Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Brooklyn Girl Takes a Walk in the Woods...and Gets Lost

My day started off with sunlight streaming in through my bedroom window.  It must have been about 7 am when the light actually woke me up but I rolled over and went back to sleep for another hour.  When I finally got up,  I made myself some country bacon and fried egg for breakfast...and a big cup of earl grey tea with milk...YUM!!  A girl needs her caffeine. 

I thought to myself, today is the day I go out and take a walk around.  I putzed around the studio for a bit, chatted online with Christine G., visited with Katherine who helps Mark with OAC, fed the cat, etc, etc.  Now Mark (director) told me he was going to take me around to show me the paths but I thought well I've walked around the place with Tony so it should be fine striking out on my own...right? Uhm, nope.

The paths were really muddy and the first big hill with the steep incline had me half walking, half sliding down.  I tried walking on the sides of the path where the dry leaves were, however I didn't realize these dry leaves were resting on top of moss and mud and branches.  Right.  Slipping and sliding it was after all.  I almost made it down to the very bottom of the hill without falling when I slipped and fell into a watery muddy mess.  My boot was stuck in the mud, my foot outside the boot tried to find it again so as not to step into the mud with only my sock, my shin is hot and aching where I came down on it.  I wasn't hurt, just a little tumble and a bit of mud on my cargo pants but I was still intact.  I walked toward the first open field and sat down by a water hole so I can pass a hand over my achy shin, it's going to leave a bruise.  I'll take a pic if it bruises up. 

All right, so I remembered there is this old tree on the land and I vaguely remembered where it stood from the last time I was at OAC.  I went in one vague direction and took some pics of it and rested upon it before heading out down another path.  Now Mark had made it very clear that I should stay on the designated paths and believe me when I tell you I tried but I took one wrong turn and I didn't realize I was off the path until I was completely lost.  So now I can't find the path and I am elbow deep in prickly vines...uhm ouch!  I didn't realize they were even there until they started slashing at me.  Argh!  I walked on and I was a bit panicked so I stopped taking pics.  I was just trying to find the trail again.  

I walked around like this for an hour.  I finally found a barbed wire fence and a wide open field, which I recognized.  YAY!  Only then did I realize that I could have used the GPS system on my iPhone to find my way back to the studio.  Live and learn.  

It was a bright beautifully day and I walked around for another hour and just took some time to look around.  Today, I am content and filled with gratitude to be in this space. 


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Monday, February 22, 2010

02.22.10

i dreamt about working with a group of playwrights and creating a collaborative reading.
each having an opportunity to show new work and getting feedback from an immediate audience. 
it rings in the back of my head as something that i can do when i get back from Missouri.


i dream about make a life for myself with writing.
it was always something that was relegated to the sidelines while i worked a full-time work.
these days, these days, these days...my mind wanders to other possibilities.
the ideas spill out like pebbles, creating a different shore to carry the sound across.


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

02.20.10

It's been a week since I broke off with S. 
Today I felt empty but I had a few moments that soothed me.


Bright white sunlight on my skin.
A crisp breeze through my loose hair.
Pink tulips that have turned serpentine as they start to wilt
No amount of cold water will save them now.
A toddler tapping on pipes at the playground
making noisy music.
Lunch with E at Fatoosh,
talking over hummus, muhammara, and warm pita.
The hum of speeding cars along Prospect Expressway.
Walking ahead of my thoughts...


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.