Wow. Where do I even begin with this one? Let’s just say, sometimes the universe is mysterious.

A few days ago, in the middle of reading Sherlock Holmes, I had the urge to do some research on Frida Kahlo. I am sure that something sparked this sudden desire, I simply do not remember what. I was quickly enchanted by Kahlo’s story and decided to put Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic on hold so that I could read a biography of the Mexican painter.

Hayden Herrera’s book, Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo, seems to be the most popular. But I decided to go with Margaret A. Lindauer’s Devouring Frida: The Art History and Popular Celebrity of Frida Kahlo. According to some reviews, and even Lindauer, Herrera’s book does not accurately portray Kahlo as the strong woman that she was. So, I’ve opted to read Lindauer’s book first, followed by Herrera’s.

Moving along to the first two things that I’ve promised for this post: indulgence and luck. I have been fairly strict with money and diet recently. Whenever I do this, I end up on a bit of a binge later. Or today, ha! Yesterday, after starting my book on Frida, I decided it was a museum day. I made it all the way to the CBD, only to run into this:

Boo! What a random day to be closed. And this was after running around the CBD looking for cafe jobs and being terribly unsuccessful. Suffice it to say, I was down in the dumps at the end of yesterday.

Today, I woke up and decided that I was going to get myself some Mexican food. Today, I was going to indulge! Then, I would try again at the National Gallery of Victoria because I was longing for some museum time. But first, I was going to make some phone calls. After calling around to a few book stores and being informed that they were not hiring “at the moment” (which really means the entire season, come to find out), I stumbled upon an even better job opening. My dream job, really. I called to see if they would be willing to hire someone in Australia on a working holiday. The answer? Yes, please send your resume.

LUCK! But that is all that I am willing to say about that for now, I cannot risk jinxing myself.

After calling Evan, who surely thinks that I am manic at this point (yesterday, I was on the verge of tears from frustration and disappointment, today I was on the verge of tears from excitement and hope) I left for my daily adventures. I decided to check out a recently opened Mexican place called Guzman y Gomez. I went with the “mini” barramundi burrito. It was $6. And this big:

“Mini” is not a joke at this place. The containers to the side are the condiments I decided to take because I had just purchased the world’s tiniest $6AU burrito. I ate an entire container of  jalapeños. Which was probably not the best decision…I ended up with some pretty serious heartburn. Which lead me to the frozen yogurt establishment next door. This indulgence was not planned. But my green tea frozen yogurt with cheesecake frosting was certainly delectable.

Green tea cheesecake fro-yo in hand, I continued on my path to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV.) I passed a man who was sitting on the curb looking quite forlorn and decided to shoot him a smile. Turned out he was homeless and asked very nicely if I had any spare change. He had come from Adelaide and been on the streets in Melbourne for nine days. I said, “Hey, man, I understand, I am low on my luck right now, too. But I have a dollar to spare.” It was my last one. “God bless you and may your luck change, too,” was his response as I walked away.

Finally, I walked through the doors of the NGV. Almost immediately, I was openly weeping. Why do I ever stray from the art world? It is where I belong. I love the way that I feel in a museum. I love the smells, the sounds and, of course, the sights. I love how my heart pounds and the gears inside my head start spinning. I love soaking in the minds of other artists and my own ideas that are sparked by them.

There was even a little bit of Warhol and Rothko:

Suddenly, I was back at my home town museum, the Smithsonian. I know all of the Smithsonian museums like the back of my hand. Again, shedding a few tears.

After making it through the European and contemporary side of the NGV, I ran smack into the Arts of Asia wing. Knowing that, if I were to set one foot into that side of the museum, I would never leave, I decided to put the arts of Asia off until tomorrow. I then headed downstairs for some more grub. (Well…I’d started out the day indulging, why not continue? I will be good tomorrow.) I went with an orange cake and a soy latte. Bad choices for my esophagus, scrumptious choices for my taste buds!

On the way home, I stopped at the library. This is what I came home with:

I suppose it is safe to say that I have jumped on the Frida mania bandwagon for the time being. And I am totally fine with that.

Oh! And remember the homeless man that I gave my last dollar to? On my walk to the gym, I found a five dollar bill with no owner. Today has been my lucky day. And I will be passing that luck to my sister when she arrives in two days by putting that five dollars onto her myki card.

This has become an incredibly long post. Cheers to those who have navigated my ramblings and made it to the end.

-fin-