Photo of the Week (April 27 & May 4, 2008) Part 1 of 2

Greetings from Fountain Valley, California, USA!
Photo taken on Wednesday, April 23, 2008.

I’m back. Life has a way of distracting you. Yet this email is all about life - the times alone or shared, big and small, unique or routine, happy or sad. A perfect example is this week’s photo of two friends’ son taking his daily bath. It was a classic slice-of-life moment guaranteed to make people crack a smile. I was at their house at bath time and just couldn’t pass up taking a few shots as “Boo”, his nickname, splashed in the tub. The glass doors spared me from getting my own bath.

In other news, I attended a film festival. Park City (Utah) has Sundance, New York City has Tribeca and Newport Beach has, well, the Newport Beach Film Festival. A friend had four extra passes but I only took two as the festival ended the next day. I could only go that night, having plans already for the following evening. I picked two movies, was delayed and arrived far too late to watch the first one but did see the second.

The movie was “Osso Bucco”, an Italian dish loved by one character. Except for the opening and closing scenes, the movie takes place entirely in a Chicago restaurant on a stormy winter evening. As you may have already guessed, various people are snowed in without electricity overnight. Despite the clichéd situation, the actors and their roles made the story enjoyable. The characters and plot involved two cops trying to arrest two mobsters, one of whom has a crushed on the food server who is in a rocky relationship with the restaurant manager. Typically at film festivals, members of the movie’s cast and crew had a question & answer session after the screening, providing insight into the moviemaking process. Overall I give the movie and that evening two thumbs up.

By the way you may have noticed the two dates in the header. I had a topic that encompassed both weeks and decided not to break it up. But you have to wait until my next email to read all about it. Sorry. A little suspense won’t kill you, right?

One weekly email down and just how many more until I am caught up (again)? I’ll forgo counting. The number may discourage and delay me even more. Then I’ll get further behind and this vicious cycle continues. But Boo has the right idea. Soaking in a warm bath is one of life’s simple joys. Just don’t use your laptop while in the tub. The water damage is irreversible and, no, that is not the “distraction” that delayed my weekly emails. I’m just saying…

Angelo

Photo of the Week (April 20, 2008)

Greetings from West Covina, California, USA!
Photo taken on Sunday, April 20, 2008.

Tax Day 4/15 was this week. I always use my previous tax return when doing the current one and something odd showed up. I worked nearly all of 2006 but barely half of 2007. Yet my total income for 2007 exceeded that for 2006. I checked and saw why but will skip the explanation. Nonetheless it is all legitimate and accurate. Now I am inspired to figure out how to not work at all and have more income.

College men’s volleyball began its playoffs. My two alma maters UCI and USC met twice during the regular season with the Trojans losing both times. Wednesday night was the third face off. A friend could not attend and asked me to text the score every five points as the game was not broadcast via television, radio or internet. My texting skills are beginner level and I would have spent the entire match typing. Instead I updated him every 10 points and the experience proved to be a great crash course in texting shorthand. The UCI Anteaters won 3 games to 2 (24-30, 30-26, 21-30, 30-25, 15-9).

The next match was on Saturday in Provo, Utah, against the formidable Cougars of Brigham Young University (BYU). Team UCI had also faced them twice during the regular season, including one exciting match that I recounted back in February, and the Cougars defeated the Anteaters both times. My experiences in new technology continued. Earlier this month I listened to an internet radio feed of one match, then I mastered texting and now I watched the game through an internet video feed. The Anteaters started badly but improved with each game. Nevertheless the Cougars ultimately won 3 games to 1 (30-20, 30-22, 28-30, 30-28).

Season over for Team UCI but the regional and national championships are still to come and both are being held locally. With my favored team out, I am less inclined to go but still interested to see who wins the two titles.

Finally this is my 10th straight photo of the week without repeating a city. The pressure is on. How long can I keep this going? I recently mentioned that my parents were expanding their house’s guest bedroom. The work began two weeks ago with the tearing down of the enclosed patio. The foundation has been laid and the framework is going up as shown in the photo. Since I’m not working I could stay there and take daily shots of the work but my parents have no internet connection (or cable!). After my recent experiences in technology, how could I ever live so primitively again?

Angelo

Photo of the Week (April 13, 2008)

Greetings from Beverly Hills, California, USA!
Photo taken on Monday, April 7, 2008.

On Monday I trekked to Los Angeles to meet with yet another headhunter in my never-ending job search. Although the appointment was for 10 AM after the morning work rush, I still added time for possible traffic but it was not enough. I hit a slow patch and ultimately got off the freeway and braved the streets, which actually slowed me more. I was a half-hour late but did call earlier to tell my contact of the delay.

Having already driven this far, I had planned to spend the rest of the day in the City of Angels. I tentatively scheduled to meet a friend for a late breakfast but my earlier delay made it lunch instead. We ate at Farmers Market where the vendors offer a world of choices – Chinese, French, Cajun, to name just three. I chose Mexican. Then I went to the neighboring shopping center The Grove for a quick browse before going to my next destination.

Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive needs no introduction. But I will mention that the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the setting of the movie Pretty Woman, is located at the Wilshire Boulevard intersection and its lobby is my photo of the week. While I did not see “Vivian”, a celebrity was “walking down the street”. The woman caught my attention only because of the half-dozen photographers trailing her. Who she is, I do not know and the paparazzi definitely looked and behaved unruly.

Final stop was Museum Mile, the stretch of Wilshire Blvd. containing the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Petersen Automotive Museum and the Page Natural History Museum. The Petersen is closed on Mondays but I have been to it before so not a disappointment. I had also been to the Page before but revisited it, awed again by the fossils, all from the neighboring La Brea Tar Pits. I also saw the Japanese Art Pavilion at LACMA before finally heading home.

After that packed day, I did not go out again until Friday evening to watch friends play in a softball league. Then for nearly three hours on Saturday afternoon, I played beach volleyball, the first time this year. The construction work last month eliminated much of the sore muscles that I could have had later. We played in Huntington Beach and finding a street parking spot was a challenge. In fact I drove around so much that I had trouble finding my car later because every street looked familiar. Lastly I went to a three-year-old’s birthday party on Sunday. I missed the water balloon fight but later I was able to appease my inner child by playing with one of the gifts. I have now added a super-soaker to my wish list and my birthday is next month (hint, hint).

Angelo

Photo of the Week (April 6, 2008)

Greetings from Laguna Beach, California, USA!
Photo taken on Sunday, April 6, 2008.

I declare March 2008 as permanently missing. Of the 25 days from Monday 3/2 to Thursday 3/27, I worked on 23 of them. A few were half-days but most were easily full days and then some, painting walls and hammering nails and cutting wood. Meanwhile the rest of my life suffered. Laundry piled up. Job search sputtered. Even these weekly emails were delayed. I am amazed at what my body endured and what it needed to recover. When the job was done, I spent the following day sleeping. In fact I slept a lot over the next several days. I’d wake up after a full night’s rest, eat a meal, watch TV and fall asleep again for several more hours. Now my batteries are fully recharged again.

A sign that life is back to normal is watching a UCI Men’s Volleyball competition. I missed every home game in March but on Tuesday night, April 1st, no fooling - I went to another match, this one against the nationally ranked #2 team, the Matadors of California State University, Northridge (CSUN). In a close first game, CSUN won 30-28 and UCI took the second game 30-24. Game 3 was one for the record books. The 2-point lead needed to win made the game lasted well past the 30-point minimum. The final score was an impressive 42-40, UCI winning. For the CSUN Matadors, the defeat severely dampened their energy as game 4 ended with a humbling 30-18 loss, giving the UCI Anteaters the match, 3 games to 1.

I later read an article that stated Game 3 was the UCI team’s longest ever and the 42-40 score was the third highest in conference history. The two highest scores were 45-43 and 43-41 and coincidentally also involved CSUN. But the article did not mention the other opponents or the winners of those games. The UCI team is on the road for its final three matches of the regular season. They competed and won again on Saturday night against the Gauchos of sister university UC Santa Barbara. That victory clinched a spot for the Anteaters in the playoffs.

Lastly here is the weekly photo. Despite the many hours and days spent on work, I was able to squeeze in some photography. Yet ironically this week was completely open and I didn’t take a single picture until Sunday afternoon. Also I had not repeated a city in the photos for several weeks. I went to Laguna Beach to continuing that trend, ignoring my recent practice to avoid unnecessary driving due to high fuel prices and no income. The picture is of the landmark lifeguard building of the city’s Main Beach. The shot is a bit blurry but the last light in the evening sky exuded layers of blue hues possessing a calming quality, the perfect way to end any day. Thank You and Good Night.

Angelo