Exit Reality

There hasn't been much time for writing, lately.  It's finals week, and there has been a lot of work to get done.

Tomorrow, I'll be displaying and selling work at Temple's Main Campus from 3:00 to 8:00 in the Annenberg Atrium!

I have to admit, I'm looking forward to having a little break before Summer I starts up.  It's been a long and tiresome semester.  I've learned a lot of really valuable things thus far and I'm gaining a lot of really useful contacts, which is awesome.  But I'm looking forward to having a free few days to straighten up my apartment, work on the wedding plans and get a nap or two before it all starts up again.


Nathaniel and I went back to the Kimmel Center yesterday, where we were engaged.  The clouds were absolutely amazing and felt so close, standing up in the garden.  I had to take this photo - somehow this is just what I feel like right now.  I have so many things happening at once, I just want to open a door somewhere and walk into a cloud and absolute silence except for the whir of air going past my ears.  The semester will be done soon.  There is an end in sight.  I will survive!

Swoon!

It was a beautiful day here in Philly and my fiancé broke out the video camera to document some of it.  Everything from putting on jackets as we walked out the door, to this moment here, when I stopped to take his picture, to the bed of his truck as the sun started to go down while we sat and ate gelati!


I had a little fun with the post-work on this, just fiddling with color, but the image itself came out clear as day.  I had some really great natural light to work with.  I wish I could get him to duplicate this look, but it was completely unstaged and candid.  Every time I look at it, though, I melt!  My fiancé is so GORGEOUS!!!

It was a beautiful day and I just wanted to share some of the beauty that was in it. 

Spring Fling

Well, despite the rain, wind, and cold, students and teachers alike were outside yesterday for Temple's annual Spring Fling.  There were tables lined up all along Liacouras Walk and musical guests, including N.E.R.D. and Girl Talk playing all day long and well into the night.  I wasn't there for most of it - I had class and homework that needed to get done, but I was able to go out and take a few pictures.


These two girls, Julianka Bell, a Psychology major, and Kristie Williams, an Advertising major, both seniors, were bundled up to keep warm but still managed to look fantastic.  They run a blog together, I encourage you all to check it out!

All you need is love!

Sorry there haven't been many updates in recent days.  Life has been so busy.  My fiancé and I visited the location for our reception on Thursday - it is truly like something out of a fairy tale.  You drive down a long, winding road in the middle of the woods until it dead ends in a valley by a creek and right there, where the road stops, is the most beautiful little inn on earth.  It's perfect.


Yesterday we looked at an apartment that we both really love and that fits our budget beautifully... and it's right across the street from where I am now!  Whew, but a long move that'll be. =P  We're so happy - everything is really coming together.


Today, we found out that some friends from church are getting married next week and the congregation is invited... which means I can see what an Orthodox wedding looks like!  How amazing!  What layers of blessings we are receiving - I'm so grateful.


I can't wait for August!!!

Choose your own adventure.

It's kind of interesting to see how people react to photos - the stories they make up to go along, the ways they justify them so they make sense in their line of reasoning.  Always be nervous when someone decides to tell you what your pictures mean.


I don't know what my pictures "mean", per se.  I know what they are.  I know what I wanted to capture, what I wanted to highlight, discover, reveal.  But what does that mean?  I guess it's up for interpretation - or anyway, I can't stop people from forming their own theories.  But I don't usually like hearing them.


In class a few weeks ago our teacher spent several minutes speaking about the person in one of my photos.  I couldn't help but be insulted, because while it was an educated and sympathetic guess, it really wasn't anywhere close to the truth.  The events that led up to this person being in this state when I took that picture were nothing like what was surmised.  But it was anyone's guess, I suppose.  Photos are like those choose your own ending stories, only there is a real ending, somewhere out there.  I guess people would rather use their imagination than know the truth.


I showed this picture yesterday in class, receiving reactions of discomfort, disbelief, disgust.  And then I told them it was my own neck.  I'm not ashamed or bothered by my scar - in fact, I kind of like it.  But these things don't matter when you see the picture.  You'll make your own decisions about how the subject feels, about why they did one thing instead of another, about what happened thirty seconds before or two seconds after the shutter clicked.  And I can't stop you.  And I think I'll stop trying.

Rest in peace, Pippin.

Tonight I came home and my guinea pig was lying still on his side.  After weeks of being sick and struggling to eat, while we tried everything we could think of to help him, he finally died while I was out tonight.  It couldn't have been long before I got home.  Every time I leave my apartment I say "Bye, Pippin.  I love you."  Guinea pigs are very affectionate and I think he liked hearing my voice.  It got to be a habit over time.


Last night I gave him a slice of apple and put some Vitamin C and V8 juice in his water but he couldn't get to either - I watched him try for two minutes to get a single bite with no success.  So I chopped up an apple slice into tiny pieces, held him in my lap and fed them to him.  He ate for half an hour while making tiny little happy grunting noises.  I miss him terribly but I'm glad to know I was able to help him a little before he went and I think he was happy.


We buried him in my back yard.  This morning I was digging holes to start planting my sunflowers and never finished - so I wrapped him and put him in the cigar box I've had since I was a kid and we put him in the hole.  I'm still going to plant my sunflowers there.


He was a great pet.  He was really sweet and patient and cuddly.  He'll be missed.  So, for the last time, bye Pippin.  I love you.