Photographic Melee

"When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life,
I see so much magic though I missed it at the time."

- Jamie Cullum, "Photograph"

I decided to update my framed photographs to stuff that's more casual, less stuffy than posed photos. This was inspired by a few things: realizing that I didn't have a picture of two of my best friends up because we never "pose" for pictures together (unless the poses are completely ridiculous and may include a feather boa); a desire to surround myself with something new and positive; and a move away from the ordinary. Please, I'm known as someone who's creative, so why these stuffy posed pictures in my house? I had to make a change.

Now the photographic menagerie includes the following:

- My younger sister and I under the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign
- Cherie, Justyn and I at Cherie's wedding, posing like showgirls on the beach
- All the ladies from our trip to England, with that post-Ewanspotting glow from our trip to the Piccadilly Theatre, where he performed
- Claudia and I at Justine's Halloween party years ago- she is a gypsy and I am cartoon character Daria
- A 5 x 7 of my old dog Buddy, taken with my Minolta
- Fun pictures from a trip to Miami with several great friends
- Mindy, Jen, Kris and I another Halloween when we dressed as slutty fans from various musical genres: Jen took country, Kris took heavy metal, I took punk rock (what else?) and Mindy was the Purveyor of Sin, with a tool belt full of the tools you need to sin: condoms, shot glasses, alcohol of some sort, and I forget what else...
- Niece and Nephew in New York, building a snowman
- A "real" portrait of me and my sisters (a classic, so it can stay). (It gets extra points for being in black and white).

Elsewhere in my house is a picture of my "best friend" from my youngest years: my dog Lance. He had been outsmarted by a ball of yarn and it was wrapped all around his middle when the picture was snapped. Either my mom or dad took the picture because he and I were born the same year and he looks like he still might be a puppy in this picture. Then again, my older sister may have taken it. It's unclear. It's just cool that I get to see him every day, because he died in 1984 and I still remember what the fur on top of his head felt like.

And then there's the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. I won a contest with a picture I took of them. Although they are so awesome, it's kind of hard to screw up a photo of them. Kind of like Venice, Italy. Is it possible to take a picture there that doesn't look cool, just because it's an awesome place?

Finally, I'm starting my collection of Italian wedding photos- a move inspired by several Italian restaurants. Naturally, these pictures are in my dining area. One was snapped of my grandparents just outside the church where they were married, and you can see their cousins in the background. It's funny how we know exactly who these people are even though they've been together over 60 years. The second one is of my parents, walking down the aisle in 1967. You can see how everyone in the church has their head covered- an old school Catholic thing- and it helps you see how the moment is frozen in time. My mom was a bottle redhead and says that they both had movie-star good looks back then. My dad is about as big around as a paper clip and has his Navy haircut. It's pretty cool.

I have to go get clothes out of the dryer and go interview for a job (!) so I'm going to stop rambling. Hope you are all doing well.

Gabi