doodling in the margins.

i look up at the very tall buildings., originally uploaded by Ryanwiz.

When I was younger (so much younger than today) I would draw and draw and draw and draw. Pretty much all I did, really. I was always bored and that killed whatever time I was allotted, be it a few hours after school before dinner or school itself. Always the one yelled at for doodling in the margins, I was. I drew whatever I could think of…though most times I was forced to elicit ideas from surrounding friends and family. I always had a tough time just comin’ up with ideas out of thin air. Some folks have no problem with it. Like this guy:



As I grew older I sort of drifted away from drawing, sadly. No time for that when you’re drinking, smoking, partying, socializing….traveling the country following your favorite band. Well, I’m sure I could have found time…I just didn’t care as much now that I wasn’t *bored* anymore. I always figured that I’d just sort of come back to it someday, and I think that time is drawing near. I really miss the creation of art. Even if it’s something I hate, tear up and toss in the can. At least I’m doingsomething.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m doing things every day – my family is GREAT, fun, loving, and beautiful – but art is something else; something almost indescribable. I take photos ALL THE TIME, but they’re easy…drawing is hard. It’s like taking a little slice of you and spreading it out terribly thin, making you transparent and making it part of the world for everyone else. That, and it’s great for killing time.

summer’s here, the living is easy

the memorial union terrace, originally uploaded by Ryanwiz.

This is why we live in Wisconsin. Sure, family and friends are great; the food’s pretty good….fun activities and all that….but it’s this BEAUTIFUL time of year that holds us here. The beauty of Spring and the promise of Summer. Yearly rituals await at the end of every workweek. We claw our way to as many State Parks as possible, see as many shows as our wallets will allow. We dance away the week’s stress aboard the concrete of the Memorial Union steps, and we count down to each “big event” that Madison and the surrounding communities have to offer.

This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend – the unofficial start of Summer in Wisconsin – and the big event is “The World’s Largest Brat Fest“. This delicious congregation features our area’s best coming out to hopefully beat the previous record number of brats sold. The Wisniewski’s will be there in spades as most of my family will be there to see The Cloth Sea performs at 12:40PM today. We may just break our own Number of Brats Eaten by the Wisniewski Family record. Wish us luck.