A Small Stretch

From the backlog of things I never posted:

Grand Junction, Colorado; July 2014

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

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

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

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.

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

Phillin' Time

That was an incredibly poorly-constructed and -attempted pun about having an eight-hour layover in Philadelphia International Airport. I've found a perfectly acceptable sleeping-perch in Terminal A, which is delightful considering that I didn't catch a single Z last night. As one might expect, I put off packing until the last possible minute, and now I'm feeling the consequences.

But it would probably be best for all parties if I slept (or, more likely, watched several hours of Six Feet Under in an unfocused, zombie-like state) instead of continuing to attempt to write. Therefore, I conclude this post with a photo of St. John the Evangelist Church in Cambridge from late last semester. I will return promptly with dispatches from Spain, and maybe some other countries too.

Break Photos, Pt. I

Because I'm leaving for Spain in ten days, my winter break is almost seven weeks long. Seven. That's a bit ridiculous if you ask me, but it's also flown by very quickly. I've read a few books, practiced some guitar--though I think I'm resigned to always being hopelessly mediocre at even the simplest chord progressions--and lots of other stuff as well. One of the most fun aspects of winter break, I think, has been walking around and getting to simply look at and take photos of things: cows, clouds, surprised people who were not expecting to have their photo taken. A few weeks ago, I took my camera out for a walk down the street. Here are a few of the infinite things I love about rural Missouri.

Claude and Edouardo

 

The Trees of Wellesley

Here are some photos I took in October. The film itself was some expired Kodak UltraMax 400 that I got for a steal at the SoWa market a few months back.

From a secret perch in the forest

Secret perch, pt. II

It's a relief to be able to remember how lovely this place is sometimes, even when it's high-pressure, bureaucratic, or just plain sad.

Animal.

Sweet Annie, my truest and kindest love.

I had a nightmare last night that she died, and it was very scary. So this morning I called my dad to ask how she is, and he told me that she is not only alive and well, but that she found a partial deer carcass to play with. How typically rural-Midwest. Also, I'm exhausted so sorry if this doesn't make sense.

Oops.

I was shooting some film out by Lake Waban recently, and accidentally exposed the film almost immediately afterward. Most of it was ruined, but a few of the shots came out colorfully, which made me feel (if only slightly) better about my mistake.

This was some old expired Kodak Ultramax 400 film that I bought online, shot with a Mamiya ZE 35mm camera.

I

II

III

IV

Eastward to Boston

These are from my first weekend back in Mass. There's some fairly spectacular light around the south waterfront in Boston on Sunday mornings, especially on bright blue days when the sky is clear.

Unrelatedly, I'm pretty sure CVS botched some of my film. At least they charged me practically nothing for it.

"One International Place;" Financial District

Some family on the Evelyn Moakley/Seaport
Boulevard Bridge

Chinatown Park

II

Platte County

Summer living. Platte County, Missouri.

Abundance

Attempted double-exposure of my mother's garden because I'm different.

Patria

A long time past, my Lithuanian grandfather put this sticker here.

Seven-Eleven

This is my undeniably cool father.
This is undeniably Fujifilm because it's so green.
This is undeniably my shot because it's so underexposed.

Foreword