New Shoes . . .

"To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved."
- George MacDonald

I found this quote once when I was having some issues with friendships.

This quote is one of the most life changing collection of words that have ever been introduced to me. To me, this quote is 100% pure and true.

You can not help who you love, love is uncontrollable. Sure, you can work on relationships with those you love, and love can grow stronger, but for the most part love is out of your control.

Trust builds relationships and it maintains, amplifies, and strengthens love. Tust is something that you have to earn and deserve, love is not.

There are people who I love that I do not trust, that is just how it goes.

Like I said before, you can not help who you love, but trust is something that is earned through dedication and honesty.

Mrs. Skiba

This is Mrs. Skiba.
Mrs. Skiba was my 4th and 5th grade teacher, but I would say that she has never stopped teaching me.

Mrs. Skiba is one of, if not the, most influential person of my life.

No one has ever taught me more about tolerance, acceptance, and overall love as she has.

Clearwater Theater . . .

We had a show tonight at the Clearwater Theater.

Being onstage is like an addiction for me, I can't get enough of performing in front of a large group of people.
It's not just the performing either, it's about enjoying good music, friends, and fun.

The show went well, could've went smoother, but that's always the case.

To all my blogger friends who have not yet heard the band, you can listen to us on www.myspace.com/beforesummerends. Don't worry Anna, it's family friendly and I think your children will enjoy it!

Music . . .

You're right Anna, it is freezing here!
When will this weather stop?!

Pictures were better today, I made a concious effort.

Playing around and experimenting with Corey's Fisheye/Macro lens was alot of fun.
I need one of my own.

Most of my pictures today are music oriented. Music is the most important hobby in my life. I love photography and showing the world the way I precieve things, but music is my passion. Music, to me, is so brutally honest at times that it is almost painful. It is one thing to show the world how you feel through photography, but it is another thing to tell them how you feel through song.

Music and photography are actually a great pair. Photography is the eyes and Music is the mouth and ears.

Reno 911 . . .

I only snapped one photo today, unfortunately the lighting was terrible and the picture itself is uninteresting.

I would have done something cooler outside, but the weather is terrible.

Oh well, the last two posts were pretty intense.

Barn Crashing . . .

I have always wanted to go this run-down barn/house out on Randall Road, and today I finally did.

Lucky I brought my camera, huh?

Well, Jake and I parked a bit a ways and decided it would be best to walk there. When we arrived there were construction cars in the driveway, so we decided we should probably find whoever was on the grounds and ask if we could snap some shots. We looked for about 10 minutes and started snapping pictures, one thing led to another and we totally forgot that there were even people on the premises.

After checking out the barns and the outlying buildings we built up the courage to journey into the house. The house was quite eerie because the previous owners just kind of left without a trace. There were still beds in the rooms, blankets, cereal in the pantry, countless children's toys, and sofas.

Everything was going pretty great until we got up to the second floor. That was when we heard the voices. Turns out we totally forgot that there were people on the property and we were now stuck on the second floor of a dilapitated farm house.

Long story short, we darted out the back door when no one was looking.

P.S. Sorry these took so long to post, I got a call from some friends at about 12:30 last night and I had to run to the studio to help them out.

Fence hopping...

Climbed my way into the abandoned toy factory today with Ethan, Jake, and Julia.
It was a lot colder than we had anticipated.

Between the collapsed roof, the leaking, and the clear corroding of the whole place, it probably wasn't the safest idea, but the best places to photograph are the hardest to get to.

::EDIT::

I hadn't looked at Jake's photographs until after I had posted mine, but once I did I felt like I needed to point something out.

It is astounding to me that two people can be in the same place at the same time and have a completely polar interpretation of the experience.

Jake's photographs of the toy factory are warm and intimate whereas mine are cold and distant.

It's not to say that one way is better than the other, but our photographs represent the way we viewed the same experience in retrospect.

Pretty damn cool.

Downtown? not quite...

Went bowling today, and all is right with the world.

Luna . . .

Relaxing, low-key day.

Watched The Science of Sleep, definately changed my outlook.

I know these pictures aren't as cool as the ones from this weekend, but I tried to spice them up a bit.

They're not bad, but not great.

Stella Filomena Benjamin!

Woke up in the city.

Took a walk down Michigan for some coffee and a paper then strolled on over to the hospital to catch a glimpse at my new baby cousin, Stella Filomena Benjamin.

Spent most of my day helping out with the baby.

We went to Piece for lunch I saw the Black Top Mourning van, so naturally I called Marty.

Hungout around my uncle's apartment, took a nice walk, then met up with my grandma and Franki for dinner at Club Lucky.

Definately a great closing to a fantastic and unnaturally long weekend!

Uncle Kev's Birthday!

Headed up to my grandma's house for my Uncle Kevin's birthday party.

It was pretty sweet. The guys watched the Departed, the ladies cooked and cleaned, and the youngin's made a mad dash to corrupt every square inch of the house.

My cousin beat me with a inflatable hammer, and I kinda felt like that family in the news recently.
Ok, that was offensive.

Afterwards, I headed back to the city with Uncle Kevin. We met up with one of his old friends at the Hilton and then watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off at his Michigan Ave. Apartment.

It was a great day, the city puts a blackade of buildings between me and all of my problems.

Tired...

Today was interesting.

I went to Nicki's birthday party and saw a ton of people that I haven't seen in ages or don't see very often.

It almost felt like a reunion

Turnabout Dance. . .

Today was amazing.

Spent a ton of time with friends.

The dance was really bumpin'.

The after party was one of the most memorable nights I have ever had!

Thanks to everyone!

Hello? Motivation? Didn't think so...

Why do I insist on surrounding myself with people who clearly don't want me around anymore?

I don't think I'm ready for the changes I need to make. . .