Dear Diary,
Sadness and grief. Doc’s dad passed peacefully, in a morphine haze, last night. No more pain. No more. I’m taking it worse than Doc. But not while he is around. And he will feel it once he gets there. He leaves the house for the airport in 14 hours. He’s sleeping right now, and then we have some stuff to do. I will finish packing for him, and he is running to storage to get a suitcase, and my new guitar, just because he will be there, and may as well grab it. Then the bank to demand they give me my debit card back. He needs it in PA, and I need it here. If they won’t give in, they are unreasonable, and we will deal with cash, I suppose. I’m not really worried about it.
We did security checks on the place and put all the locks on last night, so no one can get into the back yard without making a lot of noise or breaking their ankles. I don’t know if I’ll be going out to smoke at all. I don’t know. I want to put blankets over all the closed blinds. But the cats would wither. I don’t think I’m afraid of being alone, so much as I am afraid of my own mind imagining things. Paranoia is a bitch.
There is so much I want to do while Doc is going. Spring cleaning, baby. And the back yard. I’m going to rake it and weed it and plant wild flowers while he is gone. Get it ready for a desert tortoise. Since our lives are going to stay the same, geographically, and our attitudes have improved greatly, and we are now working together, we have decided to go through with the fostering process of getting one to live in the back.
Last night, after errands and stuffs were done, we were sitting and talking, and I told him about my idea. Then I rattled off several possibilities off the top of my head, so he knew I was serious, and could do it. 20 minutes later, two simple children’s books had turned into three rhyming stories/books and a literacy/animal rescue outreach program for the Las Vegas Valley. So, while I write the books and start searching for an illustrator, I will do the needed research and paperwork and connections, via email, to what I need to organize a proper kickstarter. I want to work with the school district and Animal Foundation to distribute the books for free through both to encourage the program I’m setting up. This was all inspired by a news story. It’s unbelievable, I’ve never thought of anything that could be made for other people, that could grow big and save and improve lives of two and four legged critters. And it was totally Doc that developed the idea into a community service. He’s fucking brilliant, I wish he wouldn’t hide it so much.
I hate it when Chewbacca lays in the fetal position, he looks like a furry pro-life poster. Ack!
Okay, so, if the first song I’m going to learn on guitar and try to sing is Pearl Jam’s “Daughter”, we all know that. But the second song? Just decided it, Lady Gaga’s “Til it Happens to You”, so I can turn it into a really angry punk anthem. If I ever record these songs, the second would be the more likely to see the light of the web. I can yell and scream punk, not a problem. Can I do it while trying to carry a tune? Hmmm. We shall see.
My other favorite news woman got the key to the city yesterday. I just watched part of the ceremony.
It just struck me that I should email the other news lady, the one who inspired the Big Idea, to tell her what she has inspired, and see if she is maybe interested in being any part of making it become a reality. She’s really cool, and a big animal advocate, and it was her idea to start with. Maybe she could at least help me find out who I need to contact, maybe there is an intern in the newsroom with experience with this that she knows. Or even an illustrator who is looking for a chance. That would be cool, get someone totally unknown to do the illustrations with me, someone who has never had an art job before. Someone who is beginning to regret art school. It would be cool to be put in touch with them and join up with them for this project. And then show them Patreon.
I’d like to work with younger people on this. Of course, I would like to work with younger people on my music, too. I don’t know why, I can’t stand younger people. Am I mellowing?
Just sketched another necklace. I’m reviving my “Menses Pride” line. This time, not just bracelets, which I can’t afford to make right now, but earrings and necklaces, too, which I have the materials on hand to make. Maybe H will run me to Michael’s Crafts if I get him beer and make him tacos. Then I can spend a couple of bucks and get some red embossing powder. To get it online is very expensive because the containers are too small to ship alone, so you have to buy in bulk. I am never going to use four ounces of any color of embossing powder, so I’d like to avoid that. And on Amazon, the same powders, for the same quantities, are four dollars more per bottle, whatever. Not worth the free shipping. Doc’s impressed I’m shopping around and getting really creative with the medium. There are a lot of ways to color or enhance polymer clay, but embossing powder is the best thing I have found for covering “junk” clay, which Mokume Gane makes a lot of. It doesn’t rub off once baked, seal it and it is impervious to harm, and looks like molten metal. Even the colors. Delicious.
I also found a recipe for alcohol spray inks made of acrylic paint, which I have more of than I will ever paint with. I am waiting on the mini spray bottles, which Doc is picking up on his Walmart run today, just to keep me busy. He wants the shop set up when he gets home, so . . .
With the alcohol inks, I will create pretty card stock for use as pages in the blank smash books I’ve been making. I have a ream of white card stock and plenty of 91% rubbing alcohol and paint. I can fill the books relatively quickly. The pages will need to be dyed, dried, and ironed, then cut down to size and hole punched at irregular intervals because I couldn’t be bothered to measure when I make the covers. It looks better that way. Wow, now that I have a way to make multiple unique pages, I can concentrate on the covers and the ephemera packets that I am packaging along with them.
I found a box of pens, so I’m going to make Mokume Gane wrapped pens to go with the smash books, just because. And packaging and pricing. Some covers will have places to put the pen, some won’t.
I just saw that inspiring news story again. Okay, there is an organization to match classes with projects like this. I need to get in touch with them. I know the name of the anchor lady to email to get the information. Cool.
I started this year with a new spiral 5-subject notebook, and I tried to keep it organized, I really did. But it took me five full minutes to find my sketches, just now. I feel like such a flake.
The Link: The Strat, here in town, at the end of the Strip, is running an ad campaign based on “taking Vegas back” from the hipsters. That, right there, deserves a link.