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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend 08

From Memorial Day ...
From Memorial Day ...
Over Memorial Day weekend Scott and I got to go see a lot of the fun things around my hometown that I like to take visitors to. Of course we ate tons of green chile and pretty much gained 5 pounds each, but that was to be expected when I'm able to get my hands on food that is nowhere to be found in NYC. I haven't found quality New Mexican food just yet.
From Memorial Day ...
Aside from eating, we visited the Aztec ruins, which are these amazing Pueblo Indian ruins sitting amongst a residential neighborhood. They were all deserted before 1300 AD, but they're still around today, even though there are some features that aren't architecturally sound, such as doorways set into corners. It's always fun to see things that are so ancient and to compare what their life must have been like to the way I live mine.
From Memorial Day ...
From Memorial Day ...

Supposedly they were having a hot air balloon fiesta at Farmington Lake. I think this was all a fantasy, because by the time Scott and I got there, there was nothing but us and the ducks.
From Memorial Day ...
From Memorial Day ...
The ducks did have mohawks, but there was no sign of hot air baloons. We even tried looking for them from up on the hill where my parents bought some property, to no avail. My sister brought her boyfriend's new puppy, Cara along. He is in Germany for the summer so she's a surrogate puppy mom.
From Erin's Gradua...
From Memorial Day ...

Sunday we went to the horse races where we ran into one of Hannah's Aunts and even my dad's friend who is the owner of one of the horses that was favored to win. It was a fun family outing. We all went down to the horse pens before each race to check out the horses and pick our favorites, then Scott spent a lot of time studying all the stats while I scientifically based my $2 bet on hunches. I think my hunches paid off maybe twice out of 8 races. It was entertaining to see the horses run though. The owner of horse number 8 who in the eight race offered to have us come down to the winners circle for a picture, but I think he jinxed himself because his horse balked at the start. He was certainly fast and almost made up the time, but as you can see by the picture when you're still in the starting gate and all the other horses are off it doesn't really allow for a win.
From Memorial Day ...

My parents dropped us off in Albuquerque with my Aunt Luella and Uncle Diego who fed us very well and took us around to see the place where they're going to be building a new house. My aunt decided to sit on her future porch to check out the view while Scott learned about how prickely tumble-weeds can bee and got a sticker in his foot. Good ole New Mexico.
From Memorial Day ...
From Memorial Day ...
From Memorial Day ...
From Memorial Day ...

Graduation 08

We're back in town after a much needed vacation. We went to Farmington New Mexico to see my youngest sister, Erin graduate from high school.
From Erin's Gradua...
From Erin's Gradua...
Of course the weather showed me some love by literaly being in the 80s and 90s until I showed up and had to sit out on the bleachers for a few hours saving seats. Then it rained and the temperature dropped to about 60. Considering that the average rainfall for May is .49 inches, I guess we got a special treat. Luckily the rain cleared up in time for graduation to go on. I got to meet my nearly one year old cousin Andrew for the first time which was fun.
From Erin's Gradua...
I also got to see all of the brothers on my dad's side who are from oldest to youngest, Rick, Diego, Ralph and Dino.
From Erin's Gradua...
It was nice relaxing and hanging out around small town Farmington for awhile. Sometimes it's nice to get a break from the hustle and bustle of the city.
From Erin's Gradua...

Monday, May 19, 2008

BBBS Race for the Kids

I have signed up to be the fundraiser for my team in Big Brothers Big Sisters Race for the Kids. Race for the Kids is a day that celebrates the Power of mentoring and the importance of health, exercise and play by empowering all participants to change the lives of our City’s young people!
I have been working with my little, Shaniqua for almost 3 years now. The organization really makes a difference in her life and for many other kids. If you'd like to support children who probably don't have nearly as much as you, visit my fundraising page to donate! My little has experienced some tough things in life and it amazes me that she can keep such a positive attitude and keep going through it all. Making a tax-deductible donation online makes supporting Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City Race for the Kids quick and easy.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Flash Wave

From Improv Everyw...
It was a busy week last week with 2 cocktail events, a tie softball game that involved one of our players getting kicked out of the game and a super secret mission that is no longer super secret. Improv Everywhere is the name of a group that creates public spectacles like getting together a bunch of guys and having them take their shirts off in the Abercrombie store, or having a bunch of people in blue polos walk into a Best Buy. They even do some smaller events like having a group of people recreate the same set of events multiple times in a row so that people think they've got major deja vu. Anyway, we got an e-mail that our mission for Friday would involve showing up to a specified spot near the Brooklyn Bridge with a camera that has a flash. Even though it was barely 50 degrees out and raining without let-up we tromped out to meet our fellow camera and umbrella wielding New Yorkers on Friday night. When we got there we were let in on the mission, which was to have everyone line up on the Brooklyn Bridge and set off their flash in a wave across and back again. The folks from IE had set up a camera crew on the Manhattan Bridge and would capture it all on film. I heard that there were hundreds of people who eventually showed up. It was hard to tell since standing in the rain under an umbrella in the dark reduces your world. We met two high school girls with no umbrella who were out there enjoying life though. So we kept each other company while we waited for our time in the flash-light. Eventually someone came running by saying to get ready and by that time my hands were so cold that I couldn't get the button pushed on time. Haha, in the end we took a few pictures and headed home soggy and freezing but we enjoyed being part of something for an evening.

The pictures aren't fantastic since it was dark and wet and I was holding an umbrella trying not to let it get blown away onto the highway below. But here's a sample.
From Improv Everyw...
From Improv Everyw...
Here we are standing around recieving instructions.
From Improv Everyw...
From Improv Everyw...
From Improv Everyw...
From Improv Everyw...
From Improv Everyw...

Monday, May 12, 2008

Slow Weeks

It's been awhile since my last post, but not much has been going on. We had a softball game that we lost miserably at. Scott and I went to see a film called "Surfwise" which was quite good. It is about a family of 11 who all lived together in a small camper traveling the country to surf. Afterwards the brother who produced the documentary was there and answered some questions about the film. It was pretty interesting to see how the kids all turned out since they weren't allowed to go to school. Jonathan, the director, was quite well spoken. He said they read alot when they were kids. The father of the family was a doctor, so he wasn't just a beach bum to start out with. It was definitely a well made film. I think they have a few clips on their website.

Oh, one more exciting thing! Sarah has her own blog now! Check it out, type SaRAH

It's still cold here. I want it to get warm!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

New Lens

From May New Lens

So I saved up my babysitting money and finally decided to buy myself a beercan. Haha this beercan is probably more expensive than most since it's actually a lens. It's the nickname for the 70-200mm f4 Minolta lens that they made back in the day. The good thing about my Sony Alpha is that I can use all the old Minolta lenses. I can buy them used which makes it even better. Quite a few people recommended this lens as a solid choice and it's very solid. I don't know how I'll lug it around, but I love it. I can see my camera bag getting a little heavier as time goes on. My next goal is to buy a flash. I'm excited for this longer lens because I have my sister's graduation coming up, where I know I'll be out in the bleachers. So if I want to get a shot I'll have to zoom all the way in. I'm also super excited for my trip to Alaska with all my college roommates. I anticipate a few animal sightings where I will not want to get up close and personal. Bald Eagles, and Moose and Bears oh my! Anyway, i'm still learning my way around this lens, but I can't wait to get some more use out of it. I think I need to take a hike, literally. It's getting a little warmer out so now would be a good time to go before it gets humid and sticky. I thought this dandelion head was funny looking, since all the little puffy parts fell of before the seeds did.
From May New Lens

My house is an old one with some of the original hardware on the doorknobs. it's pretty neat. The cat is one of the wild ones that lives and poops in the backyard. Scott and I are plotting a supersoaker campaign against them. The neighbor lady has called the pound, but they're too quick for the cat catcher.
From May New Lens

From May New Lens

Recap Defined

ri•cap 1 (rē-kāp') Pronunciation Key tr.v. ri•capped, ri•cap•ping, ri•caps
1. a summary at the end that repeats the substance of a longer discussion
2. To replace a cap or caplike covering on: recapped the camera lens.
3. Ri - a female given name: derived from Adrienne.