This time the bus coming down the street was the #1 bus. It was being driven by a heavy set light skinned woman who wore her hair pulled back in a pony tail. Halfway through the ride she stopped at another bus and asked him if he had any paper. After several lifetimes he searched around his bus which was devoid of passengers. I guess maybe his bus broke down or he was the replacement bus for another broken down bus. Then at the next stop she put the paper on. This procedure took several lifetimes to complete. She did not move her bus until she replaced the paper that’s used to print out tickets.

CONCERN OF THE DAY:
I don’t understand why everyone is hating on Dan Rather. Today, is his last day as anchorman on the CBS Evening News. You would think that people would have kinder things to say about him. Former longtime anchorman, Walter Cronkite who was once touted as being the most trusted man in America is even hating on him. I just don’t understand. It makes a person not want to retire. After all, who would want to live through people trashing your name as you leave out the door.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a powder blue cowl neck sweater and beige khaki pants along with blue suede shoes.

This morning it was raining outside. I got on the #2 bus. Behind the #2 was the #20 bus. I haven’t seen the #20 bus in ages! The driver of the bus I got on was a big man.

The light rail shuttle bus this morning was late. It usually arrives at 5:50AM. It was 6:00AM and I saw neither hide nor hair of it so I hopped on the first shuttle bus I saw which was the Express Shuttle Bus. The main reason I have never taken the Express Shuttle Bus to work is because it’s last stop is Warren Road. This means I will have to walk quiet a way to work.

As I looked around at the passengers on the bus it was nice to see the deaf guy that works in the mail room who looks like 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney. I think he mainly got on the bus because he saw me get on it.

As I was leaving the Express Shuttle bus when it finally arrived at Warren Road, the driver asked me why I was in such a hurry. I told him because my usual bus was late. And he said in knowing tone, “Ohhh.” Truth be told, I have never taken this bus in the morning in my life. So I wasn’t quiet sure how long it would take me to walk to my job. In the afternoon I’m not really keeping track of time. I’m just happily walking down the street feeling great that I survived another day of work and wasn’t fired or yelled at. When I finally got to work at 6:40AM my coat was soaking wet from the rain.

CONCERN OF THE DAY: umbrellas and men
How come it seems that only women use umbrellas? Do men view not using an umbrella a sign of macho strength? If I see someone on the street not using an umbrella it’s usually a man. My father didn’t own an umbrella neither did my grandfather or uncles. My brother owned an umbrella for a brief period. It was black. Do men have something against umbrellas?

With women the use of umbrella’s is probably due to the fact that we don’t want to get our hair wet.

My most favorite umbrella that I ever owned was an orange clear umbrella. I was about 5 or 6 when I had that one. I lost it when it fell into the sewer one day while I was playing with it. It was the prettiest umbrella I ever did see.

I now carry a blue umbrella that has yellow smiley faces on it. I keep an umbrella at work in case it should rain and I don’t have an umbrella available. This is silly because I always carry the smiley face umbrella in a purse or bookbag. The spare umbrella at work has a leopard print and has a long wooden handle. It is very big when it’s opened and could probably cover more than one person. I found it near a senior center by the Walters Art Gallery on a rainy day.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Alert the Presses!!! For the first time EVER in 2005! I’M NOT WEARING A SWEATER! Instead, I have on a long sleeve cream colored crew neck pullover. However, I still have on my blue denim jeans and brown leather lace up shoes.

I got on the #1 bus this morning. It was being driven by a heavy set light skinned woman who wore a pony tail. The light rail when it arrived seemed unusually crowded. As people got off the train a man started to yell. He was yelling so loud that I began to wince in pain then I realized that he must be a mental patient because he wasn;t making any sense. Today the light rail shuttle bus was late. I made it in at 6:40 instead of 6:30.

CHUCK THOMPSON...DEAD AT 83
The death of long time Orioles announcer, Chuck Thompson is the big news of the day in Baltimore. Thompson made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993 for his work with the Orioles.

My memories of Chuck Thompson are tied into my memories of my late Uncle Ed. You see every summer Uncle Ed would sit out on our marble front steps with his transistor radio and listen to the Orioles. The sounds of the Orioles in the summer night air was a regular summer ritual up until his death in the 80’s.

Uncle Ed was an odd duck. He was extremely tall and thin. He was by trade a house painter. He was born in 1917 which made him the eldest in my father’s family. He moved in with our family after he divorced sometime in the 60’s. He had a very unique laugh. He actually laughed out loud, HA HA HA, like you see in cartoon captions. He seemed to take everything you said literally. He seemed socially awkward. He also liked to spend most of his time alone in the basement tending our coal furnace and listening to the radio. Also for some odd unknown reason he liked to call me Ching Chopper. Why Ching Chopper? Why Me? I don’t know.....

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, it’s a brown sweater and a blue turtleneck along with blue jeans and brown shoes.

arcadefire, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

Today, I finally listened to the Arcade Fire’s debut cd entitled, Funeral. It’s absolutely brilliant! I bought the cd because it was highly recommended by a fellow crablogs blogger, Evaporated. To be honest I was a little afraid to buy it fearing that her musical tastes would veer more towards death metal. It was kind of hard to gauge with an album title like Funeral. As you have probably guessed by now I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. Arcade Fire are not in any way shape or form a death metal band.

The cd has a nice blend of rock and orchestral sounds. In a way they kind of remind me of the Talking Heads and Modest Mouse with a bit of Coldplay thrown in. The group has two singer/songwriters in it, Win Butler and his wife Regine Chassagne. Butler, sounds like he attended the prestigious yet fictiousDavid Byrne School of Singing. Chassagne has a girlish French singing voice that is reminiscent of Bjork.

Anyway, while listening to the cd I was also reading an article about the band in Rolling Stone magazine. I was surprised to find that Chassagne’s family are refugees from Haiti. They left sometime around the time that Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier took over the small island nation.

Also I was heartened to read that David Bowie bought stacks of their cd’s and hands them out to anyone who will listen. Also shockingly, David Byrne of the Talking Heads is a big fan of the group.

All in all they appear to be poised for greatness. I can’t wait to hear what they put out next.