Author: chungwipff

Art is Hard (for Me)

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I’ve always wanted to draw. I had a babysitter (Julie) who shut that dream down when I was six. She told me I couldn’t draw or color well.

Yet, when shopping for art supplies for my daughters, I’ve always lingered in front of the pencils and drawing tablets, the paints and brushes a bit longer than necessary. I’ve saved tons of art supplies for “someday” when I have time to take a class.

I realized that “someday” is pure imagination. We only have TODAY.

For my birthday, I treated myself to Lisa Congdon’s book, 20 Ways to Draw Everything. It got 5 out of 5 stars! I’ve watched her videos. She’s really good. It arrived in the mail today. But page after page just shows 20 dogs, 20 rabbits, 20 flowers, etc. perfectly drawn! There are no step-by-step directions. In the very beginning of the book, she instructs “Draw the big shapes and lines first, then add in the smaller details.” Really?

That’s it?

I need a lot more help.

So I drew and drew and the whole time, my inner critic was talking snidely to me. Seriously, do you call that a leg?

Look at Jazz. He looks like he’s had a craniotomy.

Oh for Pete’s sakes! Why do all of your dogs look pregnant?

Precious looks broken.

Is Brutus a dog or a deer?

I have to laugh. My inner critic is funny. My drawings are funny. I want to get good, but in my own way. I’ll never be Lisa Congdon good and that’s OK. I also ordered Milk and Honey. Look at one of her illustrations:

 

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From Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

 

Her illustration is not “perfect.” It’s impactful. Her poetry has resonated with so many readers that her volume of poetry is a New York Times Bestseller.

So, I’m not going for perfect. I’m on a quest to develop my own style.

Screw you, Julie!

 

Time is Money

 

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Photo by Ales Krivec

 

My biggest inefficient use of time: preparing food for the family.

I grocery shop, of course, but I rarely think past the next meal or two. Consequently, I stress out a bit 5x/week, deciding what to cook for dinner and what to pack for lunch. We get  Blue Apron delivered 2x/week (skipping weeks where the recipes are not to our family’s liking), but then we’re either out and about and I buy the kids dinner (can’t be helped – they go to symphony practice straight from school and don’t get home until 8 or 9pm.) Or I am too tired and fussy and we eat something which I cook in a groggy state. Sometimes, it tastes halfway decent.

This Sunday, I am going to plan the entire week ahead of time, prepare it, and freeze it.

This will free up time during the weekdays (our busiest days!) and lessen stress.

I’ve had this idea in the back of my mind for a long time, but I’ve always countered it with I don’t want to cook all day Sunday.  However, I’m using those hours (Monday – Friday) when I’m at my most fatigued.

I am going to use recipes from this book:

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But I’m not sharing the title with my family. Knowing it’s healthy, they’ll decide they don’t like the meals before they even eat!

True Wealth

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My sister gifted this book to me for my birthday, along with a magnifying mirror:

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Thus, I’m becoming knowledgeable about microcredit and I have a freshly tweezed face.

I’m only on page 28, but this is what I’ve learned thus far:

Mr. Yunus has been involved with working for the benefit of poor people in India for most of his life. He is now 77. Through his work, he has enabled the poorest of the poor to gain credit, become entrepreneurs and thus, productive members of society.

The American economic system works in the favor of the rich. This is plainly obvious. Our banks do not believe in our poor. We believe that given credit, the poor will never pay the debt back. However, Yunus says his experience is the opposite: his Grameen Bank “lends over $2.5billion in U.S. currency a year to 9 million poor women on the basis of trust only.” The repayment rate? 98.96%!

Grameen Bank has 19 branches in the U.S. with “86,000 borrowers, all women*, who receive business startup loans averaging around $1,000. As of 2017, the loans disbursed…total over $600 million, and the repayment rate is over 99%.”

Yunus believes our emphasis on GDP is inaccurate and incomplete. We are not taking account the “Whole Person” in our economy. Our focus is on the selfish and our system is based on rewarding the selfish. So what do we get? Corruption, inflation and more and more people in poverty.

This man’s work is proof that it only takes one person to make an enormous difference globally. The secret? See a need, work to fulfill that need to help others and do not focus on fame or wealth. (Never mind that Yunus has a net worth of $10million and he won the Nobel Peace Prize!)

 

*You might wonder why Yunus is loaning money to women: He wanted to help the poorest of the poor.