it works!

Moni

Posted on February 9th, 2012

I tried scanning negatives with my new scanner and it works! I am so stoked!

This is a photo of Mt. Hood and downtown Portland that I took from Pittock Mansion, taken a month ago. The film was very expired. It was around 15 years old, maybe older. It turned out pretty grainy. It was also a bit overexposed so I fixed the brightness a bit in my photo editing software.

Categories: Photos

Tagged: expired film, film, Mount Hood, photography, Pittock Mansion, portland

roller dancers in Central Park

Moni

Posted on February 8th, 2012

I exchanged the defective scanner and hooked up the new one this morning. Already I am having better luck with it. The “film” option is not grayed out. I have yet to scan negatives but will do so as soon as I get a chance. This morning I scanned another snapshot of NYC.

This photo was taken on the same day as the previous NYC photo. It was on Earth Day in 1990. It felt like a magical day. The weather was unseasonably beautiful. Everybody in the city was in a really good mood. We wandered around Manhattan all day. I think we happened upon a free B-52s concert (though, that may have been a different excursion).

Categories: Life, Photos

Tagged: Central Park, Earth Day, Manhattan, New York City

Where is home for you?

Moni

Posted on February 7th, 2012

I was born in Spokane, WA and that is where my family lives. That is where I lived until I was 20. I had always been unhappy there and I don’t understand why. I remember one day when I was 19, driving to my friend’s house. I was going to a party. I felt dead inside. I sat at a stop sign, snow falling down around my car, and I thought to myself, “why can’t I just be happy?” Happiness completely eluded me.

I wouldn’t feel this elusive emotion until a year later, when I moved to New York. I was in a car with my friend and we were driving to a dance club. I felt excited for all the possibilities that awaited me in this new place. I realized, then, that this was happiness. I felt happy. It was a strange feeling. But it was fantastic.

I found my home when I moved to California. At first I was sorely disappointed with the place. I remember flying into the San José Airport from the east over desert. I thought, “what have I gotten myself into.” I got used to it really quickly and grew to love it. The weather, the palm trees, the Pacific Ocean. I lived there for 15 years. I found my home in Santa Cruz. I felt like I belonged there. I felt like my soul belonged there. Sometimes I feel like it is still there.

Spokane’s vortex drew me back. This time I brought my husband up to live there. And, again, I still had those unsettling feelings. I felt stuck. I was unhappy. All I could think about when I lived there was where I could move away to. I still don’t understand this. I had great friends. I loved being closer to my family. Those things were wonderful. There was just something about the place that made me unhappy.

So now I find myself here in Sandy, Oregon. The day I moved here I felt that elusive happy feeling. That excitement for the adventures that awaited me. I feel at home here. I feel like I fit.

So. Where is home for me? For me, home is the place where my soul fits. If my soul fits then I can be happy. ♥

Categories: Life, Writing exercises

Tagged: home, life, New York, Santa Cruz, Spokane, Stories

arrrrrg!

Moni

Posted on February 6th, 2012

That is the sound of me yelling in frustration. I stopped by Office Depot today to pick up a few things and they happened to have the film scanner I’ve wanted, the Epson v500. I was all, “killer! I might as well buy it today.” So off I go, all happy and excited. I installed the software, plugged it all in and scanned some old photos. Worked great! Then I tried scanning some negatives. didn’t work. I have tried everything to get this thing to work. I think it is defective. So I am off to go return the stupid thing (that wasted my fucking day trying to get it to work).

Anyway, here is a snapshot that I scanned. I found it in my desk. It is from when I was a nanny in New York and my friend and I visited NYC (I was 20 years old). Looking at it brings back lots of fond memories.

Categories: Photos

Tagged: New York, New York City, old photos, photography, scanned

fab day

Moni

Posted on February 5th, 2012

It was gorgeous this morning and I felt like getting outside with my camera so I decided to go to the Japanese Garden in Portland. The library that I work out has a free pass that members can check out so I took advantage of it! I loaded some black and white film into my Holga, dropped my husband off at work, and away I went. The photo above was not taken with the Holga. Those have yet to be developed. The photo above was taken with my Droid and enhanced with the Vignette app.

Afterward I went to Anthropologie and bought myself a cute outfit. And while I was downtown I hit Powells where I bought a couple of flash fiction anthologies. And now I am at home, writing this blog post.

It was a good day!

Categories: Photos

Tagged: black and white, droid, Holga, photography, Portland Oregon

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Blatherskite

Foolish Gibberish

it works!

Moni

Posted on February 9th, 2012

roller dancers in Central Park

Moni

Posted on February 8th, 2012

Where is home for you?

Moni

Posted on February 7th, 2012

arrrrrg!

Moni

Posted on February 6th, 2012

fab day

Moni

Posted on February 5th, 2012

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