"So you will be only posting these little stories to your drawings?", Todd is back from Vancouver and we can again talk in person sometimes, not via ichatAV with me pacing around the room, shouting at my powerbook and him somewhere relaxed looking at the ocean.
Things have been a bit much in the last few weeks. All I end up at the end of the day is a square of virtual paper in a very moody Adobe Illustrator, a wacom tablet of the old sort and a thus slightly shaky virtual pen.
Last night the software and I stared at each other for a pretty long time, until I decided to walk over to my bookshelves again and to make another one of those crosswordpuzzled drawings. There was just nothing I could think of, no story of my own. Many of my friends must think I am avoiding them, or that I am going crazy. I ask for lunch plans and then have to cancel, ask for some time to relax and then am too stressed to keep my promise. Not a good thing... At least I know that it is temporary.
When I looked through some of the old emails and paper diary entries, there seems to be a pattern. I tend to go through phases of incredibly dense work, followed by phases of good and calm observation and learning. I guess it is a bit like swimming upstream, perhaps? And I will just need to keep swimming... Just try not to die somewhere upstream, or be eaten by bears...
So will I be posting anything beyond drawings and stories? Oh, absolutely. For my own sanity I will... or is there anybody actually reading this here?
Having similar problems this month, I genuinely sympathize with what you have to say. I blame my own sluggishness on the month of August. The barometer readings are on the low side.
Hope you feel better.
Posted by: Laura on August 7, 2003 09:23 AMkeep going, the spawning grounds arent very far now...
Posted by: takuan on August 7, 2003 10:29 AM(ahem... is this a warning?...)
(does this mean I should learn how to write "dream" now?)
: ]
there's a deep hollow in the river just around the bend. one or two more rapids upstream. the sun only beats down on the slow moving water there during the early morning and the cool shade of summer afternoon makes for a relaxing swim. there are plenty of eddies and still points to relax or stretch your muscles. the end of the trip is still quite a ways off...
Posted by: john on August 7, 2003 11:26 AMoh, now I remember... the spawning grounds are actually a happy place... hmm... and the entire journey is an amazing experience.
Thank you for making me smile again.
: )
My father actually once said:"You either swim against the current like a salmon, or you give up and float with the current like ****"... : )
The things he sometimes says...
What is "****" from you father's quote? Is it "shit"? Does shit float with the current? I don't understand? Do bears shit in the stream. I am so confused. But I AM reading...
Posted by: chris on August 7, 2003 02:47 PMwell, it definitely does not float against the current, does it?...
; )
I think it is basically his way of saying:
"The path of least resistance is a dead end."
: )
I always liked the saying "Once the water is over your head, it doesn't matter how deep it is."
Not really applicable.
Sorry.
poor ol thing... i'd say do some yoga or some crap like that to relax... but where is the time for yoga? oh there is no time at all... hehe. hang in there :)
Posted by: shauny on August 8, 2003 02:57 PMof course everybody has different experience. different hometown different parents. but its neat that you had a father who taught you that 'the path of least resistance is a dead end'.
ive known people who, in their struggle to eke out a life, have said that its the path of least resistance that is best and is the quickest way to move forward in life.
all sorts out there. me, i am somewhere in the middle. i feel i am different from others. but i do find that i can sink easily into the warmth of complacency. how long have i been just taking this paycheck month after month, even though i am braindead? maybe im not so different. ill have to work this out. figure out how strong my will is... if i have little ones, i hope that i can set a good example.
It was really strange. I would show something I have done to my dad and he would say something like:
"Yes, this is good, but you are just relying on your talent. When you write something and you think it is good the first time you wrote it, reconsider....
Somebody with less talent then you will maybe not hit the target as well, but he will rewrite it again and again and again and again, and chances are that by the fourth or fifth time, their work will be better than yours."
Imagine him telling this to a 5 year old me. It took me maybe 20 years or so to actually get what he meant... but I still remember him telling me this, even though I do not remember what I showed him...
The father of my best friend on the other hand had something very different to say. He recommended that we do not try to be the best in the group, as these are the people who become targets of envy and are the first ones to be attacked. He recommended that we try to stay "somewhere in the middle of the flock"...
I did not understand it then. I know where he was coming from now, but I think my answer now would be...
Yes, the middle of the flock, but it really depends what flock you choose... Imagine yourself as being in the flock of those who are the most amazing at something, and then try to reach those levels...
Us trying to be average in second grade sounded pretty lame then, and it still sounds pretty sad...
Takuan, I think you are anything but brain dead. I wonder if you have a place where we would be able to find more of your writing. Your comments are really great, and encouraging and fun... imagine an entire site... or is there one?...
Posted by: Witold Riedel on August 8, 2003 04:07 PM