A Place Near The City

I finally got around to scanning some of my recent photos from my Diana Mini! I'm definitely seeing some improvement, as well as more areas to grow in. That said, I really love these recent shots. Enjoy!

 Washington Park Arboretum Visitor Center 

with a double exposure overlap of red berries

 Bug eaten leaves with a double exposure 

overlap of a card from Plain Jane's Cards

Elliot Bay Bookstore, Capitol Hill, Seattle 

 Alley near Pike Place Market, Seattle

Elliot Bay Bookstore, Capitol Hill, Seattle

 Fire hydrant near my house

 Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle

Red leaves near Washington Park, Arboretum, Seattle 

with an overlap of the Arboretum Visitor Center overhang

Washington Park Arboretum Visitor Center overhang

Pink Champagne

Yesterday, I got to witness one of the coolest things EVER . . .

No silly, not this fish!

Well, I mean, I did see that too.
But you just never know what you'll see at the market. ;)

Sunday afternoon, I headed over to Pike Place Market and got some fresh fruit and food, and of course, some of my favorite Mac 'N' Cheese from Beechers! (Deliciousssss)

But truthfully, all the great stuff happened after the market and I made my way over to Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center. That was the site for the Puget Sound 3-Day Walk for the Cure Closing Ceremony. I got to watch as the green field was covered with people dressed in different shades of pink, all united to help fight breast cancer. Having lost a relative to breast cancer, and knowing what a serious disease it is, I felt a sense of pride and hope as I watched my friend Alisa walk into the stadium with her team, The Dancing Sheep, having completed the 3-Day walk. I'm lucky to have friends with such big hearts that do phenomenal things that bring joy and peace to my heart.

Alisa with one of the crew members who
had helped her along the walk

The crowd gathered and everyone in the stadium took time to congratulate all the walkers and to honor those who have died from breast cancer. We also rejoiced in celebration for those who were breast cancer survivors! It was a great time, and I walked away with so much love, peace, and hope for the future of women who are battling such a vicious disease.


Afterward, I got to hear Alisa share stories from her time on the walk, and it made me wish that I was good at giving massages . . . because she totally deserved one! The flowers I had picked up for her at the market all of a sudden seemed so puny compared to what I really felt she, and ALL the women there, deserved for their sacrifice. They are truly champions!

Ease On Down The Road

Today I got to go on a Photo Stroll with some of the Seattle Flickrites! We met up at the Washington Park Arboretum and went around taking pics of things that caught our attention. I brought my digital camera, my Diana Mini, and my droid phone for picture taking. I just picked up my Diana Mini photos and will try to scan some on Monday to share. In the meantime, here are some of my favorites from my digital camera. Enjoy!

 A Tent City spotted on the bus route to the gardens

My star ring on a branch

 Greeted by bright red leaves on the
way home from the photo stroll

Red berries

 I brought one of Plain Jane's cards with me
to use as a prop for some of the photos

 Lilly pads in a pond

 Another shot in the woods with a Plain Jane's card

 On the brink of fall in Seattle

 Working the angles

Sitting under a tree with a good book

There's bears in these here parts . . . 

 The runt

 Trees of reflection

 Writing letters in the park

 High up in the trees

More reflecting time

Light Outside

I was once asked an ethical question along these lines while at a cookout with a group of new friends:

WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE
A THOUSAND DOLLARS TO SPEND ON YOURSELF OR TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS AND
GIVE IT TO A STRANGER.

My answer was easy: Give it to a stranger. I got a lot of cynical looks and even more cynical comments, but my answer is still the same. I would rather give money to a stranger than spend an extra thousand on myself. In complete honesty, even if I had the extra thousand dollars, I wouldn't spend it all on myself. I'd share it with others.

One of the things I love to do is give. Give time. Give energy. Give gifts. Give laughs. Give back to causes that I believe in. Recently, one of my friends signed up to participate in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk For The Cure, and it was such an honor to be able to give money to support her—even if it wasn't a TON of money—the giving made me happy!

Today I had the opportunity to give again, to Light The Night, which helps raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I've known many people whose lives have been affected by friends and family memberswho have died from some form of cancer. One of my favorite music artists, Andrew McMahon, was diagnosed with cancer 5 years ago and beat it! Because of it, he's organized the DEAR JACK FOUNDATION.

Via  the Dear Jack Foundation Website:

In an effort to initiate change and provide a voice for the generations of young adults who have been diagnosed with cancer, Andrew founded the Dear Jack Foundation in July of 2006.

Our mission is to be a leader in raising awareness and supporting organizations and charities with the greatest need and highest potential for impact on young adult cancer patients. We specifically aim to find treatments as well as expand on quality of life initiatives, such as counseling for young adult patients and their families. This age group of 15 to 35 year old patients is in desperate need of research. Cancer is the number one disease killer of young adults and studies continually show that the survival rate has not improved as steadily as that of other age groups.

Amongst the past recipients of Dear Jack funding are: the UCLA stem cell transplant program (a program on the cutting edge of cures through transplantation), The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation.

In fact, if you have the FUSE channel on your TV, you can watch the documentary about Andrew's battle with cancer called DEAR JACK. It airs on Saturday around midnight. Also, you can buy it in the iTunes store or through the Jack's Mannequin website. A portion of the proceeds go to the Dear Jack Foundation. I bought it on iTunes when it came out and I still watch it a lot.



But like I said, today I got to give to them. Whether you are naturally a giver or not, I really encourage you to find something—a cause you're passionate about—and give back. It doesn't have to be much at all.  A little bit really does go a long way.

Love Is The Movement

Sometimes I get some really interesting things in my formspring. That's the little box to the top right that says "You Ask, I'll Answer," and it allows you to ask or tell me anything anonymously. Well, today I got this in my inbox:

It's an interesting thing for me to think that someone I don't know would consider me as a source to go to about a movement. I mean, it could genuinely be spam mail, but the email address seemed legit, so I decided to do my best to answer it.

MY RESPONSE:

I'm really not quite sure what movement you're talking about . . . but okie dokie?

If you're referring to my movement of loving and caring about people, your first task is to make it a point to say hello to people you pass by on the street.

If you're referring to my movement of sharing art, then your first task is to take 30 minutes out of your day to draw something that makes you smile. Then go to your local library and slip it in a random book.

If you're referring to my movement in a literal sense, your first task is to put your right foot in. your second is to take your right foot out. Then you must put your right foot in and shake it all about.

In any event, I applaud you for your desire to have strong core values. I think they're very essential in making life full. So whichever movement you'd like to join me in, feel free!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Again, I'm not sure what they are referring to, but I hope it helped.

In other news, I'm got sick on Saturday night, but I'm on the mend. I'm drinking tea and eating soup like it's my job.

PS: If you have any questions or statements you'd like to share anonymously, please feel free. :D

Dress For The Weather

Halloween is just around the corner and I've already been
browsing the racks for some ideas! 

Truth be told, I'm hoping to stumble across a narwhal costume, because COME ON, it's a narwhal costume! Alas, I have yet to find it. So, I've been looking at some other options. So far, these are my faves:

 AMANDA BANANA

AMO THE HOT DOG

There's actually a Spirit Halloween store that opened up close to the house, and I went to take a look there today. Here are some of the ones I liked:

 SALLY from The Nightmare Before Christmas

 A CLOWN

 THE MONA LISA

RAINBOW BRITE

One of my housemates says I should let you guys decide. I'm definitely up for suggestions . . .

History Maker

As a writer, this has become home to me:

It is my "happy place" where worlds exists in language and imagination. In writing, there is a sense of justice—that someone's story will be told. Sometimes it's mine. Sometimes it's yours. Sometimes the story belongs to a stranger.

When I was in high school, my least favorite subjects were Math and Science. My two favorite were English and History. So it seems rather fitting that one of the scripts I've been working on lately is a piece I call THE SHADOWS OF CHERNOBYL. It should also come as no surprise to you that it centers around the actual event—Chernobyl is not some figurative code in this case.

As I work on projects, I spend time researching before I even think of storyboarding and typing out long scenes. I watch videos, read books, read articles, study pictures, and so on. I find that the video research of this particular project comes in small waves, because every time I watch them or see pictures, I am consumed with their stories and in large chunks it's completely overwhelming. I watch and hear all the things that the victims of that tragedy never knew. The time they sacrificed, the price they paid with their lives all because of a sad string of events driven by pride, miscommunication, and fear.

I see pictures like this:

And I cry. I feel their pain. I try my best to grab onto just a small fraction of what they may have experienced. And then the uncertainty, confusion and panic that I imagine they experienced finds its way onto a typed scene in a screenwriting program. Whether it will see the light of day or not, who
knows . . . but it helps me. It challenges me to think outside of the frantic rom-coms and cheap scares that flood the box-offices and it pushes me to fight to write their story. Write their hearts. Honor their lives.

And I hope that one day when this story is read, the hopeful happy ending will convey my heart for those who lived in another time, under more dire circumstances, and that others will take notice.

Sugarcane

Yesterday I got to spend some quality time at a new coffee shop about 2 blocks from my house. I was there pretty much the whole day doing graphic design work and getting things ready for out first day of youth meetings for the fall semester.

As I was working, one of the baristas happened to notice the designs on the screen. When I went up a few minutes later to order another latte, he asked me what I was working on. I explained my different projects to him, and he said that he really liked my work and that if I ever wanted to display some of it on the walls of the caffe, I could. After blushing and thanking him, I went back to my table, coffee in hand and contemplated the offer.

I've never actually thought about hanging any of my art up in a caffe, but maybe I should do it. I started thinking of my past projects and how they were so individualized that they wouldn't really be fit to display as a set. So I resolved that I would steadily work on a set that WOULD be fit to display in a caffe. I'm thinking of doing a set that features some of my photos and have each print contain some song lyrics I've written that pose questions or statements concerning love and the quality of life. I'm not sure when I'll have them completed, but I'll probably start working on them tonight while I watch the VMAs!

I'm really curious to see how this project turns out!

Sing It Out

I was thinking this morning that is was about time for a music update. Mainly because I have a few other blog posts in line that need some editing, thus can't be posted yet. But also because I've recently added to my iTunes and I thought it'd be fun to share (since I haven't done so since the beginning of August)!

One of my best friends sent me an email earlier today and said this reminded him of me. I love my friends, and I LOVE this song! It is seriously so beautiful and visual stunning that it brought tears to my eyes and warm fuzzies to my heart. It also made me miss him a lot. :)

DANCING SHOES by Green River Ordinance



This is a new one I found and took a chance on. I listened to the short sweet 30 second clip (thanks for being lame about that, iTunes), but upon hearing the full song, it has found a home on my playlist! It's so catchy and clever.

UH OH by The Scenic


One of my friends recently went to a Switchfoot show and after the show, Jon Foreman did an acoustic performance outside of the venue. She found an audio recording of it and shared it with me and I love it! It makes me super excited about the next album!

SHE SAYS (THE BLACK EYED BLUES) by Switchfoot



I absolutely love Tegan and Sara with all my little indie / emo heart! This is one of their newly released singles. It's off of their new album, Sainthood (which is just wonderful) and this song has been on repeat a lot on my iTunes!

ON DIRECTING by Tegan and Sara


And last but not least, another sweet sweet love song by Camera Can't Lie called Last Dance. It's got a great hook and it's such a beautiful song! I just never get sick of listening to it! My favorite lyric from it is: "And if we're consumed by counting each hour, what's left of today?"

LAST DANCE by Camera Can't Lie

It's In Your Blood

I think if I was a Care Bear, I would choose to be Playful Heart Monkey. And just FYI, I totally count the Care Bear Cousins in the generality of "Care Bears," so Playful Heart TOTALLY counts!

Like Playful Heart Monkey, the world is my playground!
Take today for instance.
You see this bear?

Yeah. This one.
Well, today, this bear was my accomplice.

Every Wednesday, I attend a staff meeting at work. We usually go over all the basics: Buildings and Grounds, Publications, Computers, Office, and Appreciations. Appreciations is a new category we recently added to our meetings. It gives us an opportunity to share a short, sweet appreciation of someone on staff for something great we've noticed.

Today, a small number of other staff members and myself arrived to the meeting early and we were sharing some fun banter. Generally my co-worker H— sits in the same seat for staff meetings, but today I dared him to sit in a different spot just for fun and to shake things up a bit. After he moved, we laughed and then we all noticed the little bear you see above. It was just randomly sitting there, chillaxin' on the couch. So I schemed with my other co-worker, S— to coerce H— into "appreciating" the bear when it came time for the Appreciations category in the meeting.

The meeting was fun and light, and so when it came time for Appreciations, I looked over at H— and gave him the raised eyebrows hinting look. He looked at me, eyes wide, and then I motioned with my eyes toward the bear and he looked at it, looked back at me, and broke into a bright-eyed chuckle. Well after that, it was all over for me, I LOST it and started laughing and snorting. I just kept imagining what he would have said about the bear—how quietly it was sitting, how attentive it was, how even though it was blue it was seemingly happy. We dismissed shortly after that, and even though the bear never got its due appreciation, we laughed all the way out the door!

I LOVE staff meetings and I LOVE that I work with people who know how to have fun!

On Directing

For all those times people told me I should be a comedienne, there is finally some form of justification—though it's not something I'm currently pursuing ;)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Your personality type: "Groundbreaking Thinker"

Creative, resourceful and intellectually quick. Good at a broad range of things. Enjoy debating issues and may be into 'one-up-manship'. They get very excited about new ideas and projects, but may neglect the more routine aspects of life. Generally outspoken and assertive. They enjoy people and are stimulating company. Excellent ability to understand concepts and apply logic to find solutions.

Careers that could fit you include:

Entrepreneurs, lawyers, psychologists, photographers, consultants, sales represenatives, actors, engineers, scientists, inventors, marketers, computer programmers, comedians, computer analysts, credit investigators, journalists, psychiatrists, public relations, designers, writers, artists, musicians, politicians.

(via 41q.com)

And there you have it. I actually think this is pretty accurate. I admit it's REALLY hard for me to suppress the urge to "one-up" people a lot, but it's also a giant pet peeve of mine, so though it's accurate on the results it's definitely something I fight a lot to cut back on.