I liked 2008.

A year in review.


It’s always surprising to look back at a year and realize just how much has really happened. In the span of 12 months people change, I change and life keeps going on. In remembrance of 2008 I will answer some questions. Here they are…

Favorite Dried Fruit of 2008: Apricots, Apricots, Apricots. It took me 21 years of living to understand that dried fruit can be just as tasty as real fruit.
Favorite book read in 2008: I can’t limit this to only one answer it’s just impossible. I’ll give my top three in no particular order. “The Road” by Cormick McCarthy. “Surprised by Joy” by N.T. Wright. “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. Each of these books captured my interest from cover to cover. I’d recommend them to anyone.
Favorite Album of 2008: Weezer’s Red Album. I’m a fanboy so if you EVER insult the legend known as Weezer I might douse you in pencil shavings and than shout horrible things at you.
Favorite color of 2008: I still like blue.
Favorite new raquetesque game of 2008: Ping pong, it’s a lot more fun than it looks.
Favorite Board game of 2008: Settler’s of Catan. It’s like heroin without the needles.
The location of the hardest laugh I laughed of 2008: I wrote this question and than realized I couldn’t answer it. I’m sure that it was either at Hume, the Vevoda’s kitchen or in my room.
Things that stopped in 2008: My bladder, it has been 3 months since the last time I urinated.
Words that came apart of my regular vocabulary in 2008: pots and pans fun, pepperjack stevens, and aperture.
2008 of my favorite puddings: Chocolate, Banana, Furrberry, Bubblepops, Tingletangle Jelly, Sebastiany smooth, French Vanilla, plain vanilla, strawberry, pineapple and pepperjack stevens.

Oh 2008! You were wonderful to me. What made the year so special were the people in my life. I sincerely love everyone who was able to participate in life with me. Friends, family and even you, Mr. Burrito maker at Chipotle, I hope this year was as good to you as well. I love you all. Have a good end of 2008!

My Justification for Littering.

Let me start by saying that I do recycle. I don't own personal grocery bags yet but I always ask for paper. Sometimes when I feel extra environmentally conscious I'll pour my used oil into a milk jug rather than the street drain. So for the most part I would consider myself a friend of the planet. Her and I are pretty solid buddies. We don't hang out all the time but we always say hello. With that said let me give a brief story.

As a kid my parents would take my brothers and I to my grandfather's walnut ranch. It wasn't the biggest ranch being only 4 acres but it seemed humongous to a few little boys. We'd wander the barns and fields looking for anything of interest. Some of our more memorable findings included rusty tools, old bottles and mouse traps. But on one very special occasion I found something much, much better. I remember walking on a recently tilled field and finding a couple of golden keys tucked away in the dirt. This was awesome. In my mind these keys could be the keys to anything. Upon finding the keys I promptly tried them in all the locks I came in contact with. No car, house, mailbox or store lock was left untested. My imagination whizzed and whirled at the possibility that some day my golden keys would unlock something.

So I do litter on the occasion that I am done with a key. Once every few years I'll go through my key chain and downsize it. Keys get on it and they are never used. They are just dead weight. So being the understanding person that I am I throw them on the ground. That's right, I drop them in parking lots or throw them in some bushes. Heck, if I was by the ocean I'd chuck them right in the thick it. My reasoning is simple, one of the greatest finds for a young child is finding a key on the ground. To a child it becomes more than a key; it becomes a catalyst for imagination.

I kept my golden keys for a long time in a drawer filled with wonders. I never did figure out what those keys unlocked, but in my little boy brain I was convinced that they were the keys to lost pirate treasure. The keys had been discovered, but the treasure would remain lost forever.

San Diego Wanderings

I spend time thinking about writing, but I am not feeling the drive to do it. So instead here's some pictures from my wanderings around Diego.

The Sunset Cliffs.


Ocean Beach is a smaller Santa Cruz. Hippis, markets, and good surf.



Of course, I have to get some shots of the sea.




Graffiti can be cool.


It can also be offensive.


Here's a kid telling jokes for money. Looks like the business is going well.



That's a wrap, now you are all under Citizen's Arrest! I'm serious, you are under arrest.


Edit: Arggghh! I thought the photos were perfectly aligned with the format! Just pretend I did it for artistic purposes.

The Veggie Style Carol

I think I may have discovered the real meaning of Christmas.

el foto

I spent an unordinary amount of time on the streets of San Diego this weekend. I walked everywhere from Balboa park to downtown to Ocean Beach pier. The reason was to take pictures, lots and lots of pictures.

It started late Friday when the UPS man dropped off a brand new Canon camera into my hands. Opening it from the box I realized I had no idea how to work the machine, let alone put it together. It was one of those moments when you’re forced to stand back and read the instructions when all you want to do is use, use, use. I eventually got the camera up and working and than promptly spent my whole weekend taking pictures.

After many so-so pictures I realized the myth that by spending more money on a camera you will instantly start taking breathtaking photos. In between the hours of wandering around town, I’d break at my house to study up on photography lingo and tips. The concepts of aperture and ISO along with exposure and focus are starting to seep and take shape into my mind. The idea that you can constantly get better through teachings and trials makes my new photography hobby even more fun.

Taking pictures is more fun than washing windows and smiling. Actually I take that back, smiling is solid fun.