9.30.09

Why is it that things that are enjoyable always go by so quickly, whereas things not so enjoyable, like waiting on hold to pay your health insurance premium for insurance that is virtually useless, go by so slowly? I almost think I would prefer to hear the ticking of the clock than their never-ending Musak.

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9.29.09

Ah…the life of a dog.

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9.28.09

I give myself gold stars for various things I accomplish, yet I never seem to find a use for the other colors. If only I could combine all the colors...

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9.27.09

Does summer really have to end?

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9.26.09 -- The River

I live near the water. I don’t go down there often enough, but just knowing its within an easy walk gives me a certain amount of peace.

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9.25.09

Is it really better to see clearly?

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9.24.09

There’s something about looking at the colors yellow and orange that help make things a little more bearable on a gloomy day.

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9.23.09 -- Lazy Arms

I've begun using the Flip camera as a tool in Tai Chi. I have a tendency to forget the final steps of new moves by the time I get home. One of the instructors has rather unexcitedly allowed me to film him doing the moves. I then can follow watching him on the computer and curse at myself for my repeated mistakes all in the comfort of my home. Yes, I see the irony in this.

We're now at the point where I've been told to do the moves with as little tension or effort as possible. This is very difficult for me as I'm someone who always has a certain amount of tension. Even while on vacation I walk with a purpose. Of course, this is why tourists always stop me thinking I'm a native and can help them. I'm not sure I'm ready to release the tension.

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9.22.09 -- Revolution

I just found out that two people I worked with a number of years ago, and that I loathed, were fired. I actually thought I had put all of that nonsense behind me, but I couldn't help feeling pleased reading the article, although I believe there really should have been three people fired. That's the way things go.

The strange thing is not that it happened, in fact most people assumed it would have happened some time ago, but that it happened two months ago and I just found out about it. I've been lax lately about reading the local paper and my friend, who knew about the firings, thought he had told me.

In a way I'm glad I didn't find out at the time. It seems silly to celebrate or be ebullient when it happened so long ago. It would have been easy to get sucked back into that old mindset and all of that never-ending pettiness. I doubt things will ever change at that organization. Sometimes things continue to go round and round no matter what happens.

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9.21.09

What if the camera was recording and documenting your every move? Would you do things differently? This concept has become fairly commonplace with the “reality tv” phenomenon, but it doesn’t seem to be causing people to behave better or be more productive. I’ve noticed when I interview people, often times the subject begins to forget that the camera is there, which generally produces a better and more honest documentary. Honesty may not always be better in a prolonged setting. Would I actually get more work done if the camera was always on me or would I begin to forget it was there in time?

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9.20.09

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about an artist I interviewed, Maggie Wenstrup. She was a very instinctual artist and always found a way to make art. If she didn’t have paint or canvas, she used twigs or other found objects. I think I mostly admired her ability to see and bring out the art in something someone else might find mundane.

This is a quality I wish I had more of.

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9.19.09

I’ve always liked the phrase “looking at life through rose colored glasses” and have mostly wished I had a pair. Paris, whose sky has a certain rose color at times of the day, can look magical, no matter how banal or commonplace the scene. There’s something about a bit of rosy haze that can make a dramatic change in what we see.

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9.18.09 -- Marys

I have a tendency to forget what’s in my home. I’m so used to all the clutter and various keepsakes that it’s only when someone enters that I start noticing things that have blended into the background.

I studied Byzantine Art, specifically icon paintings, in graduate school. I had a friend interpret this as my interest in Mary and “scary” Christ items (his words). This caused him to pick up various things for me, some in keeping with what I was studying, others not so much. I’m so used to them being there that it would be strange if I suddenly cleared them all out.

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9.17.09 -- Accident

All it takes is a split second of looking away to find yourself either causing or experiencing an accident. I got rear-ended this morning by a woman in medical clothing with a cigarette – unlit – seemingly glued to her left palm. My assumption was that she was about to light the cigarette and looked away for her lighter and ended up hitting my car that was stopped at a red light, as it seems no other explanation for the unlit cigarette to be in the hand. I’ve never heard of people rubbing cigarettes for luck and it apparently didn’t give her any. The damage seems minor, but then it seemed that way in the accident last year where I took the brunt of the damage. I’m hoping that’s not the case again.

Last year someone told me that accidents are the universe’s way of giving you an opportunity to change your life. While I’m someone who daydreams about change, I’m not so good at embarking on it and become annoyed when it is thrust upon me. Perhaps something will come of this.


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9.16.09

With all the advances in technology, we still haven’t come up with a fast and efficient way to make certain someone receives needed information. We’re long past the days of mail trains, but mail still gets lost or mislaid, and emails can get stuck in spam filters or be accidentally deleted by the recipient, leading us back to the more old fashioned approach.


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9.15.09 -- Lindholm Høje

Like most people, I had a staycation this year. Mine entailed checking out a stack of travel guides from the library and looking through and scanning old travel photos, as physical photo albums seem to be quite the thing of the past.

I took the most photographs on my trip to Denmark in 2003. I was so afraid I’d miss out on something that I compulsively shot an inordinate amount of film. The images that stuck out the most for me were of my stay in Aalborg (about 140 miles northwest of Copenhagen) and visiting Lindholm Høje. This Viking burial site overlooks the city in a very eerie way.

Supposedly the size and shape of the rocks show a person’s status, just like today. According to Lonely Planet there are 682 graves on this former settlement. I didn’t bother counting. The guidebook also mentioned that there was a fifteen minute walk from where the bus would drop you off, but no mention of a military post right next door with guns being fired. Hearing the sounds of war while I approached this burial ground was very unsettling. As I looked around at all the graves, with the city churning on almost without noticing, I realized that this was very different from what most Westerners experience. While this may not have been a battle site, it certainly had a feel of war to it.

It’s easier to accept war when you don’t hear it or see its outcome in person.

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9.14.09

It’s important to take a pause every now and then, even if just for 27 seconds.

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9.13.09 -- Beckett

I just finished watching Beckett on Film: 19 Films x 19 Directors. Beckett really isn’t something to watch first thing in the morning before you’ve had coffee (mainstream Hollywood fare and musicals are easier on the eyes and mind at that point). Two of the shorter plays/films have stayed in my mind – Not I directed by Neil Jordan and Come and Go directed by John Crowley. The images Crowley used of the three women in the play were almost painterly. As for Not I, I was so transfixed I couldn’t even drink my coffee. The instructions of the play are that the lights be shone on the female character’s mouth and all else blacked out. Somehow only seeing a close up, shot in all directions, of a person’s mouth is quite jarring. Losing the other distractions of eyes, body, etc., intensifies what’s being said. Something so dramatic that causes you not to be able to do anything else is rather rare these days.

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9.12.09

Books make me feel safe. Nowhere is more safe and comfortable for me than a library or bookstore. I’ve managed over the years to practically barricade myself in books. Occasionally I’ll get rid of a few, but many others that I’ve never read or that no longer have any bearing on my life, I can’t seem to part with. I suppose it’s not wanting to let go of what I once was or wanted to be that’s so difficult.

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9.11.09 -- Tai Chi

After I was released from chiropractic care early this year, following my car accident, I was still experiencing pain and lack of mobility. As annoying as that was, it was probably a good thing since it pushed me into Tai Chi. I’m still greatly lacking in grace and coordination, which all the instructors, I’m sure, can attest to, but I keep at it a little a day. I do feel improvement and have not had to go back to the chiropractor or seek out drugs.

I am amazed at how most of us move around everyday without thinking about how our legs or arms are moving and how they work together. I still find great difficulty in getting my legs to do one thing and my arms to do another, yet I clearly unconsciously am doing this all day long. Having one leg bend, while the other stays straight, and the arms go up is the pinnacle of frustration. It looks so easy, yet, at least for me at this point in time, it is not.

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9.10.09

Today is the one-year anniversary of my car accident. While I know I am lucky, as I’m still dealing with pain issues, it’s easy to forget how bad things could have been.

Perhaps reviewing what my body looked like shortly after the accident will be a good reminder that things do change and improve with time.

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9.9.09 -- Editing

Imagine if life were like a computer editing system – I, O, and X, then repeat. Click the I key to mark the beginning of what you don’t like, O at its end, then X to delete. It’s so simple.

Wouldn't it be nice if life were like AVID...

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