A Photo-Full Weekend!

This past weekend was a doozy!

It consisted of 372 miles of driving (plus a few for getting lost multiple times), 4 locations, 3 different climates, 3 lenses and 1 camera. While all of that seems pretty exhausting, which it was, I definitely got a lot of really great pictures out of it and I was able to begin building my portfolio with some portrait shots (thanks Tyler, for letting me practice on you)! I got to use a lens baby, so many of the photos I have show a bit more of an artistic side, with a sweet blurred effect!

Makahiki Floor Retreat: Apple Valley & Lake Arrowhead

About 10 girls from our floor made it up to our lovely RA's house in Apple Valley for a weekend of fellowship and relaxation. I drove up late on Friday night, along with Meghan, Chelsea, Emily and Juliet. We got a little lost a few times, missed our turns because of our chatter, but made it there just before midnight. The next day, all of us stuffed into cars and drove up to Lake Arrowhead for the day, where Autumn was in full swing. Beautiful colors in the trees, crisp cool fall air and scarves galore!

Ally's Bridal Shower: Temecula

With an early departure time on Saturday and the most delicious Mocha I have probably ever had in my life, Meghan, Juliet and I packed back up into my car and began the tumultuous drive back down the mountains, Biola bound. About an hour and a half later, we arrived in La Mirada sleepy and probably kinda dirty. I had about a half an hour to re-pack, gift wrapsome lingere and hit the road to Temecula. Ally's bridal shower was great, full of yummy food, good people and laughter.

Tyler's Senior Pictures- Take 1: La Mirada

A good friend of mine asked me a while back to shoot his portrait for him to send out with his graduation announcements. Although he thought I was doing him a favor, he was actually doing one for me! I've been hoping to start doing portraits & photography for students or folks who need affordable quality photos so that I can begin building a portfolio and gaining experience. We decided to do another shoot next weekend since the sun had begun to set and I didn't really come prepared with very many ideas. The few pics we got on Sunday turned out pretty good, I'm excited for take 2!!

That thing called distraction...

It all began with a well intentioned homework trip by Meghan and myself to our local Barnes & Noble and it ended with 2 containers of hand soap, one bottle of lotion, a pair of chucks and one cup of coffee.

Turns out our room is not a conducive atmosphere for sitting down and doing some actual homework, why, we do not know. All I can say is that every time either myself or Meghan have attempted to seriously get something done, we find our selves napping on the couch, watching a movie, knitting/crocheting or doing some other distracting activity. Last night, we concluded this was most likely due to the size and dimensions of our room. That, combined with an extremely comfy couch and cozy ambient lighting, makes for a deadly cocktail of complacency. Our room literally sucks you in and leads you to believe there is no real world.

It also turns out that Barnes & Noble is also NOT a conducive atmosphere for successfully completing homework. After driving 15 minutes to the closest B&N in Fullerton, we wondered became distracted by other venues in the adjacent shopping center. We rationalized that a trip to Bed Bath & Body Works was necessary since we were just about out of our favorite hand soap, and since we were here....
We then found ourselves meandering in a shoe store next door, it wouldn't take so long, right?

By the time we actually made it to B&N, we wandered around for another 20 minutes looking for somewhere to sit but we were only greeted by stiff wooden chairs. The decision was made. We had to go somewhere else and we really needed to start homework!

Starbucks was our answer, a glowing cozy chair and soothing warm cup of coffee.
However, by the time we got settled in, got the homework out, and cooled the coffee off enough to take a sip, the clock had struck 9pm, giving only an hour to accomplish what we had set off to do!

It is now necessary to do either 1 of 2 things (or both!)

1: create a better space in our room for the doing of homework, considering we still have a whole semester and a half left to go!
2: if #1 isn't possible, find a more conducive homeworking atmosphere (library exempt) that is much closer to school & actually confirmed to be so.

and now, in the 40 minutes I have until Starbucks closes, I will begin my homework...
It only took a 15 minute drive and a 2 hour adventure to get here.

This is a tester blog from my cell phone... Wow this world is high tech! Hopefully now i can be more consistent in posts even when im not around a computer!

Finally! I can start being a Student again!

This blog post is a momentous thing!

Not only is it the first post in a really long time (although not my longest absence..) but it also doubles as a symbol of my freedom (don't think too deep into that one, check out "Freed Will" blog for that). I am finally free to be a student, the job I love most! This weekend was officially the end of my summer, although it has technically been over according to most students for about a month now...

My last set of weekend shifts as Splash concluded on Sunday, a day that couldn't come soon enough. As I was explaining to my roommate Meghan, it's not that I didn't enjoy working at Splash, in fact, it's the best job I've had thus far! I love the people that I work with and the management/supervisors are really wonderful at their job and at relating with employees. It's just that once school started back in August, I was really ready to just be a student and jump into school, but since I was still working, my weekends would transform into summer! Not to mention, working 16 hours on Saturday & Sunday alone definitely put a damper on my mental capacity to sit down and do homework.

Let's just say, I'm super grateful that I had the opportunity to work at Splash and I look forward to another summer of chlorine & sunblock baked days, but right now, I am so grateful to be a student! I actually get to do homework and study and drink coffee at outrageous times of the day and submit papers and projects!

It's an amazing time, my friends....

happy, happy, happy

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!

Since I'm not there to congratulate you two little love birds in person, I figured I would do it on my blog (practically the same, right?). After 9 years you guys are doing better than ever and I can't wait to watch your love grow through the years ahead!!
Congrats!!

p.s. be on the lookout for a homemade card from yours truly...

Oppsies...

If there were a Guiness Award for being the most inconsistent person, I'd definitely be in the running for it.

Today I am taking advantage of the time I have. I had a crazy early shift today, 5am-9:30am, and now that I'm armed with a Venti Iced Coffee and a shower, I feel as if I could conquer the world! (or at least the amassing pile of dirty, smelly camp stuff I have clogging up my floor space).

This will sort of serve as my digital "to-do" list. Knowing that I've written this blog, I now feel held accountable to the trillions of web surfers whom may or may not stumble upon my noted fresh ambition.. or at least to my dad who will EVENTUALLY read this... thanks my #1 fan!

I swear, there are so many days that go by in which I think of truly intelligent or interesting things to post about, yet when it comes to the end, my fingers loose all tenacity and seem to curl up in a sort of physical snarl directed towards my keyboard. So, while I'm here, a quick update:

I was gone at YMCA camp for a week and returned last Saturday. It was emotionally and physically draining but I had one of the most fun weeks that I can think of in my 7 years on staff there. It was very exciting to see how most of the counselors and directors have matured and grown together, although we may only see one another once a year. My campers were a handful, but their ability to find joy in life despite the worst family and home circumstances was truly inspiring.

This week, I'm working a really odd schedule that I'm just not used to but I'm still getting my 40 hours in which is always sweet. Then I'm packing it all up again to go visit Erik up in Grass Valley for a week, which is the main event of my summer! I am extremely excited and very very much so looking forward to the trip. I'm not even really nervous about flying because I know it's going to get me there quicker!

Now it's time to go feel what freshly blow dried hair is like and then hit up the matinee of Harry Potter: The Half-Blood Prince with my good friend Casey!

Thank you E.E. Cummings!

I now have a new name for the blog!

"The Syntax of Things"

I really like this one, hopefully you will too because it definitely sticks for me. I'd like to share the inspiration for the title, a poem from E.E. Cummings, one of my favorite poets.

"since feeling is first
who pays attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you

wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
-the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says

we are for eachother: then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for lifes not a paragraph

and death i think is no parenthesis"
e.e. cummings