a million moths. » 29 things

love

at first sight. (for #22)

it is fair to say

that i am slightly (pretty much completely, absolutely, positively, no ifs ands or buts about it) overwhelmed after this weekend. i’ve got love, love and tulips, coming out my ears. #26 on the list, done and done.

a good friend said to me

the other day, ”you are so blessed, God would have to teach you how to fly to beat how blessed you already are.”

today amid the friends, the music, the hotdogs, the kite flying, the water guns, the sangria and the s’mos (not s’mores because i forgot the graham crackers) i knew what he meant. i am rich, rockefeller rich, with blessings.

the weather at the beach, it was california perfect. the sunset, straight out of a movie scene. better than i ever imagined during all those times in portland when i daydreamed of coming home to a birthday like this.

here’s to the list, and scratching off # 9

squealed with delight

when i found these pajaritos at the bookstore to start my super cool (like jem and the holograms, she-ra princess of power cool) #22. they remind me of ginny, my college roommate and travel buddy. she’s sweet and soft and tiny like a bird. i’m picturing her smiling as she finds the yellow envelope in her mailbox in madrid.

* photo: palacio real. madrid 2005.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

because a girl can have only so many days slip by without pausing to savor the beautiful. the grimy. the simple and the complicated. or worse, pausing, then moving on and forgetting to share with others. here are five photography projects. a challenge to myself: to turn my camera into my second pair of eyes; to play with colors, proximities, sizes and comfort zones; to stop napping so much and start saying yes to ideas that until now have only danced and strutted down the catwalk in my head.

photograph:

1) the city: block by block; broadway from 1st to 2nd street; cesar chavez from belvedere park to vancouver avenue; greenleaf from penn to philadelphia. on and on, a collage of storefronts, people, pets, passing cars, fashion statements and attitudes. a sense of place and language. i want to look back a year from now and say look! this smells and sounds and tastes like home.

2) the love: portraits of family and friends. little stories, quotes, reflections of them and me and what we are.

3) up above: in portland i hardly looked at the sky. i didn’t want to. the grey taunted me day after day. here, i wake up and want to race toward the window and say HELLOOOOO! to the sun, tie a thank you note to a shiny red balloon and release it into the air. the blue, it is clear and vast and bright and loyal and it is screaming for my camera’s attention.

4) self-portrait: given how heavy my camera feels, how short my limbs are and how limited my upper-body strength is, this might be a tall order. but i’m going to try to experiment with different elements like light, wind, water and reflection.

5) words: that tickle my tongue and make me pucker my lips; that slip and linger and beg to be said again. photos of words because of the way they look, the way they sound, what they represent or how they make me feel.

* photo: bridge on the edge of a tiny town in sonora, mexico. march 2008.

** woo-hooo! this gets me launched on #10, #16 and #21 on the list of 29 things.

29 things

to do before i turn 30. yes, i’m 28. but 29, she’s around the corner. and i realized the other day that this shiny new year will be the last full year of my 20s.

hence, the list.

1. wear red lipstick

2. write a long letter to an old friend

3. learn to shoot manual

4. read house on mango street for a fourth time

5. go to a drive-in movie

6. walk across the brooklyn bridge at sundown

7. fall in love with three new writers

8. keep my balance on my white and purple roller skates

9. throw a party

10. wander aimlessly through the streets of LA

11. develop film in a dark room

12. swing on as many swings as possible (slides count, too)

13. hike up to that hill in el sereno and take in the view of the city

14. record the funny moments — on paper or tape recorder

15. travel to italy or india

16. start a photography project

17. walk in a field of flowers or an orchard

18. spend a lot more time looking up at the sky

19. find a church where i belong

20. write, write, write for myself

21. photograph my family and friends

22. develop an impressive stationary collection

23. buy a home in LA

24. get away to san francisco for a weekend

25. play tennis with chichi and gumba

26. surround myself with tulips

27. reward myself with massages and facials

28. learn to ride a bike again

29. this last one i will keep to myself

photo: central park, new york. january 2009.