Entries this day: Email_to_Paige I_asked_slashdot I_chatted_with_Dad Inbox Sick nurse_Ami

Email to Paige

Hey Paige!

Congratulations on _____________. I know it was worth it, and I'm glad you know
the same for your own decision.

TKD!  Coool!!  I've never wanted to get into a martial art because I don't want to suffer the
bruises..  But, as you said, I always admire people who do.  Can you write why you love it?
Sometimes I want to be sold on the idea.

Regarding art, I have never taken a course, and I've never tried to draw, for example, "a bowl of
fruit" or, "a cat" (at least not in any kind of realistic sense).  A wise friend of mine said
something like "enjoy the creation of art as a playful process.  Don't worry about a goal; just
create art as you feel inspired.  If you get tired of creating, walk away and come back when you are
ready to create more art."

With that in mind, I bought a canvas and a set of acrylics with brushes.  When I first plopped down
a color, I was like, "wow!"  It was so beautiful; so bright!

I'm sure you've been to plenty of art museums.  One time (in Barcelona, thanks to our beloved
voyages) I saw an entire museum filled with an artist's work.  Piece after piece after piece, room
after room, showing how his styles changed over the years.  Looking at any one single canvas, I
wasn't all that impressed, ... but I was impressed that he (the artist) never stopped painting.

So now after painting haphazardly for some years, I have a sense of how quickly I produce pieces,
and have a show scheduled (though not all the pieces are even started yet!) If I "make a mistake" on
a piece, I'll basically highlight it: draw circles around it or an arrow pointing to it.  This works
while I'm in a stage of abstract colors.

SO, just buy a canvas (a small one if you like), buy some colors (such as finger paints, water
colors, acrylics, markers, or crayon hybrid paint things) anything will do.  slap down some colors,
sign it, date it, and give it to your mom.  If she doesn't appreciate it, send it to me and I will
definitely appreciate it!

Lather, rinse, repeat, and you'll see you're an artist!

On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 3:03 PM, Paige wrote:

    I may be doing TKD every weekday, but i think you have far more
    discipline since you're dedicating time to meditation!!  I did the 10-
    day Vipassana in 2006 and survived, but i came to the conclusion that
    i'm not much of a meditator.  Of course, what that really means is
    that i don't have the dedication to become one, so i always admire
    those who do! :)

I barely survived the Vipassana course; as a result, for a while afterward, I couldn't meditate *at
all*.  Even now it's a struggle for me each day to make myself sit down and take the time.  I'll let
you know if I ever become a great meditative master.  maybe come to you in one of your TKD dreams
and you can teach me like in The Matrix.
 
    What happened to Francois?

Best I can tell is that I dropped him while getting off the train in Shibuya and didn't notice.  I
talked to the police and the lost-n-found, but no results so far.  Someone literally sent me a
postcard signed by Francois in Chofu.  I thankful to whoever did it; it helped me get closure.  I
cried bawlingly for at least 10 minutes.

    Are you still teaching English?  Do you have plans to pass through LA
    any time soon? ;)

I had to get out of English teachin'; I was getting worn down by lack of initiation in my students.
I've kept in touch with one of my students: she really works hard and does homework, etc.  I can see
her improvement and I'm sure to tell her so.  (*)

SO, now I'm doing website programming for a company in Shibuya.  I'm getting paid less than I was
teaching, but I've got a lot more room to relax: no shoes, bad posture if I feel like it, and plenty
of time online!  I'll prolly shift out of this job once my finances go to a more positive direction.
(I just got out of CC debt! Just need to pay $3000 to my family who helped me when I broke my
shoulder.. wooo!)

(*) Actually I've also kept in touch with another student: Ami, whom I'm dating.  :-)

   Love and Light
    - Rob!

-- 
The love that you give is the pain that you release. 

Two minutes later:

oops I didn't mean to ignore your question about visiting LA!  Unfortunately I just turned down an
suggestion to meet my brother in Italy (Italy!!!) when he'll be going for something related to his
work.  While I'm just now getting out of debt, I will just be traveling locally for a while...

Love Love
   - Rob!

I asked slashdot

12:43pm JST Monday 3 March 2008 (day 13858)

Though I expect my question to be rejected, I just wanted to get it submitted, and I'll CC here:

I've noticed more reports / articles about UFO sightings in the last year than I noticed, say, two years ago. Anyone else?

Not just Stephenville; not just O'Hare airport. But France releasing their UFO files, as well as UK Ministry of Defense, a bunch of flares dropped recently in Florida.

And now, from Dr Michael Salla,

[French Expert Publicly Emerges to Confirm Secret United Nations Meeting on UFO's] in a secret meeting held at the United Nations New York headquarters that discussed the UFO phenomenon from February 12-14.

The editorial Dr Salla cites is in French: Le Sujet des P.A.N et les Institutions, and for your convenience, a translation

I chatted with Dad