it's in my blood

My parents took a safari in November 1982, to Kenya, among other places. My dad wanted to name me Kenyatta, or so the story goes, because I came along nine months after they returned. My mom won that battle, thankfully. I don't think I look like a Kenyatta at all, but who knows. I found 468 slides from their trip in a bottom desk drawer today. First of all I love looking at pictures from my family pre-me. As I've said before, my dad was a photography junkie, and inheriting all his camera equipment was the spark that got me into it as well. About a year ago my older brother had nearly 3,000 slides converted to digital format that showcased my dad's life from about 1950 up though 1990. Forty years of his life. It was an exciting life, too. He hiked through national parks, sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, and went skiing so often that he ended up buying land in Vermont and building a ski house. He was apparently the favorite bachelor uncle for quite some time before my mom came along and changed all that. My dad's life looked like so much fun. On those hikes it shows them taking breaks to pop open a bottle of wine and a can of pate. Jeez, dad, live it up why don't you?

Anyway, Africa. I've gone through six boxes so far and have seven left to peruse. I'm listening to Paul Simon's Kodachrome right now because they were all shot in Kodachrome and are therefore in amazing condition. They were also shot with a Niiikon camera, for what it's worth. Actually, the same Nikon camera that's sitting in the camera bag to the right of my bed. I got a little teary eyed looking at some of the more beautiful landscapes that my dad captured, for several reasons. The first being that I can't believe that I'll be over there too, the second being that I feel such a strong connection to my dad looking at these knowing that he and I share a passion for photography and travel, and the third being that I'm looking at landscapes and sunsets and trees and mountains that he looked at too. Twenty-eight years ago my dad looked through the viewfinder of his camera, composed a picture, focused a lens (the same lenses that I'm using now) and clicked the shutter. He took nearly 500 pictures that I'm staring at now, preparing to travel to perhaps some of the same places he went. I don't know if any of this makes sense but it's shooting through me like electricity right now, so strongly, in fact, that I had to take a break half way through looking at the slides. I miss him.

getting older

You know how I know I'm getting old? My knees don't let me get low low low anymore. My body takes all day to recover from four drinks. I am you-tubing videos to see how the kids get those cool bangs they've got going on nowadays. That's how I know I'm old. Went out last night and watched some SEC football, danced a little (ok a lot) and took 175 pictures. I didn't realize how much commotion it would cause to bring my big, fun, awesome camera versus my little, pink, girly point and shoot, but everyone was concerned about who I was and why I was documenting the evening so meticulously. At least 5 people stopped to ask why my camera was so big, and I just shouted "because it's awesome!" That seemed to be a reasonable answer and then we all went back to dancing.

I got up this afternoon (yes, afternoon) and found that the remote I ordered for my camera had come in the mail yesterday. It took me a few minutes to remember what it was, I'm going to blame the tequila for that fact. The remote reminded me that my lenses hadn't come yet, so I checked the front porch. Maybe I have ESP or something because there was a box sitting there with my name on it. I love that they were sitting there all day yesterday, overnight, and most of the morning. Oops. I had to get some coffee before even thinking about opening everything and testing it all out. After being properly caffeinated I was able to pull apart the layers of bubble wrap and try the "new" lenses. It's amazing that they are 40 years old and work almost seamlessly with my brand new camera. I wish I felt more like going out today to play around with them, but it is honest to God taking me all day to recover from last night. Maybe tomorrow. (After my doctors appointments!)

Fiiinally. I'm thinking the gyno probably won't be able to test my vision (and it might actually be weird if they were able to...) so I will most likely be making a trip to the walk in to get that portion of my form filled out. I've gotten sports physicals there before, so I know they can do some of what's required for PC, but my insurance treats it as a specialist so the visit is only 20% covered, and I knew they couldn't do the lady parts stuff. I'm also planning on getting the orders for the blood tests and making a trip over to Quest to get those rolling. I'm fully intending to pre-apologize upon walking in for being overbearing about the way the forms are filled out. After tomorrow all I want to do is wait for the lab results to come in. I don't want to have to go back and get anything retested or resigned. My original goal was to get the entire medical packet sent back in a month, by October 2nd. That date is almost definitely out the window now, but I want to get as close as I can.

I apologize for how disjointed and awkward the writing is in today's entry... my brain isn't fully functioning and it has a whole lot going on inside, which is never a good combination. Lastly, the picture. It's from last night, I left the shutter open for a few seconds and just swirled it around. I like it.

How to make delicious enchiladas

I'm starting to pay attention to the "little things" in my life that I take for granted. My car being able to take me anywhere in town within 20 minutes, a post office that's pretty much reliable, a grocery store a mile away with anything I can imagine, my bathroom, water out of the fridge, even the fridge itself. I used 4 out 6 of these things to make dinner tonight. Because I love cooking & taking pictures, & am coming to love this blog, I'm going to share a recipe. You can skip this entry if you want, incase you have no interest in enchiladas. (But, who doesn't love an enchilada?)

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts
1 can each of black beans, corn, and tomatoes with green chiles
2 cans of enchilada sauce (I used one green and one red)
Tortillas (6?)
Package of shredded Mexican cheese
Mojo and Tabasco (I used the green chile one)

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and sautee them with a little olive oil, mojo, and some green tabasco.





Then combine black beans, corn niblets, and chopped tomatoes with green chiles. Stir in the chicken and about 3/4 of the cheese





Lay a tortilla in a greased baking dish, fill the center with the chicken & veggie mix, wrap it up, and turn seam side down. Repeat until you run out of mix, tortillas, or room in the baking dish (I ran out of tortillas first)



Spread the enchilada sauce over the top, sprinkle with the rest of the cheese, cover with tin foil, and bake at 350 F for 20 minutues. Then uncover the enchiladas and bake for an additional 20 minutes to brown and bubble the cheese.





Top with sour cream & enjoy!

Online Info sessions & astronomy

Not that those two things normally go together, but today they do. Because I'm putting them both in my blog. Does anyone else still get those general emails from PC saying things like "get your application in soon and you could be leaving by July!" or "Life is calling, how far will you go? Attend a webinar to discover what the Peace Corps is all about"... I do. I want to send a return email saying "Thank you so much, but I got the application in some time ago and will be gone long before July, if I can help it, but thank you." I'm actually "attending" an online info session as I type this, I'm waiting for it to start. I'm hoping to maybe get some information on things I never would have thought to ask. There's another one on Monday geared towards nominees and invitees to explain things going on in this process and the beginning of service that I will definitely be listening to. Edit: the info session was pretty much what I expected it to be, but I got the chance to ask what kind of volunteer work to do now to make myself more competitive for the PO and she said anything teaching and in a classroom, but that if I have an ed degree and classroom experience (which I do) then I could do some work in ANOTHER area like health or HIV/AIDS, teaching English, something with agriculture, or even just teaching basic sanitation. Any of these would work to strengthen me as an "all around" good fit. I'm thankful for that information.

On the astronomy end of things, I went out last night to see what was supposed to be some kind of rare alignment that only happens once every 95 years or something. I had no idea what I was looking at other than a full moon, which was still pretty neat. I guess I looked pretty professional with my tripod and long zoom lens because a couple of people were asking me where to look and what to look for. One girl asked if I knew much about astrology, which I thought was funny. The moon was amazingly bright and my long exposures looked like day-time. The only hitch in the entire evening was when I returned to my car and realized that my bottle of mosquito repellant had leaked all over the inside of my purse and all over everything I had in there. My phone, a camera lens, bottle koozie, pictures of my nephews, USB drive, school board ID badge, three stacks of sticky pads, my point & shoot camera, my favorite pen, wallet... everything you can imagine. Too bad bug spray also acts as a paint thinner because it melted the blue dye off my phone case all over a new tee shirt. I was standing in my laundry room at 12:30 am when I got home with a bleach pen. (I'm smiling thinking how frivolous this will all be this time next year..)

Lastly, I got a phone call from the people at the Susan G. Komen foundation because I've registered to do a 3-day walk at the end of October. I have only raised $200 of the $2300 I need. Crap. I need to get better at this, huh?

Dental Clearance!

*happy dance*

19/365

I know there has been a serious lack of any PC updates, but I'll be desperately checking the USPS website tomorrow to see if my dental packet has arrived in DC, and I'm also going to call the gyno to see if they'll bump my appt up if there are any cancellations. Last but not least: Scarlet is a terrier through and through. She found a mole hole and spent about a half hour going to town. Love her.

i heart being southern

Today was spent laying in the sun, grocery shopping, cooking, eating, and watching football. I put up a picture of sunshine the other day and didn't take my camera to Publix, so my pictures today are of cooking & food. Chicken & waffles. Yes. Please eat some the next time you get a chance, the combination is delicious. You're welcome. (I know this shows a lot of brown food, please don't worry - there was a huuge fruit plate that we also partook in, you know, for balance.)

quick update

Two things, pretty inconsequential, but any PC related progress makes me happy :) 1) I got my lab results back from the health department that say I'm positive for varicella titer (I think that's how it's phrased?) which means no varicella vaccinations for Lizzie! B) I mailed off my dental cost-share claim along with bill & proof of payment. My dental packet should get to DC tomorrow and hopefully I'll get some sort of update on My Toolkit :)

Picture today: view of palm trees while laying out. I need a job.

14/365

This is my dental packet ready to be sent in!!!!



I just got back from the post office where I had it sent priority mail with delivery confirmation. I figured there was no need to overnight it since my medical stuff isn't anywhere near being done - that monster of an envelope will for SURE be overnighted when I get it all complete :) I also mailed four of my dad's camera lenses to a guy in Michigan who will "convert" them to be usable on my DSLR. Nikons and Nikkor lenses are all pretty much compatible from 1977 onward, with a few asterisks here and there for functionality. My dad's are from 1970 and therefore have to receive a bit of tweaking to work. There are some nice ones in the bunch and I can't wait to get them back and shoot with them!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Didn't take any pictures on Sunday, but took a bunch today :) Days 12 & 13 are from Cedar Key, my favorite little north central florida fishing town

11/365

This is my best friend Jenny facilitating a meeting between Emmie (her daughter) and Gidget (my mom's dog). I think my dog might be somewhere out of the frame given Emmie's line of sight. She LOVES dogs, but she's a teensy bit scared of them when they're too overwhelming. Adorable.

10/365

I went out to a prairie last night and took some pictures of stars. I need a tripod and a remote, because last night I was limited to placing the camera on a (crooked) railing and holding my finger on the shutter button, all the while hunched over because I had the strap around my neck still (there was no way I was putting my camera on a railing over a pitch black alligator infested prairie and stepping away from it.) I was really surprised by the amount of light pollution there was and how light the skies turned out. It was 11 o'clock at night and I promise it was waaay darker than the picture lets on. I'm going to have to drive further out to the middle of nowhere next time :)

eight and nine of three sixty five

I missed yesterday, but I made up for it today by going on a little impromptu photo adventure. Here are some fun ones.

Day seven, appropriate..

..because I was seven when this picture was taken. Why was I in a bathing suit at the dentist's office? Oh that would be my dad. I was pretty sure my mom would never let me do this and she confirmed that for me when I asked her about it. I'd like to draw your attention to the background of this picture. If you click on it and see it huge-sized, you can juuuust make out my little brother in a *giant* pair of cowboy boots. Yesssss.

medical review day one

I had my dentist appointment this morning to get my x-rays and exam as well as a cleaning because it had been a while. I generally have a good experience when I visit the dentist; I've had one cavity in my entire life, never needed braces, and only had two wisdom teeth that were taken out with no problem when I was 21. Anyway, I got my full-mouth series of x-rays and the chart filled out that all my teeth are healthy and that I don't need any work done. I had my teeth cleaned and an impression taken for a new occlusal splint because I clench my jaw at night. I got one when I was 17 but there are holes where my teeth are sharp :) The dentist recommended that I get a new one made since it's ten years old and worn through, and also so I'll have a spare to take with me. I double checked everything before I left, which i'm super glad I did because they had forgotten to check the box that said I had no oral diseases, the dentist hadn't signed it, and my x-rays were on plain paper rather than photo paper. I got everything taken care of except the x-rays because they didn't have photo paper. Since I'm going back tomorrow to pick up the occlusal splint, I'll bring them some photo paper to print the x-rays on. As I was leaving, the receptionist handed me a stack of polaroids from when I was little. My dentist's office used to take a picture of any kid who didn't have cavities and put them on a bulletin board. I particularly love the one of me at age seven in a bathing suit top. Like, WHY was I allowed to go to the dentist without a shirt on?

After the dentist I made my way over to the health department where I spent two hours waiting around for 10 minutes of actual medical work (so glad my phone battery died too). The immunization department initially tried to send me over to the foreign travel desk, but once it was determined that I didn't know what country I'm going to yet, that I only needed boosters that are recommended to the general population, and that the Peace Corps will give me the serious shots at staging, I was shipped back down the hall to the immunization ladies. I had blood drawn to test for varicella immunity since I had chicken pox but never had that vaccine, I had booster shots for Tdap and Polio, and I had a TB test injection which I get to have checked on Thursday. I asked the woman who drew my blood if she was good at drawing blood and she just laughed. She got the needle in my vein on the first try and drew the vial with no issues, so I guess that answered my question. I used to have a vicious fear of needles and tried to get myself over it by donating blood (this backfired on me because I'm O negative and CMV negative, so my blood goes to babies and immunosuppressed patients, so they call me every two months begging me to come in). The second woman I saw about fell off her chair when I told her all about the Peace Corps - how far away I'm going, not knowing anyone, possibly using a pit latrine, not having air-conditioning, etc. It made me really happy to be excited about all of this rather than anxious. It reminded me of my classroom aide last year who wanted to stay home from the most awesome field trip ever because she doesn't like the outdoors. I don't understand that mentality at all - I love being outside and getting dirty and sweaty, which is a good thing since I'm sure the peace corps offers lots of opportunities for that!

On the way home from the health department the check engine light came on in my car and the speedometer and odometer both quit. I was irrationally scared of crashing until I realized that all I had to do was keep my eyes on the road (duh?) I drove to my mechanics and let them check it out. Verdict? A broken speed sensor. I'm bringing it back in the morning to have it changed and get to spend another couple hundred dollars that I don't really need to spend right now. I guess this is just God's way of keeping my sense of humor in check, since the rest of my life is going pretty great for the time being :)

Lastly with the murder of the PCV in Lesotho, my mom has decided that I'm not to bring my SLR with me. I totally understand her concern, and am not taking my safety lightly, but I think I'm going to wait to find out which country I am sent to before making a decision one way or the other.

my poor mother

A PCV who shared my alma mater was killed on Friday in Lesotho. My friend read about it online and texted me, asking if that was one of the countries I might go to. The story was featured on the online version of our town's newspaper, and I knew it would be front page in the morning. I thought about stealing the paper or cutting the story out before my mom could see it, but I knew that idea wouldn't *really* keep her from hearing about it, or for that matter, feeling good about it once she did find out. She's the only person who has expressed true reservations about me going, mainly because she's worried what will happen if I'm miserable and want to come home, but also because she doesn't want what happened on Friday to happen to me. It doesn't deter me from going at all, but it has made me rethink the notion of truly integrating into a community and taking for granted that fact that most people would look out for me. I feel like I could handle being called names, proposed to by different men ten times a day, but a bullet to the head because I can't understand a mugger? That scares me.

Day six's picture is a fountain in the plaza where I had lunch. I wanted to blur the water a little more than I did, but it was so bright out and I could only close the aperture so far. I was at f/22, shutter speed 1/60, ISO 160.

Day Five

Impromptu trip 45 min north of here because my little brother blew a tire on the highway and couldn't pay for a new one (he's got the money, but his card is expired and he hasn't activated his new one yet) I drove and met him, paid for the tire and then let him take me out for tacos. The picture is the sunset on the way up to meet him.

Da Da Da Da, Da Da Da Da!!!

So I've been awful about keeping the 365 Project up, I hope it's not indicative of how the entire year is going to go! Day Two can be my cat since I don't want her to feel left out :) Nadia has a fun history. My best friend and I adopted her and her sister-cat when we were sophomores in college. We had grown up across the street from one another and then gotten an adorable little 50's era apartment after living in the dorms. We originally wanted sister-kittens but decided to adopt full grown cats instead since they would have less of a chance of being adopted. When we finally graduated and moved out separately (she to grad school, me to another house in town) we split the kitties up. This one got to come with me.



Day three is a delicious glass of ice water with limes. This is at 101 Pants where we watched our team kick around another team (albeit lightly). We just came from donating blood, it was hot, and I was dizzy. This water kept me from fainting, but only after I took a picture of it. Limes are so pretty.



Day four is me playing around with depth of field because I think it's kind of cool. That is all. Technically days three and four were taken on the same day, but it's my project and I can do that.

first picture, a day late

and it wasn't even taken yesterday, it was taken the night before. Note: I bought a really wide lens with my camera and am having my old lenses converted to be compatible with the newer body. Therefore all of my close-up pictures are either really weird angles or blurry. I need to go ahead and send off my lenses today. Anyway, picture 1: Scarlet.

365?

I've found some extremely helpful discussion groups on Flikr regarding my choice of camera and all the clicks and whistles that go along with it. Something that's been pretty wonderful is the advice that I can convert four of my older lenses to work perfectly with my new camera. Reading through everything I'm realizing that the lenses I have are pretty great. People have entire groups dedicated to posting shots they're taking with lenses I just happened to inherit and have in my possession for most of my life. sweet.

I'm hoping a few things arrive today - my Unofficial Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook, my nomination and medical paperwork (my insurance runs out in a month!), my 24mm f/2.8 lens, and an email back from a guy who does AI conversions for older Nikkor lenses. I need to get my medical clearance asap since I'm leaving so soon! Right now all I know is that I'll go sometime in February, but really that's only six months away, which will fly by. I've been thinking about my dog a lot. I think she's going to be the thing/person that's hardest for me to leave; this dog and I have a very special relationship. The dog I grew up with had to be put to sleep in 2006 (I'd had her since 1992) and it was possibly the hardest decision I'd ever had to make and follow through with. It broke my heart and I get teary eyed to this day thinking about her. Anyway, ten months later my mom knocked on my door and handed me a tiny puppy. Scarlet. It took us a while to warm up to one another, she was a little depressed not being around her litter-mates and I was reminded of the dog I'd had to say goodbye to. Eventually we realized that we needed each other, and have been inseparable ever since. This past summer I stayed in South Carolina for a month and a half and Scarlet of course came with me. Long story short my cousin's dog took issue with Scarlet being so precocious around her food and "attacked". We weren't standing in the room with them so we don't know exactly what happened, but it ended with Scarlet's eye being pulled/popped out and we rushed her to the vet ER. She was put through surgery and had her eye sewn shut for a few weeks, but she ended up making a full recovery. I still think that the left eye is a little bigger than the right one and maybe will always be out a little further, but she's alive and can see. Taking care of her and worrying about her has made it that much harder for me to think about leaving her behind for two years (and no, I can't take her with me, nor would I want to... the margin of error is so much smaller in a developing country with the lack of vet care and just the impracticality of trying to travel around the world with a dog... really? please.)

The original point of this post was an idea, one that I've seen a few places on Flickr - a 365 day photographic journey that will start September 1, 2010 and go through September 1, 2011. I'll take at LEAST one picture every day and post them here or on my Flickr account, possibly as part of one of those already established. Knowing that half my time in the next year will be spent in situations that I have NO grasp of right now, I will most likely not be able to post the pictures daily, but I'm definitely going to try to shoot every day. I just invested an ungodly amount of money in a camera and it would be ridiculous not to use it as much as I can.

Oooohhhh... the mail just arrived! Unofficial Volunteer hand book got here, but no nomination yet. UPS tracking says my lens is on the truck for delivery and that my camera will be here tomorrow. I'm off to read & do some financial nonsense.

Cheers!