I'm still new at this blogging thing....but writing is good.

So I'm always leaving like 20 line long comments on facebook, which led me to believe that maybe I need to blog as opposed to being annoying. So, naturally, I decided to come here. I am a newly hired art teacher, as I am to blogging. Both require commitment, but teaching pays. If I could sit around and write all day, I'd love it. I adore writing and the artful arrangement of words that tickle the mind. I need sentences that take me on the journey to the next (sentence). It's hard to keep my attention. I make myself read because it is good for me. As I've heard (not sure if I agree,etc) but it doesn't matter what you read as long as you indeed do read. But if you read crap, won't it make you dumber? I believe so, but that's just me. (i.e. the Twilight series) I did read the first book and it was like 24 hour self-indulgent fluff-fest. I also know that reading the Bible is an effective cure to insomnia. haha. I choose to look at that as God knows I need sleep. As for the teenage vampire love story that his this country going nuts, I think it's great if it gets people to reading who wouldn't otherwise. I credit Harry Potter for doing that for me, but if I'm being honest (and this is a confession) I read before, but I was into those self-help books. Hahaha. You know, the one that business leaders recommend that are all about positive thinking and all that crap. That was a non-creative time in my life. By using my sharp deduction skills, I can figure out that "if I was reading those books, and not being creative, then it's the books fault. Then I found Harry, but then I found Tom Robbins. His use of the English language is like nothing I've ever seen. He has the way to keep me moving through words til I finish a sentence, then a paragraph, then a chapter, and then my mind is blown. Yes, his stories are fanciful, even whimsical, but he hits the nail on the head with his observations regarding humanity.

What else? Oh yeah...

I've been house-sitting for my good friend and she has two very large and very sweet dogs. My engine blew up and I have no car. In a nutshell, i'm here, in my friend's house, with these two huge dogs all up in my business (love their hearts) with no way out. It's like I'm held hostage with excellent tv channels, a refrigerator full of food, and limitless internet.

I have gotten a lot done, as far as curriculum planning. Once I figure out what I'm actually teaching, as I found out yesterday that I will be teaching junior high and three high school classes. This was news to me as I was originally hired as the junior high (7th and 8th grade) teacher. I'm not much on planning, but the career I've chosen requires a good bit of planning, at least initial planning. Somehow in the craziness that has been my mind over the past five years, I always knew I would eventually be an art teacher. Little did I know the challenges I would ultimately face throughout the entire ordeal. But, I will say, in spite of a broken spirit, lack of skills in many art areas, and various health issues, I had the good sense to see that was what I'd have to go through to get to this point. Harding's entire art program is based on the fundamental standards of realism and the Renaissance. Even in Modern art history class, we spent about half the semester on the Renaissance. They've brainwashed me, not that i don't love the Renaissance. I read the Agony and the Ecstasy as I traveled through Italy with the art department. I know and love Michelangelo. I'm a sucker for it all. Is that the style of art I aim for in my own work? Would I even enjoy the works if I didn't have the training? Well, first of all, no, I am trying to get out of the mindset that realism and "drawing from life" is not the only way to produce "good" art. Secondly, I had the wonderful opportunities to travel throughout my first college go-round and I went to Florence and saw the David. It was very powerful, and if anything, made me realize where my own heart truly belongs...to art. To creating. As I do my own lesson plans, I realize the importance of not letting people slip through the cracks like I did. I was misled by the business world, thinking that was the only way. Unfortunately, it wasn't my passion. This led to a nervous breakdown and a large pharmacy bill. Not the right way, but it had to happen. I know nothing going into this. I do know, from my student teaching experiences, that very few people are even minutely interested in art and artists' lives to the degree I am. I'm in deep. I finally found a pen in my friend's house (I'm house-sitting, remember) and got a chance to draw a bit. It's ingrained. I imagine I will eventually be led to surrealism in my style. During one of my backpacking through europe experiences, my friend, cousin, and i visited the Dali museum in the Montmartre area. I didn't need to know the rich art history of the area. I could sense it. The Dali museum is really what got me deep down and pulled it to the surface. It had to happen. But fresh out of MBA training what does one do? I've decided to pursue art. So cliche, I know, but it was real. It bothered me until I started creating again. Funny enough, now that I'm getting the chance to fulfill my destiny, I still feel that itch for greatness and i still feel that none of my art is ever good enough. Anyway, that's not the point. It's not about me or how I feel really. When I do figure out what it's all about I'll blog it or something.

Well, as I approach my 29th birthday, I realize that I've been caudled like a baby on a pillow. Of course, I've worked. I've even got workers' hands. I work fast, too. That's because my Dad owned a factory. I used my reasonably efficient deduction skills to determine that the fact of my father owning a factory, and that I worked there from 12 to 28, is the reason I work fast. I brush my teeth fast, I get dressed fast, I paint fast (alla prima preferably), I walk fast, and I even eat fast. I was approached regarding the issue of my swift behavior and realized then that I had some things to think about. For one thing, it's not always in one's best interest to work fast. For example. I wash my face fast. Once I stopped and read the back of my neutrogena bottle, I read that it takes 30 seconds of rubbing vigorously on a moist face in order for the facial cleanser to effectively do its job. Normally, I'd spend about 5-10 seconds. Sure, I fly by the seat of my pants with the best of 'em, but wouldn't it be for my best interest to actually and truthfully take the accurate time allotted for the various (however mundane they may be) tasks I engage in throughout the day. So, I've been working on slowing down. My Dad sold his business. He also sold the building. In case you don't know, my dad's business is called Bottomland Naturals and we make/made edible (and non-edible) birdhouses. "Wouldn't that be hard on one's digestive system?" I've been asked (more times than I could possibly count!). No, silly, it's edible for the birds. It's a wooden house covered with non-toxic (and organic) glue. Once the birds finish eating, they still have a house to live in! It's like a bed and breakfast for the birds! With this in mind, it's interesting to note that my dad sold his business to an individual, and the building to a different individual. The latter of the individuals owns a moonshine operation. He maks apple pie and blueberry flavored moonshine. I've tasted both, and yes, they actually do taste like their titles. So here's to birdhouses and booze!