running of the mouth

okay, so finally i can take down the nablopomo icon on the right. for those of you who were confused as to why i just wouldn't stop posting in november despite having nothing of worth to say (as opposed to all of those other months that i'm writing epic novels)--it was a challenge. a very tedious and silly challenge that i got much worth from but also drove me kind of crazy. nablopomo stands for national blog posting month. you get the idea. there are over 10,000 people registered, so you feel a kind of kinship in checking in with other sites and sensing their dual frustration. i felt such relief on the day it was over, and ironically, had to fight the urge to write a post to tell you about that big relief. then for a few days i felt like i could never bring myself to post again. and now, back to feeling normal. i know. you really appreciate hearing these mundane details. you really appreciate nablopomo for loosening my very tight lips...

so on to other topics of inundation and tedious challenges driving me kind of crazy: the self portrait class. i can't tell you how tired i am of taking pictures of myself. and what an absolutely horrible model i am. and yet, some of you continue to want to see my homework, so i'll give it to you and qualify as the world's most narcissistic blogger, which is quite a distinction, considering the twisted nature of posting your journal online every day....

for last week's assignment, each of us was handed an index card declaring a body part that our next self portrait had to emphasize. i was given 'mouth'. this was true torture considering it's the body part i've grappled the most with this class. i've learned that i haven no control over my mouth (hey, and i'm not talking about the drivel that pours forth from it--though that, in this case, would fall under the culpability of 'hands'). apparently when i think i'm looking neutral, i'm scowling. when i think i'm smiling, i'm smirking. when i think i'm relaxed, you can see my flexed jaw muscles. very attractive. very frustrating.i was also coming up with zero ideas and getting quite irritated with myself for being such a wasteland of inspiration. then i solved the problem in the way that works best every time--pulling out the damn camera and just shooting. having no 'big plan', i scoffed at my images but my class was shockingly happy with the results.