Month: July 2023

K: Daily Communication

Prompt-craft in BlueWillow: name of a dear friend + black and white only artwork for teenagers, unisex design cartoon style, whimsical cats, jungle, birds, flowers, thick vector ink lines, no background, no shading –no blur –ar 2:3

July 9 – 20, 2023 – It feels like a lot has been happening—so much work—and I don’t always feel up to it. Since the last submission, I cleaned the bathroom thoroughly, which took two full days, and included using the drill to scrub the tub (and it worked pretty well!). I also cleaned and touched up the “Room” so much that it was transformed into a seemingly clean and welcoming room. I had a camera dropped down my throat, and they knocked me out with Fentanyl—which left me with a horrible headache for a couple of days. But in spite of it, I continued to detail the place as best I could, with help, in the time I had allotted.

Learned: that I have hoarded cleaning products under the sink since the 90s, especially for carpet cleaning; that I can produce the energy to do many of the things I could not over the past ten years as long as I take ample breaks, but not every day; that a dear friend who had been kidnapped in Haiti has been released. Phew.

Grateful: that I have someone nice who has come to stay for a while and rent my spare room; that he is delightful and responsible; that I am off the hook for painting for a few days at least.

Accomplished: OMG, so much. Eight years of Spring Cleaning, new bathroom light fixtures, lamps and bedding for the Room. See list of accomplishments:

Thinking about: all the work I’ve done, as if I have been through something very hard; how frightening it is to be kidnapped at gunpoint by a gang in Haiti; being more open and intimate about life with the new flatmate without having it be about my past health problems; the center is located everywhere.

I like the sound of this one:

Reading/Listening/Watching right now: I’ve been listening to many musicians that I am not familiar with as I clean and paint, and I can hum a few new tunes, kind of like the above. Still finding comfort in mindlessly binge-watching “The Rookie” or “Good Trouble” on Hulu. I have been passing out before the end of things.

Seems: like no matter which endeavors I choose, I seem to add a level of complication nobody else would add for design’s sake; like some human-caused calamities are being considered acts of god, and some acts of God are being considered man-made.

Seemings From Before: like I need to be being a particular way that is invisible to me; upon realizing that “I am so loved,” it’s like I DON’T GO THERE; like I get thrown back, pulled back, or pushed back, even though I get there is no back; like low barometric pressure gives me extra inflammation; like there is now so much content churning out about every single thing that someone could be interested in that it is pressing my “just give up” button.

Ecology of Practices: MOVED TO HERE:

A Quote About Independence:

“What then is freedom? The power to live as one wishes.”
~Marcus Tullius Cicero

K: Daily Communication

Coloring book page, but is it really? All the tests I’ve done show me one thing is true about AI artwork: it needs a lot of work. To want to publish even one page, it would need retouching, re-rendering of whole sections, and the connecting of shapes to make for a more-satisfying coloring page. I’ve played with it a bit and I don’t know if I really care to involve myself in it that deeply. Might be more fun for me just to try to color them myself. So have fun, kids, and have a red pen ready to circle the places that aren’t fun to color!

July 4, 2023 – Reintroduction: I had to take some time away. Inflammation got bad, and I’ve been chronically digestively challenged, and then a nasty bout of Covid-19, all on top of needing to get exercise while deep-cleaning the flat in preparation for the first new flatmate since 2015. I am still interested in doing this journal, but not always committed to it. After Covid (and Paxlovid) in early June, I feel less inflamed, but I also feel the accumulation of inflammation collecting. Would it be better to commit to regular journaling? I dunno… Why? It is a journal of sorts for me, but not one I ever intend to read again. It’s more fun if I am making pictures that I like and when I feel better than Achy.

I do have a bit of a plan that I can announce: Upon the arrival of the new flatmate, I will return to the art-making table on a more regular schedule to expand on the cathead series. Why not?

Learned: that I can still paint a relatively straight line; that I can produce the energy to do many of the things I could not over the past ten years as long as I take ample breaks; that a dear friend had been kidnapped in Haiti that the city of San Francisco is more-or-less okay with the lawlessness that goes on as long as nobody gets shot.

Grateful: that I can envision putting my retirement business plan together now and see if the industries and niches I choose still exist in four years.

Accomplished: OMG, so much I won’t remember it all. Put together a little reunion and shared some energizing love on the day that it happened. New stove installed, and then re-installed how I actually need it after the installers left. Repainting of sections of kitchen floor AND adding grey and black areas to account for the new stove in the composition. Repainting of kitchen table (sorry, Javon!). Pulled all items from the black wire pantry shelf, cleaned it, painted the pantry’s lower walls (and way better than I did before… I remember bottoming out energy-wise at that point back in 2003), touched up pantry window trim and other parts in there (thankfully the paint still works that I kept for this kind of touch-up), super cleaned the hallway carpet… it still looks pretty bad, but as a first pass, I got about 55% of the ancient dirt pulled out… new toilet seat installed. Shower window un-painted-shut. Oh, and all but secured a lovely new flatmate with a gentleman’s agreement. Who’s coming is a gentleman, for sure!

Thinking about: all I need to do and that I’m writing this instead of doing it; that I need to start putting my retirement business plan together now but wait and see if the industries and niches I choose still exist in four years when I need to have unsuccessfully launched two years back (because people on disability aren’t allowed to earn money); that I really want to rest more than I want to do more work, and wonder if it’s a habit or if I really need the rest.

Thankful

Reading/Listening/Watching right now: I’ve been listening to a lot of French pop on Spotify while cleaning and painting. I have been adding new artists to my old listener’s head and have realized some of the lesser-known artists I used to listen to pre-2006 have become huge successes. Working on a Playlist called “Make Him a Tape.” Finished Netflix’s “Better Call Saul” and rewatched “Breaking Bad.” Just started a Korean show on Hulu called “Big Mouth,” which is a little crazy but fun. Finding comfort in occasionally binge-watching “The Rookie” on Hulu.

Seems: like some human-caused calamities are being considered acts of god.

Seemings From Before: like I need to be being a particular way that is invisible to me; upon realizing that I am so loved, it’s like I DON’T GO THERE; like I get thrown back, pulled back, or pushed back, even though I get there is no back; like low barometric pressure gives me extra inflammation; like there is now so much content churning out about every single thing that someone could be interested in that it is pressing my “just give up” button.

Ecology of Practices: MOVED TO HERE:

A Quote About Independence:

“What then is freedom? The power to live as one wishes.”
~Marcus Tullius Cicero