Monday, December 26, 2005

Thumbnail painting


Here's a preliminary thumbnail to a larger work(features a bottle, angel head and rose). Unfortunatley I'm still struggling with the main painting.

Holiday stuff and metro

My wife and I left for DC last Thursday - and it was great to see family and friends in the DC area. The east coast has different feeling than the West Coast. Seattle feels much more casual and laid back in temperament, while DC is a bit more direct and intense. My wife has many upcoming interviews for residency programs this month which includes Hopkins, Georgetown and few places in New York. We'll know at the end of March where we will be for the next 4 years.

So Helen stayed back in DC to prepare for these interviews while I flew out Christmas Day. The flight was smooth and the crowds light. After landing in Seattle and retrieving my luggage, I decided not to call the town car service I often take back from the airport - and decide to save $ and catch the metro bus. I ran to the stop, which is inconveniently located at the end of the baggage claim area, and after catching breath hopped on the bus. Now this is later at night, and I had 3 pieces of luggage which included my new video camera. During the bus ride I found a slice of Americana only a cheap ride on the bus from the airport can offer. Some real characters - what appeared to be African American rapping gang members to the overweight mother with 3 children, the bearded long haired hippie with hemp back, and don't forget the drunk sleeping and muttering to himself on the seat behind me. In that bus there is always a stew of adventure I find more entertaining than a cushy and comfortable ride in a town car from the airport. However, the bus decides to break down. Now I found myself cursing myself and regretting I could be much closer to home had I arranged the town car. Eventually another bus arrived, and I lugged my baggage and found a seat near the front of the bus. A few stops later we pick up a wheelchair passenger. Some of the passengers around me scrambled to make room for the wheelchair and struggled to make more room with my bags. The guy in the wheelchair I would come to learn was a former boxer. He had a bright smile and was happy extending compliments to all the pretty ladies he spotted sitting near him. It's amazing to find even his condition, he could find smile in anyone by his clever remarks. I'd have to say the entertainment on the bus allowed me to forget for bit the inconvenience of getting home late.