September 3rd, 2010
We’ve embarked on a “final trip” before Caleb and I depart to our respective adventures later this month… So far: boated on Lake Powell, drove through Monument Valley, went kayaking without injury, stalked a praire dog in a tree, drove over 500 miles, went hiking, saved a bird’s life, and took a lot of photos… all in a week’s work!
Mom and I are chilling in a coffee shop while Caleb and dad are off scaling mountains in the form of rock climbing. I figure coffee shops are where I do my best work, so I’m getting caught up on a few things, and figured I should squeeze in a blog post… so here’s another for the “thoughts from coffee shops” series!
Horseshoe bend! I’ve always wanted to go here, and kind of forgot it was exactly where we were headed, so pretty excited when I realized it was! Seriously beautiful view.
Next up was the Lake Powell boat adventure. Rented a small-ish deckboat, and spent the day on the lake. We even made our way (40miles!) to Rainbow Bridge, which seemed a lot less impressive than I remember thinking, but still kind of cool! Also, I think we deserve at least a B+ for our navigation skills!
From there we drove through Monument Valley onwards to our semi-final destination of Colorado. Monument Valley seemed to be the typical desert view that you see in old western movies and things, and I feel like photos don’t really do it justice… you kind of have to be surrounded by it to really appreciate it’s elegance! But, have a photo anyway… 
Also! I spotted this little guy in a tree.
Isn’t he adorable? Minus the fact that he’s you know, about to lunge at me. Kind of reminiscent of my squirrel friend from the Grand Canyon – what is it about Northern Arizona squirrels staring me down in a lunging position? Anyway, I named him Enrique.
I think that shall conclude this post, more later from the lovely Colorado leg of the trip!
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August 29th, 2010
(With a camera, not a gun.)
Also, co-headlining was Switchfoot (favourites!) and Green River Ordinance. Here are some favourites – first two are Goo Goo, next three are Switchfoot, and the final is Green River Ordinance.
Or, view ‘em all here!
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August 21st, 2010
Oh, what a crazy past few months it has been, indeed! Who knew plans could change so drastically in so little time?!
I was super excited about heading to India for three months to teach photography with an organization called Fairmail. I would’ve been working with “less fortunate” (I hate that term) kids in a small town called Varanasi. The organization takes the best photos the kids take, and turns them into postcards to sell, which the kids then get profit from for education and living expenses. It’s really kind of a neat concept, and I was super excited to be accepted as a teacher with them.
Buuuuut, now I’m not going. At least for now. One day I will, it’s definitely something that has been in my heart for a while now! The reason?
Belfast. Aye, probably the only that could’ve changed my mind, ha! I applied for a Masters program in Belfast earlier this year, not fully expecting to get accepted… When I didn’t hear back, I made the plans for India. Then out of the blue I got an acceptance letter (like 5 weeks before the course started!), and that’s when the terrible week of contemplation and decision making ensued.
Yeah, I ended up picking Belfast. And I definitely feel bad about having to pull out of India (not to mention having bought a non-refundable ticket, arg!), but I think it was the right decision… It’s incredibly crazy last minute, but it seems that it is what I have been, essentially, wanting since I got back in January and the timing and way it worked out seems to be kind of a “God thing”. So, it pleases me to say that it appears that I will be spending the next season in Belfast again, and I am super excited to see what’s ahead!! Not to mention living in the same place as some of my favourite people again!!
The program is at the same university I studied at before, which will result in a MA Multidisciplinary Design… I’m (hopefully) going to focus research/skills/study on the relation of photography and graphic design, particularly in relation to advertising. I’ve always found “surrealistic” images incredibly interesting, and I think it would be rather interested to look into their effectiveness as a means of visual communication design, both in theory and practice. So that leaves me having to write a research proposal (for which this blog is a means of procrastinated, ha!).
So yes – barring the conquering of certain visa issues – I will be moving back to Belfast for another year and a half… next month! And India, I am coming for you next!!
Tags: blah, decisions, school, travel
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