Another Try

I've recently (i.e., yesterday) decided that I need to recommit myself to a healthier lifestyle. Generally, I do a pretty good job. I exercise a fair amount these days. I try to get enough sleep. My big issue is eating as a way of coping with difficult feelings and kind of as a form of rebellion. I just feel so deprived when I can't have that chocolate dessert or take a smaller portion than I'm used to. It's like I see it as a dare -- "Yeah...go ahead. Just try to deprive me. I'll show you! I'll have TWO servings of chocolate cake. Ha! So there! As god is my witness, I will never be hungry again!" Well, I just need to get over the drama. I was looking online and found this web site called sparkpeople.com. It was started by this guy who sold software or a website or something that was like ebay to ebay. He became a gazillionaire and decided that he wanted to do something to help people reach their goals -- specifically goals about health and weight loss. 

So this website is a really comprehensive place to get support, ideas, inspiration and practical tools to try to make these changes. I know it's not magic and it really is up to me whether I make the changes or not but I'm hoping that having a frequent reminder of my goals I'll be able to keep it up. It's kind of like a Facebook for healthy living. I know some of you are also interested in healthy lifestyle so thought you might want to know about it. If you sign up, you can just say I told you about it (qualialori is my user name) and I think we'll get friended automatically. 

It's totally free of charge and I haven't been able to see any catch yet. There are advertisements of course but they aren't overly intrusive and don't get in the way of using the site at all. Apparently, this guy has the resources and he really does want to share them. Or...alternatively, he's a sociopath and is lying about that when he really wants to make money and is doing something sinister behind the scenes. I'll go with the former for now.  

Finally...Fall

Today was a perfect day for a walk. Cool but sunny. Before work today, I went for my walk around a local park. Felt good to be out and not sweltering. Felt good to stretch my legs. The leaves are starting to change which I love. 

One of the houses on my walk has a great yard with all kinds of plants. I've noticed recently that the woman who tends it has put in these little houses. I wish I could shrink down and live in one of them for the winter. Reminds me of how much I loved the scenes in I Dream of Jeannie when she was in the bottle. I was always so disappointed that they didn't have more scenes of her in there. I wanted my own little bottle to live in. I guess there was something about it that made me think it would be cozy and safe and comfy and contained.  

 

So...if I disappear as the weather gets colder, don't worry, I'll be back when spring comes. I'll be hibernating most of the winter but feel free to stop by to leave some toothpicks so I can keep my little fire going or to drop off some baby corn or some frosted mini-wheats. Just don't leave any of those high Barbie doll heels. Cute but not practical. I think I'll make my main residence the green house with the red roof.

More Woodtype?!

I'm really excited!! I might be able to go back to Hamilton Wood Type Museum for a three day event. It's called Wayzgoose. Now I just have to figure out if I can afford it or not. It would be so great. Maybe I could skip therapy a few weeks and go to this instead...It's definitely therapeutic. I'll keep you posted...

The Challenge

Only those who avoid love can avoid grief. The point is to learn from grief and remain vulnerable to love. ~ John Brantner

The most difficult challenge I'm facing right now...If you know how to do this...please...teach me!

Color Playground

I'm really, really enjoying the art class I'm taking this semester. The past few semesters, I've taken classes in the Graphic Design program. This semester, I decided to take a class in the Fine Arts department. The whole class is about color. In the first few weeks, I've already learned so much. I think my happiest times right now are when I'm in class or working on pieces for the class. 

It's hard to explain what all we're learning but mostly so far, it's about how all color is contextual. It's about seeing the more subtle aspects of color. You may see a piece of paper that looks gray but if you put that gray paper on a red field of color, it will look "cooler" and maybe a little green. If you put that same piece of gray paper on a blue field of color, it will look "warmer" and maybe even a little reddish. So...the colors we see are often more about how our eyes and brains interpret them than they are about what's "objectively" there. It's so cool because once that becomes clear, the possibilities of working with color are so much more complex. Is that cool or what?! 

One of the people who's most famous in color studies is Josef Albers. He did a bunch of experiments with color and created various exercises to lay out more specifically how color behaves. You can play around with some interactive exercises here. It's fun! You can see more of his art here.

Now that you've seen an expert's results, here are my virgin attempts to "get it." It's harder than it looks! 

In the exercise below, the idea was to create the illusion that the small inner boxes are actually two colors when they're the same color. The right one should look darker than the left one and even a little deeper, darker gray but they're actually the same color.

In this exercise, we were to make the X on the right look like the background color on the left and the X on the left look like the background color on the right. The color the X's are made from is the same, though. The effect doesn't show up much in this photo...

In this exercise, the goal was to create the look of transparency when two colors overlapped. I'm not sure how successful I was at the lesson (i.e., that they really look like they're transparent and one's showing through the other) but the instructor and class really loved it! They thought the overlap between the S and the P was too dark so I might mess with that more. Wish I wouldn't have cramped the letters so much.   

I feel really grateful that I have the resources and the energy to be able to play with art. I hope I always want to learn, explore and take risks to create.  

Damn pole! >:-/

How many years have I worked in this office building and parked my car without incident in the parking garage? Five years you say?! So how is it that I managed to park by a pole yesterday that jumped into the side of my car as I was pulling out of my space? 

A client once told me that she banged the side of her car on one of the poles in our garage and if I'm honest with myself and with you (my public) my thought was "How is that possible? She must be a pretty bad driver." 

Well, now I know that the poles in this garage are sadistic. When they've lulled you into the sense that you're safe; that they'll stay put and let you pull right out of your space without accosting you, that's when they go in for the kill. Can you believe this? How is this possible? Now I have to decide whether to spend hundreds of dollars to get the repairs done. I think the paint's scraped off enough in one place that if I don't, it'll start rusting. Think RustOleum would do the trick? Ugh. Calgon, take me away.

 

Finally...

...it was cool enough and unhumid(?) enough that I could take a walk outside during the work day! It felt so good to be outside and enjoy the weather. 

I think I'll be spending a lot of time alone this weekend. My security blanket is in Argentina visiting her son! The nerve. Who's going to keep me entertained on the weekend? I have lots of art projects to work on. Finishing the paintings for my living room. Assignment for my art class. This semester, Norma and I are taking a class on color. Yes. A whole semester focused on color. Awesome!!  

I'm also going to look at some listings my realtor sent me. I've decided to buy a condo. I know I'm a big baby but I just can't stand living in this apartment. I feel like an undergrad again. If I were to rent a nicer place, I might as well buy something. So...that's what I'm going to try to do. I feel much less depressed knowing that I won't be the cat lady living alone in the same apartment for 30 years. I'll be the cat lady living alone in the condo she OWNS for thirty years. So much better.