A (Year) in the Life 2007.

I think I did more self-exploration this year than I have any other. Hooray for being brave, doing what I wanted, and making friends along the way!

So, how does one go about doing a recap? Outlines!

Travels:
Dry Fork, WV
Columbus, GA
St. Petersburg, FL
Chicago, IL
Seattle, WA
Selinsgrove, PA
Altoona, PA
Williamsport, MD
Pittsfield, MA
Trenton, ME
Baltimore, MD
Columbus and Atlanta, GA
Tulsa, OK
Chicago, IL (not planned)

Flight stop-overs include: Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Chicago, and Newark

Concerts:
Lily Allen
The Thermals
Scissor Sisters
Pete Yorn
Ben Folds
Bob Schneider
Badly Drawn Boy
Blonde Redhead
Arctic Monkeys
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Wilco
Rilo Kiley
Bob Schneider

There may be more, but these are the only ones for which I have stubs.

Photography
Cameras bought (and used):
Polaroid SX-70 (until I broke it)
2 plasticky junky things from the thrift store
Lomo SuperSampler
1961 Canonet rangefinder
Polaroid OneStep from the thrift store

Delighted that my photography actually took off this year; excited about Gallery-worthy and marketable work.

Writing
Every day. I received the best compliment this year: "Have you ever tried getting this published?" From my mother.

Friends
I enjoy the people I have in my life right now. It was fun seeing old friends and getting re-acquainted with family; we'll see what the next year brings!

Family
We've all grown up and we know it.

Work
New job started in October. Whoa.

Via Chicago.

Like everyone else, I got stranded in Chicago Wednesday night on my way back from Oklahoma. Thankfully, I was able to stay with an old friend from high school (hooray bed!).

Annual* Holiday Photo.

dcistgt 137b
Originally uploaded by sintixerr.

Photo by Jack.


Here's my end-of-the-year portrait.

More to come later for my 2007 Wrap-Up. Why do I do wrap up posts? I don't know; maybe I like lists.

*Annual tradition as of last year.

Home For the Holidays.

"Are you OK? What happened?" My mom asked as she peered down the stairs, the kitten poking its head around the corner.

"I think I busted my knee," I responded, still halfway up the painted, plank-stairs, one leg tucked underneath the other, my sock-covered toes balancing my weight. I was half-laughing, half-crying. God that hurt; the part below my kneecap was throbbing where I landed on the stair, the top of my thigh swelling where I forced my knee forward and into the overhang. The apple pie I had dropped was plopping down the stairs-- I didn't lose too much of it, just what was left was going to have to be eaten as an apple crisp, instead of pie.

"Honey, I think you have to carry your daughter again," Mom called into the den.

"Do I have to?" My dad.

"No, I'm OK." I balanced on my left leg, on my real bad knee. I don't know what came over me, thinking I could run up the slick basement steps...holding a pie...in sock-feet.

Maybe the holidays make you think you can run around like you're four again. Maybe accidents like this are there to prove that you're not as resilient (or bouncy, per se) as you once were.

But what killed me was when Mom asked my dad to carry me. Again. When was the last time your dad carried you? Physically put you in his arms and rushed you away for a band aid, an icepack, a safe place?

For me, it was a year ago. It happened last summer, when we were in my grandmother's barn-- the large garage/workshop where we keep and work on the cars. I was wearing sneakers and my jeans were slightly covered in grease and dirt and we were all stinky from working in the garage on a hot summer Florida day when I did something stupid. Well, sort of.

Sneakers protect your feet, not your ankles. And well, I kicked an axl for a 1932 Ford Model A. We have a ton of them laying around, but I miss-judged and kicked it, hard, with the knob of my ankle (or whatever you want to call that protusion). I was in mid-sentence when it happened and I just stopped. I couldn't talk, I couldn't make a sound, I stood there for what seemed ever. I tried to move my leg, but brain-to-foot function wasn't working.

I think Dad sensed something had happened, there wasn't any sound (no loud CLANG when I hit it), but I had zoned out and Danny kept asking for the wrench that was in my hand, to which I had no reaction. Then, in a sort of wimper, I said I hurt myself. And I started to cry.

I couldn't even feel it, and I was thinking to myself, Why the hell are you crying? I'm 23 and I realize I hurt myself, but I can't feel the hurt and the tears are coming anyway I DON'T UNDERSTAND. And that's when Dad knew I needed him. He scooped me up and ran me into Grandma's kitchen where they put my swollen ankle up on the kitchen table and covered it in an icepack. And then I felt the hurt.

I didn't break anything, didn't twist anything; I definitely got bruised and definitely had a hard time walking the rest of that day...but knowing that my dad, at 56 (then) was still ready to jump across the garage and run his (then) 23 years-old-and-still-a-klutz-daughter to the kitchen to get a boo-boo bunny (ask later) put on her ankle still amazes me.

I hope I can do the same for my kids.

Have You Fed the Fish?

My cat hates sushi night...

Clarification.

I am not the Australian Christian Pop singer.

Just an FYI.

My Ode to Mr. BR Jones.

My bestest friend BR and his wife Cherie are starting a new life in Germany. They leave tomorrow and will be missed very much by all of us here. Hooray for new beginnings and we'll see you in Deutchland soon enough! It was thanks to English 325 where he, John L., Bennett, and I met four years ago.



























and of course:

katyray

katyray
Originally uploaded by Joe in DC.

Joe caught me doing what I love.

Although, I came to find out that this camera is broken :(

I love this.

History and Audio.

Why I Love My Friends, Part Deux.

On 9/21/07, promosupport wrote:
Hi Carl,

Unfortunately, we can not offer a substitution. This promotion is for Brad Paisley merchandise only. All of the prizes are listed on the contest site.

Thanks
Promo Support

-------------------

Date: Sep 21, 2007 12:32 PM
Subject: Re: Hersheys instant win candybar game
To: promosupport

Hi Promo Support,

It's ok, I understand. If it makes you feel any better, your candy bars are really good, and the only reason that I entered was becuase i was licking the wrapper and saw the numbers and said to myself "gee I wonder what those numbers mean" so I read the little words under them and it told me to go to your site (which is awesome by the way). My mom says I should do my homework so I have to go, but I hope that I can eat more candy bars, I just don't like the country music.

Thanks
Carl

Why I Love My Friends.

Subject: Hersheys instant win candybar game

To whom it may concern:

I just won a song from your instant win candy bar game. The songs were not that good for me because I don't really like country music that much. I'm more of a hip-hop kind of guy. I just dont like the twang that they normally have. Now... im not saying that he's a bad artist, im just saying that you need to put up some hip-hop. Can you offer me anything else other than a country song?

Thank you very much!

Carl

Perfect.

Hilarious.

I Guess This Really Means I Need a New Camera Now.

Up to Bat.

When I was in high school, I think I was the world's biggest book snob. I'd only read books by Names: Steinbeck, Vonnegut, Golding...the list could go on. Thing is, I remember reading a lot of books before I was actually ready to. Treasure Island in third grade, just to make me feel important; do I remember it? No. Did I understand any of it? Most likely not.

At the moment, I'm rereading John Updike's "Maples" stories in Too Far to Go. I read them in high school and loved them, loved the family (even through all their in-fighting and subsequent demise). I'm also reading The Catcher in the Rye because the only thing I remember from it is the sour taste Holden Caulfield left in my mouth and the hooker in the green dress. That's it. I'm three chapters in and he's already annoying me; most obnoxious character ever written. Did Holden Caulfield change my life like he has so many since his inception in the 1940's? Yes. It's made me dislike men named Holden.

Recently.

Kamera.

I've got to preview some work for a gallery opportunity I have in Falls Church, which means I have to go through my slides and figure out which are 'show-worthy.'

I've pulled some out and made a set on Flickr here. There are a few shots that are of the same subject, and that's only because I don't know which is better. Any input is well appreciated. I think I should only provide 10-12.

I need to add a light-table to my long list of 'need to get in the near future' items. I'm thinking of building it myself and making it dual-use as a coffee table.

Potluck!

We've been having a few potluck dinners over the past weeks. Tons of yummy food and friends to eat them. These are a few polaroids we took at my house this past week. My friend Nic has some more on his webpage as well.

Altoona.

We spent the weekend in Altoona, PA to see Pete race. He did really well and I'll have more photos up as soon as I get them developed.

The Wallet Story.

So, last month when I was out in Seattle visiting my friend, Josef, we were walking up Pike Street in the Capital Hill area when we passed by this shop that sold custom messenger and courrier bags. It was after-hours, so we spent a good few minutes staring into their windows looking at their beautifully made, custom appliqued bags. Something small and red caught my eye in the window. It was a wallet. A wallet that I hoped would be mine someday.

One month and a slew of emails later,



in through the mail comes my CUSTOM MADE randL Wallet made by Jean and Chicka in Seattle.

Turning a new page.

My 35mm Canon SLR has stopped working; there's something up with the electronics in it. My parents had given it to me as a graduation gift when I finished high school. Seeing that I can buy a new body for about $100, there's no point to getting it repaired.

Now, I have some thinking to do about a new camera and where I can put that $100 towards. I know what I want, I just have to come to terms with it and dive in. Be prepared for something spectacular.

Something simple.

I got off work early and walked up to the Hirshhorn.

Passed the WWII Memorial and traced the letters of Oklahoma's name with my finger-tips. Absence, I guess, really does make the heart grow fonder. This is one of the reasons why I'm scared to go back.

Walked around the art museum barefoot for an hour or so.

Art seems to make more sense without shoes on.

And God was a Giant Pixelated Mario.

I'm trying to spend as much time outside as I can this season. I love reading on my back deck and watching the birds in the backyard; laughing at GB as she stares longingly out my bedroom window, doing her cat-chirp when a bird or squirrel catches her bright green eyes.

As I soak up more and more sun, I'm reminded of summer days long-past; photos of my brothers and I, dark tan with scraped elbows and knees, our bikes laid out in the front yard (who needs kickstands?). Playing on our monkey bars at the house in Maryland, the swing-set, jumping from the top of the play fort, we didn't care about our landings. Mom yelling at us, Danny on her hip, telling us to be careful. I think I got a concussion on that playset; knocked myself out and later wandered into the house, nose bleeding, not really knowing what was going on. Think I scared Dad to death.

Fireflies, ladybugs, frogs, earthworms. I've actually caught a few of each so far this summer. Carl thought I was crazy when I showed him a frog I had picked up. They like their chins rubbed.

And now, summer nights with friends, talking about our own adventures and stories "you wouldn't believe." Random dreams only a few would understand; our thoughts on life and books we've read. Boris Pasternak and Vladimir Nabokov, Nintendo and bike helmets and new car radiators; Shiner Bock and bike races, photographs and sudden downpours. Even scraped knees and elbows.

Adding to the Arsenal.

1961 Canonet 19.

I'm taking it out this afternoon to shoot a test roll on my lunch break. It's clean, functions well, and I got it for cheap!

More information on Canon Rangefinders can be found here. They're a good, all around camera-- although this one weighs a ton and a half.


I also recently acquired a Polaroid SX-70 Model 3-- and broke it within 3 hours of having it. Because I'm a genius.

Hyperventilating.

I can't breathe.



EDIT (and a bit of an explanation):

The Verve have been my favorite band since I was fifteen years old. It was the late nineties (ha) and britpop was at its peak; bands like Oasis, Blur, Travis, Manic Street Preachers, Kula Shaker, Stone Roses, Supergrass were all on top of their game, bringing new (and now, somewhat cliche) sounds to rock and/or roll.

Ashcroft, McCabe, Jones, and Salisbury (and Tong) were it for me. From their first single, All in the Mind, thru bootlegs of Voyager One and their Northern Soul days, and to their final epic escape of Urban Hymns and last release, Sonnet-- The Verve defined my teenage existence in a small town away from what seemed the world. My mother still reminds me, "I'm so glad you've widened your musical horizons since that 'verve' band."

Previous references to The Verve in Kate Space can be found here and here.

Let the Damage Begin.

Seattle: June 7-11, 2007.

Chicago: May 11-13, 2007.