DOGS?: Bully me why don't you?

I tried the whole 'pet thing' with Squishy Ristimaki my late and terminally depressed beta fish and despite this particular 'flop', i'm not discouraged. 

I think i would like to be a dog person. Again.

I would like some responsibility in my life and 'dog responsibility' suits me fine. I miss it in fact.  Used to have both an Irish Setter and a Golden Retriever in my younger days.  

I know that right now, i'm excited for the new and different in my upcoming move and the school that is taking me there... but i also know 'me'. 

I am going to put this down in writing:

When i'm done school, and can move to a job that will hopefully hold the promise of a few years consistent work to pay off student loans which i'm about to accumulate, i would VERY MUCH like to have a real companion to keep my company through the whole 'working for a living' process until i can start thinking about having time for a creative career again, or working towards being a business owner, or towards getting an MFA or other Post Grad Degree.

I have always fancied a Pot-Bellied Pig, 

but i am also seriously considering dogs, and some of the breeds i'm thinking are:

Great Dane

English Bulldog

French Bulldog

or a mutt of some kind, i'm most likely to adopt a dog but in the meantime, i'll dream shall I!?!

Is it true that the dogs people choose reflect somewhat their 'look'?  If so, um, I look forward to a lazy, emotionally demanding, shorthaired, and sleepy eyed lifestyle!

Sounds kind of good really.

They came, They Cuccumbed, They went!

I had such a great time last night.

I had been planning to have a 'come have a drink on me, and leave with something that i don't then need to throw out/donate' cocktail party, and last night was the night.

It was wonderful to be surrounded by great people, and to munch on good foods and drink up, in my OWN HOME! 

Here's the recepie of the spotlight cocktail of the evening; The CUCCUMBER FIZZ

Infuse Gin, preferably Hendricks in a jar with a whole peeled Cuke, cut into peices and leave to muddle for at least 3 hours.

Strain back into the bottle.

Fill a glass with ice.

Add juice of one half of a lime.

2 squeezed/chopped mint leaves

One part Cuccumber Gin

One part Tonic

Garnish with a Cuccumber spear

Mmm... My new favourite summer drink!

Like a duck

Michael Caine once said:

Be like a duck. Calm on the Surface but always paddling like the dickens underneath.

What I have NOT been able to do lately is to stay calm. 

I had an interesting discussion last night with a friend and it lead me to the realization that the pattern of switching tasks often is something that i have inherited from my job. 

Luckily i will be leaving that job soon, but in the meantime, i am tired of feeling 'panic-y' and 'anxious' and 'scattered' all the time.  I'm the kind of person who moves through the world oblivious to immediate realities because i'm often thinking on two tracks. I get around on auto pilot and think myself to distraction. 

Key loser

Push door puller

muffin burner

I have a new trick to help stay focused and retrain my brain to focus more clearly on the present.

Its called 'NOTEPAD'

It goes like this:

-Do stuff (a task)

-When you inevitably get distracted, stop yourself

-Don't change course, just write down the thought that came to mind on a NOTEPAD and let the idea drift away

-When you've completed the task at hand look to NOTEPAD to find your next task

-Now begin resolving the most important task first. 

-Repeat as symptoms of distraction arise

I'm seriously considering the hipster pda as my format for NOTEPAD. 

I especially like that the binder clip that holds the assembly together will also be helpful in clipping the thing to my pocket so that it doesn't slide out when i'm riding my bicycle. 

Oh, how hipster i have become. 

Ahh.... Its a difficult job, but someone has to reprogram me, and it might as well be me.

Also, when i wrote 'like a duck' i sang it to the chevy truck 'like a rock' jingle. 

Toronto Vs. Nagoya Artfight at the Nagoya Arts festival

So about a month ago, i was on the phone with the poison control peeps looking for confirmation that i hadn't absorbed an unhealthy amount of wintergreen oil (which i had to sign for at the pharmacy) by doing the photo transfers for this call for entry.

It was a very hair-raising learning curve but mostly it was fun. 

I watched the first two Rambo movies whilst embroidering explosions on pictures of a 'dream home' and 'fantasy castle' in this 'FAIRY TALE ENDINGS' series. 

It was one of those opportunities that comes up to challenge yourself to make something spontaneous and capturing where you are at that one particular moment. 

I'm glad that i did it, but it isn't my proudest achievement. 

Also, i named my stapler 'RAMBO' as a result of this weekend.

Weight Control

This is the scene of my wednesday night reality check. 

I've been 'thinking light' for the past well... i won't say how many months but i can tell you this; i've got wardrobe compaction, down to a science!!!!

Tonight i tried to squeeze all my sweet and wonderful favourites/staples into the suitcase i plan to take with me to seattle.

I will be flying internationally and therefore i can bring with me two bags each weighing under 50 lbs.

It turns out that that won't be as difficult as i expected. 

All of my careful and perhaps neurotic planning is going to good use and i will arrive, well dressed, and comfortably within the 'average weight for my economy class flying self.  I'm going to make a master manifest tonite of what i am bringing.  It will make the non-test run of packing a breeze.

I'm just going to say it, I'm very proud of my ingenuity. 

This truly feels like a TRIUMPH!

Also... I'm going to be the one woman force bringing back SHOE CLIPS!!!

You heard it here first.

How else will one pair of grey shoes go with silver/gold/navy AND black!!!!

Journals

Journaling is so much more than recording details, or keeping track of the order of events.  (I have Ical for that!)  

While waiting for the shipment of my favourite journals (GALISON, Write On! style) I have just had a week of 'GASP' not journalling.  Yesterday I even considered NOT journalling anymore at all because it wasn't really that difficult, but why would I DO such a thing!

Never have I been more aware of how important that process has been in my life. 

I guess, looking back, that i have always kept a journal of some kind.  I think it started when i was a preteen, just after my parents divorce and just in time to start recording my outlandish first dealings with boyfriends and the women they drive crazy!

I've gone through some phases to be sure, college years were less journal, more 'little black book of to do lists'. I actually managed to keep it all in one journal for my thesis year of university, and since graduation, i've been using the Galison's to keep in touch with myself. To spur myself forward and really think out my wants/needs/goals.

I love journaling, I love that element of twenty/twenty hindsight that comes with being blatantly honest with yourself, and putting it in writing. 

These are more than JUST journals, these are love letters to myself. 

Instead of calling an end to this love affair, we're going to some couples therapy, me and my journal are going to be adventurous, try new things: Mindmapping, ToDoList Inclusions, Sketches, Poetry, wherever my mind and body lead me!

new CALLING CARDS

Tomorow is the gallery opening for a show i'm involved in.

Every time i put work into a show i think to myself... you should have a business/contact card like all the other professionals here so people ca

n contact you if they would like to... or so they can see what a great artist you are in other media.

So, 

I've been hulling and cutting 'header cards' from work for a week or two in preparation becasue i don't beleive in buying something you can reclaim.  They're cute and have a hole in them already in case i need to hang them from a cup hook or tie them onto a gift box.  Then, last week i took my expert artist freind to get a three line self inking stamp from business depot, and tonite while 

watching the top model finale, (YAY WHITNEY!) i cut out the stamp for the back side of my new cards.

Tonite, i printed them, so that they will be dry and beautiful for tomorow's opening and i'm very impressed... Things like this don't usually work the FIRST time, but i guess after years of buggering up and putting a word/all the letters in reverse i've somehow LEARNED to do a good job.  Who knew!