These are my thoughts; though they may be public domain, please have enough respect and understand that they are mine and are not for the use of your own deviant agenda.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Weight Loss - So I hit a plateau for a couple weeks there. I would fluctuate between 3 pounds, neither going over or under but somewhere in between on each day. I started a exercise routine and wondered if that was it. I was on the verge of being discouraged when I measured and weighed last week and had lost 1 pound for a total of 28 pounds. I measured and went down 7 1/2 inches, which the time before I had gone down 10 pounds and 7 1/2 inches. So I was happy to see that even though the scale wasn't showing a difference my body was. Well I've stayed consistent with my exercise routine and have officially lost 34 pounds and 41 1/2 inches all over as of this morning! :D I feel fantastic!
What's more surprising is that 3 years ago when I was a couple pounds lighter then I am now, my measurements were bigger then they are now! So I may weigh more by a couple pounds but I'm smaller physically. It feels great and has made me even more determined to keep going. I understand that plateau's happen and will happen in the future but I'm going to stick them out. The reward is so worth it!
Another interesting fact is that the last time I lost this much weight I did it over a span of 10 months. I've currently been working on losing weight since early June! Only two and a half months! :) It makes me feel my next big goal is very attainable! I've reached my first goal which is to lose 32 pounds. My ultimate goal is an additional 50 pounds but my next short term goal is 25 pounds. So I'll keep you posted!
Birthday Plans - I'm not sure if these plans are going to happen yet but... I want to have a BBQ on my birthday which is September 4th. I picked Friday because I'm going to BootieLA on Saturday September 5th with a big group of friends and that's always a late night so I figured I'd be too tired to do anything on Sunday September 6th. So we'll see if I can pull this together. Right now the financial side of it is what's concerning me, even if I have everyone bring something. But I haven't had a big party at this place yet. I've had a dinner party of about 20 people but this would probably be bigger then that, at least I hope so. :) Oh and I plan on going to Disneyland the day of my birthday if that works out. I signed up for the free birthday pass but since I already have a season pass I hear they give a gift certificate in its place.
Job Search - I've been pretty discouraged about the whole job hunt thing. I've gotten confirmation that doors are staying shut for a reason, just haven't figured out what God's reason is yet. That might seem a little odd but it's true. Things have happened that there is no other explanation then God shut the door. I'm trying to stay positive about that. It's hard to understand when I don't see the bigger picture. But that's what faith is all about, trusting in what you can't see or understand.
Unexpected Honesty - Right now I feel so torn between being a good Godly woman and being completely unrestrained in opportunities of the worldly nature. There's a song that fits where my hearts at.
Satisfy - Tenth Avenue North
Before the sun has touched the sky Colors bursting from Your eyes Before the flood of the morning light Before the earth has felt Your heat Before I stand up to my feet Before I begin to feel this weak
Satisfy me Lord, oh oh Satisfy me Lord, oh oh I'm begging You, help me see You're all I want, You're all I need Oh, satisfy me Lord
When the day is closing in Like the stars in the night I am falling Into the pull of the earth and it's affection In me, oh lord, can you create A pure heart cuz I'm afraid That I just might run back to the things I hate
Satisfy me Lord, oh oh Satisfy me Lord, oh oh Yeah, I'm begging You, help me see You're all I want, You're all I need Oh, satisfy me Lord
You're beautiful, You're beautiful You're more than all this world can give You're beautiful, You're beautiful You're love is all I need to live You're beautiful, You're beautiful You're more than all this world can give You're beautiful, more beautiful You're love is all I need to live
Satisfy me Lord, oh oh Satisfy me Lord, oh oh I'm begging You, help me see You're all I want, You're all I need Oh, satisfy me Lord
My relationship with God has become stronger in this time of having to trust His plan for my life but I also feel the draw to do things I've always been against in my personal beliefs or what I have always felt was morally unacceptable. It's been quite a challenge! Especially when the opportunities keep presenting themselves at the most unexpected times! Of course, that's when it's the hardest to prepare yourself to fight against the temptation! Those of you who understand where I'm at, please pray for me to have continued strength.
A Chair's Photography - I'm almost afraid of sharing this because I've said it so often. I actually have made steps to moving forward with the business plan. I am happy to say that the signs that God wants me to move forward with starting my photography business are too great to ignore anymore! I have to get it up and running and right now is the best time! So hopefully I'll be sharing updates in regards to this very soon!
I woke up at 3:30 this morning to make my way down to Pasadena for another photography group outing. This one was organized by my friend James. James' friend Jon (2Factor Photography Smug Mug page) joined us, and I had a great time learning new things about how he started his business and what he uses.
Our photography group is planning on getting together every 3rd Saturday of the month with a new photography project or location each time. If anyone is interested in joining let me know! This next month we've decided we wanted to play with nighttime portraits and I'm going to use my friend Andy as my model (he's already agreed)! I wanted a rock star look and he's got it! I'm really looking forward to playing with lighting. Jon has some external lights and Septembers project all started when I asked if I could just go with him when he's shooting a portrait with external lighting. I am really happy about this group. I hope it grows because it’s a great way to gain more knowledge and it's so fun to talk to people who have the same passion as I do about photography.
Here is a couple of my favorites
Depeche Mode - I'm going to Depeche Mode Monday night at the Hollywood Bowl! I love Depeche Mode! I'm a little nervous because Dave Gahan has been having voice issues and has had to cancel a couple shows this week per doctors orders! The last email I received said the two shows at Hollywood Bowl would still be happening but I'm still nervous! That would totally suck! Especially since a couple of the people going with me have never seen Depeche Mode live before! It seems crazy when I've been to at least 1 show per tour in the last few tours. :) I love the Hollywood Bowl as a venue so it should be very cool!
So since my last post, life has been filled with non-stop adventures! Gotta love that right? But that means LOTS of pictures (as usual)! So I guess the first announcement might as well be the biggest…
Weight Loss – So I’ve lost a total of 27 pounds as of today! Better yet, I’m able to fit into jeans I haven’t been able to wear for over two years! I love it! Oh and I have lost a total of 27 inches all over! Yup, I feel great! I’m so close to my first goal! I’m proud of myself. And I have no desire to falter or cheat. Ok so there are those days but they haven’t happened in a while. I want to lose the weight at a healthy rate. And, I haven’t been working out as consistently as I would like to but I’m still very happy with my success!
In my last post I had to run off and didn’t finish explaining the wedding and the busiest day of the month last month.
6.19.09 Terrance & Holly’s Wedding - I can’t share the pictures of the wedding because I haven’t given them to the bride and groom yet. I’m waiting on them for something so I don’t like sharing until they have access to them first. So it should be sometime next week.
6.20.09 Toni Michels Funeral – Well there is nothing good about funerals. I will say it felt like a reunion of the old Aspen Street Crew, though I wish it was under different circumstances. Toni had a big impact on my youth. It’s hard to imagine I won’t see her, on this earth at least. Steve had written his thoughts out because he knew he wouldn’t be able to make it through talking about it. His brother read it for him. The one statement that stood out to me is that every time he goes to bed and wakes up he will feel the sorrow of her loss the most… Wow! How true and real is that? I went to school with Shawn and I got teary a lot during his talk, but it wasn’t until his oldest daughter got up to speak that the tears flowed. She talked about how her Nana always said she loved her more then the universe and broke down in the middle and Shawn had to finish for her. It was so tender... She ended it saying "Nana, I love you more then the universe". Yeah, not a dry eye in the place.
She passed away from Breast Cancer so the entire family wore pink of some sort which I thought was fitting. The women wore brown dresses with pink ribbons in the pattern. The guys wore black shirts with pink pin stripes and pink ties with a breast cancer sweat band on their forearm. All the grandkids wore pink of some sort as well.
After the service I got a chance to talk to the family and it was an emotional morning. Toni will be missed.
6.20.09 Sasha's Going Away Party - I left there and had to rush to get lunch and head down to Sasha’s going away party in Yucaipa. Here are a couple of my favorite shots. It was a nice time. I didn’t get to hang out with Sasha that much but it’s always so relaxing at the Clements’s home.
6.20.09 and Poet Sky @ Old Towne Pub Pasadena – I made my way out to Pasadena to make sure I would get there in time. The drive was relaxing. I was looking forward to the show and the venue has so much character I was looking forward to taking more pictures there again. I had a great time that night! Poet Sky was on fire! Their last show at this venue was a bit of a disappointment for them but this one I think more then made up for it. And it was a late night!
6.29.09 Laguna – My sister and I had an appointment in Irvine again. And since we were both going down together for once, we decided to spend the afternoon at our favorite beach afterwards. I love Laguna! I found it difficult to just sit and relax. I wanted to be exploring, taking pictures or walking around. Heidi on the other hand enjoyed reading and lying on the beach.
I posted a status update on Facebook and a friend called me and had a recommendation for where we should eat for lunch, Sun Dried Tomato. I was laughing but he took care of everything! Made the reservation and even suggested what we were to eat and where to sit while we were there. And we got there and decided against outdoor seating only because it had gotten chilly and we also decided against his food recommendations because of the day’s specials. It was yummy! All-in-all a great day!
7.1.09 Monthly Worship Concert – My church, The Place, is putting on monthly concerts the first Wednesday of every month. This was our very first one and I am thrilled to say it was a success! We even had a hotdog cookout because it was so close to the 4th of July. We had a great time! I’m looking forward to the next one!
7.4.09 4th of July – I normally don’t get out to the fireworks but was happy to be able to this year. We met up with some family friends and I was impressed with the show.
7.10-12.09 Santa Cruz – My sister was hired to do makeup for a wedding up in Santa Cruz. They paid for the cost of her travel, her hotel room as well as paid for her time. Since I don’t have a lot going on, she asked if I wanted to join her. Of course I said yes! How cool is it to experience a trip up the coast at no cost to me other then food!? So, we decided to take the scenic route which was the 101 to the 1 since we were leaving Friday and had the time. It was such a great time with Heidi and I, we had so much fun being silly and listening to great music.
It was such a beautiful drive! I had a hard time not stopping every few minutes to take pictures!
Saturday was the day of the wedding and while Heidi started work on the bridesmaids I had made arrangements to meet up with my friend James. James and I have been friends for years (10+ easy)! He usually has to come down to Southern California for us to hang out so this time I was actually able to meet him up in his territory! We’d always ended up at Santa Monica Pier when he’d come down and he’d always say it was nothing like Santa Cruz Boardwalk. And sure enough he was right! I loved it there! We had a great time walking around, talking and catching up and of course me taking lots of pictures!
I got back in just enough time to get ready for the wedding that evening. James stuck around so that after the ceremony we went back to the boardwalk and then went to Downtown Santa Cruz and walked around. It was a great day.
Sunday we took the boring route back down the 5 Fwy because we were on a time crunch. My brother’s band, Poet Sky, was playing and we had decided to be the hard core fans and drive 5+ hours to go see their show in Pomona that night.
7.12.09 Poet Sky & AMP in Pomona – Before the show I wasn’t sure I had the energy to make it through but as usual once I start snapping pictures I was energized! The show was originally supposed to be in a bar but there was some confusion and luckily they were able to play out in a courtyard which I thought worked out better!
It was a long crazy weekend but nothing compared to what was coming the following weekend!
7.17.09 Camp Schultz Practice – Andy had asked me if I had time to go take pics of his band while they practiced for their show the next day. It was a short practice and early enough that I was able to stop by for about an hour and take some shots. I was pretty happy with how they turned out.
7.17.09 Club E (a Gothic Event) – My good friends Joe and Erica had put on a big Gothic party for Erica’s birthday. They wanted me to take pictures for it and were generous enough to pay me for my time. I had a great time shooting pictures and enjoying the nostalgia of my old wannabe Goth days just out of high school. It was a bit of a reunion as a lot of the people there were friends from that time.
7.18.09 Pasadena Photo Walk – The only bummer about my late night out was that I had already agreed to be in Pasadena the next morning at 7:30! Yeah I got like 2 hours of sleep, but I don’t often get out there and take artistic shots of random places. But that was the point of the event and I took advantage. Sadly we were all supposed to meet up after a couple of hours but the location they set wasn’t opened for another hour so everyone just kind of went their separate ways. I was looking forward to checking out what other people shot.
Anyways, we got done and with the lack of sleep and being out in the hot sun, I was definitely losing it. I needed sleep bad! I got home and took a nap for a few hours and had to get ready for my final shoot of the weekend.
My friend James had been the one to invite me to the event and we stayed close while taking our pictures through Old Town Pasadena. We plan on going back out on our own August 15th and we’re going to invite anyone who wants to go to join us. If you’re interested let me know.
7.18.09 Camp Schultz and others with CJ Ramone – So Andy and Chris were pretty excited about their show with CJ Ramone who was going to be playing all the old Ramones songs. My other friends, Voting with Bullets, were there as well so I knew a lot of people at the show.
At some point in the evening I lost all gumption. I believe it was the lack of sleep catching up with me because I got unreasonably moody. I struggled to even want to be there. I felt like I knew everyone but that there was no one there that I could hang out with. Everyone I knew was in the bands playing so they were too busy. By the time CJ Ramone came on I just wanted to leave. Mike from Camp Schultz convinced me to stay because when was I going to get a chance like this again? I was glad I did stay but I didn’t close out the event, I stayed for about half the set.
Job Hunt – So I had a pretty big let down this week. I interviewed for an Admin II position for the Pharmacy at Kaiser in Victorville on Monday. I felt good about the interview and sent out my thank you letter as soon as I got home. I found out Friday that they went with someone with Pharmacy experience, which makes sense but I was pretty down. She told me I did great in the interview and thought the thank you letter was definitely a nice touch (thanks Russ!).
I have another job I’m still waiting to hear back from but it’s been dragged out because of some issues beyond their control, so I’m not sure when that one will be confirmed one way or another.
So it’s taken me over a week to complete this post! Hopefully it won’t be this long before I can post again. I really need to start writing less or posting more often. Not sure.
I've been doing a lot of reflection. Or I should say I've been avoiding my responsibilities. Being unemployed sucks. I am a person that likes order and schedules. I find it hard to function without them. I've said it lots of times, I thrive on chaos. When I have an open day, or MANY open days, I find it hard to stay motivated to stick to a schedule. I get bored easily. The week before last was almost a little too busy but I'll go into that later.
Today I woke up determined. I didn't realize it until I saw that I woke up when my alarm went off, something my body seems to have been rejecting any other day. I accomplished a lot before 10am.
I have been finding comfort in coffee for once. I normally have to have fufu coffee but since I'm on a diet and can't have sugar I'm stuck with plain old coffee, cream and sweeteners. With the heat, add some ice and you've got a refreshing drink that feels like a treat. Either way, I got out of the house. For the first time I went and sat down at a coffee shop, did my devotions, wrote in my journal, and read some of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (I want it read again before the movie comes out). It was oddly relaxing. Sure it was hard to block out the sound of people talking, debating how our country could mourn the loss of a pedophile (which I'm inclined to agree, sorry to those readers and friends who are actually mourning the loss... I can't seem to bring myself to feel sad at all). But people came and went through the coffee house and there was plenty of time for quiet. I enjoyed it a lot! I think I will do it on a regular basis.
As I sat looking out the window at The Grind (the coffee house), a sudden rush of appreciation filled me for the fact that I live in beautiful Southern California! And that I have no idea where I will be in the future, even the near future. My future is completely unwritten. And I felt for the first time a sense of anticipation rather then dread or fear about what’s going to happen next! I have no idea what God has in store for me. It's totally open! But knowing that even in a few months my life will not be what it is today is no longer scary but exhilarating! As I wrote this, a song came into my mind...
What's that song?... Unwritten - by Natasha Bedingfield.
I am unwritten, Can't read my mind I'm undefined I'm just beginning The pen's in my hand Ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you Open up the dirty window Let the sun illuminate the words That you could not find Reaching for something in the distance So close you can almost taste it Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin No one else can feel it for you Only you can let it in No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips Drench yourself in words unspoken Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins The rest is still unwritten, yeah
Oh, oh
I break tradition Sometimes my tries Are outside the lines, oh yeah yeah We've been conditioned To not make mistakes But I can't live that way oh, oh
Staring at the blank page before you Open up the dirty window Let the sun illuminate the words That you could not find Reaching for something in the distance So close you can almost taste it Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin No one else can feel it for you Only you can let it in No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips drench yourself in words unspoken Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins the rest still unwritten
(Gospel) Staring at the blank page before you Open up the dirty window Let the sun illuminate the words That you could not find Reaching for something in the distance So close you can almost taste it Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin No one else can feel it for you Only you can let it in No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips Drench yourself in words unspoken Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
Sometimes we get so preoccupied with worry over the unknown that we forget the unknown should be looked at with excitement! Today can change the rest of my life depending on what happens next!
I think being unemployed has its advantages. How many people feel like their life is so repetitive? They feel like they are going through the motions with nothing new and exciting to report. The same old job day in and day out. I'm not saying they too couldn't look at their life with anticipation but not even knowing what your next job is going to be, who you will work with, where you will be living, etc. is quite unnerving for some people. Lately, it's been scary to me. I have been filled with dread that I would fail. Not be able to find a job before unemployment runs out and be stuck dealing with horrible finances. Wow... What a depressing picture huh? But today I'm filled with the possibilities of what God can do! I am excited to see His plans unfold and what He plans on bringing next in my life! I want to enjoy this time off as much as I can! Because when I do have a job, there may come a time when I feel stuck. So I am going to try to experience each day with anticipation and excitement for what God has planned. I guess reading this, it seems so obvious. I didn't hate life before, or think every day was horrible, but I did feel dread and fear. I no longer want to feel that way. The idea of not knowing what's coming tomorrow is bringing a smile to my face rather then worry!
Ok so I barely survived the busiest week of the month! Lots of emotional ups and downs and the worst day (Saturday, June 20th) was the biggest emotional roller coaster of them all! So at this point I haven't even gone through all the pics so they may or may not be attached to this post.
Weight Loss - So I've officially lost 15 pounds! Yay! I feel great and have only experienced a couple days of hardcore cravings. I'm realizing they are more emotional cravings which I knew my problem was emotional eating. I haven't measured in a while. I normally wait till Monday to do that. But my last measurements put me at losing 12 1/2 inches all over! How cool is that!? I went to try on clothes and am practically a whole size down! :D I don't know if it's noticeable to anyone else. My brother said he could tell (which is cool cause he's a guy! lol), but no one else has said anything. I think I need to lose my first goal before people will start noticing. But I'm halfway there. :) I haven't cheated either. Once you get the hang of it, it's not too hard to figure out what you can and can't eat.
Jam Bernardino 6/13/09 - So I went down to check out my friend Jimi play. He is quite the talented guitar player! I had never had a chance to see him live. I was able to hang out with him, his new girlfriend and his friends back at one of his friends beautiful mansion! I had a good time.
It's funny that I found myself in unfamiliar surroundings and around unfamiliar people (aside from Jimi and Sasha) and I was actually a bit shy! I guess it takes me to be in my own surroundings to be myself. :) But I had a great time. Jimi's friends were cool, down to earth people and I really didn't feel too awkward around them.
Disneyland! 6/15-16/09 - So I was able to make it to Disneyland one last time before my block out dates started! It was quite crowded as I'm sure everyone else was attempting the same thing. I went down with Linda, Vicki, Emily and Stephanie. They got a room and asked me to spend the night. I, of course, couldn't pass that up. :) We took our time getting down there the first day. And it was cool because Stephanie hadn't ever been on some of my favorite rides, so it was fun to experience that with a first-timer. I am finding that I like California Adventures more then Disneyland. Probably because I've been to Disneyland so much the rides are classics and California Adventures is all still new. We even got a chance to watch the Electric Parade. After the parade we met Jerret who came down to take Stephanie home since we were all spending the night.
The next day it was REALLY hot and WAY more crowded. I think we went on a ride or two but ended up heading out early. But I had a blast! I was so glad I was able to go with them!
House sitting 6/16-18/09 - So when I got back from Disneyland I had to house sit. I was a little tired but found it relaxing to be at the place I was housesitting. There were a lot of animals with specific instructions but all-in-all it worked out pretty good. But this meant I hadn't spent the night in my own bed from Monday - Thursday! I was thinking it's a good thing I didn't have a job!
Rehearsal Dinner 6/18/09 - Holly wanted me to take some pictures of her and her fiancé to be printed up for a frame at the wedding. She was pretty stressed out but I didn't mind. I was down at Edwards Mansion and scoping the place out for the wedding day. Our original goal was to take pictures before the rehearsal but we ended up doing it afterward. I specifically didn't want any landmarks in the pictures because I didn't want the guests to know it was the same location. I picked a pretty green spot and took maybe 100 photos. Here are a couple of my favorites.
Also on the way home the sky was so beautiful I had to snap a couple shots. I had a car pull up next to me checking me out while I blindly shot pics out through and out my window. hehe
Ok so I was going to continue on the rest of my busy week but I have friends bugging me to get to a BBQ... I'm off for now... More to come...
Terrance & Holly's Wedding Shoot 6/19/09 and Toni Michels Funeral, Sasha's Going Away Party and Poet Sky @ Old Towne Pub Pasadena 6/20/09
I'm in my 3rd week of being unemployed. The week after I got laid off was pretty uneventful. In fact, I don't really remember what all happened. But last week was pretty crazy busy! I've got a lot to share and of course loads of pictures to go along with everything!
February 20th Dinner - So for the 2nd week in a row Andie came over to help me learn how to cook. We made breaded chicken with bowtie pasta, sun dried tomatoes and sauteed asperagus in an alfredo sauce and seriously orgasmic garlic bread. lol
February 21st New Hair / Tango Kilo - I got my hair done by Heidi and it's quite a bit blonder but I love it. My sister was too busy to style it so another girl Randi took some time to curl my hair. I thought it was cute, a bit more curls then I like but I was going out that night so it worked out nicely.
So my friends band, Tango Kilo, was playing at a local dive bar, the Marina Lounge in Spring Valley Lake. My brother and I went. I had a lot of fun! I don't go to too many local shows so I was surprised by how many people I knew. It was a reunion of sorts. I enjoyed hanging out and talking with my brothers friends. My friends Andie and Barbara came as well. It was a late night but I had a great time!
February 22nd Poet Sky @ the Universal Bar & Grill - Well this whole night was odd for me. First of all I look at the pics and realize it was a great night, and I really did have a good time. Though there was another side to that show, my internal emotions were miserable! I struggled and looking back I'm STILL not sure what was up with me that night. If you look at the pics you can't really see it either. But it was a bitter sweet night for me. But check out the rockin pics!
February 23rd LA Meeting - So I drove down to LA for a meeting with the payroll company and it was incredible. I had only gotten 4 hours of sleep because of my brothers show, but I thought I looked presentable considering.
This company was already awesome in my book but the owner took me out to lunch to discuss options to get me a job and I was blown away by how nice he was and how hard he was trying to make it work. The bummer is, without traffic it took me 2 hours to get down there. So we left it as I was going to take a week to think about it. In this week we both came to the conclusion that I'm a great fit for the company if I lived closer. I'm still considering a sales position which would let me stay local for the most part. Just waiting to see what God has for me.
It was rough to try and stay awake because I was so tired. But this is towards the end of the night...
February 24th Pasadena Class / Alliance Crew Lunch / Dinner with Berrys - You got that right! I was non-stop that day. I drove down to Pasadena for aWesPay ACH class that I was already signed up for before I was laid off. It was from 9 - 12:30. The only awkward thing was they recognized me and asked me to stay afterward to explain what took place with Alliance. It wasn't too bad. The person I talked to said he was hearing two stories and wanted to know what the correct one was. I told him about having troubles looking for a job and he introduced me to someone who then asked me to email her my resume and she would pass it around. So that was cool! And I ran into another lady I met back in August when I went to the conference in Vegas. She also had me email her my resume. So it was a good networking venture.
Alliance Lunch - After the class I drove to Rancho Cucamonga to Wahoo's where I was gonna meet a bunch of the crew. I was actually really happy to see everyone. And it made me realize how much I missed seeing them every day. Here's a picture of the group that made it.
Dinner with the Berrys - I hadn't hung out with my friend David in a while so I had arranged for us to meet for dinner since I was going to be down there. He sadly was laid off by linkLINE, yet again, because of the Alliance fiasco. Apparently linkLINE couldn't afford the lack of income that Alliance paid them for their servers etc. Anyways, it was great to see the kiddos before me, David and Erin went out to dinner. Their kids are getting sooo big! Here's a pic of the group of us.
More Updates - I have a lot more to share but I'm out of time. I'll post something in the next couple of days.
To Share: Dinner Party - February 27th Megan's Birthday - March 1st Visitor from Africa - February 28th - March 5th A Chair's Photography - February 28th New Glasses Possible new job with big changes
So I'm sitting with my laptop on my new (yard sale deal) futon in my office waiting for my pictures of the weekend to download on my desktop machine. I have a ton of pictures to post! This weekend I drove all over the place! I put over 400 miles on my car! But it's been a good weekend. But let’s do things in chronological order...
Written Friday 08/08/08
I know… I know... It's been a while. Life has kind of come at me fast and I'm trying really hard to organize my priorities and blogging is sadly low on the list. And so much has happened in the last month I'm not too sure what to really update. I seriously can't believe it's been this long since I've updated!
Vacations - With all the stress going on in my life this topic has crept into my daydreams a lot as of late. This morning on my way to work I thought about scheduling a vacation away by myself, maybe Solvang like I've been wanting to, just take pictures and get some quiet time. But that will have to be next year as the timeshare I have is booked up months and months in advance for Solvang. Though I can go just about anywhere with this timeshare I really think it would be nice to go somewhere unique. My work has told me I'm required to take at least a week off by the end of the year. And right now that sounds really nice but not possible till November.
AAP Examination - I've officially scheduled my AAP Exam for October 29th at 10am! I'm sooo nervous and excited at the same time. I'm concerned about my lack of time for study but I have found that things are starting to sink in. I'm remembering more and more. I do know that the entire month of October I'm going to be studying my butt off! No life for me till the test is OVER! Sorry friends... don't take it personal. I just have a goal!
Events - Ok so I just looked through my calendar and realized how many different events I went to and most I took pictures that I can post!
Edify's first show 6/28/08 - I took a ton of pictures so I'll make sure to go through and upload them. I was very proud of my boys! The band did very well!
OURS show with Jimi 6/29/08 - Jimi, a friend from myspace, had a spare ticket to see OURS down at the Glasshouse in Pomona. It was the first time we got to meet face to face. Jimi is a really cool guy! And he was first in line! Before we were allowed in Jimmy (the lead singer to OURS) came out and I was immediately impressed with how genuine he seemed. He was friendly and didn't seem like taking pictures with fans was a waste of his time. In fact, Jimi asked if I wanted a picture with Jimmy and I decided I did. I felt a little silly and even said sorry and Jimmy was like, there is no reason to say sorry and it may sound odd but he wasn't afraid to get close for the picture. I know some people that barely even let you stand next to them. He put his arm around me and smiled for the shot. And well he was definitely my type so that probably made liking him all that much easier! ;) I was impressed with him and hoped I would enjoy the music.
It was the first time I ever heard OURS. I was really glad I went! All the bands were pretty awesome! The show started a lot later then scheduled and we were wondering if it was because the turnout didn't seem that great. The first band was Plain Jane Automobile and they were great! (Jimi still has yet to send me some of their music from the cd he got while we were there :P) Duke was a really nice guy. He saw me taking pics at the show and asked me to make sure he got copies of them. One shot in particular is my favorite, him singing, looking down and pointing right at me. Though I hadn't quite got my camera settings adjusted for the low lighting I still think the shot turned out cool. The second band was God or Julie which wasn't particularly my style but I got a lot of great shots of the band. Then OURS came on. I was mesmerized within moments. I was very impressed and immediately a fan!
Go hereto see the video to my favorite song "God Only Wants You"! If you want to read Jimi's review of the show Go Here. Not sure how well that will work if you don't have myspace.
Here is my favorite pic of Duke from Plain Jane Automobile
Here is the pic Jimi took of me and Jimmy before the show
Here are some of my favorites of Jimmy from OURS
Movie Night @ church 7/2/08 - No pictures, but we got together to watch "Thou shalt laugh" and I got a kick out of it. A couple of the comedians were really funny!
Fun at the Park 7/13/08 - We all met for a picnic at the park. I had a great time and had lots of fun taking pictures! My boys, Eric and Jerret, were so sweet! If they were just a little older! ;) haha
Ladies pool party 7/19/08 - Again no pictures, mostly because a bunch of ladies, at a pool, usually don't like their pictures taken. I enjoyed myself though. I truly relaxed!
Game Night 8/1/08 - I dreaded going. I was tired, had a rough week at work but decided to make an appearance. I'm so glad I did! Ron from church made up a list of words based on books, plays/theater, movies, tv and songs that the two groups (my team and my sisters team) had to try to get through them as quickly as possible. The first team through the words won. My team was great! But we got stuck on "Avenue Q" and "Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite!" which NONE of my team had ever heard of before! lol We got 5 words behind but in the end we were behind by 1 word when my sisters team won. Sure we lost but we almost caught up! I was impressed with that! Anyways, it was a lot of fun!
BootieLA 8/2/08 - So my friend Russ was the one to introduce me to BootieLA last year when we spent the day driving around taking pictures. He had a Best of BootieLA cd, it was an awesome mix! From that point on I attempted to get down there and go with Russ at the first Saturday of every month. Attempted up until last weekend when I finally got to go! I met him at his place and we got there a little late. But I walked in and immediately wanted to get out on the dance floor! That's always a good sign of great music! I had a blast! I let loose! I had been having a rough day. In fact I had been having a rough couple of weeks. Getting out on that dance floor I let go of it all. It was very therapeutic and fun at the same time! It was exactly what I needed! I had a great time with my friend Russ, who sadly is moving to Montana next month. But I plan on going back down for my birthday next month!
Updated 8/10/08 -
Church Pool Party 8/9/08 - I went to the church pool party Saturday. It was relaxing. Michelle and I played pool which made me want to buy a pool table for our extra living room so bad! I haven't played pool in a while but it was fun! Michelle was a really good teacher, as it’s been a while since I've played I needed reminders of how certain shots would work. I won the first game and she thought I lied about not really remembering how to play. hehe Anyways, it was a good time. I didn't really get into the pool, I sat on the edge and put my feet in and that was about it. But it was nice to get some sun.
I didn't stay long because I needed to get home so Rachel and Tom could drop off the futon I bought from Rachel’s mom. I am really happy about it. So far I'm enjoying sitting indian style with my laptop (on my lap)... lol I really wanted a couch for my office but I wanted one that I could use as a spare bed if I had company. But I couldn't afford the one I wanted from IKEA just yet and this one was only 25.00! I couldn't pass it up! And it's in great shape!
Tupperware Party w/ Dixie Longate 8/9/08 - Darla at work invited us all to go to a Tupperware party. But not just *any* tupperware party… A tupperware party where the consultant is Dixie Longatea drag queen! I invited my friend Andie because I know she'd get a kick out of it. And it turns out this was Dixie's last show as he/she is taking her character to Broadway (I think)!
Anyways, Andie and I got down to Corona a tad late. Dixie looked just like she did in her pictures. It was awesome! I laughed the whole time! I got some great pictures and amazingly she did actually sell the product! Of course she was a bit more vulgar then I think any regular consultant would be able to get away with but I had a blast! And I got to hang out with Keith who I don't get to see nearly enough! :)
Meeting up with James 8/10/08 - So most of you may remember my friend James (Mopmonster) from Northern California. We've been friends for years and whenever he's in Southern California we try to meet up. So today after church I went down to his hotel in Burbank and from there we went to Santa Monica. We just walked the pier, talked about lots of stuff, had dinner at Wahoo's and then made our way back. We were both tired from our long weekends so we decided to call it a night and I was heading home before the sun went down. I am glad for this little bit of time to veg before going to bed.
Ok so hopefully it won't be another month before I update again! Night
A Chair's Photography - For so long I had been looking through windows of what could possibly be (with my photography in particular), but God just hadn't allowed those windows to open... until now. It was somewhat discouraging, but I tried to be patient. I got little glimpses of hope, with people like Joel Eckman Maus contacting me about working with him, (which I still hope to do someday)! Some of you may remember that post in January about him and another wedding photographer George Sillas. Well this week I was contacted by George Sillas's sister Susan Whitney to be an assistant photographer for a wedding in June! I'm totally excited. And how she heard about me is short of a miracle or maybe it was God. ;) His fingerprints are all over this stuff!
Anyways, I'm sort of getting ahead of myself, going back to that post about the wedding photographers. It was in that post that I made the declaration that I wanted to do whatever it took to be a professional photographer. I looked into a photography degree. Even researched some books that might help me organize a business. (I never purchased them and just today Joshua sent me a link to one of the ones I thought of getting. Seriously the signs are everywhere that someone upstairs wants me to pursue this!) But it seems that since I've made that declaration there has been a snowball effect in regards to my photography.
I originally went to this bridal fair because my friend Rashaell asked me to take pictures at her wedding and reluctantly, as well as being scared to death, I agreed to take her wedding pictures. The wedding was March 2nd. And I was happy with the way some of the pictures turned out!
In the middle of March James (from work) sent me a link to the Steampunk Tree House. James is a fairly new employee of Alliance who also loves photography. He's invited me to join a photography blog and group. The Steampunk Tree House was his idea of the groups first photography outing. The Steampunk Tree House originates in Northern California but they are bringing it down for the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals. The more I thought about it, the more I realized seeing it during the festival won't be much fun because I'm sure it will be crowded. I emailed the project manager and explained my desire to see and take pictures of the Tree House and asked if there was any way it would be open to the public outside of the festivals. He said that it would have minimal access during the festival for liability reasons and he may be able to get me in to see it sometime between the two festivals. After a week or so of no confirmation I emailed him again and asked if he had given it any more thought and sure enough he's opening it up for me on May 1st!!!! I'm totally stoked!
Shortly after that I heard George Sillas was looking for another assistant photographer. I already told my brother about what I thought of his work the day I came back from the bridal fair. Sure enough Brian knows his sister from an old job and his friends, Eirik and Angie are good friends of the sister and they recommended me! This is how it all came to be that she called and asked me to be an assistant photographer. Networking is an awesome thing but I haven't seen it work for my benefit so completely!
The day my brother called and asked me if I'd be interested in being an assistant photographer my coworker asked me to take a family portrait for her and she was willing to pay me. This was shortly after my successful photo shoot of my (at the time) pregnant friend Brandie. I am confident in my abilities to take portraits, or I should say I feel more comfortable with taking portraits. And we have a tentative date scheduled for the last weekend this month.
I spoke with Susan Whitney yesterday and she's invited me to join her for a couple engagement shoots! I'm excited for the experience! It's also going to push me to prepare and study before the shoots. One is going to be done in Vegas at 4am! I'm excited by the challenge night shots will be and what I can learn. Another is scheduled for Pasadena next Sunday. I've already told her I would like to go. She gave me the details of the wedding and what she's expecting of me. Honestly this is the best way to learn! I'm so excited that I get this opportunity to take some great shots without the stress that all the responsibility is on me. I would definitely love to assist more!
Then just yesterday my friend Turtle called me as I was leaving work and asked if I would be willing to be the photographer at his reception! He asked my rate and I told him I would get back to him. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that he's a friend, it's not the full ceremony and being that I was already going to the reception meant I was already going to bring my camera and already be taking pictures! So I kept the price low. I'm excited for the experience! It'll be a gothic style so it should be quite fun to shoot!
Moving - So I dropped off our 30 day notice to our landlady tonight. Yup, just like that we're moving. Last Friday on my way up the hill I spoke to my sister about Misty and Jeremy moving out of their place and them needing replacement tenants ASAP and how it's the perfect place for me, Brian and Mike. It did sound nice. Five bedrooms (Mike sleeping on the couch just isn't cutting it anymore and Brian needs an office to work out of), it's a nice neighborhood, we'd each have our own bathroom, and rent was reasonable considering we'd be moving to a nicer place with more space, A LOT more space! Saturday I went and got my hair done at the Salon and Brian stopped by. He was meeting Jeremy to go check out the place. At this point I realized he was taking it seriously. Sure enough we had a meeting at our place that night and decided to pray about it because we had to give them an answer by Monday. As my first sentence indicated we all felt it was the right choice. Now I get to start packing. Yay!
Well I think there was more that I wanted to share but this is becoming a large post. Goodnight!
Well it's Friday! I wouldn't have thought this week would have turned out as well based off of earlier in the week, but all-in-all no complaints. I got my new phone! It was waiting for me when I got home last night. I charged it and got it activated this morning. Jerry was the first to call me on it this afternoon! So far he's the only number I have saved. I figured, why do all that work when I can just go to a Sprint store and have them import my contacts from my old phone. I plan on stopping by a Sprint store after my sister trims up my hair tomorrow morning.
I was allowed to get on the rooftop of our building at work and take some pictures of the sunset and well it's a pretty cool view with the planes landing at the Ontario Airport. It was my last chance to catch the sunset before we close up since this weekend we're changing our clocks ahead. I've always thought the view from the roof was cool and my supervisor was willing to let me sneak up there for a bit... Yay! Not only that but she was even sweet enough to let me go back up when I was the only one there to be on the phones! When James found out I was going up there he asked if he could join me. He’s a new guy in the IT department but he also enjoys photography.
This weekend I don't plan on doing anything but stuff for me! I've been so busy doing stuff for others I haven't taken time for some of my own projects. Now mind you this includes cleaning. I have said it before but cleaning is very therapeutic for me. I'm really looking forward to going through and getting everything organized. My room is very homey *when* I have it clean. Though with my schedule it rarely looks as good as I like it to. Go Here to see some pics of my room when it's sparkling...
Brian and Rashaell's Wedding 3/2/08 - So I took pictures of Brian and Rashaell's wedding last weekend. It was miserably windy! The lighting in the church was really rough to work with. But I think I got a couple good shots. This is one of the things I've wanted to complete this week but haven't had the time. So my goal is to get through the pictures and hopefully post a few of my favorites this weekend sometime.
Monday - I stopped by my parents to give my mom a piece of the wedding cake I was told to take home. My mom's been pretty sick for the last week or so and she wasn't able to make it to the reception. My niece Megan had just gone to Hearst Castle and wanted to tell me all about it. I got home later then I expected and my night was pretty much done.
Tuesday - Was the "Hell Day" of the week. Within an hour a lot took place. I had taken my usual lunch walk but it was unusually hot and I was pretty warm when I was coming back into the office, so much so that my coworkers mentioned that I seemed quite red. I had a few moments left of my lunch break so I go to play with a lens James has for his camera. I couldn't figure out how to adjust the settings to really get a good idea about the lens and what it could do. My alarm on my cell went off telling me it was time to get back to work for a staff meeting. I run back to give James his camera and as I'm shutting my phone to turn off the alarm it broke. Flustered, I put it on my desk to figure out what happened later. I get in to the meeting and was immediately used as an example of what not to do in a situation. I will say my supervisor did give a disclaimer she wasn't picking on me, but that it was a really good example of something we need to be careful not to repeat. But… I really didn't appreciate being blindsided by a mistake I was unaware that I even made, in front of a room full of people. I would have liked to have been told prior to the meeting. It really wasn't that big of a deal. I think because of all that just transpired within the few minutes prior, it didn't make for an ideal situation. I think the straw that broke the camels back was that she then proceeded to give kudos to my other two coworkers about their hard work, not saying they didn't deserve it, but it just didn't quite seem like a level situation. I honestly just wanted to go away, catch my breath and maybe scream. hehe I kept telling myself “I don’t fight against flesh and blood”. I wasn’t upset with my supervisor; I was upset at the circumstances. Satan knows where to get me and I think he hit them all in less then an hour. Once I cooled off literally (and well emotionally) I was fine. I could tell I was just moody that day.
Oh, huge blessing: I checked out my options for a new cell phone was able to replace my exact phone for only 25.00 no activation fee! (I didn’t have insurance) Just had to wait for it to be delivered which was expected to be 3-4 business days.
Later that night my brother Brian sent me some content for a site he has been having me work on and well I really need the money so I put aside my hope to get through the wedding shots to work on the site because the sooner I get it done, the sooner I get paid.
Wednesday - Work was blah, but nothing horribly annoying. I had ordered the new phone and had jerry rigged my broken one to be able to use if needed. After work I went straight to bible study, I had a great time visiting with everyone, but there went another night.
Thursday - After being 2 ½ weeks late I finally started! (Sorry male readers) I am not sure if it was stress or what but my body just didn’t want to cycle and I felt something was slightly wrong, I had been extremely sluggish and lethargic for the last couple of weeks. So on a very rare occasion I was very glad that my monthly bill had arrived. Haha I know that sounds so wrong! But I had a great day at work and was in a fairly positive mood.
That morning Jerry had called me before work, and oddly enough we both were thinking about seeing what the other was doing that evening. We decided I would stop by after work. It’s been a couple weeks since we’ve been able to get together so after work I dropped by his place. We had a good time playing around with his website. I was in a pretty good mood all day. I get home to find that my new cell phone I ordered Tuesday night had already arrived! I was thrilled!
Friday - has been an awesome day! It’s been the best way to end a week. I’ve been upbeat and energetic. Other then my emotional rollercoaster conversation with my mom on my way up the hill, it’s been a great evening too! My poor mom witnessed a gamut of emotions. I talked to her about my week on the way up the hill. She and I talk on a fairly regular basis and well since my phone has been busted we haven’t been able to talk that much and I made up for it with venting about it all at once!
Finances were the biggest topic; they are really tight right now. I’ve been a really good girl and cut back on A LOT of stuff. Though ironically you would think it would make things look financially brighter, but it sadly seems worse! So I’m trying to trust that God will supply all my needs. I have noticed a couple things. I seem to have a never ending bottle of facial toner. Every time I think I’ve used the last of it, I still see the same amount. It’s been like this for the last two weeks. So hey, it’s not wine but it works for me! Same with my gas, I’ve been getting 40-50 more miles per tank the last couple of fill-ups. I also had to get an oil change last week (I had pushed it off as long as I could) and because of their mistake I got a free air filter. So things like this prove that God is blessing my obedience with my finances, but it’s still really hard. I keep declaring that “My God will supply all my needs,” “He has good plans for my life, plans for prosperity and not failure.” My church has been talking about using our Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. It seems odd at first but I feel a difference speaking it out of my mouth, rather then just thinking good thoughts.
Anyways, I’m getting tired. I'll post pictures tomorrow or something... Goodnight!
So some of you have been asking about the pictures I took of Brandie and her pregnant belly. I wasn't sure how I felt about doing this photoshoot. Brandie and I have been dear friends for years, but some of her choices have caused a strain on our friendship. But in the end I love her no matter what. I want to see her happy and well she's very happy and that's all that matters to me!
The cool part is Brandie called me tonight and told me that when her mom went to Costco to print some of the shots I took, they gave her a hard time and said she isn't allowed to print professional shots without written consent from the photographer! Ok so I know the employee at Costco isn't the best judge of quality but hey! They thought my work was the work of a professional! That made me feel really good. :)
Here are a couple of my favorites. Let me know what you think.
Being Creative - I've had a very creative week. I've spent most of my evenings working on graphics and logos for friends and family. I have a job updating (one of my brothers client's) Medeiros & Associates website to match their yellow pages ad. I helped Jason with a header graphic for his churches website and he also asked me to work on the logo for the place his girlfriend works since their current one was pretty outdated. Tonight Poet Sky was at my place practicing and Foe and I talked about me working on the bands "Our Alackaday Ways" album cover, possibly even adding some of my photography. I'm looking forward to it. I love Foe and Strav. They are like my extended family. Total cuties too!
Strav and Foe
Poet Sky - Strav, Foe and Brian
With all this graphic work it's made me motivated to get my own photography site up! I'm going to make it happen. It's felt good to get back into graphics. I forget how fun it is to see things come together from nothing. I'll make sure to link to my photography site when I get it updated.
So my last post about photography actually brought about some amazing stuff! Joel Eckman Maus read my blog! The best part is he said to let him know if I'd be interested in helping out at weddings!!! Um... YES!!! I'm so incredibly excited! I think it would be so amazing to watch him work. What better way to learn then to be an assistant to someone I admire and look up to!
Also along the same lines of creativity, Rachel and I went in together to make Brandie a diaper cake for her baby shower gift. Stephanie had showed me the idea at work and the moment I saw it I thought of doing it for Brandie's baby shower. It was a lot of fun to make and it got a lot of attention at the shower. It's a unique gift. Rachel and I have decided that from now on this will be our thing to bring for any baby shower we go to. Here are a couple pictures of it.
Before all the extras
After all the extras
Jaw troubles - My jaw on the left side is swollen and tender to the touch like it was Christmas Eve. Not sure if I ever explained what happened but Christmas Eve I went to work and my jaw hurt really bad and it was swollen so I thought I might have some kind of ear infection. I go to the doctor's and they tell me that it's not an ear infection and it must be that I'm clenching my jaw causing a form of TMJ, or grinding my teeth. I've never known myself to be a teeth grinder so the only thing I could think of is that I clench my jaw. My doctor said it is caused by stress. I think its a bit silly actually but I may very well be clenching my jaw without realizing it. Why only the one side? Anyways, just an annoying little tidbit I thought I’d share.
Random - I've been on a U2 kick. My brother got me the limited edition U2 iPod a couple Christmas's back. It came with the whole U2 collection. I've been listening to it on random almost every night this week and I'm still not through the whole thing!
This is a video I specifically looked up because of a conversation Joshua and I had at work. I figured I'd share since it's a great song and brings me back.
So I've spent the majority of my day on my butt watching tv and its been fabulous! I enjoy days like this. You wouldn't think I had a lot on my mind but I did. I went to a bridal fair this morning with Rachel and Rashaell because I'm taking pictures for Rashaell's wedding in March and we were hoping to get some ideas of what type of shots to take.
I saw a lot of booths with the typical wedding photography... yawn...
Until I recognized this guy, George Sillas. I recognized him but never knew he was a photographer. I went into his booth and was blown away by his work; awed actually. His style is so incredible and unique. I was immediately intimidated about taking pictures for Rashaell, knowing I could never reproduce such amazing photos, at least not with a month or even a year of preparation. Anyways, he explained that he's always loved photography, that it’s been a hobby, but has been doing it professionally for 2 years. He's pricy but I'm seriously thinking I will just have to budget his price for my wedding! Hopefully he doesn't go up too much higher by the time I end up getting married! Or I'll just have to marry someone rich. hehe Anyways, back to the bridal fair... I saw a couple other photographers that were close to the quality of his but everything else seemed so boring after his pictures.
I've never liked the idea of getting into wedding photography. I was never that impressed with the artistry of wedding photos. Well actually I saw one of my very first impressive wedding photographers from my coworker Mike's wedding photos. They used Joel Eckman Maus for their engagement and wedding photos. He sent me a link of his and Rocquel's wedding pictures and I was very impressed by the style! It was unique, and as Mike said "young and fresh".
As I sat watching tv today I was mulling over the concept of feeling intimidated and out of my element with wedding photography. How, if I had the financial freedom, I might not feel so confined. The equipment does make a difference. But honestly it's about applying myself, putting the energy into it. I put so much energy into other things for other people. I thought about how focused Jerry is about his newest business plan. He doesn't sleep much. Works a full time job, plus a commute, is also closing out a business, and starting this new one. How? I know his dedication. I see it. Do I have that kind of focus? Can I learn to say "no" to others while I pursue my dreams? Can I not enjoy a day on my ass watching tv all day? So many people in my life say I'm going too much, doing too many things, I need to slow down. I take days like today to make up for the lack of not stopping during the week. Is that how it should be done? Watching Jerry I see that I need to step up my game a few notches. Or does it go back to my issue with time management? See, I really wasn't zoning out on my couch. I was trying to figure all these things out.
How do I expect to get good at something without practice? I guess one of the issues I have with wedding photography is that it’s a one time deal. You can't just go out another day and get a better shot. Or what if I miss that perfect shot? That moment in time that captured the essence of whom they are as a couple. Man that's a lot of responsibility.
I finally got off the couch and had an email from Rach asking if I'd gone to the photographer’s websites. I hadn't. I was avoiding it actually. It was hard enough to see their stuff in person I wasn't sure if I wanted to look at their websites. But I went. And to my surprise it was less intimidating. I saw the pictures and not all were in perfect focus, or they had some digital enhancement, or shading to hide boring backgrounds. My fears subsided a bit. I realize that Rashaell isn't asking for George Sillas pictures, if I could give her at least a couple awesome shots and learn for the future that's all I could hope for.
It’s amazing how many people don't realize a website is essential nowadays. Going through the booths today I saw some great stuff but they didn't have websites! I didn’t think that was possible. It’s so easy to make and maintain a website I'm just surprised people don't have them! Going to the photography sites (the ones that actually had sites); I judged them by how professional and classy their sites looked as much as the photographs themselves. I can use my knowledge of website design and graphic arts to my advantage.
People have asked me to take family or event pictures and honestly I would much rather do that then weddings. But I think I just need to keep doing it. I'm no where near the knowledge for professional photography but I think I've made the decision to make myself professional… Whatever it takes.
Joshua and I were chatting the other day and we discussed going back to school. He told me he spends his spare time reading programming books. I have thought a lot about how his passion for programming makes it enjoyable even to learn on his off time. Rachel pointed out that the only thing in my life that has held my attention for very long is photography. So I have to ask myself, why haven't I continued to learn? I loved ALL my photography classes! I still have so much to learn. I've always known photography was a very competitive career choice and knowing I am not competitive by nature I never thought to go forward with a degree in it. Now I'm rethinking that. Joshua joked that I needed to just get married... to a rich guy... so I could fulfill my two passions... Photography and Travel.
I told Jerry I want to be his personal assistant so that I can travel the world and take pictures all along the way. When Jerry actually said it was a possibility it made me realize how much I want to be doing something I love. Both Jerry and Joshua are pursuing what makes them the most happy, I'm guessing that's the key to staying focused and enjoying every step of the way.
Wow... Life has been chaotic! I had a post started about my birthday excursion but it's outdated now. I really wanted to share early on about the entire day and how I felt but it seems that it would become one of the longest posts I've written so far! There are just too many things to update. But I will do my best to sum up. I am currently at work composing the bulk of this blog but I also think I will have to do most of the finalization at home. Who knows when this post will actually get published!
My Birthday Excursion 9/8/07 - Rachel and Andie picked me up in Rancho where I was housesitting with Starbucks in hand! I got to Andie's car and saw that they had decorated the windows with 'Happy Birthday Chair' and a big old '30th Birthday' sign on the passanger seat so everyone could know as we drove around! hehe It was cute. I get in the car and find out that I would get clues (more like riddles to figure out) where we were going next.
The first stop I figured to be a garden. Descanso Gardens to be exact. It was beautiful there! And it helped that the sky was particularly clear all day! I took tons of pictures. I felt completely special that the day had been planned around my love of photography!
Next clue led us to the Griffith Observatory! We had a bit of a hike up there but we laughed, had a good time and got our excersize in at the same time! I loved the Griffith Observatory and will make sure to go back when I can spend a day there! We were running short on time apparently and the girls stopped at one point to figure out which of the remaining stops we needed to skip.
The next clue took me a while to figure out, but it was the Mann's Chinese Theater and we realized it was a place I've been to plenty of times and we chose to skip it. The next clue should have gotten us to a cemetary called Hollywood Forever but ended up being an accidental skip since we drove right past it! It looks pretty cool so I'm gonna have to go back and check it out sometime. We ended up at the Huntington Beach Pier! Andie had NEVER been! I was quite surprised but we walked the pier. It was more crowded then I've seen it in a LONG time and I think my moodiness with crowds made for a short stop.
Apparently my sister was going to meet up with us at the last stop and we needed to head back. I was given my last clue of the day which was spelled out for me. :) We were going to Dave & Busters for dinner! The traffic back kind of sucked so we were late in meeting Heidi. I got to Dave & Busters and saw my sister who said she put our name in so after a quick stop to the restroom we'd go to our table.
Turns out in the end they did plan a surprise party for me! I had suspected it but as the day progressed I thought that wouldn't be happening. I walk through and my sister brings me to a table filled with a bunch of my friends! I had a great time hangin out! My friend Russ was even able to make it, he and I rarely get to hang out. I felt so special! Rachel and Andie really knew how to make my 30th a memorable one! I found out while we ate all that had conspired to make the day happen! Including Rachel stealing my cell a couple months prior to write down all the numbers she needed to invite people! I had NO CLUE!!!!
The entire day was all about me!! A full day of photography and an evening hanging out playing games with my friends! I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday! Rachel and Andie, you made me feel very loved! Thank you so much guys!
African Benefit Dinner 9/15/07 - The dinner was a success! But lets not get ahead of ourselves! Once we resigned ourselves to the fact that we would only have about 100 people there, the rest of the planning of the dinner went relatively smoothly. We already have people interested in when the next one is going to be. I heard only positive feedback, at least from the people that mattered. hehe They loved the decorations, which I was happy with as well. They enjoyed themselves and were entertained. My church had gone down to Faith Community Church in Buena Park which is a Kenyan church. I met Henry Karis who was an amazing guitarist! After the service I went up to him and asked him what he was doing the next saturday and booked him to play a couple of his own songs in Swahili. He did an amazing job and I hope he'll be able to come up for our next dinner. He and my brother hit it off and I knew they would. I specifically sat them at the same table. I only had one issue and that was with the photographer. Maybe it's because I was expecting something different and so was she. But our personalities clashed a bit. And to be honest I was a bit dissapointed. But other then that the night was awesome!
Later we found that we had a profit of over $2,500! My friend Jerry was impressed because he does the taste of Arcadia and the first year they had 600 people there and made 3000 profit. As the years have passed they have increased the profit but also the number of people in attendance. We only had 100 people there and made that amount. I'm nervous about planning the next so soon but we have the interest for it. People were impressed and we want to keep up the momentum. We can't wait another 3 years to have another dinner. But it's something I can chalk up to experience. When I get married I'll be prepared to plan the reception! hehe
Alliance - I've started training for some tasks in the Accounting Dept. It's a slow process because the lady training me only wants to train me on one portion of my future tasks a month. Also this month I had my 1 year anniversary with Alliance! A few things have changed in a years time... Mike is one the newest employees at Alliance. He's pretty cool. I've enjoyed getting to know him. He just got married earlier this year and they both have never been married before and are in their late 30's. They are an adorable couple too! Both are good looking people, it was nice to hear how they connected. Gave me a bit of hope of a late courtship being possible, one worth waiting for.
Reflection - Once the benefit dinner was over I thought I would have all sorts of time on my hands. This whole week has been filled! Something going on every evening! Saturday is the first day to relax in what feels like forever! I was already invited to dinner at Ludek's and I'd love to go but I'm feeling like I really need to get a full day of "me time".
I've done a lot of reflection in the last week. I spent a little time working through some thoughts and insecurities that arose in the last week or so. There are phases where God reveals things that need to be changed. One being that I tend to enjoy flirting and I find that in some respects I get my affirmation in the amount of flirting that is done. Whether with one individual or multiple. The flirting is not the issue, but the concept that I get my affirmation based on how much I flirt is. This is a slightly odd revelation but none-the-less true. There has been a lack of men to flirt with in my life, at least ones that I'm crushing on. Yes, there is a difference when there is an attraction involved. Part of the old me started to surface with wondering if I was attractive. Its amazing how an old part of me can still sneak in there. I'd love for a guy to let me know how attractive I am. It's been a while since I've heard that. But I need to accept my beauty for myself.
Another thing is my finances. I've let them get out of control. I paid off all my debt while working at linkLINE. When I was laid off I didn't change how I lived. I continued to live like I had no debt and could buy anything I wanted. I'm living beyond my means right now. Especially having bought a newer car this year. I finally sat down and went back to a strict budget. It's not fun but for now it's what I have to do. It's only for a time, it's not permanent, I won't be here forever, this too shall pass. Yes, sadly I have to keep reminding myself of that when I want to go out and buy something. I was in a similar situation when I worked at linkLINE and it didn't take me very long to get out of it. So I know I can do it now.
And finally time management. I've come to the conclusion that I am going to have to schedule "me time" every week. A night where I can do what I want! No phone calls, no guests, nothing but time for me. I can update my blog or online album, organize/clean my room, watch movies, read, whatever! Also I have started doing morning devotions. It's been nice but it hasn't given me that quality time to meditate, time for me to hear that "still small voice". I know I'm hearing God, even in some of these revelations/reflections this week. I know He's been a big part of the revealing aspect. But my heart is draw closer, to hear His voice more clearly. I also have a few projects that friends have asked me to do. I may use a night for those types of projects as well as my own, like achairsphotography.com which has been majorly neglected!
Sunday Update 9/23/07 - Well a lot was accomplished in the last couple of days! I found out Friday that I get a raise starting next pay period! Seems like perfect timing now that I decided to stick to a strict budget. I still plan on sticking to the budget but it just means my debt will get paid off faster. How cool is that!? Also Saturday came and went and it was wonderful! I used the day to clean the entire house. Yes, Mike, my roommate, seemed unsure of how that constituted as something I'd want to do with my first day off. But it was sooo rewarding to see how clean everything was when it was all said and done! My brother Brian has a jammin session going on with Forrest and Strav and I'm not embarrassed of how the house looks. In fact I'm proud of the way it looks. And cleaning is so theraputic! I put on Anne of Green Gables and cleaned away. Brian and Mike had some work they had to do so they were out of my way the whole time! I turned my ringer off and even left a message stating I would be away from my phone. I am looking forward to making a habit of that!
So... after how many months I FINALLY got my album updated with all the pictures from 2007! woohoo! Go me! Go check it out... www.achairslife.com/album I have one last event to add to 2006 and that's my day trip up to Bishop and back with Brandie. I took over 400 picks and decided that's just a little TOO much to upload so I'm picking the best ones, of course that will still leave more then half the pictures I'm sure. Anyways, it's a huge accomplishment for me to have this done!
Also had some issues with blogger not updating my archive page. I had to manually update but luckily blogger has been creating the pages just not updating the links on the main archive page. I got that updated so now if you hit archives you will be able to see from 2/2003 to 5/2007! Wow, typing that out just made me realize how crazy it is that I've been blogging for *that* long!
Well I don't have a lot of time for a major update. So be sure to check out my album. :)
Hello All! I think I have some time to actually write an actual update! Things are busy, but most of you know how I thrive on chaos! It keeps me out of trouble… most of the time. ;) Uh oh… Just reviewed this post and there are a lot of pictures ... I'm sure you won't mind.
So where to begin?
February 18th - I took my best friend Rachel out to dinner and a movie. Our traditional place to go is Red Robin. We’ve done it for years. We went to see "Music and Lyrics", total chick flick but I loved it! Here are some of the pics.
February 19th - I drove down to Pasadena to take my Nikon in to get cleaned. While I was there I just took some pictures up and down Colorado Blvd. with my Sony Cybershot. I was happy with how it turned out and really had a good time taking pictures by myself while listening to my iPod. Below are some of the pics I liked.
February 22nd - Here are some pictures of a dinner with the girls… We are all going to Indio in August so this was a “planning meeting”. It was fun and a good excuse to get out.
Photography - A few posts back I asked my friends to set up times to take me to unique places in California for one: so I could experience new places/things and two: to take pictures along the way. Well for the first three weekends in March I have/had events planned.
March 3rd - Yesterday I went out with Brandie and Drew to Huntington Library. All three of us are passionate about photography and its always fun to take pictures with people who love it as much as I do! And I’ve missed hanging out with Brandie. We have both been so busy. It was also nice to see Drew again… We were acquaintances back in the day and thanks to myspace we’ve been reacquainted. Anyways the Huntington Library was beautiful! We only had a couple hours and I ended up with 250+ pics and only a small percentage that I liked and only a handful I love… But that’s how it always is. Below are some of my favorites!
One thing I have to say about the Huntington Library is that they had amazing bonsai trees! I would have loved to have spent more time there but we were kind of in a rush so I could only take some quick shots and admire them later. I will definitely go back when I have more time and just check out every single one of them! It makes me want to go out and pick up my own bonsai tree.
March 10th - I’m going with my friend Russ up Pacific Coast Highway. And for those of you that keep up with my blog, yes, we had that planned for the last weekend in February but circumstances beyond our control made us decide to postpone two weeks. So I’m looking forward to that.
March 16th to 18th - I’m driving up to Vegas to visit my childhood friend Debbie. She lives in Utah but her parents live in Vegas. I originally was going up to Vegas to go to an Evanescence concert with my friend Armando (and I still am), but since I was making my way up there I decided to see if Debbie was up for a weekend trip out to Vegas and she is! I’m really excited! It’ll be the first time we will have to actually hang out since she found me on myspace last year.
Mission Lesotho - The church is planning another mission trip to Lesotho in September and being part of the leadership group I just found out that I will be responsible for the Benefit Dinner. I was a bit overwhelmed with the thought because last time I only had to worry about the invitations and setting up a photo-op. So… I have a planning committee that I put together for Tuesday and we’ll go from there. But the last benefit dinner took A LOT of work. And I’m not sure if I’m ready to take on such a task. But I do know that I won’t have to do everything and hopefully I will just be more of the person to keep things moving forward, at least if I play my cards right. Hehe
I’m still not sure if I am supposed to go on this mission trip. I have not felt as strong a calling to go as I did the first time. I know I will go back to Lesotho again but every time I’ve prayed about it I have felt that if this trip happens in 2007 (which it looks to be) then I will not go, but if it gets postponed to 2008 I will be going. My dad has told me there is another mission trip in the works for another part of Africa. It will be interesting to see where God takes me.
Free Hugs – We have another free hugs event planned for March 11th. I’m looking forward to getting back out there for that. It was such an awesome feeling and people were so surprised there was no hidden agenda or expectation with it. I am hoping we can take video and do something similar to the original Free Hugs Campaign Video. Speaking of which, I just took a moment to watch it again. It’s such a great inspiration! And even though I posted this video in one of my blogs back in November I am posting it below so you don’t have to search for it. Be inspired!
Well I think this is a good enough update for the time being. I hope everyone enjoys the pictures. Let me know what you think of them of course!
I just got back from my morning walk. I normally don't get up early for my walks on the weekend, but yesterday it was so beautiful I had hoped to capture it with my camera along with the sunrise. I also wanted to test out my new polarizing filter that I bought out in Colorado. I woke up at my normal time, 6:15 and got out the door by 6:30... I knew the sun rose at about 7:00 these days. I usually miss it because I’m already back inside getting ready for work. The morning was beautiful in its own way but not like yesterday. It was cold! In the 20's but I was all bundled up. I got some great shots, but not at all what I was expecting to get. Isn’t it great that even though you have a plan sometimes things work out better!? I thought about continuing on to the place I explored last weekend but decided the morning sun was at the wrong angle for the pictures I had wanted to get. I’m sure it could have worked but I decided to hold off.
I think I am going to go to Starbucks and get a coffee. Maybe bring a book and read. I need to run to the bank when it opens and the rest of the day is free! I love weekends like this. No obligations, no prior engagements, totally open to do what I want to do! I am still debating on what that all is. Hehe I was gonna go back to bed after taking pictures but that doesn’t seem likely. And now, on a weekend I’ve already been up and running since 6:30! This can be a productive day if I keep going like this!
I just got back from an hour and a half walk. I don't know how far it was but I was in the mood to explore! I had explored an area around my neighborhood another time and I guessed it was about a mile and a half in one direction. This had to have been at least 3 times that distance. But oh my gosh! Talk about cool stuff to photograph! I didn't bring my camera on purpose. I really wanted to enjoy the walk. The prior exploration walks I got an idea of what I wanted to photograph and the time of day that would be good to photograph it and came back. I will do the same for this route. But I did like some of the imagery so much I took a few pics with my cell. If they turned out even half way decent I'm sure I'll post them below.
And I know… I should have at least updated with a quick "hello, I'm back safe"… But things have been a little strange since being back from Colorado. I'd say hectic but it hasn't really been. I guess I've had other things I'd rather be doing.
Ok so this is gonna take me a bit to get posted but I should get it posted by this evening.
Colorado - So, as most of you know I had an absolute blast in Colorado! I definitely need to get back there, preferably when it's a bit warmer and I can see some more of the nature other then just white! Though I will admit I was surprised at how easily I handled the cold! I guess being dressed for it helps.
Thursday - I actually worked a little over a half a day. My flight left in the evening and I got into Colorado at about 8pm. My cousin Joey picked me up and brought me back to her place.
Friday - Was up and ready for the day by 7:30 and went with my cousin to take her daughters to school. She and I went to breakfast and then met her friend Layle (?sp) at the mall. They got their ears pierced together. My friend Jason met up with us at around noon. It was the first time meeting him in person. It’s amazing that you can be so close to someone and have yet to meet them in person. Anyways, it was great meeting him face to face, as well as his kids. My cousin Joey and I had agreed to help Jason pick out some stuff to decorate his living room, so that was our goal for the afternoon. After shopping at a few places I think we finally ended up picking out some great items at Cost Plus World Market. Joey had to pick up the kids and drop them off for Nate to watch that night while she, Jason and I went out.
We met back up with Jason and went out to dinner to this authentic Japanese place that Jason loves. It was good food! I even had a Japanese soda which was quite an interesting experience. The bottle itself kept me intrigued. Hehe So I took a few pictures of the dinner but then this is where I made the biggest mistake of the evening. Joey wasn’t into getting her picture taken. She seemed quite moody about it actually. So when we decided to take the light rail to downtown Denver to go to the movies I figured I didn’t want to lug around a camera when all we were doing was going into a theater. BIG MISTAKE!
I actually would have liked to take pictures on the light rail and there was a tunnel on the way to the train that had neon lights and when you passed them they made cool chime sounds… It would have made for some fun pics. But then again we were rushing to catch the train so I wouldn’t have been able to take a lot of time to get the pictures I would have enjoyed getting. So like I said, even on the train would have been kind of fun to get some pictures. We were walking to the theaters and Jason saw the horse drawn carriages and ran over to ask how much it was. So he paid for us to go on a carriage ride. It was freezing and Joey and I were bundled up under the blanket while Jason had to bear the cold in just a jacket. It was great though… I was bummed when Jason pointed out that a picture of Joey and I bundled up in the blanket would have been classic! It would have been. I was torn between missing out on getting great pictures and also being able to experience the moment without constantly thinking of the pictures I could get with my camera…
After the horse carriage ride we looked at the movies and didn’t see anything good playing but saw a bowling ally so we decided to check it out. It was a great bowling ally! Nothing like the white trashy places you usually see. This was like a full on club! Great bar area and it played loud music and had the neon lights. We got a lane almost immediately and I had a blast bowling though I have always sucked at bowling, I still had an awesome time! I laughed a lot and thoroughly enjoyed myself! There was this one guy from the lane next to us that kept teasing my cousin. It was hilarious and I don’t think I could describe any of the incidents’ without writing another novel. But it was good times for sure! We made our way back to Jason’s and ended up setting up the stuff we had bought for him that day. It looks good. I think I got to bed around 2am.
Saturday - My cousin Joey had a hair appointment at 11am that I went with her. I took some time to journal and got a call from my mom and sister asking how my time was so far. Later that night we met her friend Tish at her place at about 5pm and the night started from there. One thing I was surprised about was that everyone we rode with seemed to get lost! I was thinking most of these people live here, why are they getting so lost? Haha We finally got over to Rio Grande, a bar in Denver and met up with a group of people. I met my new friends Bruce, Nicole (Tish’s sister) and Deseree. I really enjoyed Nicole and Des. We hit it off and had a great time chattering away about lots of things. I took a few pictures. We made it over to the Comcast belated holiday party at about 9pm… It started at 7pm. Hehe It was at the Aquarium. This place was awesome! The whole thing, set aside for the Comcast party. So I of course made my way through the aquarium part of it and took pictures all along the way. We left that party at around midnight only to go to another bar and close it out. I was tired. But we even made our way to Denny’s after closing out the last bar. I didn’t get into bed till 5am!
Sunday - There was a blizzard warning so it was emergency travel only. So I was able to recuperate from the night before. Hehe And I was actually able to watch the game between the Patriots and the Colts. A very good game considering I don’t much care for football. I went to bed at about 10pm, fairly early considering the other nights I was in bed well after midnight!
Monday – I went with Joey in the morning to work and Jason was going to pick me up and “babysit” or “entertain” me all day. We ran a few errands, went to lunch and then went to see a kid appropriate movie since his kids were with us and then went back to his place for the rest of the time. Joey had to work late so she needed me to work out meeting up with Nate so he could take me to the airport. Jason was nice enough to drive me all the way back to Joey’s. Joey ended up calling me to tell me she was ditching work and she made it in time to see me off. I landed in Ontario Ca. at about 10:00 and my parents were there to pick me up. I had a good time and can’t wait to go back.
A Chair’s Photography - I’ve meant to write about this for a while but I think because I’m a bit nervous to put it out there I’ve avoided it. But the decision is made… I am looking into getting a photography business going. There are so many aspects of it that I’m not sure in what direction to take it. But the defined plans are putting up a site, selling prints, and offering my services for events, family portraits, etc. I have been encouraged by a few of my friends. I think Jason was the first to get me to think about it seriously (since he knows I can put up the site and he’ll help me market it) and as soon as I had made the decision in my own mind, without really telling anyone I suddenly had a lot of people randomly suggesting that I sell my prints, or offer my services and many of the things I had already been mulling over. Hmmm? Yeah, I think someone upstairs is trying to tell me something. Hehe Each person offered either confirmation or even another perspective of what and how to go about it. It’s been exciting!
Photography - Last night I was textin Jason about wanting to go to China Town and then I realized that I always feel so excited about going out of state to take pictures of places I’ve never been, but there are plenty of places here in California that I haven’t been to that would be awesome to take pictures of! So as I drove home I started to make a mental list of places I would like to visit or revisit, taking my camera along. The cool part is I already have plans to make most of these trips!
Here’s what I have so far…
Santa Monica Pier / Promenade PCH and the surrounding areas China Town Bishop Redwood Forest San Francisco Fresno
My friend Russ called me last night (he is one of the many to suggest I start a photography business without knowing I have already been thinking about it). He was really encouraging about my photography skills and getting the business going! And for our next visit he’s going to show me around PCH (Pacific Coast Highway for those of you who don’t know what that is) and some of the surrounding areas. He says there are some great spots for pictures. I’m really excited! We’ve made plans to meet the last Saturday of February. We have a hard time hanging out since we live so far apart. But I plan on driving down to his place and we’ll make a day of it! I am looking forward to it. He said it might be prettier in the spring but with how hard it is to commit to a date we should just stick with February. Hehe And I agreed, if I need to I can always get together with him again in the spring!
My brother Brian said he’d take me to China Town. He says the one in San Francisco is better though. And I’m like, heck… if you want to take me to San Francisco lets go for it! Haha But I’ll have to set up the date and just tell Brian he’s taking me. But I think I’ll shoot for March or something. If I went up to San Francisco then I’d add a few more places to my route! My friend Sandeep lives in Fresno I’d have to visit him! He has a farm and I think it would be cool to take pictures up there. Actually he’s asked me if I’d be willing to take pictures of it for him. He’s another person that has encouraged me to start a photography business. And of course San Francisco! And then I’d have to stop by and see my friend James! Gosh… maybe I should plan a trip to go up North! I could drive up Friday night and stay till Sunday night so it wouldn’t be taking me away from work. I’d eventually like to get up to the Redwood Forest!
Santa Monica Pier is a place I can go on my own… Though I think I would like someone to go with me, especially someone that enjoys photography as much as I do. Hehe But if I go alone it might be kind of interesting.
So I just got off the phone with my friend Andie. She said she wants to take me to the Arboretum in either LA or Pasadena. And then she came up with a great plan! Since most of my friends are taking me to awesome places to take pictures and to experience new things… I should put it out there that all of my friends pick their favorite unique place to go and we’ll set it up to go together… So, how about it friends? Help me experience the more interesting places of California! Anyone interested? Let me know!
