Boulder: Not so Wildlife Spottings of the Day

Boulder: Afterhours Window Shopping

Part 3: Boulder Ben

Part 2: East OR

Road Trip Part 1: Portland

My dear friends Jon and Stephanie who treated me to a wonderful visit to Portland.
I'm done with my internship in Bellingham, WA and on to the next thing, whatever that turns out to be. And the thing that will bring me eventually into the arms of that still undefined 'next thing' is, very fittingly, a road trip. I'm falling blissfully into the couches of my friends for the next couple of weeks.

Photo Head

Rocky Mountain Flashback

I'm getting ready to head back across the country, and I've got a serious case of Rocky Mountain nostalgia. I was looking back over some pictures from my time in CO in the spring and found this one from just a few steps away from Buffalo Bill's grave. I have a feeling that the Rockies will pull at my heart wherever I go. Thats wonderful, but ouch, enough already.

Mr. Board

This picture from the accounting office I went to today made me laugh. The cardboard cut-out is of a board member.

Getting the Game

I shot what was probably my favorite assignment for the Herald the other day: a youth basketball camp. Its hard not to feel joy when you're in a gym packed with thirty or so children innocently absorbing the fundamentals of basketball. Without an expectation or frustration in the world, they approach each drill bighearted and good humored. I left with the realization, or perhaps re-realization, that, yeah, 'it's just a game,' but games are amongst the best things we have. Games are neat little contained worlds, with finite and distinguishable rules, in which we get to pour our raw and unheralded resources into; and out of this magic formula, so many facets of the human character come out to play and interact. Such purity of effort without much thought or expectation of the outcome is, I think, I delightful way of being.

This purity of effort, specifically toward basketball, made up a great deal of my childhood, so hanging out at the camp was also very nostalgic for me. It was great to get my hands on a ball again too!
Anyway, if you'd like to take a look, you can check out a gallery of pictures from the camp here.

Cheers, and happy happy new year!

Basketball Camp

Pickup Dog

Abundant Life Church

Wrastling!

Man, the last few weeks have left me thoroughly impressed with wrestlers. From the sidelines it seems like a sport that really demands everything of you both physically and mentally. The moves are highly technical; the slightest shift in position and momentum makes all the difference; a thousand tiny decisions made every moment to organize your weight over your opponent.
I imagine these mental gymnastics become rather difficult to pull off with all the intense physical exertion also involved; to remain both perceptive and aggressive.
I'm of course perfectly happy to entertain my awe from the sidelines and focus on trying to get this stuff across visually. The thought of getting in their myself is genuinely scary.

Nutcracker Rehearsal

Its Christmas time, so my assignments are getting steadily more Christmasy as we advance upon the J-man's B-day. Here's a gallery just posted on the Herald website from the Nutcracker rehearsal I attended this evening. Tomorrow I go Christmas shopping with police officers at Wal-Mart. Hmmm...I never thought I would do such a thing.

Cargo

At Home but not at Home

Back to Basketball

Harping

Weaving

Ski Season

Mount Baker ski area opened a couple days ago. Watching the light change and the low lying fog lift from the cascade foothills as I approached the ski area at dawn, I felt very fortunate to have this as my job/internship. Struggling to put one foot in front of the other in three feet of powder, wishing that I had a set of skis or a snowboard as I navigated the mountain in my tennis shoes, I still felt pretty fortunate, but not without muttering obscenities at the mountain. However, I couldn't help but feel a touch of envy, when I met all the ski bums who live and work at the mountain. 200 or so free-spirited I young folks living at the foot of some of the prettiest alpine scenery imaginable, skiing/boarding everyday of their carefree winter. 'Utopia' is a word that comes to mind.