I’m excited and a little nervous about transferring. Excited that it’s a new place and I’ll be meeting new people but a little nervous about having to take out student loans. I’ve been very fortunate that financial aid has covered my education so far but it won’t be enough for UofL’s tuition. I know there are far worse things to go into debt over but it’s still the idea of the debt lingering after I finish school but it has to be done. Wednesday begins class registration for tranfer students and I’m trying to get an idea of what classes I’d like to take. I just hope the classes I need to take at the times I want aren’t filled up by the time Wednesday rolls around. We shall see…

I’ve been saying a lot of goodbyes lately it seems, and as you’ve seen from my previous post I’m getting rid of my Holga camera. I sent off my last three rolls of film to Dwayne’s Photo in Kansas because their prices were pretty unbeatable. For three rolls (and shipping) it was right at $25 and I had my film back within 7-10 days. Prices in Seattle were pretty expensive and getting to the semi-local shop (an hour away) before they closed was always a hassle. You might give Dwayne’s a try if there’s not a local business nearby that develops 120 film.

The one thing I don’t like about the Holga is the photos are always hit or miss. Out of 36 photos I’ve found four that actually stood out. I guess the same can be said about digital, but with digital you see the results right away and you know whether or not you should keep shooting. One roll of film that I used at the Seattle gay pride parade was ruined because one of the buttons was switched to bulb mode. It was something I should have paid attention to but didn’t.

These are a few examples of what happens when the holga is left in bulb mode when it isn’t needed. Nice, huh? :-O All in all, it’s been fun having a Holga and it’s a good conversation starter but definitely not reliable.

I’m currently selling my Holga CMY (Multicolor) CFN camera on eBay, if you’re interested follow this link for the auction. It’s served me well but I don’t use it enough to justify keeping it. I think I’ve only used about 5 or 6 rolls of film during its time with me. Hopefully it will go to a nice home; maybe even yours! :-)

About 12 hours from now I’m going to be headed back east to Kentucky. I’m not a nervous flyer but I know as soon as I get to Sea-Tac I’ll be anxious for the flight to be over with. My flight is around midnight, with a layover in Houston around 5AM, and I should be arriving in Louisville around 10:45AM assuming there are no delays. Hopefully I can sleep through most of the flight. I have my iPhone filled with several tv shows and new music to listen to. I’ll have that if nothing else.

I’ve really enjoyed the time that I’ve spent with my brother, I haven’t been able to spend this much time with him since I was a kid. I’m really surprised we haven’t got into more arguments than we did given the fact we’re getting into arguments when he comes to KY for a few days. When I say “we” it’s mostly “me” starting the arguments. That’s what happens when you have similar personalities, confined spaces, and love one another.

There’s definitely things I won’t miss like waking up to horns honking outside of my bedroom window at 4 freakin’ AM, gun shots, the traffic, etc. I’m looking forward to getting home to see the family, friends this weekend, classes starting in two weeks, and what ever else happens.

Looking back this trip has flown by, but while it was happening it seemed to go by so slowly. There’s only been one time that I started looking at flights home earlier but after a day or two I decided I would “tough it out”. All in all I’m glad I got to experience this for the summer. Would I do it again? Hmm, I don’t know. Like I’ve mentioned before this trip has definitely opened my eyes to things I forget I liked about living at home. That’s a good thing . . .

So Goodbye Seattle, it’s been real!

I’m still unsure how I feel about the film but you should see it if it looked interesting to you. There are funny parts so it’s not completely a downer. I’ll probably see it again when it comes on dvd and give it another chance. Also I found a cool clip of my favorite scene from the movie. C’mon who doesn’t love when people break out into synchronized dancing in a movie? Especially when it’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt!

P.S. Did you notice the new site design? Let me know if you have any usability issues.

Thank you again, Jordan, for what you’ve done for me. ::big hugs!::

Happy 4th of July! To celebrate I wanted to pass along a few of my favorite songs that I’ve been playing a lot this summer. A few new songs as well as an oldie. I hope you enjoy!

01. Alexi Murdoch – Blue Mind
“So watch your time turn to sand, let it spill quietly from your hands. Oh, and the time is at hand when all things under the sky. Go free of time, no time is passing you by. Got no time and I am drifting.”
After seeing “Away We Go” only a couple weeks ago Irediscovered my love for Alexi Murdoch. “Blue Mind” is one of my favorite songs off of his debut full-length album Time Without Consequence.

02. Phoenix – Lisztomania
“So sentimental not sentimental no. Romantic not discussing it, darling I’m down and lonely. When we’re the fortunate only? I’ve been looking for something else. Too late too late too late she’ll be late too late too late. So go slowly discourage distant from other interests. On your favorite weekend ending this love for gentlemen only. That’s where the fortunate only. No I gotta be someone else. These days it comes it comes it comes it comes it comes and goes. A Lisztomania. Think less but see it grow, like a ride like a ride oh! Not easily offended, know how to let it go. From the mess to the masses.”
I remember reading about this band a couple of months ago on a music blog based out of Louisville called Backseat Sandbar. I didn’t check out their music immediately but saw it at a record store here in Seattle, and as it turned out I really liked it. If you like infectious songs this one is for you. Thanks for the recommendation Backseat Sandbar, and sorry I didn’t listen sooner!

03. Bat for Lashes – Daniel
“But in a goodbye bed with my arms around your neck. Into our mouths our tears crept just kids in the eye of the storm. And as the house spun round my dreams pulled me from the ground forever to search for the faith for home again for home again.”
I really want to love Bat for Lashes but this song is about the only one I can tolerate. Plus the video is pretty cool.

04. Regina Spektor – Dance Anthem of the 80’s
“I’m walking through the city like a drunk, but not. With my slip showing a little like a drunk, but not. And I am one of your people but the cars don’t stop. And I am one of your people but the cars don’t stop. And it’s been a long time since before I’ve been touched. Now I’m getting touched all the time. And it’s only a matter of whom, and it’s only a matter of when.”
I’ll be honest I haven’t listened to Regina’s latest album Far a great deal but this is one song that has stuck out. “Dance Anthem of the 80’s” is catchy and fun to listen to while you’re driving, the windows are down, and your music is blaring.

05. Ryan Adams – Memory Lane
“Sometimes when my memory fails I look into my book of spells. Cards we wrote and pictures taken by someone else. I feel the pain, memory lane. I sleep by the window sill sounding out and dream for real of simple times of hands in tangle, fingers engaged. Memory lane.”
This is one of my latest finds and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite songs of his. Personally I don’t think Ryan Adams can do no wrong when it comes to songwriting so I guess I am biased. I find this to be a truly sad but beautiful song. Hopefully he returns to music soon to share his beautiful music with us again!

This past weekend my brother Roy and I flew to San Francisco. This is my first time visiting San Francisco or California for that matter. I would have liked to visit “the mothership” in Cupertino but it was going to be about 2.5 hours by bus and we really didn’t have the time.

We scoured what seemed like most of San Francisco on our first day. My god is San Francisco hilly! I was warned about this before the trip but I didn’t realize how out of shape I am – well OK I know I’m out of shape but it was a big reminder! We went through Chinatown then North Beach for a boat ride around the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. At times the boat ride seemed more like a roller coaster because the waves were pretty big at one point causing the boat to bounce up and down. As a result, the last 15 minutes of the ride I was feeling pretty nauseous. I don’t see how people do cruises for several days, maybe with a larger boat you don’t feel a lot of the bumps. Later in the day we went to the Castro and I saw where Harvey Milk’s camera shop used to be and my brother pointed out several areas where memorable moments happened. I’m not too familiar with Harvey Milk outside of what I’ve seen in the film “Milk” but he seemed to have made an impact on Roy.

While we were in San Francisco we also went to the California Academy of Sciences with one of Roy’s friends and his wife. They had a rain forest exhibit going on that was pretty cool or shall I say humid! ;-) It didn’t seem like we were there very long before they made the announcement they were closing. We didn’t really plan that one out too well. That evening we went to an italian restaurant called Steps of Rome. Earlier in the week I got my hair cut and my stylist recommended going there and getting tiramisu for dessert. He was practically salivating when he was talking about the restaurant so I thought it would be a good idea. The pasta dish I had was just OK but he was right about the tiramisu; it was heavenly.

The trip seemed to go by really quick but then again most weekends do go by pretty fast. And as always I wish that I would’ve taken more pictures. I’m glad I had the experience of going to California, but I don’t think it’d be my first choice for vacation. A lot of people – which I’m surprised that’s even a factor given that I really like NYC. Then again it is NYC.

I was a little nervous about seeing this because the artwork looked a lot like “Juno”, but it looked really good from the trailer and I didn’t want to be disappointed. I’m used to seeing John Krasinski as Jim on the television show “The Office” and it was refreshing to see him in a somewhat serious role, this is definitely a comedy but also a tearjerker at times. I liked that Alexi Murdoch’s music is used as the soundtrack for the film, it seemed to make the film come together and give the emotional parts that extra punch. Hopefully this film will give him more attention because he’s an amazing songwriter.

The movie seemed to hit close to home in some aspects because the two main characters keep searching for home. I’ve been away from Kentucky for a little over a month now and I’ve put into perspective a lot of things I like and miss about KY. Maybe KY is home after all – or at least for the time being. I’ve grown used to living in an isolated area and it’s kind of annoying sometimes having neighbors so close. It’s surprisingly quiet right now, usually people are out in the parking lot talking and/or have horrible rap music blasting out of their cars, setting off fireworks, or I’m hearing what I believe to be gun shots in the distance. Several gun shots were going off around 8:30 this evening, I guess whoever it was got it out of their system then. LoL.

Back to the movie: if you only see one film this year make sure it’s this one, and if you need more convincing watch this trailer.

Speaking of freaking out, Tuesday was our first time using public transportation by ourselves and it was a complete disaster. It took a good portion of the day switching from bus to bus to get to the Space Needle. Finally we got there and I don’t think any of really got to enjoy it from all of the walking we did during the day – trying to get there. Today was a lot better. My friends stayed at a hotel last night and are doing so tonight. I met them down at their hotel today and made it there without any trouble. Go me! I feel a bit more confident using public transportation because of the problems we had on Tuesday; I guess it was a blessing in disguise.

Here are just a few photos I’ve taken of Seattle so far . . . I’ve still got lots and lots of editing to do and hopefully I’ll get around to it eventually. I’m feeling very inspired being in Seattle right now.