My New Job!!!

For those of you who don't know, I started a new job this week. I'm not exactly sure what my title is. I'm basically a paid intern in the Marketing Department of St. Anthony's Medical Center. I'll be doing a variety of tasks, but they really want me for my photography. I just hope I don't disappoint them. 

I've "worked" there for two days now. I say "worked" because I was physically in the building, but haven't really done anything yet. So far, I've gotten a tour of the hospital (I liked the lady who gave me the tour, but honestly, I'm not going to remember how to get around that hospital...it's a maze, thank goodness for maps and people sympathizing with my confused/lost look, I'm guessing that will come in handy a lot in the next couple months). I've also read through my department's spotlight newsletters from the past 2 years and spent hours familiarizing myself with the website...yea...I've also spent some time with various people on my team to learn what they do. Everyone seems really nice. I think once I actually start working, I'll enjoy it here.

This is my very own cubicle! It's very spacious. It was pretty organized when I started, but I tidied it a bit more. When I get bored at work, I clean and organize.

This is me pretending to work. *cough, cough,* I mean, reviewing the website...

Oh hey there, yea, this is me in my cubicle. I know, I know, I'm awesome. (So yea, apparently if I'm bored enough I take pictures of myself in my office.)

And in my car waiting for it to get dark...

Why was I waiting for darkness? Well, my first assignment is take a picture for the cover of Spotlight Magazine. This magazine is for employees and volunteers for St. Anthony's. Right now it comes out about once every other month and contains a lot of profile stories.

Kevin, the graphic designer, is going to go with me for the shoot. We were supposed to do it today, but he decided tomorrow would be better. I decided I may as well stay and take a few test shots to see when it gets dark and yea whatever, I wanted to feel like I was actually doing something. The thing is...it's freakin cold outside! I was outside for maybe 10 minutes taking 4 images of the same shot and that was all I could take. By the time I got back to my car, my fingers were numb. I had a hard time getting my keys out of my bag. Then I just sat in my car feeling the heat prickle and eventually thaw my fingers. 

Hey, I know what you're thinking, I'm not a wimp! I generally like the cold better than the heat, but geez.  I plan to dress warmer tomorrow...thank you cuddle-duds, double socks, and warmer gloves? well, maybe the 10 hour hand warmer I got in my stocking will help. Maybe I shouldn't thank these things yet, I'll get back to you.

Anyway, here is the one shot I took today. I like it, but not for the magazine cover. I guess the cold froze my brain because I completely forgot the magazine cover needs to be vertical. Ah well, better luck tomorrow!

It's That Time Of Year..

Well, it's January 2011, so I should probably update you all on my holidays.

First came Christmas: I could take this time to talk about seeing family and friends and going to Christmas Eve mass instead of midnight mass (because I'm getting old and frankly didn't feel like staying up that late), but I'm not going to.

Instead, I'm going to tell you about the prank we pulled on my sister. You know the movie, A Christmas Story? Well, this year, the most awesome product came out in stores: the leg lamp. Now, it's not quite as great as the lamp in the movie, because it's only 20 inches tall, but it's still pretty dang cool.

I saw it in the ads a few weeks before Christmas and immediately thought it'd be the perfect prank for my sister. On Christmas day, my dad, brother, and I snuck over to my sister's house. It was quite easy because she was feeling sick and stayed at our house with Mom when we went over to Grandma's for lunch. We turned off her tree (which was located in front of the window) and put the lamp on the window ledge. In the picture below, you can see her lovely new house with the lamp in the window.

Now the prank didn't go exactly as planned. We were supposed to go over to Kate's house for dinner that night, and would have seen her reaction. Unfortunately, time got away from everyone and we ended up eating at my house. So she went home that night (without us) and then texted me: "thanks, but it's not my style." The next day, she told me that she almost drove by the house, not recognizing it as hers. 

So the prank didn't go as planned, but hey, I got a holiday leg lamp out of it :)

(Forgive me, but all of the photos in this blog were taken with my point and shoot. The point and shoot fits better in my purse and I didn't want to bring my good camera to Chicago for New Year's.)

 Isn't it great? It's in my room right now and I plan to put it up every year for the holidays.

Ok, time for New Year's Eve. Quitting my job allowed me to go to Chicago for New Year's :) (Don't worry, I start my new job on Monday). On Wednesday, December 29, Emily, Matt and I took the Megabus to Chicago. Emily and Matt stayed the first two nights with a friend of Emily's and I stayed with Carlie. On New Year's Eve, we all met up and got dolled up and went out to dinner. Then we went back to Carlie's apartment and partied like only we know how...a little wine, cartwheels in the hallway, a little dance party, roof-top party poppers, oh and don't forget the drunken pre-maid of honor wedding speech Carlie gave to Emily and Matt. I caught it on video, but unfortunately it was on Carlie's video camera so I doubt any of us will ever see it.

Anyway, here is a picture of the four of us before we went out.

The past two years now, we've gone to this coffee shop in Lincoln Park on New Year's Day. I believe it's called the Noble Tree. Both years it was incredibly cold outside and the walk to the coffee place which in good weather would seem like nothing, felt incredibly long. It was worth it though. The cozy three-level coffee shop has amazing coffee and comfy couches and sitting areas.

Here is my caramel laté. It was delicious.

Then we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo to see their lights. It was nice, but very very cold. We kept ducking into the buildings to get warm. Here we are greeting some penguins:

I don't know what I'm doing with my face in this picture...I think I'm trying to look smug? Or maybe I'm about to laugh...

And here is a picture of Matt and Emily kissing in what looks like a Cinderella carriage of sorts. I did a style thing in Photoshop, poster edges. I think it looks neat.

Matt, Emily, and I came back to St. Louis on the Megabus on the 2nd. Another good start to the new year.  I am definitely looking forward to 2011.

Christmas Puppies!!!

Ok, so I'm posting this a little late, but I really did make it before Christmas...

For those of you who don't know, the one dressed as Santa is my sister's dog, Rocky. And the cute one with the elf hat on is my dog, Jerry.

Matt & Emily Are Engaged!!!

Just a few hours ago, my friend Matt proposed to my friend Emily. I was thrilled to be a part of the special occasion. What was my roll? you ask... Well, Matt wanted the proposal to be a surprise, so he planned to sneak in town and have me get Emily to the place he wanted to propose. So I had the difficult task of getting Emily to Laumeier Sculpture Park at a certain time on a certain date - not an easy thing to do. We had to be flexible because Emily kept changing our plans! But it all worked out. Emily thought she and I were going to go to dinner and then the Billikens game tonight. I picked her up at 4 (which she thought was too early for dinner, but I insisted that by the time we got downtown and seated we'd be hungry). It wasn't until I was making a left into the park that she asked where we were going. I told her that I had to give a cd of images to a client. She thought this was kind of shady, but I told her this is where I had the photo session (which was true, and they did get their cd today, just not at the park). Emily thought about staying in the car, but I told her to come with me. 


As we were walking to the spot Matt and I had decided upon, she told me that she and Matt used to come to this park a lot. We were talking as we approached Matt, and when she realized it was him, she looked at me with a look of astonishment. She had no clue!! She was frozen to the spot and Matt had to come over and bring her to the location he wanted to propose. I was shaking a little; I was so excited for them. I stayed in the background and took some pictures, trying not to intrude on their private moment. After the proposal, we walked around and took pictures, utilizing the last remaining daylight.


I am so excited for them! Not only are they two of my best friends, but they're also an amazing couple. I know they will be happy together. Oh yes, and Emily also found out today that she got the job at the Vanderbilt hospital. Now she will be moving to Nashville and she and Matt will live in the same town for the first time in 5 years.


Ok, since this is a Photo Blog, here are the pictures:


This is Matt's actual proposal:

This is the reenactment for photo purposes..         

This is Matt celebrating his ability to surprise her.

                      I just love these pictures.

Especially this one!!!

 Here is the cat sculpture they used to visit. Matt considered proposing here...

I had to keep reminding Emily to show off her ring!

This picture was Emily's idea. I like how it turned out.  

Does it sparkle enough for you?

Matt bought chocolate covered strawberries for Emily.  Here they are feeding each other.  I just wish the picture of Emily accidentally biting Matt's finger had been in focus!

 Congratulations Matt & Emily.  I love you guys!

 

Albuquerque!!

I went to Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit my brother the first weekend of October. Main reasons for going: 

           1)visit Joe 

           2)I had a birthday holiday from work (day off with pay, I'll take it!) 

           3)the Balloon Fiesta!

I met 3 interesting people on my way to Albuquerque, but didn't exchange names with any of them. I met the first man on my flight to Dallas. He had an Australian accent (I think) and I couldn't always understand him because he talked softly and well, I'm going deaf. But we had a good time making fun of items in the Sky Magazine. Seriously, who wants grass for a dog to pee inside the house? or a creepy baby doll? 

While waiting for my connecting flight, I met an 82 year old man with Alzheimer's. He was friendly and fun to talk to, even if he kept forgetting where we were and where we were going. He was going to visit his 64 year old daughter in Albuquerque. He's really going to miss his dog and his wife.  He says the great thing about being old is he got to marry a woman 20 years younger than him. I just smiled and nodded and realized his daughter is probably older than his wife. He told me about his WWII war training experiences (he didn't have to go to active war but his training experiences were bad enough).

On the connecting flight, I sat next to a teacher who teaches 4 through 6 grades in one classroom in a small town outside of Dallas. She says she likes this because she really gets to know her students. She was visiting a friend whose husband died over labor day weekend. I told her about my grandpa, and she told me that her father-in-law died of a prolonged illness a couple years ago, and as time passes, it becomes easier to remember them the way they were before the illness. I found this reassuring.

I got there on Thursday night, had a couple bites of sushi, tried out Joe's ab rocket, and then drove around trying to find a place to buy a wrist brace (my wrist was hurting due to strain due to sitting at a computer all day with my hand practically glued to the mouse). So after 20+ hours of being awake, I finally went to bed, on an air mattress.

On Friday, I woke up and went out on the balcony to see the view and enjoy my bowl of Special K cereal and Starbucks double shot that my thoughtful brother bought for me. Then, Joe and I went to the zoo, aquarium, and botanical garden.  The aquarium was lame (and when I say lame, I mean it was so small it took less than 20 minutes to see everything) but the zoo and botanical garden were cool. We were pretty tired at the end and had a nice chicken and rice dinner at his place.

Saturday we woke up extremely early, well normal time for me, actually an hour later due to the time difference. We had to catch the shuttle bus for the Balloon Fiesta at 4:30 a.m. Our bus driver was crazy and didn't know how to get there. We were wondering what she was on... The dawn patrol was canceled, which kind of sucked because we were standing around in the dark waiting for balloons to ascend for a while. But once the action started, it was amazing! The mass ascension is really a site worth seeing. I took hundreds of photos. You can see some of them in the collage below.

Side note: the weather in Albuquerque is superb. It was hot, but there really is a difference between a dry heat and the stupid Missouri humidity. The skies were blue and the two storms there were were up in the mountains and didn't come to us...  Also, the view from my brother's balcony is fantastic.. in the collage to follow, look at the picture on the left with the blue sky on one side and white clouds on the other; it was storming in the mountains while the sun was setting in the west.  Oh another thing, I can tell direction in Albuquerque!!! The mountains are always to the East! How easy is that? Hmm the mountains are behind me, I must be facing West.  Why doesn't St. Louis have a natural landmark like that?

Joe and I also went up to the mountains on Saturday. It was pretty cool, but I decided I really don't like tourists. We hiked around the mountain looking for rocks to bring back to my friend from work. Don't ask me why she wanted a rock, but she did. We left the mountain just in time. When we got back to Joe's apartment, a storm started in the mountains. I got some amazing pictures, but I'm glad I wasn't stuck in the storm!

On Sunday, we went to Old Town for a little shopping. I got a small decorative pot to remind me of the trip, a shot glass, balloon t-shirt, and of course, balloon salt and pepper shakers for my mom. Joe also got a decorative pot and a glass lizard thing. Then he took me to the airport. I sat next to a cute guy on the plane, but he slept the whole time, it was annoying. I like to talk to the people next to me. Oh well, I enjoyed the view to Phoenix. My connecting flight was delayed. On the 2nd flight, I sat next to an older couple who weren't really into talking either.  Odd coincidence, my neighbor was on that flight! I hitched a ride home with him so my parents didn't have to come fetch me from the airport at midnight.

Well, that was my weekend in Albuquerque.  Now here's what you've all been waiting for: My Albuquerque Collage!

St. Louis Balloon Glow

On Friday, September 17, I went to the St. Louis Balloon Glow with some friends.  It was pretty awesome.  Here are a few of the pictures I took.

Old Collages

I haven't taken a picture in so long, my poor camera is probably covered in dust! Ok, I may have exaggerated a little bit, but it feels like I haven't taken a picture for myself in ages.  I've been so busy lately, I've forgotten to make time for my photography.  The problem with taking pictures is then I have to tone them...I have pictures on my computer that I took in June and haven't even looked at!

Here is a collage I made of St. Louis. I didn't post it when I made it because it was a gift for my brother. I didn't want to take the chance of him seeing it before I gave it to him (I shouldn't have worried, he never looks at my blog). I tried to get pictures of the high lights of St. Louis, and yes, that is a metal tree in Forest Park. Can you tell I love the arch? I think the center image really makes this collage. It is actually graffiti downtown by the Fox. I wish I could claim it as my own, but alas, I am not that creative. I did, however, realize it's awesomeness and took a picture of it....in the collage I gave to my brother, I made the heart red because he is a "manly man" and doesn't like pink. I shall visit him in October so expect to see a New Mexico collage sometime this year!

I was going through pictures on my computer today and I came across this collage.  My aunt gave me this really cool camera key chain. I took the pictures with the photobooth on my laptop.  I meant to post this a while ago, but I guess I forgot.