Waxing lyrical

As they are thinking of starting a family soon, my sister and brother-in-law have been looking more and more at the option to move back to Missouri. They are thinking of buying a house in Springfield, and a couple of months ago asked me about the possibility of living with them.

This past semester a desire has been growing in me to be nearer to my family. There is something very wrong about seeing my neice and nephew grow up in six month increments. I want to be near enough that I can just go to see them any random evening. Close enough that they can call me up to go babysit if they need me. I want to be the crazy uncle they actually know, not the one they see just twice a year.

There are a lot of other things to think about, too. Factors that complicate things and make decisions more difficult. Guess that's where trust comes in. I have a tendency to try to micro-manage things I cannot contol in my life, which backfires nicely and takes away a sense of peace.

I had a conversation last night with my sister that was really nice. As of late, my head has been very cluttered and confused, and she listened and helped me to put some pieces together. I realized some things that I think need to be done. Some of you know how confusing these past few months have been for me, so it was really good to sort some things out.

I posted some new writings that I wrote two months ago. Not much true literary value in them, but they capture some things for me that I never want to forget. They are a concrete etching of a memory buried beneath the tombstone of my past.

I head home on Friday back to Carl Junction. Perhaps some photos or poetry will emerge, but likely the best things will remain uncaptured.

Entry posted by byscuits at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)

And some more...

Sunday was a perfect day. A day that makes you wish you could be out taking pictures. Well, I was. My roommate's parents took us out on their schooner, the Thomas E. Lannon for a two hour sail in Gloucester, Massachusetts. It was amazing.

Gloucester Sail
   
   
   

I am heading home this Friday morning for a bit over a week. It will be nice to just sit around, relax, and spend time together. I have been thinking more and more about moving home to Missouri after I graduate to be near family. It just isn't right that I only see my niece and nephew every six months. But, I know there is a time for everything. No decisions need to be made any time soon.

Entry posted by byscuits at 12:27 PM | Comments (2)

Fidelity Photo Contest

South Station

I submitted some pictures around a month ago for our company's annual photo contest. Each person was allowed to enter three photos, and there were 1600 photos entered into the 10 categories. A month ago, I found out that this photo, South Station, was selected as a semi-finalist in the Cityscapes and Street Scenes category.

I found out today that this photo received third place overall in the category, so they will be mailing me a nice shiny photo album as the prize. The photo will also show up in the company-wide desktop screensaver along with my name. Looks like this photo could last longer with the company than I do. :)

Entry posted by byscuits at 11:42 AM | Comments (3)

Slew of new

Based on the prodding of some friends, I finally finished adding a good deal of new photos. I have started grouping some in a series format when there are a good number of photos. Commenting has also been turned off for the new photos, but you can still give feedback here on this page if you like.

Dealing - RKP came out to visit when I was in LA and came along for the second Getty trek. Stuff had been going down resulting in him being rather pensive.

Sinestro - While hangin' out at his place, my brother-in-law, BC, makes an odd face while RKP looks on.

Tai Chi - GK messes around during a photo shoot with he and his wife.

Greg and Kirsten - I took some married friends out for a photo shoot at the Getty.

Bob and Me in NYC - I met my brother-in-law in NYC to take a bit of a tour.

First Fishing Trip - I got to document my nephew's first fishing trip during my last trip home.

I would love to hear what you folks think.

Entry posted by byscuits at 01:24 PM | Comments (3)

Mr. Potter

I just finished reading the most recent book in the Harry Potter series, Order of the Phoenix. Just shy of 900 pages, this fifth work in the series seems quite hefty for children's fiction. I think I read somewhere around 400 pages yesterday between getting home from work and my head hitting the pillow. After watching the excellent film Harry Potter and the Prisoner from Azkaban (definitely the best of the movies) just a couple of weeks ago, I decided I had to know the contents of books four and five. I have heard books of this type, much like those of Grisham and Clancy, referred to as "literary crack." Not much real literary value, but quite enjoyable and nearly impossible to put down.

I won't give anything away concerning plot here, so don't worry. The books, as I have said, are excellent reads, but are a bit lacking when it comes to depth of story. Sometimes I feel like JK Rowling is writing certain chapters by the seat of her pants. She seems to have a loose plot in mind for the entirity of the seven novel series, but when it comes to the details of Quidditch or how the magic system really works (are spells discovered? Invented? Created?) she seems to have skipped the Tolkien process of first creating the universe, then letting the story unfold itself. This makes too many things seem tacked on and silly, like teachers that are only act unresonably because Mrs. Rowling needs them to be for a specific plot device. AM also complains about the Scooby Doo "AHA!" moments throughout the series. Though in her favor, she does do a respectable job with intra-book foreshadowing, even if it is with the subtlety of a Mack truck.

I highly recommend picking up the books for a read, and have books 1-3 on order from Amazon in library binding. What do you guys think of the series? Have you read all five books thus far? What did you think of the movies?

Entry posted by byscuits at 12:58 PM | Comments (7)

Glorious Day

My AOTM (album of the moment, a la ms fu's song of the moment) is Illuminate by David Crowder Band. One of the songs was stuck in my head all day yesterday in a very good way.

Glorious Day - David Crowder Band
What a glorious day
What a wonderful day today
Glorious day

Yep. That's it. That's the whole song, like 30 seconds. I totally love it. And if you were in Boston, you would definitely qualify yesterday as one of our allotted 20 nice days for the year.

This past week has been fantastic in so many ways. I visited a new church last night that I really enjoyed, and a whole week till church next Sunday seems too long. Since during the summer so many students are gone, Grace Street decided to meet in one of the member family's house. It was pretty tight, but that was a great thing. I got to know four or five of the guys near my age really well, and had a lot of fun meeting everyone else. I definitely plan on going back next week, and will see where things lead. It just felt like home. Like an extended family here in Boston. Exactly what I have felt missing since I first moved here in 1996.

There is a lot to process through right now for me. Some things have happened this past week that were very unexpected, and have really taken a lot out of me. But it has pushed me more towards God, and He has been sustaining me. I don't feel like I have many answers at all right now, but I am learning more of what it means to trust. I have no idea what "season" it is in my life right now, and I have no desire to try to figure it out. It is what it is, and it is Good.

Entry posted by byscuits at 11:13 AM | Comments (1)

Addie Kirk Brown

February 15, 1915 - June 9, 2004

Photo taken Christmas Eve, 2003

Last week my grandfather passed away at the age of 89. I went home to attend the funeral and to spend time with my extended and immediate family. After I returned to Boston, someone asked me how the trip home was. Every description I could think of seemed either lacking or trite, so I gave the best answer I had, "It was a funeral."

My grandfather was a veteran of World War II, serving with the Navy aboard the USS Sigsbee. He was stationed in the Pacific Theatre from 1943 to 1945 and fought in nine major battles. On April 14, 1945, the Sigsbee was struck by a Japanese suicide plane, resulting in the loss of 23 lives, including the men on either side of my grandfather, one of which was his best friend.

On September 10, 1949, Ad Brown married Betty Mae Hensley in Keelville Kansas. He is survived by one sister, two sons, three daughters, 16 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. He was preceeded in death by one son, Robert Allen Brown in 1967, and eight brothers and sisters.

Entry posted by byscuits at 10:39 AM | Comments (1)

new york, new york

Last week I took the $10 Chinatown bus to New York City. I met up with my brother-in-law BC (I like the semi-anonymous use of initials), and we trekked around the city for a few days. We stayed with some old friends, B&MT, from my church in LA, that moved to NY about 3 years ago. Really the best part of the trip was catching up with them.

Being in the city (it is the city, afterall) was an experience in itself. It was so fast paced, I don't know I could live there for more than a couple of years. The subway was a bit of fun to learn. BC and I managed not to make any mistakes. The one time we hopped on an express, it was the exact one we wanted. Kind of fun starting to learn a new city.

BT recommended an Italian place for BC and I to eat one evening. I am not the biggest fan of Italian, but I decided to give it a shot. I remember when I lived in LA, GK asked me if I liked Japanese food. I flatly told him, "No," to which he responded, "That's probably just because you've never had good Japanese." He was right. After I had good Japanese food, I loved it. This little Italian place recommended to us did the same thing - it changed my opinion of Italian food.

BC and I had never been to the top of the Empire State building, so against our better judgement, visited that tourist trap. And it is the first time I have used the term "tourist trap" and really meant it. We were stuck in lines that we just couldn't get out of. Once they have you in line, you are there for the duration. The whole process was really very annoying. The first line we got into was to get a ticket to go to the top. We expected long lines. That's just the way tourist attractions are. What we did not expect was to be advertised to in very annoying ways the whole time. While waiting in the first line, we were surrounded by advertising posters and televisions. Not a big deal. I am used to ignoring those. But they also had 4 people on microphones trying to sell you stuff in a round-about way. They asked absurd trivia questions that had no actual specific answer. Any answer was right. The prize for the brave winner? 10% off some restaurant that you would never consider going to The whole time they were trying to upsell you into the "premium" packages. It included some silly things like an audio tour of what you were looking at from the top and some video helicopter tour of the city. All stuff no one really wanted. One girl even said, "Really, if you don't get the audio tour, there isn't any point to going to the top." Absurd. What annoyed me even more was that only 2 of 4 ticket booths were in use. With 10 total people just hanging around the area, not really doing much.

After we had the ticket to the top, we waited in another line for to go through a metal detector, and another line to get on the elevator. This elevator took us up to the 80th floor. But the observation deck is on the 86th floor. Why didn't we just go to the top? So they could try to sell us more crap. We waited in more lines to get our picture taken. It might have been nice if it was actually a view out a window or something, but no. Just a terrible background of clouds and a really bad replica of the Empire State building. BC and I passed on the photo. Then we waited in another line where they tried to sell us the audio tour again. Finally we took an elevator the final 6 floors to the top of the tallest building in New York. And it was worth it. That's why they can get away with treating you so poorly.

The view that day was beautiful for about 15 minutes, then it started to rain. But I managed to get several excellent shots of Manhattan before the clouds rolled in, so check back here in a couple of days for some of the best.

The trip really was great. Wish I could have spent more time in the city, but it is only a 4 hour bus ride away.

Bush declared a national holiday this Friday in mourning for Reagan's passing. The markets are closed, but I don't get the day off. Doesn't really matter anyways. I don't get paid for any days off.

Transition is going on with my job right now. It might be a stretch to have any sort of a job next semester, if I want to go to school. They are offering me a permanent full-time position, but for a variety of reasons doesn't look good. There are some other options, and one might turn out to be a pretty good thing. We will just have to see. At least I have my job till the end of the summer, which is the important part. Looks like I might have to quit my job in order to go to school full-time next semester.

Also thinking more about the near future. The desire to go to seminary is steadily increasing. Would be fun to do a lot of theology learning and writing.

Entry posted by byscuits at 12:16 PM | Comments (2)

halfway

Halfway through the year. In a way, I am glad time moves so fast. I am glad that this next semester will be over before I expect it. And I will be finished with college! Seems like a dream... A good dream.

I am going to NYC today to meet up with my brother-in-law. We're staying with some old friends from our church in LA who moved to NYC a couple of years ago. Should be a lot of fun catching up with them, and it should be a lot of fun just walking around taking photos. Perhaps sometime next week I will post some of them here. The network in my room has been offline for a couple of weeks now, so I haven't uploaded anything new.

I am checking out new churches now. Went to Cambridge Community Fellowship Church last Sunday. I attended (wow, that's a churchy word) there a while a couple of years back and liked it. They have good community, which is something I am really looking for. I am thinking of visiting one of the small groups this Friday after I get back.

I have a framed photo here at work. It sits on my desk, right next to my computer monitor. It was taken a year ago when I went home in July. It is a picture of the then 10 members of my family. When I go home again this July, there will be 11. And the next time I go home for the summer, it will be at least 12, if not more.

I am not sure what event has precipitated it, but these past couple of months I have been appreciating the gift that is family. As someone in my mid-twenties, I largely live a transient lifestyle. Though I have been in Boston for three years since I moved from LA, many of the people in my life have moved in and out of the area. People whose lives once intersected mine now live in other states and other continents. They pass from close friend to close aquaintence to memory. But family is different. No matter where I live, no matter where I am, my family is always there. I change, they change, but there is always an acceptance of the other person. An 'I love you no matter what' sort of thing. Even when angry at or fighting with another member, I know I am not in real danger of them deciding to permanently walk away. My family is there for me. Solid. Stable. I truly have been blessed to be given a family such as mine. I know my parents put so much care and purposefullness into its development. Perhaps I understand a bit more of the real need for a family to be solid and stable. One sure source of unconditional love.

I love and miss my family. I look forward to being home this summer.

Entry posted by byscuits at 10:39 AM | Comments (1)