Branching Out

 Tuesday, Sept 19, 2023  8:05 am


It's Tuesday and overcast.  I peaked out the window a minute ago and saw flashes of lightning.  Only then did I realize how terribly dry it's been this summer.  I can't remember it raining more than a day or two.  But we have been blessed by a fairly temperate summer.  It was lethally hot during RAGBRAI (The Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) but mercifully cool during much of the Iowa State Fair.

I have spent the last half hour trying to think of something entertaining or profound to say.  I couldn't think of anything.  So the place to start when I've got nothing to say is where I'm at now and what I'm doing now.

I'm back in Des Moines after spending 4 days in my former place of residence.  I go to Iowa City every few weeks--as a sort of mini-vacation. 

 It was fun.  I hooked up with my piano teacher, my old boyfriend, my new girlfriend, and my dance teacher.  My dance teacher took me out to dinner and brewskis.  I visited a little art gallery in which I was the only one present but I saw some neat art and bought some neat cards.  



by Candice Broersma


Then last night I facilitated the UU meeting and did not announce that I had decided to leave the group as I have been considering.  Leading the group has its ups and downs.  The ups have been that I like sharing what I know about Buddhism and hanging out with some really nice people.  The downs are that I am not a natural leader, and I am at heart a loner and not a social butterfly as leaders should be. 

 Also I hate speaking.  Ninety-nine percent of the time it is a waste of a person's energy; as is the time and energy spent in listening to most people as they generally are saying nothing.  In my encounters with other human beings, I find myself lying and then experience a self-loathing because of it.  I succumb to a desire to not be rude ( taught to me by my midwestern-rooted parents).  I force myself to SAY SOMETHING when I have nothing to say, thus, it usually sounds quite hollow and meaningless because it is forced.  That is what I mean by lying.  That is, the act is a lie, not what I am saying.

This morning I ate some Ramen noodles and added about 20 apps to my smart phone so I can play with them later.  


---

There is a little place on Dubuque Street called Artifactory that displays local artists.  It's really just the basement of a church but the artists are always local and quite good.  Some of them have made a name for themselves.  I like this artists graphic art.  It combines two of my favorite themes, renditions of people's faces, and renditions of trees.  The gallery person told me they recently had an opening for this artist.  I'm sort of wondering how much people make for bookcovers.  Like do they get a commission or a one time payment?  Also, I am wondering what type of skills are involved in creating art on a computer, and what the process is.



Digital artist: Candice Broersma



Book covers by Candice Broersma



Cat picture by CB


======






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I hear singing

Image
 Yesterday was a very special day.  I was walking in front of the house headed out to do errands about 10 am when I heard a rustling in the grass.  It repeated itself but when I looked down I couldn't see anything.  Then I heard it again.  It sounded like a large fly.  Finally, I saw a big object flapping its wings really fast. The wings were a big blur.  It was an Iowa locust that appeared to be caught under the netting the Google folks laid down after running the new fiberoptic down along the street.   I was going to go back to my room to get my jar but instead grabbed an envelope from my backpack and scraped the locust into that.  Then I went up to my room, poured the locust into my jar and took a picture of it.  After I took a picture of it I shook the jar and it looked dead as a door nail.  I felt horrible.  I guess I had been a little rough with it when I scooped it into the envelope.  Or maybe the jar had some ...
Read more

Christmas time at the Mall, JC Superstar on You-Tube

Image
Temps are in the thirties with a stiff wind that chills you more than the actual temp.  I went to the mall today and once again reflected on the dying nature of the creature.  I realize my life has paralleled the age of the Great Shopping Mall.  I was a child when they were first conceived of and am still alive as they slowly pass out of existence.  I remember when Merle Hay Mall was Merle Hay Plaza and the concept of a collection of stores all in once place was a consumer miracle.  I grew up on the "southside" of Des Moines, but a couple of times a month my mom and I would drive the 13 miles to go the more affluent west side and a shopping area called Merle Hay Plaza.  The long journey (to a kid) and the route we took remains a strong memory. My parents bowled in a bowling league at Plaza Lanes.  More memories.   Then they put a single roof over all those stores and changed the name from Merle Hay Plaza to Merle Hay Mall.  Merle Hay by ...
Read more

Sunday Morning 2023 Aug 13- books I am currently reading

Image
 Yesterday, I carried around one of Kay Ryan's books THE BEST OF IT.  (New York: Grove Press, 2010).  I was introduced to Kay Ryan several years ago when a lady from the Senior Center in Iowa City read a poem by her.  I think it was called The Elephant in the Room.  Kay Ryan writes very short poems.  In general they are much shorter than the ones my poetry group reads out loud.  You can watch Kay Ryan read some of her poetry on You Tube.  This is a treat--being able to see and hear a poet read their own work.  In general, they are pretty good readers. I like Kay Ryan because she writes about very common things that she has clearly spent time looking at studiously.  Alternatively, it could be that what seems like inane things to most people, must strike her profoundly and then she writes about it.  I'm drawn to Ryan's poetry because our minds are so very similar. If I wrote poetry it would be exactly like hers.   I also am ...
Read more