365 Photo Project - Day 274

Taken:  July 10, 2011
Location: Healdsburg, Ca

Now that I've changed the way I eat and gotten over some of my more self-destructive habits, I've found some solace in working on my small but growing collection of Converse sneakers.  I believe these are my oldest current pair, dating back about 20 years. I really didn't get into buying Cons until about three years ago when a friend gifted me a new pair for my birthday and when I bought these, I didn't have that much to spend on sneakers (and I probably had a job that required I wear something other than Chuck Taylors to work). Still, I'd like to think the obsession can be traced back to these simple kicks. Every few months, I go through my collection and give away or trade in the pairs I don't wear anymore. These ain't going anywhere.

I often will drag my Cons out to practice shooting and editing pictures. This was from one of those sessions.

365 Photo Project - Day 190

Taken: July 9, 2010, 1 p.m.
Location: Santa Rosa, Ca.

365 Photo Project - Day 179

Taken: June 28, 2010, 11 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Ca.

This was taken with my new iPhone 4. You probably get that I'm a big gadget geek by now but I've never been that person that upgrades on The First Day. I was under another carrier's cell phone contract when the first iPhone came out (and I wasn't about to pay $400 for it anyway) so I had to wait for the second gen to come out before I got mine. I've only upgraded once since and when I heard about the possibility that the iPhone 4 would be out this summer, I put off another upgrade. When it did come out, I was eligible for it and got the lowest price (with a new two-year contract with AT&T, the world's worst cell phone carrier). I reserved my phone online, waltzed into the Apple Store at 2 p.m. and picked up my new iPhone.

The reported problems aside, I'm happy with all the new things this phone can do, especially the multi-tasking whose time had come two iPhones ago. I'm hoping Apple does the right thing and addresses the other problems (like the weird antenna reception thing) but won't hold my breath.

As for the camera, I'm impressed. Not as I said yesterday that it would ever replace my DSLR. I decided to try it out for a couple of days and see what I came up with. This is a shot I took using the built-in LCD flash, a very cool and welcomed add-on. I did some editing in Photoshop and the fact that I could create something half-decent is a tribute to how good these phone-cameras are getting. A ways to go for sure, but cool nonetheless.

365 Photo Project - Day 149

Taken: May 29, 2009, 6 p.m.
Location: Healdsburg, Ca.

These are my new Converse. I've been wanting them for months but didn't want to fork out the $150 they cost retail. But I'm patient and when they finally went on sale, I pounced on them.  Got me a great deal, too. I know I'm going to look back on my blog a year or so from now and be totally chagrinned for the days when I just wrote about my silver sneakers. But these days, I've been leaving a lot of my work on the page and for a writer, there's nothing better. I'll catch a second wind soon. I hope you'll bear with me 'til I do.

365 Photo Project - Day 135

Taken: May 15, 2010, 10:30 p.m.
Location: Healdsburg, CA

It's after 3 a.m. as I write this. Rewrite it really. I lost the first draft. I should be sleeping though. But it's been a long time since I've had a really good night's sleep.

I don't know why I'm not sleeping. I blame a part of it on my internet addictions. It's added a lot of noise to my life -- the cacophony of blips and bleeps, whines and hisses, talking and singing, rhythms that never stop. Don't get me wrong: the Internet has been a life-saver too. Access to information and research, the ability to keep in touch with friends without having to deal with everyone individually. The immediacy of email, the fun shopping. Lots of good there.

But I've been trying to tune it out more and more lately and I think it's helping. So does Ambien but I can't take it every night. Exercise sometimes does the trick too but it doesn't always quiet the noise. What I miss most is my writing voices. They don't talk to me the way they used to and I'd give anything to get them back. I think turning the sound down on everything else is going to help me get them back.

I've found kindred spirits though in the new HBO show, Treme. As readers to this blog know, my friend David Mills wrote and produced on the series, which is co-created by his college friend (and "The Wire" creator) David Simon. Mills died suddenly in March just two weeks before "Treme" premiered. I remember him telling me about the show and how he wasn't sure it would work or if anyone would care.

Well, it works all right. I'm so taken with its sense of place, the dramatization of the struggle of New Orleans residents in the months after Katrina, people saved from drowning in the flood yet sinking in bureaucracy and red tape, weighed down by racism, corrupt politicians and ignorance. I love how the show celebrates and uses live music, how it moves along at a pace that is one leisurely and urgent. And I feel a slight kinship with the characters and their battle against the extra noise in their lives.

I'm not saying my struggle is any measure as bad as what happened to the people who are trying to recover from Katrina. But I do empathize and I love where the producers are taking us and am enjoying the ride.

I just wish I wasn't contemplating it in the middle of the night. But that's my lot these days I guess, lying awake listening to the creatures scurrying inside my bedroom walls, hearing the variety of sounds outside -- the freeway in the distance and closer, the owls, turkeys and occasional dog barking.

I miss sleeping like the dead and I feel the strain the day after a restless night. I think sometimes part of my problem is, like most people, I'm not satisfied with dealing with today. I'm always thinking I have to get there, though where "there" exactly is is debatable. I know the Tibetans are right -- the future is unknown and wishing for it to be like we want is fruitless. I try to live in the here and now but it's hard sometimes, especially when you worry you're not as far along as you should be.

I've started to make daily lists. Not just to keep a record of what I need to do every day but also to keep track of what I've done. I can save them and look back and see how much I've accomplished and the progress feels more concrete. If I could just accept the small things, I have a feeling it will help me sleep at night. It's a start anyway.

365 Photo Project - Day 103

Taken: April 13, 2010, 4 p.m.
Location: Healdsburg, Ca

We had a lovely day today. Crisp, partly cloudy and bright. Rays of yellow sunshine shimmered through the tops of the oak trees, casting a glow on the green landscape, made even greener by all the recent rains.  So I dutifully went outside and snapped away. Lots of clouds and stunning sunlit images. Lots of pretty this and that and even a nice capture of the view down from our little hill here.

Did I use any of them? Nope.

I saw this hastily shot image as I was perusing today's stash and I decided I had to use it. It amuses me.  And, you know what? That paw up there belongs to my pug Louie who is without a doubt the best four-legged companion I've ever had. (Beats a good bit of my two-legged ones too.)  So if he wants to step into the act, as it were, who am I to get in his way?

I'm going to get back to work now. Big progress is being made in small increments. Ah, the writing life.

Shot this with my K100D and edited in Photoshop.

365 Photo Project - Day 85

Taken: March 26, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Healdsburg, Ca

I said there would be days during this project when I would reveal a little bit about myself here, like it or not -- for either of us.  I used to be a big sharer. I talked about "my feelings" a lot.  In my dotage, I've gotten over doing that. So much so that allowing myself to think back on those days makes my neck hairs stand on end and that little voice in my head go "eeeew".

I started writing this even before I had a photo chosen because today is a big day for me. I'm ending a relationship. I'm breaking up ... with my iPhone.

Well, not exactly totally completely. Our relationship remains strong and viable and when those penguins at AT&T finally give us its blessing, we plan on entering the "3GS" stage of our courtship. That part of our togetherness is still strong and viable. But we're going platonic.

That's right, my friends, my iPhone and I will no longer be sleeping together.

I'm kicking my iPhone out of my bed -- and out of the bedroom. The charging station is going to the kitchen, as far away from where I sleep as possible. I've decided my gadget love needs boundaries. No more reaching for the comfort of that hand-held goodness, no longer will I be lured away from my sleep by the false security of that lovely little screen,  no more goodies and games and Facebook and Twitter in the wee hours of a sleep-deprived night -- all that which conspires to occupy my brain and keep the makers of Ambien in business.

I know this is not going to be easy. I yet I stand up to admit my addiction: "My name is Elizabeth and I have a problem."

I am addicted to my iPhone. I can't stand not being near it at all times, even at night. I've long known this has been killing me in little pieces every day -- I mean don't get me wrong. Having the iPhone has been wonderful in so many ways, improving my production and allowing me to concentrate a lot of business into one device. But it has also altered my life in ways that are not productive, have screwed with my sleep patterns, turned me into one of those people who pulls out their phone. In truth, the internet is my drug and the iPhone is the needle, but no more. No. More.

At least no more at night. Beginning tonight, I break the addiction. I'll let you know how it goes.

The image I used today is another in my series of shots of my Converse sneakers. I shot it with my K100D, using the camera's internal flash. It's edited in Photoshop.

365 Photo Project - Day 69

Taken: March 10, 2010, approx. 12:30 p.m.
Location: Davis, Ca.

Had a very long and tiring day on Wednesday and I fell asleep before I had a chance to update my blog. I had to drive back down to UC Davis VMTH for an appointment for my pug, Louie and my hopes of making it a quick trip were dashed when the vets there asked to keep him for an hour for some tests and such.

Louie's a tough old guy. I keep thinking his time is going to be up and then he rallies. I have to remember this every time I worry that I'm doing too much, that I should just let nature take its course. But this is a dog who wants to be here and as far as I'm concerned, he's the only voice I'm going to listen to where his care is concerned. Live long, Louie the pug. I'll be there for you, pal.

This is a shot I planned  -- remember a few days ago I mentioned I was going to try doing a series of me and my Converse. I saw these rubber non-slip mats on the sidewalks outside of the VMTH building at Davis and went to work. I used my K100D and the 18-5mm lens. Edited lightly in Photoshop.

365 Photo Project - Day 66

Taken: March 7, 2010, approx. 5:30 p.m.
Location: Healdsburg, Ca

Tonight is Oscar night and I'm watching, which is sort of unusual for me. I've been down on the Oscars for years and tonight isn't helping. It's so awkward. Nobody seems ready to get up on that stage. Hell, I have no idea what it's like but I'll tell you this much:  I got my speech prepared. I've had it prepared since I was like 14 years old. I'll probably never get a chance to use it, but at least I got it.

I actually left the confines of my house today. I was out for at least a half hour. I went to my office and the natural food store and I got a cup of chai tea from my favorite local coffee shop (thanks Jacob) and drove around with the windows down because it was a day even more lovelier than yesterday and twice as warm.

It felt good to be out and about, but it sure wore me out. Be (hopefully) easy to sleep tonight. And tomorrow? Well, tomorrow I'm getting back at it for real. Keyboard here I come.

I shot this on my deck in the late afternoon with my K100D.  This image is very close to one I took earlier in this project but I like them both so much I'm going to try to create a series of similar images. I do have a few pairs of Converse to try it with after all. Them there's my favorite pair of Converse. It's edited in Photoshop.

365 Photo Project - Day 51

Taken: February 20, 2010, approx. 5:30 p.m.
Location: Old Railroad Depot, Healdsburg, CA

Another sort of self-portrait for today. Those are my feet clothed in my birthday present from last year - a pair of high-top black leather Chuck Taylors. I went on three separate photo searches today and came home empty handed. I gave up and was on my way back from a walk near my office, following the old  railroad tracks when I looked down.  This is the result.

We got up unusually early (for us anyway) to go to the Santa Rosa Farmers market. I was at my desk and writing by noon and was there most of the day. A long day of writing that's left me little left to put down here.

I'm sure I'll have something to write tomorrow. Took this with the trusty K100D and edited it slightly in Photoshop.

365 Photo Project - Day 15

Taken: January 15, 2010, Approx 7:30 p.m.

Location: Healdsburg, CA

I’m not obsessive about stuff. Not usually anyway. But I am into my shoes -- or precisely, I’m into my Converse All-Stars. And anybody who knows me knows this. Any look into my life wouldn’t be complete without at least one photo of my kicks. And I’m not saying how many I have but my favorites are a silver pair of John Varvatos slip-ons I got at the Converse Outlet Store for $100 off retail.  I'm always looking for new and different styles so that's probably me searching around Zappos for a new pair.

Taken with my Pentax K100D and edited in Photoshop.