Babysitting

I spent most of this week babysitting, which was a very fun way to make some money before my trip.

fuji

Right now, most of my friends are finishing spring quarter... even though I've been on a break from school, I am proud to announce that I have finally finished winter quarter!

There were two projects lingering from my art class with Gail, leaving me with a dreaded "incomplete" instead of a letter grade - until recently.

this was my final project for the class

I filmed it at an amazing place called Peninsula School,
with the help of Alda (on the right), Annie (on the left), Ben&Keenan (who loaned me the video equipment), and especially the kids.

After shooting the footage, I emailed my friend Michael about music. He said he only had one song recorded, and he attached it to his email.

I had never heard the song he sent (fuji), but it turned out to be perfect.

Blue rectangles in the hallway

The house where I live is filled with art.Most of it was there before I moved in,
and I've never met most of the artists.

I'm moving out very soon, so I decided to make a contribution to the house... a parting gift, I suppose.

Basically, I painted blue rectangles in the hallway.

This is what they look like:

Yes, I know... They don't even look like murals.

In fact, they're just blue rectangles, and most of the people walking by won't give them a second thought.

They're more than that to me, though...
I think of them as frames for future paintings.

When I walk through the hallway, I slide my fingertips across them, wondering when someone will see them as canvases, and I'm looking forward to this stranger's inspiration.

And this day will definitely come.
Some day, some stranger will paint on my blue rectangles.

It will make me a little bit sad, because they'll no longer be how I made them, with endless possibilities.
Instead, they'll be the platform for one person's art...

When that day comes, I think I'll be ready for it, but not today.

Today, the platform itself is art.

But to you, they might be just rectangles, so it's time to finish my postmodern rambling...

I painted blue rectangles in my house.
I spent an afternoon and an evening on them.
To most people, they are just rectangles.
But to someone, they will be frames.
One day, these frames will hold that person's art,
But for now, the frames are the art.

Godtube update

Godtube friends: 17
Messages sent: 187
Messages received: 265
Videos posted: 6
Times viewed: 11155

(and no, I didn't accidentally hit the keypad an extra time)

I've poured a lot of energy into Godtube, and I'm not always sure where it's going... but when I check back every day or so, my videos have been watched about 50 more times... it's crazy.

The attention hasn't been completely positive for me, but the good experiences have definitely outweighed the less-good.

My proudest accomplishment, so far, is the opportunity to meet 2 guys that I've been corresponding with for about a month.

Their names are Sam and Jim, and I don't think they know each other.

• Sam is a little older than me, and even though he really struggles with some of the same questions that I do (really struggles), he's come out on the other side - he considers himself a Christian still, and I respect that.
• And Jim is an Author and counselor in his 40's, and he and I talk about lots of things. Jim is very comfortable with not knowing the answers to all my questions, and he's also comfortable with me not really knowing the answers to his. I really appreciate that.

More than anything, though, I just really enjoy talking to Sam and Jim. They don't respond harshly when I ask difficult questions, and the slim chance that I'll ever see them in "real life" makes me comfortable enough to ask those questions.

My time on Godtube has definitely been interesting, and I don't intend to end it any time soon. I might create a blog to discuss this sort of thing, because a smaller group is better for discussing intimate things.