QUOTABLE & WORDLESS WEDNESDAYS and Wednesdays as the pinnacle?

FIRST THE QUOTES FOR THE DAY! (both from Pablo Picasso)

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.

Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.

OK now for the picture:

Now, to speak to my day, as the pinnacle of my week. I am home sick, sore throat, cough, laryngitis... and miserable. I chose to stay home today because it was the only day I didn't have a ton of engagements after school.

Isn't it ironic, the one time I actually have time to watch a movie I always wanted to see (and its on) I fall asleep in the middle. Hopefully Sundance will run it again. I think I have watched more movies between last night and today than I have in decades. What is funny is that they were not ones I would have chosen to see, but I enjoyed them just the same, particularly "Easy Virtue" and "Cadillac Records".

Now to finish up (WORDLESS)

Gold Coast revisited

So I have this friend that suffered a pretty bad crash last fall on his bike. He lost control going over a speed bump and broke 8 ribs, separated his shoulder and punctured a lung. Needless to say, getting back on the bike was not an easy task. I have been neglecting my ride lately, I think the first day out was so discouragingly painful that I almost lost interest. I am so tired these days, I am not sure if its the proverbial plate catching up to me or if its something else. Regardless I decided that the best way to renew a relationship with my ride was to revisit the Gold Coast, Norwalk (Calf Pasture) to Southport. I invited Jim to come along. The ride is fairly flat, with just enough traffic to keep you concentrating but nothing unpleasant. The VIEWS are incredible! It was also the route that I took my first time back on the bike in 1999 after a 15 year hiatus due to a crash. I rode that day (March 26) in a small group of 12, on a vintage trek 560 (6 speed cassette, down-tube shifters) with a nor-easter baring down on the coast and blowing squalls of snow. I remember being afraid to take my hands off the handlebars to point out debris in the road, and I remember all the damn grates along the side of the road and how horrifying they were to me. I remember dying after 16 miles. I remember how great the greek food was afterwards. I also remember that I REALLY liked the ride. This is why I chose the route for Thursday. It was the perfect route to get Jim back on his bike and the perfect route for me to get my head over the burnout I was feeling.

I had had a bad day. One of those days that I haven't experienced since the beginning of my teaching career. My students baited me, and I took it. I then stepped on that escalator and things ended poorly. Lots of feelings hurt, including mine. I approached this ride with my tail between my legs. I needed to relax. It worked.

So why the picture of my cat thrown in? Part of my week has been dealing with a stressed out kitty. She was an indoor cat until yesterday. We are not home enough to keep her entertained and happy. She sits by the window all day wailing, wanting to get out. Last week, she even snuck out unnoticed when I went to the train station. I arrived home to find her on the steps chasing a bird. She has not been the same since. So yesterday, I introduced Dig E. Smalz to the wonders of the outdoors. I felt like a dork. When I had a cat we just let her out but that was when VET BILLS weren't untouchable. So, until she has her insurance instated, I will keep her on a lead (and let her lead). I was amazed at how fast reality hit her, she was actually afraid, skittish, a lap cat again but she was in HEAVEN. I also noticed that when we returned inside, she was old self again, I even woke up with her lying on top of me as if she was a kitty not an 18 month old.

DRESSED IN RED

I love flowers! I really love flowering trees! I find them visually intriguing but... for the past 24 hours I have suffered with some of the worst allergy symptoms that I have ever experienced due the foliage. I have not been this dizzy and this forgetful since my concussion two years ago. Light is bothering me, my stomach is bothering me, my nose hurts, my sinuses hurt, I am wheezing, my throat is raw from the post nasal junk and all I really want to do is SLEEP, but sleep doesn't quell the symptoms. I can't wait until MAY, just past the LILACS (which is the most beautiful of the offenders). UGGh!!!

OK enough whining, I am really writing in support of all the teachers in Florida who are facing some of the most radical education reforms in history. Yes, our educational system is broken but is it really because of "unskilled teachers?" Or, is it because of "other things?"Here is my few minutes on the proverbial soap box. Merit pay is a good plan on paper but on paper any utopian thought looks ideal. In reality how does pay for performance work? Will every school district get extra money to support the mentors it will need for new teachers? Who will decide how evaluations will be done? How does one prevent biased evaluations? Who is going to pay for the extra credit hours required for teachers to take every 5 years for them to keep their certification? What prevents a district that can't afford to pay experienced teachers from turning over their staff every year with those annual contracts? How many careers will that potentially ruin. Remember on paper, Communism looked like UTOPIA.

Lets hope SB6 is vetoed! For that hope, and for Tom and Nancy (my former swim coach and his wife) I am dressing this blog in red tonight!

The last day of Spring Break

Off to the Apple Store again this morning, my laptop is finally fixed after needing a new HD for the past 7 months and no funds outside of the usual to fix it. My trip yesterday alerted me to the fact that it was recently a recall and it would be fixed for free. YAY! no more fighting over the computer!

I should be in my studio doing some work right now, or at the very least be out on my bike. Its a gorgeous day, the last day of spring break, I should not squander it. I sit and think about that thought, I haven't squandered, I have worked for about 2 hours making beads out of used bike tubes ( I KNEW I WOULD EVENTUALLY FIND A USE FOR THEM!) I sketched a bunch of stuff. I looked for a bunch of stuff in places I wish I hadn't (sorry I can't even disclose that info as it was TMI for me the seeker to begin with). I read a bunch of blogs, no, not the blog party blogs, but the blogs my students have been keeping about their artwork. I also caught up on the phone with several people, except MIKEY - where are you Mikey? I haven't spoken to you in at least 3 weeks!
It seems that everyone in the family has spoken to him in the past week other than me. I wrote a press release, texted a friend in Hawaii to say Happy Birthday (Yes, I waited until it was a decent hour there- as painful as the waiting was). I also contemplated subscribing to Three Minute Fiction- you know, for inspiration, OK, maybe to squelch the thought that I haven't given myself time to read.

So now what, well, when I finish this post, I need to go finish some carving on my latest place settings before the clay dries out too much. Tomorrow, its back to school and back to a date with my bike afterwards!

A Party?

Ok, so I often find that I like to roll off a friend's blog post, I think that this is an artist thing. I take each visual challenge and try to answer it in my own way without words, as if its a conversation. I seems that following suit in my writing is only natural. So when Kelly posted about a blog party, I just had to join in and answer with a post of my own. Little did I know that this was going to be an all day affair! I secured the listing, but that was where my morning post ended, my computer crashed. SO, off to the genius bar to FIX whatever was ailing my beloved OLD G5. Two hours later, it was wiped clean and re-imaged. Now, I am happy to say that I can post away. Here I am joining in on the party, fifteen minutes prior to me having to be out the door to go to an opening at the Clay Art Center in Portchester, NY.

I guess all I have to say now is MORE later?