lord of the tent

Mr. Alex smells shenanigans!

A lot of you may be wondering, 'But why Missouri?  And how?'  Well, I have this beautiful and amazing sister named Kimberly.  We met almost six years ago when she lived in Florida, but she moved back here to be with her father, the Kansas City Secret Santa, when his health faltered.  Sadly, he lost his battle with cancer in 2007, and Kimberly decided to stick around home for a while.  I got a chance to come out and visit her a few summers ago, and just fell in love with the country, climate (the winter may change that view), and the people out here.  She had a tough winter this year, so I came out to lend a little brotherly support.  We had such a good time, and it was so therapeutic for both of us, I decided it was time to indulge my wanderlust and switch things up for a while.  I'm sure I'll come back to my beloved Florida eventually, but it feels great to flex my gypsy vagabond spirit muscles.  I've made some amazing new friends that I've been able to share with her, and I truly look forward to exploring all of the rich historical and natural wonders that the area has to offer.  She's an excellent wingman.  Definitely an excellent wingman.  (K-Mart sucks!)  With my crazy living arrangement, I'm also hoping to set aside the money to finish my BSME at UCF when I do return.  So it's win-win all around.  I've missed her like crazy, as most of you probably know.

What most of you may not know is that she is a very talented artist.  We scored this Oriental divider in the summer of '09 while I was here visiting after the Wanee festival.  We got it and several other things at a yard sale for $5, if I remember correctly (she's quite the haggler).  The panels rotate, and we think it was meant to be filled with photographs.  She let it sit for quite a while, and while I was home gathering my things, she finally got to work on it.  She painted cardboard panels, front and back, with a variety of colorful abstracts.  Doesn't it look gorgeous?  The picture doesn't really do it justice.  With the mobile panels, you can rearrange it on a whim.  Don't feel like orange today?  Swap it around for purple!  I took a look at its construction, and I'm pretty sure I could duplicate the frame pretty easily.  Place your orders now if you'd like to have one in YOUR home!  =)

Besides the screen divider, she also has a closet FULL of what I consider beautiful acrylic abstracts on canvas.  She has a tremendous appreciation for fairies these days, so perhaps if we all clap as loudly as we can, she'll let me post a gallery of her work.  It did the trick for Tinkerbell, after all.

She earned her degree from KU in Film and Theatre, although she hasn't worked in that medium for quite a while.  I'm working on a zombie movie script, and secretly (not any more) I'm hoping she'll direct it.  I'm dying (har har) to shoot a zombie flick at Jacob's house.  How could you not?  A solid brick house with roll-up Jalousie windows behind bars at the corner of Hampton and GORE beside the huge cemetery?  So be thinking about what kind of zombie injuries you want, I'm casting you all as my undead horde when the time comes.  Film or not, I WILL make every effort to be home for Halloween.  If the stars align right I'll be able to double up for Bear Creek in one trek.

This crazy venture wouldn't be going nearly as smoothly without Kimberly's assistance.  I know she'd want all of you to rest assured that her house is my safe haven in the event of dangerous weather.  Despite a wallet almost as thin as mine, she's ensured I keep food in my belly, smoke in my lungs, and gas in my tank.  Honestly, she's fretted over me like a mother hen.  Tomorrow I'll finally put some of my financial woes behind me, and get a little scratch in my pocket (more on that tomorrow).  The card to the left is part of a deck of Bodhisattvas that Kimberly has had as long as I've known her.  For those who don't know, a Bodhisattva is a Buddha that has forgone Nirvana to remain behind and guide all the remaining souls on their journey.  They're sort of like eastern guardian angels.  Like the Catholic Saints, there's one for every occasion.  The other night while we were hanging out at her house, Kimberly presented me with this one.  He's Mahakala, the Lord of the Tent, and slayer of demons.  How appropriate!  She gave me another one years ago, and insisted, "This is you!"  That one is for another post, though.

Last, but certainly not least, the sage fellow cheesing with Kimberly in the first photo is Mr. Alex, the freakishly large chihuahua.  Any of you who got a chance to meet my Milo before he went to the great wood in the sky can understand my endearment to freakishly large specimens.  He's part dog, part sphinx, part yoda, and all wonderful.  I'm lucky enough to get to take him for the occasional walk, and he and I have been close friends as long as Kimberly and I have.  He spends his days people watching out the back window from his perch on the armchair or canoodling with a dolphin pillow that Kimberly found at Goodwill.  He's a trooper, a terror, and a very well behaved young soul.  I hope to get the pair of them down to Florida to meet everyone and take a beach break some time.  Perhaps we should all clap loudly again?

Be good and have fun,
Daniel