Enough people are asking me on a regular basis how my job hunt is going that I’m thinking of making this blog your official source for all of my job hunt related questions. Not that I mind people asking if I’ve found anything yet, but I lose track of who I’ve told what, so maybe this can fill in the gaps in my friend chain.
I don’t have any job leads yet. I’ve applied to more than twenty positions, and had one interview (which was bogus because they’d already hired someone but “wanted to meet me” anyway). I’ve also applied for unemployment, concreting my status as a jobless leech. I know that Unemployment Insurance is something I’ve been paying into for as long as I’ve been working in Washington, but I can’t shake the childhood conception that drawing unemployment is something lazy or talentless people do.
How ironic would it be if that turned out to be true?
So, to keep from feeling like a completely ineffectual blight, I’ve been practicing painting. I’ve never liked painting really, because I’ve always been obsessed with my line work. I grew up drawing cartoons so everything in my world is separated by nice clean lines. I also rarely worked with color. So whenever I tried painting, the finished product usually looked like a paint-by-number but without the subtle nuances of hue.
Also, I had the worst painting teacher in college. I only took one semester of painting (making sure it was acrylic painting because I was too impatient and rigid to work with water or oil), and I almost instantly recognized it as a mistake. Despite the name “Beginning Acrylic,” the instructor taught as though I already knew what I was doing. This was the first time I was introduced to “under-painting.” She didn’t explain what the under-painting was for, so I only saw it as an obstacle between me and my finished painting. A waste of time. She caught me skipping the process once or twice, so I did have to experiment with it a little, but never saw any appreciable results.
The first project we turned in was a “mood” piece using color and composition to convey an emotion. I stayed in the studio for almost five hours working on that piece, and I was so happy with it that I could hardly sleep when I got home.
She never gave me a C- and a note that said “You obviously didn’t try, so neither will I.”
My final project required me to take two personal objects and a found object and use them as the subjects. That piece got the same grade as my first along with a scalding comment about my landscape being cliche.
So, a combination of no experience and bad experience has lead me to this point in my life where I’m trying to teach myself how to do something new with my art. It’s frustrating as all hell, and I feel like I’m 10 years old and trying to learn how to shade with a pencil.
I’m not crying.
Anyway, you can see some of my new stuff on my gallery, and I’ll be keeping y’all posted.
We know from past experience that reviewers pull out the creative stops when a movie dips below a quarter positive. This week’s teen-age teleporter tale (Jumper 6:30/9) pops in at 16%. Expect ruthless mocking, a few mean comparisons and a general attitude of STAY AWAY! Bring on the fun.
“Would you pay full entree price for an appetizer? Well, Jumper is more like the bread you get before the waiter brings the appetizer to your table.” Brian Tallerico The Deadbolt
Hey, I like bread. It’s cheap and usually comes with free water. You’re going to have to do better than the threat of free carbs to scare me away from this one. Didn’t you see the preview? It was awesome!
“A herky-jerky mess of a movie, Jumper leaps about so erratically you get the feeling bent pogo sticks were employed in the editing room.” Tom Long Detroit News
Okay, that just sounds like fun. Who would think to use bent pogo sticks for editing? To some, it’s guano crazy, to others, innovation!
“Logic takes the greatest leap in Jumper, a sci-fi thriller that plays like a frog jacked on steroids.” Peter Howell Toronto Star
“This movie is paced for an audience that grew up multi-tasking and its aesthetic sensibility and depth of story-telling is equivalent to a beer commercial.” Nell Minow Beliefnet
I’m not seeing the downside of amphibian roid-raging fun with beer commercial depth. This movie just keeps sounding better and better. Okay reviewers, I’ve clearly convinced myself to go see this movie, but I’ll give you one last chance to talk me out of it.
“Since there’s nothing popping on the screen apart from the effects, Jumper is a one-trick pony. Yes, it’s a neat trick, but it’s still 90 minutes of pony. ” Alex Markerson E! Online
Hey, I like ponies. See you Wednesday.
PDJ