A Day in the Life, Part III"I Da Ho, U Da Ho"

Sometimes you can drive across an entire state and not see much of it.


All it takes is a mixture of persistent storm clouds


Extreme fatigue


And a confused GPS unit that keeps telling you to abandon the highway at every possible exit.



But even under the worst of conditions, a little beauty is bound to shine through.



And everywhere in-between, you amuse yourself with unusual signs you pass along the way.


From the juvenile


And the unintended racism



To the fallen.



Before you know it, you're 380 miles from where you started, and you realize you'd had GPS set to "pedestrian" — and not "automobile" — all the while.

A Day in the Life, Part II"The Tetons"

Everyone's a building burning
With no one to put the fire out
Standing at the window looking out
Waiting for time to burn us down

Modest Mouse, "Blame it on the Tetons"

---

I've spent the morning waiting for the night to shake off, certain that chronic fatigue is more than an urban legend.


And I wonder if for every one of these posts — every attempt at assigning words to the summer's thus-far-adventures — will be the same.



An exposition on wordlessness. A litany of the ineffable. A diatribe on appreciating aesthetics when all the while desolation is just around the corner.




And so it goes. And goes. These stories with no beginning, middle or end.



This diurnal battle to find the energy to speak when I want nothing more than to retreat to my bed


Pull up the covers


And dream the world away.


Or should I tell you? Should I say what I am thinking? Should I offer those few words I've jotted down in the margins of my notebook?


This is the first day of the last of our life together.


But where do I go from there? From here?


How do I continue when I am speaking of a recent past, now at odds with my present?


These are memories. Photographs are nearly always that, and a little more. Every image tells a story; an emotion.


And one, I fear, I'm losing the ability to articulate.


But I will say this for Wyoming: it's prettier than you might think.



Amazing, really, with all variety of landscapes and vistas: plains and desert; mountains and red rock.



And the wildlife is as diverse as it is accessible: deer, antelope,

moose, buffalo,




and wild horses.



[Rumor has it there are grizzly bears, too, though I didn't see any of those.]



I am glad for the time we took through the Tetons. Through Wyoming. State highways are nearly always more scenic than the ExpressWay, if not more than a little bit slower.



And that, I think, it what we need more of.



We need more slow.


Can I say that? Can I use an adjective as a noun?



It doesn't matter, really. The point remains the same.


There's a world of difference between letting life drag on, and seizing the day.

And so — whatever you do — don't wait to act until these moments have gone


too far away.

A Day in the Life, Part I"The Beginning"

For nearly two months now, I have had volumes to say. And yet: the moment a pen is in my hand, or my fingertips at a keyboard...

Everything fades away.

I become exhausted with words until there are none left to speak, and I crawl into bed hours ahead of schedule.

Only to wake up exhausted, again, the next morning.


But this summer, well... this summer hasn't been so bad. There have been ups, and downs, and for the most part I've surprised myself by venturing out into that brave new world, often in the company of friends.

[And sometimes alone.]


There have been concerts and plays; movies and festivals. I've traveled over 2,000 miles by car, only to fly back again.


I've played in the snow along the continental divide. I've camped in the storm of the century and realized that, in fact, I do not need any help taking down my massive, 7-person tent.

I can do it alone.


I've jumped up and down to REM; Modest Mouse; the National; the Young Dubliners; I've barbecued with an up-and-coming. I've sat alone next to the only empty seat in the house while the Swell Season took the city by storm.

I've babysat a small child (my one-year-old nephew) for the first time in my life.

I've changed diapers (also for the first time).

I've seen a beloved, but often overlooked, family pet suffer on her final day of life.

I've read four novels, witnessed countless sunsets, and — get this — started cooking actual meals at home.


I've knocked a minute off of my 3-mile jogs, and taken my oldest nephew for a swim.

And yet: for all of this. For every meaningful moment...

There's very little I can say.


But I will give you this: photographs taken from the past 2 months, the highlights of my adventures, posted (with slight exception) in the order in which they were taken until there's nothing left to see (this post, then, being the first of a series). I'll comment when I can but promise nothing...

Except, maybe, this:

This summer — quite literally — started with a storm: clouds ripe with rain, and dropping in the distance.


But once the storm clouds cleared, everything was beautiful again. But there was a reason I took pictures of so much.

Of the before



And the after


Because the thing we so seldom realize


The thing we waste our lives failing to understand


Is that it was beautiful all along.

Shadow Puppets Revisited

Bush or Batman

God Bless Viral Ads

(And thanks to BPP for alerting me to this video's existence.)'

Font U.N. (or, "F.U.N.")

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Sofa King Miserable

I have a headache today. I had a headache yesterday. I don't feel well.


I didn't get any sleep Saturday night (camping interrupted by the storm of the century), and Sunday I witnessed the most pitiful site, which I'll likely blog more about later (long story short: I found my parents dog — born when I was just a kid — dying in the backyard, unable to move and being eaten by flies despite being still alive).

Suffice it to say sleep Sunday night wasn't much better. My memory is a bit of a torture device in that I can't easily erase particular images from my brain.



But this week, well... this week is off to a poor start. This morning while getting ready, an odd, distant trickle of water erupted into a waterfall from above, as a portion of my bathroom ceiling bubbled to the size of a basketball and water spewed forth, pushing plaster (and with my luck: probably asbestos) from its path, creating a puddle of water on my bathroom floor that spilled out into the hallway.

I called my landlady and attempted to clean up the mess after the deluge slowed, and she informed me that she knew they were having "problems with the toilet" upstairs, and she'd take care of it "today."

She knew they were having problems, and she waited until this happened to take care of it?

And that was TOILET WATER I was cleaning up?! That I got all over my work clothes, requiring I change... and show up for work 90 minutes late?

And now I can barely concentrate, headache and all, terrified that the leak will start up again; that Maude might eat something that my landlady leaves on the floor; that our guest cat will escape if the door is left open.

I can't wait to leave work today, and for all the wrong reasons.


Estelle Getty is dead.



But, hey, there is this. At long last, a smile — albeit bittersweet — to mark the day.

Doors of Perception

Sometimes the only thing separating an unintentionally humorous image...



...from an outright perversion

...is a matter of perspective.


P.S. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, please don't ask. Oh! And I'm about a month behind in posting photos, though I've been busily snapping away. I hope to get up-to-date soon.

Mmmm... Spaghetti

Honey Bunches of Oats with Vanilla Clusters(A Review)

It's pretty much tasteless, with the vanilla flavor neutralizing the honey, ultimately resulting in... blah.

Regular Honey Bunches of Oats is much better.

But I'm poor, and I have a whole box. I'll eat it till it's gone, but I won't be happy about it.

[So this is what happens when you have a lot to say, but lack the energy to say it.]

It Could be Worse

A friend sent this to me with the title, "And you thought you have bad luck."

Well, this certainly puts things into perspective...

(Make sure your boss isn't around when you watch this.)

Indecision '08

'No Values Voters' Looking To Support Most Evil Candidate