The Cage of Misdirected Longing

I came across this the other day in an art gallery. I would have walked right by it (fake birds, blah!) if I hadn't noticed the title...and the messages each bird carried...That's me, I thought. I am a bird in a cage of misdirected longing. Complete with invisible ribbon thought cloud saying, how did I get here, how do I get out?

I have been wondering that a lot lately.

But let's not talk about that. When I start to feel adrift I try to remind myself I am the steady worker bee that never gives up, a fine artist restocking the supply, an author learning my craft, an animation story artist with a little time off.

If positive mind talk doesn't work, and it hasn't lately, there's always distraction. For instance, Dan Brown's Angels And Demons. It's popcorn, for sure. But I like popcorn. I need it in certain moods. So rather than a quickie movie experience I've been taking my time with it, reading a few chapters a night. The Illuminati plan to blow up the Vatican? Ha, ha, that's what I call entertainment. I also call it amazing how he can keep me reading and yet put me to sleep at the same time. Marvelous.

Another current distraction is Tucker's super creamed ice cream. I can go without ice cream for months. And then, as if to make up for it, I'll eat cartons of it and counting in a short space in time, most of it from Tucker's. You've probably never heard of Tucker's since it only exists here in my home town, but their motto is, "Life is uncertain....eat dessert first!" Ok! Turned down by Pixar? Oh well, time for some ice cream! My current favorite is their Strawberries and Cream. I love its pungent ripe berry aroma, the way it tastes more like fruit than sugar, and is filled with whole berries which are never so frozen they've lost their flavor. In fact they seem to have been spooned in there just minutes before I buy the carton. How they do that, I have no idea.

A perhaps better distraction is hiking which is why I belong to three different hiking groups. One thing I like about it is I sometimes get lost on the way there and instead of a morning of sustained and often strenuous exercise I get to play tourist in some part of this region I'd otherwise never bother to see. And if I do happen to make it, then I get to combine socializing with scenery gazing and ice cream fat burning. Because who wants to burn ice cream fat alone? (Fairfax, a sleepy, two block town somewhere in Marin County. Cute, and scenic. But I wouldn't want to live there.)(Montera, where I got horribly sunburned last Sunday.) (Heading into the waves, Pacifica. It's hard to make out in this low res photo but the water is crowded with surfers, at least one every ten feet riding the waves.) (I like this photo. It reminds me that being adrift is not necessarily a bad thing, a lesson this father may be inadvertently teaching his daughter.)

Arty events, especially ones in cafes and bars, are another useful distraction. Luckily there's an arty event every night of the week here, many of them free. Thursday I went to one called Storytime to hear (and draw) local authors read from their works.
I also like aimless wandering, usually on my way to or from an arty event because I never know what or who I'll see, meet or experience. This is similar to getting lost, except I know exactly where I am. I'm just not sure where I'm going...(inside the SF Ferry building) (police in SF's Mission district)(Shop endorsing big butts - like mine! thanks to too much ice cream and chocolate - on Mission St., SF)(Powell St. SF)

Next weekend L. and I are concocting an impromptu adventure in Seattle. Sure, it might be wiser to stay home to finish another painting or send out more resumes. Or figuring out why I crave distraction so much right now. But neither of us has ever been there before and the itch to distract is too strong to resist. We haven't reserved flights or hotel rooms yet but we have gotten a guide book. Will keep you posted on how it unfolds. Oh, and if anyone has any Seattle suggestions, I'd appreciate reading them.