Lisa's Day

Anxiety April

4/20/09 8:03 pm Rainy Day. I got soaked on the walk from Dupont this morning. SOAKED. Steve texted me *Warm Hugs* WARM HUGS

4/21/09 6:17 pm Feeling kinda Bitchy today. Not sure why.

4/22/09 7:50 am I'm at the Dupont Starbucks. Nursing a Misto (au lait). I have a job interview - they finally got off their asses. Today I meet with the H.R. Director. Friday, with the guy I'd be working for. Kind of disappointed it's another old white guy. Oh, well. Something different. I took Friday off. Boss B Gone. Steve is at an event at CSIS. He had to be there by 8:00, so we left early. We left Mike's early last night, after another big space battle. My Hammerhead Ship got blown up. I have to pee, and apparently someone has moved into the bathroom. And it's raining. Fantastic. 7:45 pm My interview was a bust. The H.R. Director said the salary was low 50s and it was a typical E.A. position. Was Mr. Roche at Tangent pissed. So I may not have an interview this Friday. But I'm still taking the day off.

4/22/09 I'm tired.

4/23/09 7:34 am 3 Heron flying together! Had to drive myself today. Our other rolling chair broke yesterday, landing Steve on his tailbone. He didn't sleep well.

4/23/09 5:36 pm [This was just a quick scribble, but I really like it.]

4/24/09 2:22 pm At a Starbucks downtown. Killing time before my interview. Even though the interview with HR appeared to be a Bust. She said it was just a traditional E.A. position (no "other stuff") and salary was low 50s. The Boss Guy said no, she got it wrong. -?? So, I'll meet the Guy. If I don't like him, I don't have to take the job. I had a hormonal surge or something yesterday. Was feeling very down and blue over the prospective interview. Had to take Pamprin. Steve made the Porterhouse Pork Chops for dinner last night. With Peach Preserves. Pesto and Blue Cheese Dressing. (like the Lamb Burgers.) Was that good. I went to bed early. Slept in (today off). Painted some. Panted some - ha! No, not working out. (heart heart heart heart)

4/24/09

4/25/09 5:36 pm Having anxiety problems. Had to cry on Steve's shoulder this morning. I just couldn't stop the tears. And I got a cramp in a back muscle. From nothing. I just sat down and turned my head, and there was this knot in my shoulder blade. Stress. From what, I'm not sure. Unless it's the continual FAILURE. Going nowhere with my art. Yesterday's interviews (with the Boss Guy and an Admin) went well. But do I really want another crap office job? Even at $65K. That's only a $13K raise. I'd rather be over at HHMI with Sharon!

Stumbling Through April

4/12/09 7:21 pm We made meatballs today. Served over Egg Noodles. With the Mushroom Gravy, made yesterday. I made the Oatmeal Flax cookies again. They came out more chewy this time. Maybe the humidity. We played a game of Starcraft. Steve won. And I've done some painting.

4/12/09 Ptg Notes. *No dirty colors *No muddy colors *Work on drawn lines

4/13/09 6:52 pm It's my Period Week. Which means I am retaining water. Which means two sips of Steve's Cranberry Gin and I am BUZZED.

4/13/09 So - bit of background first: Marilynn [sister] got this huge stash of photos from Mags [Dad's wife]. She's been scanning them and got them all posted to Shutterfly last week. Like 800 plus photos. From when my siblings were kids to present. So, today, bored at work, I continued paging through the photos. So, a few of the photos here and there looked like interesting images to me. But I already have too many images! I need to get out of Image-Gathering Mode or Information-Gathering Mode and work on what to do with the images - on paper or canvas.

4/14/09 9:02 pm I gotta go to bed. Been mixing paint colors all evening.

4/15/09 Testing a new pen. Don't like it. New pen, NO. Usual pen.

4/16/09 7:41 pm I am so tired. For some reason, I'm not getting a very restful sleep. Going to take Pamprin soon. And go to bed early. Didn't watch Daily Show or Colbert. Steve did and said they weren't as good as Olbermann. Olbermann was a riot last night with the Teabagging story. Today, on my way out, I saw two women in the Library with Michelle, taking a tour of the building, probably going to rent for a wedding. But their hemlines were SO freaking short. Like: Whoa, Ladies! I had to run back to tell Darla. She was on her way out to brush her teeth (working late for a lecture in the building). Re: the hemlines, she said, "Oh, my!" Re: my telling her, she said, "Reeer!" (cat meow) What can I say?

4/16/09 Skinny Black Dress and Daisy Duke Denim Shorts with Boots. Meow.

4/17/09 7:50 pm Still tired. Darla told me that: a. The two mini-skirts got everyone's attention. (We had a lecture last night so people were setting up.) and b. Michelle said they were from L.A. Darla said, "Did no one tell them the temperature?!"

4/18/09 10:06 pm My painting is giving me fits.

4/19/09 7:15 pm Had to get up out of bed last night to take Pamprin. I had a sudden - hormone surge? - OMIGOD MY LIFE IS GOING NOWHERE!!! Panic attack.

More April

4/6/09 7:18 pm I'm watching Running in Heels (on tape.). "This is a competition!" DRINK! I had to run over to the computer and take a sip of Steve's red wine. Steve got annoyed because he was in the middle of a Guild Wars battle.

4/6/09 It's been gray and rainy today. It made me tired. And blah. I just want to crawl into bed.

4/7/09 *Sketchy *Shadows First Groundhog of the year!

4/8/09 7:18 pm Tired. Anxious. Pamprin tonight. Having those "OMIGOD MY LIFE IS PASSING ME BY!!!" feelings. For later...

4/9/09 5:26 pm *I have been sleepwalking thru Life. *I have missed the boat. *That feeling when everything suddenly goes quiet and you realize you have been left behind alone.

4/10/09 8:58 pm

4/10/09 10:28 pm "I need a Mah-tini!" [Corbin Dallas' mother in Fifth Element.] I got free Gin at work. Open bottles languishing in the Wine Closet. I made a Gin Martini. It needed something. Cranberry Juice. Now, that's good. And no Dry Vermouth.

4/11/09 9:09 pm We had the best roast lamb dinner today. And great dinner rolls. The lamb wasn't done, so we had to put it back in the oven and have the rice with mushroom gravy and asparagus cooked on the cast iron grill. Yum. When the lamb was done, we didn't want gravy on it. It was perfect just plain. It went in the oven with salt, pepper, olive oil (seared), fresh oregano and onion slices laid on top. So good. Had more cranberry-martinis tonight.

4/11/09

A Work on Paper

4/5/09 8:15 pm Kinda Lazy Sunday. But I finished the paper piece. With a drg of a Heron in flight. Did some experiments on canvas. Like one. Working on another. And four small paper pieces. I need a plan. Just an idea. To take to the pieces. So I'm not just groping in the dark.

Background in progress.

Background further in progress.

Heron in charcoal, plus some pastel and paint.

FYI: Paper Evaluation: Rives Heavyweight - too light, buckles with wet media.

4/5/09 I really like the face I did in paint. Need to keep working on it. Need more canvas - don't like the ultra-smooth built-up surface anymore, I think. Like the rough canvas. Still want to do some naked drg:  messed up. [Still working on that one face. The other one turned into a mess. The four small paper pieces were a mistake: never mind.]

4/5/09 I meant to draw something like this: And now I ran out of room! I'm kinda tired. Steve said I was tossing last night. BTW: TODAY: [heart heart heart heart]

Into April - Transitioning

4/1/09 7:45 pm April Fool. Steve got me twice. This morning: "Is that something moving in the corner?!" This evening: [from the kitchen:] "OH MY GOD!!" [from the bedroom:] "WHAT?!" [from the kitchen:]"OH MY GOD!!" [from the bedroom, louder:] "WHAT?!" "Nothing."

4/1/09 How do I describe that seized-up feeling?

4/2/09 6:03 pm I'm on the bus - an 89. Steve's stomach was ill, so I had to ride the bus. I saw a deer limping in the woods. He couldn't step on his right front leg. I took the WRONG BUS. [The regular 89 doesn't go by our apt. during rush hour. I had to walk home from Laurel Mall. I texted Steve, but he didn't realize I was asking him to come get me. Was I pissed.]

4/3/09 [We saw a Heron land in the pond at Route 1 and Cherry Lane on the way home. "Got any frogs? I like frogs..."]

4/4/09 -? mid morning. Oh - 9:40 am At the Navy/Archives Starbucks. We're down here to see the Cherry Blossoms. Um - so is the WHOLE WORLD. CROWDS! COP CARS! Oh, crap - is today the parade?! 8:06 pm Whew, am I beat. We beat the parade. Had to wade thru crowds. Went to the WWII Memorial first. Steve spotted the White House. Never realized before that we could see it from there. Then we went to the Tidal Basin. Took lots of great pictures. Then we tried to find L'Enfant Plaza Metro and I got us lost with a Google map. We had to backtrack and find Smithsonian Metro. My knee hurt from Thursday's workout. And I had a blister on a toe. [gripe, gripe, complain, complain] It was so windy. We didn't have our picnic. We just came home. We had our "picnic" at home. Then I watched Hell's Kitchen. Then I had to take a nap. But I only slept for a little over an hour. Some hammering next door woke me up.

Me at the WWII Memorial.

Steve at the WWII Memorial.

Me at the Tidal Basin.

And my Sweetie at the Tidal Basin.

4/4/09

Finishing up March

3/29/09 [I accidentally drew this on the back of a piece from 3/28/09 with text written on it.]

3/29/09

3/30/09 This got too dark.

3/30/09

3/30/09 About a feeling vs. correct figure?

3/30/09 8:05 pm *Taking sketch - ref photos, correcting, etc. - wrong direction. *Take sketch - different direction. *Art Journaling - see websites, video.

3/31/09 12:28 pm At lunch. Lines. I want gestural lines. Like the loose figures I did in Grad School. Keep lines - layer colors, etc. But don't make hard edges. No hard, defined [corrected] edges. I need to draw BIG. Sketch BIG.