Self-Portrait

What! A post on a Saturday! What nonsense is this? Well, this is a farewell. I bid you adieu for the next few months, May, June, July, and August, to be precise. The next couple of weeks will be filled with traveling and last minute ventures. The summer will be spent leading a bike trip across the country, so unfortunately that means I will not have time to post everyday. In other news, I have been cheating on this blog with a new one: Bike & Build & Be Awesome. The new one will have pictures and random anecdotes from my summer adventures. I know this will be a loss, four whole months of empty, but I will return triumphantly in September with new pictures and esoteric comments.

Ripple

I have never been afraid of flying. It's not a totally pleasant sensation, changing altitude that quickly, but sometimes you just have to grin and bear it. I have a lot to do in the next couple of days, and not really enough time to do it all. I guess I'll just have to grin and bear it, like always.

Drinks Like A Fish

Most fish swim, but at Simon's they've got better things to do than pretend to enjoy living in a fishbowl. There are cocktails to drink, weird hats to wear, and neon signs to be immortalized in.

Facade

I spent three hours tonight going through several bins full of my stuff that has been sitting in my parents basement for almost two years now. I was planning on being ruthless, showing no mercy. If haven't needed it in two years, so why can't I just throw it away? Well, the short answer is that I'm a pansy and a pack rat. I keep absolutely everything on the premise that I will need it someday. And often when that day comes I forget that I already have it, so I got buy a new one. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I also have ungodly amounts of clothing. Certainly makes one think twice about buying more when I already have several boxes of different wardrobe options. Lastly, I have such a hard time parting with mementos. I have probably close to twenty t-shirts that I don't wear anymore, but can't bear to throw away because of the memories attached to them. At the same time, how much do I really think about those t-shirts when they spend all their time at the bottom of a box? Clearly I need to learn how to quilt and make a blanket or some of kind of useful object that will get used often enough to justify my continuing stewardship. Old possessions beware: I will judging you.

Hole In The Trees

Pack it, don't snack it.

Poitiers

This is a view of Poitiers from leaning out Jess's third story window. Such a pretty city.

Topsy Turvy

Which way is up?

Wall

Sorry this one is late. Just got home.

Lilypads

So much left to do. So little time.

Birthday

This is my step-sister-in-law, but that's quite a mouthful. I normally just call her Kathy. I love this picture of her, which I have posted in honor of her birthday. Actually her birthday was yesterday, so oops. Happy birthday, Kathy!

Nephews

Nephews are pretty great. I personally have eight of them, or none depending on how you count. My brother does not have any children (that would be scary as he is younger than me), but my half-sisters have three sons between them, and my step-brothers have five sons between them, so I've got nephews coming out the wazoo. Here are two fine specimens of the nephew genus here for your viewing pleasure.

Embrace

Last photo for the week. I took this one on a whim while on a photo walk. I find it interesting which pictures come out the way you expect, and which ones fail spectacularly. I loved the angle and I hoped when I pushed down the shutter that this would work. And it did. Not quite in the way I expected, but beautiful all the same.

Busy As A Bee

I have a lot of tasks hovering on the horizon. It's all starting to blur together in a whirl of different jobs, people, and places. But! I have my bike, which I love and adore. I finally got it put together in a configuration that makes us both happy. In fact, I'm off to go ride it right now....

Annoucement

Introducing my new effort in blogging for the summer. I have dubbed it Bike & Build & Be Awesome. This blog will contain pictures, stories, (mis)adventures, fun links, and whatever else I see fit as I bike across the country from Virginia to Oregon. Check it out!

Double Whammy

This picture brings the last few days full circle. One word: adorable.

Portrait

It has been a while since I have posted a portrait, unless you count Friday's somewhat pessimistic post. Sorry Britt! Anyways, this is my friend Dena, who has a fantastic smile, as you can see here. She always has this mischievous look on her face, like she is planning her next adventure. I will be very excited to see what direction this shooting star flies.

Communcation

When did the cell phone transform itself from a simple communication device to an all purpose tool that now functions like an extra appendage rather than an optional piece of technology? Computers are tricky beasts in that way. Sometimes I both love and hate technology. Smart phones makes so many things easier that they can be hard to resist. Where should I draw the line against technological takeover? I can't remember the last time I left the house without my phone. Is there a place that we should hold in reserve, where technology does not belong?

Cheese

I could go on and on about how much I love cheese. No, I mean I really really love cheese. Even Kraft singles, which many would argue do not constitute real cheese, are still lovable. Clearly my life goal should be to someday construct and then swim in a giant vat of macaroni and cheese. That's weird though, right?

Forks

Not just a city in Washington featured in teen romance novels, folks! Forks are also sometimes useful for eating and stabbing people. I would not know as much about the latter, but I'm an active proponent of the former.

Unexpected Deliciousness

This picture and the one from yesterday were both taken at the Art Institute's Terzo Piano restaurant. The restaurant is located, ironically enough (not really, but come on) on the third floor of the brand new modern wing. They serve appropriately obscure and artistically plated food for an art museum restaurant. I ordered this dish, betting on the fact that despite the weird combination the food would still be delicious. It was even better. I want to go back and order fish puree with tempera fried Meyer lemons all over again. Yes you heard me right. The white fish puree was salty and tangy, a perfect complete to the sweet and tart Meyer lemon slices that were fried crunchy tempura-style. I had never had a Meyer lemon before, so I was a little skeptical, but my-oh-my, this was pretty much the best thing since, like, ever. It's also the kind of thing that I could never make for myself even if I really wanted to, so for now it will just have to live in the infamy of my mind and the reminder of this picture.

Experiment

I have been lusting over a new DSLR for a long time, and all the while ignoring my poor SLR that I currently own. Three weeks ago I dusted my baby off and have been taking her for a test spin to see if she's up to the challenge of being my primary camera. The pictures for this week were all taken using my Canon SLR and then developed by my neighborhood Walgreens and digitized for your viewing pleasure. The experiment worked more or less. I used really old film, so two rolls that I got developed could not be digitized, which was disappointing. Also the pictures look really grainy, which I also attribute to using old film. I'm going to try again with new film and check out the results, but the grain is actually quite artistic in some pictures. I would love some feedback, so let me know what you think!

Fixture

I need some light for the dark places of my mind.