Friday, May 28, 2010

Exhibt 2

This last week my man and I went to see the "Secerts of the Silk road" exhibit at the Bowers museum. This will be on till mid July.

It was so great to see these thousand year old pieces of silk that have still survived. It was also interesting to note that the girls that made these started learning their craft at 6 years of age. The final exam being the making of their own one of a kind out fit. Some of these taking years. All in the effort to catch a husband. The age they were married off at was about 16. That means at age 14 they started making these garments. At a festival, when other family's with boys that could be suitors were around is when they displayed them. They would be judged on style, complexity, and the use of different types of embroidery work. The way they used all their skills was a testament to their over all craftsmanship and made them desirable as wives.

It made me think about 10 years. If you devote 10 years to something, how good of a craftsman should you be? What have I done over the last 10 years? I have been cooking well since I was 15, and I did that so I would be a good wife. I still enjoy cooking, I could use more recipes in my routine. What about the next 10 years. I want to keep up my writing, how much better will it be in 10 years? It seems like such a long time when you are young. 10 years goes by fast.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Mid week

One of the nice things about being unemployed is the time to do things in the mid week with out others around you.

I love going to the movie house on a Monday when they first open and there are not any screaming kids to deal with. You can really enjoy the film that way.

Yesterday, which was a Wednesday I went to Santa Ana to see Laurie Lipton's exhibit at the Grand Central Station Gallery. Having seen the write up about it on OC Weekly, it seemed like fun. It was and there is something so soothing about looking at art, away. Then I went to my fave Mexican restaurant to top it off. She has more patience than I even have to do all those details in pencil and charcoal. Perfect afternoon!

Next week I plan to go to the Bowers museum and see the "Secrets of the Silk Road" installation. Again another treat when not that many are around. The last time I was there was for the Terracotta Warriors exhibit, which was fabulous. I may take a trip to the Getty Center. I feel like I owe it to myself to make the most of this time that is been given to me. Ok not given, just no one is hiring right now. Might as well talk in some culture since its there. Especially Mid week.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Fear

It has been said "we have nothing to Fear but Fear itself" True, in a way. The fear of success or of failure can cripple people.

Fear can paralyze and make people give into inaction. I have a friend that was trapped in her mothers home, now she is married and making herself the same prison. She is so used to being home she just stays there. While it was horrid to be at home with her tyrant mother, she is so used to hiding from the world. Now its her comfort zone. It know she is depressed from all those years of being stuck at home, and I hope she can one day get out and live her life for herself, and her husband.

We all have some kind of fear, some of crowds. What ever it is, we need help of our friends. Some of course may need more help than that, I'm not here to point fingers or give medical advice.

We can all use a hand every once in a while. If we tell our loved ones what is scaring us and if they will help. If they do not, we need to keep looking. Even when some one is doing well, that can be hard as well. Be there for your loved ones when they need some one to talk to. Other wise what good are you. For my friend mentioned earlier, I will have her to dinner and later do a heart to heart with her.

I go to my friends when I am going to do something new and I am scared to take the leap. Usually it takes some kind words and encouragement to get me going. Then I can put aside the fear for the joys of powering through and finding out I can do this after all.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Away

There is still something romantic about getting in your car and going away for the weekend or more. We all need to get away every once in a while.

The reality is that we don't always have the money to travel. We haven't and after enduring a boring lecture about time share's we were able to get a two nights stay in Vegas. It was not easy, it was if the company didn't want to really give you anything for free. We had to badger them to make good on the offer.

The reason for us being so persistent? We really would not have the funds to travel other wise. After all we have been through in the last year, we really needed to just get out of town and relax. I still don't have a job and I need one. We were able to do some outlet shopping and that is the last time I will be able to in a while.

In the times when I really can't get away, I can always go the beach. That might not be available to everyone. There is the mountains as well. Still no gas money to travel? Then get an adventure book and take a trip in your mind. It still can be refreshing. In these difficult times we can't always get away, at least not like we used to. I have many friends in Europe I have not seen in years and I would love to. Some might come to visit us and that would be nice. If not, we can always email.