big new project...

a very good friend of mine contacted me and asked me help him with the photo art for a project he is working on--his album.

Brian and i have been friends for a good many years, if a little out of touch for a few, thanks to the distractions and demands of life.

well, i'm just about as thrilled as can be to help him! here is a link to his blog on the project the wabash cafe--he even announced my joining his project. *blushes*

this is going to be a lot of fun!

big... cult of done

Cult of Done, originally uploaded by spatulated.

this is big and brilliant. this is my roller coaster brain in text form.

a big bird...

this is my cockatiel, Wagner (VAH-gner). he's about 13 years old, and though he's small, he's got a booming voice. he will say his name and "pretty bird".  he is a very mellow and pretty quiet little guy; however, he loves spring and has been singing his own compositions in the mornings.

a fresh lens on a big date...

i've a million pics of random things in my home... when i got my new 1.4 lens, i spun around and shot the calendar. my calendar is always colorful and BUSY! this shot is now a little sentimental for me--it's a big deal to me. :)

random notes...

i've lots of ideas for blog posts; however, as is painfully obvious from my lack of recent posting, little time. i think life is a series of little epiphanies, so here are a few things rattling around in my head...

i'm constantly assessing my photographic skill level. i absolutely love the st louis camera club and find a lot of valuable information offered in the presentations, specifically on photojournalism nights. the critiques can be invaluable learning experiences if chosen wisely.

i often take the classes offered by the camera club; i really appreciate them and i have learned lesson upon lesson. but, as with anything, i think the time has come for me to move along. it isn't that i've reached a point where i'm not learning anything... oh, i am, believe me. it's just that i'm craving a more intense, specific, commercial and professional input. unfortunately, those classes are expensive--but i think i've found a place to try. i think it's time to do some serious networking and work, too.

in three days, three people who are good friends told me that it's time for me to stop taking classes and get experience. they are right. these are not the type of people who blow smoke--they have always been very frank and honest with me. with that in mind, i've decided to do just as they suggest. it's in little pieces and forming in a smokey cloud, but there is another change coming for me. i can't hide anymore and i need to get paying work. i'm starting to want more lenses, lighting equipment... and more than anything--i don't have time for my full-time job anymore.LOL

speaking of which, i've found some peace--sort of--with my full-time job. i need it right now, but i'm not stopping the search. i did some design work recently and it reminded me just how much i enjoy and miss it. i'm painfully underutilized in my position and i've grown tired of spending eight hours a day in a coma. my friends are also really sick of hearing about it, and i don't blame them a bit. there is a balance here, i know it. i have to find one until i can convince someone else that i'm just incredible and they NEED me. :)

completely unrelated... i used to wonder why my Lama married the woman that he did. i love her... don't get me wrong.  she is a powerhouse of ambition, dedication and conviction. but, she was a little louder and frenetic than i would have expected a tibetan monk to chose for a wife. please understand that i mean no disrespect to them. this was just a question that i used to ponder.

when i spent a lot of time with them, i was married. my marriage was insanely mellow. we were both dedicated to tibetan buddhism and i was the more frenetic of the two of us--but still it was a pretty quiet existence. my Lama and his wife moved away and i got divorced--change is the only constant. the other night i was watching The Buddha on pbs and it occurred to me that the Lama's wife was a perfect compliment to him. i don't think it is necessarily a good thing for both partners to be "calm" or "frenetic". i think it's okay for one of each in a pair. better yet, i think it's okay to switch up that role periodically.

that brings me to a personal point. i met a man a few months ago who reminds me daily that every day is unique and exciting by living my favourite mantra... love is a verb. the dude, as i like to call him, is the reason that i've dropped off in my blogging, my facebook, my twitter... it's been a flourish of us and i am unabashedly flush with the excitement of it. a very close friend told me that she is just so happy that i've met someone who is on the same page as me and as excited about me as i am about him. that's a very good point; this is certainly something very different for me. but still we strive for balance... one day at a time... present in the moment of each of them... we are happy. i am happy.

it's big to me...

april is big. woohoo!

big? geez. big how? big now? big size? big time?

a big deal to me. this month, i will post what is a big deal for me, to me, about me, around me. if it leaves an impression... i'll post it. :)

this picture is of a tissue paper flower. it's not the biggest of the bunch made that day, nor the prettiest. it was a big deal because i made it. i'm proud of this little flower. as a young girl, i can remember going to six flags and begging my parents for a tissue paper flower. they usually got me one after i'd been on all the rides--last stop of the day! i always wondered how they made them. it felt pretty spiffy to have made my very own.

there is one other reason why this flower is big. it was made during a creative activity at work. i work with some phenomenal people--creative, intelligent, hilarious, generous, open-minded, and accepting... just to name a few of their qualities.  every now and again, we get together to make something. we call these activities well-fillers. we are an in-house advertising department, and well, being creative is what we do every day. sometimes, we need to create for the sake of creating so that we don't get all stale like krispy kreme that has been on the counter all day.

i've worked with some of these folks for as long as seven years. i've never been anywhere that long and some days it's all i can do to make myself go in. then i remember my friends. yes, they are coworkers, but bigger than that, they are my family.

what's big about that tissue paper flower? it's full of friendship, hope and eternal youth.

happy spring, my friends!