the lives they lived

I'm always intrigued by a feature called "The Lives They Lived" that the Times Magazine does at the end of every year, and this year's articles are just great. Here's a clip from a story about Liz Claiborne, who died this June at the age of 78:

A Belgian-born high-school dropout who spoke with a kind of accent Americans usually identify as “grand” — “turquoise” was ter-kwaz — Claiborne began her career as a sketcher and a dress model on Seventh Avenue and worked her way up to designer. Her parents were so opposed to her career choice that her father, a banker, dropped her off on a corner in New York City, handed her $50 and did not speak to her for 20 years. On an interview for a job, Claiborne met the fashion executive Art Ortenberg, and although they were both married to other people at the time, they ended up married to each other shortly thereafter, beginning a lifelong collaboration. Within seven months of starting (along with a handful of investors) Liz Claiborne Inc., they were in the black, an unheard-of feat on Seventh Avenue. The company went public in 1981. Five years later it made the Fortune 500, the first company founded by a woman to do so.

Read more here.

killer

Hello.

I had a fabulous holiday - absolutely killer - and hope you did too.
Christmas is the joy of... receiving, right?
In that spirit, I'll share with you my bounty:

-Dyson Root 6 handheld vacuum cleaner (yessss!)
-The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
-On Being a Photographer by David Hurn and Bill Jay
-a European power adapter
-2 2-gig. SD cards for my camera
-cash, gotta love that
-IKEA gift card
-a nice flat-stack stapler

It was basically stuff I asked for, but the Dyson was a surprise. I've been wanting one since they came out! Anyway, starting today I'm housesitting for some friends for about a week, which is cool because they have a fridge full of great food, and just a really nice house in general. I hope you've all been having a good week.

p.s. I'm really sad that Benazir Bhutto was killed.

what a week

Well, this week has been insane, but luckily it's over now. Let me just say that I'm really glad I have health insurance right now. Today saw the end of Christmas shopping for me (thank god! no more mall crowds...) and I have the next several days off work, which is of course fabulous. I have to wrap a bunch of presents, but that's really it.

Anyway... I got some film back from my trip, so here are a few favorite black and white shots (there are more on Flickr).

I have never had a sinus infection before,
but I never want one again.
Hopefully these (supposedly strong) antibiotics will take hold soon.

Ciao for now.

I am ill. I think it's the flu. (Boo.) It seems I caught something on the flight home, or at least that's my theory. Christmas shopping, 45 minutes waiting in line at the post office today, and my head feeling like it wants to implode are all contributing to my desire sleep, which is already strong. So I'm going to bed at 7pm.

Night.

a backwards glance

I've been inspired by Erin's look back at her year to do the same. So, if you are inclined to do so, let's take a look back. 2007 has been quite a year.

January - March

I got my D50 last fall, so early this year, I was just playing around with it and starting to get a feel for what it could do. A whirlwind trip to Chicago in January gave me a chance to use it for something other than everyday stuff.

The photojournalism class I took in the spring really helped lay the groundwork for some of my photo editing knowledge: knowing how to manipulate the photos my camera produced helped give me confidence about the end results I could achieve. So I experimented, and experimented some more, and ended up with a photo essay I really enjoyed creating.

late spring, summer



This spring I began my involvement with my school's Solar Decathlon project, in which they built a house and transported it to Washington, D.C. to compete with other school teams from the U.S. and Europe. The school year ended, and my crazy summer began, but the whole time, I continued to document the process of raising this house.

Most of the summer fell into oblivion because I worked ridiculous hours in an attempt to catch up a little, financially. That only partially worked. The good thing about the summer was that I gained a friend I hadn't had before - the lovely Katie Tyznik. I have never danced so long in my life as this summer - going to clubs, drinking just a little, and getting down was just what I needed.

late summer



I've realized lately that I haven't spoken much about Europe 1 on the blog. For all it lacked, I did have a fantastic time, and it established in me a deep love of Italy, and especially Rome, that could not otherwise exist. Going on what was effectively a tour of the country (albeit a mostly self-guided one) was intense - sometimes a little too intense. Three weeks was a bit much, just because the cold, impersonal nature of the hotels got to me. (Also, I found the Marseillaise to be, for lack of a better word, passionless.)

October: Solar Decathlon



The culmination of the work of (literally) hundreds of students in Washington, D.C. was amazing. From the crowds that showed up to the architectural innovations that stood side-by-side on the National Mall, this entire event took my breath away.

November



Working my ass off at a photography class this fall produced a photo essay which, unfortunately, I can't link to. It's on film, and this quarter I really developed a love for the stuff, at least 35mm, that I don't expect to diminish anytime soon.

December



I left Italy wanting to return, and because I could, I did. Europe the second time around was like coming home: a taste I had developed so deeply, felt in just the right way... it's so hard to describe, but I think I enjoyed myself more in one week in Rome than I could in one year in Cincinnati.

"I went to Europe in love with France, and left in an affair with Italy." -Joshua*

Or, Updatey Randomness.

I dropped off my film at the lab today, so next week I'll have b&w goodies (much better than the digi color variety, IMO) to share with you from my trip.

Zach is incredibly happy I'm home.

I got to catch up with some friends today - Katie and I are going to hang out on Sunday and cook food and watch a chick flick. Tomorrow I'm doing laundry at my parents'. Tonight I'm watching a movie with another friend, should be good.

One nice thing, the jet lag this time is so so so much lighter than last time - I think it's partially because I was there for a shorter time this trip, but also because I feel a little better about everything (that is, life, the universe, and everything) this time around, and so depression really isn't a part of it like it was last time. This September, when I got back from Europe, I was tired and I had to get up and go to an 8:00 class the morning after getting back, which was frankly traumatic. I had a stressful situation in a relationship (which was luckily sorted out soon after, but still)... the fact that I'm on winter break now, and don't really have to think about class - only, 'hmm, which book should I finish now?' - is quite refreshing.

So then. It's nice to be back, but I do miss the place already.

*a flickr buddy.

hi there!

So I went to Rome (again). And had a wonderful time.
And I will tell you all about it very soon.

Ciao.