cyclopskitty’s Neighborhood

As the pipe clamp blisters began to pop and heal on my hands, I knew I was in a race against myself to find my next gig in woodworking. I had just quit my job after I was put on a mandatory 72-hour work week schedule, which was neither safe nor necessary in the warehouse where I was a full time furniture maker. From my first taste of sawdust, I was hooked. I loved everything about it, especially the aches & pains associated with putting in a hard day of manual labor.

I had moved thousands of miles from my industrial Michigan factory roots, only to go to college and decide the blue collar life is what I wanted. I quit my job, only when it was obvious that it would either kill or permanently injure me...but it was still one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. Besides the fact that I love it, I realize now how wrapped up I was in the identity of being just one thing...In my working life, I have always had to have at least three side hustles going on and I've done everything from nude modeling, to being a maid, a well-paid executive assistant, an extra in movies, a make-up artist, to an apprentice sander in a woodshop.

When I call home to update my family, typically, whatever it is I describe is met with unconditional love & acceptance, even if there is a tinge of it not necessarily being understood. As a woodworker, I was finally able to align myself with an identity - one thing that I loved being and doing...and it was so much easier to explain that!

Predictably, when the job fell apart, I scrambled for any paying gig I could find on craigslist. As it turns out, it was a good time to be involved with film making and I even signed up for acting classes. Being involved in the process is as exciting as it seems like it would be - even the long hours of waiting, while being completely dressed to the nines for a 6:00 a.m. call time, shouldn't be exciting, but it still is.

Around this time I also found work as a fit model, working for a local design house. It's a job that pays very well but the work is inconsistent. Still, I am extremely thankful to have it, even if it is a bit weird for me to use it as an identifier at the dentist's office and have the receptionist squeal and ask me a bunch of questions about the job. That's a rock star moment, I'm not going to lie, but it's completely foreign to me to identify myself as "model" in any capacity...especially when "factory rat" was a closer signifier just weeks ago.

I'm not sure if all the discomfort in lacking a fixed occupation or identity squarely rests on my shoulders, or if I am reacting to other people's confusion when I try to explain, "Well, I'm actually a furniture maker, but I'm out of work, so I'm doing the acting and modeling thing, while looking for another woodworking gig." Who does that? I'm not sure if I even understand myself anymore.

In the long run, it's probably a good thing that I am so versatile & adaptable - I always have something relevent for any type of resume I'm creating for myself (and I have at least 3); but I long for the day when I have a short answer to the question, "So what do you do?" 

売国政党の幹事長並びに現・総理大臣が日本国を辱める暴挙に出た。
断じて許されることではない。

天皇陛下に対する敬意の念も何も持たない支那にただただ媚びる連中は一刻も早く辞任せよ。

まして会見を強行した支那人は今年７月にウイグルで大量虐殺の陣頭指揮を執った人物。
このような蛮人を陛下に謁見させるなど到底認められるモノではない。

こういう意見は右も左も無い。
日本という国、御皇室という世界に誇る存在を踏みにじり、支那の傘下に汲み入れようとする国辱に対して
怒りの声を表明売るのは国民の１人として当然と考える。

perched

Thursday (Dec. 10) marked the two-year anniversary of my having adopted my dog, Marty.  Taking care of a creature has to be among the best things someone can do to give their life some structure and meaning.  I got Marty from a rescue that saves dogs from the red list at the SPCA, so his days were numbered before fate intervened. In a way, we kind of saved each other, which I guess is often the way it feels when you connect with another soul.  It was pretty much love at first sight, and even though he chewed up several of my shoes, a tv remote, a hairbrush, 2 toothbrushes, a down pillow and my ACME laptop bag in the early tenure of our relationship, he's never broken my heart. Not yet.

Marty's a boisterous fellow, but also a cuddly sort. Weighing in at about 50 lbs., he's no lap dog, but he often likes to curl up beside me on the sofa.  He's got endless energy for running and leaping and playing tug-of-war. Playfully curious about cats and raccoons and squirrels, even though they get alarmed by him.  He's a loyal and loving little thing, thoroughly devoted to me, as I am to him. What a good dog.

If you have the emotional and financial where with all, I highly recommend adopting a pet. Contact your local shelters and rescue groups.  I started my search through petfinder.com.

WFFL

Crewest Gallery - Downtown Los Angeles.

・スラムドッグ＄ミリオネア

みのもんたのアレが題材のエンタメ作品。
心が病んだり鬱病になる間も与えられないような過酷な環境下での純愛モノだ。
所狭しと人間力の可能性が生々しく描かれている。

インドのスラムが舞台だが社会モノのような重々しさが漂わず、見ている人を楽しませる内容に徹している
のが素晴らしい。
最近元気がない方にオススメだ。

国柄や価値観が違っても、根底にあるテーマは日本人にも十分すぎるほど伝わるハズだ。

・ＲＥＣ

スペイン映画。所謂ゾンビもののホラーである。
低予算ゆえにサバイバルステージをアパート内に限定。
視点は”潜入したＴＶカメラマン”。
視野が狭いからいきなり飛び出してくるゾンビは恐い。あっというまにエンディング。

ゾンビを扱うと終末思想やらの世界観が伴うが、この映画はスカッと終わるので後味がいい。

ついこの間まで続編が上映されていたようだが、もう少し早く見ておけば間に合ったのに、、、。
ちなみに続編はこの１作目の直後の設定からはじまり、今度は突入する特殊部隊の隊員がつけている
ヘルメットのＣＣＤカメラが視点になっているそう。何人か分の隊員視点で進んでいく。見たかったー。

というわけでどちらも絶賛レンタル中。

My first job was working as a make-up artist in my mom's cosmetic shop, which was located in "the dead mall" across the street from the mega-mall, where everyone respectable went to shop. The only folks who ventured into the dead mall were those with bizarre fetishes they wanted to try out in "public" without actually being too far out into the public sphere. My four hour shift was often punctuated with high school principals and construction workers in drag, trying out the new high heels they just scored at Payless; a 60 yr. old woman dressed as a naughty school girl being led around on a leash by her husband; your occasional flasher; foot fetish guy who would creepily make me show him the colors of "toenail" polish we carried and on & on...

Anyway, it appears that Vox is now the dead mall. Of course, I'm sure there are still many "respectable" folks on here...but more so, there are a lot just letting their freak flag fly. And I love it. You are my people and I'm happy to be back. But don't send me pictures of your penis. Thanks.