Two for the Price of One

OR Things About Me #21 and #22

My first car was a powder blue, soft-top 1984 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, for which I paid $500.

Said car died on the highway, at rush hour, in subzero weather, eight months after I purchased it.

It was probably the coolest first car I could have ever hoped to own. It was completely rusting out, the tire treads were completely gone, the muffler fell off, it had power everything, but none of it worked, and the driver's side door didn't open, but it was still totally awesome.

The first thing Andrea said when she saw it was something about how the back seat was made for sex. She was probably right. I could have fit four people across that back seat, which was upholstered in leather.

Unfortunately, I only ever got one picture of the beauty and it's not digital. Perhaps one day I will scan it and show everyone my old boat in all its glory, but for now, sleep well and dream of large gas guzzlers.

Beau-tiful

Beau 3, originally uploaded by kate e. did.

This tiny kitten's name is Beau. His playmate is named Belle. His parents are tres creative.

As of today, I have begun a new blog. It's going to be my photoblog. I haven't decided yet whether my photo of the day feature is going to be moved to that venue or if I will continue posting it here. I'm considering keeping the other blog mostly for shots that I think are extra good, even to the point of having some sort of resale value.

Thing about me 101 (no, it's not on the list): In the past I've taken up many hobbies and dropped them when I got to the point where I needed to actually do hard work in order to get better.

With knitting, I started with scarves and ended when I got to hats.

With sewing, I made a couple dresses for a friend's wedding and then decided it wasn't worth it, except for the occasional crafty skirt or bag.

With guitar, I got good enough to play about 10 chords using a whopping three finger-picking patterns and, although unsatisfied with my accomplishment, I gave up.

I won't continue with the list. It could probably include more things than I'd like to mention. With photography, I don't want it to be like that. My goal is to push on to the next level. In fact, before I die, I would like to have at least one paying photography gig. It doesn't need to turn into a career, I just want to be good enough that someone with good taste would be willing to buy what I produce. I want to be good enough that the possibility of spending a couple thousand dollars on good equipment isn't a foolhardy wish.

Anyway, I'll let you know if the photos are going to make a permanent switch. For now, most of them will stay right here.

Tickle My Nose

OR Thing About Me #89

One of the things I got most excited about during my first visit to PTS was the fizzy water on tap in the cafeteria.

I wrote that in April '06 and it still holds true today. Almost every meal I eat in the cafeteria includes a glass of fizzy water, sometimes two.

Greek Speak

OR Thing About Me #70

In junior high, my friends and I learned the Greek alphabet and wrote notes to each other using the characters as rough equivalents for the Western alphabet.

Now I'm relearning the Greek alphabet in order to read the New Testament. It still seems like I'm trying to crack some sort of secret code, especially when we start talking about manuscript variations and such.

Big Figures OR Thing About Me #27

Walking Men, originally uploaded by kate e. did.

Every time I go to a modern art gallery, I search for pieces by David Smith. Artists are not supposed to have mundane names like "David Smith."

A few of his pieces were in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo and it always struck me as incredibly funny that a man with such a name was creating modern art. I think there were also a few of his sculptures in the Hirshhorn Museum in DC.

The sculpture pictured above is not by David Smith, but rather an artist with a much more artistic name, Magdalena Abakanowicz. The piece is entitled "Big Figures" and stands in front of the Princeton University Art Gallery. Apparently, there was quite a bit of controversy when the sculpture was first installed, but that has all quieted down.

If you're ever in Princeton, it's truly worth a look. Twenty figures around seven feet tall, just marching.

Blogging about Blogging

You've probably noticed this already, but sometimes I struggle with topics to blog. It's easy when you have a boss about whom you can complain or you're completely anonymous and can write about anything as long as you don't give out the personal details or you have a niche blog with new material cropping up every day. But when your life is fairly calm and you don't have the blanket of anonymity, blogging can become a struggle.

Anyway, I found something yesterday that very well may save me from this struggle for the next few months, at least. Some of my time spent not working while on the job in DC was spent making a list of 100 things about me. Some of them are unique, some of them are quirky, some of them are downright boring, but all of them are going to be posted...one by one. Sometimes with a picture, sometimes without. Sometimes with an explanation or a story, sometimes not.

The list was completed on April 18, 2006. Since then, quite a few things in my life have changed. I'll post the original list items and provide editorial comment as necessary. You get to join me on this introspective journey whether you like it or not. Oh wait, it's a blog. You can stop reading. Don't stop reading! Please, oh please, don't stop reading.

Without further ado, here you have the first item on my list:

My favorite color is blue; always has been, always will be. Once I tried to change it to red, it just didn't stick.

What's your favorite color? Has it ever changed? Have you ever tried to change it?