january 13: smil-e

when i woke up this morning, i stepped out onto the balcony (where else?) and it didn't take me long to come to the conclusion that it was simply too warm for a mid-january morning for me to spend the day in the apartment pretending to be productive.

how my train of logic led to the place it did is still a bit of a mystery to me, but i went up on the roof, scoured the horizon to see if there was still snow on the mountains, and figured that at this rate, there probably won't be snow around much longer, so i hopped in the shower at set off around noon. after all, the last time i played around in the snow was probably a good four years ago, when i drove up to mt. lemmon outside of tucson with katie and whitney. (come to think of it, i really miss mt. lemmon. and the pie. mmm.)

by 1:30, i was up at mt. baldy slipping around on the ice and making a silly excuse for snowman which, with a little imagination, vaguely resembles a combination of myself and wall-e. (well, that's what i was going for.) i've still yet to take into consideration the necessity of gloves for this type of activity, so my hands lacked any sensation for a few minutes shortly thereafter. nonetheless, it was so incredibly worth it. (not to mention the fact that i was back in time for the 3pm sportscenter.)

it's little excursions like this (and leo carrillo, and whatever absurd adventures i come up with next) that make me so glad i decided to stay in los angeles; sure, i had to drive through an hour of pure nothingness between the westside and the base of angeles national forest, but the moment i hit mt. baldy drive and curved my way up and into the mountains, i'd completely forgotten where i was.

• distance from my bed: 62 miles

january 5: jackson pollock study from the balcony

after a blurry night of all-you-can-eat brazilian meat and veggies, magnums of cab, and a series of high stakes pool involving shots of absolut los angeles as punishment for scratching (we still have zero clue how this vile bottle came into our possession), i wrote the following on alex's facebook wall this morning:

"so. i got hammered drunk last night. surprising, i know. pretty certain i'm still incapable of operating heavy machinery. i'm sure justin can fill you in with sufficient play-by-play.

anyway, when i woke up this morning, i didn't remember shit, but i was pretty convinced i'd puked. upon checking our bathrooms and kitchen and my laundry, however, i couldn't find any evidence; and seeing my mouth tasted surprisingly fine, i just shrugged it off and figured i'd dreamt the whole thing up.

just now, i stepped out on my balcony to have a cig, looked down at the alley, and found more than enough purple evidence."

disgusting, yes. and yes, our alley neighbors were probably less than thrilled to be treated a veritable aria of bodily sounds (i'm a "yeller") somewhere around midnight. frankly, i'm deeply apologetic toward anyone who even read any of that.

i suppose what troubles me most--aside from the fact that i'm apparently 26 going on 21 and throwing up from my second floor balcony--is how, in this time of crisis, i opted for the balcony over my bathroom. given, the former is attached to my room and closer to the side of my bed i sleep on... but we're talking a difference of maybe six steps here (four or five, if i'm hurrying, which i'd imagine i was).

clearly, all the quality time i've spent out there these last couple weeks is starting to rub off on me.

• distance from my bed: 10 feet

january 1: salutations

shortly after returning from a week of substance-induced, photographic bliss in new york last year, i decided to try my hand at taking a new shot every day for as long as i could, my ultimate goal being a year.

given, the project turned out some memorable work and i fell back in love with the art of taking (and in some cases, making) photographs, but i only made it 84 days. (after returning from the middle east immensely satisfied yet completely drained, my focus had turned to other things and i suppose i found my surroundings here in los angeles less than inspiring.)

that being said, this is round two. here's to making it to 2010!

(woohoo, no leap year.)

• inspired by noah's 'man bites world' approach, i'll be including the distance i traveled from my bed to take each photo... so... 10 feet. go get 'em.

9 resolutions for '09:

1. find my muse.
2. (over)think less; do more.
3. learn more about my faith.
4. appreciate everything and everyone around me more.
5. get my act together and find a little direction.
6. finish what i start.
7. get back into the shape i was in two months ago.
8. treat my lungs with a little more respect.
9. visit a new country.

oh, and get new curtains.


8 years bonus time and counting...