A door & a long line & sunset

I wasn't allowed to take a picture of Daya's room, understandable since nothing was put together yet, and I hope she sends more pictures.

In the meantime, she did send a picture of her door.

It is a well-decorated door, except that it is missing Bob.

I let Daya know about this oversight.

After all, Bob basically got Daya into Juilliard.

(At the interview she was asked about an inspiring movie and hers was... What About Bob..)

*******

This week is the last weekday shifts of the public program.

Not many volunteers signed up, so I figured I'd go down and help out.

I spent the whole shift on patrol, and it was a good thing because otherwise everyone would have gotten stuck out of bounds against the wall. It was a harder patrol job than I thought it would be, but I got a lot of good exercise!

We had good clouds.

LOOK AT THIS LINE omg...

This photo was taken at 6:15pm, last boats should go out at 7, sunset was 7:38.

With the help we had for the shift plus the length of this line, this is about an hour and a half line.

I was SO GLAD I was not Keyholder responsible for making the decisions...

But if I was, I would have wrist-banded the whole line right at the start and avoided this altogether.

S didn't want to do that though, and since he was keyholder I said ok, I'm going on patrol.

At 7:18 there was still a LONG line with 20 minutes until sunset, and we tell people to stay out for 20 minutes.

I paddled to the dock and told S... hey, sunset is in 20 mins, we can't put all these people in line on the water.

I said I'm not going to be on the water with the public after sunset, it's not safe.

And I'm glad I wasn't the one who had to tell the many people who had been waiting that they couldn't go on the water.

I did, however, clear out the embayment nicely because I'm good at that.

Back to Juilliard

Daya was in Vancouver for three weeks dancing, and she landed yesterday after a very long voyage.
We went to Target to get stuff for her dorm room- she has a single this year. It's nice, and I hope she is happy and comfortable there. It's her senior year already!

She got me a present in Vancouver.

Wow!

She: I have to declare it at customs.
Me: is it... CHEESE???
She: No! I'm not carrying around stinky cheese for 24 hours!

Me: Not all cheeses are stinky....

She got me a wonderful handmade soap and honeys specifically made to pair with different teas!

How perfect is that!

I said to Daya... the jars can also be used for egg tempera pigments...

She said yeah, I thought of that too!

!!!!!

I'm surprised she thought of it to be honest... I'll have to tell Doug!

Here are some Juilliard dorm pics... I was not allowed to take a pic of her room.

The dorms are very nice. There is a double room in her suite that is REALLY nice- way nicer than the other doubles she has been in. Her single room is small but nice, it's laid out in a good way.

1.50 to wash! WOW!

I have these same washers in my building but it costs 2.90 to wash and 2.90 to dry.
This is the ONLY thing at Juilliard that is less expensive.

Nice common area:

Judged in The Ramble

The weather FINALLY decided to be nice!

After work, I went to Central Park to paint. 

It's time to really start doing that.

Central Park is always crowded in nice weather, but it's much worse on the weekends.

I didn't mean to, but I ended up in The Ramble.

I wandered around looking for a painting, and I found it... I also found the Squirrel of Judgement, who was extremely judgmental.

Daya was texting me as I walked around.

I sent her the Squirrel so she could also feel judged.

Then I found the painting and settled into my spot.

8x10 oil

Daya wanted me to put an easter egg in the painting- I asked what... and she decided on a squirrel with a tiny top hat, since I was unwilling to put Cartman from South Park in, and it wasn't a pigeon kind of place.

Here is the Squirrel of Judgement:

I finished the painting right around sunset, so I got to walk back through the park at dusk.

It was so pretty.... the pictures don't do it justice at all.

View from Bow Bridge, looking east.

This picture just doesn't capture the magic of dusk in Central Park.... you have to go in person.

The lights in the buildings were all glowy. 

It would make a nice painting and I'll probably have to do it.

Thingamingy, Charcoal Chimney, MIPDANIO, & Juilliard

I haven't updated my blog for a while....and I haven't been out painting for a while.

Hopefully that will change soon. I was thinking to go out early this morning, before I meet Janae and Kedrin for Daya's performance at Juilliard... but it's 32 degrees/feels like 17 and I would have to get out the door.... I don't feel like dealing with the cold.

So, even though I haven't been plein airing, things are busy.

I'm very busy at work.

Last Saturday officially started spring cleaning at the boathouse.  It's kind of gross in there, but it is less gross now.

We are doing inventory for boat repair, sessions go through April.

We started a tagging system on the deck boats to see what each one needs.

I wrote the tags in good Boathouse style:

Andrew did a good job cleaning the wood shop:

Ghost and Everton visited.

"Random Stuff"... at least it is contained now.

I SANITIZED the washroom and the bathroom.

The boathouse bathroom gets gross because several people have no etiquette.

I clean the bathroom regularly, because it's less-gross to me if I know I have cleaned it properly.

The floor looks terrible, we have to figure out the right paint for it, but this bathroom is CLEAN.

*********

On our last camping trip, we were looking for a large coffee tin we could use as a charcoal chimney.

Doug to the rescue!

He always makes coffee in egg tempera class, and on Sunday he used the last of this nice huge tin and asked if anyone wants it.

Yes please, the Boathouse wants it!

So now we have a charcoal chimney for camping.

That was very convenient.

*********

On Monday, we had the VHF radio class.

The Coast Guard Auxilliary usually teaches it. I took the class a couple years ago, it was good.

However, the coast guard cancelled last-minute and Martin ended up teaching it.

He did a good job.

Our favorite acronym is now MIPDANIO, which is the mayday protocol.

******

Spring Dances is this week!

That means Daya is on stage.

I went Thursday, and I'm going again this afternoon.

Here is a picture of me and Daya.

We haven't taken a picture together for YEARS, which is sad... but I'm glad to now have a good, recent picture of us.

She was amazing on stage, of course.

********

So, we have a few more days of March left.

I kind of wish I could jump over April and wake up in May, but April should be a good month.

My calendar is filling up- all my weekends are booked!

I'll be cat-sitting for Sharon, then a camping trip, then lots of boathouse repair/cleaning stuff, egg tempera class, the hotline, and I'll really start painting after work. 

I feel behind in my plein air work- it isn't a good feeling.

Anyhow, I have a lot going on but it's all nice stuff.

I'll get a proper amount of painting in soon.

Adulting & a Met Opera Audition

Daya sure had a day today!

I might have to remind her of today and how amazing it was and how it showed how amazing she is.

****** 

We had a really good chat in the morning, just about how she's doing with some financial stuff.

She is doing extraordinarily well.  

Although she was not thinking this at all, I definitely see it and I put things in perspective for her.

In some ways, she is- and kind of always has been- ahead of her peers in basic life skills.

Unfortunately that does create a social gap for her.

It'll close as everyone gets older.

She asked me to keep something for her, to help her manage her head, and I said no.

It's the kind of thing where maybe a lot of moms would say yes and do it, because it would be helpful short-term, and it would have no impact on me at all.

But I said no.

And this is important because if I said yes and took a difficulty away, she would not learn how to keep her own balance.

She cannot depend on me-- or anyone else-- to keep her balance.

I will help with resources and structure to help her learn and keep balance, but she has to learn it.

And that takes some practice.  Now is the time in her life to do it, before she enters fully into the adult world.

Daya is a baby-adult right now.

She is an adult, yes, but I told her she has training wheels on.

I told her this is right and appropriate, she should have adult training wheels on, and she will for a few more years probably.

She got it.

And ultimately, because Daya is Daya, she won't settle for depending on anyone else for things she should do for herself. She requires autonomy; she won't stand for anything less.

I know this and I respect it, so I said no to a short-term comfort so she can learn and practice.

******

This afternoon, Daya auditioned for the Met Opera.

There is a 900-person waitlist to get an audition there.

The director of Juilliard Dance got her in.

So, Daya just stepped right over 900 people sitting on a waitlist hoping for a chance.

She told me all about the audition, which was really cool to hear about from her perspective.

There were 40 people in her group.

Of those 40, she said only about 10 would be seriously considered, and of those 10, 5 are Juilliard people.

Daya knows she blew everyone out of the room in that audition, and she knows why.

She does things differently, deliberately. They are small and subtle but make a huge difference.

She listens. She observes VERY carefully. 

She says a lot of people don't, which I find surprising at that level.

She said they'll say at the audition what they want to see.

They might say they want to see you as a dancer- which is more individual artistic interpretation, or they want to see technique.

They wanted to see technique.

Daya has technique out the wazoo and she knows it so she gave them technique.

She also knows she went to an audition where there are no available contracts right now.

That means all these people are auditioning (and waiting) for something with no openings.

It has something to do with a legal obligation to renew existing contracts.

But life changes and she said there is no way they don't offer her a contract at some point, but she doesn't really care whatever happens.

She said it was good for strangers to see her and it was a great experience.

*******

Before the audition, Daya went back to high school and took class at LaGuardia.

They like when she visits. 

It's also half a block from Juilliard- very convenient.

LaG Dance is a very, very special place and I'm glad she still has that access and support.

Tadej told me at winter dance showcase this year that they don't see enough of her. 

She took ballet class with the high school kids, which I think is fantastic because of the osmosis which is very real.  It's good for the kids to have her there as well. 

As it turned out, her good friend and mentor George from Manhattan Youth Ballet was subbing for the class, and he is a strong and good connection for her.  

Also he has connections from dancing at the Met Opera. Nice coincidence there.

Astoundingly, 6 out of 7 of my dance paintings from 2023 are still on display outside the dance office!!

My favorite one isn't there, maybe it sold.

They were supposed to be a fundraiser for LaG Dance.

I like that they are still there on display.

It's a nice feeling.

Wicked

Daya is on spring break this week and next.

She gets spring break in winter, it's very early!

Juilliard Drama offered tickets to Wicked, and Daya asked me if I want to go.

Yes, of course!

It was a great show, the staging and general performance were fantastic.

And it was nice to have a good evening with Daya.

I always get lost at Juilliard.

Daya invited me to attend the Juilliard Dance workshops.

She danced one group dance last night, and a solo- from The Long Dark again!! tonight.

I love seeing the kids at Juilliard.

I love the focus and atmosphere.

Juilliard feels..... very unique.

I still get lost going from the elevator to the theater on the third floor.

So, this time I took the stairs but I still got lost.

Thankfully, Juilliard is tiny and also basically a circle so I got out eventually.

This is the inside of the big glass dance studio that faces the street.

It's all covered, I guess they don't want onlookers tonight.

COWS

WE ARE GETTING A BLIZZARD TOMORROW!

*********

Daya sent me a text earlier.

She has been obsessed with Cream of Wheat, and she ate the 2 boxes I just brought her (with the tuna) already.

She calls it COWS.

I did have to go out to the store before the storm, and I looked for COWS for Daya.

Daya hates pop-tarts, she has since forever, even when she was a little kid she hated pop-tarts.

We both think Cream of Wheat is much better and more important than pop-tarts.

We both know no one else agrees with us.

There are other good things, too!

Here is an amazing story!

Last weekend when I was camping, Anthia and I were talking about phones and how long we keep them and how that gets difficult after a long time because of space issues etc. (We can't update anymore without extreme difficulty.)

Daya and I have iPhone 11s, from 2019.

I got our phones when she started high school!

Now she's in her third year of college.

(We had our previous phones, iPhone 6sPlus, from 5th grade to high school)

So, since middle school, Daya and I have each had 2 phones.

Our current phones are pre-covid!

Many things about this are great- it's more environmentally sustainable and also it's very financially smart. Both devices were paid off years ago, and I'm on a legacy phone plan that I want to keep forever because I will not get the service I have for the current price anymore, anywhere.

Daya and I keep our phones until they become obsolete.

We could not care less about having the latest and greatest.

So Anthia and I were talking about this, and she said she used to do the same thing and then she got tired of the difficulties it caused. I have been very stuck on not wanting to change my phone plan, which I have always had to do when switching phones. She decided it's ok for life to be easier and she said something that hit me in an important way:

There are other good things too.

I needed to hear that. That statement is the opposite of scarcity mindset!

So I knew I would be dealing with the phones sooner rather than later.

And of course, a few days later, Daya told me she busted her screen, badly!

I just laughed internally, because I knew it's time to do something about the phones and now it's really time!

But I didn't want to make any quick decisions; it's time to see options and have a think.

I told Daya to go to Apple and see how much the repair is, but don't do anything.

$200.

Ok, but I also have device protection thru my carrier which will probably cover screen replacement at no charge.  

So Daya and I went to the T Mobile store after class today.

Yes the insurance will cover her phone repair.

But I need to do something about the phones and upgrading.

Turns out that they won't force me to change my legacy plan!

The nice T-Mobile person said in my place he would just go to Apple, get the phones we want, and they'll take care of everything at the Apple store.

I can get us new phones and stay on my plan!  WHOA! That's... EXACTLY what I wanted!

*********

Daya gets a ridiculous amount of money to attend Juilliard.

She has this astounding superpower of getting people to give her money or waive payment obligations.  I don't know how she does it.

We got a grant for Juilliard this year which neither of us knew about before, and the end result is it made my outstanding balance..... in the context of college... almost nothing.

I tried to pay the Juilliard bill the first half of December but I didn't know the right balance.

Then Daya wrote her dumb note and I just left that Juilliard bill alone.

Then when Daya came back from South Africa, right at the start of the semester, there was a medical event (she's ok) and Daya was overnight in the hospital. 

Then we were talking again and I gave her a check.

But Juilliard wouldn't take it.

Juilliard scrounged up yet more scholarship money for her and just.... covered her outstanding balance.

But there was a medical bill which was a few hundred more than the tuition payment.

Daya asked- since that money was already out the door- if she could use it to pay the medical bill.

I said yes. (See note above about giving her money, it's like being in a tractor beam)

************

THEN TODAY as we were going to T-Mobile she said the hospital financial aid covered the whole bill and she never touched that tuition money.

!!!!

So we went to Apple and we both got iPhone 17 Pros, which we will keep until they are obsolete.

I purchased both devices outright. It came out to $200 more than the tuition payment, so I told Daya to send me the $200 and we'll call it done. (I think she should kick in a little for her phone- she's an adult and working. And $200 for what she got is nothing!)

So I kept my current phone plan- my monthly bill stays the same! 

We got 2 nice new iPhones purchased outright with money that was already out the door but kept coming back, which leaves me in an overall financial sense having paid nothing for 2 brand new phones which are a very needed and sustainable Life Upgrade for many years.

It's really quite amazing how everything worked out!

Goodbye iPhone 11, thank you for all those years of excellent service!

Deep Winter Hibernating

I have been hibernating.

All of January and so far all of February.

This hibernation period will likely last at least through the end of this month, maybe a little bit into March.

It is deep winter right now.

Time to settle, rest, shift, recalibrate, regenerate.

I am shifting and regenerating.

Overall, I feel amazing inside and out, and I am thoroughly enjoying this short hibernation phase.

It's a very special time and I will look back at it fondly with appreciation.

It makes sense to come into hibernation after last year.

Last year was very intense, and a rest and recalibration is good.

I have been doing very deep inner work, every day.

I feel like I am exactly where I need to be, doing exactly what I need to be doing, preparing internally to go wherever I am supposed to go. 

I feel so good. 

And that's very intentional, it's not an unknown random thing.

I need to do this inner work, and while I am doing all the things I need to do like work, the hotline, maintaining my apartment, and also keeping in touch with friends, I feel like I'm in a nice safe bubble of time and space that is exactly what I need to germinate new seeds.

It's a little weird because I am mostly home alone all the time, sometimes for days without going out, yet I don't feel isolated or lonely. This time is so calm and peaceful and I'm finding things deep in my psyche that are saying it's time to shift to new growth. 

This deep winter hibernation is wonderful.

It's like a long ongoing meditation.

And when it ends, whenever that is, I will be ready for it to end.

***********

Daya and I are fine, right back to how things are supposed to be.

If she ever writes another stupid no contact note, I'm going to have trouble taking it seriously.

We are not even a month into the Juilliard semester and she has needed stuff from home, food, and yesterday her phone screen broke so I'm helping her with that too.

Being a parent is REALLY WEIRD, even when your kid is an adult.

***********

As of today, I haven't painted for almost 2 weeks.

That's a long time for me.

I think the painting part of me also needs to hibernate and rest.

Between weather and schedule, plein air painting has not been possible yet this year.

That's why going to class is good, it keeps me painting even if I'm not painting at home or outdoors.

I do have a commission that's been hanging over me but it's not coming out right. 

Dru helped, said it's not that bad, and I haven't touched it since.  

It should be an easy painting but I also can't really paint right now.

Even in class the painting I'm working on is currently a bit of a slog... but it doesn't matter. 

There is no time limit on it, no deadline.

I would like to get that commission done and shipped, but I also want it to be good, and I can't paint right now so it has to wait.

Last year I did 59 plein air paintings... plus whatever studio work. 

FIFTY NINE!

That's a LOT. 

My internal painting systems have shut down for internal maintenance.

This does happen, it's ok.

The weather is now paintable weather, and I'm planning to get out tomorrow and start 2026 plein airing.

This will hopefully get my painting engines starting up again.

And if they don't, that's also ok because I am still hibernating after all.

The last plein air I did was Dec 27.

So this is a month and a half plein air break- it might be enough.

I'll find out tomorrow if I have my flow back or not.

**********

Here are some hibernating cat pictures.

2 out of 3 cats are mostly hibernating too.

Guess who isn't hibernating but I wish she would?

Pebbles.

Of course it's Pebbles.

Tuna Wars

Daya is having a fight with the Juilliard cafeteria.

Over tuna fish and the container she puts it in.

It's a meal plan thing... they are charging her for having 2 meals instead of one.

This isn't good because Daya is going to run out of meals if she's being charged double every day.

She also has a points balance as part of the meal plan, because not everything in the cafeteria counts towards the meal plan. I don't fully understand it, my college meal plan was different- it covered everything, even non-food items in the Pratt convenience store. Like prismacolor markers.

Yes I got a set of them from my meal plan Freshman year and using the full meal plan was actually pretty difficult.

Not today at Juilliard....

I was in the office today and got this text, again:

I got tired of the whole thing.

It's stupid and petty and ridiculous.

And also that is NOT $8 worth of tuna and that's what I have zero tolerance for.

A double-size can at Costco comes out to $1.45/can, double the size of a standard grocery store can.

Yes the cafeteria is being stupid but they do have the authority to make stupid rules and also enforce them. Fighting is a losing situation and it's escalating.

So Daya is in conflict and also hungry, and that's not good so I went to Costco and spent $105 on six cases of tuna fish.

I wanted to know if she needed anything else.....

Yeah, the pantry doesn't magically restock, I thought this was funny.

So I got my camping backpack out and loaded it up with 72 cans of tuna and a few other things.

The trekking pole helps with the stairs in the subway.

Camping gear repurposed!

Inside the Juilliard dorm.....

The dorm floors are small and no one locks their doors.

I have been told it's the same key for every door anyhow, which I think is super weird but that's how Juilliard rolls. No one locks their dorm room.

I was not allowed to take pictures of Daya's room, but I asked if I could take a picture of the view and she said yes.

She also has some good signage:

Coming down the escalator from the dorm, we get a direct view of LaGuardia High School.