Week Thirty-One: The Things She Carried

...and that, Best Beloved, is how the Leopard got its spots. Oh, hello there! Welcome back to the blog. We have a lovely installment for you this week. Full of dreams and imagination and memories and strange things. Alright, truth be told, this week is all about those things I find any and every time I decide to initiate a Great Purge. Doesn't always happen in the spring/summer, but does happen on a fairly regular basis. As I've moved hither and yon, I've accumulated rather a lot of stuff. Some of that stuff is useful and meaningful, but most of it is the byproduct of my tendencies to ferret away frightfully useful things that may or may not be needed or wanted at a later date. These, Dear Readers, are my skeletons. Please don't judge me too harshly...

Day 1 (211): 7th of July
Best thing about this week? Other than the mere four days of work required, the leaving on a jet plane and heading west young man is the highlight. By late evening on Saturday, I'll be safe in the bosom of the ancestral home where things make sense and I can bask in the glow of denial. Makes all other Life silliness bearable in the interim. Also motivates the Purge, as some things will be carried back Stateside for donation or destruction. Turns out I have some rather odd things in the running for Purge. Both impulse buys and strange things with unknown origins. For example, one hideous uncomfortable pair of sun specks (yes I tried them on), and one odd Happy Meal-looking bobble head toy that I know I've had for at least two moves, but I've not the foggiest from whence it came, or really even why it exists at all...

Then of course we have the pile of things that have either not been touched for years or have just far outlived their purpose. Here we have some ancient burgled airplane headphones, the charger from a Nokia I had in college, an underwater film camera (film still in it...), the charger/sync station from my 2006 Dell palm pilot (it was free and has since disappeared), and finally a 2012 planner (with not a single mark in it). Who does this?

Day 2 (212): 8th of July
An unfortunate side effect of digging in drawers is that the hits just keep on coming. One odd discovery begets another and so on. The heap of long expired birth control gave way to three cans of unused film and more odd bits of paper than I care to detail. Furthermore, found a stack of C4ISR magazines from 2011 (gosh I'm nerdy), a v rusty slinky, a random thing of lavender tea (probably stolen from a Hong Kong hotel considering the chinese lettering), gun oil, and not one but two packs of (expired) dollar store C batteries.

My many deployments and travels have resulted in the accumulation of much foreign currency, such as Japanese, Malaysian, Korean, Singaporean, Emirati, etc. Don't even get me started on the amount of Djiboutian Francs I still have. So much Monopoly money. At some point I acquired some odd plastic christmas toys with parachutes. And at the bottom you'll find a beaded bracelet I made a million years ago when having beaded bracelets was just the coolest.

Day 3 (213): 9th of July
As a wanderer of the world, I stay in many hotels, be they on ships, bases, or in normal towns. I also take things from hotels. Like keys (that I forget to shred), and apparently coffee singles, sugar, and pens. Sadly this is but a small portion of the amount I've discovered throughout the Purge.

Good Lord. It just keeps going. Must be a compulsion. Who needs this many notepads?

Day 4 (214): 10th of July
Nope. Nothing exciting in life at the moment (is there ever?) But honestly, what is this? A bag of marble-y things (with a hole in it so they can spill all over the place), and a scary finger puppet.

Good news, readers - I have graduated from places. And apparently needed several hat tassels to do so. Was I wearing three hats upon my high school graduation? And two after University? Good grief.

Day 5 (215): 11th of July
Hello. My name is Rodeo and I am a pack rat. If you give a Rodeo a little container, she will fill it with whatever will fit. For example, what to do with a Jelly Belly tin? Why not fill it with nothing but pennies, a pair of earrings, a marble-y thing, and movie ticked stubs from 2009.

I do tend to buy a lot of notebooks. It is a compulsion. Some of these have nothing in them, and some have loads of chicken scratch and doodles (apparently I have long been a doodler).

Day 6 (216): 12th of July
Ahhhh Business Class... America Bound! No more to say. But the things on the chopper this time are t-shirts. A great stack. Either impulse buys, grab bag buys, or random too-big shirts I'd have happily rocked at the age of 8, when I figured the bigger a shirt was, the better (thanks, '80s). Also some dresses that are either too big, too small (I've been many a size in my life), or too hard to explain (try things on, people!). All are getting their own bag for carriage back home. For photo purposes, my collection of nail polish that I've not used in rather a long time. So many colours.

Quality, no? Clearly I use these all the time...

Golly, Claire's?? Why? And When?

Day 7 (217): 13th of July
Erasers... so many erasers. This must have been a thing when I was just a wee young lass.

Yes. Polaroid. So much Polaroid. This one still has 3 photos left in the film.

Most importantly, I carry my memories. Daw... Gosh we look young.

My skeletons. And this has only been the tip of a large, frightening iceberg. Necessary evils, indeed. 

Week Thirty: Rhymes with Smilight

Realised I completely missed the fact that I hit day 200 last week. One of those moments that seems momentous and deserving of celebratory social media. But really not. A quiet "good job, old girl" to myself I think is more fitting. In tune with realising that I am fully on the downslope of this madcap project (yes I'm giving it more credit than it's due), I did all my photo-taking in the waning hours of daylight. Not just sunsets, mind you (not yet ready to re-resort to that tired old trope). Just worked on getting the light right for some rather domestic outdoor-y shots. hip hip.

Day 1 (204): 30th of June
Sometimes necessity truly is the mother of things. Like invention. And ingenuity. And photo themes. Brain death led to nearly not taking photos, so I figured on keeping things dusky. Not using the other word for the end of the day because unintentionally seeing the film by that name scarred me for life. And almost ruined my region of choice (the PNW). Sparkly vampires my arse. Stroppy metal fence design agrees.

Certain Felines. V needy, this one is. I go outside and have an instant shadow.

Flowers have it too easy. They just look nice all the time.

But even weeds can look nice in the right light... no?

Day 2 (205): 1st of July
New month (again... how do these things keep happening?). No new thoughts on matters. Not yet, any rate. Life seems to require Decisions. Big Decisions (thus the big D). Decisions that seem simple in concept but terrifying in possible execution. Curse being a Grown Up.

Check out these purple things. Notice the subtle subject change.

Seriously. Badass purple things (probably weeds).

Day 3 (206): 2nd of July
This day is a turd. I've not been sleeping much this week and as such have been ignoring my string of alarms and forcing mad dashing in the first thing. At least that worked in my favour today as I knew I'd be at the Work until rather late (thanks, meeting set around the schedule of People in the States). At least that did fit with planned late evening shots. This time focused on neighbour property (they weren't there, so I was a bit less dodgy).

Vineyards everywhere.

Really everywhere.

Day 4 (207): 3rd of July
Murphy's Law still ruleth the land. Get stuck with a 12 hour watch on the day before a four-day w/end (wherein it follows everyone leaves early). And it was another of those days that lead a body to think she has become Doreen the switchboard operator. You'd think people would be wise enough to leave their silly questions until after the long w/end. Spare those of us stuck answering them. Ah well. Block checked for another month or so. Here are photos of palm trees.

Alright, really just palm tree trunks. But ooh light.

Day 5 (208): 4th of July
Feels like a Saturday. About as productive. But only if you then subtract any productivity at all. I really ought go back to carrying a notebook for all my deep and/or brilliant and/or amazing thoughts. I know I have them, but somehow when it comes time to prove it to you, Dear Internet, I come up short. All I can tell you for certain on this my home nation's birthday, is that there is officially no sexy way to get out of a hammock. If one wants to use loafing in a hammock to seduce someone, that someone best not see one get in or get out. Witnesses should only see the portion where one is doing the loafing. If a cat is capable of laughter or ironic thought, I was quite the show for one today.

Happy American Independence Day.

Or Happy July 4th, if that is more your speed.

Day 6 (209): 5th of July
Really too unmotivated to provide excess commentary on this set. My lawn is in rather desperate need of a mow (reference yesterday's photos).

Plant part. Please note cat hair from cat that walked by just before I pressed the pickle button.

Day 7 (210): 6th of July
Painted my self in a bit of a corner with this theme. Means I have to wait till late to take the last photo. Thus a late publishing of blog. Mostly because it takes so bloody long for my fool internet to upload huge photos. But I'm having a gas playing country music at great volume all day; some while I was being lazy, some while working on my Great Shit Purge of 2014 (minimal progress so far). Finally, as the sun sinks lower, the only self portrait I will risk.

Do I mean Skylight? Highlight? Lo-fi-light? Bauxite? Lite-Brite?

Week Twenty-Nine: OK, Do This

So a fellow photography enthusiast (he's rather better than I) recommended an app called OKDOTHIS, which is all about inspiring people to do more and flex their photography muses. If you are interested, check it out here. I went all projecty on it and it made for an interesting inspiration challenge. See the results below.

Day 1 (197): 23rd of June
This day's Do was to "Go on a walk and create a floral arrangement from the flowers that you forage." Admittedly, I did not go all that far on my walk, but I did indeed make an arrangement. And a cat who was trying to assist in my endeavours eventually wandered off to clean his face in disgust (in the background of the shot).

Merry. Not much more to say.

Day 2 (198): 24th of June
Poking around in the available Dos, I found one that asked me to "Go all Nat Geo on your backyard." In an effort to not call pictures of cats or flowers Nat Geo material, I looked closer and found this guy. No idea where he came from, but there he was, just chilling.

Day 3 (199): 25th of June
Tea time. Easy, and right up my alley. This Do just said "Tea Time (tea cups, tea leaves, tea dresses and parties... Show us your best depiction of tea). I have one or two or fifty mugs in my cupboard, so I chose a selection of the ones closest to the front. Plus a particular favourite type of tea, my tweazers and bag holder, and even the kettle in the background.

Day 4 (200): 26th of June
I used to carry around a notebook all the time. Now I mostly just use them at work. The Do for today asked that I "Let us peek inside your notebook," and luckily I had one full of unclassified things sitting on the sofa. Note the awful penmanship...

Day 5 (201): 27th of June
"Shoot the sun through foliage." Ok. That I can do. All iPhoneto, this one (didn't have the fancy cam with me). And really, I squatted down by a bush, and shot looking up.

Day 6 (202): 28th of June
Today I was torn. I elected to follow the "do of the day" which was "Roofline Envelope: Upside down symmetrical pitched rooflines that are cropped to look like envelopes." However, the rugby game in the evening deserved to be featured - especially because the NATO team actually won. So I dug and founf both "Rugby" and "Action photography. Take a photo of something or someone in motion." My roofline is really an upskirt of my eaves, but close enough.

Rugby.

Motion / action. Gosh I miss playing rugby...

Day 7 (203): 29th of June
Wanted to keep it simple to end the week, and found a Do that only asked for "A picture of something that means the world to you, but nothing to anyone else." Pretty simple, what with Flipper still following me around the world. He's been with me since my English grandmother gave him to me before she died (I was maybe five?). Such a nice bloke, Flipper is. Not the best photo, but full of love.

Lots of iPhoneto work this week. Partly because the OKDOTHIS app is on the phone, and partly because the mobile shots just sometimes looked better. 

Week Twenty-Five: Disconnected

Opening salvo. Lack of connection makes for interesting reading. Makes me remember all the times I wished I could just unplug (really chose the wrong job for that). And all the times when I did. It for some reason makes others think something is truly wrong. But those others simply do not understand the joy that comes from silence and solitude. All that said, I'd really like my interweb access back. Largely because I'm supposed to be paying for it.

Day 1 (169): 26th of May
Last day in Rome. My gallivanting over the past few days has left me in a state of spinal unrest, so my plans to add to said gallivanting became "take the metro to the Spanish Steps and set a spell." Turns out that people watching is just as fun anywhere one does it. Such a nice part of the city, the Spagna area. One can shop at high street places (or just look at high street things), eat really good nosh (or just gelato - I'm a grownup, I eat what I want for lunch), and enjoy a lovely day (with only the occasional molestation by rose-selling persons). I opted for the second and third options this go round. And saw this.

And this.

And the streets of Rome.

Day 2 (170): 27th of May
Still no internet. Still annoyed. Thank you, Neapolitans With Information. Way to play the "I've a secret" game. So much fun. Though disconnection is oddly freeing in a way, it is also not so oddly irritating. Yes, I've read a couple books more than I might otherwise have done. Yes, I've relaxed in my hammock and enjoyed the out of doors air. But I'd also have done that anyhow. What I've not done is call home. Or emailed people I needed to email. Or sent information I only have on my laptop to people I've told I'd send said information (sorry, people). This has to get done with in the lunch pause in the office or at the end of the week, when I've had time to make the trip to a base with WiFi available.

Day 3 (171): 28th of May
Alone with her thoughts, the brilliant writer/photographer began to ponder and recall many a quote once heard and stored away in the vault of the unconscious. Deep stuff, no? For example: "Cheat your landlord if you can and must, but do not try to shortchange the Muse. It cannot be done. You can't fake quality any more than you can fake a good meal" (William S. Burroughs)

"The road to hell is paved with adverbs" (Stephen King)

"Writing is something you do alone. It is a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story, but don't want to make eye contact while doing it" (John Green)

Day 4 (172): 29th of May
Being alone is bloomin' brilliant. It allows one to not just ponder quotes (won't do that again, at least not one this), but also to refuel and recenter. No one asking questions. No one wondering what one is thinking. No one getting upset about being distant. It isn't distance if it is helpful. So quiet.

Thank you, sky.

Day 5 (173): 30th of May
The best part of my job is that I get to do things in the best way I know how. Usually. Unless I get sucked in by forces beyond my control. But that rarely happens. At least not enough to hinder my job doing. It is so nice to hear from people who enter my space and remark upon how nice it is and how it must be nice to work in that particular spot. If I accomplish nothing else in this tour, I want to be able to say my little sanctuary was a success, and that we got everything done that was asked of us (and more). So far, so good. Life is too short to work in a morale black hole. It may at times mean we are not linked directly to the rest of the department, but that is why phones were invented. And come to think of it, so were legs. Let us check in with the fearless trooper. Damn that camouflage...

Oh lord.

Zoinks. Everyone is having a day.

Day 6 (174): 31st of May
Spent the entire day with no sense of time. How brilliant is that. Woke when I wanted. Cleaned house till it hurt. Did laundry. Watched old episodes of Lois and Clark. Finally looked at a clock when I realised I needed to go in search of internet. It was 1800. This is how I felt.

This is how the sky felt.

And This.

Day 7 (175): 1st of June
Yesterday some little self-important teenager jumped in front of me in line to get to a plug at the place with internet. And people wonder why I never want any of them (small people, that is). I was pretty lame when I was a teenager, but nowhere near as lame as the ones from the now times are. Entitled little oxygen thieves who are statistically weaker than teenagers from any other time period. I think that includes the Bubonic Plague days. Today's kids are either too fat or too thin to be of any consequence. Useless in a Zombpocalypse, but I suppose that just means they will be the first to go and are hardly going to be a threat as zombies. They'll be too busy being Emo or Hipster or Whiny. Even as the undead.

Enough Said. Lots to be Done.
P.S. "Never love anyone who treats you like you're ordinary" (Oscar Wilde)