What I Love… My Retro Camera App

A few days ago I took a road trip to the Redwoods and it was amazing. While I will write another blog about it later, I do want to share what I loved down there was my camera phone. I’m not the best photographer by any means and I only had my phone to take pictures. I couldn’t capture the beauty of the Redwoods and the Oregon coast on our drive back, but I had fun letting my Retro Cam app on my phone try. I went a little wild, but I had so much fun playing with it. Here are some of my favorite images…

What I Love… Rapper Kaka Sungra – aka Rabbit

Something I have always wanted to do, but haven’t managed to accomplish yet, is to travel the world. Lately, I keep wondering what is holding me back, besides funding, which I don’t have at the moment. I realize that funding is just a detail and if I put my mind to it, I can make it happen, hopefully sooner than later, I already have a few ideas. While I try to figure that part out, I  have been thinking about all the places I would like to go: Egypt, New Zealand, South Africa, Ethiopia, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Italy, France, England, Ireland, and I realize the list just keeps growing. Obviously, I won’t be making an around the world trip anytime soon, but that doesn’t stop me from dreaming. Walking through the Los Angeles airport last week, I stopped at one of the small gift shops/convenient stores while my co-worker purchased a bottle of water. Immediately a magazine caught my eye, AFAR. I had never heard of this travel magazine before, but was intrigued by the magazine title “Travel Deeper – 9 Unusual Destinations”. I grabbed the magazine and took it to the cash register to make my purchase.

I will say that the flight home was one of the shortest two hour flights I had ever experienced. I ended up transfixed on the different articles from the colorful and vibrant Moroccan markets, to the allure of the upcoming Fort Greene neighborhood in Brooklyn, to the New England seaport Portland, Maine, a place that I’ve never been, but already have a strange connection with. Although slight and a little silly it may be, there was an image from the coastline that was the same as on a puzzle I received, a random Christmas gift from an old property manager, that I tried to complete not too long ago, but didn’t because puzzles trouble my impatient soul. I took it as a sign that I must visit there someday. I was so lost in the magazine, I was shocked when the captain came over the intercom to announce that we were descending into Portland.

The article that intrigued me the most was written by one of the SNL contributors, a member of the Lonely Island comedy trio – Jorma Taccone. Try getting the song “I’m on a boat” out of your head after listening to it, it’s nearly impossible. I still have it stuck in my head. You can thank Jorma for that! The article was about him traveling across the world to Nairobi to write an article and to make a music video. His article made me want to visit Kenya and even made me laugh- something I’ve been trying to do more of. After  spending a few short hours in Nairobi and asking around for a local artist, he met Kaka Sungra, aka Rabbit, a well known rapper.

Here is the video that Jorma and Rabbit made together: http://www.afar.com/posts/p-for-every-issue-of-afar-we-spin-the-globe-and-send-a-writer-to-a-random-destination?spt=SL&kme=Visits+Short+Link

What I loved most about this article and this rapper, is that the world may be large, but we have this amazing gift, the internet, that makes it possible for us to connect with others on the opposite side of the world and even to listen to a song written by a rapper from Nairobi! To see how others live in such different places under such dire circumstances and realize that they still have the same worries and concerns including gossiping – check out Rabbit’s rap about it on youtube. That they have such different circumstances, astounds me and I am in awe of this world we live in. I am determined to travel more to see these places.

I will also say that I now have a small crush on one of the Lonely Island members, just don’t tell him.

What I Love… The Holstee Manifesto

I found this poster which is fitting for my life right now: http://shop.holstee.com/pages/about

Not all of it pertains to me at the moment, but at one point or another it has. Lately, I had this realization that this is my life. I think for the first time in my life, I am living my life for me and no one else. I’m not waiting for anyone else to approve what I’m doing or what I want to do and I LOVE IT. No longer do I wait to see what a friend, family member, or boyfriend are doing before I decide what I want to do. I get to march to my own drum and the beat changes daily. It is the most amazing feeling I have ever had.

What I Love… White Water Rafting

A week ago I went white water rafting for the first time. This is something that I have been wanting to do ever since I was a small child. I remember going on camping trips to Montana and seeing signs for white water rafting, but never had the opportunity to go. I was too young, too small, or there wasn’t time. A good friend of mine and I have been talking about going for a couple years and when he sent me a message about a month ago that we should finally go, there was no turning back.

The experience was everything that I had ever hoped it could be. Not only was I with a great group of people, I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time we were in the water. I will admit there were times where my smile might have reflected a better “Oh, shit…” than “Bring it on”, but once we started into a rapid my shocked expression turned to one of laughter. I couldn’t stop laughing.

Wenatchee River - River of Many Pillars

Our guide, who was just about as cute as they come and newer to guiding, running a group in 3-4 rapids, kept our trip adventurous. Not only did we lose both our paddles but two people in our group went swimming unintentionally, one my friend in a rapid no less and the other our guide trying to stop the boat for the others to catch up.

I took this picture as we were floating down the river between the rapids. It was calm and beautiful, a perfect day to escape and have a wonderful time. Even the swallows, which  I have decided are my favorite bird, were playing with each other, flying over our boats and skimming the water. They are amazingly playful creatures. I think that’s what I like most about them. They remind me of what I want out of life- happiness and joy.

White water rafting will be an annual trip from now on and I hope I can do an extended one where we can go for more than one day and camp. Already, I’m making plans for next year I loved it so much!

What I Love… Russian Olives

It’s been three years since I was back home in Salt Lake City during June. Although, June happens to be my favorite month in Utah, it has been impossible to travel home this time of year as I usually end up home for holidays and family events that always manage to occur at different times throughout the year. This year, I purposely planned a trip to be home in order to smell the Russian Olives blooming in the early summer. Unfortunately, the smell was not as potent as it could be due to the atypical cold weather and bouts of pouring rain not common to the area. Regardless, I still got what I wanted, to smell the sweet aroma of the Russian Olive in the early evening the first few nights I was there. Sunday afternoon before heading back home to Portland, I was taken by surprise,  when I went outside onto the patio at my mother’s condo to watch the thunderstorm that was blowing through the valley. The sweet mix of rain and Russian Olives reminded me of why I love Salt Lake City.

Almost three years ago, I packed up my car and moved as far as possible from the state I grew up in with no desire to return, even for vacation. I fit the stereotype of a young  kid who hated their small hometown and always dreamed of moving far away and finally did after college. It was not even a year after I moved that I returned to help my mom who became ill the spring after I moved. Ever since then I find myself traveling back to Salt Lake City four or five times a year, mostly for family. At first I went reluctantly and now I go willingly, happy to see my friends and family.  Sometimes, I find it hard to leave, but the moment the plane starts to land in Portland, I realize how much Portland is now my home, even though I miss my family and friends back in Salt Lake.

Utah has a stigma and not a good stigma, from what I’ve learned when I tell people where I am from.  I usually get the same questions over and over again, the same questions that I was running away from. Yes, this used to irritate me, but now I just have to laugh. Without going into a rant and rave about where I grew up south of Salt Lake, I will say that I believe that stigma is earned.  However, I can’t say that Salt Lake is a horrible place. In fact, Salt Lake City is becoming a cool metropolitan area. Going back home over the last few years has shown me how much it has changed and how liberal, open, and tolerant Salt Lake City is becoming.

I am who I am today because of where I grew up and in spite of where I grew up. For that reason Utah will always hold a special place in my heart and the Russian Olives will forever be one of my favorite spring smells for all the happy memories it brings back.

365 Days of What I Love

My life motto is live, love, and laugh, but I realized recently that maybe I’m not sure about what I love or why I love it. Being the youngest of 5 children, where the first 4 where very strong willed, I tended to go along with the flow and I ended up liking and doing everything that my older siblings liked or did, without really thinking about it. Yes, I took German in Junior High and High School because most of my older siblings did, but I really wanted to take Spanish.  I studied business because that created more job opportunities when I really loved writing and psychology. I was trying to fit in, in my family. I find it funny to think about, because I know they love me for whoever I am and whatever I love. Although, I cannot discount some of what they have shown me. Thanks to them I love 80s movies and music, a passion that I will not forget; writing, a passion and outlet for almost everything; and I somehow ended up with an affinity for Guns ‘N Roses and Aerosmith at a very young age, although that affinity has faded.

Still sometimes I wonder how much of what I like/love isn’t because someone else in my life likes it. I think my habit of going along with the flow  is one that stuck with me, for better or worse. In an effort to not be a follower but an active player in my life, I am going to take 365 days to explore and figure out what I love, juxtaposed to my ABC’s of Life reflections. This seems like a daunting task now that I have written it out, but something tells me it will be amazing. My only disclaimer is that I know there will be days that I have to skip for life, laughter, and love, so I will let some posts span across a few days if I need to.

As today is almost over, I will start tomorrow.