Weekend Update

Saturday
Did nothing much but stay inside because it was way too cold to do anything.


Sunday
Plans for brunch with friends got cancelled. Was way too cold and it had started to snow and then rain and then snow again. Stayed inside and tidied up the place.


Monday
Actually ventured oudoors. The entire neighborhood is a sheet of ice. Our steps are completly covered. Had to hold on for dear life just to get down the stairs. Met my very good friend Chandra for lunch on the upper west side. We ate Cuban food at a restaurant called Cafe Con Leche. I had flounder in a cocunut sauce with rice and beans, so yummy. She and I caught up on old times and old friends and talked about what we're planning for the future.

I always like meeting up with Chandra around the new year because she's someone who is very good at forgiving and forgetting and keep on moving on. I think we motivate and support one another.

After lunch Chandra had to go to work at the Guggenheim Museum. So we walked though an icy Central Park to the east side. We had quite a few laughs as we slid around the reservouir.

Saw the James Rosenquist Retrospective at the Guggenheim. It was nice to see his move from abstraction to pop art. I think that the times he worked in, the political and social scene really had an effect on him. He started out as a billboard painter which also influenced his artwork because all of his pieces are billboard size. It's amazing because he paints in sections and all I could think about was how does he keep track of what he's done and what he's planning on doing next. And then I figured it out. He made these amazing collages from images he would find in magazines and newspapers and then he creates grids over the fragments of objects he wants to use. Once seeing that and then looking at the larger works made complete sense to me.

Going to museums is always such a struggle for me because these are places where I use to work. There are always people who recognize you while you're in the middle of a thought while looking at a painting and then you get distracted. But it was great to get out for awhile and see some art and some old friends. I felt good about myself.

Issame is still in Chicago. Am really starting to miss him. I got a bit annoyed because I had been out all day and when I got home, there was no message from him. So I called him a bit perturbed and told him off a bit. . So then I go to sleep because I'm so upset. So around midnight the phone rings. Guess who? . Then he was telling me about this great jazz club they went to, and places they ate at and stuff. It's probably the longest conversation we've had in days. They are leaving (hopefully) on Wednesday and he should be home sometime Thursday or so.

Believe it or not I did take a moment (as I do every year) to remember the great Dr. Martin Luther King. Sometimes I wish I had been there but I still get chills anytime I hear or see recordings of his speeches. I wonder sometimes if I would have had the strength to stand up against family and society and walk next to him. So many times, I think that I have. My neighborhood was very restricted in the type of people who lived there. I once had a brick thrown through my front window because O had brought a black friend home-this was when I was in high school. That was in 1990. So as much as we have changed, some people remain the same.

a moment of silence....



Today, Tuesday

Back to work. in the freezing cold is never fun. But it'll keep my mind off of things and get me organized.

HAPPY TUESDAY!