Kiri Callaghan's Blog, page 14

It’s the very first ‘Happy Thought’ Thursday ever!

…Well I think it’s exciting.

Shush.

Don’t judge me. This is a happy place, dang it.

We’re starting off with just a few submissions, but as this project is just starting out, that’s understandable:

And without any further ado…

—

@michaelrobles: This was on a parking meter. I positioned the camera to make it say what I wanted. Because it’s true.

—

Been over a year, since l lost my job,
but the saying goes; A door closes,
a window opens.

2 give in 2 despair, is an option,
not a right. l choose BREATH,
regardless of how difficult it is
2 breathe

When one chooses 2 see
the sky is gray, even when the suns
rays r blinding, one is choosing 2 see
what they want 2, and not the myriad
of possibilities, that could be.

Though there r times when l feel
like l’m walking uphill on a mudslide,
l continue that walk, because eventually
that mud will become dirt, and that dirt
will provide traction that will allow me
2 find my center, and what l find from within
will perhaps serve me, and in doing so,
perhaps let me service, the world
(or at least my small corner of it)
—

—

The ‘Happy Thought’ Project is an on-going collaborative work focused on the little things that make life worthwhile and make us smile. The goal is to create a collection of artwork (photography, drawings, writing) that bring hope and comfort. When enough content has been gathered, I would like to bind them into a book and donate whatever proceeds are obtained to the Crisis Clinic.

What Kind Of Things Can I Submit?

I accept drawings, photography, quotes, poems and short stories.

Drawings and Photos should be accompanied by a small amount of text (whether to explain or add to the picture) and should be something you personally own the rights to.
Poems should not be previously published.
Short stories should be no longer than half a page in a word document and should not be previously published. I use ‘short story’ loosely. This should be a personal story etc.
Quotes may be famous quotes but please credit them appropriately.
Some editing may be done to make sure spelling/punctuation is correct but for the most part I will try to keep all writing in tact as it is sent to me.

How Do I Submit Work?

For the time being, please send all Happy Thoughts to [email protected]

Can I Submit More Than One Thought?

Yes!

Is This Anonymous or Credited?

I would like to leave that up to you. If you would like to be credited for your thought, I will use only FIRST NAMES or (for the time being) Twitter handles. When we get closer to turning this into a physical book, we may use only first names.

Please indicate in your email submission if you would like to have your name mentioned. If there is no indication either way, I will assume you wish to remain anonymous.

So I want to start something.

It’s a little silly.

But I look at books like Post Secret and think, “Man, that’s cathartic to read.”

So I want to do something like that, but this time around, using ‘Happy Thoughts’.

The little nonsense things, the great big meaningful things, the barely notice it til they’re gone things that make you genuinely smile.

Ideally I’d have people mail them to a PO Box, but I don’t have a PO Box… yet.

So I’d like to initially start this project by asking for photos with as little or as much writing as possible. If you’re good in Photoshop, you can make it look like a post card.

If we get enough submissions, I’d like to share them on this and my blog every Thursday.

“This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays”

-Arthur Dent

Happy Thought Thursday.

Eventually, I’d like to collate them all into a book, both digital and physical.

All Happy thoughts should be submitted to [email protected].

The bigger they are, the better (better to shrink an image than try to enlarge it) but please try to format them as 300dpi and no smaller than 400×400.

Please write “Happy Thought” in the subject line. You may submit more than one, especially in the beginning when we’re trying to get the ball rolling.

Part of me wants to keep it anonymous, and part of me would love to attribute them to twitter handles.

So for now please indicate if you would prefer to have a handle listed or if you’d like to remain anonymous. If there is no indication of either, I will assume you wish to be anonymous.

“Think of happy thoughts and you will fly.”

-Peter Pan

Reality Not Withstanding

by Kiri Callaghan

EXT. A PARK – EVENING

FADE IN ON A COUPLE WALKING BESIDE THE LAKE, WE JOIN THEM IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR CONVERSATION.

MARK, a charming young attorney, is walking side by side with a young pink-haired woman (ELLE). They are both dressed to the nines.

MARK

…It’s certainly nothing like television. You almost never end up defending someone who’s actually innocent. I’m not saying I don’t agree everyone deserves the right to representation… I just wish it wasn’t me that had to provide it half the time.

ELLE

So why do you do it?

MARK

Paycheck is a paycheck.

ELLE

I bet that’s what hookers tell themselves.

MARK laughs.

ELLE nudges his arm with her own.

ELLE

Thank you, again, for dinner.

MARK

Was it too much?

ELLE

Are you kidding? I cleaned my plate. It was like making up for all those months in college when all I had was cup o’ noodles.

MARK

(laughing)

No, I mean, was the restaurant too much? I’m never sure if a place is too fancy for a first date.

Elle crosses her arms subconsciously as the night chill starts to set in.

ELLE

Nah, it was nice. I liked it. I don’t get to be fancy too often. Gave me an excuse to try out my new dress.

MARK

You mean HAILEY COMET: SPACE DETECTIVE doesn’t have a cocktail hour?

ELLE

Surprisingly, no. Well, not officially, anyway. For a few of my co-stars, I think it’s the last five minutes before we’re needed on set.

MARK laughs and removes his coat, draping it over her shoulders.

ELLE

You’re not what I expected, though.

MARK

What were you expecting?

ELLE

I don’t know… A weirdo?

MARK

A weirdo?

ELLE

I don’t know a lot of grown men who’d recognize me out of costume!

MARK

You have very distinctive hair.

ELLE

It’s not natural.

MARK

(feigning shock)

You’re kidding.

(Beat)

Plus, my daughter’s crazy about your show, so your face is sort of all over her room.

ELLE stops walking abruptly.

MARK

Just her room. I promise I’m not a creepy stalker.

ELLE

You have a kid.

MARK

I do have a kid.

(beat)

Is that a problem?

ELLE

…Yeah. It’s a problem.

MARK

You don’t like kids?

ELLE

I love kids.

MARK

Then where’s the problem?

ELLE

Because I’m going to have to meet her eventually.

MARK

That’s a problem?

ELLE

Yeah, that’s big fucking problem.

MARK

She’s going to love you–she already loves you.

ELLE

No, she already loves Hailey.

MARK

What?

ELLE

What’s her name?

MARK

Amanda.

ELLE

And how old is Amanda?

MARK

She just turned five.

ELLE nods and looks out toward the lake.

ELLE

Did you ever have a hero when you were a kid? Someone you idolized?

MARK

Spider-man, I guess.

ELLE

When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with The Little Mermaid. I knew the songs by heart before I knew what even half the words meant. My mom made me an Ariel costume for Halloween and I wore that stupid red wig until it was ratty. My room was covered in shells and fish and every damn piece of merchandise you could think of. So when my seventh birthday rolled around and my mother announced we were going to Disneyland, I was… ecstatic.

MARK

(unsure)

Yeah, of course…

ELLE

And we went and it was wonderful and I got to meet Ariel and I felt like my little heart was going to burst. I’d never been so happy.

(beat)

But then later I saw Ariel after a parade and I snuck away from my parents to follow her back into the cast area. Do you have any idea what happens backstage at Disneyland?

MARK

No.

ELLE

Things a seven-year-old should never see.

MARK

…are you saying you’ll do unspeakable things in front of my daughter?

ELLE

Not intentionally.

MARK

What?

ELLE

No, I mean–I lost my hero that day. Ariel wasn’t Ariel–she was just some horny college kid trying to make ends meet between semesters. It was like realizing Santa wasn’t real all over again.

ELLE turns back to face MARK.

ELLE

Mark, I’m not an intergalactic pop star.

MARK

I know that.

ELLE

Amanda doesn’t. …And I can’t be the one who breaks that to her. She deserves that suspension of disbelief. And she finds out you’re dating her hero…

MARK

…then I’m banging the mermaid.

ELLE

Yeah…

MARK

We really can’t do this, can we?

ELLE

We really can’t.

MARK

But… Can’t we just see if this even had a chance before we write it off?

ELLE

And do what? Sneak around hoping she’s going to grow out of me? She’s five, my viewer base ranges four to fourteen.

MARK

Yeah, but…

ELLE

And I’m pretty sure you don’t want to lie to your own kid.

MARK sighs, feeling defeated.

MARK

No… I really don’t. Wow. This… Really sucks.

ELLE

I’m sorry.

MARK

No, you’re right. My daughter comes first.

ELLE

You’re a good dad.

MARK

I don’t know if I’d say that. I am still imagining doing unspeakable things to her hero. Reality not withstanding.

ELLE smiles and removes his coat from her shoulders. She holds it out to him.

MARK

So what now?

ELLE

Now you head back to your car and I call my friend to come pick me up and we go back to our lives pretending tonight never happened.

MARK

…No, I don’t like that. What are my other options?

ELLE pointedly looks at the coat in her hand which MARK finally takes.

ELLE

Good night, Mark. It would have been great to meet you.

Elle starts off down one path towards what looks like the main street.

MARK

I would have had a great time tonight.

ELLE turns around and smiles softly.

ELLE

Best date I never had.

CAMERA ZOOMS UNTIL BOTH OF THEM ARE AT THE EDGE OF EITHER SIDE OF THE FRAME, HIGHLIGHTING THE EMPTY SPACE BETWEEN THEM.

ELLE and MARK share a look before ELLE breaks the tension and walks out of frame.

MARK lingers and then turns back to walk the way they came, shoulders hunched, hands shoved in his suit jacket pockets, coat tucked under one arm.

FADE OUT

Roughly outlined my solo project tonight.

Let the madness begin. #MIR

So after a few attempts to remove the purple hair dye, I am now at a bubblegum pink kind of hair color. Huzzah.

Not much going on here, lots of work to be done. Going to start painting the new room on Monday but before that I have an awesome weekend with my friend Emmy planned which includes brunch, girly night, seeing Cabaret and watching ‘The Princess Bride’ because she’s never seen it.

Yep. That’s right. I actually planned FUN for myself this weekend. Fun that isn’t involved in work in any way. Shocking, isn’t it?

Of course on Monday I then have to bust my butt on painting/cleaning and of course getting some writing done.

It’s been a long week. Plz to be having caffiene.

So I have a guilty pleasure for memes.

I also have a guilty pleasure for Dr. Horrible.

Thus, this was born:

So I didn’t get a vlog out last night like I wanted. This was partially due to laziness and partially due to feeling really grumpy about my latest hairscapade. After my usual dying session, I rinsed it out only to discover my ‘deep purple’ was a little too deep. It was practically black.

This made me a less than happy Kiri.

Not that there is anything wrong with black and yes, I know I don’t look bad with it (Ha, ha, take that mom, who said I was too pale for any shade of black) but I’m really hoping this fades a lot over time. Because anyone who has ever dyed their hair black knows that it’s a bitch and a half to go to any other color afterward. Plus it kills your hair. And my hair has been doing so well health wise, you know?

So I’m having a little bit of ‘dyers regret’ right now but I’m sure it will fade. Just like the color. In a few weeks it will eventually (and after a lot of shampooing) to some kind of lavender and I can either keep up the cycle or move on to something else.

The most unfortunate part, I think, is right in the middle of dying my brain goes, “I want to try cupcake pink again…”

Great timing, brain, really.

Oi.

Oh well. Chin up, Kiri, it won’t last forever and then you can work your way back to a pretty shade of pink so you can buy yourself some awesome dreads.  One day I may explain my obsession with pink hair to you guys… and why it’s the reason I ended up with five or six different pink wigs while I searched for “the perfect one”. Let’s just say, for now, where red hair reminds me of my childhood aspirations to be a Disney Princess that led me down the path of acting (My mother made the fatal mistake of explaining that someone was paid to be the voice of Ariel and I was ruined from that day forth), pink hair embodies confidence, playfullness and fearlessness. I want to get back to that point in my life. I’ve been all transitiony and moody lately.

Maybe this can be a physical representation of that transition phase. Who knows.

Anyway, enough of that “I’m being introspective and pseudo deep” crap. ONTO THE SQUIBBLES!

These were drawn back in the days of college (when my hair WAS black). Quick scribbles about my average school day at Cornish. Obviously you’ll have to click on them to enlarge and actually read them. Enjoy!

So I’ve never been much of an artist in the way of pictures. I can doodle and for a while I was semi-decent at Anime-style people… but I have no illusions that this is something I could/would do long term. Mainly because anything that was a semi-decent drawing usually took HOURS to do.

However, I’m a total sucker for doodles and scribbles and what nots, regardless of my lack of drawing talent or photoshop skillz (Yes, with a Z).

So thus I present to you a new segmet in this blog: Squibbles!

Derived from the word Squib (It should be noted I’m pretty much drawing from ALL definitions of this word)

squib

(skwb)

n.
1.
a. A small firecracker.
b. A broken firecracker that burns but does not explode.

2.
a. A brief satirical or witty writing or speech, such as a lampoon.
b. A short, sometimes humorous piece in a newspaper or magazine, usually used as a filler.


v. squibbed, squib·bing, squibs
v.intr.
To write or utter squibs.

v.tr.

1. To write or utter squibs against; lampoon.
2. Football To kick (the ball) low on a kickoff so that it bounces along the ground.

and of course the word scribble.

scrib·ble

(skrbl)
v.scrib·bled, scrib·bling, scrib·bles
v.tr.
1. To write hurriedly without heed to legibility or style.
2. To cover with scribbles, doodles, or meaningless marks.

v.intr.
To write or draw in a hurried careless way.

n.
1. Careless hurried writing.
2. Meaningless marks and lines.

What brought this up? Well during my ‘clean before the move’ phase, I stumbled across some of my old sketchbooks and drawings… and they made me giggle. So I thought I’d share some with you over time. Some are silly, some are honest attempts at decent art but were created in a fit of boredom, some are barely legible.

So here we go, our first ‘Squibble’.
To make a little extra cash during the summer between semesters in college, I sold my free time to Starbucks and became a barista. I feel like everyone should, at some point, work this kind of job. Something that makes you smell like some kind of food product at the end of the day–the kind of smell that gets in your skin hair and requires an actual full blown half-hour shower in boiling water to get out. The kind of job where every other customer treats you like you’re sub human.

Why? So the next time you see some poor bastard behind the counter, you will sympathize and WON’T treat them like they’re sub human.

I’m getting off track. Anyway, we had these little badges with our name on them so that we could identify who was at what register. There was velcro on the back and what not and most people didn’t even bother to do more than write on their badge with a black sharpie. But, being the Queen of Customization that I am, I had to do something a little different.

So there you have it. A little squibble of Kiri as the Mad Hatter, pouring some (no doubt) epically tasting tea.

Okay, so those of you who have followed my sparse vlogging attempts, you know I’m moving. Well moving always means a new space. And a new space means I get to decorate.

So what have I decided to do, is try to embody some of my favorite things. As I wandered around the Bed, Bath and Beyond, I realized what I was feeling really drawn to was warm, antique-inspired decorations–especially clocks. This of course made me think of Steampunk. But that wasn’t really enough to go on. I looked at some bedding, really enjoyed the red and gold sort of look–and that in-turn made me think of Firefly–specifically Inara Serra’s rooms.

Which is kinda bad-ass. It’s got a great Chinese and Indian undertone flowing through the whole design and a sort of ‘other world’ kinda quality. So that got my mind going of how I could add to that…

And what I’ve basically come up with is a strange mix of firefly, steampunk, fantasy and even a bit of Alice in Wonderland (I get that feeling when clocks are involved ever). So over the next couple of weeks, (or however long it takes), I’ll be posting updates as this room progresses.

In the mean time, here are some awesome items I’ve been eyeing that inspire me:

These firefly lamps are knd of amazing. Something similar to these to hang from the ceiling would give a pretty interesting atmosphere. Also, holy crap, I love amber lighting.

I love the drape of this canopy and the sheer fabric. I’d love to pull something from Inara’s book and layer some  other colors in.