PBDC Day 19/31: Cropped

This is the first picture I posted of Paula and I together. Yes, I already named her. I had only met her a few hours before, when I had walked in the building of our apartment. She was on a stand by the mailboxes, and as I saw my upstairs neighbor coming down I asked if it was his. Turns out he was moving and was going to put her out with a sign that he held up to show me, "FREE TO A GOOD HOME."

Shoot. Done. I don't know if he named her, but I named her after her dad, Paul.

I had been wanting to learn how to play the guitar for years, but never got around to getting one. With the opportunity for a free one, I have no excuse now. Thanks to my violin background and a online tuner, I was able to get her back to good and figure out steps and half steps to play scales on each of the strings.

I'm nowhere near the level of joining jam sessions, but this is damn exciting.

Here's a full body shot of my new friend

...which, technically, this was the first picture of Paula and I, but when I posted it to IG, I cropped out my feet to make the shot all about her in the square frame.

There it is. Cropped. Check.

Next!

PBDC Day 6/31: Chair

"Not my chair, not my problem, that's what I say." -From the video below.



When my wife and I moved into our apartment, we had zero furniture to bring with us. We decided to put money into two major purchases, an awesome bed and a sweet television, and we're glad we did. Although the ground provides plenty of seating, we snagged a couple of dorm-style chairs because #I'mNotGettingAnyYounger.

This is the one I picked out. I liked it more than the waffle chair (like a seat belt purse), and definitely more than the traditional tailgating chair with the cupholders in each armrest. The color choice is a shout out to my high school pride (#Wolverines Go, DV! Class of '99 whaaaat!), and after sitting in it almost every day for the last eight months, it's still awesome.

Simple, I know, and yes it was a choice made with financial limitations, but I love it. It looks like a giant dreamcatcher, and if I had a super-sized car, I'd hang it off the rearview mirror.

At their core, chairs are simple structures, allowing you to sit somewhere, but they've gained quite a reputation over many decades in numerous forms.

• The Captain's Chair aboard the Starship Enterprise
• A Director's Chair, classic canvas with the director's name across the back.
• Chairmen of the Board in their shiny leather, cushy seats around the conference table that's way too long for the room it's in.
• The high chair for our little ones.
• The electric chair to send someone into history.
• Dentist's chair
• Barber's chair

You get the point by now, right?

How about a news anchor's chair?


The Huffington Post shared an article featuring the video above saying how brave this woman is. Is it really, though? You take a job at a channel called Russia Today (albeit based in New York) and you take the chair they've given you to spout your personal views because you did not agree with the editorial you were assigned AS YOUR JOB. (View RT's response here.)

Now what if someone resigned on another channel, whether it's CNN, FOX News, BBC, or even something like The Today Show, GMA, or Sportscenter? Would that be brave as well?

I give her a gold star for speaking her mind, and if those are truly her beliefs, then kudos for sharing them.

HOWEVER COMMA

There is a such thing as professionalism, and any leader, manager, editor, director, or executive worth their weight in bacon salt would be open to hearing their employees opinions in a private manner. Is it a publicity stunt? I surely hope so, because I really think Liz Wahl's move was terrible, especially in the wake of Abby Martin's personal commentary ON HER OWN SHOW on RT which was respectfully included.

You know who's resignation I really enjoyed? Who's message was clearly put, and was created on her time? Marina Shifrin. Go ahead, look her up, or just click on her name back there.

Wahl's act of speaking her mind was brave. Anytime you speak your mind is brave, but how it comes out can really mean everything.

Seahorses forever.

PBDC Day 2/31: Something Borrowed

New tenants moved into the apartment across the hall from us. Haven't officially met them, and with the group of folks that were helping them move, I couldn't tell who the new tenants were and who was just helping. And with the anticipation of meeting the new neighbors, a peculiarly-phrased question arose in my mind.

"Could I borrow a cup of sugar?"

My answer would have to be, "No."

I was more often faced with a similar request outside bars, or in smoking areas on base or on campus, "Could I borrow a cigarette?"

To which, I would still reply, "No. But you can have one."

American English is my primary language, and I feel that I am an above-average wordsmith in the company that I keep. That being said, there are numerous occasions in which certain uses of common words make me cringe. The aforementioned request for a sweetener leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Most people I know wouldn't bat an eye, but today it's about semantics.

What does "borrow" mean to you? For most people, myself included, it would mean using something that belongs to someone else with the intention of returning it. According to Merriam-Webster online, an auxiliary definition of "borrow" is

"To take and use up (something) with the promise to give back something of equal value"

Meaning, technically, "borrowing" a cup of sugar, or a cigarette, or any other consumable, is not incorrect phrasing.

But really, before you read that secondary definition, did you ever use the word "borrow" with that definition in mind?

I didn't think so. In any case, here's my photo for the day:

Last month's Day 3 post, Metal, shared a little story about my first apartment in Long Beach, and this month's Day 2 post is about my current apartment. Most folks would use the term "renting" in regards to living spaces, but renting is really just borrowing with a monetary exchange included.

Borrowing this place is a great idea for now because we don't have any kids or pets, and we don't know how long we'll be living here. There's a lot to consider when it comes to moving: jobs, weather, schools, timing, family, friends, the list is monstrous. But as of right now (with the exception of winter spanning across five months), we're right where we need to be.

We'll give it back eventually, but for now, it's home.

Photo and Blog a Day Challenge-Day 28/28: Up

I love seeing the sun rise. As I ready myself for March, having the long winter we've been experiencing here in Indiana, seeing the sun, even for just a few minutes is a sign of warmth to come. The sun coming up symbolizes so many things: new beginnings, a reminder of how the world operates in cycles, you've been at the strip club too long, the list goes on.

Typically, I view the sunrise in a positive light, accepting it as day greeting me with warmth, illumination, and a brand new start. Lately, because of the clouds, there have been plenty of mornings where the sunrise has been blocked from view, but I know it's still there.

I also enjoy a nice sunset. This next picture I captured just over a month ago as I leaving work. Enjoying a break in the clouds as the sun shared some warmth in the frigid Indiana air, I felt a sense of relief with the vision of an oasis of seasons warmer.

Whenever I look up at the sky, even at night when I see if I can find my favorite constellation, Orion, I take a couple of deep breaths and think for a few moments to bask in the concept of how large our world and universe really is. And most times, I smile about it because the perspective helps me refocus myself and realize that there are things I can directly affect and things I cannot.

Perspective is a wonderful thing, and as I got home today after work I paused for second to capture my view when I walk into our building.

Just a simple set of stairs, leading up to our second floor apartment. Here are the same stairs after completing the journey up one flight.

The latter of the two stairs photos I like more, and I think it's because of the red front door, appealing to the eye, inviting me to adventures of the day. But the first photo, the one looking up, it literally lifts me off the ground to a place where my wife and I call home. 

And when I think about that, us living on the second floor of our building, it shows me that where we live is literally separated from the ground we walk, drive, work, and spend most of our days. When we are home, we are somewhat isolated and above much of what goes on (but not in a condescending, "we're above you" in regards to social class manner). I mean that in regards to safety and security. As I take the stairs up to The Farm (as we like to call it), I am granted a physical indication that what happens at home is completely separate from any stressors in the outside world. Together, at home, we can rise above all the garbage and negativity and hate to create a safe place for ourselves where we alone can forge our identity as a married couple.

Perspective really is everything. How you look at things in your everyday life can truly alter how you view your own life. From a new pair of shoes (Day 21: Tiny), to pocket-sized tokens (Day 15: In My Hand), or even the music you allow yourself to be swallowed by (Day 12: Can't Go Without), these last 28 days, 28 photos, and 28 blogs have become a journey in finding my voice.

I absolutely love being able to find positivity, motivation, and encouragement in things that are shared by everyone, things that I am surrounded by every day. And furthermore, I am so thankful that I am able to share this message and these stories with anyone that feels curious enough to peer inside my soul for a blog post here and there.

But what I love the most about writing is that, as my friend Angela and I like to put it, as writers, we are gods of our literary worlds. When a writer shares their imagination on paper, or a screen, or a couple of napkins, or on the walls of a subway station, they bring you on a journey that you had no idea was even there before you saw it.

And the most accessible example of how creative writers can be is at the top of this blog, because both of the pictures I shared are of sunsets. But if you take a picture of a sunrise or sunset and show it to someone who has no perspective of the environment in which the photo resides, they leave it up to you to provide context, either in a caption or a well crafted introduction.

But I really do love sunrises.

Photo and Blog A Day Challenge-Day 6/28: Pattern

Being so cold on a day off is a good reason to not go outside. However, this leaves me with a smaller vicinity to find my picture of the day. In an effort to be a good husband, I wanted to get some cleaning done and cap it off by taking out the trash. (See: Dumpster on Day 4 here)

Despite the fact my face was immediately making me regret my decision to go outside and leave my comfortably warm apartment for a few minutes, I did get to enjoy the snow-covered canvasses atop the garage units being splashed with a spectrum from the sunset's palette. As much as I admired the natural art adorning the man-made structure, I did not find a pattern I wanted to capture. But when I came back inside, I saw this:

I enjoyed the way the blinds lined up in contrast to the framework on the window. And even though you can't see the detail in the picture, the screen of the window provided an additional layer of grid work to the composition. But just before I took the picture, as I admired the orangey purple of the building across the snow, the techie-geek part of me squeed.

The blinds and window frame lined up just as the guiding grid does in many cameras. I don't utilize this feature on my camera phone, but it does have the setting available if I so desire. But still, in an attempt to capture something so...for lack of a better word...simple, I've managed to drench it in 21st century tech.

Now, I'm not trying to claim to be some kind of old-fashioned hermit who shakes his head at every new device that comes out, that would be completely hypocritical. Obviously, I'm taking pictures with a smartphone and uploading them to social media sites, so I can then type an accompanying blog on a laptop using a wifi connection to upload to another social media site. So yeah, I'm pretty connected, but that still doesn't mean I can't enjoy things that aren't powered with a Lithium-Ion battery or require wall chargers.

And that's where I'm going with this. I can enjoy my non-battery-powered creature comforts, but still take advantage of modern technology in perfect harmony.

Harmony.

That's an interesting word. And it reminds me of The House Bunny. (Growls: Har-monyyy)

Earlier today I was watching the Bill Nye/Ken Ham debate and I was trying to be objective, but I couldn't help but snicker at the pure distaste of a desire to collaborate and teach in...wait for it...harmony.

I wanted to wait until I had watched the whole thing before I commented on it, but in short, here's what I'm taking away from it. Ham is saying, "stop picking on us, we're right." And Nye is saying, "prove me wrong and prove your side with real empirical evidence and I'll modify my view."

Even in that alone there is conflict. Nye is in a place of openness and listening; welcoming any attempt to show him something new. But Ham is staunchly disagreeing and focusing on minute details. I'm not saying Either extreme is wholly correct (in short, I believe aspects of both sides), but at least The Science Guy is leaving room to listen and learn.

So I guess that's what I'm trying to say today. I'll listen to anyone who wants to teach me something new, but as soon as you start telling me that everything I know is wrong and that you're the ultimate authority, know every truth, and justify it with verses taken out of context, then I'm tapping out, because it's no longer a conversation--it's a lecture.

And I don't do well with lectures. I like to respond too much. And ask questions.

Any questions?

Photo and Blog a Day Challenge Day 3/28: Metal

A bannister from the second floor. I've lived in a couple second floor apartments. Quite a few two-story buildings at that. House, townhouse, and apartment building are all checked off on my Not A Homeowner Bingo Card. Although stairs make moving a bit more complicated, living on the second floor has it's benefits.

But I'm not here to talk about the second floor today. And it wasn't until I opened up my Blogger Dashboard and looked at the empty text box that I knew what I was going to write about. Not many people know this story, but it's one of my favorites.

If you don't believe in signs, then you may just get a kick out of the grand coincidence that it will share, but if you do--like me--then well, yeah, it's a sign if I ever saw one.

In the weeks prior to Sarah's graduation a couple years ago, we were driving one day with her mother towards the campus to scope out parking spots and to show her where everything would be. Beach alumni herself, it had been a quite a few years since she had been by campus, so we wanted to come by since we were in the neighborhood. Sarah drove with her mother sitting shotgun, and I in the back.

A couple miles away from the campus I mentioned that the first apartment I lived in in Long Beach was  "down that street."

Admitting she lived in an apartment in that area herself when she was attending CSULB, she asked which building I was in, saying that she used to live on Orizaba Ave as well. I described the complex to her and the gears were turning, but she couldn't quite remember which one she was in.

A few days later, she sent me a picture message of an old piece of mail that had her address.

We come to discover that of the hundreds of apartments in Long Beach, (not to mention the scores that were probably built in the years in between when she and I both attended LBSU, we rented an apartment, on the same street, in the same complex. The same upstairs unit, last one on the left, and the exact same room, the first one on the right with its own bathroom.

And the kicker? When my roommates and I found the apartment, our landlords were Gloria and...wait for it...Jesus.

Go ahead, you can say it, we did.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

I had always believed in signs as far as I can remember. Sometimes, I'll make what some may call as obscure connections, but I'll connect things if I feel they're to be connected. With this, it was indisputable.