No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on June 1, 2013

May was a very busy month. A majority of the weekends we were not home and there was travel during the week as well. June is a little less so until the end of June and the rest of the summer looks crazy but that is how most of our summers look.

However this weekend we are sticking close to home. I am hoping that the weather today won’t be the sweat-fest is was yesterday. It does seem to be leveling out for the rest of the week.

Part of today will be devoted to picking up after all our travels. Things tend to get stacked rather than put away when we are in a heavy travel time.

Also I need to get cracking on my artwork for Dragon*Con. I think we are not costuming at Shoreleave this year. Caroline might come up with something she wants to do. I do need to get my paperwork filled out and make what I put down. My goal this year is to bring everything I say I am going to bring. That and have a more dynamic display.

Caroline is out of school in 3 weeks. So we need to start planning the rest of the summer. She wants to learn to sew this summer. She is going to visit her sister in Jacksonville. We are looking at camps for her for a week or so. She can’t do a long term camp because we are traveling so much this summer.

I think it may be list time to figure out what I am going to do when.

I am grateful that Caroline loves her adventures with her family.

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Posted By Kathleen David on May 31, 2013

Yesterday I posted on Peter’s site the 5 month update from the day he had the stroke. He was at the New York Premiere of After Earth and then went to the party afterwards. That was a far cry from the hospital bed he was in 5 months ago.

That got me to thinking about the past 5 months and the ups and downs we have gone through.

The definition of perspective is
1 a : the technique or process of representing on a plane or curved surface the spatial relation of objects as they might appear to the eye; specifically : representation in a drawing or painting of parallel lines as converging in order to give the illusion of depth and distance

4: the appearance to the eye of objects in respect to their relative distance and positions (copyright Merriam-Webster)

My thoughts are on the second definition especially 2b.

What I find important now is much different than it was 5 months ago. Any sort of crises can change how one sees the world and a major crises can change things radically.

It has also given me a greater appreciation for the people around me. I find myself hugging my family more. Making sure I show by word and deed that I love them. Because in the blink of an eye, I found my whole world dumped upside down and side ways at the same time.

Our time here, in the grand scheme of things, is so short. I find myself appreciating what I have in the now rather than thinking of future and past. I have been reading this book called “the Rebel Buddha” and can only read it in small chunks because each chapter has given me a lot to think about.

Like I said in my entry on Peter’s web log, we have our good days and our bad days. We work through the problems and issues that were created by the stroke. Those things we cannot change, we figure our way around them or just let things be because we don’t want to spend our energies on things that aren’t going to change.

My perspective on the Internet has changed. This is harder for me to put into words. I honestly don’t get worked up about things that use to drive me crazy. I appreciate all the kind words that have been said about my family. I appreciate the heck out of the support we have been given. I couldn’t have done this without y’all.

And, honestly, the little stuff that use to cause me agitate just doesn’t bother me any more. I have bigger fish to fry.

My perspective has changed radically and I see the world now through new filters that didn’t exist before the stroke. I think the last time my world was changed this radically was when Caroline entered the world.

I am grateful for perspective.

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Posted By Kathleen David on May 29, 2013

This has been percolating in my head for a while so I am now going to try to put down what I have been thinking about for quite a while now.

I have been watching cos-play and costumers for over 30 years now. I have seen the good, the bad, and the “what where you thinking?”over the years. I have watched make-up technology improve and now, with the ability to use an airbrush, make-up can be put on faster than before and blended with more ease. Also the new materials we have for appliances now allow for all kinds of textures and edges to make it easier to change the face into something magical.

Now most people don’t have access to airbrush make-up supplies so this is assuming you don’t bring your compressor and make-up kit to a convention.

I have seen some great costumes that if the make-up had been up to the costume’s workmanship it would have been a thing of awe. As it is the make-up makes all the hard work in the costume look, well, less than it is.

I know that the costuming is a labor of love and one tried to keep it as clean as possible. But you have to think about how you are going to deal with the extensive make-up that the character has. There are fixative and things that can keep the make-up off the clothing. I find it rather disconcerting when the make-up stops where the costume starts and there is a distinctive line of human skin exposed. Also when painting oneself, say blue, make sure to get the back of the neck if exposed. All the back of the neck not just most of it. The costume from the back is as important as the costume from the front.

If one paints oneself one color, say green, and only uses one color make-up, the final product is going to look pretty flat. You need some contrast in the make-up to give you those lines and planes that exist on your face with natural light. Look at your face, it doesn’t seem to be all one color and we use make-up products to enhance our cheekbones and the like to create a more pleasing face in the normal world.

Now contrast is great but it has to be blended a bit. I think that is what bugged me the most this weekend. I had to sit on my hands and not blend people’s make-up. They were trying to create effects but it looked choppy. Also they needed to spend sometime evening out the base color they had on.

Zombies, watch your edges on your peeling flesh. It just looks pretty bad (and not in the good zombie way). Also just dousing yourself in stage blood for that gory look doesn’t work. You have to have a make-up base before applying the blood. I saw a lot of edges of appliances this past weekend as well. Yes, it is hard to blend but it can be done with practice.

There are right ways and wrong ways to wear wigs. Wig caps and the like are your friend as are bobby-pins. Yes, wigs can be hot and itchy so put that in the equation. And careful scratching, you can knock your wig askew so easily.

None of this is easy and takes practice. I cringe when I see photos of my early make-ups. Now I feel pretty comfortable applying special effects make-up and the like. But it took practice and time. And honestly a convention is not the place to try out your make-up for the first time.

Anything y’all want to add or anything I missed please feel free to put in the comments.

I am grateful to all the people who have taught me theatrical make-up over the years.

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Posted By Kathleen David on May 28, 2013

And not said sarcastically either. We all genuinely had a blast at Phoenix Comic Con.

We saw old friends and managed to have a meal with some of them. We made new friends. And we had a lot of people come and tell us how much Peter meant to them. Peter appreciated each and every person that did that.

We were well taken care of. The convention gave us a two-floor suite since it was our 12th Wedding Anniversary, which was very nice. Caroline had her own space and her own bathroom. We had a Jacuzzi in our bathroom. We had a lovely living room/dining area and a kick-ášš balcony that we made use of after the sun went down and it cooled off a bit. They had a place to get breakfast that was so much fun. Caroline loved that room and all the cool people that ran it. We were served a lovely lunch each day. And we found good dinner companions each evening. They had runners that would get you from your table to your panel as efficiently as possible. Considering the throng of people there, it was no easy feat. And they made sure we had plenty of water. We felt the love and appreciated it.

Caroline did well in the drawing department. She was selling drawings for $1.00 if you bought one she already did and $2.00 if you wanted a custom drawing. She walked out with $27.00 in her pocket.

Thank you to everyone who bought books. We came in with 55 books and walked out with 6. Made packing that much easier and we didn’t have to ship anything home.

It was old home week for Babylon 5. The convention celebrated the 20th anniversary of the show. We had the main cast still living with Joe on stage all together for the first time since the wrap of the last episode. We got some spiffy seats to watch the show from. It was cathartic for both the people in the audience and the people onstage. We learned new stories, heard some classics, and cried a few tears for those we had lost.

We also got to talk to all our other friends and acquaintances not involved with B5 which was very nice. Peter introduced me to Yuri Lowenthal (Ben Tennison) who introduced us to his lovely wife Tara Platt (Temari). Wil Wheaton came by the table to tell Peter how much Peter’s book Writing Comics and Graphic Novels with Peter David had helped him. I got to chat with John Barrowman for a bit. I caught up with comic book folks I have known longer than I have known Peter and met some people that I have admired for years. So good people weekend for me.

And we had a lovely anniversary thank you very much.

I am grateful for each and every person who helped us at Phoenix Comic Con. Y’all rock.

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Posted By Kathleen David on May 26, 2013

I walked down the aisle in front of friends and family and said my wedding vows. I promised to love and cherish my husband no matter what. He promised the same to me.

The reception was at the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern which was lovely. I had worked there when I had been living in Atlanta and enjoyed it a lot. I got to talk to my family and friends who witnessed our vows.

12 years later and we are still going strong.

My love for Peter has only grown over the years. It is like every day I love him a little more which, when I go to bed, I don’t think possible but I do.

He is my best friend. He encourages me to be the best at whatever I am doing at the time or want to do. But he doesn’t let me get away with less than my best. He’ll call me on something if he thinks that I can do better and I appreciate that because it makes me that much better in the long run.

He is the father to my daughter. There would be no Caroline without Peter. She takes after her father in so many ways. Her imagination is boundless and she is turning out to be a good writer as well.

There have been good times and bad times. There has been sickness and health. There has been richer and poorer. We have enjoyed the good times and supported each other through the bad times.

I have been asked what is the secret to marriage. Well I know what works for us. We are partners, equals with in the marriage. We love and respect each other. We make each other laugh. We help each other when the other isn’t feeling at their best. We got each other’s backs.

I am so very grateful that Peter David is my husband.

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