celebration of winter

I have a religion exam in a couple hours.... what better time to write a blog than now?

The (3rd annual) celebration of winter was a couple weeks ago, and I wanted to take a minute to thank those who came! The youngest attendee was 4. The oldest was 78. I had asked folks to bring books for "Books for the Future"... and holy shit, what a great response! (see photos).

I am pleased that folks came together, met each other, learned from one another, and of course.... ate, drank, and got merry together. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. All of those things are what I consider components of a beautiful community! I am honored and humbled to have such amazing people in my life. During hard times, events like the celebration of winter remind me that all has not gone to shit, and there are beautiful and hopeful people in the world. So thank you for blessing me with such an inspirational reminder.

And extra thanks to Jen, Brie, and Ryan...for carrying me home at the end of the night.

my buddy jeff parker

the bewitched

Last week I was asked to photograph "The Bewitched" at Byrant Lake Bowl. I took about 1100 pictures. Because school and work are keeping me busy.... I've been hesitant to dive into editing, because it's so easy to get consumed and lose track of time.

Here are a few of the shots from the show...
(click to open....they look better larger)

Bryant Lake Bowl

The Bewitched

Musette

Musette

Musette (scaring the shit out of Mary)

Eric (of Bewitched)

E.

Mary (of Bewitched)

Mary on autoharp

Support local music... check out The Bewitched Myspace page.

And as always for my words and my photos, feedback (+ or -) is always welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Laos.

Went to trivia at the Green Mill the other day....

One of the questions was "There are 5 countries with only one syllable.... Name 3".

1. Chad
2. Greece
3. Spain
4. France


5. Laos?

Really? Laos?

Help me out here. I think Laos has two syllables... at least that's how I've always heard it.

Lao is one. Laos is two.

Anyone with me? Anyone wanna tell me otherwise? I'm open to both.

u of mn invite

Took some photos a couple weekends ago at the U of MN invite. Here are a few of my favorites. As always, feedback (positive or negative) is welcomed and appreciated.

hans storvick, chris rombough, hassan mead, david krueger

sean king

ray blackledge

ibrahim kabia


jaime cheever, heather dorniden

jayme dittmar

claire bootsma

nikki swenson

elizabeth yetzer

photoshoot

Last week, Elise Ejadi told me about an event that her friend Elisea was hosting. With little convincing, Jen and I both agreed to do it. Photos will be online soon, according to Elisea's website.

The bartender last night was so frickin cute. He took a bunch of pics of Jen and I while we had some down time. Here are some of them...

she's always picking on me

but then we make up

I'm excited for the professional photos to come out! Many thanks to Elise for inviting me to participate in something new and different. It was fun.

Tonight Kristina is coming over to cook for me. Actually, we will both be cooking. I cooked for Ryan the other night.... and he did a sinkfull of dishes. What a nice guy.

Hope everyone is well. It's freezing here in saint paul.... windchill is like negative 30. Yuck. Good thing I've been inside all day.

new job, less booze, more studying

I've got 3 things I need to work on.

1. New job. Working for "Books for the Future". Planning on 10-15 hours a week for now. Should be good. I'll get to wear headphones while I work. And I'll be working with books. Yay!

2. Less booze. Haven't been taking care of myself the way I should be. I guess part of the plan is less booze. Another part is more vegetables, more meat, and more running.

3. More studying. Yikes. I met with greg last week, and we figured out a plan for the upcoming semester. So, I gotta stick to it, the master plan.

Apologies for the short/boring post. Felt obligated to write something....probably because I should be working on homework instead... but this isn't anything profound. Just an update I guess.

p.s. thanks mn vikings for a rollercoaster season and a disappointing finish.

my grampa

today makes 4 years since my grampa died. jeez. it feels like it's been less than a year.

i drank whiskey tonight, in his honor. (and yes, i did pour a little out for him). i was planning on having some english muffin toast, the dried out stuff.... but it wasn't at the store. oh well. maybe next time.

i miss my grampa. every day. it doesn't get easier, but it does get more bearable, meaning i don't want to just curl up and disappear every time i miss him. i just want to curl up with him.... what a sweetheart.

today i rocked his pink striped button up shirt. i miss him. and my gramma too.

tonight jen and i toasted (with not-so-great whiskey) to my grampa. I said, "cheers, to my grampa, my best friend in the whole wide world". I think he's looking down on me. I hope he's proud.