Photo Hunter: Plastic

Plastic? Really? Okay. Here goes!

The summer after my junior year in high school I went on a summer-long mission trip to Peru. As we were approaching the city in our small airplane I noticed the periodic columns of smoke. When we got to the place where we were staying we saw a well and excitedly ran over to check it out. We were disappointed to find that it had a bunch of trash in the bottom. We found out later that they used these "wells" to collect trash in and once it reached a certain point they would burn it. Thus, the smoke. My friend, Rachel, and I had a habit of wishing at the trash well which was a fun game for the summer. Here is a picture of us wishing on our plastic coke bottles:

Also in Peru, our plastic shower. This was all good and well until the kid on the street got his kite stuck in the tree above the shower and climbed up to retrieve it...

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Adventures in Waco!

About a month ago I recieved an email from my sister warning me that my second grade nephew had sent me a letter that was part of a school project, but she didn't know what it was. A few days later, I was pleased to recieve a visit from Flat Stanley. According to the letter, Flat Stanley was flattened when a bulletin board fell on him. Now he can visit friends in different communities and see what happens there. I was supposed to take pictures at Waco specific locations with the cutout and send it back to my nephew. So, I spent a couple of weeks in the company of Flat Stanley and have documentation of our adventures.

Flat Stanley attended a performance of Blood Wedding. He sat on headset (and he used the light board).












He also joined the gypsy band.











Afterward, Flat Stanley met Death. I couldn't decide how creepy she actually was so I didn't send this one to the kids.











Flat Stanley also got to meet the director who never quite understood him. This was a lovely picture until I realized what was in the background.









Did you know that Dr. Pepper was first made in Waco? You can learn all sorts of interesting facts at the Dr. Pepper museum.






Flat Stanley saw one of the campus squirrels. This is actually one shot, but it looks like he was held in front of a postcard.













Flat Stanley went to the bear pit and surprisingly, one of the bears was active.









If you're ever in Waco, be sure to bring Flat Stanley because he now knows all the hotspots (and has backstage access to theatre productions)!

Good Times

Mmhm. Summer was made for me. Normally I would be a little bored and restless by this point - a full week with no scheduled activities, but at the end of this year I am soaking it in as much as possible. I was TIRED. This year was a test of endurance like I've never experienced before. I have had a good mix of activities; some reading, a sound project for a friend, a lot of detailed cleaning, a project for my nephew, and lots of outings. There have been several shared meals of the cleaning-out-the-cupboard variety, three distinct and wonderful games of Scattegories, a fierce and passionate competition in Bop-it Extreme - a game I did not even know I owned until the beginning of this week (I currently hold the high score, 56, that's right.) Several movies have been involved, including the midnight premiere of Angels and Demons (I liked it, but it's the first exposure I've had to the series, books or movies) which freaked me out when my sister, Julie, called the next night and asked if I had seen any good midnight premieres lately. There was also one fantastic night when a group got together and didn't play games or watch a movie, but just talked for several hours.

So, after a year of hard labor I am pleased to report that it does pay off and I do have the ability to take it easy now and then. I am also blessed to have sat in the presence of many different groups of people and felt at ease and seen the comradarie abound even as the dynamics shift. My time in Waco is winding down and I will need to get a job soon, but it is time to move on and into a working atmosphere again. However, I will always be grateful for every moment I have lived in the last week.

Photo Hunter: Painted

It's odd, but my mind went first to performers who wore heavy, "painted" makeup. I was going to flip through my banquet pictures to find someone who went a little extreme on the make up, then I remember that we completely painted our moon character in blue makeup. Here he is as he is being painted.

The spirits also had pretty extraordinary makeup, so here are our painted woodland creatures under stage lights.

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Honey, I'm Home!

I am back. Finals are all officially over, I have pulled my last working all-nighter until August (who knows if any midnight premeires may come up), and I started reading one of my books for fun. Summer is here! I don't have a lot to say since my thoughts are still scattered all over the place, but I have a few projects like organizing the 500+ Blood Wedding pictures I have into a presentable form for other people and finishing up the Flat Stanley project for the nephew. I am also working on my website for my portfolio...it's slow going though. So, here are some teasers of what should be coming in the next few weeks. By the way, I'm living with the very gracious brother and sister-in-law this summer, so I'll be relocating next week. Thanks for letting me run away! I promise to fill in the gaps soon.

Photo Hunter: Walking

I have now been to a couple of countries where they drive on the left side of the road. This wasn't as confusing as I expected in the form of motor transportion, largely because I never drove. However, as a pedestrian I lost all confidence in my ability to cross a street because I learned how instinctive it is to look over a particular shoulder first and how impossible it is to consciously change how I view things. That is why I greatly appreciated these instructions when walking in Hong Kong, especially with the arrow:

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Photo Hunter: Protect(ion)

This is another one of those words that didn't immediately bring anything to mind. However, I was able to locate some enjoyable ones.

First, please buckle up for your own protect(ion).

The next takes us back to my freshman year again. My roommate and I were very fortunate to have befriended our neighbor that offered us her mad ninja skills for our protect(ion).

Finally, the classic example of the measures in place to ensure the public's protect(ion): informative signage.

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