Denouncement

Been a while and a lot has changed...
About 3 months ago, my husband and I left military life and returned to civilian life.  No regrets there.  I can honestly say that I wasn't a big fan of it all.  The traveling part was pretty awesome and I did get to meet some amazing people along the way.  But the constant abandonment without any information or communication for weeks on end....the constant nonsense of it all...never being able to make plans, even a week in advance.  I don't miss it.  I like having my husband around.  It's nice having my best friend back.
It has taken a while but our lives are coming back together.  We have a nice apartment, pay bills, cook dinner, hang out at local bars, work, ect.  I am even getting back into drawing and painting.  But, we still haven't made any friends yet.  It was so easy when we were military.  Wives and husbands could bond easily due to struggles they endured.  But here, most young people are college students.  Part of me wants to start school now because I miss belonging to that group.  I miss learning new things, writing papers, hanging out at coffee shops and studying for upcoming tests.  But, I know it wiser to wait.  I only need to wait a year to reach residency.  After that, school will be less of a financial burden.  Still, I miss being a student.
Both of us found jobs.  It took much longer than both of us expected but we are employed.  He will be changing jobs soon for a job that pays better.  For now, I am stuck at my current job.  If I stay, I become a shift lead.  That will look much better on a resume than just another job.  However, I personally hate it.  Not the job itself.  A monkey could do that.  I just hate how the owners run it.  They believe that penny pinching will gain more profit.  That, instead of exceedingly good customer service, we should be getting the customers out the door in less than 2 minutes.  And even when I am leaving late due to helping the next shift, they still ask for more of me.  Part of me wants to give up.  Walk away from it all.  But, it would not be wise.  So, once a week, I'll search online for something better.  Eventually, I'll find something.  Tell then, I'll be happy to at least have employment.  I have met so many people who can not find a job.   
My days off are filled with exploration.  But, I would like to start volunteering.  I feel that I may be able to meet more people if I branch out into the community.  Never know.  Maybe I can find someone who can help me find a job that I will enjoy.

Come...and Dream with Me

  For those who don't know me personally, I am a military wife.  As such, most weekends when I have free time, my husband is away.  Most would find this highly depressing and lonely but I have always been a loner.  Not saying that I don't enjoy hanging out with people from time to time.  I just can entertain myself, usually by using books or a good art project.  Though, being stuck in the house does sometimes create a bit of cabin fever.  I usually rectify this by seeing a movie.  I find it nice that I don't have to go with anyone if I want to go see a movie.  If I want to treat myself to a meal somewhere, I notice that it is increasingly hard to go alone.  This is because a lot of places do not have a bar to sit at and if there is a bar, there is always that person who doesn't understand that you are not interested.  These annoying people should be happy that I do not stab them with a fork for disrupting a decent meal.  At the movies, it's a dark room where it's frowned upon to speak while the movie is playing. No one bothers me.  I don't bother them.  It's a win-win situation.
  For today's movie, I went to see Hugo.  I know.  This is a kids movie and trust me, every bit of it is very kid friendly.  I do not have children but I would say that it is good for all ages but a seven year old would probably grasp the concepts a little better.  For those who plan on going to see it, no worries.  I have no intention of ruining the movie for you.  It is a wonderfully imaginative movie with mystery around every turn.  It is easy to empathize with the characters and their experiences.  Not to go all painterly on you but I found that Martin Scorsese used the 3D element of the film like a medium to his canvas.  Most directors use the 3D element like an extra color on their canvas, throwing it in here and there just for the extra money.  But Martin Scorsese didn't use it in that way.  You can tell throughout the whole movie that he planned every angle, every prop and every scene around the 3D.  I also highly enjoyed that it showed scenes from the silent film era.  I love old films and I was pleasantly surprised that they had a scene from Harold Lloyd's Safety Last!  Bringing in video from older films gave more depth to the plot.  One of my favorite lines from the film was said in one of the last scenes.  It was..."Come...and dream with me".
   As an artist, I tend to just pour myself into my work.  I am transfixed on whatever I am doing.  The phone may ring several times before I even notice.  Even my neighbors' annoying dog that she doesn't take care of properly doesn't seem to bother me as much when I am painting.  And, as an artist, I am putting my imagination and inspiration out there for others to see.  Sometimes, the viewer sees what I saw.  But, 7 out of 10 times, they don't.  They see something completely different.  For the longest time, it bothered me.  Made me believe that maybe I wasn't a good enough artist to convey the message I wanted to.  After a while I got over it because, like the actor said "Come...and dream with me".  We may be looking at the same thing but see something different and that is okay.  It is okay because we are sharing the dream.  Art just helps us be able to dream on the same canvas.

To the End and a Beginning

Cheers!
  We are at the end of 2011.  It marks the end of some things and the beginning of others.  For myself, this was my last complete year attending Leeward Community College.  I have spent the last three years working on my AA and at the end of this month, I will have completed my requirements.  I plan on taking one more class, however.  I don't need it to graduate but it will help my painting skills. I am very thankful that I have such a wonderful art professor who encourages me to go further with my art
  As my college life draws to an end, I have noticed something that is a little disheartening.  Over the last three years, I have gained some weight.  Not a lot but enough that I wouldn't consider myself as fit as I once was prior to attending school. So, my goal is to start working out.  I don't plan on just jumping into the gym and working for hours on end for unreasonable goals.  That is how a lot of people burn out.  So, I plan on starting small.  Starting next week, I will work out at least 30 minutes a day.  Doesn't sound like much but going from nothing to 30 minutes is a start.  Then, I'll add 5-10 minutes a week.  I admit, I am inspired by a fellow military spouse named Lindsey Roeske.  She has been working out and watching her progress makes me want to become a healthier person.