Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Vacation!!!
Recently I haven't been really blogging properly.
Purist bloggers might even accuse me of becoming a "meta blogger".
But hey - we are going on vacation tomorrow, and the past couple of weeks have been crazy, trying to finish up some stuff before we leave, and packing, and juggling several commitments at the same time, The JohnnyB at work, and me at the non-money-making domains.
Stress took over.
But this is almost behind us.
We're going to Grenada, a Caribbean island that looks very unique and fun., and hopefully, not overly-touristy
I only hope we'll make it...
It's a long story, involving the world cup cricket match, a special visa that takes effect starting February 1st, me not having an American passport yet - and the fact that we land there on January 31st, 8pm....
Pretty close, but we are trying to be optimistic and hope that the flights will go smoothly.
And no, we cannot fly a day earlier, as we are flying on mileage (namely, for free), and beggars cannot be choosers.
Finger crossed.
And if we don't make it - we'll just go back to Puerto Rico and have a spontaneous vacation there.
At at rate, I am still amazed that the Caribbean islands are pretty close.
5 years ago, it was just an exositc word, describing a magical place I will probably never experience, as it's so far away. And now - you can get there in less than a day.
Anyway - we'll either have a great vacation on this wonderful little island - - -
- - - or I will have a great blog to write.
And, until we are back - y'all are blessed with glorious silence, at least from this neck of the blogosphere...
Labels: Vacation
Monday, January 29, 2007
Ouch...
Brings up memories, and dedicated to many, Many, MANY friends...
Thanks, Cokhava and Yoram, for sharing!!
Labels: Joke, Meta Bloggin'
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Sweet Revenge
Blueberry - this one's for you!
I have to say I find it to be a poetic justice.
(Sent to me by Yuval - thanks!).
Ole!!
Labels: Joke, Meta Bloggin'
Saturday, January 27, 2007
My 100th Blogpost!!!
You see, I am an Aries.
And as my dear sister keeps pointing out at every occasion, with deep sighs: "You lambs simply cannot postpone satisfactions!".
("Why the sighing?", you wonder.
..'cause she's married to an Aries.
..Not an easy fate - ask The JohnnyB).
Nooooooooooo.
We need to see results NOW, on the spot.
The sooner the better.
And - goes without saying - these results have to be what we expect them to be.
Or else, the unlucky observer gets an immediate unmistakable reminder as for why Aries is of the fire element.
See, if I were an Aquarius, or Gemini, or some other airy or watery sign that portrays a well-balanced, calmed and mature person, I might have waited until I actually have something of great magnitude to say to the world, in order to not waste such a weighty post on mundane pondering.
But, hey - this has never prevented me from publishing the pervious 99 times, Eh?
And so - I am hereby presenting to you: MY 100th POST!!!.
Just because!
I still remember my very first post.
How young I was.
How full of hope and naive, light-footed and clear-eyed, not quite sure what a blog is, and why would anyone want to bother reading what I have to say.
And on this solemn - yet festive - occasion, as the whole blogosphere awaits with bated breath (so I imagine) for some words of wisdom that will echo for generations ahead, at this very crucial moment, all that comes to mind is the profound Zen-like thought:
"Ahm... like, I expected it to be much more exciting!".
Well, not really.
And so, I conclude that, just like most other big moments in life, when you expect the world to halt and the sun to miss a ray and the stars to gaze in awe - it's just yet another moment in time.
Happened.
........Passed.
..............Moving on.
Next?
Labels: Major Achievements
Friday, January 26, 2007
Worst Burglar Ever?
Hard to say if this is staged, or whether this guy really is the most unlucky burglar ever.
Heartbreaking, almost.
Sent to me by the very MikeyB - Thanks, Paintermon!
Labels: Joke, Meta Bloggin'
Thursday, January 25, 2007
The Slight Difference...
In my last ArtPact, I was enthusiastically superlativing my watercolor portrait teacher, agonizing over not being able to share her work with y'all.
Well - just to show that she is even cooler than I thought, she gave me her permission to show her work on my blog.
Remember my little portraits on that full sheet of watercolor paper?
Well, this is what it looks like when WackieM does it.
And she refers to them as "just exercises for loosening up", Eh?
Click to fully appreciate.
Labels: Art
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Let's see...
To the man who caused me to leave everything behind and start a new life here.
To the one for whom my family fell for, instantly (OK, most of them...),
and - together with all my friends - they keep chanting the mantra "איזה חמווווווד ג'ון",
(as in "Eize Hamuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud John", as in "John is soooooo sweet")
To the guy who brought light, warmth and smiles into my life,
To the one who puts up with living with an aspiring artist,
Or, simply:
To the one who makes me laugh and love:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN!
Labels: Birthday, Wonders of The JohnnyB
Sunday, January 21, 2007
ArtPact #9
Started an advanced workshop in watercolor portraits on Saturday.
Same incredible and fun teacher, WackieM (check out her work), with whom I took the beginning portrait workshop in the fall.
Same one-hour trip each direction to where the workshop is.
Same annoyance of getting up before 7am (on a Saturday!!!) and frantically packing tons of supplies into the car, in order to be there on time.
But - as opposed to the weekly workshop in the fall, this one is only once a month.
And, besides, it is sooooooooooooooooo worth it, big time!
Yesterday's lesson was about painting people of colored skin.
Political correctness aside for a second, it was about black people, or very dark skinned.
(Sorry, but African-Americans sounds stupid, as what about those who were born here and never ever set foot in Africa? It would be like calling Jews who forever lived in the US "Israeli-Americans". Eh?)
A-n-y-w-a-y, back to art:
Dark skin obviously means darker values, but it's much more than that. It allows you to use more rich colors, and there are somewhat different "rules" when it comes to which colors work better. Like, the color reflected off of dark skin has a lot of green, whereas with white skin, it's mostly blue.
As a pre-workshop homework, WackieM had us divide a full-sheet of watercolor paper (namely, 22"x30") to 18 rectangles of 5"x7" (to the metric-speakers amongst my readers: I truly apologize. I fully understand your resentment, but - when it comes to art, I speak in the weird incomprehensible language of inches, feet and yards. A matter of survival, y'see).
As the workshop began, she explained that she wants us to work small, very small.
"Take your reference photos", she gracefully ordered us, "and start creating small paintings. Make a drawing on each rectangle, and then start painting. And work on several paintings at the same time".
Why??
Several reasons, all making great sense.
Now, great sense and art do not quite go hand in hand, but here we're talking the ultimate self-deception.
For one, working small takes away the fear of facing a big sheet of virginal empty paper, having it gaze back at you, and being terrified to put down the first brush stroke (which is always the hardest one).
Another big plus is that when working small, the drawing is more intuitive and loose and free and flowing and careless, as it feels more like a sketch than the obliging "preparation for a painting".
You find yourself caring less and less about what happens, as any potential mistake or failure will be done on a small scale, and you get into the blessed mindset of "Ah well, the hell with it, if it doesn't work out, then Pfffffffffffrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr - I have so many more rectangles to try something else".
And, since you get to do several paintings of the same portrait, you are bound to try a lot of things: come up with a different composition, change the emphasis, use another style, try bolder color schemes, explore different techniques, try a new approaches, basically, you work in the "what if" mode - and as you get more and more into it, you get more creative.
After all, these are just little pieces of paper, and it's so fun to go wild and see what happens.
So, it was a great day, time flew like the Concord, leaving us extremely adrenalized, and totally exhausted.And we only did one row, mind you...
(like, about 6 rectangles, in varying stages of completion).
Having said all that, I feel obliged to announce that I really, REALLY hate painting in a class or a workshop.
When I paint, the world needs to come to a halt, or at least stay away.
I hardly ever paint when The JohnnyB is at home, but when I do, he knows it means a lot of quality and quiet time for him, and he becomes a very happy man.
And what other desire does a woman have more than making her husband happy?...
Painting in class means not having enough space, not having the materials you are used to, the easel you like, the solitude you need in order to create, the time to step back and examine your work, and add to it the irritating fact that it's basically a paint-on-demand situation, as you have to paint now - whether you feel like it or not.
But, as WackieM herself says, "The idea in a workshop is not to paint as you would at home, but to learn and try new things. You never get good results in a workshop. ".
As always, she is right.
This is a close-up of the four of the portraits I did. I only chose the ones that got beyond the drawing or the very first wash. I kinda like the one on the left and the second from the right.
The JohnnyB is very afraid of the alien (not me, the legal alien, but the green dude below), and he really hates the one on the right.
WackieM brought her own 2 sheets with several small portraits at different stages.
Just like ours, allegedly.
Yeah, right...
Needless to say, most of hers look like incredible works of art. Some of them are truly breathtaking, and it's a shame I cannot show them here. Y'know, rights and all.
So, we all sighed in envy, as you always do in workshops given by someone whose work you truly admire (did I mention you should check out her art? like this one, and this one, and many more on her website).
Then we continued to labor on our own little disasters...
And yet, this lesson opens such a huge field for exploration!!!
We actually have homework for next month's class: try and complete all 18 rectangles, using one or more reference photos, and then choose our favorite and create one (or more) "real" painting, based on what we have learned from all these little ones.
Should be interesting...
previous ArtPact... ...next ArtPact
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Dar-Wii-Nism?
OK now, check out what people will do for this stupid idiotic dumb imbecile Wii!!!
Found this in a comment CJ has left for CherkyB:
A California woman died after taking part in a radio station-sponsored water-drinking contest to win a Nintendo Wii video game system, news reports said Monday.
[...]
WTF??
...People, it's a freakin' game!!
......It's a piece of technology!!!
.........What's wrong with everybody????
Good thing all TexieD did was stand in line four times.
Labels: Damn Technology
Wii Are Happy To Announce
Brace yourselves!!
TexieD got the long-awaited and highly-desired and lengthily-dreamt-of Wii!!!
As some of you may recall, TexieD had a one-time appearance as a guest blogger on this blog, and made all our hearts bleed for his excruciating mishaps.
5 weeks later, he's emerging again (or is it "he is emerging again"???), all joyous and blissful, and I suspected he wants another shot at expressing his view on what's really important in life.
So, here you go, TexieD, in your own words, as emailed to me.
The stage is all yours:
Just when you least expect it, it happens. I come home in the afternoon. All bummed that my flight is delayed by more than an hour. Totally not looking forward to the prospect of driving on icy Austin roads at 1AM. The answering machine is beeping, looking for attention. I ignore it. I pick up the phone and check the caller-id. One call, 7 times. It's Nimay's friends. "The kids these days, they can't figure out that there is nobody home when there is no answer", I say to myself.
I open up my laptop and just like the 7 unanswered calls, I check the American Airlines website about 14 times to see if there is a change in the status of my flight. Still not cancelled, still more than hour late.
I hear the front door open. Nimay and Romir walk in. "Dad you are still here", they exclaim. Shaital checks the answering machine. One short message: "Nimay, we got the Wii". Nimay darts to the phone and calls his friend Shubash. They tell him he has the Wii. We keep nagging him to ask where they got it. Nimay ignores us and continues with his conversation.Next he looks at me and asks me if I will take his friends out for dinner."Dinner?", I ask. "Why?". That's when they tell him that he has a Wii too. I am split between going to the airport to catch my flight and going to Shubash's house to pick up the Wii. I decide to do both. Pick up the Wii first, and then drive to the airport.
So how did Shubash and Sunny get the Wii. Apparently their dad, Raju, was at Fry's. He was standing in line waiting to pay for something when another brother was dancing with glee on getting a Wii. Raju went to the games department and there was a Wii waiting for him. He asked for two and was obviously turned down. So he got one, paid for it, went to his car and put the Wii away. He came back, found another sales guy and snatched the last Wii for Nimay and Romir.
Now you may be wondering why I would write so many words about the Wii. Because this is the thing that literally brought tears to Nimay's eyes.Tears of joy when he heard that he finally had this marvel of modern technology. And because I stood in line 4 times to get it. Something I have never done.
Now, as I wait for my delayed flight, I seem to be OK with it. Go figure.
And so, dear readers, who are ever so thrilled and excited for him, dancing and celebrating in front of your (nicely working, as opposed to ours, thanks-for-asking) monitors:
Don't you think it's about time TexieD got his own blog?
Da man can write, Eh?
Labels: Damn Technology
Sunday, January 14, 2007
ArtPact #8
The past week was, well, rough.
Emotionally, computerally, bureaucratically - you name it.
And, as much as I was determined to not let it all stop me from painting - it did. Big time.
I guess I have not yet reached the level of discipline that will force me to paint no matter what..
Which is why I'll never make millions as an artist, and thus depend on your generous clicks.
And yet - for those of you who do await to wash your eyes with some line, shape and color, here is something I did last year, for The JohnnyB's birthday.
It was his 40th, thus big, thus needed a special gift, thus I was paralyzed with no ideas.
Since I do not work, I felt weird to buy him something fancy and expensive (plus - I had no idea of anything expensive that would make him really happy), and so, I decided to do something that is more personal.
A calendar.
Yeah, I know - it sounds so lame, Eh?
Wait!
It was the ultimate ego trip: a calendar that's all about him.
Each month he got a pack that had a calendar page with pictures of him, a small gift and a little sketch/drawing/painting made by yours truly, all around a certain theme.
And so, January was dedicated to The JohnnyB's number one hobby: beer brewing.
Here you can see him rolling the carboy, with the beer sizzling inside
(or whatever it is that beer does in its pre-fermenting stage).
The gift that went with it was a voice-recorder bottle opener, on which I have recorded one of The JohnnyB's favorite sentences on TV.
Very nice, symbolic gift, if I may...
However, in his eternal talent, the JohnnyB erased the recording before even hearing it...
February was about another favorite thing: smoking...The JohnnyB somewhat resented that particular theme.
But hey, if a person smokes almost a pack of cigarettes a day, well, it deserves to be documented.
The gift that accompanied it was a cigarette lighter, shaped - and sounding - like a fire extinguisher. Very cool, and very relevant.
March was all about yet another one of The JohnnyB's famous hobbies, which is best described as causing bloggable disasters under the excuse of being a mighty handyman.This particular one is dedicated to CherkyB, by the way and by the artist.
The little loving gift of that month was this T-shirt - which he never, ever wore, as an insulted protest.
But I compensated for it in April, with a cheery green sketch of him gardening, another thing he loves to do. Due to the lack of success with the previous gifts, I simply went for a DVD from Netflix: The Constant Gardener. Real good movie, only not quite as pastoral as the name may suggest...
Then I came to a halt, following a traumatic visit to my homeland.
I only managed to get back to the calendar in July, in fond reminisce of our incredible vacation in the cook Islands, three years ago.
Here, The JohnnyB is happily tubing, being towed by the boat.
Minutes later, the joy turned into hysteria, as his hands were getting tired and he almost got launched into space, but the artist chose to portray the more pleasant moments of this ordeal.
For that month, the gift was a trip to Angel Island... can you tell I was starting to run out of ideas?
August was easy - our wedding.We made it through almost four and a half years already - major achievement, Eh?
Gift?
What gift?
The joy of having me as a wife was enough, I blissfully figured out, and skipped the gift for that month...
(I strongly suggest you do not comment on this one, The JohnnyB. Tread v-e-r-y carefully here!).
Now, if you've paid attention, you'll notice that I still owe the JohnnyB six more months on this calendar...
Good thing the first one due is in May!
And now, The JohnnyB's birthday is about to happen again: 10 days to go!!!
But, worry not, fair readers.
I already have a gift for him.
I think he's gonna like it.
A LOT!
And yes, I kinda stalled on this ArtPact.
Some may claim I cheated, even, as I did not post something I did this week.
Ah well... Sue me!
previous ArtPact... ...next ArtPact
Labels: Art, ArtPact, Wonders of The JohnnyB
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Still No Resolution...
...or at least, a smaller resolution that should be.
Monitor-speaking, that is.
Johnny The Duster (formerly The JohnnyB) has dedicated 8 hours last night, and a similar number today, to our problematic monitor., trying all kinds of things and tricks and plugging and unplugging and doing many other technically-related verbs.
(Hey, if it's technicality you want, read his blog!).
Until he gave up, and called the Samsung Tech Support.
Yes, they work on Saturday.
He spoke a lot to the Tech Support guy, replying "Yep, tried that" to each and every idea the support kid tried to come up with, and was put on hold a couple of times.
Eventually, the support guy, sounding more and more desperate, broke and transferred him to Tech Support level II.
JTD spent more quality time with the level II guy, and was again put on hold as that guy went to consult someone, and it was then that I noticed this intriguing phenomena:
When put on hold with the regular support guy, a cheery optimistic tune was playing in the background.
But, when the level II guy was putting him on hold, it was done to the sound of a very melodramatic gloomy tune.
As if, the higher you go, the lower are the chances to resolve the problem.
Very appropriate, if you ask me.
I wonder what gets played at support level III - Mozart's Requiem?
Level II also called him 'Sir', and spoke with much respect, whereas the former level simply addressed him as 'John'.
Y'see, I had a lot of time to make these profound observations, as he was put on hold for quite a while.
Finally, after a lengthy debate, he got the answer that it sounds like the graphics card thinks the monitor is a TV, and thus enlarges the display beyond the dimensions of the screen.
('coz a TV has this black band around the screen, y'see?
.Oh, you DON'T see?
.Neither do I!!!).
Unable to figure out how to disable TV-out on the damn card, JTD now needs to contact the card manufacturer.
They do not work on Saturday.
Why would they?
And still, my gut feeling - which is almost always right - keeps hollering that the monitor has evil in it!
I can see its nasty smile.
I can hear it giggling, even!
And if the graphic card does think the monitor is a TV, it's only because the monitor is lying through its teeth!
It's the monitor, I am telling ya!!!
Remember I said that!!
And so, the saga continues.
Mind you, the refurbished replacement laptop sent to us by Dell is still working fine.
Works much faster than our previous one that got roasted.
I make sure to type on it with fingers crossed...
Labels: Damn Technology
Friday, January 12, 2007
A Thousand Words - And Then Some #5
I know.
You've probably seen more exciting pictures.
Pictures that portray more intriguing subjects.
Better composed, even.
But - these pictures are very exciting to me, to us, and soon: to you!
Remember - last week we got a replacement monitor instead of the one that was dusted to death by The JohnnyB (also known in some circles as "Johnny The Duster"...)?
Remember it was crooked?
Remember we sent it back, and Samsung said they would send another replacement?
Remember they even made a special note to make sure they don't screw up again?
They did.
"What d'ya mean they did?", y'all ask.
"Why do you always have to be so ambiguous?? Did send another replacement, or did screw up again???".
Well, yes...
The new refurbished monitor arrived on Tuesday.
Again, like its former, Mr. Crooky, it was very nicely packed, cozily resting between expanding foam and all.
The JohnnyB set it up this morning, stepped back and checked it with the critical eyes of the Yekke anal engineer that he is, and I checked it with the critical eyes of the suspicious being that I am (when it comes to refurbished products and technology in general).
Looks perfect!
Even has a little sticker on the top right, which adds it a sophisticated grace.
Happiness took over.
And so, The JohnnyB carefully packed our own deceased monitor (the one he has so lovingly dusted), and asked me to take it to UPS and ship it back to Samsung, so we can part as friends, let go, move on, and finally put an end to this saga.
UPS only opens at 9:30, so I had time to check some of my favorite blogs.
For some peculiar reason, a couple of them came up empty, only the template showing.
"Damn Blogger", I muttered, and went on to tend to an urgent matter.
(yet another saga, that has to do with us wanting to go on vacation and me not yet having an American passport and some countries in the Caribbean demanding a special visa for the cricket match season - that shall be blogged some other time, or not).
I opened the email that The JohnnyB sent me yesterday, with the contact info of the Grenada consulate, as well as a table of the countries that are exempt from a visa on a regular basis (as in, at non Cricket-related times).
I looked at the email, smiling at the refurbished monitor. I was beginning to like it.
It smiled back - but not quite the way it should have.
Something was wrong. I thought I sensed a hint of evil in its smile.
Examining the email closely, I realized that it does not contain the table as it did yesterday night. Instead, it just had many horizontal lines.
"Interesting", I thought, and entered the website of the Grenada consulate.
Gre-Nada!
Only the template. And an image of a passport. (see the top picutre).
Now, that couldn't have been the Blogger's fault, Eh?
I checked some more websites - some of them had the same problem.
"even more interesting!", I pondered - and opened the refurbished laptop that was sent to us by Dell and has also arrived on Tuesday.
The email and all the problematic websites appeared perfectly on the laptop, with all the info intact.
(see this picture, showing the cheery Grenada website, in all its tropical glory. Same website.).
Called The JohnnyB, and informed him that again, the lovely people at Samsung have sent us a crappy monitor.
We shall call him Mr. Teasy, as he does not go all the way.
Shows you a bit of what he has, and then says 'No'.
Good thing I did not go to UPS yet
Bad thing that it's the second time we get a bad product.
Like, don't they do any testing in the Samsung labs, when it comers to refurbished monitors?
WTF???
And so, yet again: Thank You, TexieD.
That old modest monitor you have lent us, is getting more and more precious as time goes by...
And you know what?
I think I am starting to lose my sense of humor...
previous 1000 Words... ...next 1000 words
Labels: Damn Technology
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Moving On...
OK, like, I need to find a way to bridge between the previous post and any lightheaded future post, Eh?
So, since I am a big believer in remembering with a smile, here's something that Oz would have highly appreciated, especially since The JohnnyB was one of his best buddies.
Sent to me by Michelle, and definitely dedicated to The JohnnyB...
A man walks into the street and manages to get a taxi just going by.
He gets into the taxi, and the cabbie says, "Perfect timing. You're just like Frank."
Passenger: "Who?"
Cabbie: "Frank Feldman. He's a guy who did everything right - all the time. Like my coming along when you needed a cab, things happened like that to Frank Feldman every single time."
Passenger: "There are always a few clouds over everybody."
Cabbie: "Not Frank Feldman. He was a terrific athlete. He could have won the Grand-Slam at tennis. He could golf with the pros. He sang like an opera baritone and danced like a Broadway star and you should have heard him play the piano. He was an amazing guy."
Passenger: "Sounds like he was something really special."
Cabbie: "There's more... He had a memory like a computer. Could remember everybody's birthday. He knew all about wine, which foods to order and which fork to eat them with. He could fix anything. Not like me. I change a fuse, and the whole street blacks out. But Frank Feldman, he could do everything right."
Passenger. "Wow, some guy then."
Cabbie: "He always knew the quickest way to go in traffic and avoid traffic jams. Not like me, I always seem to get stuck in them. But Frank, he never made a mistake."
Passenger. "Mmm, there's not many like him around."
Cabbie: "And, he really knew how to treat a woman and make her feel good. He would never answer her back even if she was in the wrong; and his clothing was always immaculate, shoes highly polished to go - he was the perfect man! He never made a mistake. No one could ever measure up to Frank Feldman."
Passenger: "An amazing fellow. How did you meet him?"
Cabbie: "Well, I never actually met Frank."
Passenger: "Then how do you know so much about him?"
Cabbie: "I married his fucking widow!!!".
Labels: Joke
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Oz. Seven Years.
Nothing compares to realizing one day, with shock, that the best friend you've ever had, is the love of your life.
And once the two of you reveal that the feeling is mutual, and overcome the fear that it will ruin the friendship - it's practically an incredible miracle.
Like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that were meant to be together and found each other.
But, here lies the catch:
Losing your best friend is devastating.
Losing the man of your life is excruciating.
Losing them both, at the same time, in the same person - well.... that opens a whole new array of words, none of which comes even close.
Seven years have passed.
Oz had ALS, more known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
If you haven't heard of it, consider yourself lucky, and hope you never will.
He was very young for this disease to attack him.
Way too young.
And yet, it did.
Out of the blue, without warning, and with no mercy, as diseases tend to do.
In Hebrew, Oz means valor.
And, loyal to his name and personality, Oz fought heroically, all the way, for two and a half years.
A struggle that became harder from one day to the other, as once he got used to the advancing physical disability and managed to cope with it, another blow was brought about, a new cruel challenge to conquer, a higher level of difficulty.
And yet - he continued to fight, with admirable powers, never giving up.
He never surrendered.
Of all the things people said about Oz after he died, the most unforgettable one is Amir's observation:
"With all his physical disabilities, he never got into the mentality of a handicapped".
A major part of his victory was working full-time, despite the mountainous difficulties, until his last week.
An even bigger part was the fact that after he was gone, it took a long time and a lot of people to fill the hole that he has left, professionally. I am not sure it was ever filled. In fact, I am quite sure it wasn't.
But that hole was nothing, compared with the void that we were all left with.
Oz has touched so many people during his short life, especially during his last two years.
His cynicism, quick-wit and extreme arrogance (Oh yes...) were a cover-up for the most generous, empathic and soft-hearted person I have ever met.
And in addition to that, I was the one who also knew the man that he was.
Those who dared penetrating the thick walls he had built around himself (and he did not make life easy for those pioneers!), were awarded by discovering an incredible and rare human being, and the best friend that one could have.
Those lucky ones are also the ones for whom the world has changed forever the morning he died, on January 10th, 2000, just a couple of months before his 34th birthday.
As for me - my world was practically shattered.
Ever seen a crystal vase break?
Well, that's nothing.
How do you go on living, after watching the love of your life practically dying in slow motion for two and a half years, and then ceasing to exist?
You don't.
Not really. Not for a while..
The void that's left is just too extreme, and a major part of you dies.
You somehow function, you exist, but you don't really live.
It definitely changes you, completely and forever.
Pretty much like a tree that was cut down by lightening.
With time, gradually, and very, very slowly, new offshoots start to grow around the black stump, very pale and fragile, hesitantly making their way up, to the sun.Then, they become branches, and before you know it, a new stem is emerging, becoming a trunk. Thinner than the previous one, more cautious, quite distrusting, and much more skeptic.
And yet, in many ways, much stronger.
And then comes the day that you smile, really smile, for the very first time after many, many bleak months.
It's a very scary moment, consumed with guilt.
Yet, you suddenly realize that you actually might, some day, be happy again.
And that maybe it's OK to start living again.
I read somewhere, that "loss makes us bitter or better".
It made me better. Much better.
Not that I haven't tried the bitterness for a while. I did. And for a very long while.
But I realized it's not my way. It was too easy.
And so, it's really up to you.
You can have a new life. .
And, because it is a new life, that you live as a very different person, it's actually possible to find another love-of-your-life.
Miraculously enough - I did. (thanks to the matching hand of WolfieB).
Seven years.
It's hard to grasp.
Sometimes it seems like it happened ages ago, at a different lifetime.
Almost feels as if I watched it all in some forgotten movie.
And then again, some days it hits right in the face, unexpectedly.
It doesn't take much.
A certain scent, a passing person that looks like his, a song on the radio, the eyes of my friend's son, a sudden memory out of the blue - and I am attacked by a series of flashbacks, fresh and vivid, as if it all happened yesterday, finding myself struggling to breathe.
Seven years.
A very long time, they say.
Time to move on.
Time to forget, isn't it?
That is the common reaction of those who have never experienced loss, or those who do not understand that they cannot understand.
As the song says:
."רק מי שאיבד את הטוב ברעיו, אותנו יוכל להבין"
("Only he who has lost his best friend, can understand us").
Time heals.
Apparently, it's true.
But - like most clichés - it's only partially true.
By now, I realize that the wound will never completely heal, nor form a scar.
And, to be honest:
by now I also know that I don't I want it to.
Oz was the kind of person who can not, should not, and will not be forgotten.
.
.
.
I hope they have enough Marlborough up there, and loads of espresso of the finest quality. . .
Cold, Eh?
Yep, this is in Celsius.
(For those of you who cannot handle it - well, now you know how I feel when you speak Fahrenheitish).
Courtesy of Gal (Thanks!)
+20° - Greeks put on sweaters (if they can find them).
+15° - Hawaiians turn on the heaters (if they have them).
+10° - Americans shake, Russians are planting cucumbers.
..+5° - You can see your own breathing. Italian cars don't start. Norwegians take a bath. Russians drive with lowered windows.
...0° - Water freezes in America, in Russia it thickens.
..-5° - French cars don't start.-10° - You're planning a vacation to Australia.
.-15° - Your cat insists to sleep in your bed. Norwegians put on sweaters.
-18° - New York landlords turn on the heaters. Russians make their last seasonal picnic.
-20° - American cars don't start. People in Alaska start wearing long-sleeves.
-25° - German cars don't start. Hawaiians are dead.
-30° - Politicians start talking about homeless people. Your cat prefers to sleep in your pajamas.
-35° - Too cold to think. Japanese cars don't start.
-40° - You're planning a 2-week hot tub bath. Swedish cars don't start.
-42° - Transportation stops in Europe. Russians eat ice cream on the street.
-45° - All Greeks are dead. Politicians really start doing something for the homeless.
-50° - Your eyelids start sticking when you blink. In Alaska, people close the window in the bathroom.
-60° - White bears start moving south.
-70° - Hell freezes.
-73° - Finnish special services evacuate Santa Claus from Lapland. Russians wear earmuff hats.
-80° - Lawyers put their hands in their own pockets.
-114° - Ethyl alcohol is freezing. Russians are unhappy.
-273° - Absolute zero, atomic movement stops. Russians wear boots.
-295° - 90% of the planet is dead. Russian soccer team becomes the world champion.
Labels: Joke, Meta Bloggin'
Sunday, January 07, 2007
got a bad first impression (through someone else's eyes), and pretty much forgot about him as I switched jobs.
Who knew he was the very best friend of The JohnnyB?
And who imagined I would care that he is?
And, once I got to know him on my own, and got over the perception I had about him,
I discovered one of the most generous people,
More than that: he, together with his better 95% and two adorable kids, have become like family to us.
The kind of guy who will open his house and heart to you,
rush to your rescue (be it sending a notarized affidavit from his vacation in India, visiting you at hard times, or lending you a monitor!),
and try to help you in any way he can.
One thing he will never do for you, though, is tame down the spiciness of his food...
The ultimate food connoisseur, the undeniable god of Indian food, and the uncompromising food highbrow:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TexieD!!!
Labels: Birthday
ArtPact #7
Last week, I showed an only-started-and-too-busy-and-sick-to-finish underpainting.
And so, this week, in full repentance, while crying "peccavi!", I am posting two finished paintings.
I worked on them quite a bit, brought them to my critique group, got the usual "The background is not quite finished!" comment from JanieP, who was right - as usual - and I went back home, reprimanded, to work on them a bit more.
And, here they are.
Finished, so I hope.
Well, mostly.
They are both - yet again - pomegranates.
The first being the continuation of last week's underpainting:
"Outcasts #1",
Watercolor on W/N CP Paper, half-sheet (15"x22", 37x55cm).
Both paintings have a very similar composition, but they are done in different techniques, and have different moods.
"Outcasts #2",Watercolor on W/N Rough Paper, half-sheet (15"x22", 37x55cm).
"That's it with pomegranates!", I cheerfully thought, "I can go back to painting people!!!".
Hmm, not quite.
Yesterday, we had the annual holiday party of our watercolor society.
Among other things on the fun-packed agenda, we had an enthusiastic speaker from the Triton Museum, who elaborated how beautiful art is usually all about the subject, while exquisite art is more about the idea - thus not always beautiful nor eye-pleasing.
And I bowed my head in shame, as I realized that I haven't gone far enough with the idea on these pomegranates, as I was trying to keep them pretty-looking.
What's wrong with me!?
As BearGal from our critique group (yeah, now you have a blog name, dear!) said, with increasing exclamation marks:
"You want to show decaying pomegranates?
.Then, paint decaying!
.Take it further!!
..Be daring!!!"
Even The JohnnyB said, "Outcasts? They don't look like outcasts! They look ripe, even sensuous".
Y'all must be getting pretty tired of these pomegranates, Eh?
So am I, trust me...
But I am not sure I am done with them.
Not just yet.
I need to see if I have the guts to really make a painting that will capture the essence of how they look, dry and rotten and pecked by birds and forgotten, and overall, looking like outcasts.
Back to the easel, then.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Not Even A One-Night Stand...
So, the replacement monitor has arrived today.
That's how things are done, apparently.
You have something that's broken or dysfunctional or got dusted by the JohnnyB.
If it's under warranty, they send you a refurbished item in shipshape and working condition, and you send your broken thing back.
And everyone's happy.
(Sorry - it should actually be everyone is happy. TexieD, armed by his smartass son Nimay, reprimanded us about this misusage of the American/British grammar, so I am being very cautious now, even though I am not sure I fully agree).
That is, everyone - except for me.
Because, I truly don't get the wisdom behind it.
We have this wonderful monitor, that was perfectly fine, and only 9 months old, which we kept nice and tidy and did not mess with it, and in return it didn't mess with us. And we got attached to it, too. Like, it's ours.
It even started to learn some Hebrew.
And then, one day, it gets dusted and busted.
So, they send us a refurbished monitor, same model, same everything, expecting us to part from ours forever, as if it was just a cold piece of plastic and glass!?
I mean, we don't know how old is the one they send us, which family it comes from, what did his parents do, what childhood diseases it had - a complete stranger. And we are supposed to love it as if it was our own?
Like, what if it's a piece of crap, that will die exactly a day after the warranty is over (namely, three months from now)?
There's no way to tell, is there?
The JohnnyB does not understand his paranoiac wife.
"That's how it's done nowadays", he condescendingly reassures me, as if I was from an older generation. "It's actually faster this way, as you don't need to wait for them to repair it"
"Well", I try to explain by a witty analogy(*), "what if your car had a problem with it's left blinker (it does, by the way...), and you brought it to the garage, and they gave you another refurbished car instead?".
"This is not a car", he muttered and went out to smoke.
For those of you who follow my blog - you'll start noticing a pattern of our discussions.
I raise a perfectly good argument, The JohnnyB has no reply, so he goes out to smoke, thinking I will forget by the time he's done.
As if...
(*) Actually, I had an even better analogy, involving his wife going to the dentist, and instead of waiting for the dentist to finish the root canal, The JohnnyB is handed another wife, that kinda looks like me, with teeth already treated. but, I did not think it would be a good idea to go down this road... some things are better left untested, y'see.
Anyway - even if I wasn't against this peculiar system, there's this tiny petty technical detail.
Here's the refurbished monitor we got today, festinately shipped via UPS:
Do you notice something special about it? Unique, even?
It kinda looks at you with a slight tilt.
As if pondering who you are, inquisitively examining you with its bluish gaze, trying to figure you out, get to know your true nature.
Or - as if it's bloody crooked!
The right side is 1 inch lower than the left side. Which is significant, when the width is 17.5 inch.
You would expect the least they would do is, like, check if it's straight, no?
But, maybe it's just me.
Instead of being grateful for getting a refurbished monitor with no pedigree, I look for something to complain about.
Ah, damn women!
Anyway - believe it or not, The JohnnyB actually tried to fix it.
Oh yes, he did.
My eyebrows are still stuck to the ceiling.
I honestly try to figure out why on earth would one try to fix a defective monitor that was sent to us!?
He went through all their troubleshooting guide, while his lovely wife was increasingly steaming in rage, holding herself to not shoot him.
Luckily, he failed to fix it.
And so, after spending less than 6 hours in our humble premises, the monitor is folded and packaged back in the original box it came it, ready to be picked by UPS and sent back to wherever it come from, after The JohnnyB calls Samsung and give them a piece of his mind.
I suppose it was just not meant to be.
And so, again, I am back at the elderly monitor we got from our good old friend, carving this blog with effort on its tiny screen.
And yet again I wholeheartedly thank you, TexieD.
I think we'll keep it for a while . . .
Labels: Damn Technology, Wonders of The JohnnyB
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
The Quest For The New Laptop
The JohnnyB has been spending a lot of time researching for a new laptop in the last couple of days, due to the dramatic demise of our laptop on Sunday.
He invested lots of time investigating Consumer Reports, which came up with a Dell laptop as the best choice.
The thing is that, well, we would rather carve fonts on lava rocks with our bleeding fingernails, than buy a Dell ever again.
The laptop we had was Dell.
It was quite a good laptop, but for some peculiar reason, they make this extra special power cord, that gets screwed up, causes the laptop to lose power, causes you to get a thrilling electric shock every time you touch it - until you give up and buy another one. . .
. . . and another one . . .
. . . . . . and then a tiny part comes off and causes a fragrant shortage, bringing an aromatic death upon your laptop at its prime.
And then, you (well, your husband) take the whole laptop apart just to get to this bloody part, and when you try to retrieve the data from the hard disk, you realize it's blocked - and no matter how many times you enter the password, it fails.
So you write to Dell, asking them for the master password, and they reply, "Your warranty is over. You want the password? You pay us a lot of money!", and then they laugh the roaring laughter of the bad guys.
Which is just the time to revert to French and go for a big Pfffffffffffffrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr in their general direction.
Now, it's a known problem.
Quite a few Dell laptop owners have bumped into it, and many more will
But Dell, so it seems, couldn't care less.
They keep producing that special power cord to make sure it gets screwed up, so you buy a new one from them, until eventually the laptop dies because of that faulty part.
Cool for them, but we are not going to be suckers.
Once was more than enough.
So, The JohnnyB decided we should look at other laptops.
And, when he says "we", it's the ultimate royal "we".
I am a very easy-to-please person.
At least when it comes to laptops.
All I want is a working one.
Purple, if possible.
I'll settle for blue.
Or silver.
But The JohnnyB is a connoisseur.
He would not get just any laptop that the unwashed masses buy in a couple of hours, such that you pay for and go home with.
Noooooooooooooooooooooo!
That is 'cause he understands about computers.
And yes, it's true that I used to be a computer engineer. Studied it for 4 years at the world-renowned Technion, worked as a computer engineer for 9 years, for an even more world-renowned company (hey, how come 'renowned' has no K?).
But I have so happily moved on and out of it, that I seem to have shed every fragment of knowledge I ever had.
A complete cleansing purification, that at times, leaves The JohnnyB at awe (though not of the positive type...).
And so, for the past 5 years, a computer for me is this annoying machine that you need to suck up to and beg for it to work, hoping it would not get nasty on you at a crucial time, just because it can.
Anyhow - yesterday we went to Fry's to get a thingy ("it's called a USB hard-drive case", reprimands The JohnnyB from his chair), in order to try and recover the vast information that was stored on our deceased laptop.
While there, we looked at the laptops they had.
And they had.
Quite a lot.
And some real nice ones, too.
Most of them had the take-me-home-with-you look in their virtual eyes.
Obviously, my judgement was mostly dictated by the look of the laptop and the screen saver it had.
You see, I'm the kind of sophisticated customer they love in such stores.
But (un)fortunately, I was accompanied by someone who's just a touch more practical than me.
Wait! stop sneering...
Just to show you that I can be reasonable, like, once a year, let me tell you that in spite of the extreme temptation, I agreed that we should not get one of those stunning Apple laptops. Not only are they white (Ah, but soooooo amazingly gorgeous!), but that would mean purchasing a whole bunch of new Software packages.
As I was looking with yearning eyes at one laptop with an incredible screen resolution and a great design of the 'Enter' key, The JohnnyB went over the reasons why we would not get it:
First, it only has Core Dual - as opposed to Core 2 Dual. (what core? and how dual?? and why do we need 2 of them???).
And, although it has the highly desired 2GHz processor speed, it did not have a 2GB memory. Shocking, Eh!?
"But this does - and it's a Sony, and for anice price!", I victoriously pointed at another laptop, imagining us sitting cozily hand in hand (me and the latop, not The JohnnyB!!).
I even started to think of a catchy name for it.
"Yeah, but the memory only runs at 533 and not at 667, exclaimed the know-all, shredding my romantic dream to pieces.
Luckily for him, The JohnnyB knows his wife quite well by now, so he immediately pointed out that Sony laptops, trying to imitate the Apple ones, have white keyboards.
Which for me was enough reason to not get it.
No white keyboard for my Painter's fingers.
Towards the end, we saw a charming Toshiba.
"I want that one!", I tried one last time, but alas - that one did not have the SXGA-whatsit, plus its hard disk was running at 5400 RPM, which is shamefully low, as we all know(?).
And so, we left the store, with onyl the USB-hard-drive-whatshemacallit, and - as a small compensation for the disappointed me - a keychain laser pointer, which I am so going to use at our next critique group meeting! (See, told you I am easy to please).
And so, The JohnnyB went back to researching.
He almost ordered the laptop of his dreams online last evening (Velocity Micro, if you really need to know), but realized with terror that it would only ship on the 25th ('coz - if you've been paying attention - we want the Core 2 Dual, Eh?).
Trying to mitigate this very late date, he went for the "Live Chat" option on their website, launched a question - and never ever heard back from them.
Of course, he may have pushed the wrong button.
But, hey - The JohnnyB only tries once.
It was a very nice laptop, though.
Even came with 3 colorful detachable lids - none purple, but still!!!
And a T-shirt!
(I kid you not!!! they actually send you a T-shirt. XL).
Anyway - pissed at their shipping time, he started looking at another laptop (Gateway).
When I left for my choir group rehearsal, he was in the midst of a vehement debate with the options on their website. . .
But really, I should be grateful that The JohnnyB is looking for a laptop.
If it was up to him, he would invest all his days and nights trying to resurrect the one that died.
Which is fine with me - I can see how it can be fun (well, if I really try, and seriosuly concentrate, I guess I can eventually see that, or at least get a glimpse).
Still, I made a fervent plea to him, that he first looks for a new, living, breathing laptop, before he goes to the black magic of reincarnating the old one.
After all, I know what and who I am dealing with...
I mean, he already got on eBay the tiny part that caused all the mess, and is awaiting its arrival.
"Why don't you take it to those companies that retrieve the contents of hard disks for you?", I asked after he came back from a long struggle with the computer, all dusty and cranky.
"Because they charge $100 for it!!!", he replied, giving me the famous look.
That famous look that's filled with masculine confidence.
Y'know, the one that exudes "WTF do you, little woman, understand in this manly business?".
That same look that means I need to get into a red alert.
The look which signals a great blog is on the way.
Actually, great for you... sighful for me.
'cause it's the very same famous look he gave me when he refused to call the electrician . . .
. . . and later, the firefighters . . .
And it's not because he is cheap.
So far, he spent $20 plus tax on that USB hard disk thingy.
And 12 hours of the rarely sunny first day of 2007.
Plus many of cigarettes.
To no avail.
And for those of you who are about to jump to his defense (you know who you are! Yes, you!!), let me add this little anecdote:
As he was going through the options of the Gateway laptop, The JohnnyB asked me if I think we should go for the 2-year-on-site warranty ($150) or the 3-year-mail-in warranty (also $150).
I did not even bother to activate my brain cells. Why tire the little things?
I knew it was a rhetorical question.
I knew he wouldn't go for either of these two.
"Why not?", you ask, your forehead wrinkled with wonder.
Oh, what an amazing coincidence!
What a Kodak-moment of great-minds-think-alike and other cliches!!
Would you believe that I asked him the very same question!?
And The JohnnyB said: (now, listen carefully to this):
"Because if something goes wrong after the free one year warranty is over, I'll just take it to a local store and have them fix it...".
"OK", he corrected himself, with the somewhat-overused smile that always gets him out of trouble, "In case I cannot resolve it myself".
Some dull moments... Is it really too much to ask, for the New Year?
Epilogue:
This blog was almost ready for posting.
Then I came back from my choir group rehearsal, all cheery and humming, to learn that during the 3 hours I was gone, unattainable things have taken place, and an incredible tale is to be told!!!
But - to assure you hear it first-hand, and not as a hearsay, I shall now refer you to the hero of the evening: The JohnnyB himself, right here.
I hear he is using somewhat more accurate technical details.
And he even posted some cool pictures (courtesy of his lovely wife). . .
Labels: Damn Technology, Wonders of The JohnnyB
