My Mix Can Still Beat Up Your Mix.

gravity - intercept

safer times - new atlantic

slipping under - william tell

restless - needtobreathe

car crash - matt nathanson

...and I'll top it off with a quote I read today that I found quite interesting:

"When the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail."

Abraham Maslow

-R.

The Future...

IN THE NEAR FUTURE...

...I plan to put together a collection of paintings to either sell to friends and family and co-workers and co-churchers(?), or to open a gallery show and try to sell to the general public.  Then I will open a separate checking account in which all my painting proceeds will be deposited, and from which all my painting supplies will be purchased.  In theory, the goal would be for the average monthly balance of this account to gradually rise.

...I plan to finish reading one the many books I'm in the middle of - probably either Husbandry by Stephen Fried, or The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Calibourne.

IN THE NOT QUITE AS NEAR FUTURE...

...I plan on buying an Amazon Kindle and using it every night before bed.

...I plan on buying my wife a puppy and a kitten, as close in age and size as possible, so that they will be friends from the get-go.

...I plan on having a $1000 emergency fund for...well, emergencies.

...I plan on either upgrading or replacing my desktop computer, and purchasing a 36-40 inch HDTV.

...I plan on completing the degree I'm working on and starting art school.

IN THE KIND-OF DISTANT FUTURE...

...I plan on purchasing a second vehicle - preferably a car with 35-40 mpg, to use for everything but taking me to work and back, which is like 2 miles from our apartment.

...I plan on building a $40,000 fund for putting a downpayment on a house.

...I plan on becoming a locally known painter.

...I plan on finishing all the books I'm reading through right now, and start reading some kind of biographical book about someone who did something great (Chuck Schwab, Ben Franklin, etc.).

...I plan on completing a degree in graphic design and maybe either painting or traditional animation/illustration.

IN THE DISTANT FUTURE...

...I plan on makin' babies.

...I plan on working (either for a company or freelance) as a graphic designer and working up a portfolio to take to disney to be a traditional (hand-drawn) animator.

...I plan on becoming a fairly well-known name in the painting world, equipped with my own personal studio.

...I plan on paying off one or both of our cars.

...I plan on buying a house.

SOMEWHERE IN THE FUTURE...

...God plans for me and my family to become full-time missionaries in Kenya, Africa, leaving all our possessions behind and committing 100% of our lives and energy to the work of the Lord God Almighty.

When there's nothing that we can't afford to sacrifice,

There's no way they can put out our fire.

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"Belle" of the ball?

just finished a new painting.  Like my hands are still covered in paint.  Check it out.

When I paint, I mentally compartmentalize the entire picture, so that I only ever worry about the stroke I'm making at the moment.  The problem with this lack of "big picture" approach is that I really have no preconception as to what the end product will actually look like.  This painting is the perfect example: the way the colors turned out, I took a step back to look at the completed project, and realized that she is Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Regardless, I'm pretty happy with it, except for the fact that my signature looks like it was done by an 8-year-old.  I've gotta work on that...

the end.

-R.

Uuuupdate?

Okay, okay okay I know I updated like a day ago but great things have happened. Great things indeed. First off, some randomness.

I look at a lot of files at work - it's what I do. And on these files are the names of various clients. Most of the time it's something like "John Perkins" or something else equally normal. But every once in a while I'll come across names that entertain me more than a big scary monster willow spontaneously humping ferrets on tree-huggers appreciation day. Names like Mercole Stufflebean, Warren Pece, Guy P Greene, and Billy Button to name a few. I love my job.

Speaking of my job, I have more updates. Working with my hands and building things is therapudic for me, and I've been in need of some therapudicness the past couple days. Soooo even though my bonsai tree just evolved into an AWESOME Optimus clone, it underwent yet another metamorphosis, but this time it's more like a growth spurt. Check it out.

Sha-pow! He's like 18 inches tall and completely made out of mail clips. And a cut out piece of post-it note that I colored on. Check out his face. Again.

Oh, and my staple stack wouldn't stand up straight so after fighting it for like 5 minutes I threw it away and started over. But I'm playing it smart this time. I've got a mold that I'm pouring the staples into, and when it's full I'll slide up to reveal my perfect staple stack. And by 'mold' I mean toilet paper tube. It's kind of like a game...which is why I also gave it a back board. Observate.

I know, you wish your workspace was as awesome as mine. It can be, tiny grasshopper, with a little post-its, markers, and imagination...and mail clips and staples and toiler paper tubes and highlighters and a sharpie and some tape and some paper clips and a notepad and a loooooot of free time.

Okay so I got so caught up in talking about my crazy work stuff that I forgot what this post was going to be about. I guess I'll post again later. Like sooner later, not later later.

-R.