46

Today I am 46 but I don't feel too different except for being closer to 50.

I don't like when older people find out my age and tell me I'm just a baby because I'm fucking not.

(yeah it happened today)

We don't say to people who are older than we are (unless you have that kind of relationship) wow, you're fucking ANCIENT! So it's not cool to be condescending to younger people either, especially not established functional adults who have been thru some shit.

S said something on Thursday in training (I am in training for the suicide hotline) that I needed to hear and I wrote it down. The context was how people are careless with language.

"Think twice before taking offense because someone said something less than perfect."

I have been doing this a lot lately, privately, with one specific person and it's partly because i do have something I need to air out with them but anyhow, that's not about my birthday!!

*****

My birthday-the whole weekend from Friday, in fact, was really fantastic.

I am so deeply grateful from the shift my life has taken from being mostly really hard and sad to mostly good.  My good days now outnumber the hard days, and when I have hard days I remember that they will pass.

The reality is that I have done a LOT of work to make this so; it didn't just magically happen out of nowhere.  I am proud of myself.

In general my 40s have been the best decade of my life.

Others said that to me, and I found it to be true.

*****

Daya and I had a good chat in the morning; she's going thru some stuff and she opened up to me about some of it.

I'm glad she did.

She also got me a really nice cooking pot as a birthday gift.  It's green!! and really, really nice. 

And the perfect size. 

I'll use it all the time. It's my new favorite!!!!

This was very thoughtful of her and I love it.

I went to my egg tempera class and made good progress on my painting.  It is a portrait of Daya and I'll post it along with progress shots, whenever it is finished... I'm not in a rush on this one.

I love the egg tempera class and it has been a wonderful learning experience; I feel so expanded already just in these last 2 months.

Then there was a birthday-pumpkin carving Sharknado party at the boathouse.

Sharknado 2 is all about NYC and it might be one of the best movies ever made.

It IS missing rats (subway and inflatable union) and there was no mention of if alternate-side parking was suspended (everyone needs to know), but we'll forgive them because Al Roker.

It's free on Amazon Prime, go watch it.

I carved a Sharknado pumpkin:

Birthday table.

I said to Kedrin the T isnt crossed... she said it's boathouse-style mental-interactivity.

This makes sense to me and I love it.

This is an accidental picture and I think all these kayaks look like Sharknados!!!!!

My puppy snuggling on the beanbag chair....

Kedrin made a Reign pumpkin, it's all the way at the bottom left.

Please notice that Frankie's EMT pumpkin is strategically placed next to my Sharknado pumpkin.

Boathouse peeps + dog

Hector Martin Kedrin Bitz Reign Me Frankie

Statue of Liberty Plein Air & Howling Kayaks

Today was the annual Downtown Boathouse volunteer picnic on Governors Island.

It is so pretty there and the weather was absolutely perfect.

I seriously considered not bringing paint but just couldn't go without.

The picnic was great, it was nice to see my boathouse friends, and I did a painting:

8x10 oil

I brought my Belly River box today.

Here are some cool pics from around Governors Island:

That is the top of the World Trade Center peeking up in the next 2 pictures.

After the picnic about 6 of us went back to the boathouse and since the weather was so nice, we went on a Very Unplanned Trip up to the new Gansevoort Beach!

I was not prepared for a paddle but no one else was either and we still did just fine.

It was so good to be on the water- I thought I was done until next year!

There was a full moon and we howled at it.

The Kayak landing to the beach is awful... well, it's an adventure.

I decided whoever deigned it has a personal vendetta against kayakers.

If you have ever been on a Log Flume at an amusement park, that's exactly what it's like except you can tip over really easily (no one did tho) and you will get soaking wet.

Martin said bring shoes for the beach, which wasn't great advice because of the sand and the log flume landing.  Andrew didnt have shoes so in boathouse-style fashion, he made a pair.

(It turned out he didn't bring them bit now we have a pair of original designer boathouse footwear, modeled by Bitz.)

__PRESENT__PRESENT

Painting with Sid

Today Sid came to visit again and paint in Central Park.

It's always good to see him.

Here is my painting, 8x10 oil

I haven't been plein airing since August and I'm rusty.