not gay, but supportive

love

family portraits

i love taking pictures. i almost always have my camera with me when i go out with my friends. i just love capturing the moment and getting to look back at it later on. my roommate Kristen and i decided that it would be fun to start taking "family portraits" when we go out, each time with a different "family." we want to get people to pose in the goofy manner you find in traditional studio family portraits. we tried to take a couple last night, but i don't think other people really understood what we were trying to do.

this is one from a couple nights ago:

 and this is one from a hike we went on a couple weekends ago:

the demise of print?

this semester i am taking an online publishing class that i am actually very excited about. as well as simply studying online publishing, we will actually be collecting and compiling works to create our own fine arts magazine in an online format. i am excited about this because i love magazines and hope to someday work for one as a feature writer, photographer, or editor.
part of our homework for today was to read this article : http://web.nmsu.edu/~jalmjeld/online_publishing/Introduction_Writing_Spaces.pdf. while reading, i became increasing astonished and appalled. some technology enthusiasts, apparently, are so stoked about electronic communication that they "imagine a classroom in which books are replaced by virtual environments." can you imagine? i cannot imagine living without printed reading material. i love books and magazines. i love the way they smell. i love that i can read a book in bed. i love that i can make notes in the margin, and upon a future reading rediscover my past thoughts. i would not want my children (if i ever decided to have children) to grow up in a world without print.

this is my bookshelf. yes, it also houses dvds and vhs tapes. no, these are not all the books i own. yes, that bin on the right is also full of books. no, i don't ever plan to stop buying books.

don't get me wrong, i think technology is great. the internet is awesome and there are so many amazing things we can do nowadays thanks to technology. but electronic communication also annoys the hell out of me sometimes. it is so aggravating when i am trying to spend time with a friend and she is texting the entire time. what could possibly be so important that you can't give me your undivided attention for half a bloody hour? it's just plain rude.
people simply rely too much on their cell phones and computers these days. people often create an event on facebook to invite guests to their birthday/graduation/whatever party. oftentimes they don't send an actual paper invitation or even make a phone call to invite them. it's ridiculous. not to mention lazy.
i saw an interview with John Mayer a while back and he talked about this "technology detox" that he did. he was allowed to check his email or text messages but had to return them with a phone call. he said you would be surprised at the number of people who don't bother to contact you if they actually have to pick up the phone. it's appalling.

work in progress

this restaurant used to sell burritos, and it is now being converted to a cake shop. the sign is clearly not finished. it gave me a good chuckle.

resolutions

in the interest of getting healthy and doing new and different things, some friends and i decided to go hiking yesterday. it's been a long time since i have done any intense exercise and it was definitely challenging as we went higher up into the mountains. it felt good though and i had a great time. it was so nice to be outdoors and away from everything. we even saw a little snow!
afterwards i went to my parents' house where we had hamburgers and chocolate malts in celebration of my dad's birthday, which might have been counterproductive, but it was worth it.

via Brittany

i think it's pretty perfect c:

today

today is important because it is the first day of my last semester of college! i have to admit, i am a little burnt out on school. last semester i had almost zero motivation. but this semester i have some classes that i am really stoked about. the first is an anthropology class about food and culture. at the end of the semester we are supposed to have a potluck, and each person is supposed to bring in a dish that is special to our family or culture, and provide the recipe as well. our professor will then compile a cookbook for us!

the other class i am excited for is an online publishing course. we will be compiling work from students at NMSU and creating an online magazine. since i am interested in publishing, i think this will be a great experience. also, i am taking a class on communication in the workplace. while this might not be the most exciting course, it will definitely be useful since i have never had a job that requires professional communication.

my last english course is Chaucer, which i am not looking forward to at all. we have to read it in the middle english it was written in, which is almost a different language. BUT my professor is enthusiastic and awesome, and will hopefully make it bearable. one of my resolutions this year was to be excited and interested in all my classes and to put forth more than the bare minimum of effort (which is what i did last semester).

so. bring on the optimism.

(second) first post

i originally wanted to start a blog with the idea to take and post a photo every day this year. while i still love this idea, it might not be feasible. hence the start of this new blog!

yesterday, while i was doing laundry at my parent's house, i picked up a magazine and read an article about Mark Bittman, who is a well-known food writer. i have one of his cookbooks, thanks to my aunt Maria. I probably use it more frequently than i utilize my other cookbooks. in the article Bittman talks about his new (earth-friendly) approach to food, and it really got me thinking.

one of the rules Bittman follows is that he eats (mostly) vegan until dinner, when he allows himself animal products. it is better for our earth and better for our health. i'm going to try to incorporate this method into my daily life. wish me luck?