A (Year) in The Life 2012.

Travels:
St. Petersburg, FL
New York, NY x14
Minneapolis, MN
Seattle, WA
Portland, OR
San Francisco, CA
Wilmington, DE
Charlottesville, VA
Troy, NY x4
Rehoboth, DE x3
Trenton, ME
Pittsfield, MA

The Empire Builder:
I decided to take a trip. And I'd like to blame Eric and Betz Petersen since they're halfway across the country in Minneapolis. It was my If You Give a Mouse a Cookie moment: I'm already half-way, why not Go To There?  After staying with the Petersens for the long Presidents' Day weekend, I rode the Amtrak Empire Builder from St. Paul, MN to Seattle, WA passing through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington. I travelled close to 1,800 miles in 36 hours with fantastic views and just being Away from It All. I met up with my friends Tracy and Max in Seattle for four days revisiting a city I love and even got to see an old high school friend, Josef. I hopped the Amtrak Coast Starlight down to Portland for the day and ended up exploring the Columbia River Gorge area with another of my Oklahoma-escapees, Will, until I had to catch my evening flight to San Francisco.

SF was a bit of a whirlwind of two-ish days-- why wouldn't it be with Dottie, Mik, and Cait-- but besides the ER visit, there were beers to be had, friends to be made (Hello, Chris at Joe's!), old haunts to revisit, and one last stop at the Gold Dust for Irish Coffee before she shut down. I boarded a Virgin America flight East, and landed at JFK five hours later just to get lost and frustrated on the Subway on a rainy night (I have a pass-- the stop I wanted was closed). The last four days of my trip I spent with friends living above a shitty bar in Williamsburg wondering if I could actually live above a shitty bar in Williamsburg. I came home to DC on the bus, which then completed my Richard Scarrey's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go tour of the United States.

I kept a journal of the entire trip, but need to scan the images as I shot all instant film.

Concerts:
White Ford Bronco
National Symphony Orchestra - The Planets

Theater:
None.

Weddings:
Brian and Emily, May 26


For the only possible:
Well, here we go.

2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

A (Year) in the Life 2011.

Travels:
Dryfork, WV
Winchester, VA
Rehoboth, DE
Charlottesville, VA
Austin, Killeen, and Waco, TX
Boston, MA
Winchester, VA
New York, NY
New York, NY
Pittsfield, MA
New York, NY
New York and Brooklyn, NY


Concerts:
White Ford Bronco
The Dismemberment Plan
Wild Flag
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Andalusian Dog
National Symphony Orchestra: Casablanca
Dolly Parton
Alkaline Trio
The Horrors
Wild Flag
White Ford Bronco
Beady Eye
Gogol Bordello


Theater:
The Blackwatch (Scottish National Theatre/Shakespeare Theatre Company)
Newsies (Papermill Playhouse)
Rent (University of Maryland)


Weddings:
Danny and Emily, March 5
John and Shane, September 10


For the only possible:
2011 brought on more responsibility and more confidence. I started ice hockey lessons in July and hope to join a league in Spring 2012. I tutor two wonderful 8th grade girls with Arlington Affordable Housing Corp, and I hope to continue working with them through this school year and the next and the next! I also got a new job this year; same office, but more responsiblilty and working with people I know and respect (not that I wasn't before, but this was a Good move for me).

2012 is already shaping up to be a year of travel, reconnecting with old friends, and trying new things. Like brewing beer.


2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

To Breathe, to write.

So, let's play a game. During which I learn to write again and often and to many.

Project 36, 1: Laundromat.

Project 36, 1: Laundromat from Katy Ray on Vimeo.

A (Year) in the Life 2010.

Travels:
St. Petersburg, FL
Orlando, FL
Ocala, FL
Rehoboth, DE
Maine
Lexington, VA
Maine
New York, NY
San Francisco, CA
St. Petersburg, FL

Concerts:
I had a bad habit of buying concert tickets and not going, but I made these:
Editors
She & Him
Dropkick Murphys
Drive-by Truckers
Belle & Sebastian

Did not attend:
Justin Townes Earle (but he got cancelled the first time)
The Thermals
Andrew Bird (whoops.)
Bob Schneider (the time he's actually playing State Theatre and not Birchmere)
All's Well That Ends Well (I actually showed up at Shakespeare Theatre and changed my mind.)
The Little Prince at FlashPoint (There was a dad and his little boy on the standby list, so, yeah.)

Weddings:
Heather and Chris got married in Milwaukee in April, and I was pretty bummed I couldn't get out there for it.

Lindsay and Kevin had a small, adorable service and reception in Washington in Capitol Hill.

Jason and Theresa had a beautiful wedding in Fairfax, Virginia. The reception was in Leesburg and we shut the town down.

John and Shane- simple and personal. So happy for you two.

Other:
DC had a blizzard (or three) in 2010. Got a whole week off of work while Maryland, Virginia, and the District tried to clean up.

Moved into a bigger, brighter, well-managed apartment in the Spring. Living closer to the City, work, and friends and it's pretty great.

Realized that maybe, just maybe, it's not always healthy to have a life on-line and moved to make more personal connections with people and make my circles smaller.

Got into a funk and did not take any photos until I forced myself to in NYC. I still have to develop it.

Family:
The Ray family is about to welcome a new member in March, 2011. My baby brother is getting married! I will have a sister for the first time!

I love my family. It's really hard to explain, let alone comprehend unless you see us all together.


So, what's new for 2011?
I plan on being happy. For the only possible.

2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

I went away this Fall.

Fall 2010 capped a rough year for me. By November, I knew I needed to get as far away from the East Coast as I could and get out of my comfort zone. I went to San Francisco, where my great-grandfather was born, and visted my Very Good Friend, Dottie.

It was good to be turned around; my North was my South, there was ocean and flora and fauna I'd never seen before. Even the air was different.

One thing, though: No matter where I've travelled in the United States-- People are the same. I spend a lot of time observing, watching, waiting, looking and it's one thing that makes me smile. We're all not that different.

Instant San Francisco from Katy Ray on Vimeo.

That's the Spirit of V-M-I

My brother James graduated from VMI last weekend. He has a Bachelors in Physics and is looking forward to what lies ahead. We are all very proud.

A (Year) in The Life 2009.

My annual, So What the Hell Did I Do?

Travels:
Dryfork, WV
Columbus, GA
Minneapolis, MN
Charlottesville, VA
Phoenix, AZ
Rehoboth, DE
Cleveland, OH
Salisbury, MD

ROADTRIP!
Arizona
New Mexico
Texas
Oklahoma
Missouri
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Ohio
Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Maryland
Virginia


Other:
I moved back to Arlington!

Concerts:
Rebirth Brass Band
The Horrors
Andalusian Dog

Photography:
Attended LOOK3 in June
Took more photos than really ever before

Shows:
First on 1st Art + Music Walk (August 1-30, 2009)
Artomatic (June 6-July 20, 2009)
Critical Mass (May 15, 2009)

Writing:
I left my Moleskine with about 40 pages of prompts and notes somewhere along our route home from Arizona. Sometimes, I still reach for it.
Started <100 this summer. Haven't updated in a while, but I have stories. So many stories.

Friends:
New faces this year. Many I'd like to see stick around for a while.

Family:
Mom and Dad are semi-officially empty-nesters.

Work:
Yes, another new job started in August. But this time, I like it.