I woke up for class today with an unshakable feeling foreboding. Yesterday? This was the Golden Hour (which is the opposite of the Violet Hour); today? Stormy, sepia, and everything felt wrong from the moment I woke up and my foot hit the floor. (Normally I adore this kind of waking up to a surrealist interpretation of reality... today it feels wrong.)

To the point that I went straight back to bed.

Hopefully this feeling dissipates as the day wears on; I really can't miss my Design class this afternoon. I also have plans to meet my friend Eliot for a drink later on, as he's in town for a bit.

I had at least several dozen bulletpoint ideas for a blog post about this past weekend (namely the late Saturday/early to mid Sunday portion of it), but I think I might rather smirk secretly to myself, for now.

At least they lyrics running through my head are switching back and forth between "Manic Monday" and "Getting to Know You". Not the worst combination ever.

I think I'm going to make a cup of Earl Grey (all out of Darjeeling, sadly) and watch Atonement.

I'm starting to lose track of days again and for once it's not due to Monsieur Alcohol.

I've spent the past week? Two weeks? Something like that, catching up with school projects. Two art classes and one math; it's a LOT of work. On top of all that, my loan is on hold for 30 days as I'm a "new student". Thanks Sallie Mae. Rent was due yesterday.

The worst part isn't the workload, which I can manage. I'm extremely determined when I choose to be. I've been having migraines at an alarming rate. I generally get a few a year; maybe one every couple months. I've had 3 in the past two weeks. Stress, ain't is beautiful? :\ Even so, I've made enough progress with my back assignments to earn the respect of my professors. ^_^*

In a related note, I now have a second Flickr account solely for the purpose of tracking my art project progress. Or for anyone who is curious as to how I spend all the time I'm taking away from das internets. Check it out here & feel free to add me as a contact!

It will be at least another week until I have any free time to speak of, so if I haven't responded to messages, emails, phone calls, texts, etc. please be patient!

Back to the drawing table.... literally! (haha, aren't I witty?)

Yes, I only inked 36. Numbers 37 thru 46... TOUGH LUCK, SUCKERS. (Yeah, that means you, Banshee Sharon Stone, aka #43.)

( BEHOLD!! )

Ugh... and with that, I'm going to fall into a coma for a few hours then wake up and draw 25 interpretations of CORN.

No, I am not kidding.

-_-'

Drawing 36 faces for my Rapid Viz class. Although apparently I can't count.. because I did 46. Oops. -_-'

I numbered them, so if you want to guess who they are this could get pretty entertaining. Some are random, but many are from old photograph books from WWII and of old Hollywood (and some newer Hollywood folks, as well) stars. A few historical personas make appearances as well.

( Are you sure you want to see this? )

I should probably not decide to conjure up a late night meal after running the dishwasher.

Because I did not plan even 15 minutes ahead, I buttered my toast with an oyster knife and am enjoying my spicy roasted butternut & corn soup out of a Tupperware bowl using a large serving spoon.

The soup is good, but it seems like it's missing something. Maybe cumin. I've been rather obsessed with cumin lately and have been throwing it into everything. It's a wonder that it hasn't made it into one of my bubble bath sessions. (Although, that gives me an idea....)

Today I had $1800-1900 of debt forgiven. Basically, the entire cumulative sum that my mother fronted me to go back to school (a few hundred dollars worth of books) and for obtaining my apt. (first month's rent + security deposit). I was to pay her back, no problem, with my loan stipend. However, it's been declared that the money was a gift for me to actually make something of myself and my life (aside from making it a farce, which has been my M.O. for years), instead of frittering away my talents, skills, abilities, brilliance, intelligence, etc. (I'm not vain or arrogant, whatever would give that impression? LOL)

Frittering has become my favourite word, lately. Also, fritter or fritters, particularly corn fritters, as I've been craving them all week (no thanks to Jonathan and watching the Charleston episode of No Reservations). I probably won't be cooking a whole lot over the next several days of catching up on homework; but perhaps Sunday.... fried fish, jambalaya, collard greens, corn fritters.... YUM. I can taste the sweet tea already!

I think I may have to alter part of my occupational listing to reflect "retired partygirl" instead of "semi-retired partygirl". Fucking hell.

Over the past year I've cut back drastically on my drinking (with the exception of a couple horrid months after an unpleasant breakup) to the point that I apparently cannot handle my booze. Which begs the question, could I ever? (Or can most people who think they can? After all, we're talking about the opinions of people who are drunk, lol.)

Most of my activities, school and design work/research, handicapping horse races, etc. do not involve drinking. In fact, I prohibit myself from drinking until after projects are done and my DRF is marked up. I refuse to allow a tasty cocktail to inspire mistakes or dampen my ambitions. Even when I do drink, it's typically a glass of wine or whiskey once everything is done and then it's off too bed. I've spent enough years frittering away my talent and abilities, failure or mediocrity aren't acceptable options.

That being said, I got extremely trashed (much quicker than I expected) on Friday night and was fortunate enough to have a chivalrous gent come to my rescue (which I deeply appreciate). I remember very little of the entire night, which is not only embarrassing but really quite infuriating. I take responsibility for anything I said or did, regardless, but the worst part is not remembering time spent with someone whose company I really do enjoy.

...and don't think I've completely gone off the deep end (not that I'd ever do that, right? haha..), I'm not completely forsaking the sauce. I'm just putting it back in it's place, which is a sidenote and not a priority or necessity.

P.S. I have to wake up in 6 hours and I'm not remotely tired. Stupid afternoon naps full of carousel dinner parties and gentlemen dressed like Cary Grant!!

Those are the 3 Rs, right?

Today is shaping up marvelously. I had quite possibly the most euphoric yogurt imaginable for breakfast. Rachel's Wickedly Delicious Vitality pomegranate acai yogurt. The anticipation that I feel towards the Calm plum lavender honey yogurt in the fridge is almost unbearable! (Oooh-- and I just read that they have a pink grapefruit-lychee!!! I'll have to find someplace that has that.. I don't recall seeing that one at the store.)

Tonight I was planning on hitting DWD (Dark Wave Disco, @ Sonotheque), but I think I will opt for a free concert of George Gershwin's music down at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

Tomorrow is Nazareth's art show and I'll finally get to meet Robin! Afterwards we've got a cocktail reception @ The Spot and in the wee hours I have plans for the most profitable blanket heist in history. ^_^*

My dreams of origami pineapples will now be replaced with visions of hobo Nick Nolte drinking MY La Fin Du Monde.

THANX canface. I OWE YA ONE!! (....just you wait.)

I feel much better now.

Yay!

^_^*

I'm DLing the movie Seabiscuit in a valiant attempt to raise my spirits, on account of having no spirits to do the job for me.

A nice, horsey movie is just the ticket, right?

Then again, Tobey Maguire is in it and that may just make me want to punch something instead.

(Hey-- that last sentence DID cheer me up. We're making progress!)

#4 Down: What is a thirteen letter word for today?

(Answer: Nonproductive)

Of my approximately 20 item To Do List, I've checked off one or two tasks, at most.

I'm cranky.

I'm mostly un-motivated.

(I did do some preliminary sketches of an Art Deco style pineapple motif and drool over photos from the Milan Furniture Fair.)

...and I just burned my arm on my espresso pot. >_<'

I did clean the kitchen, but the rest of my apt. is still in a state of national disaster. (If you don't know what nation this is, then you haven't been paying attention.)

I've also been ignoring my phone all day, so if I've missed your call or text... sorry, but don't expect a response until at least tomorrow.

If you take it upon yourself to try and cheer me up, I'd like to wish you luck in advance.

KRIKKIT ROBOTS.

(If you get this reference, we're getting married next Monday.)

(I hope a line doesn't start forming.)

I'm seriously considering hacking off my hair. Again.

No, I don't have a current picture, but it's been it's natural wavy auburn for ages now.

Currently it's about to the middle of my back, as far as length. I was aiming for between waist and hip length, but I am seriously doubting my patience threshold.

Because I don't wish to sully my free account with commercialism (adverts), I will not be making a "fancy poll" with horizontal bar graph results.

You can yay (or yay!) or nay (or neigh) as a comment, otherwise forever hold your peace (or piece or peas).

As per usual, I probably won't listen to whatever the popular consensus decides anyway. It's just fun to get others opinions! (...and then politely discard them.)

^_~

Sunday evening a casual coffee encounter spiraled into an unexpected adventure.

Monday I trekked back to my apt. in time to meet my brother, borrow his vacuum (which I MUST make use of tonight before he picks it up tomorrow morning), shower & dress, then catch the train and head to school to get everything straightened out before my 8am class. I both looked (extreme peeling thanks to my epic sunburn) and felt (about 15 min. of cumulative sleep) like a zombie. @_@ Both fortunately and unfortunately, the school still has by paperwork screwed up which ripple effects my financial aid, ability to attend classes, get my books/supplies, etc.

The silver lining was that I was in dire need of a restful and soothing nap; which was my next plan of attack. As for the nap? Annihilated, with characteristic panache. "Panache" is not a code word for "blanket stealing" or any other sort of textile thievery. I don't know how that rumour got started!!

>_>



The highlight(s)? I'd be hard-pressed to single anything/anyone out. Or this could be a cleverly constructed smokescreen in the form of the least detail-oriented synopsis in the recent history of Granaatland.

I've been dealt my cards for this round, I can read them... and this is my poker face. ---> ^_^*

P.S. I really need to stop procrastinating and vacuum my damned apt. already. The lent vacuum reverts to it's true owner at the asscrack of dawn tomorrow. Pfft. This is why I need a cleaning lady. ...and an espresso slave/masseuse/lackey. (Good help is so hard to find now that slavery is abolished.)

I wish I had a better digital camera. By "better", I mean "one that is not my cellphone."

The sun setting over the western edge of the city is remarkably beautiful right now. Peachy pink light is filtering into my apt. from my vast west facing bay window. The entire room feels softly painted with magic.

Times like this, I wish I could share them with someone who would grok this moment completely......

EDIT::

These photos were taken with the above mentioned camera-phone, from the above mentioned enormous bay window in my Uptown apt.

Groundbreaking Thinkers are charming, enthusiastic persons. They really bubble over with energy and like to take centre stage. They love variety both professionally and privately. Groundbreaking Thinkers tackle changes consistently with their optimism and firm belief in their own abilities; they are always on the look-out for improvement possibilities. Their excellent communication skills are of great advantage to them here. They approach the world with curiosity and openness and master new situations with a great deal of talent for improvising and with resourcefulness. Their spare time is taken up with a large number of hobbies; most Groundbreaking Thinkers like to travel in order to gather as many different impressions as possible. This personality type is unbeatable at discovering new possibilities.

In their work, Groundbreaking Thinkers highly rate challenges and diversified tasks. They cannot stand routine and too detailed work. They love to astound others with bold ideas for an original, new project and then leave it up to the others to implement them. Hierarchies, rules and regulations arouse their opposition and they love outsmarting the system. It is vital to them that they enjoy their work; if this is the case, they quickly become pure workaholics. Their creativity best takes effect when they work independently; but they are very good at motivating others and infecting them with their optimistic nature. Conceptual or advisory activities appeal especially to Groundbreaking Thinkers. It can happen that some people feel somewhat duped by their flexible, spontaneous nature.

Their sociability and enterprise ensure that Groundbreaking Thinkers always have a large circle of friends and acquaintances in which activity plays an important role. As they are mostly in a good mood, they are popular and very welcome guests. Grumbling and peevishness are unknown to them. However, they do tend to be a little erratic and unstable when it comes to obligations and this makes them appear to be unreliable to some. Groundbreaking Thinkers are very critical and demanding when it comes to picking a partner because they look for the ideal relationship and have a very concrete picture of this ideal relationship. Mutual aims in life are very important to them. They do not like compromising and would rather remain alone. For the partner, it is often a challenge to have a long-term relationship with a Groundbreaking Thinker. Groundbreaking Thinkers need a lot of space and diversity or otherwise they become bored and feel cramped. Types who are rather more traditionalistic often have problems with the willingness of Groundbreaking Thinkers to take risks and their often crazy, spontaneous actions. However, if one can summon up sufficient flexibility and tolerance for them, one will never be bored in their presence and will always have a loyal and faithful partner.

Adjectives which describe your type:
extroverted, theoretical, logical, spontaneous, rational, innovative, intellectual, open, independent, curious, enterprising, analytical, clever, enthusiastic, venturesome, inventive, energetic, sociable, optimistic, non-conformist, creative, freedom-loving, charming, able to get enthusiastic, self-confident, communicative, capricious, inconsistent, outgoing

These subjects could interest you:
documentaries, books, talks, museums, computer, Internet, strategy games, politics, drawing/painting

Last week was.. ..trying? I've been having issues with school. Somehow they didn't recieve my "official" transcripts. So, I again submitted a signed and written request. They sent the wrong ones again. Without the proper transcripts, I'm technically not enrolled and cannot start classes on Monday. I missed Orientation on Friday because of this technicality. However, SOMEHOW my admissions coordinator convinced them to accept official copies for time being so that I can start classes at 8 o'clock in the morning on Monday. The school's office with be open at 7:30am, so that is when I will arrive so that I can get my class list and books prior to my 8am class. Which is Rapid Visualization. I think.

Having forgotten in the stressful stew of things my TV and vacuum cleaner (among other things) is really grating my nerves. Especially as my apt. wasn't exactly clean & pristine when I moved in. I need to vacuum. Big time. It's driving me nuts. Luckily, my brother is loaning me his and will be swinging by on his way to work Monday... at 6:30am. Well.. I planned on leaving about 6:45 anyway, so that works out ideally. He'll pick it up the same time on Wednesday and since I'll be getting up early for class that day too, it's quite painless for us both.

Item 3 or 4. My door buzzer and intercom do not work. I missed a vital UPS package on Friday due to this. It was supposed to have been fixed on Thursday, but was not. Today they finally fixed the buzzer and replaced the intercom. Both now work. Sadly, UPS will be re-delivering while I'm in class on Monday, but if I leave the door unlatched & leave them a note they can put it inside the door. I only have one neighbour, so there shouldn't be a problem with someone closing the door fully. Otherwise, they'll just re-deliver on Tuesday, when I will be home.

Last Wednesday I went up to Arlington Park for the first time and tried my hand at handicapping a totally unfamiliar track. My friend Ramon provided the $50 of betting/play money and I did all the legwork. Even on an unfamiliar course I just more than doubled the money (which is a typical "bad day" for me.. just about double return on whatever I've bet). $50 turned into $124. Not too shabby! The extra nice part is that I'm drumming up some interest in friends of mine who enjoy betting on horses but have no idea how to handicap. Basically, I've had a few offers for people willing to financially back my horse-playing. This could easily take the place of a part time job and I certainly enjoy it more. Once I get enough starter cash, I can play for myself on top of placing bets for others & taking a hefty cut of the profit. Last night alone, by writing down mock bets & keeping track of the returns... I'd have bet $29 total, over Hollywood Park's 8 races, with a return of $187.70 with $158.80 being pure profit. Yeah. I'm kinda pissed that I didn't have $30 to throw down. I could easily bet $50-60 a week (over 2 days) and come back in the gold. Granted, it takes time to handicap properly, but I truly enjoy it and seem to be quite keen at it as well. From now on I'm keeping track of my mock bets and real bets carefully, so that I can prove to my backers that I'm as skilled as I claim. (Which I am... last nights numbers were with 2 races being total busts out of the 8 races.)

In other news, I also got a brilliantly red and extremely painful sunburn while at the track. Last night I finally started peeling, even after a regimen of aloe vera gel, ibuprofen, and drinking lots of water. Some of my lesser burned extremities are fading into a tan and the rest looks like I have a flesh eating disease. Good thing I'm not looking for a date! ^_~

I think I'm finally finished feeling hungover from last night. Traffic was pure evil, so Naz & I opted for going out for drinks instead of dinner. I had a GREAT time and managed to get home in one whiskey-saturated piece (the bar was only about half a block away from my apt., LOL).

Today I got up and met Neal in Chinatown, had some awexome tea/coffee/milk/tapioca pearl drink at a teahouse on Archer Ave. Hit the Chinatown Market where I bought some lemongrass sauce and almost but didn't end up buying a live eel.

After taking a nap this evening, I'm still to tired to bother hitting Darkroom for the J-pop Dance Party. Oh, well. I'm not really very bummed, to be honest.

I made unspecified plans to do stuff w/ my friend Justin, but didn't check Saturday's race schedule. Oops. So, unless he wants to spend the afternoon at Trackside w/ me watching Hollywood Park races all day.... we shall have to reschedule! There are LOTS of exciting stakes going on... I just printed out tomorrow's program so I can start handicapping tonight. I don't have much money... maybe 12-13 dollars... but I should be able to double that quite easily. I also finally signed up for Equibase's free "Virtual Stable" service... I can add all the horses I love and keep tabs on when/where/how they're racing. Yay!

Now it would be time for espresso and let the handicapping begin! ^_^*

Today I woke up before noon and successfully slept through the heavy construction across the seat. I'm definitely acclimating to it. To the point that when I closed my windows against the rainstorm yesterday it sounded weird and too quiet!

Tonight is dinner with my friend Nazareth. We're making baked eggplant. It's sort of like lasagna, but without noodles and it has non-fat plain yogurt instead of cheese. Very healthy and out of this world delicious. Depending on what time she arrives & what time we eat, perhaps we'll investigate my new 'hood a bit. I still haven't walked around & done that. I'll try to remember to take some pics. ^_~

Tomorrow my plans for the Fourth of July include meeting Neal in Chinatown for some shopping and later on hitting Darkroom for a Jpop Dance Party. I have no idea what I'm going to wear!

As for the weekend, Saturday is relaxing and more unpacking. Sunday I might be meeting up w/ Robbi. Not sure yet. Next week is already filling up. I'm getting tired just thinking about it!

In the 3 nights that I've been back in Chicago I've slept rather well.... and without the aid of pills, melatonin strips, or boozing myself unconscious (or some combination of the three).

Between the Redline thundering by half a block away, the traffic, people talking/yelling on the sidewalk, and the massive demolition/construction across the street: I've slept wonderfully!

In other news: My rickety, rusty old fire escape is pretty scary. I really hope my building doesn't catch fire; I'm more fearful of becoming a mangled mess from the fire escape collapsing than I am of getting burned or suffering smoke inhalation. (I'm even nervous to put potted plants out there... what if it breaks? My landlady would not be pleased....) It really should be called "Rusty Potentially Lethal Death Trap" instead of a "Fire Escape".

Talk about being out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Or vice versa.

LOL