Sweet Sixteen Yesterday, my cousin turned 16 years old. That's the same age my aunt Tracey (her mother) was when I first met her. My uncle Terry brought her home to Grandma and Grandpa's and I thought she was the greatest - still do. They eventually married and spawned two amazing girls. Britt is their eldest. Happy Birthday Brittany Noel. You've turned into a really great young lady. I can't believe you're sixteen! When I was your age the future was so exciting to me, heck just growing older was exciting to me. I couldn't wait to grow up. I thought the whole world was at my reach and I hope you do too. Be open to what lies ahead, the world is about to reveal itself to you. And get your damn ass into driver's ed, you'll never know true independence and self-reliance until you do. Plus... then maybe your parents will buy you a car. (hint hint.)

Nature's Perfect Food Yeah, perfect for keeping you up all night with an upset tummy. Ouch-ie, hurt-ie. This weekend I was at a friend's for dinner. After the meal, we ran out of wine and I was graciously served a few gigantic Paralyzers, made mostly of milk (which I happily accepted). I haven't had milk for years but I've always refused to be a slave to my diet. When in Rome, I do as the Romans. I think being vegetarian is stressful enough for a meat-eating host without adding even more restrictions to their menu planning. But halfway through my second glass, I realized the mistake I had made. Yikes. The pain went on through the night and left my tummy feeling very sensitive the next day. Lesson learned. It's official, I have special "dietary requirements". And that means this Christmas I'm not holding back for the sake of politeness. I'm going prepared and my family will just have to deal with the soymilk, the veggie Wifesaver, the miso gravy, and the quintessential tofurkey. It helps that I'm bringing my partner in crime along to back me up against all the heckling. For whatever reason, my dietary "insanity" is legitimized when people find out we both participate and then it's referred to as our "lifestyle".

Christmas Comes Early I received exciting news this week... Me and my Sweetie are going to Las Vegas for New Year's. I keep checking the weather there in hopes of some sort of heatwave, so I can sit by the pool and take in the sun. How I miss it. All this chinooking weather has resulted in a lot of cloudy days, and I would know, I 've been zone testing since October.

Gingerbread Masterpieces Tonight we're having some special guests over to build and decorate gingerbread houses. To be truthful, they're more like cottages due to their modest size. I'm trying to scale down and not impose my ambitiousness on young children. Next year we'll make a village and a castle and...

Last night we baked the first batch of the architecture and used the scrapes to make animals and people.



These are the people. Nice generic sort.



This is Jon's dog. I'm told it's a Shar-pei.
Only purebreeds for the Parkers.

File Under: Why Didn't I Think of This First? Brillant, with the exception of Madonna's involvement. I hate that she's associated with a credible art scene, even before her days with Basquiat in '83. Last summer she purchased and donated all of Cindy Sherman's B/W Film Stills to MOMA for their archives. Grrr... that just rubs me the wrong way.

I'm Munch's The Scream.
Totally out of control, crazy and paranoid.
How bad does that make me feel?

Correction
The Open House is actually at 3pm on Thursday not Noon.

Open House

The U of C Art Dept. is having an open house on Thursday, Dec 6/01. If anyone is interested in seeing some of my work, along with others who actually have talent, please come. My studio will be open for viewing starting at noon and I should actually have something on the walls for viewing. I'm in the crappy Photography Studio (read: no windows), my cubicle is the one in the back with the lime green desk beside the sink. Photography has a reputation for having great food, so maybe that will entice you.

2 more days. 6 images down, 46 to go. It's never going to happen.

On Hiatus If you can't already tell, I'm in the middle of pre-portfolio madness. That means: no blogging, no sleeping. I do this every fucking year but I can honestly say, this year is the worst ever. 52 images due in three days, plus a final and 2 papers. Why, why, why do I do this to myself? It's not about the challenge of the deadline, it's just plain stupidity. So... I'll be back at the end of the week. I have so much to tell.

Wish me luck. I'm trying to graduate.