some not great photos of one of the places I work...plus some of my work

Sorry these photos are blurry, the inane photographer in me wasnt trying so hard...
these are some photos of the shop where i work and some of the work that i show there, that hasnt sold yet.

enjoy.

the rest of the day was like a hallucination

reminded that i have visitors in only a few days, i sprang from my bed before 10am as fresh as a spring chicken and as lame as a stepford wife to begin to put our apartment back together...
quiet
quiet
quietly
drews still sleeping.

i proceeded to make myself some tea and started asking myself questions that i would then answer, such as:

would the vacuum wake him up?
yes.

should i vacuum anyway?
no. thats mean.

what do you want to eat?
toast, probably.

why does this toast taste so bad?
i dont know. you should probably throw it out.

this went on for a few hours intermittent with tiptoe cleaning until drew finally got up/i attacked his cocooned self.

HOWEVER, i finally collapsed the pullout bed/couch that we have had out since my sister's visit, did two loads of laundry and a dishwasher cycle, collected garbage, swept the floor, and cleaned the living room. woop woop normal apartment.

to catch those of you following the daily photo project up...
27 feb - diana - double exposure - interior/drew at turntable
28 feb - diana - triple exposure - at the gallery/Palumbo horse sculpture
1 mar - digital - fur shop shots (3)
2 mar - digital - fawn/jewelry display shots
3 mar - diana - low light shot from top of parking structure

digital photos to come.

im twenty-two and find myself still attracted to tie dye

About a week ago, i anticipated this crazy couple of days (in terms of scheduling). Ive been working both jobs back to back daily since my last day off (tues) and drew had to work an early morning shift take a couple hours off and then go back to trudge through the dreaded twilight hours shift (11pm-7am), back just in time to snuggle for a couple of hours before i had to go to work at 11am. this basically meant that drew and i would pass each other in bed about four times in a 24 hour period, and though we live together and hang all of the time, the past couple of days have seemed so hectic. honestly, i cant wait for march to come and go.

btw, happy march 1st...

though i intend to get in a couple of snowboarding days in before the season is over, the chances of snow are fewer and further between. cross your fingers, visitors. today is fourty fucking degrees, a disgusting trend that is only scheduled to worsen. its supposed to reach almost fifty degrees tomorrow with rain and a whole bunch of nasty to happen before a few snow showers that are scheduled towards the end of the week - something to look forward to in addition to the arrival of allison and kaytee, yay.

see the nasty for yourself

in the coffeeshop this morning, i over heard a conversation taking place between two women in fur coats (yes, this is a frequent sighting on main street where we have four fur shops maybe?)

"X" marks the fur spot

they were talking about how they felt really old seeing all of these young girls walking and working on main street. they wished for their figures back so that they could wear bellyshirts? (really, ladies, that is what you reckon your younger years for?) they were recalling how much fun they had in "the sixties" wearing tie dye. then came the remark that truly offended me (almost as much as the five-hundred dead rabbits or whatever corpseless furry friend they were donning),

"...but Lynn, you know those young girls that wear tie dye now-a-days?"

"yes..."

"they are so out of touch with the true meaning... they wear it and think, "look im a hippie!" its the tragic downfall of true tie dye wearing folks we used to hang around with."

"i agree, plus tie dye isnt fashionable anymore, so wearing it isn't making much more of a statement than "i'm immature"..."

HAHAHAHAHA. FUCKING FOR REAL? lets list the problems that i have with this exchange...

1. first off, youre wearing fur. and not just any fur, tacky molting fur. its ugly. and tasteless. wanna know why? cause youre wearing it from head to toe. its almost fifty fucking degrees out and you decided to put the entire band of dead woodland forest creatures on your fat saggy body. not only do you lose all fashion contests, you lose all of your rights to judge what people are wearing.
   
2. secondly, you speak of a "true meaning". if you were a philosopher in disguise maybe i would respect your use of this phrase, but frankly, your leathery skin juxtaposed next to little bunny foo foo distracts me too much to even begin to believe that you understood the true meaning of tie dye while you wore it.
   
3. thirdly, though dying cloth can be traced back to the egyptians... im sorry to burst your bubble but your tie dye also proclaimed, "look at me.... IM A DAMN HIPPIE." if im wrong, please let me know what "the folks you used to hang around with" were really thinking. it was a statement of individualism, radicalism, whatever. a generation that broke from the former... and frankly by the time you were wearing tie dye, it was probably in fashion magazines and on television and on every other self-proclaimed suburban hippie. i think its time to shake off the ahistorical nostalgia and give yourself a reality check. you werent revolutionary, you were pretty much the same as anyone who wears it today, if not more cliche.
4. Remember Lynn...your ugly coat has removed any right for you to use fashionable in a sentence.
5. Finally, since when has maturity been linked with fur... Let me rephrase that. I'm letting my prejudices get in the way. Since when has IMMATURITY been linked with tie-dye? I mean i am sure it is viewed that way by people who supported Vietnam, Eric Cartman, and the likes, but if you proudly wore it fourty years ago, when your boobs werent as saggy, then what suddenly makes it immature. Not that im the most mature twenty-two year old, but I like to think that when I wear tie-dye, I am not only harkening back to the Egyptians, but also recalling anything associated with anti-corporatism, celebrations of individualism, and absolutely as many cliche anti-warisms as possible.
   

Dear Lynn and friend,

please let me take you shopping, with your personal credit cards, of course. Let me show you the world of age appropriate, sustainable, non-fur clothing. Afterwards, we can go out to dinner, on you, of course, and we can talk about tie-dye because I was slightly confused and offended by your private conversation that you held right behind me. I think i can help change your mind about your choice of outerwear and if not, then, i will leave you alone. if you find this offer to "hang" a bit intrusive, arrogant, or unsolicited, i understand. i am pretty anti-fur and pro-tie-dye, so yeah. call me a product of liberalism or a tie-dye loving drain on society, but i pay my taxes and love my bunny so i have the same right to hate your fur and be offended by your comments as you would have the right to feel nostalgic about tie-dye belly shirts...if you hadnt decided to wear roger and the trix rabbit out for your main street stroll this morning.

Love, Monica

As a result of this encounter, today's daily photo is constituted of a series of shots of the fur shops on main street. LOVE IT.

"it was inevitable"

::imagining life without google image::
what a sad image searchless world we would be a part of.

yesterday marks day one of photo project.
because i know youre just itching to know how it went i will delay details and tell you a story

last night we lost our power in kimball junction due to a stinky power tower (dont ask me what it is exactly) on Parleys Summit that caught fire. i got a phone call from the power company to ask Summit County residents to reduce power usage due to this incident.

like the conscious citizen that I am, I disregarded the message and went on working fawn. the lights dimmed every so often, but nothing worthy of my or anyone else's concern on main street...

about two hours later i get a phone call from drew who apparently was sitting in our dark apartment, previously listening to a new record, running the dishwasher and a few other items dependent upon an electric current. thinking he finally blew a fuse, he peeked outside only to see that the lights were out in every window and on every street corner. even the outlet mall was sans-illumination; he commented on the prominence of headlights on confused drivers' cars. he was calling to see if we had power on main street. i put rocky mountain power's and his phone call together and filled him in... my poor lover aloof in shadow. how sad. end of story.

the photograph i decided to take was after we got home

by that time the power had been restored for a full 17 minutes.

reveling in its return, drew uncovered his turntable to replace the needle from where it had been prior to the blackout. i thought this was really humorous, considering the fact that in the car we were scheming as to what an electricity-less evening was going to come to.

the fact of the matter is that we are frighteningly reliant on electricity - taking it for granted with every switch that we fondle. on. off. the moment we are without we are confused, angry, bored, absent. time goes by so slowly because we have no way of recording it. "i should get candles for the gallery just in case it happens to effect main street..." my boss pondered today after i told her about last night.

yes...troubleshooting a blackout can be fun in certain instances, but as soon as the power returns, though it makes sense to conserve, we instead have an inclination to indulge as if to say, "its been so long since we've last rendevous'd" or as though you just moved back to NYC from Park City, UT and you ordered a whole 22" pizza that you intend to finish off all by yourself. its absurd, but it happens...

thus the inspiration and theme for this photo. i double exposed a pair of angles of drew at the turntable. i used my Diana F+ that i got for christmas. i was recently inspired to perfect double exposures and the diana is great for that. check out random google image search finds for examples of inspiration. mmm soft focus.

so thats that. i have yet to be inspired to take today's photograph, mainly because ive been so busy at work(s). speaking of which...

a photo a day keeps the doctor away

while recently fretting... i found two items that stood above the rest:
-the frustration with myself and my motivation (or lackthereof) to take photographs or be otherwise creative on a daily basis

and

-the probability of no health insurance for a while

I came up with a new personal saying to simultaneously clear away my uncreative cobwebs and comfort the prospects of ailing sans-coverage:

a photo a day keeps the doctor away

i figure that if i can convince myself that taking at least one photo a day - be it digital, well composed, entirely random, hasty, or medium format - will keep me in good health, I am not only providing myself with a preemptive, proactive, homemade remedy to ebb my concerns for my lack of health insurance, but am also resolving, or should i say reviving (to stay in line with the health theme), my stale artistic flame, and ultimately expanding my portfolio while out here adventuring in the middle of UT.

i have created a manifesto for this daily photo diary project in order to keep myself in line. if one is to be successful as an artist, there is a severe need for discipline, especially for someone so good at making up excuses and procrastinating as myself.

PHOTO DIARY PROJECT manifesto: b. 27-02-2009;
BASIC:
a) daily photo diary requires, but is not limited to, one photo a day.

b) in the event that it is decided that daily photo diary will include more than one photo in one twenty-four period the following sub-guidelines must be followed:

1. the photos taken must constitute "a series". With the understanding that i will uphold a loose definition of what constitutes a "series", the "series" must either be:
   

i) linked in some self-constructed way. i.e. theme, subject matter, etc.
ii) of the same subject using a variety of apertures and shutter speeds in order to determine best settings for specific conditions. in this case, it is imperative that the aperture and shutter speed be recorded.

b) daily photo diary must involve recording aperture and shutter speed, as well as any other ideas, concepts, techniques, etc. employed in photo-taking process, in a newly constructed/purchased daily photo log as best to my ability. if this is truly an attempt at self-instruction, there must be a means to improvement. log to be reviewed in a few months to see if there is some sort of "progress" in terms of my ability to read the conditions and achieve desired effect.

c) daily photo diary must consciously tackle at least two new themes a month. to be recorded in daily photo log. (i.e. if consciously recorded,"randomness" qualifies as a theme)

1. I must complete and successfully incorporate research of ANY TOPIC, SUBJECT, IDEA into these themes. Inspirations to be posted on blog as well as recorded in log.
   

d) daily photo diary must involve at least three different cameras a month in order to diversify abilities (and possibly develop an inclination towards one in particular?)

e) daily photo diary as a whole must attempt to capture something important or pivotal about the day. this will serve as a means to link entire project under one theme. record meaning in log.

f) daily photo diary must be reviewed in terms of my attempt at being "conceptual" at least once a week. in turn, i must complete one non-photo creative project a week that relates (somehow) to the photos taken over the past week. Complexity is entirely dependent on resources available.

DETAILS:
f) daily photo diary will end at an undetermined date. dependent upon "feeling of completion". definition of "feeling of completion" is totally personal and entirely subjective. (feel free to grab coffee and call on a willing friend to help figure/talk this one out.)

g) it is encouraged, but not required, to develop/upload daily photo diary photographs to blog to keep progress public. in this way i am more likely to stick with it cause im a tool.

h) it is encouraged, but not required, to "fiddle" with photographs. "Fiddling" includes, but is not limited to, the use of digital or manual manipulation.

i) it is encouraged, but not required, to develop film at least once a month, depending on availability of funds. Means to develop should try to support a private/local business or be done by myself at Kimball Art Center. Attempt at least two developing sessions while still in UT.

DISCLAIMER:
j) in the event that i am unable to take a photograph, for whatever reason, i must substitute with a suitable artistic venture - i.e. sketch, painting, poem, etc. Limit to four times a month.

LONGTERM GOALS:

1. stay healthy. no health insurance = no doctors.
2. feel more creative.
3. improve manual and digital photography skills.
4. expand portfolio.
5. ultimately aid in creation and expansion of personal website.

Okay so i know what you are thinking. She's moved to Utah and gone crazy. I assure you, though the romanticized crazy that I just finished reading about in Burrough's Running with Scissors is quite appealing in the "lets paint the kitchen bright red" sort of way (and not in the "Im hungry, make me a toothpaste sandwich, I am god" sort of way) I am not crazy, just kinda bored. Strike that, really bored. Stuck. A new fun job, with creative outlets, has helped me inch closer to "salvation" but I am not there yet. So i decided to do this.

If you walked into our apartment you would find that it is littered with painting supplies, about eight cameras (if not more), jewelry-making supplies, etc. There are about 10+ rolls of film in the fridge and 15+ tubes of paint in a box, just lying there... but I dont feel motivated, inspired. Atop this lack of inspiration, I no longer have classes, homework, or lots of people around all of the time to distract me or give me excuses for my lack of productivity. I work long hours most days, so theres that excuse, but I do have lots of down time where all i crave is un-sobriety, a few episodes of lost, or food...sometimes snow.

I have decided that is not healthy, not only for the potential I would like my "career" (whatever that word means) to possess, but also physically. This daily photo diary project is similar to this blog in that its another distraction and means of communication but its primarily a gutteral yelp from somewhere deep inside myself saying, "GET OUTSIDE MONICA! OR ELSE YOU WILL GET SICK AND YOU DONT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE SO YOU SHOULD PROBABLY STAY WELL, FIT, ALERT! MAKE ART AND LIVE LONG!"

I have created a manifesto of sorts in a fashion truly compatible with that of Dmitri Martin or some other sick fiend obsessed or becoming obsessed with self-improvement, with challenging oneself. Coming up with this first version of the manifesto, I thought to myself, "what a good way to pass the time and simultaneously force myself to stick to something using guidelines I created, guidelines I am free to alter if they dont work out, guidelines that really arent guidelines at all." I figure that failure isnt only an un-option, its impossible because if i stick with it for only a month, or even a week, though it might be embarrassing...I can guarantee that I will have produced something worthwhile, something interesting, something worth laughing at. whatever.

that being said - the flexibility of the manifesto is contigent upon its most recent form. therefore i am not only accepting but encouraging your input. Revise, alter, add to the stipulations I have set for myself. Give me ridiculous independent daily goals. What do you think I can't do? What do you think of what Ive done? Make it harder for me, make it fun. Tell me that I need to include a bird in my next shot. Tell me i have to wear my camera all day and take a picture of the first person that talks to me about the camera. Tell me I have to take a picture with my eyes closed. I can make anything work and it will only be more interesting with more feedback. Inspire me. Critique every click of my shutter, every swatch of color, every brushstroke, every word. It is difficult to offend me.

OR > If you feel so inspired, join me! Adapt the manifesto, challenge yourself. take photos with me or change it so that you are breaking or making another habit for yourself. that way we can be ridiculous together, like people who try to lose weight together. only i will be healthier by means of ART.

On the subject of health, let me briefly justify the other half of this dual purpose mission. a photo a day WILL keep the doctor away. Im convinced. While the creation of art is therapeutic (even recognized by western medicine), I realize that it alone is not a proper substitute to health care. But what if it could be? Moreso, what if I could convince myself that by taking on this project I am making myself healthier and thus preventing future ailments. No health insurance? No worries. All falling-down-a-cliff, getting-impaled-by-a-javelin-thrown-by-a-crazed-olympian, freak accidents aside...I am attempting to knowingly convince myself that I will live longer if I do this. Perhaps?

who knows.
who cares?
because here it begins.
join,
scoff,
challenge,
laugh at/with,
or just watch me.

project commence.

jessie came and went

In a blur spanning four days or so, Jessie came to Utah. She left too soon.
It was fun to have a visitor.

She tried snowboarding and rocked it.
She came to work with me and worked retail for a couple of hours.
She came to work with me and sat bored to tears, a slow night at the gallery.
She came with many silly school assignments and left with less.
She tried on many denim jackets at the DI and it paid off.
She tried an antipasto appetizer and ate (most of) it.
She flew on a plane all by herself and survived to tell the tale.

Overall, it was a good, though all-too-brief, time together.

I cried when I left her at the airport because I started to think about how miss her all too often.

Countdown to arrival of next visitors: 10 days.

"New" Camera Digital and Valentines Day

Camera Test #1: Drew (self portrait with flower), Feb 2009

Hooray! Utah real-time photographs are now available through pcsnow.blogspot.com! Thanks to Miss. A. Luciano, I have a 7.1 megapixel Cannon Powershot SD500 to take photographs for my bloggy blog blog. Quite the photo-technical advancement considering my liking for the manual art. However, it should be made clear that the digital picture in my case serves only as a medium of communication, not a work of art. Frankly, this blog was not created to become revolutionary tool, as some blogs try to be or fear of becoming, instead this (now picture-friendly blog) is a means to let the people who know both about it (the blog) and me (mo Vee) know what is going on while I am adventuring in Utah.

Let us begin.

Above is the first picture taken while it was in our possession. In appropriate Valentine style, a undeniably awesome boyfriend Drew, wearing a tasteful amount of festive red, takes a self portrait holding a daisy that he purchased for me. He proceeded to take me out to a sushi dinner and bought me lovely things. Spoiled me for the evening, basically. While I am not one to demand spoiling, it was fun considering I had just finished a 11 hour work day. It was simultaneously lovely and delicious, a feast of raw fish that St. Valentine would be proud of. I got him a super awesome travel coffee mug complete with handle and cushy bottom. haha. cushy bottom.

Anyway, I think the photograph is worth sharing cause it allows me to flaunt my adorable boyfriend. hes mine and i love him and his tasteful amount of festive red. you wish you had a boyfriend that could achieve perfect tasteful amounts of festive colors. yay flaunting. haha. cushy bottom.

In other photographical adventure news, I took a few pictures on my way to work this morning to show you just how much snow we have. Enjoy. More to come, surely.

Camera Test #2: Running out the door, Feb 2009

Camera Test #3: Running out the door (thorugh a tunnel of snow), Feb 2009

Camera Test #4: Driving to work, Feb 2009

story: sixty injured horses

sixty injured horses came galloping down
towards the broken house, - black
shattered frames lay where the smart
sturdy once stood, quietly.

"I guess we will graze now," said Larkhorse
(he was silently appointed leader about five-hundred and thirty miles back)

And so they grazed, ashen blades.

It had burned through the foundation
thanks to a feverish fellow
forgetfully dozing without extinguishing.
A rancher once without bounds.
It is likely he is shackled to some hellfire resort.
It were the horses who were boundless now.

"This tastes sour," Gablehorse commented
cud spilling from his whisker face.
He was told to stop complaining
by the famished fifty-nine.

They grazed until they could graze no more,
not that there was much to begin with.
Sounding the signal of release the
sixty sped away, Larkhorse in the lead
while Gablehorse pulled up the rear.

Trails of their blood hidden amongst the
black. No green.
Trodden black remains smell of manure
and time lost.

Snot, Sweat, and Tears

Thursday makes Day 6.

...and it Sucked amidst improvements.

Today, Drew and I hit the slopes at a bit of a slow start this morning but I was totally Miss. Gung-ho... confident and ready to go... until I actually got off the lift and started snowboarding. For some reason, I wasn't feeling it.

I hit up High Meadows, the same slope I've been riding since Christmas, and fell twice amidst other crappy attempts at turning. "What is wrong with me?" I kept rolling over and over in my head.

After our "warm-up" run (a.k.a. psych yourself out run) Drew pulled me towards Saddleback, a blue square run. I could feel my heart pounding with fear as we went up
up
up
up

definitely higher than high meadows. Definitely. Blue squares are harder than green circles. Fucking shapes and colors.

I was scared like I was when I was five and I lost my mom at Disney World. I felt nauseous in the way a wide-eyed claustrophobic feels sick in a tight elevator. I was conciously taking count of my breath with hopes of distracting myself with numbers rather than destructive cyclical thoughts. I was scared and nervous about NOT knowing what was to come. To be honest, I probably would not have gotten on the lift had Drew not been there.

We did two runs, the second better than the first (isnt it always?), though it was steeper in certain sections than I could handle. I did a lot of sliding on heelside amidst a few turns on the flatter parts. "I'm going too FAST!" I would think to myself, cringing, and immediately revert back to the ow-my-calves-hurt heelside mode. The burn of working my calves is preferable to injury induced pain, so I kept on sliding.

We made it to the base of the run and I wanted to go home. I just wasnt feeling it. I wasnt performing like I wanted to and it was taking its toll on my confidence. Drew had to stop every few feet and I felt bad, knowing he just wanted to keep riding. I told him to go ahead but he swore he came here with me to ride with me. He tried to encourage me but it didnt make any difference. I didnt want to hear it. I felt bad but I really didnt want to go up again.

It was a weird mood to be in on such an ideal day. There was noone on the slopes really, and it was snowing, sorta. Visibility was prime and there were rather short lift lines. I dont know why it was such a big deal at the time, but I needed a few moments to regroup. I am glad Drew stuck around to pull me through my slump but I can say without an inkling of doubt that I was not the most fun person to be around for a while there. We ended up taking a trail down to the base of the mountain, in lieu of the gondola, which, admittedly, was nice, and called it a day. I guess you can't rock and feel awesome everyday you go out there, especially while youre still learning. practicing. whatever.

To add to the mess of foul emotions, I lost my phone somewhere on the mountain. I dont really care about the phone but about all of the number Ive lost with its disappearance. Its gonna take forever to get them all back. Sucky Sucky. Maybe someone will find it. Until then, its troubleshooting time...and time for work.

i.quit j.crew

it is official
i work at j.crew no longer.

i am assistant manager at fawn boutique!
hoorah!

Lincoln Turns

Day 4: Snowboarding doesn't hurt as much when you're LINCOLN turns!
[written and visual pun (thank you photoshop) intended.]

Yesterday was the first day it snowed since Sundance ravaged through Park City's streets. I like to think that it was mother nature saying "good riddance" - covering the ground with a blanket anew, filling the cinematically-inclined wanderer's tracks.

In honor of the much anticipated snowfall, Drew and I spent the day at The Canyons. He was able to find some beautiful powder fields far away from the run I consistently ride/tumble. He was happy. Then he spent some time with me, helping me to link turns, which towards the end, I was doing a bit more confidently. He relayed some advice he recieved from a Park City snowboarding instructor, "Pretend like you are driving a bus, with a big steering wheel." Making that motion or at least thinking about it makes you turn your body a bit more naturally, and before I reached the bottom of the hill I had linked a few hesitant turns. Whether it was because I was pretending to drive a bus or because I am finally getting the hang of it, I don't know. It's still really hard to do what I want to do, but I find myself improving everytime I go out there...

"Your instructor should have had you doing this day 1," Drew said after he applauded my progress with turning and stuff. Yeah...she probably should've, but she didn't. So day 4, I have begun to actually snowboard. Wahoo.

While Drew finished up his last run or so, I made my way down the gondolas to Betty. With the extra hour or so I made a few phone calls, then drove to the liquor store and picked up a tasty selection of West Coast beers for the drinkin'. I then picked Drew up and we headed home to our fabulous apartment complex's outdoor jacuzzi to soak our tired muscles. After wading in the luke-warm tub under a banner of snowflakes, I made some Boca burgers for dinner complete with Lost, Jeopardy, and Rachel Maddow.

A lovely day off.

In other more career motivated news, I am in the running for an assistant manager job at the artist driven boutique/yarn shop called Fawn located just a few doors down from my gallery on Main Street. Drew came across the listing on craigslist and passed it on to me last week. Upon this news, I printed out my resume, I walked into the shop, handed it alongside an ingenious cover letter to one of the owners, and exchanged a few words with one of the owners. Overwhelmed by the fact that I could both speak english and knit, she said, "Oh you're good. This is good." First positive exchange.

I called the other owner today to schedule an interview and she said that the other owner had told her that a good candidate had stopped by the other day and she presumed it to be me. The phonecall went well; I told her that I was truly interested in the position and she said that was good because she was truly interested in meeting with me in person. Wahoo, second positive exchange.

I am to meet with her in the coming days. Though, not before I brush up on my knitting termz, as my most recent yarn endeavours have been with the crochet hook. I think I know enough to do what they want me to do...however, it seemed as though I might be tested at my interview, so a quick glance at knitty.com or knittinghelp.com can't hurt. I also mentioned my background in art and my recent craft-fair adventures, so that was good too. She said that I will be given total creative freedom at the shop, if hired, so a background in art also scores some points.

I am willing to quit J.Crew and work for this place if they can keep me (and pay me well) through the off-season. Again...we will see. Update shortly.

Finally, without seeking pity, I would like to note that I was recently sucked into a state of mucus filled incoherency, suffering fits of uncontrollable coughing, and feverishly couch-ridden by a nasty cold bug. Wednesday morning it befell me and lasted through the weekend with only scattered symptoms lingering today. Though I would probably be advised to knock on wood, I am feeling better and hope to be symptom free ASAP. As both of my current jobs require me to interact closely with customers, there are certain aspects of being sick that tend to turn people away... as you might imagine yourself slowly backing away from a J.Crew saleswoman with blooshot eyes and a red nose coughing uncontrollably into her sleeve. I know I would've walked the opposite direction of myself. I end this post with a genuine compliment to Drew and his nurse-skillz. Zonked on Friday night, I was welcomed back to this realm of consciousness by certain lovable boyfriend named Drew coming home from work with pockets full of remedies - Sucrets and the key ingredient for his family's hot tottie recipe - Bourbon. He catered the evening around Miss Sicky - so instead of trying to catch a Sundance film he really wanted to see, we watched WALL-E and ate soup. This is why I love him.

R.I.P. Uncle Bill

i will always remember that though he was such a vigorous republican for most of his life - defending the Iraq war at my birthday party and justifying Bush's second term at Thanksgiving- my last few visits with him involved him saying Obama wasn't that bad.

yesterday i received a phone call from my mother letting me know that my great uncle bill passed away at around 5:30 AM on Friday January 23, 3009. though the last few months have been a struggle to make a man overrun by cancer and dementia as comfortable as possible, it still comes as a bit of an overwhelming shock that he has died.

I went to see him a few weeks before I left for Utah when he was still in Clove Lakes nursing home. I needed to talk to him about selling me his car; there were a few DMV papers he needed to sign. Normally, I hate visiting nursing homes or hospitals, they make me really depressed. Though, while there, I realized just how depressed most of the patients are and how I could leave the place but they were just stuck, most of them in wheelchairs.

I bumped into Hedi (the caregiver who took over when I left) in the hallway and she said that he was dressed and sitting in his wheelchair. Uncle Bill was never happier to see someone was there to visit him, even though it took a few minutes for him to realize it was me. I ended up spending an hour or so just shooting the breeze and watching baseball on the black and white television that sat on the dresser across from the hospital bed.

It was those few weeks that I lived with Aunt Ruth and visited Uncle Bill that I realized how little I really knew about them. I guess thats how it always goes, in movies at least; only in their final hours do I come to understand their ways, their quirks, their past.

rest in peace uncle bill.

i talked to kaytee montano recently.

this young lady once made a website dedicated to Tom
and for some reason she also considers me to be her mom
she's fun and she's smart
her straight hair is a work of art
and shes sweeter than a truckl0ad of sweet honey lip balm.

South Park Does Sundance

Drew told me about this episode a few days ago. We just watched it last night. Hysterical and dead on. Season 2. Episode 9.

I saw Millie and it made my evening

I maintained my demeanor.

I made no faux-pax.

But I TOTALLY had my Sundance experience last night, and I'm still beaming.

Some people scream when they see George Clooney.
Others get a boner when they see Pamela Anderson.
But what do you do when you work at a gallery and someone famous walks in to admire art?
The rule is: You do what you would do when any other prospective client walks in to admire art.

Okay. Damn? I can't ask for autographs or anything? Okay. Easy enough. Keep cool. And I did.

Luckily, there's no rule as to what you can or can't do after they leave!

Let's backtrack. This moment needs a preface.

Since its debut in 1999, I have loved the show Freaks and Geeks. Many stars got their start there - the ever popular Seth Rogen and James Franco. Linda Cardellini is pretty hot stuff now, too. Though it only lasted one season, it was brilliant in its themes and characters and I miss it everytime I re-watch an episode. As epic as it was for me, rarely can I strike up a conversation about an episode or reference it without people having no idea what I am talking about.

That being said, had Seth, James, or Linda walked into the gallery, most people would acknowledge the awesome experience. But my awesome experience is only going to be acknowledged by true F&G fans.

The chick who played Millie, the super-Christian, nerdy childhood friend of Lindsay, came into the gallery last night with a fella. I talked to her about a few of the pieces, not that I was presuming or expecting her to be qualified client, because frankly I didn't know, just as I don't initially know if anyone is --- but honestly, I went over to talk to her just so I could a) make sure it was her and b) say that I spoke to her. I told her to let me know if she had any questions. She didn't have any questions, but she did say goodbye when she left. The actress' name is Sarah Hagan and apparently she's in a movie that's showing at Sundance also starring Amy Poehler. I only learned of her name and resume after she left the gallery and I "IMDB'd" her. But I know for a fact that it was her. And I got to talk to her about art. Totally awesome.

the Sarah Hagan, that walked into the gallery

As excited as I am, not many people know who she is, but that makes my Sundance experience all the more tailored and awesome. I think that while celeb-gossip and star-gazing is kind of ridiculous, I definitely fall under the spell, especially when its a chance sighting. Even when not in a professional setting, such as the gallery, I find myself torn as to how I should act when spontaneously confronted with fame. Part of you wants proof - a photo, a signature - something to show off and keep for years to come, but in actuality, its a really lame interaction that just blends in with every other encounter that the celeb has had. Another part of you wants to remain cool, - they're human, there was once a point in their life that they weren't famous - so you don't want to make them upset or embarrassed, just as you wouldn't want to assault a stranger. It's not something you can really plan for, though if you do you should probably reassess your priorities in life, so I would suggest keeping your cool because as much as you want to be able to show how you made an idiot of yourself in front of John Stamos by standing next to his forced smile, its way cooler to tell the story about how you stood in line for coffee and happened to place and order after Julie Delply.

Its true that hype is relative to how famous you are; i'll leave it up to you to decide the unit with which fame is measured. Really famous people are kept in the shadows for protective measures - for the five people that love you there is the one jerk who probably wants you dead for some sick reason. Really famous people are among the untouchables, meaning the likelihood that you will cross paths with Brad Pitt is microscopic. So the real, more relevant question to all of us, is what happens to B-movie actors or people possessing a level of fame which allows them to walk the streets without being harassed constantly? How do they feel about being recognized, approached, since, I would assume, it happens less often?

It's a tough call and probably differs semi-famous person to semi-famous person. Some probably love the attention that they get. Others might choose to be only semi-famous in order to be able to preserve what privacy they can muster. (That's an interesting thought, at what point do you lose control over your fame? Does one ever have control over their fame?)

Either way, Sarah Hagan doesn't know that I knew it was her in the gallery last night. I made sure to treat her neutrally, greeting her amongst the few other people that wandered into the gallery at the same time. Though, if she happens upon my blog, I hope that she had a nice time in the gallery and if given the chance to converse I would like to have let her know, though she might not have cared, that I love Freaks and Geeks, and it was truly awesome to get to see a piece of the talent that made the show what it was in person.

:)

I'm such a Geek.