A New Beginning.

Here I am sipping on a nice steaming cup of coffee taking advantage of my last few minutes of internet. When I look out the window I see the dreary gray skies of Seattle, which will be replaced by sunny skies and a white glow on the ground in just a couple of days. I can also see my truck, trailer en tow, carrying every single thing I own. Everything. Furniture, computers, books, photos, cameras, food, you name it. We fit it all. I was pretty excited to not have to make any last minute runs to the dump, and even more excited that we'll have an apartment full of furniture when we get to Jackson Hole.

My last adventure move to Jackson was made with Shauna as my driving buddy. Shauna was my roommate post UW, and she decided to make the drive out to Wyoming with me and then fly back a few days later. Let's just say that we were typical girls during the packing process, resulting in a ripped tarp on the drive over in which pretty much everything in the bed got wet. We also had fun tossing useless items off of the balcony to watch them come crashing to the ground. I guess you had to be there. It was pretty funny though. At least this time David is with me. Not only was he the expert spacial thinker when it came to loading up, but this time I will not be lonely in Jackson Hole. I think this is what I wanted all along, and I'm so excited that the two of us will be there, sharing life's adventures together. Not to mention, he makes a great subject for snowboard photography...his ankle should be better by now :)

Anyway, not sure when I'll get the internet again, but for now, I'm off on my adventure. Cheers!

Shorts in October

Hello again, it's been some time. I've felt so overwhelmed with moving and visiting and working that I've hardly had any time to be creative. So, here I am again. Let's see where I left off. Oh yes, a beautiful fall day in Seattle. Fall is quickly transitioning into winter up here in the Northwest, getting me super stoked for the big move to Jackson. Only five days until we leave! We're all set with a place and have started the heavy task of packing. That part is never fun. The plan is to leave on Friday, spend two nights in Spokane with David's cousins, then arrive in Jackson on the 1st. I'm so excited it's ridiculous!

Last week I decided to take a trip back to Phoenix to see my family, since I don't know how easy it's going to be to get away for the holidays this year. It should have been a fun trip, being that it was sunny and 80 degrees the whole time, but the night I got there I fell ill with a fever and the worst aches I've ever had. Maybe I had swine flu. Who knows, but the damn sickness is still hanging around. I spent my time in Arizona sitting on the couch playing Wii with David and attempting to sleep by the pool. The last day we were there, David and I took a drive up north to Sedona and Jerome. Sedona is famous for it's gorgeous red rock formations. I didn't take my camera down to AZ in order to save some space, but my mom graciously donated her old AE-1 Program film SLR to my growing collection of picture taking devices. I was pretty excited to shoot with it, especially since I haven't shot film since I was in middle school. One of my first photos was this adorable shot of my family's new kitty, Lexi. She and her brother Mac provided a lot of entertainment for David and I while we were there.

The family kitty, Lexi.

We didn't spend a lot of time in Sedona. There were a lot of little hiking trails that led to the various rock formations. I would love to go back there and backpack sometime.

Bell Rock trail.

David in front of Courthouse Butte.

After wandering around a little more on the dirt paths and taking photos, we decided to make a loop drive back to Phoenix and stop at Jerome on the way home. The route took us about 40 minutes away from Sedona, up a winding road to a town built a mile high into a hillside. The crooked streets of Jerome were lined with historic buildings, but it was crawling with junk stores and overweight tourists. After grabbing a bite to eat at a local grill, we followed the road a mile further to the Jerome ghost town and Gold King Mine. After paying the five dollar entry fee, we entered into a dusty old town lined with rotting buildings and archaic Fords. I was pretty excited to be shooting with film at this point. The medium seemed to suit the subjects and the rustic atmosphere. We wandered around for an hour or so in the afternoon sunlight, snapping photos of whatever looked interesting. The mine entrance consisted of a wooden structure with a seemingly endless tunnel into the earth. I don't think I'd ever want to set foot in there. It looked pretty creepy.

An old saloon in Jerome.

The Spirit Room bar.

Old Ford in the ghost town.

Rusty tools.

Besides my sickness, we had a pretty nice day exploring parts of Arizona that I hadn't ever really paid much attention to. It isn't all vast, barren desert I guess.

We returned to a cold and rainy Seattle on Thursday afternoon to work our last couple days at work. My last night was Friday. I was pretty sad to leave a job that I really enjoy but if I ever want to get ahead in snowboard photography, I think that moving to a ski town is probably the best option. David, me, and our parents attended the Teatro show last night and then hung out at Solo to say farewell to my friends there. It was a bittersweet goodbye. They are all such wonderful inspiring people but I know I'm on to a new and exciting chapter of my life. David had his last night at Feierabend on Saturday. I was in attendance along with several people who David became close with while working there. It really is a great little bar and I will be sad to not call it my regular hang-out anymore. I hope he finds just as good of a bartending job in Jackson. It's always tough saying goodbye to a good thing.

As sad as it is, we are so completely excited to move out to Jackson Hole. Today begun the four day packing marathon. I really hate packing but I know once we get on that road we are just going to be overflowing with excitement! For now, I'll leave with the photos from the show last night. Farewell!

Beaumont, Caswell, David and me at Teatro Zinzanni.

Love is all around.

Busy busy this week, but I'll update soon on all of the amazing happenings in my life. For now, I'll leave you with this quick photo I shot today in between rain showers. Enjoy!

Downtown Throwdown

Jason Robinson throwing down on a flat-down box.

I wasn't sure what to expect, as it was my first time attending the Downtown Throwdown rail jam in downtown Seattle. It's an event put on by Snowboy Productions to get everyone stoked for winter. And stoked they were!

Grand prize winner Nick Visconti.

I arrived to workmen hauling in bags of snow that they were piling up around the flat-down box and rail that were set up. At the bottom of the course was a Snowboy wall ride. It was pretty funny to see snow in Pioneer Square. As 2:00 rolled around, the park became pretty packed and they started shortly after.

Nick Visconti, Forest Bailey, Scott Stevens, Johnny Lazz, Jason Robinson, & Ben Bogart.

Twenty riders from around the country participated on an invitation only basis. Nick Visconti walked home with a grand prize of $3000 in an IOU. The turnout was great and there were plenty of high fives to go around. Plus, we got to satisfy our fall snowboard craving. Watching good riders is almost as satisfying as actually getting to ride...well, sort of.

Life is good.

Life is good.

Three great happenings this week:

One: I was published on YoBeat...while a small stepping stone, it's still a stepping stone. I was just stoked to see people talking about my work on a snowboard website, and help out Kumara in her quest for pro snowboarder status.

Two: I got a media pass to shoot for the Downtown Throwdown rail jam in Pioneer Square. Snow and rails in downtown Seattle...sweet! It sounds like a sick event, and I'll get to be reunited with many of the riders I met down at High Cascade. It's tomorrow from 2-5 pm, after party at Pyramid Brewery with Minus the Bear playing as well. Can't wait! Plus I don't have to work my night job so I'll be able to fully participate in all said events.

Three: David and I found an apartment in Jackson Hole!! It's a two bedroom right in the heart of it all. Wait...two bedrooms?? That's more space than I can even dream of! And we'll have a place to stay for all of the people that claim they're going to visit us (riiiggght).

Published!

My photos are officially located somewhere other than where I personally posted them! Check out interview with Northwest rider Kumara Kelley, along with some of my shots of her on YoBeat.

On Having a Social Life and Working Restaurants

I have recently noticed a lame decline in my social life since I started waiting tables. Yes, I know I've been serving for a couple of years now, but it's been a slow decline. When I was working at Red Door, I saw lots of friends that I went to school with. Even though I wasn't actually partying with them, I was there, and able to catch up. Since I started working at Teatro Zinzanni, I haven't really seen anybody I know come to the theater (it is $150/ticket...I don't really blame them). It's sad though. Once I finish a weekend of work, I feel like I'm on sensory overload and have no desire to go out and party or socialize after it's all over. I've been talking so much and moving so quickly that I'm just exhausted when I get home.

Waiting tables can be great because you usually get to work with a social group of people. While that's all fine, I feel like I have a tough time keeping in touch with the "outsiders" or those "nine-to-fivers" as we like to call them. I'm lucky if I get to see my UW friends once a month.

That being said, I was invited to a party last night for Kumara Kelley's birthday. Kumara is a sick snowboarder. I met her down at High Cascade. Plus she's a girl that can rip. You don't encounter that every day. She's an awesome person too, and the two of us had discussed the waiting tables phenomenon over a cup of coffee at Ladro. Like she said, sometimes you feel like a housewife, because you just sit around an chill all day until the madness of customer service falls upon you in the late night hours. "Should I clean the house today or go grocery shopping? Oh wait, I have time for both. Maybe I'll even bake some bread." Anyway, I attended Kumara's party last night, and I was happy about it. I was scheduled to work from 9 am to 11 pm tonight (two shows!), and I still got my tired body out to socialize last night...fun. It was a post snowboard movie premiere event at Evo, so there were a bunch of our type there. Lots of people wearing bright colored clothes and saggy beanies that are just itching to talk about the snow that's started falling in the mountains. As for Ku, I hope she gets moved up in the Burton sponsor ranks. She's awesome, and I'm happy to know her.

Photo I took of Kumara at HCSC, just killin it!

A Free Day with My Camera

Because of our shortened camping trip, David and I a day off together. One where we had absolutely nothing to do. It was kind of a weird feeling actually. We started out the day by heading over to Evo where I picked up some of the latest copies of Frequency and Snowboarder Magazines. I've been pouring over them like I did when I received a copy of Turtle Magazine when I was five years old. Plus I need that inspiration.

Next we decided to go to lunch at a little place David had heard about on Fremont Ave called Paseo. I never even knew this place existed (probably because it's teeny and there's no sign), but I'm sure glad I do now! They make these to-die-for Cuban sandwiches with aioli, jalapeños, and caramelized onions. Delicious! We spent the next hour trying to find a bathroom to wash off our grubby hands. We stopped in Starbucks in U Village, just to see what it was all about. They spent months doing construction on the place, and that used to be my Sunday night study spot when I went to UW. The building is now supposedly a certified green building. It looks a lot fancier than it used to with darker wood accents and one of those awesome Clover machines. We hung out there for a bit while reading over the new mags.

Finally we went over to the Arboretum in hopes of taking some photos of fall foliage. Unfortunately the leaves aren't changing quite yet but we still got some pretty good shots. The traffic I sat in together is the type that inspires me to never drive again. It was miserable.

Here are some of the shots I got from the Arboretum. Of course I was using my new Mark II N, so they look pretty sharp and noise-free to me. Enjoy!