A list of what's been happening in these parts:
For the second installment of my forthcoming June show at Place PDX, I'm in the process of procuring dictionaries, encyclopedias, phone books, notebooks, old letters, junk mail, maps, mixed tapes, manuals, take out menus, paper bills, and written on post-it notes to create a tactile version of the internet. The first part of this show titled A Short History of a Browser where I hand-drafted my daily web usage for a month was finished on April 30th. The concept behind the show is largely about my reliance to the internet. Lots of questions have come up in this process: How have I changed since I started using the web? How has my communication with others shifted? How has my body adapted to sitting for long periods of time or looking down at a cell phone screen? How am I retaining information that I read on the web as opposed to reading printed matter? How much time am I spending on the web and what am I looking at? What sites do I visit more frequently and why am I drawn to visiting them? Most importantly I've asked myself, how I can use the internet more mindfully?
I'm feeling nostalgic for the tactile. For real mail and conversations that involve live eyeballs. There are many conveniences to the web. The ability to skype with friends and family around the world, the quickness in which I can find an answer to a simple question, sharing information, the sometimes revolutionary moments on facebook and the fantastic people I have been connected with and been able to get back in touch with because of social media. But there is a heavy undertone of emptiness in this experience because of the way I use it. All that said, my relationship with the web now involves loads of checking in with myself.
I came down with tonsilitus last week. Swallowing a walnut was like swallowing glass and my voice sounded like a burly hog, which was actually sort of sexy. This was my 6th (or maybe 7th) random illness over the last three months. But according to my doctor, it's totally normal for a breastfeeding mother of a toddler who brings home all kinds of yuck from daycare. Funtimes.
Thanks to my manchowder, the garden is flourishing. We have miner's lettuce, beet greens, arugula, Russian kale, and mustard greens every day!
Grandpa Ben is in a rehabilitation center in New Jersey. A couple of weeks ago he was taking the trash out at around 10 pm and fell. My poor grandpa is a slight Sicilian man who probably weighs no more than 98 pounds at this point. He was bruised badly and caught pneumonia in the emergency room. Grandma Dot has been so stressed and worried about her spouse of nearly 70 years that she too fell ill and was rushed to the emergency room. Grandma Dot is better now, but Grandpa Ben is still out of sorts. I wish I could be there for you grandpa and grandma! Dang it. New Jersey is too far away...
Grandma Dot's Hands