penn

Marine in San Francisco

From April 2001 on my Minolta X-370. My best friend and our two little brothers backpacked around San Francisco for 4 days (stayed in a different place every night, so we schlepped our bags everywhere).

Instead of taking a change of clothes for each day, I brought my manual camera. It was carefully wrapped in an orange and yellow sun print beach towel that was frayed on the edges that I never ended up needing (I only took showers when we were provided with towels).

I spent the entire trip sick from something unknown (stress?). I ate some food the first day; I spent the first night puking. After that, I subsisted on sprite until our last day, where I managed to get down a latke at a Jewish deli. Oh, and I ate a piroshky (ahh, lovely Russian food).

San Francisco remains one of my favorite cities, even though I've only been there once. I'd like to return, but I'm afraid that no trip will rival the crazy-busy-funness of wandering around the city with the marvelous group of people I traveled with. We did the touristy thing the first day (wharf, embarcadero, etc), then spent the next three days doing some more decidedly odd things. We hit up the exploratorium (SF science museum), we got soaked in an SF downpour (of course, wearing synthetic pants that trailed to the ground, I was sopping wet up to my waist), and learned about the intracacies of the SF bus system. We went to a punk show at 924 Gilman, a garage in the suburbs of Berkeley where Greenday got it's start. We practiced archery at a range in Golden Gate Park. When my older brother was with us, we only ate at local ethnic restaurants (of course, other times, we ate at Carl Jr's, but it wasn't my choice since I couldn't really eat anyway).

Happy Birthday

to April.

I started reading her site because Izzy did, and I am so glad. April has all these great wonderful insights into the world. Also a bonus: she is often thinking the exact same thoughts as me. It is comforting to know that other people in the world are experiencing the same problems and complications as I am.

Even though I've already said this to her, I'll say it again: I love the creative art designs on her site. Her banners are especially nice. She always seems to have cool headshots (who takes all those for you, April? I know you can't have shot all of them). She also posts up lots of cool photos she's taken of the nature she finds around her.

April is an inquisitive person worthy of this biologist's admiration. She has this natural awe about everything that surrounds her. She's multidisciplinary, so even though she majored in English literature (right?), she still enjoys learning about all sorts of other topics.

April, you're deserving of the compliments. I hope your birthday goes smashingly, and someday we will meet.

Happy Birthday, Van Gogh!

Vincent Van Gogh was born on this day today in 1853 (April, who knew you shared a birthday with someone so famous?). I love Google's homage to Van Gogh.

Last year, at about this time, I spent an excruciating two Saturdays in the Van Gogh museum (Amsterdam; absolutely beautiful museum, and ask me for tips about visiting) cataloguing each and every painting in the place. I classified each painting by era, brush style, dominant color, frame style, and theme. Absolutely awful, but it did give me a newfound appreciation for the complexity of art, and I actually learned to appreciate Van Gogh's work, which I had previously dismissed as too namby-pamby.

Today, take some time to enjoy a Van Gogh. What's your favorite?

Neon Froggie

Red eyed tree frog found in Costa Rica
photo post-manipulated in Photoshop

My Antonia

One of my absolute favorite authors is Willa Cather. Really, I grew up in Nebraska, and so did she. We have a kinship right there. Sometimes, you try and find any notable females in the state you grow up in.

Seriously, tho, I have always loved Cather's books. I first read My Antonia in 8th grade, and every kid in class (now in Seattle) groaned when I brought in a Nebraska state map and literally traced the happenings of the novel. I loved the beautiful descriptions of the prairie, the determination of Antonia, and the interplay between the characters. I loved the side stories about the Russian wedding party (if you don't know this one, you're really missing out. It's quite juicy!) and the cold homesteading winters.

However, hardly anyone knows about Willa Cather. Sure, a few people are familiar with O, Pioneers. But most people really don't know and don't care about some female author writing about the Nebraskan prairie. Therefore, I was quite surprised to see Antonia Shimerda as one of the 100 favorite fictional characters (chosen by other authors) in a celebration for World Book Day.

Said author Elizabeth Noble:

Antonia Shimerdas, the eponymous heroine of Willa Cather's My Antonia, isn't coquettish or witty like some other heroines I admire. It is her stoicism and determination that make me love her.

There's plenty of other great characters listed, including Anne of Green Gables, The Cat in the Hat, Gandalf, and God. Go check it out for yourself.

And here's an interactive question: who is one of your favorite literary characters?

Mine: Ender Wiggins, from Ender's Game

Ender is a bright, intelligent kid who gets duped into fighting a battle for humanity. He's amazingly perceptive, and he has that "think outside the box" mentality everyone is supposed to gun for these days. I'm not a big fan of fiction, but I always loved reading about Ender.

A Galway Night in May

shot in May 20052004 (whoops) on my Minolta X-370; probably done with Kodak Max film

Juice

I have enjoyed two glasses of juice today. With breakfast, I had a small glass of orange juice. I read the comics, enjoyed part of a cinnamon roll (easter tradition!), and had my OJ. I almost followed my usual habit, which is to fill up with more juice after I'm done with the first glass, but the little bit I had was more than enough for me. Amazing.

With lunch, I had a glass of crangrape, and that was heavenly. Again, a half glass was all I could muster.

It was nice to have something other than water to drink, but I think this Lent has made me realize the value of water. I don't need to have flavor all the time. Sometimes, drinks loaded with sugar really are too sweet.

We'll see how long this lasts, but I'm hoping it keeps up. If I keep juice as an occasional treat, I'm sure I'll appreciate it more.

Food in Seattle

Next time I'm home, I'm totally checking out Seattle Bon Vivant for restaurant recommendations.

Painting in Honduras

Yes, that's mud. I was 16 at the time and living in a small village in the rural northern mountains of Honduras. It is one of the happier times I remember in my life. I can't believe I accomplished something like that when I was so young.

Finding your Bliss

Do what you want to do in life. Carpe Diem. All that rot.

Just do it finally: computer programmer -> bike courier

(side note: I just have to figure out what I want to do in life . . .)