Month: January 2008

Photography

Resolutions

Shelly

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, but I thought I’d try to do the 101 Things in 1001 Days project. Howsomever, do you know how hard it is to come up with a list of 101 goals? Aieee!

I’m not going to list them all here (or anywhere public, for that matter), but a few of them are:

  • Develop the ginormous backlog of film
  • Learn how to make cyanotypes
  • Visit Lake Michigan (this spring)
  • Write every day
  • Take a photo every day
  • Get Miss Brown a new collar (done!)
  • Take more walks

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Leaving and Returning

Crankypantsing

VENT!!!!

Shelly

AIEEE!!!! So, I stayed home from work today, for a variety of reasons. I slept in (rather, I went back to bed after getting up at ass o’clock to walk the dog), got up at about 10am, took a shower, then started to make a list of things I need to get done today.

While listing, I heard a commotion in the hallway, but didn’t pay much attention to it. The Stompy Girls had been in and out, and I figured it was something to do with them. Then, there was a knock on my door. WTF? I don’t get drop-in traffic, so if someone knocks on my door, I’m usually expecting it. This was not expected.

Turns out, it was the pest control guys. I may have mentioned them before? When I first moved in, there was a card left on my kitchen table from them, to the effect of, “We’re Blah Blah Blah Company, and we’ve sprayed your kitchen and bathroom for pests.” I was not happy about it at the time, but figured it was a one-time thing and promptly forgot about it.

Come to find out, they have been spraying every damned month. I had no idea! When I called the office (Hello?! I’ve seen TV! I’m not letting a complete stranger into my house, no matter who he says he is!), they said that, yes, the pest control guys have a master key and they just come in if you aren’t home.

Aaack! I’d just gotten out of the shower when they knocked—my hair was still up in a towel. If they’d been five minutes earlier, I wouldn’t have heard them knocking. Presumably they would have just come in?

I guess it wouldn’t seem quite so wrong-wrong-wrongity-wrong-wrong to me if it weren’t for the fact that the management company is very careful to send out “contain your pets” warnings every time their maintenance guys need access to the apartments. It’s a huge liability issue for both them and us, especially if we have dogs. My dog is not at all aggressive, but I’d like to have an opportunity to contain her if someone is going to be in my apartment while I’m not here. I don’t know these guys. I have no reason not to trust them, but what if something did happen, and Harriet bit one of them? That’s just not a fair position to put any dog in.

Which brings me to another point: Miss Brown is useless!!!!! I guess I should be thankful for that, huh?

Ugh. So, anyway, I got the pest control schedule from the management office: first Tuesday of every month, unless it’s a holiday, and then (apparently!), it’ll be the next working day. I wonder how many first Tuesdays I’ve been home, gone back to bed, and slept through them coming in and spraying? Or how many first Tuesdays I’ve gotten up, decided to clean the litter box, and left the trash bag of litter in the middle of the bathroom floor until after work, when I had time to take it to the dumpster? Or how many first Tuesdays I’ve had a sink full of dirty dishes? Or a million other embarrassing messes? Yikes!

Photography

Photo of the Day

Shelly

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Duck with Foo Dog

This was a quickie shot through my double-paned patio window, so it wasn’t the best quality to start with. I did some adjusting in Photoshop, then added a layer made from an old negative. (The negative layer was a freebie from a Flickr group, but I cannot for the life of me figure out which one. If I come across it again, I’ll credit it properly.)

Art, Collage, Journals

The End

Shelly

End of 2007
The End of 2007
collage with Portfolio watersoluble crayon and India ink in composition book

One fringe benefit to writing on crayon is that the ink, which is otherwise permanent, will wipe away pretty well if you make a mistake, as long as you catch it while it’s still wet. A baby wipe works well for this, but I would think a wet napkin or tissue would do the trick, too. (Don’t ask me how I know this!)

Art, Journals, Photography

Composition Book Journal

Shelly

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I managed to finish up my current composition book journal last night. I don’t normally care if a journal is spread across two years, but since this one was nearly full, I thought it’d be nice to complete it.

These last pages were done with collage and Portfolio watersoluble crayons, using a dip pen and India ink for the writing. Like I said, this is about the only reliable way to write on some surfaces. In fact, at the art museum, one of my jobs was to put accession numbers on objects. For hard surfaces (metal, plastic, ceramic, etc.) we used a base coat of clear acrylic (nail polish will do in a pinch), then wrote the numbers with India ink and a dip pen, let it dry thoroughly, then put a protective top coat of acrylic over it.

Uncategorized

In Another Life

Shelly

So, I was trolling Flickr, like ya’ do, and stumbled across this (the interesting–to me, anyway–photos start on the second page). In college I ended up at quite a few parties with folks on the fringe of the group I hung around with, mostly because I got dragged there (bottle of cheapfuckfightingwine in hand) by Anka. He and I were in the art program together, and worked together at the art museum. There are a couple of photos of Ambrosia and one of Vivian, a few of Rachael, one, I think, of Laura Lane (she’s unidentified, though), and a bunch of names that I remember but can no longer put with faces.