Tues. March 18, 2025: Like Pieces of a Puzzle
image courtesy of Džoko Stach via pixabay.comTuesday, March 18, 2025
Waning Moon
Venus & Mercury Retrograde
Partly cloudy and cold
I hope you had a great weekend. Here we are, in another week, with two retrogrades. Hang on.
It’s 27 degrees this morning, supposed to hit the mid-50’s today, and then be in the 60’s tomorrow. We are officially in both mud season and what is fondly called around here, “the Pothole Olympics.”
If you didn’t get a chance to read it yesterday, the Community Tarot Reading for the Week is available on the Cerridwen’s Cottage site.
Friday was a lovely, sunny day. I did the rounds of elected officials. I did a big library drop off/pick up. I went to the grocery store for a few things. I swung by the post office to mail bills and cards. I picked up a bottle of wine. I deposited a check in the bank.
While I’m delighted with last month’s royalties, the royalites were more than the script coverage work, which is always a little disconcerting. But yay, me, I guess, since it means sales are steadily growing — WITHOUT ads on FB or Amazon.
I turned around a small coverage in the afternoon, and read a bit on the porch. Cooked dinner, relaxed in the evening.
Saturday morning, I did some household chores, but I was up and out the door by 9 AM for the Representation & the Public Record all-day seminar at MASS MoCA. In true Mercury Retrograde fashion, I wasn’t on the printout of attendees, but I had printed out my ticket. So they just added me to the list, and it was all good.
The program was “Representation & the Public Record.” Lisa Dent, the Director of Public Programming at the museum, put it together, and it was a terrific day. Nate Young & Steve Locke talked about how their research fed into the work in the Like Magic and the fire next time exhibits. Steve’s lovely dog George was also a part of the day. Heather Hart talked about the Black Lunch Table, and how it’s evolved since its inception.
I grabbed some fries at Big Daddy’s Philly Steak house on campus. Sadly, my arrival there coincided with that of a group of noisy 8-year-olds and the adult chaperones who dumped them outside the Steak House, but went to Bright Ideas for liquor. I mean, I’m sure they needed it, but I was looking for quiet, and there was really no place else to be, since the picnic tables aren’t yet out for the season. But I survived.
After lunch, Mariam Ghani and Chitra Ganesh talked about their Index of the Disappeared Archive, and about how what was once hidden because it was not normal is now celebrated by the current regime. Jeffrey Gibson and Jami Powell talked about indigenous creatives, ceremony, and self-definition. I keep returning to Jeffrey’s current installation at MASS MoCA because I get something different from it each time I return. Bilal Ansari and Harryson Ferreira then did a presentation on how the black community of White Oaks in Williamstown was erased, and the KKK presence – centered in the white Congregational church. And the work they are doing to have those spaces memorialized/commemorated.
All of these conversations talked about how they researched, and the breadcrumbs in each trail. They also talked about what was missing, and what has to be theorized from the evidence of record (usually controlled/adjusted/kept/destroyed by those in power/white). There was a lot that was relevant to my research into the history of forgotten women, since so much of women’s history is also erased or not preserved, because the domestic realm is not considered important by many of history’s keepers.
We moved down to the R & D store for a talk by Jami Powell and Michael Hartman about the new book built around the exhibit at the Hood Museum, RE-ENVISIONING HISTORIES OF AMERICAN ART: TRANSFORMING MUSEUM PRACTICE. Definitely makes me want to take a field trip there (and I think my Clark membership card gives me entrance).
It was a fascinating day, and gave me things to think about for months, possibly years.
I was definitely tired by the end of the day, too tired to stay for the artist reception after. I needed to think about the information of the day. I’d walked down in the morning, and definitely regretted it by the time I had to plod back home in the evening! But it seemed silly to drive 5 blocks just to have the car sit there all day. Leave the lot for people who are coming from far away. I can trot up and down five blocks.
I collapsed on the couch for a bit, then pulled myself together to cook dinner. After dinner, I just read. On Friday, I finished reading the second book in a series I’m somewhat on the fence about, and the third had so many logistical lapses in the first half, it made my head spin. And it can’t seem to decide if it’s a comic mystery with romance elements, or if it wants to take itself seriously. My brain is getting whiplash, because it changes genre from paragraph to paragraph. By the second half, it settled down somewhat, and was dealing with some serious issues, but it barely scratched the surface. It’s also a good reminder about how misogynistic women were encouraged to be toward each other in the late 1980’s (when this is set, and was published). I read the fourth book in the series on Sunday, which was somewhat better and more together, and it was good to watch the series grow.
Went to bed ridiculously early. Woke up a few times during the night, mostly from weird dreams, and overslept on Sunday. Tessa Was Not Amused.
Did the Community Tarot Reading for the Week. It was cloudy and dim out, so I had to use the light in my office to photograph the reading, and those bulbs added a yellow tinge to the photo. I suppose I should play with editing tools to get it out, but I didn’t this week.
I was basically a lump on the couch with cats sitting on me for most of the day. I needed to rest and to think about the various ideas, positions, theories, and evidence from the day before.
It started raining Sunday night, and rained quite hard overnight, which was good, because we’ve been in drought conditions and elevated fire awareness, in spite of the snow. The rain eased off and steadied by morning, but still came down, on and off, all day.
I dealt with a bunch of admin in the morning. Didn’t get enough of the admin done, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Admin is a never-ending loop. A job listing came up that sounded interesting, so I sent off the materials, and two hours later heard from the CEO. We have a meeting set up at noon today, so, fingers crossed. It sounds like fun work. The ghostwriting will supposedly have notes for me in a few days, which is also surprising, since I didn’t think we’d be moving forward (and, until I get the notes and an adjusted turnaround date, I won’t believe it).
The library cohort meeting was excellent. We had Mia Henry as a guest speaker, talking about her work with Freedom Unlimited. It dovetailed well with the day’s information on Saturday, at MASS MoCA. It amazes me how horrible people are to each other just to feel better about themselves, and how we’re trained in oppression to suit others’ agendas and profits.
Kept getting interrupted in the afternoon for admin stuff, trying to work things out with a few companies. This is not the time for negotiation, but sadly, it’s necessary. I was invited to two online seminars over the coming weeks that are interesting; since I can participate on my own schedule, I will do them. If it’s appropriate to talk about publicly, I will. Did the rounds of my elected officials on multiple topics.
Spent far too much time looking for a file on which I’d forgotten the name. Since the deadline is fast approaching this weekend, I wanted to look at it once and for all to see if I wanted to move forward or not. Re-reading it left me cold. Technically, I could make the piece work, but there’s no spark. This is not the voice in which I want to be working for the next year (on my own work), and it’s not worth it to chase this commission. Someone who’s excited about this genre should go for it and land it. Much as I hate to give up a shot at the money, it’s not the right focus for me right now.
Read one of the books for review, and will get that written up today. Cooked dinner, read for pleasure, got the laundry put together. Chop wood, carry water, and all that. Did some research on the company with which I’m interviewing (it has a good reputation), read the materials on their website, and put together some questions for the meeting. Read a bit. Sent a thank you to the person who put together Saturday’s event, who appreciated it.
Did not sleep well. Kept waking up from weird dreams. We’re getting back into the season where the echoes of the Move from Hell still wander (I should be over it by now) layered with all the new things we need to worry about on a daily basis.
But I hauled myself out of bed just a little later than usual, and was at the laundromat by 6:20, home just after 7:30, with two large loads done. I was on my own, which is always my preference.
I was also happy that my renewed license showed up. I’m all set with both license and passport until 2030. And my license already was Real ID (I’d switched it over in 2020), so it’s all set. My annoyance at all this extra-control-pretended-to-be-security is a separate conversation.
On today’s agenda: more admin work (I have to get some paperwork to various venues today), turn around a small coverage, write and submit a book review, finish putting together some handouts for tomorrow and go over the slides again, get out some correspondence, fold the laundry (I have a feeling I won’t get the ironing done until Thursday), have the meeting with the company CEO, and then whatever else I can fit into the day. I need to get to work on a seminar pitch to send to a conference at which I’d like to present later this year.
I contacted Dramatists Guild yesterday. It doesn’t look like End of Play is going to happen this year (nothing is up on the website about this year), so I figured I’d ask. If not, I have to decide if I can put aside the time to write 3-4 pages of a play (and then, which play?) in April, or if April is too booked with client work to take on something else. And I won’t know about the possible schedule for the client work until late next week, probably.
Patience, right? That’s part of the whole retrograde season.
I’m actually looking forward to the way today will unfold. Work to do, yes, but it’s interesting, as are the conversations I’m likely to have around it. I also have to figure out when, in April, I’m going to host the cohort here (so I have a timeline to finish the deep spring clean), and block of serious time for THE VICIOUS CRITIC.
The pieces will all come together; I’m just not sure how yet.
Have a good one!
