It Takes Discipline

So who can guess how much this bird costs? On the first Sunday of every month a group of bird enthusiasts called Parrots in the Park meet under the trees directly behind our booth. Normal appearing people show up, parading their exotic birds either perched on their shoulders or arms. Some even have a little harness that keeps them from escaping. Apparently, birds poop about every fifteen minutes, so the owners either time their parade or let them do their thing. Remember I said they looked normal--to me having bird poop on your clothes or skin is not a normal thing. In fact, I think it is down right gross. At any rate, back to this beautiful bird. The color is extremely intense--I call it indigo with that amazing yellow around the eye.I've learned that these kinds of birds can live up to 100 years old. Now this particular bird is quite rare so the cost reflects that fact. I suspect you did not guess the price of a small car did you? That's right--$15,000! I was puzzling how anyone can tell how old they are; supposing you plunked down the money--figured, ok, I can will it to my children and so forth. I figure that is pretty cheap if you did a cost average per year, but wait, what if you were fooled and it was already 90 years old? Can they really tell?

I am happy to report that I've done some yard work today with no ill effects that I can detect. Can we finally put this last year in the books as a bad dream?

Discipline is what it takes to succeed as a student. Sure, I would much rather be finishing my book, but I must stay focused. I re-read the review of the film and printed some info on montage vs mis en scene. I don't look forward to watching this film tonight as there is a sliced eyeball featured. I've read it was a cow's eye that was used, but still...I'm no fan of horror or violence.

Late this morning Bruce called from Virginia. He's visiting multiple job sites that require him to drive in between. Normally he's in the air, but today it was the Blue Ridge Parkway. I told him he was lucky I wasn't with him as I'd be begging him to stop all the time for picture taking. My market manager called today and asked if I could photograph her and one of our City Commissioners at the park for a magazine article. Yikes--I told her I'd do my best. Maybe I should have said no, I'm only decent at inanimate objects--animate makes me nervous.

I've got about an hour and a half before I leave for school. I must stop blogging and start working on the museum e-mails soliciting artists for an upcoming exhibit.

Lastly, I was thinking today about my friend Elena's blog which is full of fun reading about her antics(I wonder if I should use that term when referring to a DA?) in SoCal. Of course Matt was the first person I knew who had a blog; he must have started at least five years ago. I loved being able to hear all that he was involved in without being a nuisance. Elena's mom (she lives in Italy) often comments on her blog, I suspect she feels the same way. Once a mom, always a mom.