Dirt Chic

Story Time: "Regarding Fitchie"

A tale for the ages.

Regarding Fitchie, from Mike's Corner - Daunting Literary Snippets from Phish's Bassist Mike Gordon

    Artie Fitchie, we have learned, is successful.  He is the beacon of success.  There was a curious woman in Iowa who wrote to us and asked: "...regarding Fitchie...with all this success, is he happy?"  It's quite possible in this era that a person is successful on all accounts, but inside he's sad: Nope.  Artie Fitchie is happy.  In fact, he's beaming.  The guy is beaming in excitement.  BEAM!  Even after viewing a sad movie, Fitchie feels happy to have seen it.  In fact, all of Fitchie's "problems" are diagnosed in his head as opportunities to practice patience and thus they are sources of happiness.
    It could be argued that an equal amount of sadness is necessary for a person to recognize his happiness: Nope.  Fitchie only experiences the happy side of the coin, and he appreciates that coin.  That coin is Artie Fitchie, and both sides are happy.  Inasmuch as a coin is a "yin and yang," Fitchie is happy with yin and with yang.  He would be happy with sadness or problems, but he has neither.  Fitches notices that one could say "happyin" or "happyang," and noticing that made Artie Fitchie ecstatic with joy.

(Thanks Jen :)

A Lil' Nip O' Poetry

More poetry goodness; thank you, Jen, for sending it my way. :)  (And thanks, Mom, for the Nik-L-Nip.) Goes well with Hafiz....

Interrelationship
by Thich Nhat Hanh

You are me, and I am you.
Isn't it obvious that we "inter-are"?
You cultivate the flower in yourself,
so that I will be beautiful.
I transform the garbage in myself,
so that you will not have to suffer.

I support you;
you support me.
I am in this world to offer you peace;
you are in this world to bring me joy.

Good Morning, March

Hafiz.

"Once a Young Woman Said to Me"

Hafiz.

Exercise Reading, Etc.

Man.

Well.  

FYI.

I'm going ever-so-slightly under the radar, 'cuz I have huge deadlines.  I'll do my best to Get Dressed, here.  I promise. :)  It'll just be pretty terse-seeming.  Onward, upward....

Scenes From Existence

On the road.

Walter.

Ernie sweater.

RPM.

Trusty steed.

Thrift weirdness #1.

Thrift weirdness #2.

Thrift... something.

Wrong.

Stay tuned.

Mesh.

Plastic.

Reading.

Plants.

Yes.

Properties

I still don't feel well.  But I feel better.  I ended up watching Exorcist II last night - not on either list, but that's ok.  I didn't finish it.  Maybe later.  I was pleased to note, however, that Jaws was on both lists.

In more productive news, got some props for RPM, today.

Profiles in Courage by JFK and a Look magazine with the Kennedy family.  Am pretty pumped about these.  Nerded out in rehearsal about them.  Decided there was no fudging with these two items - they had to be legit.  Mag, $11 on eBay.  Book, $4.50 on Amazon (and I am a Prime member so the shipping was free, heh heh).

Biff and globe: not properties.

Going to write a novel now.

An Interlude of Snapshots While I Take a Break From Deadlines

There are random sequins littering my floor. This is how it should be. All year, but especially now.  Where do they come from?  Well, boxes and bags of sequins, sometimes.  But mostly, they shed from my clothes, shoes.  I can't bring myself to sweep them up.

I think I need some confetti.  I think I need some glitter.  I will be extra-festive soon, once I hit some pretty heavy deadlines.

In the meantime, I keep finding a way to make my bright tree brighter.

(I know, I know, the green wires are so obvious - but not in real life.  Please suspend awareness of them, for me?)  I bought my favorite candy canes - cherry-flavored rainbow - and put them on the tree.  I will be snacking on them come January, no doubt.

Love my tree.  It's a lovely ritual to turn all the lights on (and light a candle) before I do anything else.  It makes this deadline-tastic time easier to deal with.  I'm not complaining - but I have a lot going on.  (Don't we all?)

I did finish the teaching semester, though.  *PHEW.*  I tried to catch a picture of this amusing sign, on my drive home:

Small Dog, 59 cents.  I keep thinking of lapdogs.  I will take 1 pug, 1 "80's Dog" (Pomeranian), and a Pekingese.  What a deal.

On a trip to the library, I saw this:

Buddy.  Probably was 59 cents.  I wonder how much a large dog costs.  99 cents?

I have been avoiding my library-room chair for various silly reasons (I go through cycles of wanting to sit in certain places, for one), but I finally sat in it yesterday, during the day, and enjoyed the view of this bank of houseplants, some new.  (My fern is atrocious-looking but still clings to life.)

I would sit here more but then I can't see the tree.

Do you know what I CAN see?  EVERYTHING.  Because after a string of unpleasant experiences, I ended up demanding then having a string of extremely positive experiences at the aforementioned eyewear establishment - Lenscrafters.

I am not endorsing one thing over all others (I get my regular glasses from For Eyes, usually), but I have had positive experiences with Lenscrafters in the past, and was surprised that I kept finding myself dissatisfied.  Longish (and boring) story short: they will make good.  Of course they will.  And now, I have what I want:

Brown Anne Klein sunglasses, plastic lenses, gradated tint, in a better prescription.  And $20 than the best pair I found online.  I am very, very pleased.  Now I just have to get used to not having astigmatism anymore.

So anyways.  This interlude is almost over, and I will make some food to last me through the next few marathon days, and I will write and read and write and read and possibly exercise and certainly shower and in all that, dream about these:

And maybe grab a box on my way up north to celebrate the holidays with my family. :)  And celebrate meeting deadlines, of course.

Stay tuned: I will tell you about my upcoming production in Chicago....

Therapies

What a semester.

If you think this an obnoxious, dramatic self-photo of me, you're right.  But man.  I'm grateful for some upcoming relief from my schedule.  

RELIEF, I say.  

(...Why did Avon think this was a good idea?!?!)

Not that I don't know how to find it in other ways. ;)  

(Yes, this is at Sam's Club.  I was there with friends.  I don't shop there.  But if I did, you know what I'd buy.)

Tomorrow I will take these puppies in and figure out if I'm just crazy and not used to the new prescription, or if something else is wrong. 

It's kind of bad that a pair of sunglasses not turning out can make me so upset.  So upset that I take another obnoxious photo of myself.  But, once I get them under control, I will feel extremely good.  My sunglasses are a rather big part of my day.  They ARE prescription and all. :)

It helps that it is the Christmas season.  Even at my busiest, I love the novelty of it all.  Especially this book tree.

But since I don't have one, for now, I will settle for books.  

Like three Smithsonian Guides to Historic America.  (I have one already. Thrifted for $8, total.)

I will also enjoy my own decorations, like my smaller Christmas tree.

And candy canes.

I kind of (totally) need to but a spending/thrifting freeze on myself.  I know I've said this before.  I'll say it again.  It's kind of... out of control.  (Not really.)

But it IS the Christmas season and now that things are sort of, uh, chilling out (sorry for the use of cold words) for me, responsibility-wise, maybe I will feel less need to get my thrift on.  ...Except I am costuming my upcoming show (more details soon) and it will require much thriftage.

Anyways. :) S'all good.  Some recent scores:

Gold-sequin and clear-beaded sweater: $5.  The previous owner messed with it a good bit, to fit.  I had to take out some seams so it would fit ME.  It exposed some damage.  I have a pile going for the next snow-day.  I will fix anything that I possibly can, to save some $$$ on repairs.

I am continuing my 80's shirt kick but bringing it into the cold weather by finding long-sleeved ones.  Also am bringing it into... the 90's.  Gotta love Versace knock-offs.  I paired this shirt ($3.25) with my lime green sweater-blazer ($6).

Pastel formal, $4.  ...Yeah.  Like I NEED another formal.  This one I could pull off, though, on a regular day.  It requires a scarf tucked into the décolletage, Jane Austen-style.

I was just messing around, here.  The 40's-from-the-80's polka-dot dress is cool but I do need to drop a few inches here and there to make it truly comfortable.  (Working on that.)  I paired it ($6) with my pink 60's pumps ($40), pink 80's belt ($2), fur-trimmed cardigan ($12) and crazy pink Lucite bib necklace (made it myself, probably was $30 for the beads).  If I had grey or bubble-gum-pink tights I would wear them with it.

Sigh of bliss.  I'm really kind of over sweaters - I have a bunch that I love, but I don't need any more, and they're hard to find where they don't just add bulk - but this one.  This one.  Is The One.  (And I thought to myself, this is slightly Michael Jackson-esque.  And then I wore it out to dinner and my friend Jen said, that looks Michael Jackson-esque.  YES.)  Sweater: $3.

So anyways.  Therapies.  Looking forward to getting back to my novel.

Found this at an antique store (didn't buy it), but it reminded me of a lil' cosmic affirmation that I should press on: my main character is named Deltrice.  And she makes cosmetics.  Finding this out was a RELIEF.  I tell you. :)

My Statements of the Year

Life is short.  Turn of the TV.

Read a book.  Go outside.  Read a book outside.  And if you don't like to read, look at the pictures.  Seriously.  (Ok, read the captions.)  Just find a good book of pictures.  (And then, read this.)

Life is short.  Go thrifting.  :)  For a book (as I did for a significant chunk of the books above), for a life-affirming ensemble.  (Yes.  I state: clothes are affirming.  But instead of an outfit being $100+, $30.  $20 pants, $6 jacket, $3 shirt, tie from a foodservice job.)  For furniture.  For wall art.  For older things that give texture to life and remind us of the past.  It's fun.  Go alone.  Take a friend.  

The end.