home

Tonight after work I went on a walk through downtown. I've also been meaning to blog a quote from a book I recently finished. I think the two compliment each other. As written in Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl:

As far as one journeys, as much as a man sees, from the turrets of the Taj Mahal to the Siberian wilds, he may eventually come to an unfortunate conclusion - usually while he's lying in bed, staring at the thatched ceiling of some substandard accommodations in Indochina," writes Swithin in his last book, the posthumously published Whereabouts, 1917. "It's impossible to rid himself of the relentless, cloying fever commonly known as Home. After seventy-three years of anguish I have found a cure, however. You must go home again, grit your teeth and however arduous the exercise, determine, without embellishment, your exact coordinates at Home, your longitudes and latitudes. Only then, will you stop looking back and see the spectacular view in front of you.

castaway!

So this post is late. This photo is from last Friday. However, that doesn't make it any less exciting. That amazing pink-cast-wearing woman is now cast free. She has a walking boot! Walk on, my friend.

the best mornings

I love light. Light makes and breaks the photographs I take. My bedroom has two big east facing windows. When I wake up and the light is pouring in like this, I know the day will be a good one.

men on ice

Go Blues.

barkus bee

Baley got to march in this year's pet parade as a bumble bee. Her tail made quite the stinger. I was shooting a video for the Post so I didn't get to walk with her. I was crouched down in the middle of the street trying to get a shot when I felt a tongue on my neck. Before I knew it, Bales was lying stomach up in the middle of the street, wrapped around me. Way to go, dog. She found me and ruined my shot too.

connections

I run down the street, without a coat and with a video camera in hand. I am in a mess of a rush to get inside where it's warmer. A gentleman a block away laughs at me. He says, "It's cold. Run, run!" We exchange words from several yards away for no more than two minutes. A minute later, he's gone, across the street. He leaves with my first name. I stand with his card in my hand. His name is Michael.

I love encounters with strangers. I doubt I'll do anything with his card. Maybe put it in a file with the hundreds and hundreds of other business cards I've collected. Now, I sit and wonder what he wanted. He said he used to shoot video. Then he told me he does "property stuff." Next, the card appeared in my hand.

I literally stand there for a second or two wondering, "What did this Michael want?" I consider the possibilities: a date, a job, a friend, nothing at all. Does it matter now?

Connections. I love to make them. Some day I'd like to set a goal to introduce myself to a stranger every day for a year. I could blog about it, maybe even photograph the strangers. Maybe I'd make some friends along the way. Perhaps I could publish a book, call it 365 strangers.

I glance down at the card again. His street address catches my eye. We live on the same street, about two miles from each other but connected by the same north-south line.

chris

pretty things in some of my favorite places

Pastries of Denmark



Chai tea latte at the Gelateria


The Gelateria

pretty in pink

She's an amazing woman. She completed a marathon before the days of this cast. Can you imagine your Achilles separating from your heel bone? I can't. In two weeks, the pink Valentine's Day cast comes off, and she gets a boot. She'll learn to walk again. Keep fighting, girl. You're an inspiration.

ugly but tasty

Photo courtesy of Christian Gooden



I was craving cupcakes the other night. My new little cupcake place is open Wednesday thru Saturday, so when I get a Monday hankering, I'm left to fend for myself. I made some beautiful yellow cake, making sure to lick the bowl several times. Then I got impatient and decided I didn't need to make four batches with my 6-muffin pan. Instead, I would make one batch on a cookie sheet. My paper cupcake holders would be strong enough to support the batter, and everything would work great ... or not. Oh well, they still taste good, and when I brought some into work for my coworkers, one of my beauties got to be the light tester in the studio.

escaleras

priority mail

Photo courtesy of Brad Schlossman

So I've always loved the USPS. I almost never use Fed-Ex, unless it's an uber important document with extreme time sensitivity. What can I say? I'm thrifty and usually not in a rush to mail packages. In November 2006 I mailed a friend of mine in North Dakota a bunch of papers from when the Cardinals won the World Series. He received them yesterday. Yes, that's right. Exactly 800.5 days from the day I mailed it. How's that for priority mail?

100,000

On the way home from Chicago last night, I hit 100,000. It took me about seven years to reach this milestone.