When I got up on Sunday morning, Mr. Boyfriend was laying on the living room floor. Poor Mr. Boyfriend has now been relegated to cat toy. He's shrunk down to his original size, but has lost his protective coating, so now he is squishy sponge. I put him back on the windowsill, but Spit nabbed him and was playing with him again this evening, so he's Spit's boyfriend now and she can be in charge of where he stays.
Every time we made rice, Frank used to tease me about burning the rice. I never once burned the rice, so I was pretty indignant about it. He must have tuned in to some inherent tendency, though, because I really do have an issue with putting pots on the stove and walking away and forgetting about them. I usually set the timer or stay in the kitchen, but lately I've been under so much financial stress that I'm even more absent minded. Saturday I set water to boil and then decided to finish vacuuming. Oops. Fortunately it was just boiling water that boiled down to the last inch, but I got the message to be more careful.
I'm still pondering that study and I am close to finishing the other painting, but I took a break last night and watched the Academy Awards. I heard a lot about people living their dreams (and dream jobs) who are now being recognized for their work. (I am going to count watching the awards as my Artist's Way artist's date, since it was all about artist's dreams.) I liked Cate Blanchett's dress, but what was that acid yellow doing on her pink dress? My favorite dress was award winner Melissa Leo's. The hosts were terrible. They should not have done a tribute to their prior host, Bob Hope, it just made the current hosts look even worse. My favorite host was Johnny Carson, but I am a bit too young to remember Bob Hope.
Today I went to Idaho's Department of Labor for a resume writing workshop. Idaho still has Department of Labor offices, unlike California that closed all of theirs. They had people you could talk to and a room full of people using computers, and even printers! The workshop was excellent and another thing I wish I'd done months ago. I talked to the presenter afterward about my resume and have some resume reworking to do. I can even send it to him once I fix it and he will edit it again. He talked a bit about the scanning process most employers use on your resume now, and gave some tips on how to get through it. (He also said some people are messing with it now by including keywords at the bottom of their resume in white type. The type gets picked up on the scan, but doesn't print when they print your resume. Why did this resume make it through the scanner?!) But in the end, he said 75% of jobs are found through networking.
I talked to the girl next to me while I was waiting for my personal resume review and she gave me a long list of places to try and took one of my studio cards. We were the only people in the room that got interviews during our current job search, and we both did not get the job because they promoted someone internally. She does medical billing and coding, I thought those jobs were abundant, but I guess not. In the end the best thing about the workshop was that it changed my attitude. I was feeling angry and wasn't even going to go, but I felt optimistic when I left.
Tomorrow is another appointment with another employment agency (and probably another set of tests!) and some resume revisions. Tomorrow is the 1st of March and it is just about a year since I decided to leave California.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Cold Weather and Fat Bird
On Thursday, for the first time in three days, I did not have to go anywhere when it started snowing. It has been below average cold all week and back into the 20's at night. Dad sent me an email about the low temperature at his ranch predicted for this weekend, at the time I got the email it was 13 degrees here. He called late this afternoon and he was actually getting snow. Friday morning I woke up to a blanket of snow that fell overnight, but it is mostly gone now and it is just plain cold.
I did on-line applications to various places most of the day on Thursday. Kelly referred me to another agency and I filled out their application on Thursday and then made an appointment to meet them next Tuesday. I could not find the phone number for the Arts Commission, so I sent the Deputy Director an email and she promptly responded that she will be scheduling interviews in the next two weeks. Not very informative. Then I called the Department of Labor about one of the state jobs where I had a 98 score and asked if my score was high enough to get me an interview. Nope. First comes the veteran's preference, then the 100 scores, 98 doesn't cut it. I registered on the regular Idaho Department of Labor site and they have some workshops, including a resume workshop on Monday and I think I will go.
Thursday night I took a break and met with my Artist's Way group. Margo made meditation CDs from the writings of Diane Mariechild and gave us all one. One meditation is on Letting Go, good choice for me. Margo is a radio personality and when I listened to the CD this morning I figured she must have recorded herself reading the meditations and she sounds great. I was impressed. (KTHI/107.1 K-Hits morning show co-host Margo Vaughn, Weekdays: 5:30 AM - 10:00 AM Saturday: 6:00 AM - 12:00 PM.) I have to admit I am really struggling with the Artist's Way and working on letting myself be creative/having my dreams versus my reality, which looks like impending financial disaster and never-ending unemployment.
By Friday morning I was tired and out of ideas. I started a painting a week ago and I worked on that yesterday afternoon and this morning. Then I decided to do a study for my commission to work out a few issues, like what in the world to do with the background. This is going to be tough, the reference has interior lighting, a dark brown background that I can't quite make out, and I need to change the color of a shirt, which is really pea green. I'm glad I did the study, because so far I do not like my alternate color choice for the shirt.
A group of birds came and hung around my backyard this afternoon and stayed long enough for me to get my camera,
Pretty fat bird considering it's Winter. He actually came up close to me in the yard, but it sure can't be because he's hungry.
I am holding up surprisingly well under the circumstances.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Taking Tests
Yesterday morning I spent two hours completing tests for Kelly Services, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and typing. I have a habit of clicking around in computer software until I find what I want, but Kelly's tests do not like this, two wrong clicks and you're out, next question. After going through this with the PowerPoint test, I decided to open my copy of the program, clicked around until I found what I wanted, and then went back to the test and made the right clicks the first time. I was glad I could complete these at home, and when I went to Office Team yesterday afternoon I was even more glad.
Yesterday afternoon I went for my meeting at Office Team just after it started to snow. I spent almost two hours doing their tests in their office using an old sticky keyboard and a mouse on an old sticky mouse pad. Yuck, aren't there health laws about that stuff? This time the tests were on office skills (meaning math, grammar, spelling), data entry, typing, Word, and Excel. My data entry is slow, hey I don't do 10 key by touch, typing was 28 words per minute (that sticky keyboard!), office skills were far above average (100% correct on all the math, spelling errors brought me down a bit), I think I was intermediate Word and Excel again, but I can't remember. By the time I got to the Word test I was really tired and I just didn't really care anymore. I can do a Mail Merge when I have time to research it, but not at 4 pm at a computer with a sticky keyboard after four hours of taking tests.
The best part was that the entire time I was taking tests at Office Team, I could hear the receptionist from Office Space answering the phone. I'm not kidding, you remember that woman answering the phone in the movie, "just a moment" over and over, with a high pitched squeak on "just"? This time it was "how may I direct your call" over and over, with the high pitched squeak on "call". Fortunately I kept thinking of the movie, so I could find some humor in it.
I talked to the rep at Office Team and reviewed my scores and talked about what kind of jobs I want. Right now I'm really not feeling very picky. By the time I got home close to 5 pm, I was just exhausted and that was enough for one day.
Just as it started to snow again, I went to meet with the Kelly rep this morning and test results were, typing 38 words per minute, Intermediate Word and PowerPoint, Advanced Excel. Kelly is the agency with connections to Micron. The rep reviewed what he currently has open, asked me about one job that might be a good fit, and gave me some other places to apply. I liked his attitude, he seemed to think I was the prize that I am.
In between everything else yesterday, I called one of my references. I've left her name and number all over town and I thought I should call and make sure she's even still there. I was lucky to catch her answering the phone. She said she has not received one call for a reference. Oh well, it was good to talk to her anyway.
Every once in a while I turn on the TV to see what new country, or which US state is going down. There are teachers protesting at the capitol here in Idaho, too, but Idaho never makes the news. The congressman that introduced the education cut bill had his car graffitied and his mother harassed. I could not figure out why on-line learning was promoted as part of his education cost-cutting bills, until I read the congressman has a long association with on-line learning companies. It starts to make you feel like government will never learn. At least the car that is now covered with graffiti is a used truck.
I think it is laughable that teachers protesting over paying more for health insurance and/or retirement and losing their union representation are associating themselves with Egyptian protesters. How many Egyptians have health insurance or retirement at all? How many of those Wisconsin teachers had family members disappear in the night, never to be seen again? If I was Egyptian, I would be looking at those protesting American teachers and thinking they were a bunch of spoiled prima donnas.
It is weird to be reading the book Reading Lolita in Tehran right now. The author was a teacher in Iran and I'm in the middle of the part where Iraq and Iran are at war. She has just run into one of her old students, who has been in prison for handing out leaflets. She was grateful she was only imprisoned and not executed like most of her friends. If you want to read about real oppression, and oppressed teachers, pick up the book.
Last night I was too tired to do anything else, so I watched most of the movie, Amadeus. I thought I was pissed off at God, but I am no match for the fictional Salieri. Did you know Amadeus means "love of God", derived from Latin amare "to love" and Deus "God"? I'm no Mozart and I related to Salieri. I better be careful.
Yesterday afternoon I went for my meeting at Office Team just after it started to snow. I spent almost two hours doing their tests in their office using an old sticky keyboard and a mouse on an old sticky mouse pad. Yuck, aren't there health laws about that stuff? This time the tests were on office skills (meaning math, grammar, spelling), data entry, typing, Word, and Excel. My data entry is slow, hey I don't do 10 key by touch, typing was 28 words per minute (that sticky keyboard!), office skills were far above average (100% correct on all the math, spelling errors brought me down a bit), I think I was intermediate Word and Excel again, but I can't remember. By the time I got to the Word test I was really tired and I just didn't really care anymore. I can do a Mail Merge when I have time to research it, but not at 4 pm at a computer with a sticky keyboard after four hours of taking tests.
The best part was that the entire time I was taking tests at Office Team, I could hear the receptionist from Office Space answering the phone. I'm not kidding, you remember that woman answering the phone in the movie, "just a moment" over and over, with a high pitched squeak on "just"? This time it was "how may I direct your call" over and over, with the high pitched squeak on "call". Fortunately I kept thinking of the movie, so I could find some humor in it.
I talked to the rep at Office Team and reviewed my scores and talked about what kind of jobs I want. Right now I'm really not feeling very picky. By the time I got home close to 5 pm, I was just exhausted and that was enough for one day.
Just as it started to snow again, I went to meet with the Kelly rep this morning and test results were, typing 38 words per minute, Intermediate Word and PowerPoint, Advanced Excel. Kelly is the agency with connections to Micron. The rep reviewed what he currently has open, asked me about one job that might be a good fit, and gave me some other places to apply. I liked his attitude, he seemed to think I was the prize that I am.
In between everything else yesterday, I called one of my references. I've left her name and number all over town and I thought I should call and make sure she's even still there. I was lucky to catch her answering the phone. She said she has not received one call for a reference. Oh well, it was good to talk to her anyway.
Every once in a while I turn on the TV to see what new country, or which US state is going down. There are teachers protesting at the capitol here in Idaho, too, but Idaho never makes the news. The congressman that introduced the education cut bill had his car graffitied and his mother harassed. I could not figure out why on-line learning was promoted as part of his education cost-cutting bills, until I read the congressman has a long association with on-line learning companies. It starts to make you feel like government will never learn. At least the car that is now covered with graffiti is a used truck.
I think it is laughable that teachers protesting over paying more for health insurance and/or retirement and losing their union representation are associating themselves with Egyptian protesters. How many Egyptians have health insurance or retirement at all? How many of those Wisconsin teachers had family members disappear in the night, never to be seen again? If I was Egyptian, I would be looking at those protesting American teachers and thinking they were a bunch of spoiled prima donnas.
It is weird to be reading the book Reading Lolita in Tehran right now. The author was a teacher in Iran and I'm in the middle of the part where Iraq and Iran are at war. She has just run into one of her old students, who has been in prison for handing out leaflets. She was grateful she was only imprisoned and not executed like most of her friends. If you want to read about real oppression, and oppressed teachers, pick up the book.
Last night I was too tired to do anything else, so I watched most of the movie, Amadeus. I thought I was pissed off at God, but I am no match for the fictional Salieri. Did you know Amadeus means "love of God", derived from Latin amare "to love" and Deus "God"? I'm no Mozart and I related to Salieri. I better be careful.
Monday, February 21, 2011
6 Month Anniversary
It appears that my first Winter in Boise will be framed by snow. We had far above average snow in November, almost no snow in December and January, and now at least a week of snow in February. One of my favorite things here is waking up in the morning to a fresh blanket of new snow, which I did on Saturday. By Saturday afternoon it was all melted, but it snowed off and on yesterday and today. I have seen snowflakes before, but I am still amazed that they really are lacy star shapes, every single one of them.
Cruiser and Spit still don't like it, that white blanket over the grass is just wrong, grass is green, not white.
After completing my no shopping challenge for January, I went across the street to the antique store and bought myself a hurricane oil lamp,
The base is nice and heavy glass, but the shade must be new because it is light and thin. I love the warm light. I did not realize how hard it would be to find lamp oil. I finally had to go to WalMart. I hate WalMart. After a trip to WalMart, I am convinced that civilization needs to end. I ran in, found the lamp oil, noticed they might be a good place to buy camping/survivalist gear and ammo, and left. The screaming kid that I heard the entire time I was in the store followed me out into the parking lot with his amused parent. WalMart is not different in Idaho.
I have all that Italian cheese, and Mom gave me a pizza stone that I hardly use, so last night I made a pizza,
I am still working on the best pizza crust, this one is too thick, but on this one I even used cornmeal between the crust and the stone, just like at Round Table.
I rescheduled both of my temp agency appointments to Tuesday and Wednesday and they both sent me the emails today that they were supposed to send Friday. Both reminded me how much experience I have dealing with unemployed difficult and emotional people and how I might be good at it, since they are not.
The drawing for my commission was tough, much of the reference is hard to see, but I finished the drawing and transferred it to watercolor paper.
Today I just met with my friend to do some spiritual work. (And help change my attitude before I have to meet these temp agency people.) She reminded me of one of my favorite phrases from the Big Book, which I forgot,
"We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does he enable us to match calamity with serenity."
How quickly I forget. It's a good thing I have people around to remind me.
I forgot today was a holiday. That happens when you are unemployed. I did not forget that today is my 6 month anniversary in Boise. I still like it here. I like having seasons and like a bit of snow, although I am really looking forward to seeing Spring. I have many friends and great support. Someone on Sunday described me as "warm", as in kind. I was surprised again, "who me?" It was nice to hear. I am more than half way through the Artist Way. I've finished many paintings and I am better at multitasking, meaning I can paint, then stop and do something else I need to do, then go back to painting. I have a painting in a show next month and entry forms for three more shows between now and May. I still have a long list of things that I would like to do, like finish that children's book, but I also realize I used to have more energy.
Except for financial fear, the last eight months have been just awesome. Today I am back in one day at a time, doing the next right thing in front of me. I'm trying to remember myself at Dad's and full of the adventure.
Cruiser and Spit still don't like it, that white blanket over the grass is just wrong, grass is green, not white.
After completing my no shopping challenge for January, I went across the street to the antique store and bought myself a hurricane oil lamp,
The base is nice and heavy glass, but the shade must be new because it is light and thin. I love the warm light. I did not realize how hard it would be to find lamp oil. I finally had to go to WalMart. I hate WalMart. After a trip to WalMart, I am convinced that civilization needs to end. I ran in, found the lamp oil, noticed they might be a good place to buy camping/survivalist gear and ammo, and left. The screaming kid that I heard the entire time I was in the store followed me out into the parking lot with his amused parent. WalMart is not different in Idaho.
I have all that Italian cheese, and Mom gave me a pizza stone that I hardly use, so last night I made a pizza,
I am still working on the best pizza crust, this one is too thick, but on this one I even used cornmeal between the crust and the stone, just like at Round Table.
I rescheduled both of my temp agency appointments to Tuesday and Wednesday and they both sent me the emails today that they were supposed to send Friday. Both reminded me how much experience I have dealing with unemployed difficult and emotional people and how I might be good at it, since they are not.
The drawing for my commission was tough, much of the reference is hard to see, but I finished the drawing and transferred it to watercolor paper.
Today I just met with my friend to do some spiritual work. (And help change my attitude before I have to meet these temp agency people.) She reminded me of one of my favorite phrases from the Big Book, which I forgot,
"We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does he enable us to match calamity with serenity."
How quickly I forget. It's a good thing I have people around to remind me.
I forgot today was a holiday. That happens when you are unemployed. I did not forget that today is my 6 month anniversary in Boise. I still like it here. I like having seasons and like a bit of snow, although I am really looking forward to seeing Spring. I have many friends and great support. Someone on Sunday described me as "warm", as in kind. I was surprised again, "who me?" It was nice to hear. I am more than half way through the Artist Way. I've finished many paintings and I am better at multitasking, meaning I can paint, then stop and do something else I need to do, then go back to painting. I have a painting in a show next month and entry forms for three more shows between now and May. I still have a long list of things that I would like to do, like finish that children's book, but I also realize I used to have more energy.
Except for financial fear, the last eight months have been just awesome. Today I am back in one day at a time, doing the next right thing in front of me. I'm trying to remember myself at Dad's and full of the adventure.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Mr. Boyfriend Finale
Mary Kay suggested giving Mr. Boyfriend a good scrubbing with soap. Here he is after almost five days in water and several hours after a good scrubbing,
Still no hands, but the leg is looking much better.
Wait! Here he is waking me up this morning,
OK, that's enough fun at Mr. Boyfriend's expense. After six days in water he made it to maybe five inches and I want my sink back.
I have appointments on Monday at both Kelly Services and Office Team for temp work, but neither sent me the emails they were supposed to on Friday. I dropped a resume off at Office Team last Thursday. Someone was supposed to call me that afternoon, so when they didn't, I called them Friday morning. Someone finally called me late Friday afternoon. They wanted to be sure I was interested in having them help me find work. Gee, no, I just wanted to hang out and talk about how my money is running out. I had that "why are you working and not me?" feeling again.
Mary Kay's daughter was nominated for a national teaching award and the daughter doesn't think she will get it, "why me" she said, and Mary Kay said, "why not you?" So when I was telling Mary Kay about the Arts Commission job, she said, "why not you?" Why not you, chosen for that job? I saw her last night and she reminded me, "why not Shelly?" I now have it written on a note on my refrigerator, along with my fortune cookie fortune, "You will receive a prestigious prize or award within the month." I bought a Idaho Powerball ticket, too, just in case. Why not Shelly winning the Idaho Powerball? Monday is supposed to be a holiday and the Arts Commission is supposed to start reviewing resumes on Tuesday.
Remember the State of Idaho job application that I got a 100 score on and then they froze hiring for the position and then they canceled it? They re-posted the job as limited to existing state employees only.
I found several jobs via Careerbuilder and HumanResourcesJobs.com that seemed to be a good fit for me, so I spent most of Friday applying for jobs online. It still feels like a waste of time, but I was out of ideas on Friday and the weather was terrible. At least these had me sending a cover letter and a resume to an email address instead of spending hours completing hundreds of individual fields on their website.
This morning I did my volunteer job for the Idaho Watercolor Society, which included going to the post office, and wrote and mailed my unemployment denial appeal.
When I drove to Ketchum/Fairfield I had the chance to listen to AM radio for a few hours. Whatever you may think of the radio personalities, AM radio is the only place I hear news that makes any sense. News that fits with the reality around me. I heard real unemployment is 22% and real inflation is 9%. I heard the U.S.-Egypt Military Cooperation Committee was meeting in Washington DC at the same time the protests started in Egypt. Did you know we have 625 American military personnel stationed in Egypt? And no one on the committee or stationed in Egypt had any idea massive protests were coming? Really?
The price of gas was holding since I arrived in Boise at $2.95. Over the last few days it rose to $3.17. The price of cotton rose to an all time high last Thursday. The only reason for this that I read that makes any sense is,
Robert Antoshak, managing director at Olah, a US-based denim maker, said: “The unknown has bred a psychology of blind panic in the market. You are getting the whole supply chain elevating prices more than you would see based on simple economics.” (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec725da0-3a77-11e0-9c65-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1ESWLJXGP)
I read a few articles about how the price of clothing will be increasing by 10% this Spring and they start with something like, "clothing prices have dropped for a decade..." Talk about spin! I have not been able to afford very much new clothes over the last ten years, but during my annual birthday shopping trip with my Mom I did not notice we could buy any more over the last few years. All I noticed was that everything was getting more cheaply made and ill-fitting, fabrics were getting thinner, and natural fabrics were disappearing.
I didn't realize that I needed to stock up on 100% cotton underwear, which is now almost impossible to find. Ladies, you should be wearing 100% cotton, so you can breathe! Like that slinky modal stuff? It is made by spinning reconstituted cellulose from beech trees, as is rayon, and is heavily processed using chemicals. Wood and chemicals?!
I wonder what the higher price of cotton will do to the price of watercolor paper?
Still no hands, but the leg is looking much better.
Wait! Here he is waking me up this morning,
OK, that's enough fun at Mr. Boyfriend's expense. After six days in water he made it to maybe five inches and I want my sink back.
I have appointments on Monday at both Kelly Services and Office Team for temp work, but neither sent me the emails they were supposed to on Friday. I dropped a resume off at Office Team last Thursday. Someone was supposed to call me that afternoon, so when they didn't, I called them Friday morning. Someone finally called me late Friday afternoon. They wanted to be sure I was interested in having them help me find work. Gee, no, I just wanted to hang out and talk about how my money is running out. I had that "why are you working and not me?" feeling again.
Mary Kay's daughter was nominated for a national teaching award and the daughter doesn't think she will get it, "why me" she said, and Mary Kay said, "why not you?" So when I was telling Mary Kay about the Arts Commission job, she said, "why not you?" Why not you, chosen for that job? I saw her last night and she reminded me, "why not Shelly?" I now have it written on a note on my refrigerator, along with my fortune cookie fortune, "You will receive a prestigious prize or award within the month." I bought a Idaho Powerball ticket, too, just in case. Why not Shelly winning the Idaho Powerball? Monday is supposed to be a holiday and the Arts Commission is supposed to start reviewing resumes on Tuesday.
Remember the State of Idaho job application that I got a 100 score on and then they froze hiring for the position and then they canceled it? They re-posted the job as limited to existing state employees only.
I found several jobs via Careerbuilder and HumanResourcesJobs.com that seemed to be a good fit for me, so I spent most of Friday applying for jobs online. It still feels like a waste of time, but I was out of ideas on Friday and the weather was terrible. At least these had me sending a cover letter and a resume to an email address instead of spending hours completing hundreds of individual fields on their website.
This morning I did my volunteer job for the Idaho Watercolor Society, which included going to the post office, and wrote and mailed my unemployment denial appeal.
When I drove to Ketchum/Fairfield I had the chance to listen to AM radio for a few hours. Whatever you may think of the radio personalities, AM radio is the only place I hear news that makes any sense. News that fits with the reality around me. I heard real unemployment is 22% and real inflation is 9%. I heard the U.S.-Egypt Military Cooperation Committee was meeting in Washington DC at the same time the protests started in Egypt. Did you know we have 625 American military personnel stationed in Egypt? And no one on the committee or stationed in Egypt had any idea massive protests were coming? Really?
The price of gas was holding since I arrived in Boise at $2.95. Over the last few days it rose to $3.17. The price of cotton rose to an all time high last Thursday. The only reason for this that I read that makes any sense is,
Robert Antoshak, managing director at Olah, a US-based denim maker, said: “The unknown has bred a psychology of blind panic in the market. You are getting the whole supply chain elevating prices more than you would see based on simple economics.” (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec725da0-3a77-11e0-9c65-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1ESWLJXGP)
I read a few articles about how the price of clothing will be increasing by 10% this Spring and they start with something like, "clothing prices have dropped for a decade..." Talk about spin! I have not been able to afford very much new clothes over the last ten years, but during my annual birthday shopping trip with my Mom I did not notice we could buy any more over the last few years. All I noticed was that everything was getting more cheaply made and ill-fitting, fabrics were getting thinner, and natural fabrics were disappearing.
I didn't realize that I needed to stock up on 100% cotton underwear, which is now almost impossible to find. Ladies, you should be wearing 100% cotton, so you can breathe! Like that slinky modal stuff? It is made by spinning reconstituted cellulose from beech trees, as is rayon, and is heavily processed using chemicals. Wood and chemicals?!
I wonder what the higher price of cotton will do to the price of watercolor paper?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Mr. Boyfriend and Dreams
Mr. Boyfriend continues to age, his polio-ridden leg become more obvious, and he is gaining weight in more of a puffy way than a growing way. After 48 hours,
After 3 days,
He doesn't complain and he doesn't watch football, so we will give him a few more days, but he better grow some hands. I like a man with hands.
We had four days in Boise with temperatures up to around 60 degrees. People were not out in flip flops, but I did see shorts and capris. Everyone here said this always happens, Boise gets a few warm days in February and everyone thinks Spring is here and then it snows again. Yesterday the temperature plummeted and I woke up with a headache. As soon as I set out in the morning, it started to snow. Then we got hail, thunder, and more snow for the afternoon and I woke up this morning to a two inch blanket of snow over the yard and rooftops. I was hoping it would snow again. Even though it was warm, it was still really brown and grey and I prefer white. This is Tia yesterday, caught in the hail storm,
I had a dream last weekend that Mark Zuckerberg and I were making chocolate truffles in my kitchen. I've been dreaming more, maybe because of all that writing for the Artist's Way, or maybe because I'm painting so much. Some dreams don't really seem to mean anything and some are obvious. I have a dream on a regular basis that I can't wake up. Something good or bad is happening and I can't wake up no matter how hard I try. That is a frustration dream. It has the same meaning as the version I used to have where I'm trying to dial 911 and I keep misdialing over and over again.
Even though there are lots of universal symbols in dreams, I look for what the symbols represent to me, personally. To me chocolate truffles are the ultimate comfort food and in my dream we are making them by hand, so we are creating. Mark Zuckerberg was a bit harder to figure out. He is the ultimate computer geek and in some ways he represents the irresponsibility and lack of morality or social responsibility that technology can bring. I am pretty anti-technology. To me, the world seems to admire technological innovation without ever asking, do we really need this? Is this a good thing? But then, Mark Zuckerberg is talented, lucky, super successful, and honestly in most of his pictures he looks really happy.
So my dream seems to be about some successful union of technology and creativity and the result is comforting.
Yesterday I dropped by another ad agency (while it was snowing) and talked to the creative VP, who happened to be an Art Center alumni. I left some cards, but he was not very encouraging. He does his own storyboards, but he suggested getting a rep and gave me some names of art galleries.
Then I talked to a graphic design professor at Boise State University, who returned my call. I told him my background and that I was interested in graphic design classes, but I didn't know if that meant I should enroll as an undergrad or a grad student, since I already have a BFA. He suggested undergrad and said that most of the required classes could be waived. Masters students can often pay for school by teaching, but not undergrads, and I can't afford this right now anyway. I thought learning the basics of graphic design would be useful and I thought finding a way in to BSU, so I could teach, might be useful also, but maybe later.
Then I went to Kelly Services. It was so great to talk to a real person. She was excited to see my call center/software support experience, they have lots of call center work in Boise. She gave me the name of a company that might be interested in my background. I left her my resume and she sent me a link to fill out all my information again on-line, which I did last night.
I am amazingly calm under the circumstances. I keep getting up and hitting another dead end with a good attitude and a smile on my face. I've been able to keep somewhat structured and productive day, write, paint, work on my commission, go out and talk to somebody, check jobs, call someone, and all the while remembering to stop and eat. If life is an adventure, or a path to being your true self and not ego, or just walking around being a good person, then I seem to be doing that right. If it was easy, then everyone would be doing it.
After 3 days,
He doesn't complain and he doesn't watch football, so we will give him a few more days, but he better grow some hands. I like a man with hands.
We had four days in Boise with temperatures up to around 60 degrees. People were not out in flip flops, but I did see shorts and capris. Everyone here said this always happens, Boise gets a few warm days in February and everyone thinks Spring is here and then it snows again. Yesterday the temperature plummeted and I woke up with a headache. As soon as I set out in the morning, it started to snow. Then we got hail, thunder, and more snow for the afternoon and I woke up this morning to a two inch blanket of snow over the yard and rooftops. I was hoping it would snow again. Even though it was warm, it was still really brown and grey and I prefer white. This is Tia yesterday, caught in the hail storm,
I had a dream last weekend that Mark Zuckerberg and I were making chocolate truffles in my kitchen. I've been dreaming more, maybe because of all that writing for the Artist's Way, or maybe because I'm painting so much. Some dreams don't really seem to mean anything and some are obvious. I have a dream on a regular basis that I can't wake up. Something good or bad is happening and I can't wake up no matter how hard I try. That is a frustration dream. It has the same meaning as the version I used to have where I'm trying to dial 911 and I keep misdialing over and over again.
Even though there are lots of universal symbols in dreams, I look for what the symbols represent to me, personally. To me chocolate truffles are the ultimate comfort food and in my dream we are making them by hand, so we are creating. Mark Zuckerberg was a bit harder to figure out. He is the ultimate computer geek and in some ways he represents the irresponsibility and lack of morality or social responsibility that technology can bring. I am pretty anti-technology. To me, the world seems to admire technological innovation without ever asking, do we really need this? Is this a good thing? But then, Mark Zuckerberg is talented, lucky, super successful, and honestly in most of his pictures he looks really happy.
So my dream seems to be about some successful union of technology and creativity and the result is comforting.
Yesterday I dropped by another ad agency (while it was snowing) and talked to the creative VP, who happened to be an Art Center alumni. I left some cards, but he was not very encouraging. He does his own storyboards, but he suggested getting a rep and gave me some names of art galleries.
Then I talked to a graphic design professor at Boise State University, who returned my call. I told him my background and that I was interested in graphic design classes, but I didn't know if that meant I should enroll as an undergrad or a grad student, since I already have a BFA. He suggested undergrad and said that most of the required classes could be waived. Masters students can often pay for school by teaching, but not undergrads, and I can't afford this right now anyway. I thought learning the basics of graphic design would be useful and I thought finding a way in to BSU, so I could teach, might be useful also, but maybe later.
Then I went to Kelly Services. It was so great to talk to a real person. She was excited to see my call center/software support experience, they have lots of call center work in Boise. She gave me the name of a company that might be interested in my background. I left her my resume and she sent me a link to fill out all my information again on-line, which I did last night.
I am amazingly calm under the circumstances. I keep getting up and hitting another dead end with a good attitude and a smile on my face. I've been able to keep somewhat structured and productive day, write, paint, work on my commission, go out and talk to somebody, check jobs, call someone, and all the while remembering to stop and eat. If life is an adventure, or a path to being your true self and not ego, or just walking around being a good person, then I seem to be doing that right. If it was easy, then everyone would be doing it.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Mr. Boyfriend and Self-Image
Dad sent a Valentine that arrived yesterday, right on Valentine's Day. (Thanks, Dad!) Last week, Mom sent a card and Mr. Boyfriend. Mr. Boyfriend (actually, "Grow Your Own Boyfriend") is a red spongeman that you put in water and after 3 days he grows to 2 1/2 feet tall. I decided to grow him in the kitchen sink, since he will get so big and this is Mr. Boyfriend first entering the water,
After almost 24 hours, Mr. Boyfriend appears to have only aged and suffered a bout of polio during the night,
Mr. Boyfriend's behavior is in perfect keeping with my feelings about Valentine's Day. (Although it is much more humorous than if he just followed the directions.) I've hated Valentine's Day since 1991. My ex-husband did all the right things for Valentine's Day, but with no heart or soul. I left in 1990 and I think by Valentine's Day 1991 I had already been replaced. I try to treat the day like any other day, but somehow it always ends up being worse than other days, like it was yesterday. For years Dad gave Mom and I giant yellow spider mums for Valentine's Day. That was a long time ago, but I still miss it.
The next enlightenment topic is Self-Image, with a piece by George Bernard Shaw,
This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.
I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I've got a hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
Shaw won and refused the Nobel Prize for Literature for Saint Joan and wrote many well known plays and other books, such as Pygmalion. He was also a Socialist. Somehow the author interprets this to mean keeping your ailments, fatigue, and fears to yourself. If you say them out loud to someone, they will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I am all for positive thinking, but I find this dishonest. If I had not shared my weariness and fear yesterday, I would still be sitting in it, and not had the benefit of people helping me turn it around. No man is an island. A better topic for this quote might have been Hard Work, or Life is an Adventure, or Stop Looking for the Destination.
Today I am off to drop by an ad agency on a fact finding mission to find out if ad agencies in Boise still use illustration and if so, what do they use? Then more coffee and more friendship.
I will leave off with a very different quote of Carl Jung,
The biographies of great artists make it abundantly clear that the creative urge is often so imperious that it battens on their humanity and yokes everything to the service of the work, even at the cost of health and ordinary human happiness. The unborn work in the psyche of the artist is a force of nature that achieves its end either with tyrannical might or with the subtle cunning of nature herself, quite regardless of the personal fate of the man who is its vehicle.
After almost 24 hours, Mr. Boyfriend appears to have only aged and suffered a bout of polio during the night,
Mr. Boyfriend's behavior is in perfect keeping with my feelings about Valentine's Day. (Although it is much more humorous than if he just followed the directions.) I've hated Valentine's Day since 1991. My ex-husband did all the right things for Valentine's Day, but with no heart or soul. I left in 1990 and I think by Valentine's Day 1991 I had already been replaced. I try to treat the day like any other day, but somehow it always ends up being worse than other days, like it was yesterday. For years Dad gave Mom and I giant yellow spider mums for Valentine's Day. That was a long time ago, but I still miss it.
The next enlightenment topic is Self-Image, with a piece by George Bernard Shaw,
This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.
I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I've got a hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
Shaw won and refused the Nobel Prize for Literature for Saint Joan and wrote many well known plays and other books, such as Pygmalion. He was also a Socialist. Somehow the author interprets this to mean keeping your ailments, fatigue, and fears to yourself. If you say them out loud to someone, they will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I am all for positive thinking, but I find this dishonest. If I had not shared my weariness and fear yesterday, I would still be sitting in it, and not had the benefit of people helping me turn it around. No man is an island. A better topic for this quote might have been Hard Work, or Life is an Adventure, or Stop Looking for the Destination.
Today I am off to drop by an ad agency on a fact finding mission to find out if ad agencies in Boise still use illustration and if so, what do they use? Then more coffee and more friendship.
I will leave off with a very different quote of Carl Jung,
The biographies of great artists make it abundantly clear that the creative urge is often so imperious that it battens on their humanity and yokes everything to the service of the work, even at the cost of health and ordinary human happiness. The unborn work in the psyche of the artist is a force of nature that achieves its end either with tyrannical might or with the subtle cunning of nature herself, quite regardless of the personal fate of the man who is its vehicle.
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