Nostalgia – It creeps up when you least expect it.

November 4, 2010

The other day, I stumbled upon a this movie on Door Sixteen’s blog and man did it take me back to college. Freshman year, our foundation professor, Gretchen, showed this to us. I believe it was right before we had an assignment to photograph a sculpture we’d just built, to give us some insight into perspective. It’s a pretty cool video, though I remember being bored by the end. I get it already!! Let’s get on with the work!

As I watched this, I began to think of the other videos we’d watched in classes. (more…)

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Laundry Day

January 4, 2010

Remember laundry day in college? Where every shred of clothing you owned was dirty. Dirty, not just worn once or twice. I loved that the building I lived in had 10+ washers and dryers in the basement, because I generally had 6 or 7 loads of laundry to do at once. The only problem was getting a washer that worked was a bit like Russian roulette. Half the time they would stop, mid-wash, with all the filthy water standing around my clothes.

Last week, when discussing the end of a decade with Raju, I had the realization how long a decade really is. “I graduated college!” I said, wide-eyed. Hell, I was still in college at the turn of the decade. This was the end of a long list of other major milestones that happened:

1. I got married… more than once
2. We bought a house
3. I traveled around the world
4. I traveled to French Polynesia – twice
5. I acquired Milo
6. I acquired Raju 🙂
7. I started this blog and this website
8. I got my first real job (cut’n’paste ninja!!)
9. I quit my first real job for an “art” job (and promptly went back to first real job)
10. I moved to California
11. I went to the Albuquerque Balloon Fest (one goal on Mom’s travel list)
12. I visited San Antonio Riverwalk (another goal on Mom’s travel list)
13. I learned to drive a stick shift
14. I learned to like, then LOVE beer
15. I attended my first NFL and NHL games
16. I lived through my first surgery… and suffered only minor embarrassment from the drugs
17. I became addicted to coffee in the AM
18. I had my first gallery shows
19. I had my first ever Indian food (and Ethiopian, and probably a few others)
20. I went from carrying a 300+ CD case to an iPod
21. I got my first computer (Dell desktop) and became addicted to the internets
22. I graduated college

I know there were many, many more things that happened in the past decade, some I will remember later, some are completely forgotten. However, I still have piles of laundry to do on laundry day, just like in college. I have a feeling housework is a chore I will never learn to embrace.

So that’s my laundry list; that’s my reflection. Enough dwelling in the past, it’s now time to focus on the present and the future.

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Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

August 24, 2009

This weekend I was finally able to recapture that feeling I had in Manihi, that feeling of freedom, wind in my hair, propelling myself forward at a fast clip by only the power of my own two legs. That feeling of riding a bike.

Three years ago (three!!) I wrote an article about riding a bike in Manihi. I’ve wanted a bike for a while; I haven’t had one since I was in the fifth grade. When we moved to the house, the first order of business was to buy a bike. Raju managed to do this, but I, as usual, drug my feet. I didn’t know what I wanted. Actually, I did; I just didn’t know where to go about getting it. So while dragging my feet, I just stated that first sentence, “I don’t know what I want…” Big sigh….

This weekend, I was determined to buy a bike. I woke from my nap and told Raju, “I’m going to the bike store.” He, of course, knows what this means. I kid myself into thinking I’m just looking. He knows I’ll walk out with a bike.

And I did! I guess I actually rode out with a bike. The bike in the pic above to be exact. It needs a basket and a bell, and I still need a crash helmet, but I had fun this weekend. We rode to the pizzeria, we rode on the trail. We rode around the neighborhood, then we tucked the bikes in for the night.

Hopefully they’ll get some use this week too. I don’t want this to be just a weekend thing. It feels too good. It puts a smile on my face. I now have grand plans of riding to the lake, pic-a-nick-ing (watching, of course, to make sure Yogi isn’t around). Maybe strapping a backpack with camera on and discovering new places. We’ll see where it leads.

Ahhhhhh! To have a bike.

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