My Brain went on Vacation. I Did Not.

I realized this morning that it’s been over a week since I last posted. Maybe longer. That’s not because I’ve been doing anything productive, believe me. More like my brain has decided to go on vacation without me. That’s very sad, and really leaves me for a loss. I mean, the brain is a rather necessary thing to have in your life – even if it doesn’t get used as often or in the way it should.

So after a week of sitting around, more or less blithering nonsensically, I’m going to give putting some words on virtual paper a go. Just to see what comes out. I must warn you to proceed at your own risk. There are no guarantees about what might follow.

I have been having some issues with dizziness for a couple of months now. In the beginning, I figured it had to do with a wax buildup in the ear canal, so I did all those things the internet suggests to clear that up. Nothing came out that proved that theory, so my brain moved on. Building a mountain out of an ant hill, of course, because that’s one of the things it does best. It decided first that I must be anemic, but how could I possibly be anemic? Then it went, well alright, maybe you’re not anemic, maybe you have a brain tumor. Oh, that’s so much better, I said to my brain. Maybe you should go to the doctor – but no, maybe not, because people with the flu will be at the doctor’s office and I’ve been avoiding a lot of contact with the public sector during this flu season. Besides, you know the doctor will just want to run a lot of tests, and my past experience is they test for a lot of things, but never quite the thing that is actually causing the problem.

Then one day, a Facebook post on one of the alcohol ink groups stopped me in my tracks and made me think a bit. Yes, I can do that when I must. A woman posted how her husband was concerned that she was working in their basement without much ventilation with alcohol inks. Of course, the inks contain alcohol, and a lot of regular alcohol is used in doing the paintings. Alcohol = fumes, he said. Toxic fumes. So they tested the toxicity in the air in the basement when she was painting. Not good! Really not good! Which suggests if you are in a space that is not well ventilated you should probably use a respirator – most masks will not filter out that type of toxicity. I decided to forego inking for a while, just to see what happened. You want to know what is happening? The dizziness is gradually going away. My conclusion is that unless I wish to prepare as if I was entering a hazardous waste zone, I should find some other hobby.

My choice – let’s try acrylic painting. After all, I worked with oils several years ago. So I did some shopping – online and at my local-ish Michaels. Nothing is really local here. What did I learn? Starting a new hobby is not cheap. But the shopping for it can be fun. I’ve been watching You Tube tutorials, which may or may not be a good idea, because the people doing the tutorials are so good and make it look so easy, what if my attempts are . . . bad? I watch tutorials and think about sitting down to canvas with brush and paints at hand. Maybe today. . . I’ll keep you posted.

Otherwise, things in the news keep me sort of alert. Sort of angry, too often, sort of laughing sarcastically sometimes, making me wonder what so many have done with their brains, since it appears they’re not being used to their maximum ability. Or even minimum ability. I’ll delve into politics no further this time.

I watch the birds and the squirrels as they dine on the food I put out for them. I wonder why it is that there seems to be a limit to the number of each of them that can “sit down at a table” together. There’s more than enough room for three squirrels, for instance, but the third one is rarely welcomed, usually chased off. It’s the same with the Asian Collared Doves that appear – there is always one dove that does not tolerate another one within eyesight. They have quite a lot in common with humans, my brain says, when it’s talking to me.

That seems to be what I have to say this morning, so maybe I’ll go watch another painting tutorial, or maybe I’ll actually sit down, pick up brush, put some paint on the palette and give it a go. In the meantime, I’d like to share with you what might be my last ink, or might just be the last ink I do before I can open windows in here. There is always light at the end of the tunnel: