phone

the fondest pictures are vivid memories

i did something special today. i accidentally deleted all of my photos from texas to just outside of gallup. and for what? for this shot. hardly an award winner. i'll be taking donations of photos of the Cadillac Ranch and various segments of Route 66.

I am now licking my wounds in the El Capitain Motel in Gallup, MN, manned by a giant guy that could have been mistaken for Santa Clause had it not been for the missing teeth, absessed gums and pizza-stained white Hanes Tshirt.

other than the last minute delete fest, today was fairly uneventful other than a few quirky little things so i made mental lists.

things I read today:

-"Present this room key to claim your free 72 oz steak"
-"Welcome!" and.. "This establishment protected by Smith and Wesson"

Food-related talk today:

-"I'd like to have the 12 inch veggie delight with no cheese please". Response. "Are you serious?"

-"I'd like to have the bean curd with stir fried vegetables in brown sauce, please". Response. "Is that actually on the menu?"

Something I overheard today

-says half-in-the-bag grungie dude to his cute 6 year old girl outside a massive rest stop, "here, go eat your candy while mommy and I go into the casino".

Things that ran in front of my car today within 3 minutes of each other:

-a deer
-a cow
-a turtle

Gas Station Coffee

i made it out of arkansas without any further mullet sightings. i think the guys had all gone to work by the time i left. the parking lot, which could have doubled for a chevy dealership dealing only in used white trucks, was empty.

i got a text and two phone calls about the weather today. not a single website or weather service seemed to know what was up for oklahoma. weather.com had a 1000% chance of death from above, NOAA thought there would be softball sized hail, the weather channel predicted anywhere from 30-50 tornados, and the OK weather service simply said "a 30% of showers". so, i was a bit confused and concerned over what to do. after a few phone calls, and no one really being able to tell me what to do, i just floored it. i decided to skip 66 around OKC and head for amarillo, where it was reportedly sunny and 80. im glad i did. as soon as i cleared city limits, i passed a wall of clouds and then... nothing but blazing sun. i cranked up the ipod, rocked out and sped along I-40, watching the grass and trees become a bit scruffier and the land flatter.

i pulled off the hwy in a few places. there's a frontage road along most of it. it's right there, but getting off the highway made me feel a bit more off the beaten path. it was fun zipping around corners and over little hills, and cruising along side the endless farmland.

i've always wanted to go running willynilly through the long wispy fluffy grass. i got out at one point to climb through some of it to take a pic. let me tell you, it's not fluffy, folks. i was instantly afraid i'd be eaten by snake, and i spent an hour pulling prickers out of my socks before i finally tossed them out. i got back in my car, pulled out, and a roadrunner ran in front of my car. a roadrunner! they seriously exist. it was just so stereotypical texas i laughed my ass off. it reminded me of ten years ago, driving through a fairly developed area of las vegas when a tumble weed half the size of my vehicle went, well, tumbling, in front of my car.

i haven't taken many photos. the weather has not been on my side, and really, the view from I-40 is not so hot, unless you like mcdonald's signs and gas stations. even the burger king's have left me, along with the chance to get a veggie burger and not have to eat the cardboard box that once held my precious last miniwheats. i'd kill for a starbucks at this point. and i hate starbucks. the flat farmland has it's charms, though.

i took a few detours after i was sure i wasn't going to get swept away, but so far, the "old cool dead towns' are just old dead towns, and downright depressing. i feel like taking pictures is almost an insult. there are still a few people there, but i don't know how. there are a handfull of crappy motels, and endless gutted cement block buildings housing rusted out cars.

but, i'm in amarillo right now (executive hotel for those keeping track), and tomorrow should hit some good parts of the old route 66. I'm in an even skeezier hotel with the chairs against the door and my padlock holding together the inside door bolt. I went to two other hotels (yes, both managed by indians- which has me intensely curious at this point) that were sold out, before finding this gem. i don't think the water in the sink works.

Ipod Song of the Decade of the Day

I dumped a bunch of old faves on my ipod a few weeks ago. every so often an album or song will come on that throttles me back. this particular song came on today as i was making my way out of Oklahoma. I started crying. it was the strangest thing. i was suddenly bombing around in my mom's volvo, shaving my head in the garage, cutting off the sleaves of the Tshirts I screen printed in graphics class... and sneaking off to see Social Distortion play the Odd Rock in Milwaukee.

it was going to be one the biggest days of my life. i had no idea where this band came from or where albums were born, but the songs off this album were my favorite thing ever, and they were miraculously coming to town. there was no way i was going to miss it, parental forbidenness aside.

i set up an alibi with a friend, and snuck out to meet my boyfriend, Lee. we cruised downtown in his crappy little brown dodge. there was a massive crowd outside already and we managed to wedge ourselves in. i dumped a bunch of quarters into Galaga and tried to ignore the usual verbiage growing louder between the skins and punk rock kids.

about a half hour in, there was a ruckus. the cops busted in. they grabbed one kid with a mohawk, cuffed him and threw him down the stone steps that exited the club onto the sidewalk. it was about a half second to ignition. i got seperated from lee, but ran out as soon as i could. in a few minutes the whole milwaukee police department was there in riot gear. i could barely see anything, other than batons flying. between legs i saw a girl getting dragged, cuffed, by her feet, face down and tossed into a truck. i didn't see him, but apparently a friend of mine from my geometry class was already inside the truck. lee managed to find me and we made off in the dodge just as i watched the stop sign bend under the surge of bodies. the explaination later was that the crowd was too large and violated the fire code.

needless to say, it made the news. i got busted, and was grounded for a year. Sad thing is, I never really got to see them. they came to green bay years later, but i wasn't so into the new stuff at that point and i don't even remember the show.

I still love this album. I'm psyched it brings back such crazy feelings. just a little unexepected is all.

"I can't wait til the show tonight, when i'm with my friends everything's alright"

morrilton

wow. what can i say. i'm a little freaked out. i made pretty good time today, despite a slow start yesterday, putting my car in park on 66 at 2.30 in the afternoon for no apparent good reason, and then running into a truly impressive storm somewhere in the middle of virginia that once again put me in park on a highway. and now. i'm in morrilton. arkansas.

i pulled off at about 8. im not a huge fan of driving after dark, and i did put in 11 hours today. i tried four hotels before finding one wedged between a liquor store, gun store and the highway that wasn't completely full of white chevy trucks and sold out. sold out? morrilton? apparently the boiler broke down at the paper mill, so every able-bodied boiler cleaner from the surrounding states is here to clean and fix it. i've never seen so many MEN in one place at a time, and definately never so many mullets. they're draped off the backs of trucks and over the railings of every motel in the area. i really don't know what to think of it. i'm not sure if i'm amused or scared out of my wits. perhaps a little of both.

i'm staying at yet another fine establishment, the Scottish Inn, run by another indian dude, and likely given the "it's getting dark, you're alone, obviously tired and the next town isnt for another 30 miles" price. it's not nearly as much fun staying skeezy places when you pay too much for them. but hey, i got internet.

A Double-Header, a Header, and a Bag of Organic Spinach

I can’t think of the last time I’ve fallen down. Ignoring sporting-related spills, I’m going to have to go with my senior of high school when Mark Beneshek took me out with his car. And I’m not sure that even counts. Falling as a kid is an every day thing. Falling as an adult is an event. Falling into the middle of a grand reception for all the world to see carrying $6k in gear is near-catastrophe I wish to block out. But, I won’t, so I mind as well make fun of it.

This was my first two-wedding weekend. I was sooo excited about it. The first was a truly DC wedding, with a big church, monument and even a tour bus. The second was held at one of my recent faves, the Woodend Mansion in MD. I even bought a 70-200 for the occasion. But man.. two weddings in two days can take a toll.

Saturday was amazing. The weather was perfect, the couple was lovely and the entire wedding party was just very good natured and a lot of fun. The kids were also cute enough to take little bites of. The reception was held at the DAR (Daughters of the Revolution) which is just off the Mall. It’s a gorgeous building with all of the period architecture in place and in pristine condition. It has vaulted ceilings, intricate moldings, huge windows, and marbled floors and pillars. It also has a teeny tiny step between the dining hall and the exterior patio. It’s this detail that I might remember most when anyone ever mentions the DAR again.

I had just finished shooting inside the beautiful dining hall when I looked out the giant doors. There is a grand 3-story rotunda soaring over you as you step out. Beyond it is a massive marbled patio with a lovely view of gardens and the Washington Monument. There was also an armed guard roaming about, and he was the last thing I made note of as I felt the ground give way, my ankle roll over, and witnessed my cameras slinging across my body into the marbled floor. I distinctly remember thinking I’d sacrifice my head to catch just one of them, but I wasn’t successful. The clattering of plastic lens hoods was carried quite efficiently by the marble and rotunda. All of the groomsmen who’d I’d bonded with earlier and the videographer who I’d been tiffing with, as well as the bride’s father, were suddenly over me. “Anything broken?”

“I don’t know yet”. I sat there and collected my gear and turned everything over.. it all looked okay, which really made no sense.

“No, YOU. Did you break anything?”

“Oh. I don’t know yet.” I haven’t had many sudden injuries, but they usually go “accident, brief pain, no pain, wait an hour, then throw up and pass out before sudden onset of pain”.

My ankle hurt. They offered to help me up, but I declined, just wanting to sit for a minute hoping the pain would pass. It really didn’t help I was still in the middle of the reception area with a hundred people looking on and all I wanted was a tiny black hole to open up in the marbled floor and take me away. But, after a minute, the pain went away. They helped me up. I told them only my ego had been bruised, which at the time was true. It wasn’t until the last dance hours later that I went to put my foot firmly down that a sharp pain hit me. I waited to throw up, but my desire to retain my weekly cake intake prevailed.

The best way to take the fun out of something you love is to do it again the next day on three and half hours of sleep and in pain. Fortunately when I got up the pain really had subsided, meaning I could put weight on it without getting sick. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been. MK was wonderful and had bought an ankle brace for me before we met up in Bethesda for the Sunday wedding. It helped a bunch. But, the rest of my body was just turned into a wreck as the day went on, which was something I hadn’t thought about. Ankle-injuries aside, it’s a lot of weight to carry around for 10 hours, let alone two days in a row. There were muscles in my back screaming that I didn’t know I had. Doing it all on one leg made it particularly unhappy.

But, all ickiness aside, it’s all about the people getting married. I think no matter how many times I end up shooting weddings in my lifetime, I’ll always be struck by the importance of that day to the individuals and families involved. Or if I do forget, it’s time for me to get out, because it’s really an amazing thing and is what makes it so much fun. It was a beautiful day, the couple was amazing and the family and friends were just straight up some of the best people I’ve encountered. The cupcakes were also awesome.

No Desert For YOU

in my attempt to escape winter, winter has come back with a big screw you. i'm stuck in new york. surely there are worse places. actually, i'm sitting with a good friend from boston who i hadn't expected to see, and with whom i should probably be conversing instead of blogging about.

i'm a little hesitant to pen this. but i actually missed my flight. i have no idea what's wrong with me these days. i almost missed my train up here cuz i had the wrong day. i had an interview at cornell on thursday, and i showed up at the wrong campus. then i had it in my head that my arrival time in san diego was my departure time. all morning i sipped coffee and relaxed, thankful that for the first time ever i didn't have to rush to a new york airport at 6am. when really i should've.

but, someone's looking out for me this time. i called the airline and told them i wasn't going to make it. she said she'd get me on the next flight.. but then all the flights were being cancelled. my flight was going to be the last flight of the day to get out. bye bye trip to the desert. it's all i've been thinking about for the past two weeks. carrie's sick of the links i've been inundating her with about joshua tree. i even had a special holga made and overnighted so that she'd be desert ready by tomorrow. but no. i wasn't going because i screwed up royally. the airline told me they couldn't get me out until saturday night, and it was the last seat she could find for the whole weekend. i cried for a minute. i screw up. alot. but nothing quite like this and never three days in row. i'm starting to think i'm going to have to start checking every day to make sure my underwear's not on the outside of my pants or that i'm not wearing two different shoes before i walk out the door every morning. even then, i'll probably continue to lose my keys every day.

i obsessed a bit. i checked my flight status for a while. it hadn't left by 1. nor by 2. i kicked myself harder, thinking i could've made it anyway. but i realized it was probably sitting on the runway. for four hours. then a giant "flight cancelled' flashed on my screen. i almost cried again from relief.

i'm still not at the desert. but it's not my fault (right?). the biggest bennie is that i didn't trudge to the airport, sit in the plane for four hours, and i don't have to sleep in the aiport for the next two nights hoping to get a standby flight. i suppose it all worked out for the best. but still.. underwear checks. i'm going to have to start doing them.

at the risk of jinxing it..

it's finally under contract.

it's been a strange few years. now that it finally seems i'm moving on, it i'm not sure i'm ready. and i just got my room the way i want it. and it's huge..

i was relieved when the offer came in, then bitter, then sad, then happy.. i went out and picked up my favorite ethiopian take out and skipped home to celebrate. i came in, set it up on the table, and then started to bawl. i'm still not sure if i'm happy or sad.

they say freedom has no price, but i can put a pretty specific dollar amount to this one. the market came down on me a good 45k over the past year. im breaking even. everyone's telling me to consider myself lucky, but it's hard. i went through so much with this place. in fact, the day after the bathroom was finally done and i cleaned off the last paint brush for good, i got the contract. i get 7 more days to enjoy it.

and as a final "screw you" to me from my condo, my front door lock just broke. a locksmith came out twice and couldn't fix it, and i called him after this third scheduled attempt to ask him where he was and he said, , 'ya know, i'ts not worth my time to try to figure this thing out", and hung up on me.

so, if it all goes as planned, i'm out the 23rd. "to where?", you may ask. your couch? baltimore? san diego? cairo? i have no idea. all i know is that the end finally has a date, and it's one week away.

I am not pleased with Google

I really hate this google accounts business. i've been trying to avoid it for weeks. now they hijaked my blog and forced me to connect my gmail account to the blog. I hate it hate it hate it. i tried to set up a second gmail email account, and they asked for my PHONE number. they texted my invite code. it didn't work. so now they have my phone number for no reason, and i connected all sorts of personal information to this blog. it's bullshit.