ASSIGNMENTS:
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Mary Walling Blackburn
New York, New York
Email Mary
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REPORTS:
PREVIOUS NEXT
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My Mother's Response (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Hello Sweetie, Here is the thing. I hope its what you wanted. If not I'll try again Maman.
Mary:
Mary probably wakes up about 6am most mornings. After a good stretch, off to the bathroom for the first pee of the morning, and maybe a splash of water to the face before putting the kettle on for tea. Some mornings she may have fruit juice instead. Then she hops into the shower or has a good washing up, gets dressed and fixes a bowl of cereal that she eats while she mentally organizes her day. She then starts getting her things together for the day and gets a little frantic because she can't find at least one (possibly more than one) thing that she vitally needs for her day to go as planned. She is then out the door, stomping down the stairs to the street and off, walking with long strides and great purpose.
I imagine that she has several appointments with various people. Some may be job interviews others may be collaborations with other artists. Some days she is drawing large chalk circle the size of bomb craters in abandoned parking lots wearing a utility jumpsuit of some sorts. Or she may be plastering posters of men, women and children on city walls to encourage us to be/feel more humane to others. She says hello and good morning, good day, good evening to some people and ignores others. Whatever keeps her safest and still gives her needed human interaction.
Her lunch and dinner are determined by her blood sugar levels and so she eats at relatively uniform times. She generally eats pretty healthy. If she gets home at a decent hour she makes several phone calls and then works for several hours on one of her projects or writing. If she gets home late she calls her mother and then works until the wee hours of the morning on something that has to be finished the next day.
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My Father's Response (Rindge, New Hampshire)
Hi,
No, it wasn;t too hard to write. I took some time with it. Hardest to keep it neutral. Two of the same pieces, i thought. Certainly know more than less.
Glad your lunch went so well, and expect you're back in NYC now with all the snow. We had a nice 4day weekend, including a couple of times out xc-ing.
love, Dad
A..Mary has a rich internal life, real and imagined, that colors much of how she spends her time. Much time is spent thinking, dreaming, pondering, examining, analyzing, --what she is doing, will be doing, has done, and her connections with and place in our glorious universe. Most of her present time is spent working towards particular goals in her "professional" life, and these projects and processes are influenced by the continued questioning evoked through that inner hunger of understanding all. Time is spent practicing and performing the general survival skills that keep us fed, housed, socially active, alive and happy, and these activities also come under the influence of the inner quest for answers and connectiveness.
B.. Mary is currently grappling with the issue of what to do now after her Master's work has been completed. Her time is predominantly taken up with preparing herself and her past work to continue to achieve her "career" aspirations. Time is spent in the concrete activities of resume, applications, marketing and self-assertion. Much time is spent pondering, examining, fantasizing, analyzing, decisions and directions. Time is spent enjoying herself and maintaining rich social interactions. Time is spent in maintaining and providing for her daily living expenses.
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My Aunt's Response (Cedar City, Utah)
Dear Mary:
i am sorry that I have been so remiss. But I will try and get this done, so you won't be too mad at me when I see you this weekend.
I think that Mary is presently living back in New York City, trying to find a job. Thus, she is probably visiting places where she can get job information, probably doing quite a bit of searching on the Internet, as well as going into NYU to look at position announcements. I think she is looking for some kind of teaching job, but probably utilizing her interests in video presentation/documentation, too. She is talking to her professors and other students to get their advice and opinions on what she is doing.
She is probably procrastinating to some degree and also overthinking specific situations or job announcements more then she needs to. In her free time I see her visiting with friends, reading (a wide variety of material, but am not sure where her interests lie exactly). Probably not too much fiction, probably more erudite material then what I am reading. I also see her going to art/video presentations/exhibits which interest her during her free time. I'm guessing that she may have a job to support herself, if her academic loan money has run out. I know she would like a job pertinent to her interests and skills, ie. teaching and/or writing, but she may be waitressing or some kind of serving the people job in order to make ends meet. She probably is not very happy with it, if that's what she is doing, but she knows she has to do something to make ends meet.
I see her in a small apartment, with clothes strewn around, books lying open, and applications for jobs. If she has a computer in her apartment, much of her activity is centered around there. There is probably an empty mug around somewhere. Her kitchen area/refrigerator is probably pretty clean. The refrigerator has a number of fairly healthy looking things in it, some fruit. She also has tea around, and honey. Her bed probably isn't made, but she straightens it up sometimes. There is probably a pile of dirty laundry around somewhere too.
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