Leaving Fleas & Taped Tunes

My summer continues. It got hot quickly this year, up in the 90s by the 2nd week of June. We were hoping to hold off as long as possible on putting the air conditioning window units in, but that just didn't happen.

Unfortunate news... Our beloved cat, Vigo, will be leaving us. No matter our efforts, he is set on getting outside as often as possible. There are fleas outside. Well, mostly outside... Anyway, hopefully he goes to another loving home and we get ours cleared of pests.

I just wish I could turn all our little "guests" into one large Flea...

...And the rest of the Red Hot Chili Peppers are welcome to set up shop here as well, of course...

A few weeks ago, I looked into more Stoner Rock bands. Basically anything Joshua Homme has done has been, or at least included, Stoner Rock. Kyuss, Eagles of Death Metal, Queens of the Stone Age...  So I wanted to find more. And I found Atomic Bitchwax. Well right away, the name had me. Loved it. I'm listening to it now, their Gravitron album, which is their most recent, released last year. I'm enjoying it. Though, they seem to have a bit of a faster tempo than the usual Stoner Rock. No matter, still good.

I may be switching back to my rum & colas. I'm not sure if the Stonewalls I've been drinking for some time now are actually better for me or not, so I'm opting for the cheaper route.

Ah now on to Arctic Monkeys. They're a good go-to when you're not sure what to listen to.

There's a bit of a chance we'll be relocating... majorly. Over 22 hours' drive worth of relocating. To a place that's half our town's population, and... in the desert. I don't handle heat well. People say that a "dry heat" is better than humidity. I'm not arguing, I'm just saying heat is heat. It's more difficult to escape heat than it is cold.

But then I thought... I'm always looking for something new. While it's not necessarily my first choice, it's still something new! I have a select few people I interact with regularly that I'll be heartbroken to leave behind, but I'm not exactly drowning in friends.

There IS a brewery there whose best seller is a red ale, so I know where I'll be spending a lot of my free time. AND another one about an hour away, bordering a lake.

Now for some throwback. Eve 6. Their self-titled.

I started another art project the other night. Rather than continuing with the Gotham Gals oil paint, I started a chalk portrait of Illyria from the tv show Angel. She makes her appearance in the final season. I've always been drawn to her blue hue... Her hair, her eyes, her lips... and the character that accompanies these attributes. And I feel like the desire to capture it in a portrait has recently reached a peak, so I obeyed my desire.

Also, I think I figured out why I prefer using oil paint on canvas over using pastels. It's more precise. If I need a sharper line, I can get a smaller, finer brush. You can't really do that with chalk. Sure, pastel is easier to fix, but I found oil paint to have a better finished product.

Oh! Right! MUST mention this! We watch America's Got Talent, and I think my favorite act of the year showed himself in the first one or two episodes. Tape Face! I always go for the "odd" acts. There are plenty of competitive shows for singers and dancers. Even magicians and stand-up comedians have a type-specific show they can try for (though I have a soft spot for comedians). But the odd acts! Like Uzeyer last year! And this year, Tape Face! Here...

If you don't like the first part, just hang in there for the second. It's great. I can't wait to see more of him. Very creative, imaginative.

Apparently I have quite a bit to say tonight.

Now listening to Fun. Another good go-to. Their style is different. But excellent.

Alright, I'm gonna call it a night. Gotta get up somewhat early for the kid's dentist appointment.

May your summer be a "dry heat" and your air conditioned.

Closes

Today was my last day of work. Yesterday was the kids' final school day, today was an in-service day, and once I left the school at 3:30, I was no longer employed by the public school district. Turned in my I.D. and key as I walked out. Luckily to the secretary, with whom I've had a good relationship with, as opposed to the principal. It's been a bittersweet couple of days. Saying goodbye to the kids the first day, and then my coworkers the second.

Tonight I watched Dangerous Liaisons. If you've seen Cruel Intentions, you'll follow it pretty well. Cruel Intentions was a modern take on the former movie, and both are an adaptation of a novel. Dangerous Liaisons, released in 1988, has John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Uma Thurman, and Michelle Pfeiffer in it. Also Swoosie Kurtz, who is in the remake, and... sigh... Keanu Reeves. This is the second movie I've seen him in where he's in a role that doesn't fit him. The first was Dracula, with Gary Oldman. I don't agree with Keanu being in historical-type movies. He's a modern-day guy. Maybe I'm missing something that the people in show biz see. I dunno.

(Those two paragraphs were from two nights ago. The following is from the now.)

Today I watched another Glenn Close movie. Albert Nobbs was made in 2011 and it features Close in 19th Century Ireland, posing as a man just to hold employment. I enjoyed it. Close played a big part in getting the story on film, as well. In addition to playing the titular character, she's also credited as a screenwriter and a producer.

My garden is fairing well. Bit worried about some of my tomato plants. Couple of them have been growing every which-way, it seems. I'm afraid to straighten them to attach them to a stake, and that's a ligit fear, because today while attempting that very thing, I broke off a rather large branch of a plant. Frustrating. This branch had buds on it, too! Erg.

Artistic Anticipation

Finished my Harley Quinn oil painting about a week and a half ago. Here's the finished piece:

I'm pleased with how it turned out. I know I said I'd do Catwoman next, but it's been difficult figuring out how to portray her. So I may have found a way to do Poison Ivy instead, and I hope to get started soon.

Less than 3 weeks of school/work left. I'm rather glad.

Not sure what the summer's going to bring. The kid will have summer school and perhaps a week away at a camp (last year he only lasted one night) and maybe some other stuff. I'll be job hunting, of course, and cleaning around the house. Tending to our garden! I check on it and my potted stuff every morning before I leave and again when I get home. Hopefully we got rid of the rabbit problem by putting a fence up around the veggies.

My birthday weekend started this evening, even with having work tomorrow. It was kinda spur-of-the-moment, but those are worth the groggy mornings...   ;)

Soundtracks

Some days I have a hard to finding something to listen to while driving. Yes, my destination is usually less than 10 minutes away, but that doesn't make this issue any less annoying. Between static, commercials, and lousy choices, I've really been missing my teen years of jamming out to my favorite songs via store-bought or burnt CDs. So, I think I'll return to this particular way of delivering pure joy to this music lover. I already know my first two albums to get. "Songs for the Deaf" by Queens of the Stone Age and "By The Way" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Followed by Franz Ferdinand's self-titled and "Good News For People Who Love Bad News" by Modest Mouse. I owned these CDs once. Legitimately bought, listened to, and enjoyed. Yet I can't find them now. However! During my search, I found several soundtrack albums in my possession...

Rather eclectic mix, wouldn't'cha say? Damn proud, too. And these are only the ones I found! Somewhere out there, are the soundtracks to Sid & Nancy, O Brother Where Art Thou, Tomb Raider, the 2003 Daredevil movie, The Fifth Element, Gone in 60 Seconds, Resident Evil, and Night at the Roxbury.

I take pride in my soundtracks. Some horrible movies have amazing albums.

Descent

Well Friday ended on a low note. Got told by the principal that I had 2 options. Either hand in a letter of resignation to the board of education effective the end of the school year (next month) or my position would be terminated.

So, let's recap.

1)Didn't get a part, or even a callback, for the play I desperately wanted to be in.

2)Kid is headed towards getting put on behavior meds.

3)I'm being forced to resign from the job I strived to get only a year ago.

Yeah. Feelin' pretty defeated.

But, I have a growler of beer here that is trying its best to help me find my white chick groove as I listen to the Night at the Roxbury soundtrack. Temporary peace of mind.

I'm ready to do something. Get out of town. Hopefully next month.

Silver lining, I'm looking forward to having the time to continue my canvas art and hopefully completing the project I'm trying for. I'm mostly done with the first, and I believe Catwoman will be next. I'll leave Ivy for last. She'll likely be the most challenging. Not that that's a bad thing.

 Alright, I'm out. Just wanted to express my current state of mind. No one reads it anyway.

Countdowns & Hang-Ups

Glad tomorrow's Friday. Thirty-nine days left of school I think? They've started a tear-off calendar where I work. Today we took a field trip to a local art center. The kids worked with clay, which I never really excelled at.

Speaking of art, I've decided to keep the canvas I'm working on, and hopefully make 2 more - Poison Ivy and Catwoman. All from The Animated Series. Ivy might be a challenge, but I'll sure try. Hopefully the end result will be our living room wall livened up by the ladies of Gotham...

Finished my pirate novel, now I'm reading K-PAX! Loving it. I love the movie and am pleased to be enjoying the novel just as much. It's first-person narration, from the doc's point of view. So naturally, I'm reading it with Jeff Bridges' voice in my head. And I'm desperately wanting to watch the movie the whole time I'm reading. But I'll wait.

I'm ready for my summer roadtrip, assuming it happens. My mom and I have been talking about it. We both have that desire to just pick a direction and drive. No plans, just seeing what we see. The less freeway, the better.

Rough Waters

Rough time lately. Problems with the kid in school. Problems with myself apparently. (I believe I'll return to seclusion and retreat from attempting a social life.)

I found a new-to-me band this evening. Eluveitie. Celtic Death Metal.

Remember that art project I mentioned before? My first time painting on canvas? It's going alright, I guess...

I'm both enjoying and loathing working with oil paint. Definitely taking my time with it. But I'm learning. I'd probably do another, if it's as basic as this one. (Red, black, and white. Mixed black and white for the gun. The blue was borrowed and done in a matter of minutes.) All I have left now is to get a light brown for the gun's cork and to finish the background. The smudges will disappear as I put in those finishing touches.

Been reading a historical fiction pirate novel. The author is quite good. Definitely done his homework on New Providence Island, Charles Vane, Edward Teach (Blackbeard), Woodes Rogers... and much else. I commend him. The novel is call Hunt For White Gold. It's the second book in the Pirate Devlin series. I've also been watching Black Sails. Transitioning between the two has been... interesting.

Adieu.