Friday, April 29, 2005
Balance
I once again find myself facing the weekend with all sorts of things to do, but I am also going to try to maintain a little balance...
What Must Get Done:
- finish that logo for a client who is excited about getting her business going
Some Items That I'd Really Like To Get Done (in no particular order):
- file that big pile of papers that I've been meaning to file for the past few months
- re-organize my jewelry box. I waste precious moments each morning searching for that one pair of earrings
- re-do the female figure in the Knopff knockoff
- start that housewarming gift for Joanna - I should have that done for the 13th of May
- finish the interior design comps for my landlord
- scan items for friends site
- add 2005 photos to this site
- add murals section to portfolio on this site
The Other Things That Add Balance:
- hang out with friends Friday evening and Saturday evening
- eat healthy meals that include lots of vegetables and that are less carb and sugar-laden than I've been eating lately
- make it to the gym at least once
- turn off the alarm clock
- drink more water
- take a nap
Posted by Dre at 8:14 AM
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Thursday, April 28, 2005
Procrastination
I have a logo to do for someone but I somehow managed to procrastinate yet another evening. Don't worry - it won't happen again. I'll be working on it tonight.
I have some ideas for a few paintings, one being a housewarming gift for a friend. So after work, I ran out and picked up a few canvasses. I also stopped in at Blockbuster and found some old favourites either previously viewed or at a really good sale price. I picked up Sleepy Hollow, The Hours, Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow and Bedazzled.
I got home and the procrastination continued. After a quick bite to eat (more soup - I still have half a vat left,) I decided it was a good time to revisit an old painting that I'd started years ago and never got around to finishing. When I went to NSCAD, we used to re-use canvasses over and over. At one point during a summer break, I decided to take an old self portrait that I never liked and paint over it. I found a painting that I really liked that would match my bedroom and got to work. I decided to paint only a portion of Fernand Khnopff's (1858-01921) I close my door upon myself:
(This is the portion of the original work that I'd chosen)
I never finished the painting on the first go due to time constraints. A couple of years later I went back to it and painted the sculpted head. Then a couple of years after that I went back and decided to paint some of the foreground with a slightly different style than the original. All the while, the portion with the flowers in the very foreground had always just been blocked in. Well, last night I finally finished the flowers. I'm also thinking that I've never been satisfied with the female figure, and since I've already started to stray from an actual reproduction I may change the female figure altogether. But that will be for another day....
Posted by Dre at 7:43 AM
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Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Pampered
I took my doctor's advice and went to a massage therapist last night. She spent an hour working on my back - it was awesome! After that, I headed over to Joanna's new pad for a tasty meal (she's a very good cook). I felt very pampered last night. :-)
Posted by Dre at 8:08 AM
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"The Family Of The Future"
Remember I decorated a room for work in Janurary? The room was supposed to be fun and had a theme that revolved around "the family of the future". I finally managed to get around to taking photos of a couple of things in the room that I painted:
Posted by Dre at 7:48 AM
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Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Finally!
I've finally finished and updated my business site, studioDRE! (If you have been to the site recently, you should clear your cache on your browser before viewing the site, as I have updated some existing graphics.)
Posted by Dre at 12:59 PM
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Chicken Soup and more!
Last night I made a vat of chicken soup from what was left of my leftover chicken. I also finished re-doing my business site. I just need to post it to the server. I should be able to get around to doing that today. Oh yeah - and I also got my taxes done last night. I was pretty stressed about getting them done - I was sure I'd have to pay a ton more, but I actually got a small refund!!
Posted by Dre at 8:13 AM
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Monday, April 25, 2005
Necessary Healing
So I had to cancel any commitments I'd made for the weekend because I needed to get better. I still had some major back problems and my cold was starting to settle a bit more into my chest. I rented Spanglish on Friday evening. It was pretty good. I thought Téa Leoni did a great job in this movie. I think it's worth renting but I'm glad I didn't see it in the theatre.
Saturday I stayed in for most of the day. My one foray into the outside world was to return the video that I'd rented the day before. I cuaght up on some sleep and did a bit of work on my business website.
Sunday morning I was up before 8 and I was already starting to feel a bit better. I worked a bit more on my site until Suzy called and invited me to a late breakfast with her and Lisa. We ate at Cora's, which I still think is overpriced. Still, it was nice to get out and do a bit of catching up with friends. After that I ran out to the grocery store to get a couple of items. Well - that was more than enough of an outing for me. I needed to get home and get some rest. Mid-afternoon, Colin and I popper over at Joanna's new apartment. She has a wonderful view and her apartment looks very comfortable and warm and friendly. Sunday evening I invited Joanna and Colin over for dinner. I'd roasted a small chicken. I had forgotten how easy it was to do that. After supper we wound up watching Moulin Rouge.
Posted by Dre at 8:10 AM
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Friday, April 22, 2005
Recouperating
I rented Donnie Darko last night and watched it for the first time. I don't know how I never got around to seeing it. I guess from the packaging I thought it would be some sort of horror movie and it just didn't grab my attention. I really enjoyed it - no wonder so many people told me that I shoukld watch it and I'd like it. It's also no surprise that no one could really tell me what it's about.
I still have a cold and my back is feeling a bit better today (so far) but I'm not about th ehead out and run any marathons. I think I'll be having a quiet weekend of recouperation.
Posted by Dre at 8:12 AM
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Thursday, April 21, 2005
Snow?
Please oh please let this be the end of the snow! As I walked to work this morning it felt like a crisp autumn day. I'm so glad it's Spring and things are progressively getting warmer (for the most part).
Popped in at Lisa ans Anthony's last night and caught Baseketball which was pretty silly and funny. As they were about to put their next movie selection in, I headed home for an early night. I saw my doctor this morning - she said I'll live. It's a pulled muscle in my back that has been causing the problems and I need to exercise my back and avoid soft seating and waterbeds.
Posted by Dre at 11:35 AM
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Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Time for a little maintenance on ye old bod...
Please people - if you have broken glass and mean to throw it out - please wrap it in newspaper first. I had broken a glass on the weekend and a friend had put a piece in the garbage - thinking it was a help - and I do appreciate the help. Unfortunately, I gnashed my thumb on a piece of glass as I went to empty the garbage last night. I had to go through all the garbage piece by piece and fish out any glass that was in there so I could wrap it up before tossing it. And before you ask -I'm OK - I don't need stitches.
I've been having some lower back issues I'm finally going to see about getting looked at. For some reason things seemed to have flared up again recently. Maybe it was dancing Saturday night. Maybe not. Who knows. All I know is it's not going to go away on it's own.
I picked up a wee bit of a cold and I thought I was starting to feel a bit better as of yesterday afternoon, but now I've got some majorly swollen glands in my throat. I give - I have caved in and called my doctor.
Otherwise, not much else is going on. At least I know I'll be all better soon!
Posted by Dre at 7:48 AM
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Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Perfunctory Update
Uh. let's see. I have a bit of a cold and I am looking forward to popping home at lunch for soup and a power nap. I'm glad it's Spring and it's beautiful out. I have an ever-growing list of things to do and not much energy at the moment to do much.
Posted by Dre at 8:01 AM
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Monday, April 18, 2005
Weekend Highlights (in no particular order)
- I got to spend some quality time with some good friends
- I saw The Upside of Anger, which was very good. Great script, great casting and great acting.
- I auditioned for a beer commercial. Felt old and chunky. Was pretty uncomfortable about having to sing AND being videotaped. I'm not good with singing in public. Although I'm a rockstar in my car. ;-) Nevertheless I still kind of had fun and I'm glad I went.
- I went for a short walk at the Irving Nature Park. The smell of Spring was amazing.
- I went dancing with some friends. I can't remember the last time that I went dancing in Saint John
- I picked up a cold somewhere along the way. Hopefully with enough vitamins and fluids and rest I'll be able to nip it in the bud rather quickly.
Posted by Dre at 8:13 AM
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Friday, April 15, 2005
With the comfort of stretch-cotton
I had a very relaxing evening last night. Joanna came over and we had a bit of dinner and wine and watched Finding Neverland.
I have a list of things that I need to get done this weekend. Most of the things on that list involve working on my computer. The frustrating part is that it's supposed to be gorgeous out this weekend, and I'm not looking forward to being stuck inside. Hopefully I'll be able to find a bit of a balance. :-)
Posted by Dre at 10:17 AM
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Thursday, April 14, 2005
Mellow Evening for a Tired Gal
Lisa invited a few gals over as her mom hosted a Mary Kay party last night. It was nice to see everyone, but those get-togethers really aren't my thing. I was feeling pretty beat, and headed home around 9:30. I could have just gone to bed, but I forced myself to stay up and watch the movie that I'd rented. Stage Beauty was pretty decent. I thought Billy Cudrup did a very good job.
Posted by Dre at 8:12 AM
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Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Excellent Programming
Band of Brothers is a great series. Thank goodness HBO is around so that series such as this can exist. It follows the story of Easy Company, a unit of paratroopers, as they get involved in WWII, and it's based on facts - and even includes clips at the beginning of each show of interviews of actual surviving members of the company. I started watching the series last summer, and managed to catch another 4 episodes last night.
Posted by Dre at 8:07 AM
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Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Hanging With Suzy
After working a bit late last night, I was looking forward to a relaxing evening, which was exactly what I had. Suzy and I had a tasty dinner at Lemongrass and then an after dinner special coffee at Churchills. After that we watched Being Julia, which was quite enjoyable.
Posted by Dre at 8:11 AM
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Monday, April 11, 2005
Weekend Update
It was a full weekend. I took Friday afternoon off and napped and finally got around to making business cards for myself. Then I met up with a few freidns at the Ale House for a couple of tasty beverages before we all headed out to see Seussical The Musical at Saint John High. It was really cute - I enjoyed the music andd the story quite a bit. After the show, Joanna and I headed over to Churchills and met up with Joanne, who was celebrating her birthday. It was a pretty entertaining evening.
Saturday was a day of running errands, and inadvertantly getting sucked into the vortex that is know as the mall. Sigh. The one item I really wanted to get was buttons for my winter coat (since I've lost one) but when I went to Fabricville, I didn't have enough cash with me and they didn't take debit card under $5. And since I was tired I couldn't be bothered going to the bank and then going back again. I guess I'll get buttons another time.
Saturday evening I went to see Sahara with Colin. He was pretty skeptical about it, having heard the bad reviews, but I was looking forward to it. I read the Clive Cussler novel that it's based on and I am a big fan of cheesy action-fluff movies. It was that - cheesy and fun and way over-the-top. It wasn't as over-the-top as the book was but it was still fun.
Sunday morning I spent a bit of time working on plans for the redesign of studioDRE.com. Then I headed back out to Kims to paint a couple of hockey logos in her son's room. That was the end of the mural work for her. I finished up around supper time then headed home to work on a logo for someone else. I also made a point of heading to bed a bit earlier than usual. I've been staying up a bit late recently and I've been having trouble getting up in the mornings.
Posted by Dre at 8:10 AM
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Friday, April 08, 2005
Zzzzzzzzzzz..... done the hockey jersey.....
I headed out to Kim's at about 6:30 PM to finish painting the hockey jersey. It gave me a bit more trouble than I'd hoped - in that I needed to use at least 2 good layers of paint just to block in the shirt. That took some time. But, by 3:30 AM, I was done. Well as done as I could be at that hour of the morning. And thankfully still awake enough to make the 25 minute drive home in the fog and rain. I will be napping at lunch today!
Posted by Dre at 8:14 AM
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Thursday, April 07, 2005
Hockey Jersey Mural - In Progress
Last night I started painting a mural for Kim's older son. It's a hockey jersey on a hanger on a hook, and the jersey is a Toronto Maple Leaf jersey that has his last name on the back and the number of his favorite player. I hope to be able to finish it tonight. I'm excited about this one because it's such a different style from the stuff in the Batman room and I'll be happy to be able to show more than one style in my portfolio.
Other than mural painting I haven't been doing too much. I managed to squeeze in a quick bite to eat with Joanna after work and I got a couple of small errands done before running out to Kim's to paint. I'm really glad that I'm really enjoying this mural-painting thing. I hope I can continue to find more business. I'd really like to update my portfolio site soon. I wonder if I can squeeze in any time to work on that this weekend....
And in case you were wondering, yes the hook and the hanger are part of the painting.
Posted by Dre at 7:55 AM
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Wednesday, April 06, 2005
The Designer-friend
It was a gorgeous evening out last night. It definately felt like Spring was on it's way - even if we don't have any green yet. It was warm enough to remind me that it's getting time to get the winters tires off.
I agreed to help Ed to pick out some colours etc. so he can re-decorate his home so it's a little less cutesy and dusty-rose (remnants of his last wife). He's more along the lines of a woodsy-type. I've already got a couple of ideas of different types of looks that I can present to him. Ed also brought me over to meet his friend Mike who has a couple of younger children. He is contemplating getting murals done in his children's rooms.
When I got home from running around, I dropped The Da Vinci Code off to Colin, now that I've finished it. What a great novel. I'd gotten the illustrated edition at Costco when I was in Halifax for Easter.
Posted by Dre at 7:16 AM
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Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Memory Lane
Last night was a fun little trip down memory lane as a group of us gathered together to watch taped versions of some of the SJTC Second Stage one-act plays that we'd put on within the past 3.5 years. While it was really nice to see some of the other plays that I'd enjoyed (Ashes and Through My fat Eyes) and one that I'd directed (The Doomsday Clock), it was difficult watching myself in The Author's Voice. I'm so self-critical. But the good thing about it (I guess) is that I can see areas where I need to improve. I love theatre, and seeing all of the work we've done was really inspiring and I once again felt the pull of wanting to be in another production. But at the moment, I have some more pressing things on the go. I have more murals to do, and I hope that this leads to even more work. I really enjoy painting them - I get into a kind of zen zone. And I could really use the extra funds. :-)
Posted by Dre at 7:37 AM
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Monday, April 04, 2005
Murals
Last Thursday night I headed over to Kim's to start painting a couple of murals in her son's room. I stayed a bit late and I figured that I could take a nap on Friday to catch up on my sleep. No such luck. As it turned out, Friday morning was an extra busy one at work. Then - mid-morning, I was reminded that the social committee had organized a curing fun day in the afternoon. Curling was fun. I was lucky to have a good team and that made a big difference. Still once a year is enough curling for me. I got home in time to quickly tidy things up before Jason came over. We had thought about going out for a bite to eat before catching up with everyone else to see Sin City. Alas, we were both broke, so we decided to eat in. Thanks Jason for making an awesome red thai curry! Well the movie was awesome! It was very stylish and a lot more adult and graphic than I'd though it would be. I loved the makeup and camera work and special effects and I enjoyed all of the story lines. (I had heard of the comic before seeing this film but I'd never taken the time to familiarize myself with it.)
Saturday afternoon I headed back over to Kim's to finish the first mural:
I got back in town around 7:30 PM and was pretty tired. I'd thought about heading over to the Firth fest but I didn't know where it was or anyone's number who was there. It turns out I wouldn't have had the energy to hang out for long anyway. I gamed for a bit then read for a bit and called it an early night.
Sunday afternoon I headed back out to Kim's to paint a mural on the opposite wall of the same room. They already had the wall painted dark blue, which worked out perfectly for this mural:
I'm pretty happy with the murals. Next up are some hocky-themed items to paint in her other son's room!
Posted by Dre at 12:54 PM
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