A Small Stretch

From the backlog of things I never posted:

Grand Junction, Colorado; July 2014

Halftime

Bright little mishaps

Mojo Pin

"All the untidy activity continues,
awful but cheerful."

This is a way more articulate sentiment than I could produce right now (or ever), but it speaks to a certain sense of ennui/dread/wonder/distraction which currently occupies my head. These are the final lines of "The Bight" by Elizabeth Bishop, and are also the epitaph on her headstone. I visited it once, but I can't seem to find the photo I took of her grave. All I have is an image of this tree across the road.

November 2015

Anyhow, when I was on my wild Greyhound trip back from visiting my friend Rose in Chicago (hi, Rose!), I listened to this Jeff Buckley album a lot. There was a bunch of night lightning in the western sky over Illinois, and I caught a calm twenty minutes of sleep to this music. Then a fight almost broke out at the bus station and our bus broke down in rural Missouri, but the adventure was worthwhile.

- "Mojo Pin" by Jeff Buckley, from Grace (1994)

Down by the Water

Rock Harbor Beach in Orleans, MA; November 2016. The Community of Jesus is based here, and its giant black angel statue is eerie, to say the least. Several former members of the community have come forward and called the group "destructive;" the website created by these former members is here.

Weird photo effects due to a roll of Lomography 400 film and a focus-free Minolta Freedom 50N camera. Or maybe they're due to the black angel. I'm not sure.

Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Pt. II

These photos are from the summer, but better late than never...right?

Cemetery, Orleans

Thanksgiving break 2015, Orleans, MA.

I'm 98% sure this film was several years beyond expired. Thanks, Lomography.

The Great Salt Flats

I'm going to Chicago for a few days next week. It's safe to say that the travel bug is alive and well, somewhere in my inner ear.

Nostalgia for the Great Salt Flats

On and on and On

Posting from a cell phone is a royal pain.

I did not expect to feel this strongly, but I miss Wellesley very much. It's hard to believe there's only one semester left.

This winter break marks the beginning of a hesitant job search. It's uncomfortable and exhilarating to be so unsure of the future, but I'm also eager for some degree of stability and routine to return to my life.

That's all this little brain can muster right now.

Gelatinous Ghosts

Taken with a Minolta Maxxum 7000 on a poorly-loaded roll of Kodak UltraMax 400 film. If these weren't so underexposed and sad, I'd be more excited about the weird framing. I suppose that's part of the reason why analog is fun, though--mistakes and surprises run abound, and the gratification of seeing those mistakes is not instantaneous.

And because it is the last day of classes, and because I should be working harder, it's time for Patti Smith singalongs and eventual studying.

Unknown Treasures

August 2015; a well-loved desk.

Vistas Cambiantes

There are over thirty library books in my room right now. I haven't felt so right in weeks.

Here is the westward view from my window, as seen by my little dinky focus-free camera, maybe in August and September. (I have no idea.)

Dusty

It's been awhile since this camera's seen the light of day.

Side note: I just discovered that there are like fifteen James Bond films on Hulu. I'm probably not going to get any work done for a few days.

Today I learned that the state motto of Wyoming is "equal rights"

Maybe Montana

Mt. Auburn Cemetery

Here are some photos from last month, when I spent a day wandering around Mt. Auburn Cemetery. It was my first time using this camera, and only my second time shooting (expired) black-and-white, so most of my shots didn't turn out, but I had fun and that's what matters, right? For the record, though, shooting in black-and-white is a million times harder than color.

A bit about Mt. Auburn itself: The first "garden cemetery" in the U.S., Mt. Auburn was dedicated in 1831 as a radical departure from the more popular urban cemeteries. The idea was to incorporate the graves into the landscape and create a park-like atmosphere. The space is still unbelievably peaceful, and holds the remains of nearly 100,000 individuals, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Bernard Malamud, and Isabella Stewart Gardner. There's also a huge monument called Washington Tower, which, from the top, has incredible views of Cambridge and Boston. I chose to go up, however, at the same time as a huge group of tiny yet vocal schoolchildren, which was both unsettling--I was afraid someone was going to fall--and annoying. Despite the rowdy kids, I appreciated the cemetery quite a bit, and definitely encourage anyone and everyone to visit, should they receive the opportunity.

A well-loved grave

The best I could do; Cambridge + Boston

The Sad White Birch (and Paramecium Pond)

This tree fell during Hurricane Sandy my first year. In typical Wellesley fashion, there was a funeral with music and poetry readings. The rest of the photos are of Paramecium Pond, the birch's quiet resting place.

And yes, I acknowledge that this tree is an inanimate object and was never sentient. I just think it's pretty.

Good night, sweet prince

Trying

España (Buenos Recuerdos)

Here are some shots, fired from a Minolta Freedom K Focus-Free camera. They were all taken in late January, using Lomography 400 film.

Salamanca

On the bus

Madrid

Toledo and the Tagus River

Swell

I shot my first black-and-white roll recently, after receiving lots of advice to practice with it. It's more difficult, I think, but the challenge is fun.

This is Wellesley.

Thanks for all the laughs, Jewett walkway.

Lost in Córdoba

Somewhere near San Lorenzo, early March.

Settled

Reunion weekend has ended, which means that this morning I moved into my new digs for the summer. Being the easily-distracted spirit that I am, I got most of my stuff put away before deciding to start work on a puzzle on the floor, so there are bits and pieces of Grant Wood's American Gothic all over the hardwood next to and underneath my bed. I also went to Savers for the first time today, which is a northeastern-U.S.A. thrift shop with lots of cheap stuff. It was incredibly difficult not to buy everything, but I managed to be moderately adult and buy only the necessities (a skillet, a pan, and other grown-up cookware items).

I could write a big long reflection on how reunion was (fascinating and reassuring to meet alums doing world-moving things with their lives and maintaining their friendships through decades), or how it feels to be back on campus and starting my summer job (surreal and peaceful and full of responsibility in the best way). Instead, I'm feeling lazy--go figure--so I'll conclude things here. My heart is full and happy, and even though it's always hard to say goodbye when leaving a place, I'm content to have the opportunity to perpetually explore and travel. There's a little piece of my heart here in Wellesley, just like there is in Córdoba, and in La Jolla, and in Platte County, and in so many other places, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Galen Stone Tower, November 2014

Number two

Please No Dog Poop

El Camino auto-post number two: Today I'm probably in Portomarin.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the Camino, with Spain...really, with anything.

Desperate dumpster, Wellesley College, October 2014

Cansada (Kansas City)

Today was my first day of classes and it was great but now I'm exhausted and just want to sleep--I'm justifying my nap as a "cultural experience" because siestas are definitely a thing in Spain (somewhat). It already feels as though Spanish is becoming a thousand times easier and I'm excited to be taking all sorts of classes in a foreign language.

Perhaps relatedly (is that a recognized word?), my time in Spain has made me think more about life after graduation. Ironically, all of the excitement and wonder here has helped me realize how much I love Kansas City. There's still plenty of time to consider this, and I'm probably going to change my fickle mind a thousand times because I can't make plans for anything, but it's seeming more and more likely that I could end up in K.C. after I get my degree. At least for a few years.

But because I would feel badly if I weren't consistent with this blog, here is a photo I found from the day after Thanksgiving.

Waiting for the bus in Providence, RI