I like...

• dust specks on photos and in videos
• looking at other people's photos on flickr
• e-mail from humans
• getting things done
• cheap flavored coffee for $1 from the machine at school
• lunch with my co-workers
• perfect skin tone in photos
• wide screen monitors
• the travel channel
• doing things without plans
• watching videos on vimeo
• threaded messages on facebook
• receiving comments and messages on facebook and myspace
• exclamation marks!
• panda bears hugging (each other or humans)
• the fresh feeling after showers
• the way everyone smells after a shower
• wind > air conditioning in the car
• walking around with music in my ears
• 10 minute breaks during class
• summer
• barbecues
  
• soccer games
• sunny days that make me squint
• tank tops
• pedal pushers
• bike rides
• anything homemade
• finding the perfect gift for my friends
• watermelon
• quiet nights
• routines
• not caring
  

Seriously, who doesn't procrastinate?

I'm actually studying for my International Relations final and preparing to complete a very overdue paper for the same class, all at once! Do I break even if I'm doing one thing ahead of time while the other is quite late? I can believe whatever I want, right?

Every day at work, I listen to "artists similar to Death Cab for Cutie" on my Last.fm radio. I don't know if it's the way people tag certain artists/songs, but there is some crazy stuff that plays and isn't very similar to Death Cab. Anyway, I don't mind it because it never disappoints. I discover new (to me, at least) artists all the time, like Feist. My interest really peaked one morning when I woke up to the "1234" video on MTV. I was quite drowsy waking up to this, but I loved it. I though to myself, "What is this? I've heard it before somewhere but I can't quite put my finger on it. Is it Cat Power? No, a little too upbeat. Is it Regina Spektor? No, it's not abstract enough. It was Feist, which I say is the perfect mix of Cat Power and Regina Spektor. I have been listening to her/them since and it puts a smile on my face even on the most grumpy of mornings at work. Gotta love it.

So yeah, I'm listening to Feist while reading and preparing for my paper. The animals have all found their comfy places around me and we're ready to finish this.

Naps

I was browsing through the TV guide last night and I stopped on Jay Leno. Bill Cosby was on and he started talking about how much his wife doesn't like it when he takes naps on the sofa. We have this same issue at our house! Mr. Cosby said that his wife just walks back and forth, huffing and puffing because she's so upset that he's napping. Then, she gets the "little people," as he called it, to try to wake him up.

That leads to the reason for this post. I'm bored out of my mind because Joe is napping and has been napping for what seems like ages and I just want to do something already. Argh.

Sad, because my childhood's gone

My parents bought our first house sometime in the mid-'90s and I absolutely adored it. Every little bit of it was fascinating to me: the old '70s carpet and decor, the little quirks left from the engineer who used to live there, finding really old things everywhere. My parents didn't like the old, yellow and brown curtains that hung across the entire living room and on every window elsewhere, so they replaced them with these ridiculous vertical blinds. They tore up the carpet, which was green and dirty, but oh-so-'70s that I couldn't bare to let them go. I liked the hardwood floors underneath, though. They painted the walls a semi-gloss white and the whole house seemed to lose its personality. The one thing they did keep, until we moved, was a large avocado green trash can in the basement. I liked that it was still there and I wish I would've begged to keep it until now.

We moved out of that house the winter of my freshman year of college and I was really sad to be leaving. Sure, the new house was twice as big and there was a pond in the back, but I really did like the old house. Since then, the neighborhood has gotten terrible. My parents couldn't sell the house, so they hired some people to put it up for rent to help pay for the mortgage. About a week ago, they were notified that the latest tenants had just moved out, so they went to check on the status of the house. The neighbor moved and took his entire fence with him, so there is a big gap and a three-sided fence in our backyard. Moreover, the climbing purple blooms on the side of the garage were gone. They left so much junk and trash behind: mattresses, tables, bird cages, you name it. They didn't take care of the house. The carpet was stained black, which I'm sure killed the neat freak in my Mom. I'd spilled a spot of red paint on it when it was first installed and I surely thought she would kill me for that. The basement smelled rotten and the washer and dryer down there have stopped working. Seeing all of these things one by one just killed me more and more inside. I thought I would break down and cry, but I somehow kept my composure. Now, they're changing some things and updating others to try to sell it. I think I can let go now, because it looks nothing like before and I don't really feel associated to it anymore. Sigh...

How Domestic

I guess I got into a lazy rut for the past couple of months, because I stopped caring about dishes and laundry, but now I'm out of that rut. The dishes are done and drying on the rack. The counter tops have been wiped off. The laundry is done and put away (well, most of it). There isn't a big pile of clothes that lives on top of our big pile of clothes anymore. It feels nice.

At work, I'm getting things done, too. It feels good to get the weight of these tasks off of my shoulders.

Next week is already the last week of my summer class! I'll only have one left to go, and then I won't be feeling the burden and stress of school for a while! Do you know what a relief that is?

I've been taking pictures everyday, but I've been shooting in RAW so it takes a while for me to get them up for viewing.

I am content. I hope you are, too!

Best Week Ever?

(Via WANE-TV)

Saturday, summer--how fun!

Yesterday morning/afternoon was quite busy, so I actually forgot completely about the Weiner Dog Race downtown.

We napped, watched some TV, and I made an easy Thai Pud Krapaw (sp?) stir-fry from a package of sauce that was in the cupboard. Oh, how I love my visits to the Asian grocery store!

The paid photo shoot will probably be canceled for good now because my client is way too flimsy. It was canceled/rescheduled twice due to personal reasons and weather, and now I don't know what's going on... but I finally got paid from the school for my note-taking efforts yesterday, so that definitely helps!

I just paid an installment of my summer school tuition and there is another one due already on the 20th! Do they think that money falls from trees in my front yard?

We've started a habit of going to movies at the latest showing possible, but last night, it wasn't as bad as the night we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3. This movie, Ocean's 13, was only two hours long and I had energy from my nap earlier in the afternoon. I love the Ocean's series. I don't know what it is about all of them--maybe the characters and their whimsical ways? I just watch them with a grin on my face the entire time.

Plus, Greg and I discovered that the Ham & Swiss Croissants at Arby's are only 99 cents and filled with deliciousness. Mmm!

Today, there is an afternoon soccer game and who knows what afterward. I like the idea of barbeques.

I've been taking pictures everyday and it's pretty amazing.

It's (almost) summertime and that means fairs, carnivals, and other fun events to capture. Tomorrow, there will be a Weiner Dog Race at GermanFest and who knows what else to come. We're supposed to be going to Indianapolis, but if that doesn't work out, I'll be heading downtown to capture some Daschund racing action.

I love activity.

I like it when I'm too busy to catch up with the Internet. It means I have a life, kind of...

Impulse Buys in the Night-time

I think it's dangerous for me to be sitting at a computer restless at night. I always end up doing silly things that I've been wanting to do for a really long time, like buy a domain or finally get myself a Flickr Pro account (I've been a free member since '03 or so).

I guess I'm just in a really good mood at this time in the night and that leads to incredibly nerdy purchases. There are long-term benefits for each, so that's a little bit justifiable, right? No, Han. It's not. Oh, well!

I'm pretty happy and excited because I have my very first (paid) photo shoot this weekend. Do you know what this means? I can make some money and put it toward things such as lenses and flashes for my camera, bills, gifts, and who knows what else. It's a pretty amazing feeling, this elatedness.

I also had an awesome, productive day at work. Those are always good.