Dear 30, 

I'm basically an actress AND a painter now. An actress/painter with some rad new, heavy metal accessories. And am somewhat prepared to enter some sort of science lab and understand a teeny bit more about science in general. I feel smaller in the universe and have a new favorite band. [Goooo Hot Lady Band! First gig week was a success gals! YAY!]

This week was intense. It's actually hard to believe it was only seven days. Each one presented challenges, to put it kindly, but you know what, it turned out to be pretty damn memorable. Let me break it down for you. 

A reference to Mars? You heard it right. I didn't planet, but I kind of have a nerd crush on Neil deGrasse Tyson after my date with him on Tuesday. "Date" might be a stretch... it was me and Jenni and NdGT and about 7,000 other people. My old pal at Drake connected us to some special on the floor seating and for two hours we sat with stars in our eyes. (All puns intended) I left thinking about science and scientists and Ms. Wickner and 11th grade chemistry and religion and culture and algebra and information retention. This guy is captivating. I've already marked my calendar for April 13th, 2029 and have considered signing myself up for some kind of adult science camp. Also. Pluto, if you haven't heard, isn't a planet anymore. NdGT says get over it. 

Then there was Billy time. A master metals man, Billy Moore of Cause and Effect traveled northwest from the Smokey Mountains to set up shop at Badowers for a few days. Billy's a charmer (who wore a sweatshirt that said "ILLEST") and a master of his metal/leather craft. He's a great friend who always drops some knowledge on me when he visits our fair city and this time I got to show the belt man my favorite piece of sculpted metal in the city (besides my new red metal Cause and Effect bangle) and snap a quick photo of him in Des Moines' icon: the Nomade. 

Grand finale: I painted a giant canvas red on a stage while wearing a blue suit inspired by Walter White. So maybe I'm guessing it was inspired by the Heisenberg, but either way, I painted ON STAGE after watching a super great performance of RED at the Des Moines Playhouse. I love Rothko. He was a bit of an egomaniac, yes, but I've been crazy about the guy since the moment I hated the first work of his I saw. I realize how this sounds, but sometimes the growing to love something, the trying to make sense of it, being overwhelmed by it, well all that makes you love it more. My favorite piece at the Des Moines Art Center: Rothko. The most moving art experience I've ever had: the Tate, London, gettin all weepy with the Rothkos. What started as a great date night with Will and HBF turned into a super memorable moment: me in a blue suit wielding a heavy brush drenched in red across a 6 foot canvas. Rothko.

With the time change I nearly went to bed at 7:35pm. That's to be expected after this heavy week of art and science. It's November now and the leaves on the tree out front have blanketed the yard in yellow. The wind is howling, the neighbors' loud car is running and I'm about to fall asleep to some Halloween cartoon movie. I think all is right with the third planet from the sun.  

xo-LP