One of my close friends calls me a philosopher, another thinks I am mostly funny and my mother thinks I am "all business." I'm all of these, but not always at the same time. Like many people, I am prone to moods - and tend to be reactive to other people's moods and/or personalities as well. What I am at my core is shy.
I don't think a shy child ever overcomes shyness. One learns to push past it much of the time; to change
behavior, but left to my own devices, I tend to withdraw, avoid confrontation, crowds of strangers, and aggressive people. I'm still shy on the inside. I have learned self preservation means saying no - and standing up for myself - and I do feel a bit proud when I do . But I don't like how I feel while it's happening. It's not comfortable to try to be something I am not.
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| Gracie is shy, too. |
If I were a butterfly or moth, I could just spin a cocoon or chrysalis and emerge as a different "being." Instead, I weave a cocoon of protection that is intangible. I am terrible at selling my own work, so I sell through galleries and the internet where face to face sales are rare. And yet I am enthusiastic and even wonderful at selling the works of artist friends... Go figure.
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| Me in another life... (a black swallowtail to be!!) |
It's so hot, and I am too poor right now to afford another air conditioner for my studio room. When I get home from my "day job", the house is well over 90 degrees, and only the bedroom is cooled, so I make a quick supper, dashing in and out of the "air." I use only the microwave if possible to avoid making more heat. I can't bring myself to paint unless I can work in the morning on the days I am off - or down in the shop which I can keep cool until about 2pm, when the heat overcomes the small air conditioner there.
This is the hottest summer I've experienced in my 20 years in the south. I'd move if I could!!! But September is coming, and any day now, I might have enough extra $$ to get cooler...
Hope everyone out there is keeping cool too.
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My current apartment came with AC, so I'm a happy camper. But I need to buy a new microwave; the current one bit the dust a couple of weeks ago and I have to wait until the next paycheck to buy one because the last paycheck was for rent.
ReplyDeleteAnd the good news is... I applied for social security this past week and received my statement. I am so grateful to FDR for signing this milestone legislation. Starting in November, I won't have to scrape so much!!
DeleteI need a new microwave too - the one I have has got to be at least 30 years old and probably leaks microwaves (so I never stand near it when it is running).
I'd still rather be going paycheck to paycheck than paying out to credit card companies!
Last night, it was 90 degrees outside, and I went into my attic room to open windows, as I'd been out all day. When I went outside again, the 90 degrees actually felt cool. Go figure!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it interesting how heat can be relative!? Our bodies just keep trying to tell us to seek the cool - or the heat!
DeleteI have learned self preservation means saying no
ReplyDeleteand That gets more true with the passage of time
Hooray for FDR! Get it while you can!
During these hot months when I didn't have AC in a studio, I would take linoleum blocks to the local library and deep in the stacks, I'd carve them there . Something to keep doing art..because without art, I get wacky.
Art saves lives...our own!