swans and unicorns.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, there are pictures here, Thoughts and Feelings
as ballerina, black, black swan, coconut, different reasons, different story, eskimo, freezing, kind, natalie portman, pop, star natalie portman, swan lake, temperature, toasting coconut, unicorn, wood, wood stove, Yep
It’s that time of year again.
You know–when it’s freezing and you put on a costume and you go outside and wish to goodness that The Black Swan looked more like an eskimo than a ballerina, cause maybe then you’d be warm.
Or at least, warmer.
But The Black Eskimo would probably be an entirely different story. One that wouldn’t star Natalie Portman, I’d bet.
But then you go inside where your friends have a wood stove that they keep piping hot and you’re feeling better about the temperature, at least; but you’re trying to make small talk and you realize that, actually? It’s kind of difficult to be all casual while wearing a tutu.
Really. You try it.
But, here it is: my costume this year:
And just cause it’s so Swan Lake, I had to do this.
Yep, had to.
And last night was a good one.
A friend in Chicago asked me to get drinks with him afterwards.
Get drinks.
That feels so adult. Like the time I was sick as a teenager, and, after waking my pop up in the middle of the night, he just told me to go down to the kitchen and pour myself some kind of medicine. Sent me down by myself. SO ADULT.
And now I’m getting drinks with a friend.
EVEN MORE ADULT.
Anyway.
It was lovely. I got emotional and cried. We were talking about love. Love makes me cry; so does opening the oven when I toast coconut. But for entirely different reasons. Love doesn’t hurt my eyes and toasting coconut doesn’t break my heart. Good to keep those straight.
Anyway, my friend told me something beautiful. “You’re a unicorn, Jess,” he said. And immediately, every part of me that can light up, did. My eyes, my heart, my mind, the backs of my knees–you name it, I was feeling bright.
“Do you know my favorite animal is a unicorn?” I asked him, knowing that he didn’t.
“Unicorns aren’t real,” he pointed out.
“But they’re my favorite, anyway,” I said, failing to see why real always matters.
“You’re a unicorn, Jess, and unicorns are gonna attract all sorts. You gotta watch out, though, just cause they’re attracted to you and coming around, doesn’t mean that they know how to treat a unicorn. Unicorns are very special and need to be taken care of just so.”
“I love that I’m a unicorn; I mean, that’s such a beautiful thing to call me,” I said, still not quite over the fact that in this world that my friend is creating in John’s Tavern at midnight in Media, I get to be a mythical creature. Win.
“But,” he went on, “If I had a unicorn, I’d feed it and pet it and love it and take special care of it–not general care of it, but specific unicorn care of it. Not everyone will. Douchebag men like unicorns, too. And for some reason, a lot of straight men seem pretty douchy. Don’t pay them attention, okay? You find the guy who gets that you’re a unicorn.”
“Okay,” I agreed, “I will,” I said. Cause if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s never to argue with a guy who’s comparing you to a unicorn.
And that was that.
But anyway, it was a beautiful conversation. I mean, I got to be a unicorn, for goodness’ sake.
Yesterday, a unicorn and today, a swan.
I’d say it’s been a pretty good weekend.
change everything.
in Performance, Thoughts and Feelings, video
as art, benefit of the doubt, black, black and white, complexities, douchebag, hand gestures, pop, realization, song, strange things, way
Oh, here you go. It’s a song. I wrote it recently and so far, have only played it for my pop. He seemed to like it very much. But he seems to like most of what I do. It’s the things that I don’t do that he seems to not like as much. Like when [...]
what a man, what a man, what a mighty fine man
in Funny Stuff, Loved Ones, photography
as black, cucumber, drew, Gentle, humor, pink princess, pink princess umbrella, princess, Princess. And, True, true princess, umbrella
Some men might balk at holding a princess umbrella over their heads. One that declares you Gentle as a True Princess. And even though pink is often declared the new black, they might opt for an umbrella that is the old black, the standard black, you know, just black. But not Drew. Cool as a [...]
monday afternoon
in photography, Thoughts and Feelings
as B. With, black, cat, disappearing act, drew, guitar, house, kind, peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Percy, recording, search party, silver collar, taliesin, Tally, thoughts/life
I am sitting next to Drew, listening to the slow and rhythmic hum of a guitar being tuned. We are recording, but a lot of recording is hurry up and wait–for me, anyway. Well, for this particular song, anyway. Because see, this is a song that I wrote on a bus a while ago and [...]
