Ohhhh the Economy. *tear*

So, another lovely day in corporate America. The entire work force at my day job, including myself, got a 10% paycut today. That totally sucks. The suckiest thing of all is that I probably won't be able to afford my rent payment anymore - sooo it looks like I may be moving.

Awesome.

Just peachy.

It's a good thing I've been stepping up my Mary Kay business. Soon I'll be a director and I won't have to worry about making sure there's enough money in my bank account for food.

Onto other brighter things.

I've been working on a few new pieces and it's definitely been super hard for me to finish some paintings I've started. For those out there who are waiting for things from me.. please be patient! Things will soon be done! For example, I am SO close to having this painting done for a friend of mine.


It's getting there! It's the John Lennon Imagine cover.

Although, something has taken priority over this project. I have been asked to paint a portrait for a movie that's being filmed locally. Annnnnnd it's due this coming Tuesday, the 18th. So I've got a pretty good start on it and I'm feeling good about it. It's 3 x 4 foot big!! As soon as I get it done, I'll post it.

If you would like to learn a little about the movie that is being filmed here, here is the website:

www.HittingTheNuts.com

It's sure to be a great movie!!

And I can't remember if I have mentioned anything on here yet about this, but regardless, here it is:

My artwork, namely the 24x36's of Audrey, Marilyn, Cary and Grace, and last but not least the little Lucy are hanging down at Keystone Bar and Grill in the back room. It's an awesome place for them since people eat in there and they are getting constant exposure.

And for a short time at the end of this month, they will be going to the VINE-L Friday Gallery Walk. I don't know much about this event, but I do know it's for a good cause and you should definitely come down and check it out!

August 28th, 6-10pm
The gallery walk is on Vine Street between Central Pkwy and 13th in the gateway quarter.

If you're interested and want more information, email me at robin@rewers.org and I can get information for you.

That's all for now... onto painting before the Bengal's preseason game!!!

Corporate America

I just read an article about how a mob laid-off workers in India killed their CEO. Let that sink in for a minute. Can you believe how horrible people are sometimes? I mean, I know you lost your job, maybe the CEO was an ass, but that's NO reason to kill him! I was laid off back in February. It sucked, but at the same time, I was happy after I realized that it was all for a reason. I wasn't being creative enough and I was only staying there because of the people. I saw that this was exactly what I needed; some much needed time off and a new beginning.

With those 4 weeks off, I utilized my time well. I sent out lots of resumes, I did a lot of freelance work and I slept in.. a lot :) The 4th week of unemployment, I got hired on at the first place I sent my resume to and interviewed. But before I knew that would happen, I actually decided to walk down a completely different road in my life as well. I decided to say yes to the Mary Kay opportunity. I had the opportunity offered to me a few times and I declined politely every time, claiming I was 'too busy' to do that. What I've learned is that busy people will ALWAYS be busy. I love to be busy. When I said 'no' the first time, I was just as busy as when I said 'yes' the 4th time she asked me. And that was about 4 months later. Being busy is perfect for having a career with Mary Kay. You have many circles of people to build your business with. Not many people realize this. You fit Mary Kay in your life where you can.

Reading that article today about the murdered CEO, getting laid off at my job without any warning and not to mention the nightmares I have about corporate America just confirms that a career with Mary Kay is something I see in my future. That will give me the freedom to stay at home and do my artwork. Not to mention that Mary Kay is one of the 3 recession-proof industries in the world. The other 2 are alcohol/cigarettes and entertainment. Women will always wash their face and put some sort of makeup on. Did you know that in the 80's, when there was a huge recession in the economy, Mary Kay was at its peak. It was actually doing wonderfully well in an economy that was failing. Mary Kay Ash started the company in the 60's as a wig company. When she realized that wigs were not recession proof, at least not as recession proof as cosmetics, she starting selling makeup. And so we have Mary Kay Cosmetics today, 45 years later.

I know that in my future, even though I have a Graphic Design degree, I want to pursue my career with Mary Kay. I will be driving that pink Cadillac someday and I won't have to worry about making sure I have enough money for rent this month.

I can have a career in my art. That I know will happen. Someday I'll get my big break and have artwork hanging in a restaurant or my own gallery and hopefully that's what I'll be known for. It's my passion and I'll do whatever it takes to get it out there. Short term sacrifices for long term success.

I did it!

I'm so happy with myself. I said I was going to sit my butt down and finish Leah's wedding invites and I did. I got them done and sent out to the printer yesterday. I feel so accomplished. It's such a great feeling know that they are off my plate. Well, for the most part anyway, I still have to approve the proof they'll send me and still type up the return address in the correct font for the envelopes.. but that's hardly anything compared to the actual invitation! Yay me, I'm starting to kick procrastination in the butt.

Tuesday night, at my weekly Mary Kay meeting, we discussed goal setting. I can't tell you how much this helped me. Like I said, I have that small little problem called procrastination. When I'm at my meetings, and I'm surrounded by such awesome and positive women, it just gets me all fired up to get my goals accomplished and get out there and do what makes me happy. So I've started a new thing. I've got a post-it note taped up at my desk that reads: "Goals for today" and underneath that I write what my goals are for that day. They are usually small for now, but that's what I'm most comfortable with. I did it yesterday and I did what my post-it note said. I accomplished my goals for yesterday.

I did another thing yesterday that I was proud of. I slept with my windows in my bedroom open. This was a huge feat for me. I have a pretty big fear of uncovered , open windows at night. Ever since I was a kid, I had this fear. I always felt like someone was outside pointing a gun at me. Funny thing: My Grandpa who was in WWII and my uncle who was in Vietnam have the same fear. They have a reason to have it, they were in a war with lots of guns! But I've never been remotely close to something like that... so I looked it up and it's called genetic memory. It when the fears of someone in a family get passed down through the heredity genes and clings to someone else. Pretty interesting. Every time I walk by an uncovered window at night, I get chills, tense my body up and brace myself for the pain of a bullet. So as soon as it gets even remotely dark out and I can't see out there, all the windows and doors get shut and covered up. Believe me, I'd like to keep the windows open at night, but I can't help it. But last night, I slept with my windows open and I slept so good. I woke up in a great mood today. I'm going to do it again tonight, but that doesn't mean I'm over my fear!!

I did have a dream last night that woke me up at 4:30 am. It was a very disturbing dream. In my dream, I was sitting on a ledge of a skyscraper. Happy as anything, just enjoying the day, taking a break from work. I was surrounded by sky scrapers and huge, tall buildings; corporate America. They were everywhere. I started to look more closely at these buildings and I noticed that there were men in business suits standing on the ledges of every building. At first I just thought they were out there enjoying the day as well, but no sooner than that thought crossed my mind did they start jumping. Grown men, corporate men all dressed in their suits and ties and briefcases, were falling all around me. All of them jumping to their deaths. Some with families at home, some single. They all just started jumping and plummeting to the sidewalks below. I woke up, my arms and legs were numb and tingly, I had a horrible sinking feeling in my chest and I couldn't fall back asleep easily at all. I haven't had a disturbing dream like that in a while. Uck..

Oh, and my hair isn't purple anymore. All brown and normal...