This may be one of my last paintings with any green in it, we are moved to the desert now.   The new house is still a mess of flooring and bath changes, painting, etc.  I do have a prospective painting area with good north light which will expand the hours I can paint.  Not that I expect to use the extra hours.  I’m too attached to my habit of pissing away time of any value.

I’m operating at a estimated 1.7% efficiency.   If it weren’t for my nanosecond attention span I expect I could get a lot of shit done.

Example:

Got milk from fridge for coffee.  Pick up scrap of paper on floor on way to coffee cup.  Start for garbage can in garage to toss scrap.  Open garage door and see golf cart.  This reminds me to connect it for a charge.  Then I look out the door and see mail box across street.  Reminds me to pick up mail.  Go in house to get key.  I get key then have to pee.  Go to bathroom, leave both key and scrap.  Did remember to pee so not all of my memory has been damaged.   Walk across street to mailbox.  Damn where is the key?  Oh ya, left it by the coffee cup.  Nope, DAMN IT, my wife has put the keys in some obscure spot AGAIN.  I’ve told her a thousand times to put it in the drawer by the door but nooo she can’t remember that simple act.  If she weren’t visiting the neighbor I’d kick the slats out of her.   Now what was I doing?  Oh ya I left that scrap of paper by the toilet.  I will get that taken care of right now.   Hmmn that’s strange what are the mail box keys doing here?  Oh well, I’ll get the mail.  Well nuts, there is too much mail for me to carry with this milk carton in my hand.  I better return it to the frig before it goes bad……

Thirty minutes later … phooey my coffee’s cold, I’ll heat it in the microwave and while it’s heating I’ll get some milk from the frig.  Don’t understand why my wife doesn’t think I can’t multitask.

We are in limbo in a move to AZ.  Most of belongings and all furniture are gone.  Only us left, sleeping on floor feeling age every time we creak up.   I decided to do some small studies for future larger pieces.   Most of my oil paints were packed and shipped so I would do watercolors.   Christ!! I forgot how unforgiving watercolor is.  You must think and plan for a successful watercolor; neither of which I do well.  I don’t know where I’m going during a painting much less beforehand.  And when I’m done I  don’t know where I’ve been thus preventing me from learning for future work.

I had a new plastic palette which I didn’t prepare.  The water would bead up so tightly I couldn’t get it to mix.  The brush would soak up all the color at once and palette would be stark white.  I remembered having this problem years ago but could not remember why.  Screw it, I went back to oil.   Painted directly over the watercolor.  Paper is not my favorite painting surface but it was all I had not counting the walls of the sold house.

Ok, enough about painting let’s get to my real rant:

I called Shell to give them a change of address.  Then I thought why not do paperless via email,  where a change of address would not matter.   A male service rep told me they did not have my full social security or my birth date.  Note that I did give him the last 4 of social, address, and card number to verify identity at start of call.  He took my new info and said he had to verify it.  15 minutes go by on hold, then phone call drops.   I call back and get a female rep.  Repeat the info and she say she has to verify and leaves me hanging for 10 minutes.  When she came back I ask what the devil took so long.  She said she was talking to her supervisor and they need for me to send a photocopy of my social security card and my driver’s license via land mail.   I responded – Fuck you close the account!  (on the inside) What came out was, “please close the account now, and do you realize I have had that card and used and paid it every month for 40 YEARS.”    I’m astounded at the greed for information that is not relevant for a business agreement.   I’ve never had any company ask for photocopy of social and driver’s license. What the hell is wrong with these people?  I felt like I was on a phishing call.

Whoa, I have not posted in a long time!  I must paint faster in the future.

Thank you all for your supportive words.  They are appreciated.

This country woman looks sort of lonely to me.  She is waiting for rain, her lawn is a little scruffy and she has a radish patch out back that is dry.  I probably would be lonely too. painting all by myself, but I have my companion, Mango.

While I paint Mango surfs the net – “Looking for fine bitches”, he tells me.  When I told him to watch his language, he replied, “Get a dictionary grandpa.  Oh, never mind, you are too old and I’m busy skyping this little beauty.”

I’ve got to get back to painting now.  If I can finish another one this year that will be two, and in a row mind you.