from the keys of my 1949 Remington Portable

2010-07-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

We are a gentle angry people We are a land of many colors We are gay
and straight together We are a peaceful loving people And we are
singing, singing for our lives. -- Holly Near

happy [family] day

2010-06-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

I am finding it hard to write on one thing when so much has changed in the past couple months. Lately I've been thinking about my family -- particularly how thankful I am for them.

Since working at my new job I've sort of been forced to think about how I grew up and what qualities makes up a 'healthy' or 'functional' family. It seems that many of the girls who get sent to this program are here for one/some/all of the following reasons: no father figure which gets them searching for one in an older (often a much older) boyfriend -- it seems that any guy that is 19 and starts dating one of these 13, 14, 15 year old girls doesn't have pure intentions -- said boyfriend often gets them in to drug/sex/money trouble. The girls often find themselves in trouble because they have way way way too much time on their hands -- I didn't think the saying "idle hands are the tools of the devil" was true until I started working here. The last common theme that runs through the girls' situations is that often the mom tries to be the girl's friend rather than her mother and so the girl is given opportunity/no boundaries/freedom/ to make big mistakes and then the parent(s) don't initiate any consequences because they don't want to risk friendship with their daughter.

The more I've thought about it the more I wonder how my parents somehow intuitively knew to squash all three of those things before they were in issue for me when I was growing up. I won't go into details but, although neither of them came from the stablest of houses (that might be an understatement), they were able to create an incredibly strong one for my sister and I to grow up in. None of the aforementioned things were issues for me. In fact, I have a hard time thinking of anything that my parents did which could have turned into an 'issue'.

I wonder why for some there seems to be a parental 'on' switch and why some don't get theirs flipped. How are some parents able to teach their kids the difference between right and wrong? Why are some parents better than others at teaching their kids that for every action they take there is a consequence -- good or bad? And, why are some kids less likely to heed their parents advice...

Every day I am at work I am reminded of how thankful I am for my mom and dad. I think about how lucky I am to have a sister whom I love and [finally] get along with and share common interests and have similar ideas on what a family should look like. I am so happy for and amazed by all of my aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins who have always been interested and supportive of every idea/hobby/whim I've ever had. I am realizing the importance of letting each one of these people know what a difference they've made in me and that I love them probably more than they'll ever know.

family: happy belated
mother
father
sister
aunt
uncle
grandma
grandpa
cousin
day

I love/miss/am thankful for all of you.

Another 'new'

2010-05-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

Once again, I find myself needing to catch up. At the beginning of this year I decided I needed to change a couple things-- a few of those things I wrote about on this blog. A big change that I didn't ever mention but wanted to do something about was my job. I had been working for my cousin's husband since moving to California -- it was a job I was incredibly thankful for, but working at a desk isn't exactly something I had ever been able to see myself do. I decided I needed to start thinking about working somewhere else and the perfect opportunity kind of hit me upside my head.

The same cousin introduced me to a friend of hers -- after a quasi blind date a little over a year ago, we hit it off. After about 3/4s for a year of hearing about where she works, I was hooked and applied. I started working for the program she works for about a month and a half ago. The whole experience has been a whirlwind but I am happy, excited, and welcome to all the changes and challenges.

Without giving away too much or too little, it is basically a boarding school for teens with issues. I pretty much swapped out working at a desk all day long for hardly having the energy or time to sit at my laptop long enough to think this blog. Although it has been difficult adjusting to the schedule change -- rather than working a 9-5, monday-friday job, this new job is 4 days a week but from 7:30 am to 9:30 pm. By the end of each day I am exhausted, but a good and fulfilled exhausted.

I'll write more about everything soon.

Duped

2010-01-21T13:58:00.000-08:00

I feel so used and duped:

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/health/agave-nectar-healthful-or-harmful-106593

Back to Reality

2010-01-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

goodbye, seattle.
i love you.

the good, the bad, and my second resolution

2010-01-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

1. Those earplugs that are made of wax.

GOOD: I love how it sounds like you're underwater--whatever noise you can still hear when you are wearing them is heavily muted. My mom is now unable to sleep without them because they work so well. I usually just end up wearing them while traveling, but once in a Mariachi blue moon I will need them at home; the house next door to where I live in Sacramento is full of Hispanic families and about once a month they have an epic party with pinatas, lots of kids, and loud music. I love love love that they do it and am quite jealous that I'll probably never be invited, but by the time I am ready to sleep, I am usually tired of trumpets and vihuelas.

BAD: This morning I woke up and quickly realized that I was missing one ear worth of wax earplug. I didn't want to be noisy and wake my friend Jill (whom I am vacationing in Seattle with) up while I searched for where it could be, so I snuck out to the living room of my sister's apartment to use my laptop. While the computer was turning on I put my hand up to my head to fix my pony tail and found the earplug smashed into and braided through my hair. Not so in to that. Yesterday morning I found one of them stuck to the wall and still cannot figure out how that happened.

2. Seattle!!!

GOOD: My friend Jill from Sacramento has a photography workshop here tomorrow, so we decided to make a trip out of it. I went to school in Tacoma, Washington, but for those of you who don't know, without a car it takes a little too long to get up to Seattle on the bus if you want to be here frequently. I think we would get up here more often than most, but we'd usually have to borrow a car or find someone else who had Seattle plans.

Anyway, I love it here. I love the air, the people, the food, the neighborhoods, the everything and I am thankful to have had a small handful of days to explore and play.
BAD: That I leave soon and don't get to come up as often as I'd like, especially since my sister lives here (we are staying with her and it is been perfect).

3. GOOD GOOD GOOD: Supporting cruelty-free companies: my second new years resolution.
It is easy to say you're going to support companies that do not test on animals, but the more you learn about it, the sooner you realize that it isn't as easy as shopping at a 'natural' food store or joining a local co-op.

I read somewhere that something like 115 million animals (that number does not even include many species as the government has ruled that some do not have to be included in the count) are experimented on and killed in labs each year in the United States, and that most of this experimentation is paid for by our own tax dollars. This experimentation is a multi-billion dollar industry that involves a lot of different manufacturers, companies, and people; and starts and ends with tons of animals in misery.

I won't go on and on about it now, but I've resolved to make a serious effort to stop buying and supporting products from companies that use or involve themselves in animal cruelty. If you'd like more information or want to jump on the bandwagon THIS SITE is a great place to start.

another new start

2010-01-13T16:59:00.000-08:00

Perhaps I was a little too optimistic when I thought I would be able to sustain this blog by typewriter posts alone. It seems as though I could restart this blog a hundred times and still need to regroup and start over. I think that might say more about me than I'd like to admit.

Alas, here we are again and I am, yet again, resolving to be better about keeping this updated. I think I'll end up splitting my time on the typewriter with time on the laptop--it seems much more reasonable. It isn't that I don't love using the typewriter, but it is so difficult to type on and each post takes me so long to pound out.

Last year was sort of a whirlwind and hopefully I will be able to keep myself better organized and much more accountable to the projects I set up for myself. Last year my new year's resolution was to start silk screening and get myself up and running on etsy.com, but that definitely did not happen--not having a real place to work on art, moving, and sitting in front of the computer all day sort of diminished most of my gung-ho attitude about that. That goal is still not out, but this year's resolution isn't so long term: I want to run a half-marathon by April or May. I'm still not sure about which one to run, which explains not knowing which month I'll be running it.

I had been running a lot in the early part of last year, as I was training for the running segment of Eppie's Great Race, but as soon as the race was over, so were my days of running. Yesterday was my first day back on the treadmill and it was horrible. I'm not down and out about it yet, but give me a couple weeks about how I'm feeling about running and I'll probably be singing a different tune.

Another resolution is to take more pictures. I need to document more of my life, whims, and adventures. Some things are just too difficult to tell with words.

give me a S... give me a U... give me a G... give me an A... give me an R

2009-11-13T12:39:00.000-08:00

...the yin and yang of it ...

2009-11-08T19:40:00.000-08:00

sorry if this one is tough to read:

2009-10-02T15:35:00.001-07:00

how this is done:

2009-09-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

heatwave!

2009-09-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

welcoming committee

2009-09-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

type

2009-09-21T00:15:00.000-07:00

Third time should be a charm...

2009-09-19T14:43:00.004-07:00

Jose is sooo cute!

2008-12-16T23:41:00.001-08:00

my runin with the fake law

2008-11-22T09:59:00.005-08:00

a fresh start

2008-11-18T18:57:00.002-08:00

for my sister

2008-09-06T23:47:00.004-07:00

man, I've been terrible at keep up this picture-of-the-day thing... it has almost become a picture of the month website.
Jillian, keep your pictures coming on your site and i'll try to be diligent with mine.
PS>>>watch the mail.

a fancy grape feast from the vines in the garden

dad of the corn

whoooooooo!

mom and sister of the corn

don't feel left out-- something we ate made all of us sick...
but we missed you like crazy

alas! its been too long!

2008-07-28T21:36:00.002-07:00

Onward Hence!

2008-06-16T16:24:00.003-07:00

This picture was actually much harder to get than expected and I had to crop my hand out of the frame. Tater-Tot Hamster wouldn't stay on LeoPard's back for more than a second or two at a time. I was hoping they'd hit it off and ride into the sunset, but that just wasn't the case.

leopard, homework, and coffee

2008-06-03T21:43:00.002-07:00

"my cape is all blustery!"

2008-06-02T23:15:00.004-07:00

it looks as though there might have been a slight breeze.

My little sister is all grown up!

2008-06-01T20:07:00.004-07:00

HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY, JILLIAN!!!
Leopard, my dad, sister, and I celebrated Jillian with an honorary Brunch-
I love you, sister!

HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY, JILLIAN!!!

back to school

2008-05-31T22:19:00.004-07:00

For those of you who don't already know, the reason I am in Tacoma is that I had to go back to school. Shadowing over my last two years has been knowing that I needed to come back here to finish a credit in order to get my diploma. I decided to take two classes so I would be considered a "full time student" to be able to sign back under my parents' insurance. I'm taking introduction to fiction writing and an introduction to Shakespeare class.

While I really like both classes, I have a paper due Monday on The Merchant of Venice and I am feeling slightly defeated by it.

tacoma safari!

2008-05-30T21:44:00.003-07:00

little cat meet little dog.

2008-05-29T00:17:00.002-07:00

I think Maggie could not have cared less.

down the mole hole

2008-05-28T02:13:00.005-07:00

I spent almost 5 straight hours on my parents' riding lawn mower this last Saturday at their new house. I was restless all that night at woke up at 4 the next morning-- once I had made a big pot of coffee and found a pair of my dad's extra large rubber boots to romp around and adventure in, I went outside, only to discover the 3 acres I had mowed filled with fresh mole holes! Either there are a billion of them living right there or they work faster than I could have ever imagined.

rawwwwwwrrr

2008-05-27T12:17:00.005-07:00

Jillian and I spent the weekend with our dad at our parent's new farm house in North Eastern Washington. LeoPard came along for the ride.

goat vs. leopard

2008-05-21T23:02:00.002-07:00

U-District

Lord LeoPard flies coach

2008-05-20T17:23:00.002-07:00

I have already gotten behind on my new LeoPard picture of the day. I made a promise to let everyone know where Lord LeoPard came from but then got caught up in moving and being back in school and managed to let a few days slip by without realizing.

So, here is the deal:
My friends Abby (who has been previously mentioned in this picture-of-the-day blog), Emily and I were all working at some point during the day on which prom in Juneau was taking place. Feeling slightly jealous that we couldn't dress up and go ourselves we decided to hold our own. The plan was for Abby and Emily to go out the road to the consignment shop (as they were just getting off shift as I was clocking in) find themselves (if they didn't already have something) and me something prom-erific and also to collect friends and allies who wanted to partake in the big event.
By the time my shift ended, Abby dropped off the dress they picked out-- which is a different story entirely--, left, they both had come back with people who also wanted to partake, ate dinner, and I got off shift. Emily had plans already for the later evening, so as I was getting off, she was leaving. At this point it is Abby, Abby's roommate Courtney, one of their friends, myself, and our friend Logan who works across the hall at the pizzeria. Logan didn't know what to wear so he raided his roommate's closet (?) and found her dad's old letter man jacket (at least I think that was the story) which said LEOPARDS on the back.
One of our man-friends came over and was asking about what was going on and why we were dressed up like we were. We explained we were at prom and as he considered that, standing behind Logan, Abby heard him say something to the effect of "LEO-PARDS [pronounced like leotard, as in what a ballerina wears, but with a p replacing the t], what is that? Some English football team or somethin'?"
And thus, Lord LeoPard was conceived. Two days later Abby brought in the action figure for me to work which she loving drew each circle on in order to turn him from the tiger he was into the leopard he is today.

the smuggled LeoPard peaks out of my carry-on

Lord LeoPard flies coach

Lord LeoPard

2008-05-17T17:53:00.003-07:00

I've decided to take this blog on a different route-- after a long break from updating my picture of the day because my computer crashed and I had to get the hard drive replaced, a fantastic thing occurred and Lord LeoPard entered my life. I promise to get to that in my next post, but without further ado,
this is he:

valentine

2008-04-10T03:04:00.001-07:00

...until next time...

2008-03-31T23:45:00.002-07:00

my computer went kapoop, so unless something miraculous happens there will not be pictures for a while.

to those of you who have been checking, thanks and I'll let you know when we're back in business.

flee the country!

2008-03-27T21:27:00.004-07:00

I'm ready for some serious adventure... on my list of top places to go outside of the US are Micronesia, Chile, Norway, Holland, Japan, Hungary (more specifically, medieval Transylvania), and Iceland.

I wonder if I'll have to get a new Passport if I actually get to go somewhere before my current one expires because Jose-Chinchilla snacked on mine.

fit as a fiddle...

2008-03-27T00:08:00.005-07:00

...or at least my eyes and brain will be...

crisp Tuesday morning

2008-03-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

easter in the anglosphere:

2008-03-23T16:17:00.004-07:00

cremation of chief kowee

2008-03-20T20:49:00.002-07:00

In 1880, Chief Kowee led prospectors Joe Juneau and Dick Harris to gold deposits in what is now known as Silver Bow Basin along Gold Creek, the stream that runs through town. The deposits turned out to be one of the largest ore loads in the world. Tradition has it that Chief Kowee was cremated 12 years after he took the two gold-seekers to their fortune-- this is the shrine to commemorate his death. It is about twenty feet from the apartment my parents and I are living in and I can see it from the livingroom window...

on my walk home...

2008-03-20T20:25:00.003-07:00

this was the first pretty morning in a while.

pieces of heaven

2008-03-19T00:43:00.003-07:00

oh my -- abby and courtney made Guinness cupcakes for St.Patrick's Day--
AMAZING!

spring has sprung... well almost

2008-03-17T00:50:00.000-07:00

It was looking as though Spring was finally on the way-- sun, melted snow, warming temperatures-- but I think we've been fooled. Today I woke up to the wind and snow, which, to say the least, was an unwelcome surprise. On a spring-y note, my mom put daffodils in my room the other day and they have finally all opened.

They remind me of the poem "Daffodils" written in 1804 by William Wordsworth:

I wander'd lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

plush carnage

2008-03-16T00:50:00.001-07:00

three 'babies' lost their squeakers today...

not much to say.

2008-03-15T00:58:00.001-07:00

i need new pants

"i'd lose my head if it weren't attached..."

2008-03-14T00:20:00.010-07:00

so, the truth of the matter is I had misplaced my camera since my last picture post. since I managed to lose my phone at the same time (give or take a day) I had feared the worst-- that they were both long gone, snatched up by some exceptionally lucky person. Out of desperation I decided to tear apart my room and there it was-- in all it's shiny glory under a pile of dirty clothes and strewn books. My treasure couldn't have been found at a more perfect time because I was lucky enough to score a place on an Alaskan Brewing Company VIP tour today. My friend, Abby won the trip for her and 7 others, and the following are the remnants of one fantastic journey.

Coming to a bar near you...

The belly of the Beast

Abby, me, Courtney, Margarete, Jessica O.

And that wasn't the end of post worthy picture taking!! On my way home I had to stop by the store to pick up some groceries and in the parking lot I stumbled across a birder's dream:

I think that they had found a frozen fish-- the coolest part of the whole thing was that they allowed each other to take turns chipping away at it. No fighting or eagle screeching or extreme impatience. It was obvious, however, that none of them were leaving without getting a turn.

wise old owl

2008-03-08T00:50:00.001-08:00

My friend, Corin showed up downtown the night before last donning what I think was a cheap version of an Akubra, old man glasses, and a mustache. I managed to somehow weasel away the mustache and glasses from him and at some point in the evening my little owl money bag (that Will sneakily bought me in SanFransisco while we were in Chinatown after I said how much I liked them) took the facial hair from me.

"not too toot my own horn or anything..."

2008-03-06T22:47:00.007-08:00

Tourists to Juneau are ushered in to town by at least a handful of interesting, dramatic, and often confusing public works; "Raven Discovering Mankind in a Clamshell," painted by Bill Ray in 1988, is a fine example of this colorful little city's culture and warm welcomes. The mural depicts the legend describing how Raven discovered man and is responsible for the present order of our universe. Unfortunately, the mural has become a blank canvas to be marred-- the graffiti has included bad words, moustaches, and most recently- passed gas.

ps>> good work abby for spotting this little gem!

Playground Tyrant

2008-03-05T19:56:00.003-08:00

My parents sold the house Jillian and I grew up in and are planning on moving out of town this summer. Until they leave, mom, dad, and I are living in a nice apartment downtown which is across the street from an elementary school. T-Rex lives here-- in the confines of the playground.

i [heart] Guinness

2008-03-05T00:59:00.000-08:00

.mmmm.
thank you, andy!

ps> meanhappyguy, bottoms up. ;)

desea vivo el pollo sin cabeza

2008-03-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

This is the key I have been using for my work computer card-- but in a sad twist of fate and irony it lost its head yesterday.

playing catch-up

2008-03-03T12:01:00.006-08:00

so, here's the deal...
i have officially decided to christen this blog my photo diary, but because i didn't just start taking pictures just yesterday, we have to catch-up on the going-ons of my life, family, friends, and places. Between the link to my flickr account and the photographs here, you should feel a little less like a stranger.

.welcome.

sister. juneau, alaska

Peace Vigil. Davis, CA

work. juneau, alaska

The Alaskan. juneau, alaska

friends. juneau, Alaska

from the keys of my 1949 Remington Portable

happy [family] day

Another 'new'

Duped

Back to Reality

the good, the bad, and my second resolution

another new start

give me a S... give me a U... give me a G... give me an A... give me an R

...the yin and yang of it ...

sorry if this one is tough to read:

how this is done:

heatwave!

welcoming committee

type

Third time should be a charm...

Jose is sooo cute!

my runin with the *fake* law

a fresh start

for my sister

alas! its been too long!

Onward Hence!

leopard, homework, and coffee

"my cape is all blustery!"

My little sister is all grown up!

back to school

tacoma safari!

little cat meet little dog.

down the mole hole

rawwwwwwrrr

goat vs. leopard

Lord LeoPard flies coach

Lord LeoPard

valentine

...until next time...

flee the country!

fit as a fiddle...

crisp Tuesday morning

easter in the anglosphere:

cremation of chief kowee

on my walk home...

pieces of heaven

spring has sprung... well almost

plush carnage

not much to say.

"i'd lose my head if it weren't attached..."

wise old owl

"not too toot my own horn or anything..."

Playground Tyrant

i [heart] Guinness

desea vivo el pollo sin cabeza

playing catch-up

my runin with the fake law