Updates, Highlights

I‘m back. It’s been a very busy month and I have many updates. Probably the one thing that has and will affect me most is I’ve been able to resign from my weekend job. I now have a weekday job that I am getting acclimated to. As a result, I have had very little access to the internet for about a month especially during the day. Still, given the current economy, I am grateful for this new daily opportunity.

As for the artistic side of my life, I was totally psyched to be able to contribute to the Paterson Art Walk again this year held in Paterson, NJ (of course) on June 12th. The exhibit was, once again, amazing. My little part of it, however, was a bit disappointing, turns out, to the end of location. I had a prime spot (lobby!) in an air conditioned building on Spruce Street on the edge of town right off the elevator. In addition to the lobby painting I was able to hang, I had set up my photography pieces and additional paintings on tables in the main room under the perfect lighting of a skylight. I showcased my Paterson Falls painting on an easel for easy viewing as you entered the spacious room. Trouble is I had few visitors. Someone wrote in my book that my location and the floor I was on, wasn’t advertised. But that was not the case. I rechecked and found it *had* been printed on the flyer. Such is life. At least I had the chance to reconnect with some college friends I don’t get to visit with so often. I learned a lot and that is very important to me.

As usual, I am glued to the news. For the first time in a long time I heard that the economy is picking up somewhat. Whether or not this is true is yet to be seen and felt. I know this is good news for all of us. We need more jobs, we need more people working!

Don’t get me started on the oil spill. Forgive BP? Give me one good reason why we should. I cannot fathom what the spill is doing to our environment and it pains me to even think about it. It made me laugh when I heard that private owners of BP gas stations are being adversely affected by this and that it’s not their fault. It may not be their fault, but it is still BP gas. If BP execs had the will and foresight to embark on such an endeavor 5,000 feet under our precious sea, it is my strong opinion that they should have had a Plan B, Plan C, and even a Plan D in the works in case of such an incident. The whole mind set and situation is deplorable. Greed will kill you. I feel for all the workers who lost their lives because someone didn’t give a damn about the safety of the facility and its workers. I also feel for the people whose livelihoods were destroyed by this event.

LeBron James(sp?). Enough is enough. The media is way too focused on this event.

Real Housewives of New York and New Jersey. I usually don’t get too involved in reality shows. In fact, this is probably my first. I can’t relate to most of them and I have enough going on in my own life that I view them as tiring. Don’t ask me why, but I got involved in the New York version and really was entertained by it. I found myself getting to “know” the women of New York, how they lived and how different their lifestyles were from mine. Having exhibited my artwork there in the last few years, I was enjoying becoming more familiar with the city via this show. When the New Jersey area came out, I found that even more interesting. These are places I know, I’ve traveled, and some I am familiar with. One thing I have found sort of comforting is that among a group of four or five women, there is always one who is set apart from the rest by her erratic behavior. In New York it’s Kelly. In New Jersey it’s Danielle. I find that both enlightening and amusing. Human behavior in various situations has been of interest to me for many years. The way different personalities interact with each other and how any given situation may be construed as casual and non-threatening to one and blown out of proportion to another has always intrigued me. By the way, my favorite person is Caroline from New Jersey. She’s not only very attractive, but she seems to have a pretty good head on her shoulders. I like the manner in which she handles most any situation. A little note here: While watching the marriage portion of “Bethany Gets Married” (Housewives of New York), much to my surprise, I bawled through the whole thing. The woman’s had a rough beginning, a tough family life, she’s strong, successful, and beautiful, and she’s waited a long time for “Mr. Right” to come along. Mazel tov.

Next Great Artist on Bravo. By my estimation, there’s some pretty interesting artistic work and ideas going on there. It’s like being in class again, only now I get to watch others work. The critiques are always the most useful. The artists tend to let their egos emerge but I guess that’s just good TV and, I suppose, sleep deprivation. It reinforces the fact that I’m glad I commuted to college rather than living in a dorm.

So many updates

I just typed a bunch of stuff only to hit the exclamation point and have it obliterated. Am I angry? ugh!

I have to return to this later.

Paterson Art Walk

Come visit the Paterson Art Walk tomorrow, Saturday, June 12th.
10am - 10PM
Begins at Federici Park, Cianci Street

I am exhibiting some of my paintings and photographs at the NJCDC building (#7 on the map), 32 Spruce Street, 3rd floor lobby, also in the room under the skylight. It's air-conditioned and there's an elevator. It's a beautiful location.

There are various artists exhibiting throughout the city.

Come visit me!

Best,
Ginny ;)

Writing Skills - Important to Note

I have strong skills within technical writing and communication, and have scanned, transcribed, and proofread medical press releases for a medical journals at Knolls Publishing Group, a small business firm that was sold to a larger company. I have transcribed legal documentation for law firms and set up technical manuals with coding for computer language to streamline repetitive keystrokes for the administration.  I have also lent my transcription services to manufacturing professionals and actuarials. My services were performed during a time in which document retention was not the simple task it is today. Indeed, I regret not having retained hard copies of most of my medical work as an editorial assistant.

Note: My transcription work went into medical journals including dermatology, oncology, and managed care.  

 

Anniversary - 9 years!

Nine years ago yesterday, May 26, 2010, Ken and I made a commitment to each other in front of family, friends, and God. It's been wedded bliss ever since!

(I know this really doesn't fit in with the "Opportunity & Technology," but until I can figure out how to create and edit another heading, it'll just have to stay put.

Same goes for the American Idol commentary. :) I *do* have a light side, as well.)

American Idol

Last night's American Idol was a mix of talent and emotions for me. I thought Janet Jackson rocked! Her talent is vast and her choreography Rocked! She made me miss Michael even more. I didn't care for Christina's choice of songs, but her voice is very good and she looked presentable - sexy but not ridiculous. Gotta give the "Pants on the Ground" fellow (name not on the tip of my tongue) credit, too. I really like the song. It speaks to my strong dislike of the underwear-hanging-out-of-the-pants fad - and the guy's in good physical shape. Personally, I thought Paula's tribute to Simon was too long with too many wide gaps in between. Made me uncomfortable for her. That was embarrassing. I'm finding the comments on Facebook pretty interesting. I enjoyed Chicago then and now, Joe Cocker, too. Hall and Oates could've chosen better songs from their repertoire, but they were still good. That's it for now.

Congrats to Lee! I still LOVE Crystal Bowersox!! She rocks, too! I particularly love the Janis Joplin flavor she brings. I loved JJ, too.

A little background

I've had a series of crises in my life since approximately late 2003 when I was told (under rather dubious circumstances) that my brother was ill. Really ill. I discovered he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He was the oldest of the four of us, which included two elder sisters. God rest his soul, he was a lifetime smoker and I guess it had finally taken its toll on him. But don't be fooled by that news. I have known other people who never smoked and succumbed to lung cancer. The news about my brother was essentially the beginning of my "crisis" state. During that time, a maternal cousin of mine had lost her battle with a brain tumor. I spent many summers down south with this cousin in my teen years and to say this affected me greatly is an understatement.

Just months after that, and during the "digestion" of the news about my brother, I received another phone call. My maternal aunt, Mom's only remaining sibling, had died of congestive heart failure. Wow. Since we were separated by many states, I wasn't privy to all the details. So picture this. The situation is such now that three family members were at my doorstep delivering tragic news. Mind you, my mother, by this time in her 80s, was dealing with health issues of her own. Concurrently, I had been an active student at community college studying and preparing for my Associate in Applied Science degree in Graphic Design. The stress level had really mounted. Being in the "meat" of my discipline by now, I wound up having to extend some courses through the summer, but graduated in May of 2004, with Honors, just days after my brother's service. Life was certainly beginning to show me a series of emotional situations, bad tempered with good. Ken and I decided that advancing to university-level studies would be a positive thing for me. I was accepted to William Paterson University, and in the fall of 2004 started my studies.

Mom had been receiving excellent home care for 11 months when the money ran out. In early 2005, faced with another difficult decision, she had to be put in a nursing home. She subsequently passed on in the summer less than a week before my finals. During her stay there, necessity dictated that Ken and I also look to purchase a house. If you're thinking that it's going to calm down for me soon, think again. We settled on a house and closed about 10 days after my mother's funeral. Even though this may sound like a soap opera, this is all real and true! Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

Several months pass and we're now into the summer of 2006. This time, I get news that an aunt on my father's side was diagnosed with another form of cancer. She was the last surviving blood member of that generation. It wasn't long before I was at her wake, as well. Literally just weeks after her passing, my sister Margaret announced she had breast cancer. None of us will ever know when she discovered the problem. She called her daughters/my nieces from the hospital the morning of the day she decided she couldn't control the bleeding and needed special attention to tell them. SUPER HUGE WOW. For all of us! Margaret may have literally been my sister, but she was figuratively my mother. From as far back as I can remember, we always shared a special closeness. Hence, this occasion was monumentally devastating to me. The minor aspects of this event were what caused me to, once again, extend four university-level classes into another semester, and adding on four additional classes. I wound up having to take an eight-class semester the Spring of 2007. All things considered, it was nothing short of atrocious.