Earth2Laura » memories

365-Day Project: Final photos and reflections

laura — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 20:12:13 +0000

I’ve gotten to the end of my 365-Day project. Overall, I am very happy with what I accomplished this year, although I’m disappointed in December. The project almost completely fell apart for me the last month, mostly because I got my new job that occupied a lot of my time… Pretty much everything fell apart for me in December.

I learned a lot about my camera and a lot about taking photos. I also like that my entire year is documented. I have so many fond memories that I recall just from looking at the photos I’ve taken. That was a side effect I hadn’t anticipated.

I also have become the sort of memory keeper and default photographer for my friends. They know I’m the one with the camera who will be there documenting the visual events.

Of the group of people I started this project with, I’m the only one who got as far as I did. Most of the people gave up after just a few months. I managed to get a photo on Dec. 31.

This last year has been a very strange journey for me. I joke that I’m having a quarter-life crisis; in truth, it has been a time of great self-reflection for me. It started in January, when I made the resolution to give up drinking soda, a move that led me to start evaluating my eating habits. I glanced over photos from a get-together I was at over at my friend Andrew’s house, and I realized I was getting to a place weight-wise that I just didn’t want to be.

I had never really cared about my weight before, and I had certainly never paid attention to what I ate. In general, I ate home-cooked meals, but, truth be told, I didn’t really try to make sure all of the food groups were balanced. My mom had decided to start Weight Watchers, and, in February, I joined her. In June, I joined the gym through a deal I was offered at LVAC. The result was that by September, I had lost 30 pounds and have managed to hold steady at that weight.

I also spent a lot of time contemplating my career. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with where I was earlier this year. I felt like I had been stagnant for a while, and there wasn’t much opportunity to move beyond where I was, although I had reached the position of copy editor. However, situations changed, and in November, I was offered a spot as editor of the new Boulder City paper. It was just the sort of thing I had been looking for.

I’m also in a constant state of evaluation about myself personally. There’s many things about my life I just wasn’t quite satisfied with, and I’m finally looking at everything honestly and brutally. Sometimes because of it, I have bad days. Other times, I have good days, where I feel like I’m accomplishing things I want to accomplish. I’m grateful for all of my friends who have been there for a shoulder to cry on or have offered an ear to listen.

Right now more than ever, I’m growing and changing. One of my friends said most of the women she knows have gone through something like this in their mid-twenties. I hope I come out of this a stronger and more well-rounded person.

I don’t know where I’m going to be at the end of 2010. One thing I have learned is that you just can’t predict the way things go.

At any rate, here is the final entry in the 365-Day Photo Project. It was fun. After this, I guess I’m going to use this as a regular blog for my thoughts.

Robert drinks a fruity drink at Elephant Bar in the District on Dec. 6.

The light shines in the Prius saying that the headlights are on Dec. 7.

Ginger's new baby Adam hangs out in Boulder City on Dec. 8.

Robert grins on the couch on Dec. 9.

The Las Vegas Philharmonic practices for the holiday concert on Dec. 10.

I interviewed this young woman who lives in Boulder City on Dec. 11. She had been in a car accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down, but she was so cheerful and happy.

Yummy drink at Bahama Breeze between concerts on Dec. 12.

This woman is one of our columnists. She poses for a photo on Dec. 14. I had to take a lot of photos of her because she wasn't satisfied with any of them. haha.

These crystals decorate the Love theater. We saw Love on Dec. 16. for a special fundraising performance.

Anne's cat hangs out in the salad bowl at her house on Dec. 17.

Amie toasts a marshmallow at Anne's house on Dec. 18.

Ron's birthday gift arrived on Dec. 21.

A room in Boulder City Hospital on Dec. 22.

The sun sets in Boulder City on Dec. 31.

365-Day Project: Oct. 16-Nov. 11

laura — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:46:06 +0000

This is the longest I’ve gone without updating. Part of it was self-fulfilling simply because after two weeks, I knew it would take me an insanely long time to download, edit and upload these photos. It’s almost a 1 and a half hour project now. I can’t let it get this out of hand again.

Jane smiles during Amie's rehearsal lunch the day before her wedding on Oct. 16.

It's probably weird I don't have a photo of Amie, but I was so busy doing stuff that I didn't actually get that many photos. My friend Abe hijacked my camera and took many photos, though, for which I am grateful. Jane gets her makeup done on Oct. 17.

Ardath cuts up carne asada for dinner at her house on Oct. 18. Ardath made mine and Robert's Halloween costumes.

My iPod on Oct. 19. Enough said.

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" sits in the passenger seat of the Prius on Oct. 20. A very good book. I highly recommend it.

Robert grins during a surprise lunch with me at Cafe Ba-ba-reeba on Oct. 21. We don't get to go to lunch often, so this was nice.

Robert scans the field during his indoor soccer game on Oct. 22.

Andrew and Robert pose under a light pole after our Master Singers concert on Oct. 23.

I am so so so proud of this photo.... A boat glides on the water at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego on Oct. 24. Robert took me on a surprise trip to the beach because he knew I just needed to escape for a few days.

This is where Robert and I are going to retire: Coronado. On the beach, Oct. 25.

McMullan's on Oct. 26. That was an interesting night.

Andrew looks at his phone on Oct. 27. I'm not allowed to take any more photos of him on his phone.

Robert and Jonathan smile for my pitiful iPhone camera on Oct. 28 at BJs in Henderson after our Master Singers concert.

My celebratory martini with my parents on Oct. 29 after I was offered the position of editor at the Boulder City Review.

Robert models his Monarch costume on Oct. 30 before work. I had to stay home from the gym and help him put it on.

The main drag of Boulder City, where I start work on Monday. My office is on the right. I went there on Oct. 31 to check things out.

Robert shows off his facial hair he did for his Halloween costume on Nov. 1.

An unimpressive dish at Yardhouse on Nov. 2. Don't get the giant California roll thing. The ahi is good, though. Also, the martinis are good.

Robert sits at Mimi's Cafe on Nov. 3.

I have a pepper on my plant on Nov. 4! I don't know when I can pick it. It's little right now.

A fire burns at Brio on Nov. 5.

Pepper snuggles with a stuffed animal on Nov. 6. She just looked too cute.

Boats are docked at Fisherman's Wharf on Nov. 7. I love San Francisco.

The Titans intercept a pass by the 49ers at the game on Nov. 8. It was quite an experience wearing a Titans' jersey in the opposing team's stadium... Robert owes me!

A corner near Union Square in San Francisco on Nov. 9.

Life isn't like a box of chocolates, because it doesn't come with a map like this! Nov. 10.

The source of my addiction on Nov. 11.

365-Day Project: May 29-31 and More San Francisco

laura — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:21:03 +0000

Before I put up some San Francisco pics, I need to update my 365-Day Project.

We went to Town Square on Friday in our hunt for a Hawaiian shirt for Robert for a beach-themed wedding reception we attended yesterday. I've never tried the Grape, but I'd like to. I thought the sing looked kind of cool.

Lake Las Vegas on May 30. We took a cocktail cruise for the wedding reception, then docked to enjoy dinner at Sonrisa Grille. A fun time was had by all, and I took many more photos than this.

Today was Pentecost in the Catholic Church, and we lit a fire to celebrate the Holy Spirit.

Now for some more San Francisco photos.

The California Academy of Sciences. It recently reopened with a living roof, which means it has a garden on top. We went here on the recommendation of several friends. It was worth it. We spent the entire day there. It has a planetarium, a rainforest, an aquarium and other exhibits.

A crocodile... or an alligator. I'm not sure which. He is real.

A starfish hangs out on the side of his aquarium. He was one of many fish I took photos of. I really toned it down for the blog. It just would have been overkill.

A very cool looking toad.

A jellyfish garden. I took a few other types of jellyfish, but these turned out the best, mostly because they weren't moving as much as the others. Although they were all still behind glass.

Robert hides from one of the things he fears the most.

Robert says "hey" to his cousin, the neanderthal.

One very cool thing about the rainforest was all of the butterflies fluttering all over. I took a ton of photos. Robert says one of them landed on me, but I missed it. Darn. I was hoping I could get a photo of one hanging out on him, but, alas, they wouldn't land there.

Another butterfly. I was able to get really close to a few of them. For my favorite, check out my photo of the day from May 21.

We went over to the Japanese Tea Garden after the museum. It was so relaxing and beautiful.

Here's me hanging out an the tea garden. And representing my alma mater.

In that building on the left, you could buy tea to drink while looking at the greenery. Robert doesn't like tea, and I am currently trying to acquire the taste of it without loads of sugar and milk (you know, like the Brits do).

Cool Japanese structure with me in front.

Robert crosses the garden across the pond in the tea garden. He looks so relaxed.

This was a bridge. And yes, it took quite a lot of effort to cross over.

We met my friend Jonson, who lives in San Francisco, at Burma Superstar, a Burmese restaurant in the RIchmond area, which is right by the Golden Gate Park. Jonson doesn't look as thrilled as I do.

My friend Anna and her boyfriend, Josh, took the BART from Sacramento to meet us for dinner. I was so excited to see them all.

Anna receives a scratchy cheek kiss from Josh.

Jonson was not being very cooperative with the photo taking. Here he is hiding behind a newspaper. When newspapers die, what will people hide behind in coffee shops? After dinner, Jonson took us to an awesome Chinese dessert place that seemed very healthy because it was mostly fruit.

During day four of our trip, we went to Napa Valley and Sonoma. We tried a total of 28 wines that day, and it was a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be as far as staying sober. Sure, they don’t give you a lot, but when you’re talking even 28 sips of wine… that’s a lot!

We ended up purchasing a lot of wine that day, and we had to put them all in the bag we brought as a carry on and checked it on the way back.

Grgich was the first vineyard we visited. Me met the owner, who is 86 years old. He told me I should come back in August when they are smashing the grapes. He said I could help them out Lucille Ball-style.

Cabernet Sauvignon grapes at Grgich Vineyard.

Robert looks over the grapes at Grgich.

Milat was the next vineyard we visited. Mike Milat, one of the owners, served us our wines.

Vines cover a house. I'm not sure if this was Milat or the vineyard next to it.

We stopped at Sattui Winery for lunch, and boy, was I needing it. Robert and I split a sandwich and a crab cake and sampled some cheeses. We bought a few cheeses, as well.

Here's just a part of the cheese case. Very very tasty. Although my friend Melissa tells me we missed out on some great bleu cheese.

Here I am sitting outside the wine cellar at Sattui.

A rose at Sattui. There were a lot of flowers there. It was a beautiful property overall.

Jacussi was fifth on the vineyard list. I tried to take some photos at Hopper Creek, but they didn't turn out that great. Hopper Creek had a "wine dog." I'm not sure what the purpose of a wine dog is, but she was pretty cool. At Jacuzzi (yes, the same people who do the hot tubs), we sampled olive oil in addition to wines. It was interesting how varied olive oil can be.

Viansa Vineyard was next. It was surrounded by beautiful rolling vineyards. The entire Napa Valley/Sonoma area was just gorgeous, and the climate was nice, as well-- not too hot, and not too cold.

Here I am, sampling a Syrah. I can't tell if I look like my dad or my mom in this photo. Honestly, I can see them both. But, it's always been that way.

This perfect rose was on the grounds of Viansa. Yes, I know I take lots of photos of flowers.

We stopped in Sausalito on the way back to take photos with the Golden Gate Bridge Behind us. It was windy and cold.

Robert looks cool in front of the bridge.

It took the driver of our tour van an insane amount of time (and serveral tries) to get a good photo of us. I don't know why my camera intimidates people so. Particularly when it's set up to act like a point-and-shoot.

On day five, we went back to Golden Gate Park and visited the Conservatory of Flowers and the DeYoung Art Museum. That night, we met Jonson for some Vietnamese food, followed by crepes in Japantown.

This is only a tiny sampling of what I actually took in the conservatory. You all know my obsession with flower photos.

One of the rooms inside of the Conservatory of Flowers. There were several different rooms that were set to various climates for different types of plants. I believe these were more tropical.

Me in front of the flower pond.

This flower was growing out of the water. So pretty.

Me in my 25 percent natural habitat. Can you see it *now*, you people who doubt my Japanese-ness? Andrew actually pointed out I look more like Princess Leia.

What the heck, I’m going all the way! The last day of our trip, I was trying not to think about having to leave… We spent most of the day at Fisherman’s Wharf, but we ventured into the middle of the city for Japanese shabu. It is not as good as Shabu-Shabu Paradise here in Vegas, which I was surprised about. Everything else was better there!

A historic boat with Alcatraz behind it.

Robert tries out a pulley system that is commonly used on ships.

Robert hangs out with a pirate.

Robert talked about going here THE ENTIRE trip. I swear it was his favorite place.

This single-handedly counteracted all of the walking we did to cause me to gain a pound that I am *still* working to get off. I just know it. But it was sooooo good.

San Francisco, Days 1 and 2

laura — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:24:29 +0000

So, I whittled down the few hundred photos I took in San Francisco to 66. That’s still a big number, so I’m just going to slowly put them up on my blog. I already loaded them all on Facebook, but it’s a lot faster to do it that way. heh.

I learned a lot of things in San Francisco. First, the city itself is a seven-square-miles-by-seven-square-miles box. Really not that big. Nothing was really that far from anything else in the city.

I learned how to navigate public transportation. Although I was a bit worried at first, we figured it out and were practically pros by the end of our trip.

I also learned you can live with a lot less furniture than you think you need to. At least, you can if you live in San Francisco. My friend Jonson’s cute little apartment in Union Square is a 400-square-foot studio.

I tried a lot of different foods. While we were there, we had seafood, authentic Chinese, Mexican, Indian, Burmese, deli, Italian, Caribbean, Vietnamese and Japanese shabu. It was my first time having Burmese and Vietnamese.

It’s true when Mark Twain said the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. It was in the 50s and 60s the entire time we were there. Much different than the triple-digit temperatures we left here.

My iPhone was invaluable on this trip. With it, we plotted out bus routes and got directions from the middle of San Francisco’s crowded streets. Yelp.com’s iPhone app was extremely helpful in finding food. A lot of people use Yelp in San Francisco, which hasn’t really taken off here. I think it was responsible for us only eating good food while we were there (aside from recommendations from our friends). We didn’t eat at very many touristy places, and I think Yelp is why.

The culture of San Francisco was awesome. Everyone we encountered was so nice, and there was this very caring attitude about the entire place. And it’s awesome how much they obviously care about the environment.

The official entrance to Fisherman's Wharf. We stayed just about two blocks away from the main part of Fisherman's Wharf, which is a very touristy part of San Francisco.

Robert enjoys a bread bowl of clam chowder at Boudin Bakery. He had been looking forward to having clam chowder ever since we booked the trip.

We took a bay cruise that went beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, around Alcatraz and then overlooked the Bay Bridge. It was extremely windy and extremely cold. And my hair was a mess when we docked.

The Golden Gate Bridge from the bay cruise.

The Golden Gate Bridge from below.

Alcatraz, where they used to keep the really bad criminals. We learned a lot about it on the cruise. They say no one ever escaped, though there were many attempts. A lot of times if someone tried to escape, they just shot them.

The city of San Francisco from the bay cruise.

A view of the Bay Bridge and some boats from Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf, which is the big shopping district there.

A little farther down the wharf.

This statue is at the entrance of Pier 39.

I have a photo of this thing from the first time I went to San Francisco in high school. I actually rode it then, I think.

We managed to avoid getting anything at this chocolate shop. Mostly because we'd already bought fudge at another shop.

Now, day two. There’s not as much from this day since we were mainly doing a lot of window shopping. At first, we were going to go to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, but we found out that day, the museum was letting people in free, which meant it was crowded.

So we hopped back on the bus and went to China Town and walked back down to Union Square.

That evening, we got Mexican food near the AT&T stadium and went to “Wicked,” which was absolutely wonderful.

Me in front of the San Francisco Opera House. Nothing was playing that week, or I would have asked Robert to go. One of our bus stops was right in front of it.

A typical street of San Francisco.

Lanterns adorn the street of China Town. We were almost lured into a bad restaurant with only white people in it, but we left and found a more authentic one that was much better.

Art at Union Square. There's no random art in Las Vegas aside from UNLV, another sign of San Francisco's superior culture.

365-Day Project: May 20-28

laura — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:18:42 +0000

Once again, I’ve fallen behind in updating my photos. I’m hoping to put up photos from my trip to San Francisco, but I’ve got a few hundred to go through. I decided it was best to catch up on my project first and put up the San Francisco photos when I through them.

The entrance to China Town in San Francisco on May 20.

Butterflies hang out on the bushes in the rainforest at the California Academy of Sciences on May 21.

Robert tries a glass of chardonnay in Napa Valley at Grigich vineyards on May 22.

I'm proud of this photo because I was one of the only people able to get it. I had to use my zoom lens to reach it, and everyone else had point and shoots. A flower floats on the water at the Conservatory of Flowers on May 23.

A seagull overlooks Fisherman's Wharf on May 24.

Andrew and Amber's youngest son Gavin enjoys a milk bottle on May 25.

My tomatoes and peppers are doing quite well in my vegetable garden on May 26.

My friend Kristy celebrated her 24th birthday on May 27. We went to have sushi during our lunch break.

I do admit I have an obsession with taking photos of flowers. These are blooming outside my work. May 28.

365-Day Project

laura — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:29:08 +0000

I had some computer issues yesterday morning, so I couldn’t post. I almost couldn’t post today. I really have to defrag my hard drive….

My first photo is my normal Tuesday photo of Andrew. He’s all for being a subject of the photos. During a break at choir rehearsal, I ran out to go find my friend who was joining the group for the first time who was lost. When I came back in, Andrew demanded to know if I was still going to take a photo of him.

Andrew playing the piano and wearing the winter hat he loves.

This next photo is of our friend Will’s girlfriend, Alicia. I think catching people when they aren’t looking at you always makes for better photos of you.

Alicia at Marie Callendar's, chatting with Will.

Goodbye, Dusty

laura — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:05:48 +0000

I haven’t posted in a while, even though I’ve wanted to.

As some of you know, I had to put my 20-ish-year-old cat, Dusty, down last week. I’ve had him since he was a

kitten, so if you do the math, I got him when I was 3 or 4. Nearly all of the memories I have, he is in my life. I do have some memories before him, including begging my parents to let me have him in the first place. But they are far fewer than the ones I have where he is there.

Dusty was a cranky old cat. He wasn’t really particularly nice to anyone but me; not to say that he was mean, but I was the one he snuggled with. He always slept a lot. That was one of the reasons I picked him from the litter that was dumped at my daycare; he used to fall asleep on my lap, and I liked that.

These last few days, it’s been difficult to fall asleep without him lying next to me. He’s been sleeping on my bed with me for most of my life, too. Sometimes, in the moments when I am first waking up, I forget that he isn’t there to watch for when I go to roll over. And sometimes I forget when I walk into my bedroom that he is not going to lift his head up to squeak out a meow at me.

Pets give you everything while they are alive. Yes, it hurts so much to say goodbye to them. It was a very painful thing to make the choice to let Dusty go. But despite his typical cat selfishness and old crankiness, he still gave me as much as a cat could. And for that, I will be forever grateful.

Change

laura — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:51:31 +0000

It’s amazing how quickly things change.

I was thinking that a couple of weeks ago when I was at UNLV preparing for an alumni event. I graduated from UNLV two and a half years ago now, but so much about the campus has changed in just that short amount of time.

There’s a new, shiny-looking student union– so much different than the small building I could walk through very quickly that had only a couple of places to eat, a tiny arcade and some seating areas. The one I went to almost daily is gone now.

There’s also a new engineering building, also much larger than what was there before. I haven’t been through it yet (no reason to), but I have seen it from the outside. It looks so foreign sitting there. My memories of UNLV don’t include that building.

And, most exciting and jealous-inducing of all for me is the new urban affairs building. Beautiful, big and modern, that building holds all the possibilities I dreamed of when I was a journalism student at UNLV: convergence labs for future journalists to learn about the full spectrum of media possibilities; TV studios big enough to rival any in the state; classrooms with plenty of interactivity; real offices for professors… so much that I didn’t have when I was a student there. And only two years later.

This type of change is not uncommon in all of Las Vegas. Whenever my friend David visits, there’s always a point when we’re driving along and we pass something he hasn’t seen. That happened fairly frequently after her returned from his mission with the LDS church, which was again two years long.

I suppose I take for granted somewhat how quickly things go up here. When I moved to the master-planned community where I live now, many of my friends who had gone off to college hadn’t even heard of the place. The area I live in is a booming part of town, but there are still wide open spaces.

When I moved into my house, there was a massive dirt lot across the street. Not two months ago, construction started popping up. A condo complex is going in, as is a strip mall with a much-needed grocery store. It seems like every week some business is opening within walking distance that I have been anticipating: a Dunkin Donuts, a sushi restaurant, a clothing boutique, a couple of pizza places, a 7-eleven. This week, I found out an ice cream place is a one- to two-minute walk from my front door.

The good thing is that, for the most part, a lot of these things aren’t replacing something else, but are being built on existing land. At UNLV, the engineering and urban affairs buildings replaced parking. The student union replaced the existing building and some more parking (don’t know where all those cars are going).

As I am getting older and more sentimental, I find that I am sad at how quickly the scenery changes. I’m happy for the new possibilities, but I’m a little sad that something can change so quickly. The UNLV my sister may attend looks so much different from the UNLV I attended.