i have endless thanks to give to Andrea at Roaring Fish and Rob and Alex at Market Directors/Honeybee Websites for helping me put all of the graphical and online elements together (and also to Rob for coaching me through the long and hard process of updating my website all by myself, which was really moreso quick and simply than long and hard.)

over the past couple of Easter weekend days, a good amount of time has been spent by different combinations of myself, Cagney, Matt and Candice strolling around outside, in Uptown Waterloo or through one park or another. it’s a weird sensation to wake up on a gorgeous day and be able to walk outside with nothing to do on your immediate plate, and i hope it’s a pattern that will repeat throughout the summer enough. there’s something really fun about sitting in Waterloo town square watching skateboarders, too; next time, i’ll probably bring a camera and ask if i can do some gnarly action shots of them, if any are around when i stroll by.

other news certainly abounds, but i’m going to go work on some photo editing instead of going on about it. suffice to say i’m stoked on the following: starting to work with a friend/personal trainer in the coming weeks on getting properly healthy and fit through a good meatless diet and exercise regime (see my first and last 2010 resolutions); learning the ropes of the square medium-format Bronica camera and its Nippon Kogaku lenses Joe recently loaned me in hopes of using it as the staple of the film portraiture work i want to do this year; and picking up an actual phone iPhone in a couple of weeks.

also, if anyone still reads this blog, please leave a comment on this post; i have no idea who, if anyone, actually reads this these days!

secondly, i had my second of three photoshoots this week this evening, and i have to admit that i’m pretty pleased with the results of my work of late, for once. ordinarily i’m hypercritical of my own images, and while that hasn’t changed, it’s a good feeling when the end result (albeit unedited) turns out more or less how i’d envisioned. i’m sure i’ll post something up soon, although my website should be up by next week (about time!), so posting them here might be futile, since i’ll surely want to generate traffic in my official site’s direction. stay tuned!

but anyway, to get to the reason for this blog: the girl sitting two seats to my right puked on me. twice. there was an empty seat between us, and i guess when she felt the urge, she aimed away from her boyfriend or whoever was with her, thereby blowing her chunks at me. it only hit my leg, mind you, but it stank and she damn well did it twice! you’d think after the first time she would’ve gone to clean up or apologize to the person who she puked towards or called an usher to tend to the aisle, but no; she did, however, get up after the second time, pausing at the 3D glasses recycling box and in the girls’ washroom entrance (she left chunky evidence at both junctures.)

Cagney was borderline furious at the girl for this (she hypothesized alcohol being a factor, as the girl and the guy she was with both left for a lengthy period of time after entering the theatre initially and establishing their seats) and i wasn’t too stoked on it either, but overall, i didn’t get too angry. a number of things could’ve gone way worse: she could’ve kept her initial seat, which was right beside me instead of leaving a one-seat buffer; she could’ve puked on the heads of the people in front of us instead of merely on my pant leg; and she could’ve very well hit my jacket or cardigan instead of merely my pant leg.

shit goes wrong sometimes, yes, but in situations like this, it’s always important to remind oneself that things could be worse and you will make it out of whatever the situation is (and if you can’t possibly imagine a worse situation than any you find yourself in, simply consider the same situation with the addition of bears.)

in short: WE WON! i know i had absolutely zero influence on that fact, but everyone’s throwing it out as “we,” so what the hell! the goaltending on both sides was phenomenal, but Sidney Crosby must feel on top of the world right now — the ability to claim that, at 22, you scored the gold medal goal in the largest sporting event in the world? yeah, dude’s going to bed happy tonight. to be fair, he played exceptionally, and the winning goal was truly epic. again, i’m not even a sports fan, but i feel a (possibly fleeting) desire to start following hockey. it’s exciting when you get into it, as i’m sure i don’t have to tell anyone who watched today’s game!

the 2010 Vancouver winter Olympics have concluded, with Canada setting a world record for most golds won in one winter games at 14, and that includes men’s and women’s hockey. i feel ridiculously compelled to go to Phil’s tonight and crack a British Columbian beer as part two of my celebration; i’ve already shaved a victory moustache (as if i needed Olympic gold as an excuse.)

double Olympic hockey gold — someone remind me why lacrosse is our official national sport?

excitingly enough, i had my van towed by a scrapyard this past Tuesday, making a little money from it in the process. as much of a pain as my van was, i actually felt a little like i missed it when it was being towed. for all the headaches that it’s caused me, it did wonders for me while it was still in prime condition, and i’m kind of sad that it had to come down to towing it so soon. i never figured i’d attach such sentimental value to it — especially considering the gas mileage my new car gets in comparison and how it’s not coated with nicotine on the inside — but i’m probably remembering the van as i want to remember it and not so much as it actually was. still, i know the Corolla is a way better vehicle for my purposes and my aim is to own it (in working condition) for at least eight or ten years. that’ll give me enough time to save up for the cost of buying and restoring a ’68 Volkswagen van.

oh, and i guess i should make a remark about my birthday weekend last weekend! there’s not much detail to mention — good food at Barkey Works (and huge portions), a great time at Starlight and a whole whack of my favourite people to thank for the drinks. really was the best birthday party i’ve had, and so simple, too!

Empire of Illusion by Chris Hedges, Denialism by Michael Specter, The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins and The End of Overeating by David Kessler. i’m eager to get to these, but i first have to motivate myself to get through my copies of No Logo and Evolution that have been taking up valuable shelf space in the apartment. i also get to step into my new car tomorrow, so i’ll be sure to post about that when the excitement arrives!

just today, while i was standing in line at Shoppers to purchase milk and half-off Oreos, an old fellow (probably into his eighties) started walking slowly toward me with his eyes locked on me. he ended up coming up to me asking what was in my ears, and i explained that the jewelry i’m wearing is silicone so it’s nice and squishy and comfortable. “they just for decoration?” well, yep. “you Irish?” hmm … no, don’t think i am, though i’d love to see Ireland. “i’ll help ya get there! how much money you want? i’ll pay for part of it – a small part of it …” sure as shit, he gave me a shiny new penny.

then he asked me what i do, and i said i’m a photographer. he went on to tell me about an old Graflex camera he has that has to be at least 50 years old. then he told me that his wife wants a photo taken of his “instrument” … sir, what do you mean by … “and she wants an enlargement made of it! ha ha ha, that’s my photography joke. well, it was nice talkin’ to ya!”

few people can actually catch me off-guard nowadays, but this dude took the cake. i wish i could’ve gotten his name and number so i could call him up in the future to do a portrait of him (just because it seems like it might be a fun thing to do.)

yeah; as much as i somewhat fear growing out of my youth, at least i can look forward to aging into a rad old dude who hasn’t lost his sense of humour.

anyways, my main over-arching issue of late has been the hunt for a new car. a new used car, more specifically and, if i can get more specific still, one that will last me for longer than my poor van has. i’ve come to realize a bit of a love-hate relationship between my van and myself; no matter how much it still smells like cigarette smoke and no matter how on the brink of mechanical failure it’s constantly teetering, i feel as though i’ll miss it in some capacity. though i’m sure that’ll be outweighed by the ease and joy of driving a newer vehicle, the van is and was my first vehicle, after all, and it’s helped me out in many ways (it’s fucked up royally a number of times too, but i’m trying to forget that.) that said, i’ve test-driven eight different vehicles in the past few days and am going to look at a ninth, which seems like it’ll end up being the most promising of the bunch, tomorrow afternoon.

on an art-related note, i spent a good chunk of today riding shotgun to and from Toronto and Mississauga with Joe on a couple different errand runs, and we talked up and down about the concept and execution of various art projects that have the cognitive wheels turning for the both of us. i can say with confidence that i have about four distinct projects i want to bring to fruition this year, or at least begin work on. it’ll feel nice to start laying the groundwork for them as the weather gets warmer closer to the spring. hopefully i can independently publish a coffee table book of at least one of them. nothing’s satisfying quite like seeing the result of a labour of love become something tangible and shareable.

as for the LX3, i obviously haven’t gotten it out into the world for a proper first use, but i did test out a few of its features at home tonight. i won’t ramble on about them, but suffice to say i’m impressed with the macro capability. (that’s f/2 @ 1/6, ISO 80. and that’s the start and end of my tech babble for tonight.)

tonight was also the first art history night of the year that Joe hosted at his place — it’s Joe’s intention and desire to host a get-together at his house on the last Saturday evening of every month for at least this year, during which everyone he works with and their friends/family/significant others are welcome to attend an art history lesson, taught by Joe himself and featuring colour slides of samples from whichever art era we’re discussing that night. also, featuring Joe’s homemade coffee (Joe’s joe, if you will.) tonight’s lesson focused a little on impressionism as a counterpoint to realism and how both compare to each other. it was really nice to attend and felt refreshing; it’s as if i’m taking a class (and in an informal way, i am) about something i’m actually interested in, without the confines of a curriculum or a rubric or marks. hated school i did, but i love learning.