a moment or two.

My shutter finger was just begging for some exercise.

Photo dump

Some random moments from my days here at Pomona College.

I meandered into Walker Lounge when I had the luck of catching Sam Holtenhoff practicing on the piano. He played me a bit of Yann Tiersen's "Comptine D'un Autre Été, L'après-Midi," which I far from minded listening to.

It's these little moments that make me sincerely happy to be here.

I watched this man as I was taking pictures of Edwidge Danticat, who was explaining

the plight of her people. She also brought up the good point that contemporary works on Haiti

instantly became historical after the earthquake destroyed much of Port au Prince.

Suddenly, the restaurant written about in someone's novel is a thing of the past,

and exists only in photographs and memories. It can truly be said that nothing lasts.

But anyways, she deserves an entire post of her own. I was however, incredibly

intrigued by this man. I felt like he would have lots of interesting stories to tell...

On February 16th, former Governor of California Gray Davis came to Pomona to speak

about problems in this state. She question raised was "is California simply ungovernable?"

It was interesting to hear him speak as he was no longer bound by his constituents to say merely

the "right" things. He could truly speak his mind and think nothing of it.

And simply because I haven't posted a food picture in a while, here you go. Red Velvet Cake.

It was an interesting accompaniment to the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, and quite moist.

I'm amused and annoyed by how this post has no common thread, consistency, or anything of the sort.

But then, I suppose that's why I named it "photo dump."

Chapter V - Advice from a Caterpillar

The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.

"Who are you?" said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, "I-I hardly know, Sir, just at present-at least I know I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then."

"What do you mean by that?" said the Caterpillar, sternly. "Explain yourself!"

"I ca'n't explain myself, I'm afraid, Sir," said Alice, "because I'm not myself, you see."

Wednesday Burger Nights

My week in pictures:

Studying for a Chem exam.

Freaking Acid-Base titrations.

Cupcakes baked to help get us through the Chem exam.

The results of my bringing the camera to dinner.

Wednesday Burger Bar nights.

2 patties, provolone, american, and feta cheeses, hardboiled egg, egg salad, sausage, bacon, onion rings, barbecue sauce, mushrooms, and roast beef. What a heartstopper.

And guys randomly undoing girls' bras at dinner.

I'll still get to shoot with Pedro's 24-105 L lens that he let me borrow for a few more weeks, so I might as well enjoy it while it lasts. Woo.

Remember, remember...

...the fifth of November.

I should remember the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot.

But I have a far more personal reason why the fifth of November should ever be forgot.

Like a concussion. Yes, another concussion, like the one I received before Grad Night. But this time, I was being catapulted into the air by five guys for a dance routine, was thrown incorrectly, then proceeded to land on my head and back. Loverly.

And so I lost some memory, went through the usual concussion-related issues, and ended up in ER. Again.

Hello from my gurney :D

It was strange though... throughout the entire day, I kept on replaying when I got hit in the head by the golf ball over and over. I couldn't get my mind off of the sensation of getting thwacked in the head, then this happened. Odd, eh?

__________________________

In other news, it's somewhat fall-like here.

The trees and colors aren't all that exciting, but there is one good thing about living in the desert. When leaves fall, they dry up and get extremely crunchy - perfect for jumping on. Very satisfying.

__________________________

One last little sidenote: getting a suit tailored is a good lesson in assertiveness and knowing what you want. You can ask for your pants to hemmed a little shorter than most for a single, clean break, and the tailor will ask if you're sure you want it like that. Just smile and nod, being sure of your decision. This process will repeat itself for every alteration different from the norm, but you cannot be swayed. Otherwise, you will get your suit back and be disappointed that it does not look exactly how you wanted it to.

Go in knowing how you want to look, and stick to it, I suppose.

Click

I'm staring through a tiny little window
and I see something on the other side.
Hm. That seems interesting enough.
So I get a little bit closer,
and...hm. It is quite interesting.
I steady my hands.
Take a shallow breath. Stop.
Wait.
Click.
You're mine, interesting thing!
And then I smile,
then look at the screen,
only to realize that it looks like crap.
Damn.

(not a poem, I just thought it would be interesting to see my thought process when shooting written out)

_______________________________

This is Scott.
Scott plays "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" on his viola.
Scott is a bamf.

College.

First update since arriving at Pomona. Happy, Kylie? ;]

So yes, I am greatly enjoying my time here at Pomona College. Actually, that would be a gross understatement. I'm having the time of my life here. Not in the sense of ragers every night of the week (which there are...), but more because I get to be surrounded by ridiculously awesome people every waking hour of the day. Like this guy:

Meet my roommate, Amadé. He went to school in London. Yes, he does in fact have a slight accent.

Keep in mind that he doesn't always look like this. Only when skits call for cross dressing.

And I am pleased to present the ladies of Blaisdell Two Side. They were also victims of mandatory cross dressing.

Seriously, though. I'm privileged to live with each and every one of them.

Now, on to the important things. Like food! The selection is good and the food palatable, so what do I have to complain about? And best of all, there's a Yogurtland a short walk from my dorm. Actually, it's turned out to be quite a curse.

At Pomona, I also have the benefit of being able to raid the dining halls at Scripps, Harvey Mudd, or Claremont McKenna in addition to my own. I have abused this to great effect, seeing as Scripps has delicious freshly baked cookies (which were still warm and gooey at the time of this photograph).

Seriously...I had no idea what do to with myself in the presence of such delicious baked goodness.

Now that the important stuff is out of the way, I guess I'll talk about my classes. Or more specifically, Ballroom. I intend to join the championship-winning Ballroom Team this year. I will waltz, cha-cha, foxtrot, quickstep, salsa, and tango my way around campus in slacks and snazzy shoes that I was given by my original ballroom teacher, whom I miss learning from a lot right about now. I may not be able to practice many martial arts, but at least I can enjoy the thrill of sharp movements and calculated efficiency on the dance floor, if not the ring.

In other news, I am a big fan of college life. Cereal at midnight, awkward situations, and the stuff memories are made of. I love college.

I wish the best to all of my friends around the nation, dispersed amongst the overpriced educational institutions of the land. I hope that you are enjoying yourselves as much as I am (for mostly academic reasons, surprisingly) and I'll see you all soon enough.

I could never fully express the giddiness and excitement that being here makes me feel. It's intangible, uncontainable, and quite unimaginable.

Rock out. Stay classy.