ARUBA,JAMAICA,OOHIWANNATAKEYA. . .

(2008: whittier, ca. tweedle, twaddle, and gigi. tweedle and twaddle are visiting from norden, germany, for three weeks with 15 german students, as part of a student exchange. we've gotten to be great friends in the last month . . . they're wonderful. i even have an invitation to stay in germany with them next year! yay! unfortunately, however, they're leaving this weekend. so, tomorrow morning, saturday, we're off on one final tour of el lay, with special last minute pit stops at the huntington botanical gardens in pasadena and the griffith observatory near hollywood. woo hoo!)


(2008: whittier, ca.)


(2008: whittier, ca. so, as you can see, i volunteered to do a project with the exchange students--a feature/photo news magazine--which was a lot of fun . . . and hard work. there were over 800 photos to sort through and photoshop. plus, there were both english and german stories to edit . . . they were very sweet to thank the news staff and me.)


(2008: whittier, ca. cute, huh?)


(2008: whittier, ca. gerberas, my favorite daisies!)


(2008: whittier, ca.)

SOMEDAY,WHENI'MAWFULLYALONEANDTHEWORLDISCOLD,IWILLFEELAGLOWJUSTHINKINGOFYOU

(2008: whittier, ca.)


(2008: whittier, ca. in the background, one of my kids on staff, the school's resident cartoonist. he's an amazing artist . . . word. someday, i will post a photo of the poster he made for me to recruit kids for next year's news staff; it's off the chain.)


(2008: whittier, ca.)


(2008: whittier, ca.)

i took these pictures, today, in my fifth period. i've had this daisy on my desk since monday, when one of my freshmen, knowing that i love daisies, brought it to me during fourth period. as a gag, we filled up this itty-bitty trophy on my desk with water and used it as a vase (pronounced "vaaaahhhrse").

anyhow, the little thing has lasted all week! can you believe it? so, i decided this afternoon that it deserved a photo. and as i was snapping the shot, my editor-in-chief for next year looked at me and said, "ms. b., what are you going to title that shot?" i thought about it, then as i was about to answer with something totally lame, she volunteered, "the intersection of human and natural achievement."

wow. you know? i mean, yeah, wow.

this is why i love kids. this is why i LOVE my job. shit like that is what makes the pay bearable.

IJUSTWONDERWHATYOUDOTHEREINBACKOFYOURPINKCADILLAC

whoever said "it never rains in southern california" was a disgusting liar.

but that's ok.

i love rain.

i love water.

i love inclement weather.

it appeals to my inner melancholy.

feeling slightly better this morning, though i fear my brain won't be back for several more days (yeah, yeah, no comments from the peanut gallery, thank you, who right now are questioning whether my brain was ever really "here" to begin with). i have something i desperately want to write about, but it'll have to wait just a bit longer . . .

INYOUREYES,ISEETHEDOORWAYTOATHOUSANDCHURCHES

(2008: la habra, ca. yes, i had my camera in the car. yes, it was a red light. yes, i'm nuts. the sticker on the back windshield reads "actual size". adorable, huh? it's a 1957 nash metropolitan from the american motors corporation.)

i was so meant to take this photo (did you check out the license plate?!).

only in california, people, ONLY in california . . .

LIKECLEOPATRA,JOANOFARC,ORAPHRODITE

(2008: los angeles, ca. vic and hem at chez victoria for the housewarming.)


(2008: los angeles, ca. vic talking . . . yada, yada, yada. gee, you don't say?)


(2008: los angeles, ca. clearly vic's laughing at MY jokes. see, i'm very witty and funny, did you know?)


(2008: los angeles, ca. wait. what? i'm NOT funny OR witty, i just have something stuck in my teeth? don't just laugh, you ass! is it gone? *suck, suck, suck, swish* how 'bout now?)


(2008: los angeles, ca. vic is quite the literati . . . let's see what's on her shelf now: villete by charlotte bronte; alice's adventures in wonderland and through the looking-glass by lewis carroll; nip the buds, shoot the kids by kenzaburo oe; love in the time of cholera by gabriel garcia marquez. wait, "shoot the kids"? glad I'M the high school teacher. else, i hope that book's not what i think it's about . . .)


(2008: los angeles, ca. ribbit, ribbit. umm, am i the only one slightly turned on by these frogs? did i just say that outloud?)


(2008: los angeles, ca. above: crepes suzette (i sliced all of those oranges myself, thank you very much). you would not believe the incredible spread that vicky put on. few people are as gracious or generous. she HANDMADE EVERYTHING FROM SCRATCH. two kinds of crepes (handmade!), THREE different kinds of tarts (from scratch!), parmesan tomatoes (i helped grate the cheese), couscous, apple salad (yep, that was me julienning), asian mandarin salad, and lots of goodies in between, including brie, french bread, pate, olive tapenade . . . company, food, and wine were all tremendous. little else in life is more satisfying to the soul than good friends and good food. thank you, vicky!)


(2008: los angeles, ca. (cutie-patutie. he's three and fabulous. i wanted to put him in my purse and take him home.) "what's in this, you say? chocolate and hazelnuts?")


(2008: los angeles, ca. THIS is how to PROPERLY enjoy a crepe.)


(2008: los angeles, ca. don't ignore me! (latoya, then vicky, then hem.) hey, hem, what are you looking at?)


(2008: los angeles, ca. oh, HIM! is he rolling that ball or is that ball rolling him?)


(2008: los angeles, ca. "i'm sorry, we're you saying something to me?")


(2008: los angeles, ca. clearly no-one enjoyed the food. but seriously . . . yum, yum!)


(2008: los angeles, ca. at around 9pm, with the tike gone, it was time to kick off our shoes. this is MY shoe. nice, huh? i wear a size 13. i'm a sasquatch. a sasquatch in really hot, sexy, expensive stilletos. cinderella ain't got nuthin' on me, baby! but i digress . . .)


(2008: los angeles, ca. with the shoes off, it was time to open up the rest of the wine . . .)


(2008: los angeles, ca. don't act so surprised, hem, you knew this was coming all along! really now.)


(2008: los angeles, ca. the next few hours, i regret, i am unable to post photos. so in lieu of those censored images, here's an orange gerbera daisy from the table's centerpiece.)


(2008: los angeles, ca. lemme see . . . nope. sorry, still censored. here's a blue daisy . . .)


(2008: los angeles, ca. and we're back. boy, am i glad i don't have to be the one to clean up that mess! thanks again, baby, for everything. congrats on your new place!)

CAMINANDOPORLACALLEYOTEVI

(2008: whittier, ca. daisy outside of my school.)

could this be the prettiest daisy you've ever seen?

WATCHITSPINAROUNDINTOABEAUTIFULOBLIVION

is there a god?

i don't know.

i've had a crisis of faith this year. i don't think i believe in god anymore.

i want to believe that there is a god (and that jesus is him). but i don't know if i can anymore. i don't know if i do anymore. i don't know if i want to anymore.

maybe we're it, you know? maybe the only reason for being good and kind and honest is the sheer sake of being good and kind and honest.

i've posted these gerbera daisies because i love daisies (they're my favorite flowers. and of all the varieties, i love these best. i can't explain it. they're gorgeous and yet humble, if that makes sense), but also because they really make me want to believe in a higher power.

STOLENFLOWERSARESWEETESTINTHEMORNING

aren't these (shasta daisies?) gorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgeous?

SHOWMEAGARDENTHAT'SBURSTINGINTOLIFE

(2007: philadelphia, pa. i meant to focus in on the big, blurry daisy (black-eyed susan?) in the middle, but things just didn't turn out how i'd planned. story of my life, eh? still beautiful, though, right?)


(2007: philadelphia, pa. blu and i at the famous "rocky" steps. we're obnoxious idiots when we go out . . .)


don't you think daisies are the friendliest flowers? unpretentious? beautiful? sweet? happy?

i do.

enjoy! they're on the house.