The Tree Apprentice

Maya*papaya, originally uploaded by verdefresco.

It is incredible to witness a best friend transform into a mom and to behold the site of parent and child before you. Where once it was her and I, two impressionable adolescents among our own parents, it is now her (first) with a beautiful child, created in an expression of love and hope between her and her wonderful husband.

I learn so much from my friends and thank God for having them in my life. Eventually I’ll have my own family but until then I’ll be helping out :).

I’m not one for superlatives as in describing personal favorites of anything. For some reason I always felt like a purist to the word ‘favorite’; I could never say one thing or another unless I knew something was truly a favorite. Talk about perfectionistic.

I haven’t changed much but with a renewed certainty I can say that I truly do have a favorite book now. I just finished reading Sharon Shinn’s ‘Archangel‘ for the third time over some 8 years.

Shinn writes great fantasy books and though I’ve never been big on the fantasy genre this particular book has really captured me. I’m not going to provide a synopsis but I will say that the story draws you in and Shinn’s ability to describe anything and everything is remarkable. I’m not the well-read type so I don’t have much to compare her to but I thoroughly enjoyed the book and as I twittered before, I think Shinn is a fantastic writer.

Here’s to the power of enduring love and sacrifice. I will quote one of several impressionable paragraphs from the book (I think this book speaks loudly to females):

” She took a step back but he caught her wrist, holding her there. ‘It shall be as you choose,’ he said. ‘You stay with me, or you stay with them–now, and once the Gloria is sung. But don’t think you can hide fromm me, wherever you go. There is not a place in Samaria–not in the mountains or the valleys, not in the rivers or the plains–not in Ysral, should you be able to sail to it–where you could go and leave me behind. And if I leave you, for any reason,’ he added, tightening his grip as she struggled to free her hand, ‘I will return to you. That is as certain as the sun rising tomorrow morning and the thunderbolt falling tomorrow night. That is as sure as the god’s existence. I will come back to you, or I will find you–over and over again, as often as we are parted, until the end of the world itself.’” (pg. 323, paperback, Sharon Shinn, Archangel)

Anyone swoon yet? Haha. Shinn did a great job with both Gabriel and Rachel.

Now, if only someone would be competent and keen enough to make a great film from this, either extremely well animated or done in a respectful, highly artistic yet convincing way….

Rehearsal dinner, originally uploaded by verdefresco.

Congratulations to Dan, my younger brother, and his lovely wife, Misono, newlyweds as of July 26, 2008.

After months of hard work in planning an East Coast wedding (I witnessed it first hand), they had a beautiful ceremony with a great turnout of friends and family (I thought). I will congratulate them on that as well since planning a wedding is hard work for sure.

I was fortunate enough to participate in the wedding as a member of the bridal party. As a result of the entire sum of experiences I had there, I felt like I got to know my family and my brother’s in-laws better, no less see Dan and Misono in their glowing moments. I was humbled, happy and grateful to be a part of the fusion of two special families, that day and from here on out.

I neglected to mention (in my haste) that one reason I was prompted to post such content was because of definite first hand experience in the “too much” category.  For a variety of reasons we have probably all experienced overeating at one point in our lives.  Well, I know for certain that I have repeatedly committed this offense (in my mind) and most recently, not 15 minutes ago.  It’s important to stay cognizant and remain aware and present whilst eating; it makes for a more pleasant experience and your body will thank you for it later!

In a recent health-related article at WSJ.com, a premier nutritionist (apparently a regular columnist) summed up the world’s health and nutrition crisis in a very awesome, concise way (I felt).

Unfortunately, I cannot remember her name but she said something along the lines of ‘too many calories consumed here and too little calories consumed elsewhere’ (That’s my rendition of it).  SO true. Evidently, she was speaking broadly too for as we should be aware, our own country of supposed ‘plenty’ suffers from notably impoverished populations of people also.

But yes, in very general terms, I must agree: our portions and type of calories are excessive while so many others struggle with just the basics elsewhere.  Interesting how divergent ends of a greater continuum follow similar problematic outcomes for the health and wellbeing of our world.  Just goes to show that balance is a necessary albeit often challenging pursuit.  Just my 3 cents.

Dear Earth,

From what I understand, many of our regular everyday activities leave what has come to be known as our “carbon footprint” on well, you, our lovely and important planet. While I have yet to more fully understand these processes, I do know that air travel enlarges that collective mark we are now recognizing as detrimental.

So, please forgive me when I tell you that I am about to board a plane in 3 hours to jetset several thousand miles east and then do it all over again 7 days later. My brother’s having a wedding (and I couldn’t miss that for sure) but I’d also like to catch up with a few old friends I haven’t seen in ages. If I had another way to travel such distances without adding to the problem I would; many more of us would, I’m sure.

Wouldn’t you concur that both problems and solutions benefit and suffer from the principle reflected in the statement “Everything adds up”? That said, please know that I’m trying to be more eco-conscious. Even though I may not be leaving excessive carbon tracks everywhere (like a celebrity with a private jet), I know that I can take various steps to offset some of those things I (we) do on a daily basis that add to the problem in the end.

Some may point out that this letter might be silly, however I for one believe that greater change starts with the awareness each person nurtures and develops for the sake of proactive contribution.

Thank you for reading and for the beauty that abounds in our natural world.

Verdant peace,

H

I saw ‘The Dark Knight‘ the other day with family and I have to say it was probably the best $7.50 I’ve spent in awhile.  For better or for worse, I know little about the actual Batman story as depicted in the timeless comic books.  Despite this, the movie still pleased for a variety of reasons: the acting was stellar (Christian Bale is awesome, Morgan Freeman was smooth, Aaron Eckhart was really good, Maggie Gyllenhaal was a pleasant surprise, and last but not least, Heath Ledger just rocked the film), the action was off the hook, the whole movie just seemed like a complete, well-done, pulled-together production.  I have to see it again for sure.

On a side note: Maggie Gyllenhaal has striking green eyes.  Beautiful.

On a completely random separate note: I was at the supermarket today and was again people-watching by default (sort of a trance-like state I fall into while waiting in line).  Several checkout lines to the right I noticed a woman and her daughter (?) heading out the door with their cart full of grocery bags.  The woman looked somewhere in her late 30’s to early 40’s and the girl a teenager, most likely.  The girl caught my attention initially with her cropped brown hair, side-swept to the right, covering her eye in near emo-fashion along with a nice use of off-white Sperry Top-Sider shoes paired with some skinny jeans .  Her mom (what appeared to be her mom) was an interesting case in study.  She wore dark, nearly black, skinny jeans that disappeared into tall orange-red Chuck Taylor shoes with white laces.  She topped off her ensemble with a brown/black cotton blazer of sorts and her hair was pulled back into a casual ponytail.  It was probably the first time I had seen someone of her age wearing (or attempting to wear) the very fitted,  conspicuous look skinny jeans provide.  I’ll give her props for trying the look although I think some people just pull off the whole skinny jeans look better than others.  If it makes you spill out of your jeans or doesn’t do much to nicely accentuate your figure, perhaps a different style of denim might be a reasonable consideration.  Just my humble opinion.

Thanks to Rawmodel, I can add BoltBus to my list of newer discoveries. It wasn’t too long ago that I heard about Megabus and their discount bus services.

This is what I know off the top of my head about both of them:

• Megabus services major cities across the US and UK (although I think they recently discontinued their California services). BoltBus does Washington D.C., New York City, Boston and Philadelphia.
• BoltBus advertises free Wi-Fi service on all their buses. I don’t think Megabus has that.
• Both offer online ticketing.
• They both seem pretty reasonable and nice. I know my Megabus trips were a way better experience for me than the few times I rode Greyhound in the past.

In these times of highly inflated gas prices and rising transportation costs, taking a bus over a plane may be a more affordable option for many of us traveling to places that aren’t too far away. Just something I’d throw into the mix!

Places like IKEA are great places to watch and observe people. Yes, most people shop or just browse. However, for those of us that are either easily distracted or naturally more sensitive or observant of surroundings, large places that draw people together (airports are a good one) provide some interesting insight on human form and nature.

Let’s take form for example. I’ve always wondered how the minds of model scouts/agents work as they seek out fresh new faces the likes of those that frequent advertisements in something like VOGUE magazine. I hardly know a thing about such a process but I do realize the probable complexities, variables or layers of it. I also remember my high school photography teacher making a statement on the subject of photogenicity; that someone may be striking in photos but perhaps less so in person and vice versa.

That said, I saw someone at IKEA the other day that struck me as model material. Or rather, this person reminded me of models of similar looks and build that I have seen numerous times in magazine advertisements. Either way, I thought the guy could possibly fit the bill: tall, slender, youthful looking, clear skin, dark hair, memorable face, and so on. I have to say that I strongly wondered if a professional model scout (or whatever they call them) would think the same or not and whether or not the guy could even take pictures. Of course, I would never know and not that it really matters anyway but it was somewhat amusing just the same.

It was like several weeks ago at a mall food court where I saw a girl/woman(?) who I swore had to be model. She was youthful looking, very tall, slender, beautiful legs, blonde bobbed hair, striking face, and so forth. She was with other women of similar hair color and speaking in a foreign tongue I could not recognize. I could totally imagine her in some Chloé ad or gracing the runway at some Stella McCartney show. I was almost tempted to go up to her and ask her if she was a model; ok, no, not really but I was curious.

Anyway, I just really enjoy photography, particularly fashion photography. My few shared experiences here are a micro testament to our HUGE world which shows and teaches us many different things in many different contexts.

Not that I have a large audience but for the record, I’ve been aware of my lack of updates in general. Different things have been unfolding in my life and the pull to post or write has been limited. That isn’t to say, however, that there hasn’t been plenty to write about; it’s just been my challenge to more specifically define the direction of this blog. As that takes shape I will continue to write because I find it an interesting endeavor, more or less. That may yield relatively simple results in the end but that’s fine with me. I’m learning something about myself through it all and that’s important to me…