Alexis’ blog

lexipants.wordpress.com

I know, I know.  You're thinking "WTF, Alexis, another blog??"

The thing is, wordpress has all the neat little bells and whistles I want to use.  And it's more customizable.  Vox just doesn't have everything I want.  Sorry.  But please direct yourself over there from now on.  Hopefully I can finally call that blog 'home.'

I have a big post coming up over there.  It talks about moving and shaking and etc.

So after a bad experience with the shoulder doctor and his dumbass assistant, it turns out I have a rotator cuff tear on my right shoulder.  I was told I have the shoulder of a 50 year old.  On top of that, my shoulder apparently didn't fuse right when I was an adolescent, so there's a gap where there shouldn't be one.  Hoo-ray. 

They're treating it conservatively "because I'm so young" and starting me off with physical therapy.  Which will probably hurt alot at first.  If it doesn't help, I'll probably have to have surgery.  *sigh*  If so, I may go to a different doctor, just because I didn't appreciate being treated as a teaching example, or having my pain ignored and having to ask for pain medication.  *le sigh*

Just a reminder that artists should be paid what they deserve for their unique talents, just like anyone else.  Would you work for credit that people may never see?  Probably not.

Seeking hardworking service providers...

Reply to: gigs-558260167@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-01-31, 9:28AM CST

I'm a fabulously wealthy photographer / artist making money hand over fist. Here's what I need:

A mechanic to overhaul my custom '57 Chevy.
A maid to clean my house on a regular basis
A doctor to perform some minor surgery on me.
A band to perform theme music for me where ever I go.
A carpenter and electrician to build an extra wing on my sweet house in East Austin.
A nanny to watch my spoiled kids.

Of course there will be no pay involved. In return for your services you will get FULL CREDIT on my website, AND you can add all of this work to your PORTFOLIO! If you ask me, this is an absolutely awesome deal!

I hope to have you work for me soon!

• Location: ATX
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
• Compensation: Compensation in the form of starvation!

Ok, so you know how excited I was about volunteering at Safe Place this first half of the year?  Well, due to my inability to read the fine print, I will not be able to volunteer there.

Apparently you have to email them ahead of time to sign up just to attend an orientation.  They have a limited number of spaces.  Last week I emailed in a hurry to see if I could still sign up.  The session was full, so they offered me a position in March.  The trouble is, if I actually make it to the volunteering round, I have to dedicate 6 months of my time.  Which I won't have to give if I start in March/April. 

Why you ask?  Because I'm moving.  My lease is up June 30.

Where you ask?  Dallas.  More than likely.  Probably.

Why you ask?  Because Dallas is the halfway point between our families.  We went to visit my family the other weekend and Damion loved them more than the first time he met them.  Of course, everyone loves my family.  But he wants to have them involved in our lives, and I do too, duh. 

So.... guess what that means!  Back to the drawing board.  Possibly, literally.

I got off the charter bus to find my mom already waiting in the parking lot.  Usually, I called my parents before they came to get me.  She helped me load my bags into the car, and then asked my best friend if she would like a ride home.  I remember feeling happy to be home from Colorado, remembering all the hijinx and fun things that had gone on the past few days with my high school band.  Relieved to be able to sleep in my own bed. 

I sat in the passenger's seat and my mom handed me a box.  It was perfectly square and wrapped to perfection, like someone had taken their time, very carefully folding the paper, tying the bow.  I looked at her with a puzzled face and unwrapped the gift.  Inside was a figurine of an angel with the sweetest, saddest face. 

I looked at my mom and asked "What is this for?" 
Her voice broke and said "You have an angel watching over you now.  Your grammy passed away while you were gone."

I don't remember much after that.  Just that we sat in the parking lot for a few minutes with my mom and my best friend holding me while I sobbed.

My grandma was my second mother.  She took care of me when my parents were absent, and made sure I didn't know any different.  I even called her 'mom' sometimes when I was little.  She had been sick in the hospital for a while, but no one ever conveyed to me just how sick she was.  I'll never stop feeling guilty about not being there when it happened.  Or a tinge of anger for no one being truthful with me.  She was the person I had been closest to in this world, and she was gone.  From this, I learned something about the world.  I can't put my finger on it, and I don't know if I will ever be able to. 

My good friend Taryn lost her grandmother today.  Her favorite grandmother.  She got the call while she was at work.  My heart goes out to her.

------------------------------------------

This event has me reflecting on my own life challenges.  There's a specific moment when you know you have left your childhood behind.  It can be an accident, an incident, a death in the family.  My grandma, my second mother died when I was 16.  That's when I realized so many things, so many truths about life, consequences and people.  Still a child, but without a child's mind.

This petition is circulating because Photobucket has recently teamed up with Qoop photo printing, but has done nothing to allow people to protect their photos and/or artwork. It's pretty much a free for all, meaning that artists have no way to keep people from printing their photos and not receiving credit or compensation, and don't have the chance to even allow other people permission to reproduce their work.

About 2000 signatures have been captured already. Your information will be kept private (except your e-signature of course).

Protect yourself, protect fellow artists, and know your rights.

http://www.petitiononline.com/pbarts/petition.html

Working.  Duh.

Well, actually I had someone really important move into my house, so I've been busy enjoying that.  He's starting work today himself at his new location.  He helps keep my bed warm at night.  And I guess it helps that I love him.

What else?  Not much.  I bought a coffeepot and am slowly developing my taste for homemade coffee.  I never thought I'd see this day.  But I bought my first cutesy portable thermos, which I'm more excited about than I should be.

Also, I wonder how I make it in this world.  Last night I left my purse in my car, which I NEVER do.  I don't like to give people a reason to break into my car.  This morning I forgot the lunch bag that I packed.  Yeah, it's sitting on the kitchen counter.

BUT I did become a distributor yesterday for Advocare.  You should check out my distributor website here.  Once upon a time, this system helped me lose a lot of weight, like 30 pounds, in a really healthy fashion.  I mostly did it for the discounts distributors receive, but I can order stuff for you too.  Think about it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yeesmedia/2186039976/

This is only one example of this person's portrait photography.  I thought at first this might have been someone's personal endeavor, but upon further inspection, it is not.  THIS IS SOMEONE'S PROFESSIONAL JOB.  Jesus. 

This both makes me very sad, but at the same time, it inspires me.  If this assclown can get business with pictures of someone holding a light reflector behind his clients, SO CAN I!!!

I'm so glad I have at least some talent to realize this is crap. 

Some people really believe in movie antics...

I just can't believe they thought no one had seen any of the Weekend at Bernie's movies.