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San Francisco!

2008-02-08T18:38:00.000-05:00

Amy and I got super-cheap tickets to San Francisco on Virgin America back in August (I think). I had never really been to California, except for a brief drive through the desert about 10 years ago.

So, yay! California! Palm trees and bikinis and sun!

Except, apparently that is only Southern California, and only certain times of the year is it nice in San Fran. I had checked the weather before we left, so the three days of rain and bitter cold shouldn't really have surprised me, but they did. And I didn't pack very well. We ended up with two days of sun at least, which was a nice way to end the trip. On to the photos.

Here is a picture of the inside of the airplane. I only put this up to show the cool pink/purple lighting. Really.

Being cold all the time makes me tired.

Adam (our wonderful host who let us crash at his apartment for three nights), me, Amy, and her sister Gina who came down from Redding to hang out:

Scharffen Berger Chooooocooooolate Factory tour! Here's a machine grinding nibs. Mmmm. Nibs.

Those are tubes, tubes full of chocolate! overhead.

Our last two nights we moved to a hostel. Besides being surrounded on all sides by strip clubs and porn shops (and having the most miserable mattress I've ever slept on), the Green Tortoise was pretty rockin. Siobhan (from Ireland, on her first few nights of a year of traveling ) was also staying in our room and became our third partner in crime for the next couple of days.

This picture is blurry. I know.

Me, looking like a huge nerd in the bike helmet Amy made me wear, and the Golden Gate Bridge:

Alcatraz! (we didn't go) :

Bridge, Me, Amy:

:(

Bridge pictures:

Our new Canadian skateboarding friends at the hostel:

Chinatown!
Best lunch ever at Lucky Creation, a vegetarian restaurant in Chinatown:

Riding the cable car up:

A video of the cable car:

January in DC...

2008-01-29T21:50:00.000-05:00

...is pretty miserable. In my old age the winters have become much harsher and harder to deal with. Another miserable thing is what is happening to my neighborhood:

Bye bye affordable housing, hello overpriced condos. I give my apartment complex 5 years.

I like it when the water in the plant pots overflows but doesn't quite flow over.

Kelsey (and my parents) came to visit! We went to Gravelly Point Park next to the airport to watch the planes go over. Kelsey likes airplanes when they are in the sky and appear bird-sized, not so much when they are 100 ft overhead

Super Furry Patriotic Dog?

I'm going to San Francisco Thursday; I cannot pass up a super super cheap plane ticket. I'm going to take lots of pictures. And maybe share them with you.

I'm Back

2008-01-09T19:23:00.001-05:00

Hi.

I got a new camera. It seems like I do that every few posts.

I promise I'm going to try extra hard to post so that people might actually start reading again.

Here is a picture of some baby cilantro sprouts:

Here is a picture of some baby cacti. We like to grow things at work:

Here is my roommate and her devil eyes in the midst of a mess she created:

I didn't promise my posts would be good.

Horsey Island, VA

2007-10-04T22:14:00.000-04:00

aka Assateague Island

Camping trip, back in the first weekend of August.
We bought lots of food at farm stands during the long, hot, all-around bad drive.
The funny part is that everything in this picture (except for the produce) is still in my trunk, 2 months later. The bread isn't even moldy yet.

There were horses all over. They liked port-a-potties.

Awww, baaaaaby horse. Or pony, whatever.

Diana is an experienced camper. She brought a knife. So smart.

Way back in the day (60+ years ago? I can't remember exactly) some brilliant man thought cutting big strips into the marsh would get rid of mosquitoes. He was wrong, but the cuts never went away.

Pretty pretty salt meadow grass:

Hello, deer.

Hello, beach.

Wild ponies grazing off yonder in the marsh.

Pony on the road. See ya.

I haven't really taken any pictures of myself recently, and I won't be taking any in the near future do to my recurring lack of a camera. Here's one on a night out with Jo, except she isn't in it. Just me and her boyfriend, Adam.
That's all.

I've Almost Given Up

2007-10-02T22:39:00.000-04:00

on posting and buying a camera.

So, here are some pictures. Yay.
My unbreakable camera got stolen. Of course.

Here is a Golden Lion Tamarind at the National Zoo. They don't live in enclosures in the summer, they just hang out in the trees.

Here I am with Pat and "Harry Potter" on the night Book 7 came out. Yes, I am okay with my dorkiness:

Alison and Gustavo had their American wedding in Michigan. Ju is huge :

The Bahia/Michiganders:

It is impossible to say "no" to this animal:

That's all for now. I have pictures of camping on Assateague Island and a couple of other adventures to post when I get some spare time (of which there will be more now that September is over). Also, this post is boring. Sorry.

You don't ever update blah blah blah....

2007-07-08T19:07:00.001-04:00

Yes, I do update. I am updating right now.

Caitlin visited back in the beginning of June.
Part of my kickball team. We finally got shirts.

Squishy face. This is a good, good, picture.

So serious. Tim and Amy.

Did I mention this was the flipcup finals? And though they may at time encourage heavy drinking...

these boys do have a tender side.

Hard at work with my lovely coworkers (minus Cindy) in our awesome new t-shirts.

Our text book really is that interesting.

And we really do work hard. rly.

We work together, we go out together... me, Erin, Diana, and some random brasileiros at a brazilian party in DC.

We also go on weekend trips together. I guess we like each other. We went floating down the Shenandoah in tubes. For almost 5 hours. It was fun. Afterwards we found our super-secluded and super rustic campsite. The toilet was a wooden box, but I didn't even see it until the next morning. Here I was experimenting with the "night" setting on my camera, minus a tripod. it didn't turn out great. Me: "You guys, just don't move for a second. Don't move, don't move...... don't moooove. One more secoonnnd. Ok." "Adam. You moved your head."
"Okay Cindy, just don't move for onnne minute."

"Okay Cindy, just stay there for a second again. Don't move. Your hand isn't burning. It will be worth it. This is going to be a sweet picture."

It's okay. Not that sweet.

"Fine, I 'll just use the flash."

Raar. Erin Monster.

Campsite in the morning.

I <3 moss.

Heck yes! I ran into this on the mall (Fourth of July preparations) while heading to the Botanic Gardens to check out....

The corpse flower! A brief summary: it only blooms every couple of years, and only for 24-48 hours (here it's already closing, I missed the real blooming). It smells, strongly, of dead mammal (and apparently looks like it too on the inside) in order to attract its pollinators, beetles and flies. Yum. Also, it's huge. Like 6 feet.

Fireworks on the mall for the fourth. Exploding monument.

Pretty.

Three Washington Monuments. oops.

Visiting Friends, Kickball, and BVIs

2007-05-20T17:57:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy month, and I've been slacking on the posts, so this one is extra-long for your perusing pleasure.

Amy and I preparing for a night of salsaing. Flossing is very important.

Watching Cindy in the Washington Chorus at the Kennedy Center. Our seats kinda sucked.

Meet me at The Mall. Kickball is goin down.

Post-kickball, at the bar for the real competition- flipcup.

Flipcup, oh yeah.
Yay, Dovas visited! He's so happy.

I'm tough. Watch out.

Me, Jo, and Amy out for Jo's 25th. I'm wearing part of a sombrero. And look like I need a nap.

And then out for Erin's birthday. Erin isn't in this picture. But Allison is! She visited for a few days. Allison, Royston, Cindy, Amy.

Allison and I doing the best dance ever.
Ever.
"The Robber"
Allison and Spencer.

Allison and Jumbo Slice.

The next night, Me and Jumbo Slice. And JP.

I went to go visit Kara while she was in the British Virgin Islands. We were on Jost Van Dyke. This is our plywood cabin at Ivan's Stress-Free Bar and Campground.

A view of Ivan's from the water.

Underwater camera! Fishies! They blend in, look closely.

After my first day sunburn, I spent most of my time hanging out under this tree. Not a bad place to hang out.

The bar at Ivan's.

Tidal wave!
Or not.

Hello fishy friend.

One of the campsites, this one belonged to the Scots.

A crab trying to hide from me.

Jost.

My new island friend.

I look awesome from underwater.

Bye bye Jost Van Dyke.

And, last but not least, Me, Michelle, and Karla at Karla's law school graduation dinner in Baltimore. I don't know what I'm looking at, and I swear I don't have a lazy eye. At least not one that bad.

March 'n Stuff

2007-04-03T18:14:00.000-04:00

Yes, Alison, it is about time for an update.

First, and most exciting, I bought a new camera.
I have learned that maybe, just maybe, I am a little tough on my cameras(2 in 2 years?), and maybe I should accept that fact. Thus, I bought myself an Olympus Stylus 770 sw... I can drop it 5 feet onto concrete, I can take it 33 feet underwater, into temperatures of 14 degrees Farenheit, AND, it can be sat on by heavy dudes. 220 lbs. of pressure, or something to that effect.
Pretty. Mine will be blue when it arrives in the next few days.

Hey, guess where I went?

Yes, home to Michigan. I think the following were taken at the end of February.

Guess where I am going this coming weekend? I can't help it, tickets are so cheap and Kelsey misses me.

Allison (not Alison with one L) and I at the lovely 8 Ball Saloon

Allison and Kelsey and I tried to go to the dog park, but it was closed.

We played anyway.

Don't mess with that dog.

Oh, and I turned 25. Yay. :

Seany came to visit the weekend before St. Patrick's.

I guess he loves his friends in DC.

We went to Shamrockfest. It was fun, except when Sean tried to fight a girl.

And Adam visited this past weekend:

We saw many of the important sights in DC, including:

C-3PO

Seinfeld's Puffy Shirt

A giant gold thumb

And that one monument

And some cherry trees.

Virgin Islands

2007-02-28T23:18:00.000-05:00

I've never really had any desire to visit the Virgin Islands. They just seem so... touristy. Island, beach, resorts, blah, blah. You can get that anywhere, with maybe even some "culture" added into the mix. Then Kara moved there, and I moved to D.C., and a warm tropical island (with a free place to stay) wasn't seeming like a bad vacation choice.
Amy (aka my hetero life parner) and I headed down there in the end of January. We slept and went to the beach and went out. That's all. And it was nice. And very different than I had expected (less resorts, less fat, obnoxious tourists).

Nevermind, there were plenty of those.

Ow, ow! My wifey and I

My favorite sister

Amy's calves

Kara said there was a trail through the rocks to get to the smaller, secluded beaches. There wasn't. Amy wimped out, but Kara and slipped and slid our way over the rocks till we got there.

Rocks like these.

Or we walked through the water when possible.

Kara's driveway.

We also went out.

And tried to find... men?

Islanders are hot.

Wasn't that guy in Pirates of the Caribbean?

Sunrise off of Kara's balcony.

Bye bye islands. I'll be back soon.

I Am So Photogenic

2007-01-29T15:16:00.000-05:00

I used to think that this was the best picture of me ever taken:

But I now know that this is, by far, the best picture of me. Ever.

My Title

2007-01-23T18:32:00.000-05:00

I still don't have internet in my house, which explains why I haven't been keeping up with my posts. Oh, and the 60-70 hour work weeks. Those are over for the moment.

Also, I broke my camera (again). It wasn't my fault! Some dude sat on it at a bar. Some dude that looks exactly like that guy behind me:

It took me awhile to figure out what had happened, because my screen now looks like bad modern art. But, it still takes pictures! I took about 35 pictures that looked like the following, while trying to figure out what was up:
So, since I've last posted there was a trip back to Ann Arbor where I:

played with my puppy

drank good beers with good friends

drank more good beers with more good friends while avoiding cigarette smoke

hung out with my photogenic family

and took corny pictures with them (pajama pants and a cashmere sweater)

let Monica laugh at me after she sprayed lime juice in my eye

got a serenade of Mark's original compositions

and uhhh, drank some water.

Also, Caitlin and Kathleen came to visit for New Years! It was pretty darn fun.

This is us an one of our NYE friends. He gave us rides and stuff.

This is a jumbo slice. It may not be the best pizza ever, but it's big. Really big. Jumbo. And that is good enough.

Amy made lots of friends that night.

And, hm, so did Caitlin.

Even though he/she looks like a devil, this is the cutest squirrel I have ever seen. It's almost white, even though you can't tell. He/she lives by the Vietnam Memorial.

Oops! Don't forget my lcd screen is broken! (and I have no viewfinder; apparently cameras don't need them anymore. Apparently muscley guys who shave their arms don't sit on peoples cameras often enough to have a need for viewfinders)

A beautiful day in Washington D.C.

I'm really working on getting internet soon, or at least breaking into one of the secured networks.

Some Stuff

2006-12-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

I've been busy. Really, really busy. I wanted to take pictures of all the neato things here in D.C., but I haven't seen or done any of them. I probably won't have time to do them until February. Instead you get the usual pictures of my dog, and me at the bar.

This is Kelsey sleeping. She slept on my lap almost the entire 9 hour drive from New York to Michigan:

This is Will and me and Karina and Tobias and Karla. Some of my bestest high school friends:

Karina and Jacob:

As promised, here are pictures of me at the bar. This looks like the 8 ball. It didn't smell so bad this particular night:

Caitlin and Adam- this is one of the few pictures from this night I feel comfortable posting in a public place:

Caitlin and Jamal turning the 8 ball into a dance party... kind of.

The glass war that took place under my bed.
Mirror vs. Cup.
Mirror won.

Tito was in D.C. for a few days! Que Saudades! A little bit of Salvador! Crazy hair! Yay! I look super pale but I swear it's just the camera!

Sandra, Tito, Me. This one didn't turn out so well:

Awww.... One real Baiana and two wannabes:

Thanksgiving Day

2006-11-24T00:33:00.000-05:00

I'm in Hamilton, New York right to visit my father's side of the family for Thanksgiving.

Kara came back from the Virgin Islands to visit:

All the females on this side of the family:

A close-up on some of the beauteous ladies:

Thanksgiving is fun!

Kelsey getting manhandled:

My 9 year old cousin is an amazing artist. It's worth zooming in on this photo to see the portrait she's drawing:

Dinner, minus turkey:

Dinner:

And the best part of the previous photo, in case you didn't catch it:

Kelsey, waiting for the turkey to fall on the ground:

Some of the pies:

This is what happens when you have a "Who Can Gain the Most Weight In One Day?" competition:

My Last Michigan Post

2006-11-20T18:18:00.000-05:00

I have finally gotten around to putting up some pictures from October, my last month in Ann Arbor. On a scale of 1-10 I'd give October an 8.

Before we get to the more debaucherous pictures, here is some pretty ivy growing on a wall:

In reverse chronological order, we start off at the Zingerman's Halloween party. This is Allison, Jack, and I (with Jamal in the background). Jack was a pirate.

Jamal was not dressed up. Lame.

Some of us lined up for the costume contest:

Me and Paul and his girlfriend:

This is a bad picture, but good costumes. Stewie!

I love this picture. Monica was not happy about waiting to get into the Blind Pig.

Inside, uber-hipster party, but at least everyone was dressed up:

Okay, so I was NOT drooling, I just didn't realize that my straw was leaking all over my shirt:

Gumby and Gumby!

Some other night, at the Heidelberg with Zing people, drinking boots of beer:

My going-away dinner at Cherry Blossom, delicious Japanese food. Allison eating sushi:

Julia, Caitlin, me, Allison:

Caitlin was so hungry that she was drinking soy sauce:

Sean was so disgusting he was eating raw meat, raw meat that he was supposed to be cooking at the table:

Caitlin and I at Circus:

Hot:
Hotter:

A visit to the Apple Orchard

2006-11-08T17:42:00.000-05:00

Sean and I went to the apple orchard back in September (I think).

Inside, sorting apples:

Seany dodging the terrifying bees to try and rescue the cider and donuts:

Best. Donuts. EVER.

Apple trees!

Stopping by the Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary to check out the Open House (I forced Sean) and the arrival of hundreds of rabbits from another state:

More (and more exciting) pics soon...

I moved

2006-11-05T19:47:00.000-05:00

Hello.

For those of you not aware, I've moved to Virginia.
Alexandria for a week or so more, then to Arlington. That's the D.C. metro area to the not geographically inclined or not American reading this.

I have some pictures from my last few months in Michigan, but I'm stealing a wireless internet connection and it is spotty and slow and so I gave up trying to upload them.

I promise to start updating more regularly, now that I have a life.

So,

2006-09-10T14:06:00.000-04:00

I haven't updated in awhile.
That's because I haven't really done anything worthy of pictures in awhile.

Here's a really great photo of me changing a tire at 3am:

I'l work on being more interesting.

An Extra-Long Update

2006-08-18T21:28:00.000-04:00

Some of the things I have been up to recently:

First, weddings. This is Hillary and Scott's, a picture of them cutting the cake, obviously:

A few of the beautiful bridesmaids:

I was Allison'd date. I'm even wearing a suit jacket:

Random night out in Ypsi:

Karla was in town and somehow she and I ended up at what is quite possibly the worst bar in Ann Arbor for the weekly beer pong tournament. Here is a picture of Karla in the high-class bathrooms:

Yes, organized beer pong tournaments actually exist:

Friends we met up with that night- Wes and John. And some random guy in orange and Brian Scheel-Ares or however you spell that:

Another wedding, this one was James'.... MJ, James, Tom, and Matt:

Noah and I:

The groomsmen serenading the bride:

Me, two beers, Blair:

Blair looks much more excited to be taking a picture with this random street character:

Allison and I took a quick camping trip up north. If you've been following my blog for awhile you migh recognize this as the same place I went last summer. So some of the pictures may look similar. Too bad.
Here is our tent. And Kelsey:

Allison lugging firewood around in a dress :

When the mosquitos came out, so did the pants and shoes:

We grilled lots of veggies that we bought on the side of the road on our way up. Here is a roasted Amish potato, with our fire in the background:

Allison eating the World's Smallest Potato:

Potatoes and corn got really old, really fast:

The Pomato Hash concoction:

Kelsey going for a dip on the beach at sunset:

And hunting for rocks:

Token sunset picture:

Pretty:

Breakfast. If only that little melon knew what was coming....

Allison demonstrating how to crack open a watermelon with no tools:

1.) Smash

2.) Rip apart with bare hands:

3.) Eat.

Kelsey and I on top of what is not a sand dune, but rather a "glacial bluff":

I think about 90% of the people who decide to go to the bottom don't know what they're getting into on the way back up:

You could see all the way to Wisconsin, if the earth didn't curve:

Allison and Kelsey hanging out at the top:

Bye bye lucky handicapped camping site:

Being Unemployed

2006-08-02T00:55:00.000-04:00

Being unemployed gets kind of depressing and gives you too much time to think. And also to notice strange things among your surroundings, like this cabbage patch premie who has been laying in the garden for a few weeks and is now sprouting a pretty plant collar and a flower in his hand:

I also have a lot of time to go out, and am kind of becoming (even more) nocturnal. Karina finally came in to town, and we went out for the first time in well over a year. This is Chris and Karina at Gracies:

This is the dirty floor at the Fleetwood. And my bandaged toe- I kicked a broken bottle and was bleeding all over til the bartender gave me some bandaids and a free drink:

Waiting for our hippie hash:

Another night out, this would be Thursday and reggae night. Dovas, me and my weird face, Andrew, Monica, Mark:

Moving on from the bar to Monica's neighbor's house:

Which turned out to be an interesting time, as is usual with an intoxicated Mark around:

Believe it or not, this picture was taken prior to the previous one:

of course:

Sean cuddling up in the front seat of the Explorer with one of his friends:

I really need a job.

Monica's Birthday

2006-07-17T00:15:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Monica's Birthday out at her grandparent's cottage on Saturday. Here's a view of the little lake from the yard:

Monica and her cupcake cake:

Some baby eating a cupcake:

Monica and I. Why does my mouth look huge in this picture?

Volleyball, sort of:

Volleyball, after it got dark and people were a little intoxicated and wearing things they definitely should not have been (Paul, Mark, Elaine) :

The mosquitos were out of control:

But I took off my protective covering for long enough to take a normal picture too:

Later, at Paul's house, as the night got progressively stranger and stranger:

People actually looking at the camera and fake smiling for this shot:

Stuff

2006-07-02T14:25:00.000-04:00

Welcome home dinner for Allison and I, and going-away dinner for Kara at The Quarter Bistro.
Kara, Davey, Kristy, Allison, Sean, me:

And the parents:

I'm related to them :-/

All the siblings:

Kara and I went to Chicago for a weekend.

Look how convenient this "Convenience Center" in a restaurant bathroom is! You can get everything you'd ever need while in a bathroom- tampons, Sour Drops Liquid Candy, and glow sticks!

Kara in her oh-so fashionable sunglasses:

Hanging out with my old roomies, Anne and Amanda:

Back in Michigan, out for Kathleen's 21st Birthday. Me and Caitlin. And $3 mugs of goood beer:

And before:
Shots:

Those mugs were just asking to be slammed together, Oktoberfest-style.
P.S. doing that results in a lot of spilled beer.

View out my window of a storm passing over:

Monica and I went kayaking. This is a scary statue on one of the canals:

This is one of hte little lakes we went kayaking through:

Joshwa, me, and Allison:

The other Alison (one L Alison) and Ju are in Michigan right now, so of course I went to go visit.
Ju, I apologize in advance for having pictures of your pinto on my website, I hope you forgive me when you're older.

Back Home

2006-06-09T21:02:00.000-04:00

Soo, I am back in Michigan. It's alright. The same as it was when I left, with a few changes.

One change, Mom's grey hair. I made the cake on her birthday, but all the ice cream inside melted so it looks ugly:

Me and Kelsey the devil with her really ugly and tacky Louis Vuitton collar:

awww, kelsey and one of her babies:

one of the best after-bar foods, ever. NYPD's ziti pizza:

My first night out, too many soco and limes, even the boys were kissing:

new car, as in i had never seen one of these until i came back:

I had dreams about this for the past seven months. Pancheros. Best. Burrito. Ever.:

Kelsey watching movies with me. Really, she watches TV:

Kara took this picture of herself and left it on my camera, so I don't feel bad posting it:

Isn't this sickening? Kara was trying to decide which jeans to pack, this is a selection of some of them:

Me and Monica at the Diamondback Saloon. Good people watching:

spazZ

2006-06-07T01:38:00.000-04:00

spazZ was my pet rabbit in college. he was supposed to be jill's rabbit too, but she disowned him. i recently found a bunch of pictures from the "flying spazZ" photo shoot, taken with jill's mini poloroid camera. yeah, i'm not in brasil anymore....

spazZ in his natural state, hanging out on the couch:

spazZ from below:

spazZ leaping onto stimpy, if you look closely, you can see me crouching in the background:

incoming! :

spazZ, heading for the tv:

that's allison in the background of this one:

and jill:

me again:

Moving in with the Burns'

2006-05-21T22:27:00.000-04:00

Last week I moved out of Alison's condo, and into a house with the Burns family. They are also from Michigan, recently transferred here by Ford, and they'll be here for 3 years. They've been nice enough to be my surrogate family for the next couple of weeks.
These two pictures are from our first dinner together, on Easter.

Terry and I:
Terry, Me, Lindsey, Mike:

Lindsey and I changing a tire on the side of the road in the rain. Probably the first females in Brasil to do so:

My bathroom:

My bedroom:
The patio:

A piscina:

part of the backyard:

the dryer!:

A house in the neighborhood:

The view out my window:

The house across the street:

Julian visiting for the day, my face looks weird, but it kind of matches Ju's:

Ju and I making weird faces again, his always look much cuter, imagine that:

Out to dinner in Arembepe (north of Salvador) on the beach:

The view from the table:

Chapada Diamantina

2006-05-09T23:09:00.001-04:00

This is how our trip started off- rain, more rain, harder rain, downpour...

Wandering around Lencois in the rain:

A cute bug. Caitlin and I were hanging out in the bus station in Lencois, waiting for a bus to Palmeiras. I was talking to two interesting characters there, one of them picked this bug up and kissed it on the mouth, to prove to Caitlin it wasn't dangerous:

A collection of random things found in the drawer at our creepy pousada in Palmeiras:

Weirdest night ever. Our overly pink room:

We finally found ourselves a ride to our final destination, Capao. An hour on what was by FAR the worst dirt road I have ever seen in my entire life, in what was also probably the worst car I have ever ridden in. It wasn't pretty, but at least it got us there:

In Capao, taking a walk:

Other sights from the walk, like this milipede/centipede-y thing. I have a great video of it walking, if I can figure out some way to put it online I'll let you all know. (And yes, I have more interesting videos to post as well):

A snake!

Me walking:

The next day Caitlin and I decided to hike to the Fumaca waterfall, against everyone's advice, without a guide. The trail was pretty easy to follow, in retrospect, a guide would have been a waste of money. Here is part of a cool mini waterfall along the way, the water has cut the stone into these squares:

Me and incoming rain, which thankfully didn't ever make it near us:

We were up high:

Part of the trail, the rock (sandstone?) has been worn down by the water:

Another part of the trail, we had to be pretty nimble on our toes here:

Finally to Fumaca (and since I can't type Portuguese accents on my keyboard, that's pronounced Foo-ma-sa). It was way better than we thought it would be:

And way higher up. You really can't visualize how big and deserted this all was from a picture. Imagine being the only people at the Grand Canyon and you get the idea:

Clouds starting to roll in..

The pond we had to traverse:

Caitlin pondering how to cross:

This is the shallow part:

The view on the hike back:

Into the Wilderness

2006-05-05T21:31:00.000-04:00

Tonight Caitlin and I are heading to Chapada Diamantina. Hiking, etc. for 3 days.
We are running a little short on money, so hopefully our loaf of bread will hold out till Tuesday.

Vitoria and Caitlin

2006-05-02T22:22:00.000-04:00

So, I really didn't take many pictures during my 10 day stay in Vitoria.
Here's one...
One time, someone asked me if I had ever cooked anything inedible. Nothing came to mind, but now, I can answer yes. I call this "Rotten Vegetable and Dog Food Stir Fry":
Caitlin in her cocoon :
Heading out to the "Fashion Club":

Ju's 1st birthday party, this is the cake Caitlin and I made:

Check out that bling:

Me, as Homer, again:
The birthday boy:
Ju's first bite of sugar-laden food. mmmm:
Yes, Gustavo has a large green balloon on his head:

This was a poor decision. Caitlin, why don't you have some rice with your garlic?

Drinking The Best Coke Ever on the beach in Stella Mares:

Random Pics From the Last Two Weeks

2006-04-15T15:49:00.000-04:00

Two posts in one day! I better not hear any complaints about not posting often enough from anyone now. That is, if anyone still reads this..

Anyway, are you tired of pictures of palm trees yet? Here's a sunrise:
Bored at the beach, I dug some holes with my feet:

I guess this is what happens when you depend on the brazilian federal government for upkeep of the universities (in case you can't tell, this building is either half-built, or just completely falling apart; you can see all the way through it):

Lela, aka the cat that popped my airbed, looking a little too relaxed on it:

Debbie demonstrating that Leo is indeed a "spetacular" (note the spelling) lover:

MJ thought he liked shrimp, till he had to eat real ones, with all their body parts. Unsanitized for the American palette, with legs and all:

Ju, huge now, and almost walking:

at Praia do Flamengo:

Mj eating cheese:

I don't quite get this, this easter rabbit was hanging from the supermarket ceiling. I don't think it was supposed to look like he was hanging from a noose, but maybe he's supposed to represent Jesus dying. Or something. Really, I have no idea:

Leo getting a Maxim fix at the beach, thanks to MJ:

View off of Nate and Debbie's porch:

Dressing up Julian, he looks very 60s i think:

Barra Grande

2006-04-15T10:04:00.000-04:00

Wednesday MJ and I headed to Barra Grande, on a peninsula south of Salvador. It was a looong, hot trip there. First a 45 minute bus ride, quick taxi ride, catamaran to the island, 3 hour bus ride to Camumu, followed by a half hour speed boat trip to finally reach Barra Grande.
These pictures are only slightly out of order...

Camumu:
Not a river I would want to live on:

This one is much better:

On the speed boat:

Staying at the Pousada Iglu (igloo). It had a place to sleep and a bathroom, and for R$30 you can't beat that:

On the beach at Taipus de Fora:

a very cute crab, lucky for him MJ wasn't feeling hungry:

Sorry Leo, these aren't the most flattering pictures of you... Thursday night, at some bar on the beach playing bad trance music:
Sweaty, dancing boys:
Taking a break; Leo, Mj, and Taisa
So, I have no idea what this thing is, perhaps a Brazilian would like to explain for me. The street was lined with stuffed effigies of...i'm not sure what exactly. I was told they get set on fire later? Whatever they are, they're really creepy when you're walking along the street in pitch black darkness:

Buzios

2006-04-02T19:47:00.000-04:00

Better late than never... here are pictures of the second half of my Rio trip. Davey, Kristy, and I headed north to relax for a few days outside of the city.

I'm starting to get a little bored with the beach, but Buzios was a good change of pace. I bet it's still cold in Michigan:

Our rental car/buggy. My favorite part about it was when some guy on the street asked me if Davey had bought his driver's license in the US since he couldn't manage to even turn around:

Statues of three fishermen:

This stray dog was sweeeet. And not in the nice way. He looked like a wolf, with scary blue eyes which you can kind of see. If I didn't think he would eat Julian, I would have tried to bring him back to Salvador:

Some, uhhh.....beach scenery:

me:

Kristy enjoying a comfy night's sleep on her clean pillow, above the spotlessly clean floor in the wonderful Mediterraneo Pousada:

I really made a great choice with this pousada. It even had air conditioning:

Davey demonstrating how delicious the stains on the bed were:

Me and my best friend, Off Plant-Based Insect Repellent:

The best part about the room was how excited we would get when we left:

The only picture of the three of us from the entire trip:

No caption necessary here, i think:

By the end of the trip Davey was really getting into the Brazilian men, and vice versa:

JK and I waving to the crowds. We may have gotten a little carried away with all the statues:

I took this shot during the one minute of sunshine on Sunday:

My favorite tree. Very Dr. Seuss-esque:

And my second favorite dog in Buzios. He spent all day just laying on the beach, doing absolutely nothing except being old:

I found this Sunday night, thank God we were leaving the next morning. Seriously, is it supposed to be cute? Whimsical? I'm just not feeling it:

Real Pictures of RIo

2006-03-29T09:54:00.000-05:00

Jesus and the Blimp:
The view from Corcovado was just breathtaking:

Relaxing in the hotel room:

The view from our 24th floor balcony:

Another view from the balcony:

Corcovado was fun!

My least favorite dinner ever, though Davey was in absolute heaven. I tried to trick him into eating a chicken heart, but the waiter told him what it was:

Me, hammock, ocean:

I'll try to get the Buzios pics up in the next few days...

Welcome to Rio!

2006-03-28T09:20:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, globalization...

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!

2006-03-17T00:53:00.000-05:00

I'll be gone for 10 days or so. Till then, here's a picture of Salvador at night, from Itapuan (the northern edge of the city):

And here is a picture of Ju and Alison:

That's all for now, i'm sure i'll have much more interesting posts after Rio...

meu aniversário

2006-03-12T16:56:00.000-05:00

So this post is a little late, considering my birthday was more than a week ago, but seeing as how the number of comments has dropped lately (cough, cough) maybe i'm losing a bit of motivation.

Alison and Gustavo got me a delicious cake from Perini, but Leo got me a donut that kind of looked like a cake. And a pink #3 candle. Here is a picture of me and the donut; I think I look like Homer Simpson:
yay! i'm old!

Kazu from Japan, Leo from Michigan, and Taisa (hope I spelled the right) from Salvador but who studied in Michigan:

and then Debbie from Ireland and Nate from, of course, Michigan. Believe it or not the next night we were out to dinner with a group and out of the 8 people at the table, 4 were MSU grads. Anyway, I put this photo up just so that you don't think Debbie's face really looks like it does in the next picture.

Tito, aka Eddie Murphy, and Debbie looking scary:

I'm still waiting on some more carnaval photos from Heidi, if I ever get them I'll put them up.

In other news, I started Portuguese classes at the Universidade Federal da Bahia on Tuesday. They're going well so far and there seems to be some cool people in the class.
On the 17th I'll be heading to Rio de Janeiro, where I will be sure to hit up an Irish pub at night and wear my green. And have some real beer. Davey and Kristy arrive on the 21st- we'll spend a few days in the city and then head to Buzios to relax. And then MJ gets here on March 30th.
And no, I still do not know when I'm coming home.

trancoso

2006-03-04T10:52:00.000-05:00

I was going to wait until I got a couple of carnaval pictures from Heidi so that I could post in chronological order, but it seems you guys just can't wait.

hi!:

babies and boobs, something for everyone in this photo:

hanging out in the pool- heidi, marina, a naked baby, alison, gustavo, a naked ju, marina's boyfriend

some people hanging out on the street:

Salvador at sunset:

A few days into carnaval, Heidi and I headed south to a city named Trancoso. The first night we stayed in a little house that was not worth the R$40 we paid for it. This is me inside the very romantic floral mosquito netting:

The beach/river at Trancoso:

On the beach:
More pictures to follow....

a bunch of bananas

2006-02-22T10:41:00.000-05:00

In other news, carnaval starts tomorrow! and goes till Tuesday night. I might try to take some pictures for you guys, but I'm worried about getting my camera stolen, so I'll see if I can work something out.
Thursday and Saturday I'm going out in a bloco...that's when you follow a band on a big truck/float with tons of speakers down the street. It's corded off by security so that the millions (literally) of people in the street don't rush in. Friday Heidi will (hopefully) be getting here, and we'll go watch all the bands go by from above, in a camarote. Sunday, who knows. Rest a little. Then out of the craziness of Savador and off to southern Bahia to relax for the rest of the time. After that I might hang out in Heidi's little town for a few days, and mayyyybe head down to Vitoria to say hello to my host family from the last time I was in Brazil. All this by bus, yay.
So, it should be a busy week. I'll be sure to give updates whenever I get a chance.

A Tour of Salvador

2006-02-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

I finally did a bunch of the touristy stuff this weekend. This will be mostly a bunch of pictures of the city so you guys can get an idea of what i'm enjoying while you sit reading this with cold hands, cold feet, and sky-high heating bills.

The view from the Farol da Barra, or Barra Lighthouse. Those are mostly people fishing out on the rocks:
Here's a picture of the lighthouse itself. It's a famous landmark in town. It used to be a fort way back in the 16th or 17th century- whenever it was that the white people came.

This is a square, usually called Campo Grande, I guess the real name is July 2nd Square. It is supposed to commemerate the independence of Bahia (which came after the rest of Brazil). It's got a bunch of temporary construction stuff up because this is one of the main areas during Carnaval.

The Elevador Lacerda, that takes you from the upper city to the lower city (and vice versa) for 5 centavos. Come here to see tourists.

Some houses that are next to the Elevador, yes people live there, yes this is a touristy area. I think the fact that it has no roof is slightly charming.

In Pelourinho, the really touristy part of town. This is also the oldest part.

One of the three hundred and something churches in Salvador. This one is special because it's some odd kind of baroque, I don't remember exactly.

This is inside another church. I should remember the name but I don't. The whole inside is covered in tons of gold leaf, imagine the walls and ceilings all looking like the background of this picture. It was also very hot inside.

Guess where we are now? Another church, that's right! This is Bonfim, another landmark, and one of the more famous churches in Salvador. Maybe the most famous. Those little colored ribbons are sold outside; people put them on their wrists too. I could tell you a lot of things about this church, it's actually very intersting, but I'm tired. Google it if you're so inclined.

Some kids playing in the ocean:

I think this is part of a museum, but it looks like it used to be a church:

Me inside an art museum. A not very good modern art museum.

Ignore the water bottle and this is a very nice picture:

Another sunset:

a couple of pictures of the man in my life ;o)

2006-02-08T11:47:00.000-05:00

Sailing

2006-02-07T08:54:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I went sailing. Well, to be more specific, I sat in the boat while the people who knew what they were doing did the actual sailing.
We left Saturday afternoon, racing in a regatta to the island of Itaparica, across the bay from Salvador.

Here is a picture of some boats....some "rustic" sailboats:

On Itaparica:

If you look closely, that's a person walking on a sandbar, and a boat stuck on the sandbar:

Stopping for a drink:

I just like this house:Leaving the island (those are people playing soccer on the beach):

boring pictures

2006-02-01T17:18:00.000-05:00

i was recently told that this page was boring, which i must admit has been true recently.

i feel like i haven't actually been doing that much, so that might be part of it. the past couple of days we've been redecorating the houes, moving stuff around, had new light fixtures and switches installed through the whole house, got a new fridge and freezer, and various other exciting domestic things.

here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

a very flattering picture of me putting the first coat of yellow paint on the wall:
just to put a new outlet in, a huge hole had to put in the wall. this is our crappy repair job:

a mess, but almost finished:

everything is a lot cleaner now, and if anyone cares to see, i'll post an after picture when it's all done. though who knows when that will be.

2006-01-24T09:16:00.000-05:00

i really haven't much to say lately, things here just seem so normal and everyday that it doesn't feel like there is anything exciting to update on. but, i'll try.

starting with my package...still waiting, waiting, waiting. waiting has become the story of my life in brasil. wait for the bus. wait for a ride. wait for people to decide what their plans are. wait for students. and on and on and on. my patience is really getting tested here.

my latest exciting news is that three people are actually going to be coming to brasil for sure. which means they've bought tickets and have dates set.
first, heidi is going to be moving to southern bahia (my state) to teach in early february.
and davey and kristy are going to be flying into rio in march, where i will somehow meet them. i don't think we'll spend the whole time in the city, i'm going to plan a couple nice side trips to some smaller towns and possibly islands. (amy, do you remember the name of the poussada in paraty?)

okay i could write more, but i just don't have the motivation. sorry guys.

an apology

2006-01-16T11:43:00.000-05:00

dear davey,

i am so sorry my blog is not stimulating enough to keep your attention.
i will work harder to try and keep it updated, though it is difficult when i still don't have a camera.

love, sheila

2006-01-09T13:36:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I spelled balloons wrong.
It was either a typo, or the more Portuguese I learn, the less space there is in my head for English.

update

2006-01-08T17:28:00.000-05:00

I went to my first Brazilian wedding yesterday.
I still don't have a camera, so, no pictures. Too bad.
It was fun. Every time I went in the women's bathroom there was somebody else throwing up. When we left at about 2 in the morning (I think?) everyone was still going strong.

Reveillon!

2006-01-02T10:43:00.000-05:00

They just looove baloons here. This is a picture of the pool area, before the party got started:

the following are pictures of me.... and various people:

heading to the beach at dawn:

flowers for Iemanjá:

Sunrise- looking at this i was 100% glad I wasn't in Michigan:

Feliz 2006!

2006-01-01T22:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, no New Year's pictures yet, hopefully I'll get to those tomorrow. To tide you over, here is a picture of me and the world's cutest baby at the Salvador airport:

hey...

2005-12-28T10:36:00.000-05:00

Is anyone ever going to actually come visit me? Or should I stop getting my hopes up?

It's really very easy to get the visa. And you can sleep on the plane ride.

Thank goodness for friends with cameras

2005-12-26T16:34:00.000-05:00

These pictures are from Praia do Forte, a little north of Salvador. They have a big sea turtle research/habitat restoration project there. So here's some turtles:

Awwww, cute:

Hey, that's me. And a turtle:

maybe more later....

Happy Holidays

2005-12-24T13:46:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to most of you, and/or Feliz Natal. Also Happy Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or whatever it is you celebrate.
Everyone at home, I really miss you guys and Christmas (Eve) just isn't the same without you all. Or in 85 degree weather. At least it rained today, which is about as close as I'm going to get to snow. So I hope everyone has a great holiday, just know that I'm thinking about all of you.

So

2005-12-19T17:32:00.000-05:00

as of today I am more or less alone here. Gustavo, Alison, and Ju are off to the US for a month. I wish I could have seen Alison's face when Gustavo suprised her at the Sao Paulo airport (he was supposed to be on a flight a few days later). I really think she had absolutely no idea.

Anyway, so now I have the house all to myself. and the cats. It's very empty-feeling and the porterios keep scaring me because they keep popping their head in the window to let me know that they're around if i need any help. Which is very nice, and what is also nice is the amount of people that have offered to let me spend Christmas and/or New Years with them. Six, i think, so far. I agreed first to go with Marcos, my chiropractor, and his family out to Guarajuba (sp?) where they rent a house on the beach for a week. His wife is leaving on Christmas Eve and he said I could get a ride out there with her, then head back with her again the next day. He spent a few years living in Michigan, so I guess he knows what it's like to be without family, and I am very grateful for the offer.

Besides that, I spent yesterday at a churrasco at Nate and Debbie's condo complex, it was a lot of fun, everyone got really drunk, especially the old folks. It's absolutely amazing how much better my portuguese is after a roska (vodka, mashed up fruit, sugar, ice) or two.

oh, and my camera? it's dead. R$200 to fix it, almost what it would cost to buy it again. Hopefully Santa will bring me Davey's old one or a new one from the US. I just need to figure out who Santa will be, and if he can get through customs with my electronic goodies without paying taxes.

2005-12-13T13:22:00.000-05:00

i don't want to lose my audience, so i figure i better keep updating, even if it's boring.

my camera is being looked at, i'm supposed to call and see if it can be fixed, but i keep putting it off because that's going to be a difficult conversation over the phone. i'm going to try and get to that later today.

if i did have my camera i would post a picture of this sweet spider bite i got today. it's right on the side of my wrist and it's really big. from teh right angle it kind of makes my wrist look broken. the bugs have also taken a liking to my face over the past two nights, i'm just trying not to scratch.

i really have nothing but mundane details to update, which is why i prefer pictures.

-today i went to the pharmacy. after that i went to buy a cake for the maid/nanny's birthday. i was very proud of myself for mangaing to explain that i didn't want the whole thing so could they please cut it into a medium sized cake but then redcorate it to look like a whole cake. also in the works for today is a trip to the monstrous mall nearby, because i need socks. exciting, eh? i might also buy another bathing suit.

-yesterday i went to the beach out near praia dos flamengos, which is on the north side of town. a bunch of teachers at the american school live out there. the beach is gorgeous there and since it was a monday it was nice and empty. the lifeguard told me i was a very good swimmer ( i said, uhhh, thanks i've been swimming since i was about 4 or 5 so i hope i'm okay) and that he owns a surfing school at another beach and so debbie (girlfriend of nate, a teacher at PanAm) and i should come out and take lessons. if my burn is gone by later this week i think i will. i can't stop thinking about jellyfish while i'm in the ocean though; i don't know if i'll make a good surfer.

Okay, that's all. I'll take suggestions on things anyone would like me to write about.

:-(

2005-12-08T21:44:00.000-05:00

Well, it looks as if this blog will either be switching to writing or going on a break for a little while.

My camera fell from a height of about 5 feet onto a ceramic floor, and it landed right on the lens. The lens itself isn't broken, but everything around it is. The metal/plastic surrounding it is smooshed, the little metal parts that hold the lens cover, and the cover itself are in a few pieces. It also makes a funny rattling noise when I shake it. I'll try and find somewhere to take it to see if it can be fixed, because I sure can't do it myself. It looks like it's going to be hopeless though.
I'm really mad, I guess at myself since there's no one else to be mad at.

Soooo my beloved parents, I guess you know what I could use for Christmas now... though I have no idea how it would get here; Alison is already taking back a bunch of electronics and there's a limit on the dollar amount. And cameras here are ridiculously expensive.

:o(

Please leave your condolences for my camera in the comments section.

Saturday

2005-12-04T08:14:00.000-05:00

Saturday we went downtown, lots of heat, lots of walking, lots of people trying to sell the gringas things we didn't want. Later we went to one of the city beaches, Porto da Barra, which was good people watching. I even saw a transsexual in a bikini. Here is a picture of Alison, Gustavo, and Julian, at his first sunset:

Random beach shot:

A blurry picture of the beach from above:

Just random buildings:

Another blurry shot (still trying to figure out how to take good night pictures), this one of the coast, taken from our table while out to eat later that day. That glowing thing in the background is the elevador lacerda, that takes you from the lower city to the upper city:

Julian being serenaded at dinner:

P.S.

2005-11-28T13:40:00.000-05:00

I'm going to start losing motivation to post unless I know some people are reading this, so you all better leave some comments.

Stuff

2005-11-28T13:05:00.000-05:00

You can blame this boring post on my brother, who asked for pictures of "anything, where you sleep, the street, anything!" So, that's what this is.

The garage:
The street:

Where I sleep, and where the mosquitoes come to feast:
The kitchen:

What I see before I go to sleep, and when I wake up: (be careful what you wish for, davey)

Things that have electrocuted me so far:
the lamp
the shower head

Ju, after a few too many beers:
The bathroom:

The view from the veranda, and the scary clay frogs on what looks like a gravestone:

The pool:

First days in Brasil

2005-11-17T19:26:00.000-05:00

Julian, making a beet-y mess:

The view from Gustavo's office (it was windy and rainy the first three days):

My neighborhood:

(just kidding, i don't have any pics of it yet)

Contrasting parts of town:

mmmm, potty yogurt:

the ants on the veranda, they had 1/4 of a cookie gone in less than 5 minutes:

Last Days in Michigan

2005-11-17T18:55:00.000-05:00

Yet again I messed up the formatting, so here are the descriptions of the pictures:

Allison and Kelsey

Caitlin and I

The cake Sean made for me and Allison

Typical family room scene, us and the Fritschs

My brothers

Sean and Kelsey's tongue

2005-11-14T09:41:00.000-05:00

hi everyone, i'm in brazil.

it's been cloudy and rainy (but hot!) so i haven't really taken any pictures yet.
i will soon.

Trees

2005-11-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's just me, but the leaves were really nice this year. I didn't get pictures of some of the best trees, and today the rest of the leaves were blown off, so I'm just posting what I've got. This is the view out my bedroom window (I was bored, we had no electricity today because of the wind) :

On my street:

A random street:

Out my window again:

Halloween 2

2005-11-01T03:27:00.000-05:00

As someone (crazy Uncle Rico most likely) stole my fruit hat, I had to resort to the gladiator costume for Halloween night. Here is Monica and I looking like 10 year olds:

Pancheros, and Monica looking suprised:

Time in between the two pictures was spent at Bab's.

Fall/Halloween '05

2005-10-31T21:50:00.000-05:00

The leaves starting to turn:

This has nothing to do with fall, but this is the sweet lamp from the 50s I bought at a rummage sale:

I spent this past weekend visitng Amy in Washington DC. After some typical Sheila-type problems with the reservations, I got on a plane Saturday. That night we went out in Georgetown to a few bars, a club, then a fun house party.

Preparing Amy's hair (she looks like she has a beard, ha ha):

Frida, Flapper, Carmen:

Amy, with her beauteous unibrow, that I must take artistic credit for:

The Burger King and George Bush Senior:

Pre-drinking:

Lion man and robot man that we met on the street in Georgetown:

The fact that this guy had a tatoo of Carmen Miranda should have been a red flag... hindsight is 20/20 i guess.

Ghostbuster man, how did you turn out to be so creepy?

Frida was bisexual:

Pretty lame costumes, but they were still fun guys:

Why did Uncle Rico show up again? Because he was weird, and I am convinced he spitefully stole my fruit hat. Don't let the picture fool you, that's a "get this guy off me" smile:

Again...

2005-09-25T23:17:00.000-04:00

Somehow these pictures ended up in reverse chronological order. Well, actually no order at all. Oh well.

I went to Chicago (again), this time with Amanda so that the female roommates from our Grand River house could all get together. We took the train part of the way. A warning- trains and hangovers don't go together very well. Also, it's very easy to miss the train and get stuck waiting for two hours for the next one to come.

Anyway, we went to a some dive bar where there was a big mushy loogie-ish thing on my beer bottle. It wasn't pineapple. I drank it anyway:

Brendan stuck to ketchup:
Amanda and Anne drinking matinis, oh so classy:
Me, Amanda:
My body looks weird and bendy in this picture, but other than that we look pretty hot. I think :

Wow

2005-09-15T12:55:00.000-04:00

Satellite image of Katrina from the NOAA: (click to make it bigger)

dog show!

2005-08-25T23:42:00.000-04:00

I realized I didn't have one picture of Kelsey on here, so we had a little photo shoot, only she wouldn't wake up for most of it. So, we took a nap

Chicago!

2005-08-21T23:35:00.000-04:00

Took a little trip to Chicago for the weekend. Here's a photo of Monica and I after getting stuck in a huge thunderstorm and eating at a diner full of transvestites on friday night. p.s. you can't see my shirt but the transvestites told me it was very cute.
Saturday night, Brendan:
Two tired girls (Anne and I) :
Two pretending to be tired girls:
Monica and I thought we should take a quick detour and stop at the beach on the way home. The beach looked pretty from here:
The giant metal tubes were a little strange:
But of course that didn't stop me from going in the water:
...and then I started to get second thoughts about being in the water and being on that beach at all: (if you can't see clearly, you can click on the picture and it gets bigger. click again and it gets even bigger)
Maybe we realized we were at a nuclear plant when we were walking back to the car and saw this sign, or perhaps it was the security guard with a giant gun/rifle who came to see what we were doing. All in all a good trip, saw old friends, ate good food, had mostly good weather
..... at least I'm trying to forget about the dozens of traffic jams, closed highways, getting stranded in the pouring rain, wasting my money on cabs, bitchy girls, getting pulled over by the police... more good than bad though.

A Few Pictures from Laura's Canadian/Scottish Wedding

2005-08-14T02:25:00.000-04:00

a few pictures from laura's wedding in windsor. i've never seen so many people with scottish accents outside of scotland. i've never seen so many men in kilts in OR outside of scotland.

caitlin, taking a break from pursuing older men:
mj , who agreed to be my date less than 24 hours before the wedding (thank you!)
my mom and i:
my mom and dad actually dancing:
me and my aunt/godmother:
there is no excuse for this:
my sister is so photogenic
kara and ian again, so attractive:
a baby carrot:

me, caitlin, sean:

Flame Retard

2005-07-30T02:57:00.000-04:00

Caitlin works in a glass factory. Lucky her, she gets to wear this flame-retardant mask when she works around hot things so her face doesn't burn off. Tonight seemed like a good night to bring it out.

Laura's Bachelorette Party

2005-07-17T04:26:00.000-04:00

We started out with innocent fun and games...

family!

Caitlin gettin down

...then being a traitor to our bachelorette party

yes, there were NO men dancing

Me, Amy, Laura the Bachelorette

limo

honestly, i was just posing for the camera

Amy, Pucker, Laura

Me and Pucker, Kris, Caitlin

I want my Taco Bell. Now.

Hmm...

Back home. Is that a middle finger?

2005-07-11T17:16:00.000-04:00

I went up north (michigan) this weekend, near Sleeping Bear Dunes. My plans didn't exactly turn out the way I expected, so I ended up going with my brother to Traverse City and dropping him off at a friend's house. Thus, I was camping alone. I set up the tent by myself, as you can see. I did a pretty bad job, but it was dark while I was doing it. A skunk sprayed near my tent in the middle of the night, but I just stayed inside and suffered out of fear that it would spray ME if i came out. I stayed at D.H. Day Campground, it was very nice, very rustic, and right on Lake Michigan. I woke up every morning and took a "bath" in the (very cold) water. Camping by myself was a good experience; I never would have chosen to do it like that, but I'm glad I did. I'm starting to remember how much I like being alone. I had only myself to rely on, but only myself to please.

Saturday I met up with Sean and his friend Jessica and we went to the beach. Not just any beach, but the one at the bottom of a 468 ft (i think, if not more) dune. Going down was fun. Going up was not. It took me almost an hour. But the beach was beautiful and mostly empty, the water was nice, and the weather was perfect. A lot of people don't realize what amazing beaches Michigan has, plus you can't beat fresh water that is as big as an ocean, but with no scary jellyfish or sharks.

Sunday we went tubing down the Platte River. It took a looong time, as you can see from my sunburn. It was fun, although 4-5 hours of floating gets kind of old, especially when you're tied to a group of drunk 18 year olds.

2005-06-29T19:11:00.000-04:00

Pictures from Game 7 of the NBA finals, we went to go watch Palace Vision, this is our sweeet H2(00!) Limo that Matt hooked us up with

from top to bottom: Sean and Allison doing drunk hands, Allison and Marielle,
Allison outside the limo.

No pictures of me, sad, I know.

My First Post

2005-06-28T13:04:00.000-04:00

testing!