according to the surgeon general...

... consuming cannonballs for lunch can be hazardous to your health, or at the very least one's girlish figure. spontaneous group outing at lunchtime to the pub for boeuf bourgignon, salad, frites, a slice of apricot charlotte (and a coffee, just to keep my baby sister heureuse), and moving afterwards was really not such a happening thing. i was also a VERY BAD GIRL and skipped my run this morning (it was very dark and very rainy) so i will have to be extra lean and mean tomorrow to make up for my gluttony today.

i told Head Honchos that i was going to miss the last week of class; they were very nice about it and completely understood, which was good, as i was afraid there would be some funny feelings. i am such a trained little monkey that it is really hard to not see a school-related thing through, even when the school-related thing is supposed to be for fun in the first place, as if "going to germany to see K just sounds like more fun at this point" isn't a good enough reason to go. anyway. They said not to worry, both of them have left stuff early, people leave here early all the time, do what i need to do, no problem at all. so that's good. K meanwhile has been sending exciting emails suggesting things like daytrips to copenhagen, M meanwhile has been sending me emails telling me he can absolutely no problem get me to angers to get the train next week, and ironically i can quite cheerfully imagine myself sitting in K's kitchen painting during the day if she can't get all the days off work. so it's all sort of falling into place. meant to be, clearly.

i enjoyed class today much more as a result of having all this settled - i did a horrible drawing in the morning, and got a start on a horrible painting in the afternoon, but i really wasn't minding the horribleness, and the little voice that usually keeps up a consistent stream of patter about exactly how horrible everything is really didn't pipe up much at all today, very relaxing. Head Honcho 1 told us a story about a two day diatribe he went on several years ago when he got completely depressed about what a fraud he was and how he really couldn't draw at all and it was all a terrible mistake, and apparently Head Honcho 2's response was, i'm going to go paint now; call me when you're done.

i drew T at portrait night tonight - my drawing looks nothing like her, but looked about the same level of not-like-her as everyone else's, so at least i am in good company, and she is fun to draw because she has a big mass of sexy curly dark hair and very wide cheekbones. it is funny drawing people whose faces i now know reasonably well because you remember and compare much more, i think, than if you are just doing portraits of people you don't know. as i was drawing T, i was mentally comparing her face to G's, who we drew last week, and being surprised by how different they are to draw, not just obvious things like beard stubble/long dark curly hair or lack thereof, but shadows at corners of mouths that are really pronounced on one person, and almost invisible on another, totally differently shaped eyebrows, tall/short nasal wings, etc. i would still be rubbish at describing someone for a police artist, however; i don't know how they do that.

anyway; hope everyone is doing bueno and thanks to those what wrote. extra love for you...