1 Week, 1 Photo, 1000 Words (2011.01 #2)

Greetings from West Covina, CA, USA!

As hinted in my last entry, I made a few resolutions for 2011. The first was to restart this journal and write at least one entry monthly. Contrary to its name – 1 Week, 1 Photo, 1000 Words – I can’t commit to a weekly cycle right now. I could re-title this but I’ve done that a few times already and grown attached to the current moniker. Instead I will aspire to work my way back to that schedule. Regardless of the frequency, I am happy to resume writing. Fortunately the photography never stopped.

I never did new year’s resolutions until a few years ago. I did just one for 2009. I wanted to ease my debt load by reducing my number of creditors by 50% which is different from reducing my debt by 50%. Unfortunately by February 2009 I had to put it on hold as my freelance job came to a sudden end. By the start of 2010 I was employed again and decided to retry the resolution. At my worst the list of who I owed had broken the double digits but I succeeded in cutting it down to 5. Whew!

While one thing was cut in half, another thing was doubling. I had a not-so-small pile of unread novels that was growing. My job is directly across the street to a shopping center with a bookstore. Throw in a continuous supply of emails with vendor coupons and I was rapidly expanding my home library. For 2010 I added a second resolution – read at least 1 book. I’m not talking Dr. Suess nor War & Peace, just something in the 100 to 1000 page range. I barely got halfway through a 200-page book before giving up. My work and commute were draining me of too much energy.

But like my creditor resolution, I am making a second attempt for 2011. The book will be A Wrinkle in Time. As a teenager I enjoyed reading it and its two sequels. About five years ago I learned that the trilogy had become a quintet. I decided that I could best enjoy the entire series if I reread the first three before the last two. So while my goal is to read just one book, I’ve set myself up to read five – an approach of “If I’m in for a dime, I’m in for a dollar”.

I have yet to pick up the book but, as I write this, we have just begun the second month of 2011. Meanwhile resolution #2 – a minimum of one entry in this journal monthly - is well under way. if I succeed with both resolutions and got a flower - like the one in the accompanying photo - for every book read or entry written, I’d have a lovely bouquet by the end of the year. And that would be the sweet smell of success!

1 Week, 1 Photo, 1000 Words (2011.01 #1)

A new year – 2011 – the start to the second decade of both the 21st century and the 3rd millennium.

As is tradition, a new year is opportune for resolutions and one of mine was to restart my journal. I want to note that while “blog” may come to mind, my inner snob finds the word too pedestrian. I hope that my photos and words create an experience - an appealing blend of sight and thought – that stands out amongst the often rambling blogs of the masses. But that is not to say that I am above it all. I have faith (and a little fear) that you, the readers, will keep me humble without hesitation.

My journal’s first run lasted just over two years with a minor break in the middle. Then 16 months of nothing. What happened? I started a job and the 75-mile round-trip drive took away at least 3 hours as well as my remaining reserve of energy not spent at work. To be clear, I enjoy my job as much as I dislike my commute. Then after many, many months of enduring the grind of gridlock, the road opened up literally – in the form of the carpool lane. I joined a vanpool and it’s made a world of difference. The group rotates the driver but I am behind the wheel just one day a week and in a passenger seat the rest of the time.

I had plans to move closer to work in the first quarter of the year but those are now delayed but not cancelled. Less mileage added to my car, less money spent on gas and less stress from driving in peak traffic are all great but time-wise, I am breaking even. The cost of rent will be offset by the direct savings in commute costs but the indirect savings of cutting drive time from 3.5 hours to 0.5 will be priceless. Moving plans are pushed to mid-year and in the meantime I can used some of the money saved from vanpooling to pay off the out-of-work accumulated debt.

Now for one last piece of business – counting down to the new year and celebrating it in a new location. The New Year’s Eve plan was to welcome 2011 at the Orange County Fairgrounds but I got a last minute invitation to a party at an old high school classmate’s house. I decided to swing by for a while before heading out the OC Fairgrounds but never made it to the latter. Nothing bad happened – no drunk driving or car crashes. I simply enjoyed my friend’s party enough that I saw no point in going elsewhere. At midnight we braved the “relative” cold of the backyard, lit sparklers and popped noisemakers. We continued the celebration inside amongst the warmth of friends – and a heated house. And as my photographic billiard ball ode to 2011 shows, we played some pool too.

1 Week, 1 Photo, 1000 Words (2009.08.09)

Greetings from La Puente, California, USA!
View of San Gabriel Valley from Pacific Palms Hotel on Thursday, August 6, 2009

I miss many things. I miss cable television. I miss scripted shows Eureka and Stargate: Atlantis on SyFy. I miss reality shows Dirty Jobs and MythBusters on Discovery. I miss Top Chef on Bravo, GRSSK on ABC Family and Psych on USA. They entertain me, an hour at a time. But what I miss more is the traditional 30-minute, laugh(track)-filled, filmed-before-a-live-studio-audience, singable-theme-song, family-friendly and family-centric comedy. Where is the next Family Ties, Growing Pains or Home Improvement?

Family comedy is comfort food, especially in these sad economic times. I miss the idyllic innocence of The Brady Bunch. I miss the “Urkel” calamities of Family Matters. I miss the sidesplitting slapstick of 3rd Rock from the Sun. But new comedies are often missing something. All shows have slowly surrendered second by second to commercials and theme songs have taken the brunt of the blow.

Full theme songs (and opening credits) still exist – check out The Big Bang Theory. But more often we hear just a few musical notes and see a title card for a few seconds – The New Adventures of Old Christine for example. Far from insignificant theme songs are deeply ingrained in our culture. Hear “Movin’ On Up” and “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” and The Jeffersons and Cheers come to mind. Conversely think of Three’s Company and The Facts of Life and you recall their eponymous themes.

Theme songs serve a purpose. On The Beverly Hillbillies and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air they tell full back-stories while on Green Acres and Who’s the Boss? they distill the show premises. Others set a tone like the unique snappiness of The Addams Family theme and the 1950s pop of the Happy Days theme. And they are not limited to comedies. The Dukes of Hazzard had “Good Ol’ Boys”, Greatest American Hero had “Believe It or Not” and The Heights had “How Do You Talk to an Angel?” Remember those?

As new shows ditch theme songs, older and longer shows are edited down. But if I Love Lucy lost its opening credits to more commercials, it would not feel the same. I understand that everything changes for better or worse. Fewer people wear watches as their cel phones have clocks. Now when seeing a watch, I think that the wearer is more classy. Maybe with theme songs so rare, a new show with one gets more distinction.

I miss many things. But other things I will not miss. Every so often, after the rare rainstorm or on a windy day in smoggy SoCal, our visibility feels endless and colors are more vibrant. The weekly photo was taken on a breezy evening from a local hilltop hotel. Perhaps a theme song would make the view more perfect. As for smog one day it will be gone entirely and I will NOT miss that.

Angelo

1 Week, 1 Photo, 1000 Words (2009.08.02)

Greetings from West Covina, California, USA!
Palm Trees directly above on Thursday, July 30, 2009

I have now spent two months without cable television and wi-fi internet access at home. The experience has been interesting. I do have web access but it is severely limited. My brother connects via a gadget that works through our cel phone service. If absolutely necessary, I borrow the gadget, typically late at night, since my always-on-the-go brother takes it with him and normally gets home later in the evening.

Otherwise I use the free wi-fi access at either the city library or the local Panera Bread Café. For the first month I frequented the former. But as a government-funded entity, the library does not have a fast connection, made even slower by many, many users. Instead of five minutes to skim through new email, I spend over an hour – very, very frustrating.

In mid-July I switched to Panera. Its wi-fi is faster and has fewer users. But the trade-off is that I should be buying food or a drink when there. Fortunately the Panera staff does not enforce this. Nonetheless I do buy an inexpensive soda or cookie about 50% of the time so I am still spending less than the monthly cost of a cheap (and slow) home internet phone connection. Plus I get something sweet to eat.

Since the library and Panera are open during the day, I leave the house and interact with the world at-large (and take weird pictures like the weekly photo). I avoid going stir-crazy as a pseudo-recluse. Also confined to public channels, my choices of television programs are extremely limited – more reason to go out. I do confess to watching a soap opera (I will not say which one) but it is recorded, freeing up my afternoons. Also when watching later, I fast-forward through boring scenes.

During the day the only scripted shows on public television besides serials are half-hour comedy reruns. The rest is “reality” stuff: court shows – Judge Judy and People’s Court, game shows – The Price Is Right and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, talk shows – Oprah (Winfrey) and Ellen (Degeneres) and local news shows – Eyewitness News at 11 and… Oh, you get the idea. Except for the news, I avoid it all.

I will survive and have wi-fi and cable again eventually. A recent saving grace was the analog-to-digital transition last June. Previously my parents had lousy antenna reception. Now all the channels are clear, at least on my TV. My soap The Young & The Restless Days of All My Children’s Lives is on. Amnesiac Erica is about to seduce, accidentally of course, her doctor Troy, twin brother of Colin, her 8th & 10th husband. Gotta go.

Angelo

1 Week, 1 Photo, 1000 Words (2009.07.26)

Greetings from West Covina, California, USA!
Bulldog Decoration on Gate at West Covina High School on Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Class reunions are a long-standing tradition in American culture. Previously I recounted my experience at my 10-year reunion and now am looking forward to my 20-year one. In fact I joined the committee to plan the event. Last weekend we committed to a location, which is a huge relief but the overall experience to date has had several twists and turns.

First money is a big issue. With the global economic recession, we wanted to keep costs low and pass the savings to our classmates through lower prices on event tickets. To cut cost we did not use a reunion company but the committee would be on its own on researching and paying deposits for venue, musical entertainment, photographer, etc.

I have attended literally dozens of weddings but never planned one. Yet I boldly say that a class reunion can be very similar – hotel rooms, guest list, food, music, etc. An important rule: Find a location and then choose from its available dates. Before our committee had its first meeting in May, one member announced a date in June and then rescheduled it for October. To avoid confusing our classmates further, we stayed with the revised date but still needed a venue.

We set a deadline of 7/18 to commit on a location. In early June we had a frontrunner, the Embassy Suites in Brea. The hotel has an Egyptian theme and a central atrium capped by skylights seven stories up. I was impressed the moment that I entered but the final decision was made on our deadline day over a month later.

To give our classmates at least three months to plan ahead for the reunion, we had to launch our website by 7/25, just a week later. We also had a calendar of events – picnic, homecoming football game, post-game social and a hotel brunch in addition to the reunion party. One committee member and I made minor decisions non-stop – picnic at this park, post-game social at that restaurant bar – while creating the website, something that neither of us had done previously.

We used Yahoo Sitebuilder, a web building for dummies application. My past experience laying out a newsletter for a group also helped. While our four-page website won’t win any awards, I am proud of it. Plus we went live a day ahead of schedule. Whew!

Instead of looking for a job, I spent the week working – unpaid – on the reunion plans. I also went back to my school, West Covina High, to take photos of the campus. We would post them online to get classmates nostalgic and interested in the reunion events. My weekly photo is one of those shots. Incorporated into the framework of the campus’ front gate is the school mascot. GO BULLDOGS!

Angelo

1 Week, 1 Photo, 1000 Words (2009.07.19)

Greetings from Costa Mesa, California, USA!
Chair Lift Ride over the Orange County Fairgrounds on Sunday, July 19, 2009

My brother got a new car, an Acura TL, last month. After 8 years and endless trips to the auto body shop, his old car had one final crash and the insurance company declared it a total (wreck) as the cost of repairs exceeded its value. Meanwhile after 12 years and 200,000 miles, my Jeep has seen better days. Yet I remain strongly attached to it and intend to keep it when I eventually get another car. But I need a job, not only to earn money for the big buy but also pay for my current car’s maintenance and repairs.

This week I spent over $1500 on my Jeep. Initially I needed new tires. With wheel alignment and an oil & filter change, the cost was $425. I also had a random but frequent noise from the back of my car. The diagnosis was a worn-out rear differential. Even worse, it’s an uncommon repair so the part was expensive – some $850 and another $250 for labor. My bank account is bleeding. I need a job now.

I also need to escape from reality – and the heat – occasionally. The movie Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince opened this week. I have yet to read beyond the initial Sorcerer’s Stone but felt that major details in book 6 were cut from the 2-1/2 hour movie. Still it was a great blend of action, comedy and romance in an air-conditioned theatre.

With a friend I watched the movie on Friday in La Canada Flintridge then headed to downtown Pasadena afterwards. At One Colorado Courtyard I saw my second but unplanned movie of the day – a free screening of “Singin’ in the Rain”. While real rain would have been welcomed, I enjoyed watching the film classic in the cooler evening air.

A final salvo was a return to the OC Fair on Sunday. A friend and his son were going with their neighbors and I was invited to join. The neighbor’s relative worked in the fair’s carnival and got us free admission plus an unlimited rides pass. SWEET! Perhaps because of the recession, crowds were light and lines were short. SWEET again!

Apparently my invitation came with a caveat. I went with the kids on any ride needing an adult but their parents did not go on. I get motion sickness very easily. The worst was a covered, backward-spinning ride. I never caught its name but enough said about that. Second worst was a flying version of Disney’s Spinning Teacups. NOT sweet.

I much preferred the bumper cars (did that twice) and the water ride (three times). Another favorite is the chair lift over and across the fairgrounds. This week’s photo shows my friend, his son and the neighbors in the seats in front of me and the carnival before us. It’s quite similar to my very first weekly photo. Ah, the memories!

Angelo

1 Week, 1 Photo, 1000 Words (2009.07.12)

Greetings from Costa Mesa, California, USA!
Sand Sculpture at Main Entrance of Orange County Fair on Friday, July 10, 2009

The Orange County Fair began this week. It marks the two-year anniversary of a beginning and an ending – the start of this journal and the end of my last “permanent” job. I use the quotation marks because no one’s job is safe in this global recession. With two degrees – a bachelor’s in economics and a master’s in business – perhaps I should have foreseen this.

During a dinner conversation in 2006, I told a home-buying friend that in the next five year housing values would stop rising and even fall up to a conservative 20%. A few years later, the friend recalled our exchange, noting my foresight’s accuracy. In a mature industry like housing, the market has steady long-term growth with cycles of expansion and contraction. The last boom was so large in every way that the subsequent bust would have equally far-reaching ramifications.

Crude oil had a similar story. Prices fluctuate daily with trends both up and down. The mesmerizing climb to $150 per barrel was matched by the frightful freefall to $50 and less. I knew it would drop but it surpassed my guess on how low. Despite my educated assessments, I did not publicly caution people. Would have anyone listened? Greed had full control of the housing and oil situations and only time would reveal the complete set of consequences.

I did NOT foresee the rates of unemployment nor realize when losing my job that I would be among the first of millions. A common employment procedure is “last hired, first fired” but hopefully the reverse does not apply. I do not want to be among the last ones working again. The job search continues but I make time for more pleasant diversions.

The OC “Super” Fair with the theme “Think. Big.” once again offered free parking and admission for the initial hour of opening day on Friday. Two years ago a friend was caught in the fair’s first day traffic and ultimately gave up, turning around to drive back home. Despite my warning, another friend had a similar experience this year but she eventually got in, then we met up and enjoyed an afternoon watching performances and viewing exhibits like the sand sculpture in this week’s picture.

I entered the fair’s photo contest again but my sole submission did not pass preliminary judging. This year’s art gallery appeared smaller. Perhaps the judges were more selective or fewer people submitted shots or both. I saw some noteworthy pieces but overall was underwhelmed. I went to another event at the Great Park the following day and that too paled compared to previous ones like Snow Day and Halloween. Hopefully these lowlights are not the start of a downward trend. I have had enough of those.

Angelo