GJ Willis' Art Notes

I spent the day listening to music I downloaded from the iTunes store. I can not wait till I get my iPod Shuffle!

DAILY COMMUTE:
It’s the third day in the row that the LL Cool J looking man has been driving the #2 bus. So far this year, this is the longest streak for a #2 bus driver. The question now ladies and gentleman in whether he’ll be back on Monday...

The light rail train was on time. The train is still being driven by a woman. When I got on the train I was the only passenger aboard the train. This occurrence is very rare.

CONCERN OF THE DAY: Friday the 13th
I hadn’t realized what today was until I got into work this morning. I’m not a very superstitious person. The only bad things that happen to me so far today happened yesterday.

I tried to upload pictures from my digital camera to my computer but kept getting a message saying that the computer did not detect the presence of the camera. I had all the wiring hooked up and everything. I finally retreated and gave up at 1:38 am. This was the first time I tried to upload pictures from my camera since installing OS X.

Also yesterday, I lost the control panel on my sports walkman. I never really like that radio. I’m glad to see it go.

WHAT I’M WEARING
This morning I have on a lavender pullover, blue jeans, and black canvas tennis shoes.

MORNING COMMUTE:
The LL Cool J looking driver was again driving the #2 bus. He still had on the non-MTA issue blue baseball cap. He was also steadily talking on his fashionable yellow cell phone throughout the ride. This has been two days in a row he has been our driver. I wonder how long he will be sticking around?

I can’t believe it! The 7-Eleven is still out of Mountain Dew! I will have to drink the caffeine weak Pepsi instead. Argh!

In other news the light rail train was on time. The lady I like to think of as the makeup monster was aboard. I call her this because she wears a lot of makeup and when she’s on the train she’s either applying makeup to her face or fingernail polish to her hands.

The shuttle bus was again on time. For the past week or so the bus has not been crowded. I wonder what happened to cause the change? I’m happy with the bus not being crowded I’m just curious as to what happened to the passengers that were crowding the bus in previous weeks.

CONCERN OF THE DAY: Tiny Cubicles
Yesterday, the workers were by to install new cubicles for the department I work for. The stigma of our department being the red haired step child of the company is still alive. Yes, we have cubicles up. Yes, the desks are larger. However the cubicles themselves are like tiny clown cars. The cubicule walls are non existent. Every other cubicle in the company has taller walls except the ones we will soon be inhabiting. I hear we are supposed to be getting flat panel computer screens. Based on how our new cubicles are built I’m sure these will be computers built by the Fisher Price toy company.

Hopefully, they will be re-doing the other cubicles in the company to look like ours. I would hate to think that our department was singled out. Those almost wall less cubicules are like Hester Prine’s scarlet letter in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. It’s like there announcing to the company, “The red haired step children are over there in the Fisher Price cubicules!”

WHAT I’M WEARING:
This morning I have on a short sleeve royal blue pull over, blue jeans, and black canvas tennis shoes. I also have on a striped cotton jacket.

stripeman, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

The above picture is an oil pastel painting I did. I'm not sure if I've written this before but I've recently officially joined a group of oil pastelist. The name of the group is The Oil Pastel Society. I first learned of them through the WetCanvas message board. The board is primarily populated by artists.

MORNING COMMUTE:
Today, I got on the #2 bus. The driver bore a striking resemblence to L.L. Cool J. The other thing I noticed about the driver was the he was not wearing an MTA issue baseball cap. I suppose they can wear what ever cap they want as long as it is blue.

This morning I was shocked when I went to the 7-11 and found that they were out of Mountain Dew!!! I had to improvise for my caffeine fix. I bought a 1 liter bottle of Pepsi instead.

The light rail train was on time. It's being driven by a (gasp) woman! The light rail shuttle bus was on time. It was also sparsely populated.

UPDATE OF THE DAY: Sowebo Poster
The poster I did for the Sowebo Arts Festival is now hanging up at a place called Spoons Coffee House. The Coffee House is located at 24 East Cross Street. So ladies and gentlemen, you can now go out and see the poster I created live and in person!! Yes, decide for yourself, am I an artist or a poser? Unfortunately, you do not have long to decide. It will be hanging up at Spoons Coffee House until May 28th. On the 29th it goes on display at the festival.

Right now, I'm happy that the giant collage poster has not fallen apart. Thus, I will not do my yearly lament over the fact that it was not chosen yet again, for display over at The Charles movie theatre....

WHAT I'M WEARING:
Today, I have on a long sleeve cornflower blue pullover, jeans, and beige canvas tennis shoes.

MORNING COMMUTE:
When I left out this morning it smelled funny outside like solid human waste. I left for the bus stop thinking the smell was just confined to my neighborhood. By the way, this morning’s driver of the #1 bus reminded me of >Lou Myers. I know not many people have the foggiest idea who he is because he’s a character actor. Myers is most famous for playing, Mr. Gaines, the cafeteria chef, on A Different World.

After I got off the bus and headed for the light rail station I noticed that the odd smell was not confined to my neighborhood. I also noticed that another north bound train was immediately following the north bound train I usually take. This was highly unusual. The trains usually fifteen minutes apart not one after the other. My only thought was that something major must have happened to cause this strange occurrence. I soon got an answer of sorts.

As the light rail train ran up the street, I saw two fire fighters walking on the sidewalk. They both looked kind of tired, one of them was holding an axe. I suppose the smell I was smelling was the last remnants of a fire or a very big accident.

CONCERN OF THE DAY: Is He Really Handicapped?
As I waited for the shuttle bus I saw the odd man from a couple of months ago. This was a man who had a very over the top Baltimore accent whom I assumed was either a doofus or developmentally disabled. One day he asked a passenger on a dark cloudy day if the shuttle bus went to the train station. I found this question odd because the light rail train still goes to the train station. In fact they have trains running clearly marked, Penn Station. At the time I assumed he had just gotten off the train marked Penn Station. Hence, my feeling of thinking him a doofus!

I saw him the second time in bright daylight. He asked the same passenger the same exact question. I also noticed that he looked possibly developmentally disabled. I based this conclusion solely by the way he was dressed (baseball cap, backpack, and visible MTA pass). He looked as though his mother was still dressing him.

When I saw him the first time many months ago I thought he looked familiar. Now I realize why it was that he looked so familiar. I believe he has from time to time gotten off the bus or light rail near the shuttle stop around the same time I do.

Well, this morning he didn’t look at all developmentally handicapped. He still had on the baseball cap. On second thought it looked like it might not have been a baseball cap but a traditional cricket cap. In addition to the cap he had on a long sleeve shirt and tie. He looked perfectly normal. He looked like he could be a run of the mill business or computer guy. Perhaps he was normal all along? Perhaps he’s just an eccentric doofus and not handicapped? I guess in the end I will never know for sure...

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a red striped waffle knit henley, blue jeans, and beige canvas tennis shoes.

MORNING COMMUTE:
This morning my mind was elsewhere and I wasn’t paying too much attention to the buses and trains. I was thinking about whether or not I should ditch visiting the gym I called up on Saturday. The only thing I can recall is that I did make it to work on time without major incident.

CONCERN OF THE DAY: Should I Do Curves?
Today, I went to my appointment at the Curves fitness center. I went to the one on Garrison Blvd. The owner is a Muslim woman. She wore a head covering. She was very nice and got me through the circuit training. The workout in total took only 30 minutes. It was not as strenuous as I thought it would be. However, I haven’t entirely mastered all of the equipment they have there.

While working out they played very upbeat Motown music. Every now and then a bell would sound and you would have to move on the next workout apparatus. My favourite apparatus is the one where you get to jump up and down on the board.

I first learned about Curves by way of NPR. NPR was doing a story on Curves, the fast growing fitness center in America. In addition to NPR’s upbeat story about the center I recently I noticed that they have a tie in with Avon. The tie in is that you buy a certain number of products and you get a two week free pass. I thought it would be nice to give it a try before I decided to either get a free pass or sign up for membership.

My experience with the Curves on Garrison Blvd was very positive. I know that I will return there in the future. Right now, I’m thinking about going to the Curves on Light Street by the Cross Street Market. I want to go there to see how the different facilities run before I settle on just one. However, right now the one on Garrison is in the lead.

When I called the Curves on Light Street the woman who answered the phone sounded like she didn’t want me to come there. She kept emphasizing the fact that Curves was everywhere and I could select one closer to my neighborhood. In actuality the one on Light Street is closer to where I live. Now I feel a little reluctant to go to the one on Light Street. If I go there will I be the only person of colour? Should I even bother to go? To the woman who answered the phone’s credit she was nice enough to give me an appointment albeit reluctantly.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I’m
wearing pink long sleeve shirt, jeans, and beige tennis shoes.

At Curves I wore a tacky long sleeve black t-shirt with Las Vegas gambling casino’s emblazoned on it. I also had on blue cotton sweat pants. Both the items I had on were both wrinkled from being folded into my backpack. I also bought tennis shoes along. However, I decided against wearing them in the gym. Instead I decided to keep on my simple beige canvas tennis shoes. The main reason I kept them on was because I saw an old gray haired lady wearing canvas tennis shoes. I wanted to increase the ranks of the sisterhood of the canvas tennis shoe wearer.

mommy, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

I'd like the time to wish all you out there who are mothers a Happy Mothers Day!

Mother's Day for me is a time that I usually hide indoors. I don't have any children. However, without fail some stranger usually comes up to me to wish me a happy mother's day. This of course makes me feel even more awkward than usual. I know that the main reason that strangers do this is because I'm black and almost everyone assumes that all black women of a certain age are parents.

Just the other day two random men came up to me and wished me a happy Mother's Day. I never quiet know how to respond to this without sounding like a bitch. So I end up saying saying thank you and awkwardly move on in a perplexed state.

I suppose all my life I've known that I would never have children or get married. I'm not a very out going person and I have unusual interests. How many 35 year old black women do you know who are obsessed with comic books, Star Wars, and Macintosh computers? I suppose when I signed up for season tickets at the symphony and Center Stage I had gleefully sealed my fate? I have to say so far I have thoroughly enjoyed my life without the everlasting commitment of children or spouses dragging me down.

For the record in case your wondering my mother passed away a number years ago. I never got the feeling that she looked forward to Mother's Day. To her I assume it was just another Sunday she had to cook a big dinner. Then again I could be wrong. For all I know she might have looked forward to the cards, flowers, and candies.

The photo above is a colorized picture of her that was taken a few months before she passed away. I did the background with leaves because green was her favourite colour. The photo was taken on Mother's Day of 1995 over at my Aunt Eunice's house. Little did we know at the time that this would be the last Mother's Day that she would ever experience. She passed away suddenty in July of the same year.