Then

Click on the collage to enlarge it.

Some people are going to squint at the photos - the ones of me in my early twenties- and go "OMG! Is that you?!"

Please don't do that in front of me.

Thanks.

Old Friends Weekend

Last weekend I reunited with two friends; one I've known since 1977, the other since 1992.

Let's start with the first one. Look at that number again, the one with the sevens in it. To state the obvious, that was a long time ago. No personal computers. Eight dollar concert tickets. Seventeen year old me.

Seeing friends from decades ago activates a dredging process. Once in a while something upleasant is exhumed. Something stupid that you forgot for a reason.
And then there's the really random things you remember that you had forgotten for 30 years but can summon again in an instant. "Yes, I remember her! The one who used to smoke pot for her menstrual cramps, right?" There's a lot of remembering how much fun you used to have.

In a post from 2009 I briefly described how I met Mike, but the memory has come back more vividly so here it is: I met Mike in May of 1977, at Crandon Park beach in Miami. At night. The beach AT NIGHT. Going to the beach AT NIGHT, in all its primordial, mystical, moonlit, warm-sand wonderfulness was a frequent pastime back then. Wistful sigh. If I remember right, I was there with my friend David M. I was...well, er...uninhibited (there we go) and walked up to a picnic table four guys were sitting on.I wanted to see if they had anything good to, er, talk about. Yeah. Talk about.

In my heart I also wanted to have an inappropriate encounter with an inappropriate man (perhaps that renders the encounter appropriate, but whatever). I fancied myself a wild and crazy girl; one who was eager to swim uncharted waters.

A roadie for a rock band would have fit the bill nicely. A long-haired, tattooed, not-Jewish, blue-collar worker would have sufficed too. Anything could have happened that night as I approached that table of men on the dark, desolate beach.

One of the men looked me in the eye.

and...

that's how I met Mike. Nice, intelligent, sensible Jewish Mike, who was home from MIT for the summer.

I mean, really.

Flash forward Thirty five years. Mike is married and has a successful career as a research physicist. He's still nice, intelligent, and sensible. I'm much more sensible and responsible than I was back then. Life is not as much fun now. Just being honest. It's not. But it was fun to see Mike again. We'd last seen each other in Denver around 1992, so we weren't jumping across quite so many decades, but still. It had been a long time.

I'm sometimes feel that I have a tenuous hold on life; like I have a fluctuating inventory of family and friends (yeah I know, boo hoo). Being connected with old friends like Mike and Nanice makes me feel more grounded. Big bonus that the chemistry with both was unchanged from the old days.

I really, really want to go to the beach at night.

Back then it was pure joy. Now it's a need.

Ok, here's exactly what I want: I want to be on the coast of Iceland at night in winter, with a cold wind blowing and ice near the shore. I want an insane display of northern lights; swift-flying swirls of manic electric green.

Let's throw in a bonfire and a Scandinavian husband and I'll be all set.

Autumn on Mars

First Fall leaves and a serious hue layer.

Fave Pic from Puyallup Fair

Water Aerobics

Welcome to My Nightmare

I rarely remember my dreams. This means I may be missing out on some great stuff like these gems from last night:


Dream #1: I have painted my living room Pepto Bismol pink and accented it with large tropical fish decals from Target. I walk in the door and try to convince myself its cute.


Dream #2: I have a date with Alice Cooper. He walks in wearing a yellow shirt. I hug him. He tells me I have a small piece of gum on my lower lip. I don't question this. Instead, I go to sleep on the living room couch while someone cooks him a steak. When I wake up he's gone. Alice Cooper, why did you leave?


I think Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare album is phenomenal. I used that word a few weeks ago to describe a bag of yogurt pretzels I'd gotten from a vending machine. My use of the word phenomenal in both cases is deliberate and sincere.

Strike

Bird Watching

Ok, so I got a little carried away.

Mid-Summer Renaissance Faire

Ren Faire- Gypsy Horse Show

Some Assembly Required

Launched

If you don't think this is a cool image I hate you. No, really. Although I am thinking of turning the rest of the background white to enhance the graphic effect. Edit 8/27: Actually, now that I look at it I don't think this is a very strong image. It's not bad, but I think what excited me about it originally, was that this was a photo of a man in a cherry picker washing the windows of a church. So the tsuanmi looking wave to the left is actually a church that's been put through the distort/ twirl filter. Church of the Twirly Jesus? Now we're talking.

I Do Live There- When I Can

Sometimes I work on stuff in Photoshop late at night, save the images, and forget about them (thanks Ambien!) I found the green one recently in my 'Neighborhood' folder. "I will live here" in the context of this photo simultaneously makes no sense at all and distills me to my essence. How very darling.

Koi Vey

Alter Ego

Today at the Wright Park Arboretum, surrounded by plants, I was drawn to the koi pond. I was gracious enough to move out of the way for passersby, but I was doing some serious shooting. I think my settings worked well: 1/2000, macro, and flash. I love this photo.

Abstract

I could play with Photoshop filters all day. Come to think of it, day time would be a great idea. I tend to do this kind of thing after midnight. I love abstract art. I once had a boyfriend who hated it. The walls of his home were hung with portraits. Paintings of strangers! Why would anyone want that? He thought my abstract prints were cold and impersonal. I didn't like the creepy people on his walls staring at me. We broke up because we were art incompatible. Yeah, that's it.

In Store

Goodwill store, to be specific.

Eye in the Sky

Toward the end of my afternoon shoot (I go for a walk with my Nikon almost every Sunday) there was a mighty flash in the sky. In less fantastical terms, the sun peeked through the clouds. I pointed my camera upwards and this is what I got. I can't decide if it's pretty or creepy. I'll settle for pretty creepy.

Luminous

Much Better