mesmerized.

I'm totally mesmerized by this video..

Morocco & Spain from Mike Matas on Vimeo.

makes me want to go to morocco even more now!


via smallest things

poll.

Hey guys,

I need your input.
I am so done making decisions. I can't do it anymore.

I added a page on the right -->
called "skies"

you get to vote which pics make it into the portfolio!

soo.. rank your top 3?

i numbered them

thanks guys!

jena

four tet

I've re-discovered Four Tet.

love this xx remix.

The xx - VCR (Four Tet remix) by Four Tet

a week in the bay area

I just returned from a week out in Berkeley.. and I have to say it was AMAZING!!
We went on campus and pretended to be students. I also got to see a few of my professors, which was both fun and awkward at the same time hah.

On Tuesday, we saw.. SUFJAN! which was pretty epic. I think that's the only word I can use to describe it. and the decor makes the Paramount remain my favorite venue.

But yeah, there are a ton of Sufjan reviews out there for his latest tour, all saying pretty much the same thing. I left the night feeling a bit depressed and concerned for his well-being - this has never happened to me before. I want to write him a letter. hahah He shared some personal stuff but still left everything a little vague. While he played mostly stuff from the most recent LP - Age of Adz, he threw in some acoustic oldies to satiate the fans, and ended the set with John Wayne Gacy, which is a weird song to end the evening with and left me even MORE depressed. oh well. Sufjan, you are a mystery.

Steph and I also got to spend a day in the city, and took a trip to Baker's Beach. it's been a while!

We had a pretty good time until some pretty awkward stuff happened.

Here's Carolyn being sad about this huge tree on the wall in Mulford.

And for all of you missing YoPo :

It was delish!

Also, you guys, I am working on Grad school apps right now and would REALLY appreciate any advice or input or criticism on my portfolio.. here's a link to a recent draft:

portfolio

fishies

just some favorites from the last roll of fish-eyes.

chi town

Last week, I got to go to Chicago!! woo hooooo I had three missions while in the windy city: visit friends who I hadn't seen in a while, go to the Architecture for Change summit on affordable housing, and see some architecture icons!

First stop, the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower (now called Willis tower, boo.)

buildings just get eaten up by the clouds!

The city also looks fabulous at night from the 60th floor of steve's apt.

Kathryn and I went to Millennium park to visit the bean!

and held some eyeballs:

and I got to see some Calder sculptures, with my favorite architect (Mies van der Rohe) in the background.

and then, visit Marina City (the round building) which, ironically, is designed by Mies' understudy.

Oh Chicago, I'll be back to visit your too many museums and stare at your monet paintings another time.

ps. hopefully I will be able to compose my thoughts enough to create a post about the architecture summit, but we shall see about that one. I'm not really known for my eloquence. HA

BSF!

So, this week I started this Bible study called BSF - Bible Study Fellowship

Its a pretty awesome concept. All over the world, people study the Bible in same format. It is an 8-year series, and every year they study a different book of the Bible. I know last year they studied John, and this year we are studying Isaiah for the first time. Each week you meet together to worship, then break into small groups to discuss the portion of Isaiah you read for the week. After discussion, you go back to the large group for a lecture/message on the next portion of the book. You then get to take home lecture notes, and a set of questions to answer for the next week. BSF is non-denominational, and they actually ask that you not bring in outside references, but take everything from the Word.

What is also great, is that no matter where you are, you can probably find a BSF in the area, and we will all be studying the SAME thing!

soooo... to learn more about BSF and read their statement of faith go here: BSF

and just so you know... they have groups in Modesto,CA; Rancho Cucamonga,CA; Portland, ME; New Providence, NJ; New Brighton, MN; Tempe, AZ; Crystal Lake, IL; Richmond, CA; Las Cruces, NM; and San Diego,CA.

DO IT!

magnetic snaps

So, I'm working on this custom bag order, and I opened up a new package of magnetic snaps to find the backings are made of...

recycled metal! woo hoo

this makes me SO happy :D

especially because i recognize this blue and white "S" label from somewhere in asia.. can't remember what package though. any ideas?

on another note, on sunday i was also SO HAPPY (will and mike can attest to this) because my church switched their land-fill filling polystyrene coffee cups to recycled paper ones! happy happy happy.


on an unrelated note, i've been listening to this song on repeat. apparently they like to sample old sega genesis songs.. I thought this one was from sonic's labyrinth zone... but I was wrong. any other guesses?

rando trivia question: at 22 years of age, after not touching the sega for a number of years, jena hammond beat the entire sonic the hedgehog (1991 version) sega genesis game (for the first time in her life) in what length of time??


apologies for an overly random post today.

hearts

this is the newest addition to my wall decor :)

I've been thinking of getting a great map for a while.. but couldn't really find one I liked.. then I randomly found this one at Aaron Brothers.

I thought about getting regular map pins, but then I found these awesome brads in the scrapbooking section at the Hob Lob.

hearts for where my heart lies.

from asia land

A few weeks ago, I finally got this old roll of film developed. I knew it had pictures from Greg and my trip downtown.. but I had forgotten about all of the pictures from Asia

At first I was really disappointed about the quality of these photos.. the prints and negatives are fine.. but the digital copies on the CD SUCK! I could have scanned the prints and got better quality photos.. Its getting harder and harder to find quality places to print 35mm without paying an arm and a leg for digital copies.

but now they are kind of growing on me.. have that vintage grainy feel going on.. and I didn't edit at all! haha

These next few were from down the street from my house..

water camera yay

ok. one water camera down, one to go. here are some selects:

I reaaalllly like kayaking in the early morn, when you don't have to dodge tubers.

Also, MaoBi and I went for a little walk today..

Once she got accustomed to the grass (her first time in grass!) she took off! running through it.. mom asked if it was her first time running... I guess it was.

rio frio

I got back from the Frio River, in Texas Hill Country, on Thursday!

The last time I went with my family was about 9 years ago.. I can't believe it had been that long. BUT Dennis, Carolyn, Linda, Cindy, and I were able to make a stop there 2 years ago on our awesome summer road trip. We should do that again, for sure.

anyway, after driving through miles of nothingness:

we made it to the frio!

We always stay at Seven Bluff Cabins.. named because the campground is at the base of this bluff, can you see the 7?

our 5 day trip was spent relaxing at our swimming hole:

jumping off of rocks and rope swings. watching tubers float by:

We floated the river a few times, and we even rented kayaks.. those pictures to come when i develop the underwater camera.


Kendall and I found a little whirlpool near the bridge..

I miss it already, and definitely did not want to return to work yesterday.

In other news, Mao and I went to the vet on Friday for the junk on 'his' shell... and guess what!
well, 1. the junk is just minor superficial fungus and should be fine after a few applications of jock itch cream. yes.
and 2. Mao is a GIRL! calling him a her is taking some getting used to. I don't know how I feel about this yet. But it makes sense. This is one dramatic turtle we are talking about. hyperventilating when I take her out of the tank.. dancing on the water when she's hungry (which is all the time) and even swimming backwards when she gets too excited. explains a lot.

ps. that pic is really old. like oct 09 old. She's much bigger now. ahh!