Last night we went to the Deland last Thursday of the month gallery stroll. It was enjoyable but somewhat mediocre compared to the first Fridays in Saint Augustine. The high point of the evening was browsing the Florida Gallery of Art, raving about how much I loved the Michael Parkes prints only to have the owner give me four large postcards of his work for free. Including one of the more breathtaking ones entitled Oasis:



They are going on the top of my To Be Framed pile.

In Europe the most prevalent fashion difference I noted was the predilection for 80's style capri pants gathered at the knee with lots of ties and straps that haven't caught on here yet, and the fitted dark blue jeans with the yellow coloring on select sections of the legs and butt that never got too popular here. But the totally unfathomable and very unattractive trend was the boxing boot--the tight high top athletic shoe with barely any sole that boxers wear in the ring. Hideous.

But some fashion we do need: this and that surely serve their purposes well.

One of my favorite pictures and my second favorite destination on the trip, Rheinfels castle ruins overlooking St. Goar, Germany:

This morning Andy and I sprung awake at 6 am, better than yesterday at 5 am so we're slowly adjusting to the time change. It's kind of fun, we lay there in the dark and talk a bit. We were saying we were going to play tennis if we got up early again but that didn't happen, I've got yoga anyway. Yesterday after work we went to the pool...I can swim underwater the whole length of the pool now. But that's only twenty seconds of holding my breath and I need to get up to a full minute before I will get out in the serious waves on the surfboard. Rich says a minute is the longest he's been held under and I want to be prepared for that inevitability. It still gives me a secret thrill to be a better swimmer than Andy. And because of our radically different fat to muscle ratios I can float for hours and he just sinks to the bottom like a stone.

I was bumming because all the good reality shows were over, but then I turned on UPN last night and my whole life changed for the better: America's Top Model hosted by Tyra Banks has begun and I love it! It started with ten wannabe models in a penthouse and now it's down to eight and these characters are just too good to be true but they are, they are! You've got the fiercely competitive one who yells to be heard, the intelligent anorexic who refers to the other girls as "vapid", the stoner who quotes Jay and Silent Bob (she's my fave hands down), the raving Jesus fanatic going for the plus size, and more. Actually it's interesting how many of them are deeply religious, I guess it's really easy to believe in God when you're that lucky in the looks department.

It feels like evening to me right now, I'm still on Euro time. The trip was fabulous and I feel refreshed and ready to be back to normal life now. I kept a journal on the trip and I will post it when I have time. We also took about two hundred pictures. And I pressed wildflowers in a book from a walk we took in Rothenburg, which was my favorite stop on the drive through southwest Germany. The most unexpectedly wonderful experience was seeing the Dutch band, Blof, perform when we first got to Amsterdam. It turns out they are like the Rolling Stones of Holland and we were swept backstage and introduced when we arrived at the venue, total rock star moment. They are gifted musicians and their lyrics must be great too considering the sold out crowd sang along to almost every song, apparently they are all about bittersweet unrequited love and there's really no better subject matter than that. I got a Blof shirt and they gave us a bunch of CDs for free. I also got a lovely dress at H & M and some bath ballistics and hand lotion at Lush, that's the extent of things that I bought for myself. It was rainy but not all day and the cool brisk air was a welcome alternative to the heavy humidity we have in Florida. Although I was more than ready to return to the land of the sun at the end of our vacation. I knew I was back in the United States when I used the ladies room in the airport: totally filthy with piss on the toilet seat and tampon wrappers on the floor--the Europeans just don't behave that way. Also it was amazing to drive in Europe where the slow cars and all big trucks stay in the right lane and the speeding cars stick to the left, now if that is not a wholly civilized society I don't know what is.

We leave the country this evening. It promises to be a cool trip. Andy made contact with a well known Dutch band through the vintage keyboard business and now we have been placed on the guest list for their show at the legendary Club Paradiso in Amsterdam on Sunday night. Considering we never get out to see any decent live music here, we are stoked about this random opportunity.

I'll try to make an entry here midway through our trip but I've got to figure out my password first.

Last night we went to Happy Hour on the beach with people from Andy's new business network. It was the best crowd I've encountered since moving here and I had a lot of fun getting to know people. There was this one girl who looked like she stepped right off the street of Manhattan but it turned out she grew up in Ormond Beach, very intriguing. So the social thing is really slow going but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Good thing I live most of my life online.

Au revoir.

Someone very knowledgable about the technology of the Internet and specifically e-mail told me that the reason for the proliferation of spam is because people are actually patronizing these businesses. Which to me means that the type of spam you see the most is the business that is the most popular. So apparently a lot of men have some major issues with the size of a certain part of their body.

I have all the equipment for a painter but lately I've wished I had the gear to be a photographer. If I had my choice I would get a mostly automatic but very high res digital camera that stored on floppies. I think Sony makes one but you can't conceivably fit that much on a floppy, can you?

I took a B & W photography class once at Maryland Hall when I was in middle school. We took pictures of an egg in various surroundings; I saved one of the single perfect egg on pillows of a perfectly made bed in Ocean City.

Christi is a photographer, so are my friends Margaret and Brigette. One of my earliest influences was a photographer, an original goth who works with the Visionary Art museum in Baltimore now. Andy is a far better photographer than I'll ever be. He took this in Utah:

TODAY'S BEST

Best movie: Standing in the Shadows of Motown

Best nail polish: Holly by Naturistics, looks just like Dorothy's ruby slippers

Best herb growing in my garden: Thai basil, the curly red leaf one

Best yoga pose: Goddess (Supta Baddha Konasana)

Best kick: Roundhouse

Best author: Clive Barker (I will be reading Galilee on our trip)

Best religion: Church of the Subgenius

Best song: Bohemian Like You by the Dandy Warhols

Best red wine: Beaujolais

Best snack: Medjool dates

Best job I ever had: Modeling in Normandy, France

Best new description of myself: Postfeminist

Best magazine not being published anymore: Nerve

Best color: Baby pink

Best ocean in FL: West Palm, azure

Best sand in FL: Destin, pure white

Best reason to end this: I've got a conference call coming in

June 7th we will be testing for our orange belt in Tae Kwon Do. I'm totally ready for it. We have to break a board with a reverse side kick which I've already done in practice. I also broke two stacked very fine-grained boards with a step side kick which was encouraging. I think it was the first Charlies Angels movie that inspired me to learn martial arts. I can't wait to see the sequel this summer, also the Matrix Reloaded! Although I went to a stupid anti-Matrix site the other day by some reverend who gave away the ending of the movie to keep people from seeing it. Thanks. I got there through a banner ad on Fark so I'm a little irritated with them too. Martial arts have definitely taken over mainstream movies these days...even Quentin Tarantino's new one Kill Bill appears to revolve around Uma Thurman being a kung fu heroine. No, the trailer wasn't any more believable than the concept and her hair looks really bad too. But we'll see. Jackie Brown was tolerable at best.

The guitar is officially on its way to Julie in Georgia. I ended up putting a layer of Japan dryer on top which quickly sealed and finished it. I was not brave enough to take paint thinner to the whole thing. I have found that the objects I have painted for other people have stressed me out a bit, there always seems to be some issue that comes up. So I'm not planning on setting myself up for commissions anytime soon. I just have this strong intention not to let art turn into work. Which means I won't ever make a living at it. Something that doesn't freak me out at all.

Part of me wants to take a long hiatus from painting but the other part has several ideas sitting behind me right now: finishing the redo of the big tree, adding paint to the Death sketch, starting the secret project that I've been daydreaming about for months. When I say sitting behind me I mean they are on the big wall behind my back in my office. Give me another year and I will have every surface in this room covered in art things. To the right of me is this wall, it has tons more stuff since I took the photo:



There is a flourishing art market down here, and plenty of acceptance of modern styles like mine. At first I was ready to jump right in, follow up aggressively on one tentative offer to show at a gallery. But now I just want to kick back for a while. I don't know what it is, probably just that whole aversion to art as work thing kicking in. For now I will just keep enjoying the first Friday art walks in Saint Augustine and investigate the last Thursday ones they have in Deland. Also on my list is to check out the Skin exhibit at the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art.

Part of me is not satisfied with the work I've created to date. I feel this change welling up, this need to make my paintings better: more skillful. It's fun to be expressive and risky, but now I'm drawn to the technical side of painting. The precise, time consuming, classical process. We'll see.

Just in time for our trip! Oh well, things could be much worse.

Ten facts about my life right now:

1) In about five minutes, Lisa is going to be interviewed for On A Roll Radio. I'm going to be listening.

2) I chopped down most of my basil and made a really nice pesto tonight. It tasted like the best we ever had.

3) It's very hot and dry here. It's raining buckets in Maryland. It's also raining in Europe and promises to continue when we are there next week, it will be a nice respite..

4) I have to stop babying my garden and just let it handle this weather on its own. There's this whole philosophy to gardening that is largely based on relinquishing control over events.

5) I miss my mother.

6) Today I found one of the few actitivies that I am better at than Andy: swimming. He kicks my ass at chess, tennis, etc. and Trivial Pursuit but I am convinced that game is gender biased.

7) While I'm in Europe I will make it a priority to seek out a Lush. This time I'm trying the freshly made masques that they keep on ice, something tasty as well as good for ones skin.

8) Tonight is the last Survivor and Six Feet Under, my most addictive show. I think for Survivor that Jenna and Rob will be the last ones left and the mystery will be who is more hated at this point.

9) Right now on talk radio they are discussing vanity press. An interesting concept. I've just purchased a domain name for a zine, literary thing, not sure yet.

10) We went to Cocoa Beach yesterday and I am hella tan.

My friend Karin has some incredible photography on her site:



I started a site for my sister. I hope she likes it so far, it needs a TON of work.

April was for the jasmine, May brings the gardenias into bloom. Lately I've been inspired to write poetry involving flowers. I can't wait for the lavender come out, this is the first time I've grown it.

Lisa has a lovely new spoke guard art design.

It's nice to see the places where I showed in Annapolis featured on the web. Glow Salon has a really polished new site, and there's a story about 49 West.

I love film as art and one of the best that comes to mind is Easy Rider. What a piece of history and beauty. The Dennis Hopper/Peter Fonda/Terry Southern writing triumvirate just blows my mind, then throw young Jack Nicholson into the mix. Dennis Hopper is very interesting, he's actually a really great photographer. When I lived in Taos and I heard he was seen in town sometimes, I rehearsed what I would say if I encountered him. I'd tell him I liked his photography. He sells out of the Gagosian gallery in NYC. I'm also totally enthralled with Althea Flynt, ever since that swinger photo of her and Larry in People magazine back in the 70's, so I was delighted to come across this.

I got the dress today. It's lovely. It turns out the seamstress worked for Armani in NYC before coming down here so I needn't have worried.

Now this is the Pumpkin Ravioli that I had.

The James Brown show was even more incredible than I expected. He was celebrating his 70th birthday that night and his voice could not have been more clear and perfect. And he still dances like James Brown. Luckily I had forgotten that he was in jail for beating his wife many years ago because I might not have loved the show as much, had I remembered. The upbeat songs were great but my favorite perforrmance was "Man's World" because it really showcased his expressive stage presence and voice. It was a great time and we had fantastic seats.

The House of Blues is in a sprawling Disney complex and before the show we went to Wolfgang Puck's restaurant where I had one of the best pastas ever, Pumpkin Ravioli. I'm surprised the recipe doesn't call for balsamic vinegar in the sauce because I was sure I tasted it, I suspect the dish I had was slightly different.

Right now my breakfast consists of leftover couscous with butternut squash, apples, apricots, orange juice, and rosemary that I made to have with lobster on Sunday night. That was a right feast.

The CEO of my company is very avid and talented at photography. The few times we have been in the same city together we have played photographer and model, one of my favorite past times. He took this one in 2001 and it's probably my favorite. He told me a lot of people who saw these photos remarked that I would look better without the dark roots but I liked them that way, perfection is not so interesting. I have weird eyes that are supposed to be green but lately they've been behaving as if they are blue, this photo being a good example.

Our European vacation is has been planned out as much as it will be at this point:

May 16--depart from Orlando, layover in Philadelphia
May 17--arrive in Amsterdam and stay that night
May 18--explore Holland and stay another night in Amsterdam
May 19--drive to Frankfurt and stay that night
May 20--spend the day with Rice family friends and stay in Frankfurt another night
May 21--drive to Rothenburg and stay the night
May 22--spend more time in Rothenburg, drive to the Black Forest, stay wherever we end up
May 23--arrive in Trier and stay that night
May 24--spend more time in Trier then drive back to Amsterdam and stay that night
May 25--fly back to Orlando by way of Philadelphia

This week was a bad one for reality television and me. First Trenyce gets voted off American Idol--granted she wasn't the best singer on the show but she was certainly better than the dull white male that remains. Then the sorority bitch and silicon princess on Survivor manage to save their sorry asses at the expense of the deaf girl on Survivor, just the kind of thing that would probably happen in the real world. I'm really hoping for some reality redemption next week.

I've had this beautiful Malaysian fabric laying around that Erin in LA sent me years ago and I finally decided I needed to do something with it. So I picked out one of my favorite sundresses and took it and the fabric to a seamstress to create a duplicate. It could go wrong in a myriad of ways, it might fit weird or the coloration of the fabric might not suit the design, but it's an experiment and it just might result in something beautiful. It's going to be ready in a week and I'm a bit anxious. If the results are positive I have another sundress that I positively adore and I'll seek out some fabric to have that cloned as well.

Tonight we're going to first Friday art walk in St. Augustine again, this time with our new friend Kriya, and tomorrow we're off to Orlando for the James Brown show. On the way to St. Augustine I'm picking up some Japan dryer from the art store which might be the answer to the still wet guitar.

I can't believe our trip to Europe is only two weeks away. It turns out that Dan will not be in Prague by then so we're going to stick to Holland and Germany on this trip. It will be a nice respite from work and I'm looking forward to getting out of America for a while. I love this country but sometimes you need to leave to really appreciate it. And ever since the first time I visited Europe, when I was twelve, I've always felt like I fit in more there.

Brigette was the first one to tell me about the Homies. Now there's an article about these brilliant little figurines in today's New York Times. I really want set #4 but I am so trying to conserve funds right now, drat!