On the day I went home for the Thanksgiving break, we started brainstorming for our final project, to be worked on in class and outside, for my Drawing I class: a drawing of a still-life. I got the idea to make dancing and drumming Africans from plastic bottles caps with wire for the arms, Easter egg shells for beehive huts, clay cross graves with straw flowers suggesting the dead died recently, deacons made from plastic bags and wire carrying a body, and the dancers and drummers to show life goes on for the still life, inspired by a story I read in one of my Lonely Planet books of Africa about a man who lived in an African village for years, and saw a funeral a day due to AIDS, the theme of my drawing to be that life goes on. My teacher thought that sounded like a good idea. Later I read a lot of the reading for my World Masterpieces class. Afterwards I sorted some recycling in Ellis and put my recyclables in my closet. I also called work I found out I work on Sunday from 10:30-7, Monday from 12-6, Tuesday from 10-6:30, Wednesday from 8-4:30, and Friday from 10-6:30. I checked out and drove home for about forty minutes before my mom and I stopped at an antique shop, where I had a good time petting the owner’s cats, though realizing that I would soon be home with one of my own cat’s dead body and I got a pocket knife. I got home and found my Lord of the Rings flute book lying on my bed. After that I worked on my bags woven from Walmart bags. I also talked to Tyler who I learned is starting a bottle cap collection. I decided to give him some of my duplicates and make him a box to store them. I went to see Jim Gaffigan afterwards and thought he was very funny.
The next morning before I went to bed, I sorted out some bottle caps for Tyler during which I found a new one for my collection. After I had breakfast, I went into town and got a haircut. After I got back, I talked to my friend Erin on the phone. Then I practiced my flute for half an hour playing The Prophecy from my Lord of the Rings flute book, though it used a different fingering system than I was used to and had to adjust to it. Later I worked on my figurines from bottle caps. Then I watched World’s End with Mom and Dave.
The next day I went to work. I got a new Snapple cap for my collection from my drink at lunch and afterwards I got the December 2013 issue of National Geographic and the Historical Collector’s Edition Obama. I also got the idea to make my bottle cap fish look sort of like Rainbow Fish, from a story book from when I was younger. After I got home I watched a YouTube video of a scene from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Version, which I thought was pretty funny, and would love to see, even though I didn’t think there would be much to add. I showed it to Dave, and he thought it was funny too.
I went to work the next day getting another Snapple cap during my break. After I drove home with Dave, I realized that it’s good I do my job as many people might love help out after tiresome exhausting jobs, like, as I learned last year, a social worker in a house with thirty screaming kids. Later I worked more on my figurines made from plastic bottle caps and Cam got home.
I went to work the next day and got a new Snapple cap on my lunch. I also learned about the children’s book that inspired my bottle cap fish idea called Rainbow Fish about a fish with beautiful scales which he was so proud of and one day a fish asked for one of his scales and he rudely refused and after that none of the fish wanted to play with him so he went to the Mysterious Octopus who told him that he should share because it would make him happy and he did and it made him happy, which I guess is sort of like the message of Buddhism. I thought that it could inspire me to write a screenplay where a guy is rejected by his community after he refuses to share his great wealth and is rejected by his community and tries to find a place where he isn’t asked to share what he has only to learn to give back to the community he belonged to. I also realized that Gandhi and his followers living with few possessions may have made them more humble and less likely to be violent and more likely to die for their cause as they had nothing to lose like for that matter suicide bombers or people who commit self-immolation in Tibet, and if Gandhi and his followers had used violence, as opposed to non-violence, the British may have not been able to fight the Nazis as they may have been too overtaxed fighting the Indians and other rebellions throughout their empire and many people on the spectrum lagging behind in basic motor skills and having selective mutism may just be a more extreme version of trying to escape reality.
While I was at work, I saw the Shawnee Mission East choir working, playing, and begging for money at the store and realized this was the effects of the budget cuts. By the end of work, I made $39.50 in tips. I got home and I realized that part of diversity is about the context in which we talk about different groups. I also worked on my bag woven from Hen House produce bags.
The next day I walked to work, seeing some gangly-looking crows on my way to work. At work I got three new Snapple caps on my breaks and lunch. I also saw a girl from the Shawnee Mission East choir look really upset as she forgot to bag a customer’s groceries and couldn’t get them to her in time. I told her, “Don’t worry. It happens.” She seemed to feel better. Then after buying a two-liter bottle of Pepsi I realized I could put the top over my Buddha statue with the wrapping as light switch plates and covering the bottom with foil to make an incense burner. I asked Cam if he still wanted his old bottle caps and he said no so I got twenty-nine more bottle caps for my collection. I also went to Winstead’s and the Pathless Land with Granddad, the latter where I got the December 2013/January 2014 issue of National Geographic Traveler, the Winter 2013 issue of Parabola, the November/December 2013 issue of Afar, the Winter 2013 issue of Buddhadharma, and the December 2013 issue of Saveur. I learned about National Geographic Traveler’s Photo contest winners in their magazine and thought I’d check out their photos and submit some one day. I also went to the Pathless Land where I meditated thinking of changing the world while going over the Padmasambhava mantra in my head and I did the dedication of merit. I got home and heard Mom say the budget cut’s support would end in 2014. I fed Peter after that. Then I started working on my vase and incense burner made from a bottle
The next morning, I found I got my Lonely Planet Mozambique book in the mail. I also found some places to visit in my book. Then I went to my grandmom and granddad’s house and worked on my bottle cap figurine. Then we had Thanksgiving dinner while I said a grace by Thich Nhat Hanh. After dinner we talked to Uncle Todd, Aunt Laura, Abby, and Eric over Skype. We also had Thanksgiving pie. I also decided to make Buddha wall art from bottle caps. I got home and called Erin and wished her a happy Thanksgiving. Then I worked on my bottle cap figurine.
I went to work, and I decided to make a wind chime out of bottle caps in my collection. During my breaks I got a new Snapple cap for my collection. I got back and found a new bottle cap for my collection in the stash Cam gave me. After dinner I buried Polly in our backyard, and I said a few words about what she meant to me. The next day I went to Chipotle with Dad and Cam and found out Dad’s giving me a ride back to school tomorrow. Then Dad and I went to Half Price books and got a Lonely Planet book on Rajasthan, Delhi, and Agra, where I learned about some Buddhist caves in southern Rajasthan, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Visual Companion. Later I worked on my bag woven from Walmart bags. I also learned autistic girls may compensate for their lack of non-verbal social understanding by a “sixth sense.”
No comments:
Post a Comment