the Nonsense in Between

...

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:03:49 -0700

History has been made. What will we make of our future?

Obama is not your savior

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:07:42 -0700

Most people, including my dear husband, might assume that a college educated, forward thinking person like myself would vote for Obama this year. Those people might be surprised to learn that I have not yet decided whether or not Obama will get my vote. No, no, no, don't worry I'm not voting for McOldy and What's-her-face either. It's just that Obama with all his charisma and charm has not convinced me that he's truly what this country needs. In fact, no one man (or woman) is what this country needs. I'm sorry to burst some bubbles here but Barack Obama is just one man, one American. His campaign slogan might be "hope and change" but we shouldn't fool ourselves into believing that a new president, whoever he is, will bring that. I believe that putting too much faith in a man -- and a politician at that -- is dangerous. I'll admit that Obama's sugar coated plans to bring hope and change, and "spread the wealth" around sound decidedly wonderful and refreshing but I don't see a few policy changes in the next 4 (or even 8) years righting this crashing plane. We each need to pull the wool off, get out from behind our tv/computer screens, make like Gandhi and be the change we want to see in this world. Whatever you decide to mark on your ballot this year don't let it be the only action you make toward change. Don't hope for change, be it. Oh, and one more thing before you break your keyboard trying to tell me off... if I were not in California (a state that will vote Democrat) Obama would likely get my vote. But being in a liberal state has afforded me the opportunity to think about putting my vote toward something even more left than the barely-if-at-all-left Obama-Biden ticket. I've been doing some research and Nader's Peace and Freedom platform appeals to my idealistic side in a way "hope and change" only hint at. I like to believe that within each of us is a spirit to love one another in a way that would take Peace and Freedom from idealism to reality. If my vote ends up in this third party ticket it's not that I don't believe Obama would be a better president than another Republican, it's that I believe in something even more.

First Year Sickies

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:15:54 -0700

The constant barrage of germs on my immune system has finally kicked my ass.This is my third battle with the germ armies since school started only six weeks ago. The first two battles were just annoying but today I was sent home with a gnarly cold that has no end in sight. arg. They've told me this happens to all first year teachers and that once my body's immune system strengthens I'll be able to enjoy life from inside a head that isn't constantly stuffy and sniffly. Until then I'll just have to keep my Kleenex stocked.

on the tips of my fingers

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:42:57 -0700

I've had the urge to post on my blog but every time I sit down to type nothing happens. Well not nothing, I do get a few random bits of nonsense out but nothing coherent enough to publish. It seems I've come to a place in my life where there are more ineffable moments than nonsense in between. I've sat at this keyboard many times to try to explain it but my words lose their meaning inside a little text box. I know there are more steps ahead that will get me to a place where I can use this space to explain myself. Other than my battle with the limits of language life is pretty good. The sun shines a lot in Southern California and the pollution bends the light in interesting ways. People around me are genuine and kind. I'm married to an amazing man whose humble heart makes me swoon. My dog puts himself to bed at night and always makes the corners of my mouth turn up.

Equinox

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:22:35 -0700

The fall equinox normally brings a shift in me. A reminder to gear up for the coming winter, to shed old baggage, and hunker down. But today, I still feel the gift of spring inside of me. Life is blossoming and growing without regard to the Sun's position on the horizon. My last two winters were so long and relentless I barely remember a break between the two. They seem a blur with cold hard truths. My branches left naked as I was stripped of myself. Cold. Exposed. Alone. Darkness whirled around me as I searched for the truth. It wouldn't kill me but there were times I thought it would. It didn't. I'm stronger. Today my prayer is that as Fall sweeps in to strip you of yourselves you have the strength to let go. Watch yourself change. I pray your winters are short.

Little People

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:50:07 -0700

Spending my days with five year olds is cooler than I ever thought it would be. You can't spend a day with kindergartners and not smile, they say and do the cutest things--though sometimes you wish they'd just sit still and listen. I truly love how honest they are--even when one of them tells me how boring the book I just read was--it's a trait I wish they didn't have to lose. Their imaginations soar to places adults have long forgotten, possibilities in kindergarten are endless. I'm so happy to be in kindergarten again!

Chris Conley goes to Hollywood

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:58:36 -0700

Over the weekend Dominic and I got to see Chris Conley perform at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. Having never been to the Troubadour, or other venues in our new city, we had no clue what to expect. The Troubadour turned out to be a really great little venue, small enough to incite intimacy and just big enough for a little elbow room. It's a place we'd love to go back to so we're keeping an eye on their events calendar. Maybe one day we'll even get to see Chris perform there again. Chris was lovely as usual, meeting and greeting all of his fans as if each of them was at the top of his list that night. Which was farther from the truth than usual because this time he had his wife and daughter with him. It was really special to see them there and even more special was when Chris introduced me to his lovely wife. She's really sweet and I imagine very strong to be able to support a man whose talents pull him away for months at a time. She loves him. He loves her. And they're really beautiful together. You know what else is beautiful? Chris performing our song at the Troubadour... Of course it doesn't top the night Chris opened the show with our story and song (nothing ever will) it was still really special to see him perform it solo. Thank you, Chris, for Saturday's performance. We love you.

shameless(?) self promotion

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:12:31 -0700

i've been moved to submit to JPGmag.com again. if you think my photo fits the theme/you love me and you'd vote even if you thought it was a crappy photo click the link below!

time off

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:20:35 -0700

Just as soon as I started working I'm off again and I don't go back until school starts up. This time I can actually sit back and relax since I'm not stressing about finding a job, hmm...kind of feels like a vacation. Today, I stayed in and made art. nothing profound just pretty: Yesterday, I added some more photos to flickr. This one is my favorite: Two days down and about 20 to go. If you find yourself in the Los Angeles area and want to do something fun (and relatively free) lets get together! I have a feeling I might get bored.

Shake, Rattle and Roll

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:42:34 -0700

Some of you have probably already heard the news of today's earthquake in Southern California -- thanks for the calls and text messages, we're okay. The epicenter was in Chino where they recorded a 5.8 magnitude. It was strong enough that we felt it over 40 miles away but not strong enough to cause any damage. Dominic was in his office in West Hollywood where they had pictures fall from the walls and he's happy to report that his first earthquake was actually quite fun. I was on a field trip with the kindergarteners at UCLA. Luckily, we were having lunch outside and the kids were barely phased by it. I, on the otherhand, was pretty "shaken up" by it but happy to report that I survived my first earthquake!! I guess we're officially California residents now!

accidental dream job

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:02:42 -0700

When we started the process of moving out to California, I hadn't hoped to find the perfect job right away. We had planned for me to get the first possible job, whether it be nannying again or barrista-ing at an S-bucks, whatever that "first" job was going to be I wasn't planning on loving it. The only real criteria for a job was that it be close by since we're now a one car family (plus a scooter that I'm only brave enough to ride on with my eyes closed and my arms wrapped tightly around my hubby). I applied for the job at the center because it was close -- though I didn't know how amazingly close until they called me for an interview -- and it wasn't retail or coffee, working with infants wasn't at the top of my list either, but it was closer. Then by accident, or luck, or something more divine I landed the kindergarten job and I'd been eagerly waiting to start working. My wait ended yesterday and it was more perfect than I could have imagined! I'm told things are a little tougher during the school year (we're just doing a summer transition camp for the kids coming into kindergarten) but I doubt it will be that bad. The school is on a team teaching model and I will be the third teacher in the classroom which means the student to teacher ratio will be less than 10 students per teacher! To illustrate how amazing that is: public schools run on a 20-30 student per teacher ratio, and when they're kindergarteners that number can seem to double. Aside from the wonderful ratios, all the people I work with are lovely! They let me know that they're here to help me learn and grow as a teacher and not to worry about my future because with this job on my resume I'll be set. I have no idea what the future holds, I'm honestly not even thinking about it. I just know that right now things are perfect and I'm savoring every little bit of it.

The Genuine Star Burns Brightest

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:51:53 -0700

One might expect that a world famous photographer, who works only with the most rich and famous, would be as pompous and pretentious as the rest of them. If one expected that of TSP (can't say his full name here) one would be utterly mistaken. The world class photographer I had the extreme pleasure of spending a day with is a genuine and good-hearted man; with an abundance of unmatched artistic talent, I might add. I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated at first but once I got to know him a little the tension cleared and we got to talking, and talking, and talking. We talked about everything-- pets, culture, economics, travel, jurkupa, the changing world, and, of course, photography. He told me this really inspiring story of how he got started in photography and how it had more to do with luck and passion than anything. At the time he was going to school for architecture but half way through he realized he really didn't want to be an architect but it was too late to turn back so he continued school. To pass the time and feed his creative side he picked up a 35mm camera, he'd go to school all day and stay up all night doing photography. At some point someone saw his photos and hired him for his first job but all he had was his little 35mm so the guy loaned him a Hasselblad. He went to the site with his loaner Hasselblad and realized that he didn't even know how to load the film! By chance, the site was just across the street from a camera store so he went there and asked for help. He now shoots effortlessly with a Fujifilm GX680 III. With his permission, I took a photo of his other half: (copyright Nicole Filosa) You would never know by his perfectly composed photos that he was not formally trained, but if you were to watch him work you would see that he is a true artist unfettered by rules, methods, and procedures. He lets the space become its own thing, he talks about what makes the space and about the "personality" of the room that he's trying to capture. The words "strong", "glamorous", "wild", and "unique" came up over and over during shooting. Once while shooting some vases in front of a series of large framed snake pictures TSP used the word "creepy" and moved on quickly -- it's not that he hates snakes, in fact he used to look for them when he was a kid, but these pictures gave him the willies. Most of the time, though, he worked slowly and patiently -- it took us two and a half hours to get the perfect shot of the office! He admits that the condo we were shooting is one of the more difficult spaces he's had to capture and even though it's relatively small it is very complex and every corner has its own story. We found ourselves experiencing the space as more of a modern art museum than a living space, at one time getting caught by the interior designer admiring this very large piece of photographic art in the hallway. We talked not about the artists' clout or extravagant rates, nor did we discuss colors and compositions, our museum tour was all about the feelings and environments captured and created by the artists. It was an experience I won't soon forget, he even let me take one of the polaroids home to remember it all by. I left the Sierra Towers feeling informed, inspired and complete. I also have the strange feeling that it wasn't the last time I'd see my new mentor. Time will tell.

I'm famous

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:44:01 -0700

Well not really, but apparently some old footage from a piece CBS did on Dan's energy drink endeavors made it into the spotlight again. We wouldn't even know it had been on again if my brother hadn't seen the morning news. Dominic found the clip on the internet, you can find it here. Thanks to Dan for making us all famous!

only in Los Angeles

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:23:10 -0700

Remember what I said about Dominic's job being blogworthy? Well, thanks to connections through his firm I have some blogworthy news! Again because of the confidentiality I can't say any names or anything but today is about to be an amazing day for me. I will be assisting a very talented and well known architectural photographer in capturing the extravagant Beverly Hills condo of one of the world's most famous music icons. I'm not getting paid or anything, but I'm more than happy to fill in for the guy's m.i.a. assistant! I'm really excited! Not because I get to see how the stars live but because I get to see how a real live photographer captures it! I will have so many questions but I think I'll be too afraid to ask. I hope he's not afraid to share something about photography with me. Whether or not he does, I am certain this will be an epic day for me! Dominic says it could be the start of something photographic, we'll see.

when planets align

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:57:37 -0700

I've been trying to put into words how amazing life has been as of late but my words fall short every time. The title here actually came from a few different people commenting on our blessed situation and it really does feel like there's some order in the universe, even amidst all the chaos. Life's funny that way, I guess. Our move to California seems to have put us on a path that feels right, perfect even. I know that Dominic deserves all the happiness and blessings he has been receiving and I'm just lucky I get to tag along. He really took a leap of faith by moving us out here and it's really paid off. His job is A-mazing! Its too bad for most of you that his work is so confidential because otherwise it would make for some good blog posts. You know what else would make for a good blog post? Updating you all on my job hunt... My hunt started and ended in one place. I know you're not supposed to put all of your eggs in one basket or whatever but Dominic and I both had a "good feeling" about the job I interviewed for so I went with it. I talked to my mom and told her that I felt like I was going to get the job but I had no proof just a feeling and she told me if I believed it I didn't need to apply anywhere else, so I didn't. The most incredible part is that I ended up with an even better job than I originally interviewed for!! I've been hired as an assistant kindergarten teacher!! It's pretty amazing how it all happened and I have every reason to believe a higher power worked some magic on that one. I am so grateful. I hope you all are finding some good in your lives despite the whirl of fear and madness around.