The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.
September 11th, the Most Like a Normal Day It Has Been Since 2001
Well, it was normal in that I wasn't thinking primarily about what happened on the day in 2001 for the first time since 2001. September 11, 2012 began with my supporting an internal conference in Bangalore virtually, from my home office in Montclair, New Jersey. I was online from 11 pm, September 10th to 9:10 am September 11th.
There was a 75-minute break and I took a walk from 6:40-7:16 am. It was the first freezing morning -- relatively freezing. Had to be in the high 50s or low 60s and I just walked fast with my hands in my pockets, a baseball cap and sweatshirt. I warmed up by the second half. My iPod kept me company and I sang along. Thought, what a beautiful if cold morning. Registered that it was September 11th, but not in a haunted way.
By 10 am, I fell asleep, awoke at noon for a few minutes and then fell back asleep till 4:15 pm. For the first time, I ushered in the day pre-dawn and slept through a chunk of its daylight. It felt so good to get six hours and I could have slept some more, perhaps, but I want to fall asleep tonight, so made myself wake up. I checked my work e-mail for a few minutes, responded to a couple of meeting invitations and then made lunch and read much of "The New Yorker".
Then I continued reading *perks of being a wallflower* till Pat wanted help with grilling. Weird and somewhat touching to read the thoughts of a fictional teenage boy.
We sat on the deck in our double-rocker, talking about the upcoming Master Gardeners conference at Rutgers and how Pat was invited tomorrow to speak about Master Gardener volunteer opportunities at a class for Master Gardeners-in-training. We looked up at the sky at one point.
"What a beautiful day today is."
"Not as beautiful as that day."
"Right, the sky's not as bright blue."
"Right."
Showing posts with label Master Gardener program. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Master Gardener program. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Today, I Drew
The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.
Here Are the Drawings
Pat kindly photographed them for me.
The women's hair is composed of, respectively, leaves and flowers from my imagination, and I drew the picture with Caran D'ache crayons. I bought myself the collection of 84; it's a treasure-chest. Their hair was inspired by my partner Pat; this morning, at the farmer's market in Montclair, she picked up an application to become a Master Gardener. Rutgers University will train her for free if she does 100 hours of service for Essex County, the county where we live, upon completion of the program. She is excited to apply.
The women took me nearly two hours to draw. I sketched a couple on a plain journal page, but then went directly to the good, watercolor paper. Coming up with their hair was especially fun and then I enjoyed inventing the flowers. I did not lose self-consiousness till I was drawing the flower-hair and then I did lose myself a bit in the activity finally.
It's pretty personal, I know, to post a drawing of people, kissing, but it was just exactly what I wanted to draw today, and I let myself. It's not too often that I see images of women, being romantic with each other, and so I felt entitled to create my own imagery. Also, perhaps I was influenced by "Head in the Clouds," a movie Pat and I saw last night, where Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz played lovers, for a time.
The man featured here is a variation on the same man I've been drawing since childhood, and is done in charcoal. I don't know why I have always loved drawing men, all of whom are always square-jawed and thick-necked; it's like I was walking through the Castro in the '70s (even though I had not been in San Francisco till my adulthood) and was drawing the cartoon version of the guys I could have seen there.
Here Are the Drawings
Pat kindly photographed them for me.
The women's hair is composed of, respectively, leaves and flowers from my imagination, and I drew the picture with Caran D'ache crayons. I bought myself the collection of 84; it's a treasure-chest. Their hair was inspired by my partner Pat; this morning, at the farmer's market in Montclair, she picked up an application to become a Master Gardener. Rutgers University will train her for free if she does 100 hours of service for Essex County, the county where we live, upon completion of the program. She is excited to apply.
The women took me nearly two hours to draw. I sketched a couple on a plain journal page, but then went directly to the good, watercolor paper. Coming up with their hair was especially fun and then I enjoyed inventing the flowers. I did not lose self-consiousness till I was drawing the flower-hair and then I did lose myself a bit in the activity finally.
It's pretty personal, I know, to post a drawing of people, kissing, but it was just exactly what I wanted to draw today, and I let myself. It's not too often that I see images of women, being romantic with each other, and so I felt entitled to create my own imagery. Also, perhaps I was influenced by "Head in the Clouds," a movie Pat and I saw last night, where Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz played lovers, for a time.
The man featured here is a variation on the same man I've been drawing since childhood, and is done in charcoal. I don't know why I have always loved drawing men, all of whom are always square-jawed and thick-necked; it's like I was walking through the Castro in the '70s (even though I had not been in San Francisco till my adulthood) and was drawing the cartoon version of the guys I could have seen there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)