But nothing came of it.

Of course, there are a lot of golf courses in the Dominican Republic, too.

...but I never heard of anyone taking Viagra for a golf trip.

My day job

When I'm at work, here is part of what I do:



I shot the preceding photo Friday during the taping of a commercial for our Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility. You'll be seeing the commercials starting in July. I needed to use this photo for some print ads that will support the television spots.

The next picture, annotated with comments, shows the modifications I made to make it printable.


And here's a draft of the final ad, which may or may not see the light of day in this form.


I drew those buckets and bottles in the background since we didn't have any photographed.

By the way... the Hazardous Waste Collection Facility is not at my house.

The house still looks clean.

I was kind of afriad that at midnight, the house would turn into a big cluttered pumpkin again.

This is wonderful.

Kat reminds me of Mother Teresa. Or maybe Jonas Salk. Or Dr. Phil.

iTunes: Vandana Trayee, Ravi Shankar

A quick trip to the store...

and when I returned, I opened the front door and was again greeted by a clean, and more importantly, serene living room and dining room.

I don't want to overstate this, but holy shit, this is a remarkable improvement.

I've lived with clutter most of my adult life, but it's been only recently that I've begun to equate clutter with a busy, spinning, whirling, unordered mind. It's a lot harder to maintain serenity and mindfulness surrounded by piles of crap than in it is in an environment that reflects calm and order.

iTunes: Midare, Yamato Ensemble

Wen-Tzu

Tonight I'm reading Understanding the Mysteries by Wen-Tzu (trans. by Thos. Cleary) for the third time. My Ajahn Chah book has disappeared; I'll learn its whereabouts from K tomorrow.

Wen-Tzu is as important for me as Proverbs is for Christians. It actually is, in large part, a book of Taoist proverbs.

I should read some of this every day, just to keep my attitude right.

iTunes: Aconquija, John Williams

The Miracle Worker

Holy cow.

It's like magic.

iTunes: Evening Mist, Riley Lee

Om mani padme hum.

Time to get myself back on track.

I've been 'way off my meditation and everything else for about six weeks. Things have gotten a little out of control. The house is a mess, laundry is piled up, yard work needs to be done.

My own mental and emotional state, while not terrible or miserable, has been a little off balance.

Kat with K is coming over to nudge my house back toward respectability and it's time I did the same for myself.

I need exercise, I need self-discipline. I need non-attachment from all the stuff that's distracted me.

Om mani padme hum.

A little twilight cat barfing

No reason why these can't have a serene pastoral setting.

Wow...

I can whip these out in no time.



RJ, as soon as I've sold my first cat barf art... I'm buying you dinner.


That's a promise.

I mean, seriously...

...this is a cinch.

I've seen so many cats barf I can draw them from memory.

I'm on to something here

Part of the reason I never pursued a career as an artist is because I didn't know what to draw.

Little cottages nestled in the mountains? Sad children with huge eyes?

It was so obvious. How could I have not realized before now?























mcarp, Painter of Cat Barf

Friday AM

Day two of manual toothbrush use. I'm reminded of Thoreau's experiences at Walden pond. I'm getting back to the essential forces of nature.

Today I must go to Target and replenish my basic household supplies.

Begone, dried cat vomit!

iTunes:Reflection, Ravi Shankar

Thursday PM

I'm sitting at the Red Cup instead of doing my pre-cleaning cleaning.

You know what that means.

Mine isn't bent like that

More doodling. But I got the stylus a little bent. Maybe I should work on it more. But I have to stop somewhere.

Bleak times ahead

First of all, the Hobson's choice: face the dreary and exhausting task of going up to Target this evening to buy a new electric toothbrush, or face the dreary and exhausting task of brushing with a manual toothbrush tonight and tomorrow morning?

Do I even have a manual toothbrush?

Then there's the 'pre-cleaning' thing. Kat is coming over Saturday (and Sunday, if Saturday doesn't drive her over the edge) to start cleaning, and I need to do some 'pre-cleaning' cleaning to prep. But I don't know where to start.

If you were cleaning my house, which would you least like to deal with?

Dried cat vomit.
Wet cat vomit.
Dirty socks.
Dirty underwear.
Anything with mildew.
An old divorce decree and other legal documents the cat peed on.
Litter boxes.

I should get one of those online polling programs so we can tabulate votes.

iTunes: Raga Bhairavi, Ali Akbar Khan

More of my day

Bored? Me?!

Here's a drawing of the cradle that holds my cordless mouse. Drew it in Corel Painter this morning while waiting for a phone call.

Revolt of the machines

The switch on my electric toothbrush has quit working. It won't turn off.

iTunes: Tango, John Williams

and why is my iTunes suddenly playing John Williams all the time?

Something is up, I tell you, and I don't like it. Today is the summer solstice. Coincidence? Perhaps.

But I'd stay away from that Dremel Moto-Tool today, if I were you.

1:50-something a.m.

Awake. Brain running in about 2nd gear. That is all.

iTunes: Julia Florida (barcarola), John Williams, followed by Moonlight on the Mountain, Richard Warner