saweet!

This is how much it cost me to fill up my car. Awesome.

the arch of the moral universe is long

A lot has happened over the past week and a half or so, and it has taken me about that long to soak it in. We the people of the United States elected a black man named Barack Hussein Obama president! It's amazing! I have never been more proud to be an American than I am now. I don't think any of us, myself included, fully understand the significance of this event. It wasn't that long ago that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of this. In his last speech Dr. King spoke of the arrival to the promise land. "I may not get there with you," he said "but I want you to know, that we as a people will get to the promise land."

“How long? Not long! Because the arch of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

We have lived to see the justice Dr. King spoke of, and although I am not black I feel a personal appreciation for what we have been a part of.

We have all heard the comparisons between Barack Obama and Dr. King and I don't think they are far off. In his acceptance speech President Obama echoed Dr. King's words.

"It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day."

One of the moments that affected me the most on that historic night was the reaction of the Rev. Jesse Jackson. This is a man who was with Dr. King the day he was shot and held him as he lay dying. He has witnessed the arc bend and seen the promise land. It's a good time to be an American.

a question of love

I saw this last night and was more than a little moved by it.

Birthday Post

27 years ago today I joined the population of this world. I was blessed to be surrounded by love then and over the years that love has grown, and today was a confirmation of that. Through the course of the day I received 8 phone calls, 5 texts, 15 messages on facebook and myspace, along with many well-wishes in person. I have a great life and it's only going to get better. I'm not perfect, but do my best and I can't say enough how grateful I am for the people in my life who help me to be the best version of myself. Thanks for everything, I love you all.

Stadium Dreams

This morning I got up at quarter after five to join Nate, Scott, Drew, and several other Real Salt Lake fans and the new Rio Tinto stadium. The Channel 2 morning show was there to discuss the first game in the new stadium, which happens to be next Thursday, and wanted some fans there for authenticity I guess, I don't really care. I went for two reasons: 1) I love RSL and 2) We were being given a once in a lifetime opportunity to play on the new pitch and get an up close view of the stadium. Needless to say, it was totally awesome. We kicked the ball around, took some shots on goal, sat in our new seats, and snuck off to give ourselves a little tour of the stadium. Here are some photos from our excursion.

The locker room entry

The locker room (Nate making an impressive save)

Walking out the players tunnel

The pitch

Pretty awesome huh? Our seats are on the first and second row just left of the L on lake. I can't wait.

What I heard pt.2

This afternoon on the way to school I was listening to Fresh Air on NPR. At the end of the show Terry Gross was talking to a woman who had been at the Monaco Yacht Show. They were talking about these gaudy three hundred million dollar yachts and all the trimmings that the rich people were buying. They were talking about what's next for the rich and the woman said:

"Submarines are the next big accessory."

Are you kidding me? F-ing submarines? She called it an accessory, like its a watch or scarf. Seriously, if a person has enough money that a submarine is an accessory, something is wrong. No one person should have that much money.

Mosaic

A few days ago my sister-in-law Jen posted mosaics for her and Jeremy on their blog. I thought it was pretty cool so I did one myself. Here it is.

1. Con las Alas del Alma..., 2. London Pasta Week: Day 1, 3. brighton, 4. oh... the blues, 5. Audrey Tautou, 6. coffee & the city, 7. Italy - Cinque Terre, 8. April 1, 2006: Happy Birthday to you!, 9. writer's teeth, 10. ...la famiglia..., 11. I want to be where the Sun warms the sky, 12. Battle Stag

1. What is your first name? (alma)

2. What is your favorite food? (pasta)

3. What high school did you attend? (brighton high school)

4. What is your favorite color? (blue)

5. Who is your celebrity crush? (audrey tautou)

6. Favorite drink? (coffee)

7. Dream vacation?(cinque terre, italy)

8. Favorite dessert? (yellow cake with chocolate frosting)

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? (a writer)

10. What do you love most in life? (family)

11. One word to describe you? (warm)

12. Your Flickr name? (waythekeyed)

Wanna make your own mosaic?

Type your answer to each of the above questions into Flickr’s search. Using only the images that appear on the first page, choose your favorite and copy and paste each of the URL’s into the Mosaic Maker (3 columns, 4 rows)… Enjoy!

You Call Me

You call me to discuss
the sins of our father.
Your voice
reminds me of another time.
We are older now,
I am older (maybe wiser).
I offer tape to fix
your heart, a feeble
attempt I know,
but it’s the only way
I know, I have a lot
to learn, especially about
a slow division in love.

-alma henderson

My writing

I think I am going to start posting my writing on here as per Ang's suggestion. I also think I'm going to make this blog public. So here you have it.

Horoscope

I read my horoscope today, which I haven't done in a while, and it shook me.

Monday, September 8, 2008
You make the most progress now not by striving to get ahead in your career, but by integrating your spiritual beliefs into your everyday life. You may have to step down from a lifestyle that has grown less and less attractive, but you'll be happier in the long run if you are doing work that is consistent with your soul's purpose.

One might think this is an easy task and maybe it is, but first I have to work out my spiritual beliefs and then I can tackle my soul's purpose.

beautiful scenes

Trachibrod in Everything is Illuminated


Skipping stones across St. Martin's Canal in Amelie.

"Land your stag."

Here are some more picture from Gentlemen Broncos. Here we are shooting out at Stansbury Island out at the Great Salt Lake.




If you look in the middle of the frame there's a little black square with a white X on it. That's a bag filled with gasoline set to ignite when it hits the rock.













Ignited






















































Battle stag









Those are paintball guns attached to that cross beam and aligned to shoot to each side of the Sam Rockwell.





This is what those paintball guns are shooting. Glass marbles covered in hard plastic ($2 each).


















































































































That's right, the battle stage has a rocket launcher that comes out its ass.





























Majestic

This is my job

As I already mentioned, I was let go from the accounting department of Gentlemen Broncos at the beginning of March. Well, I ended up back on there for about a month at the end of the film. This time I was in the art department doing set dressing. Needless to say, the art department is a lot more fun than accounting. I would attempt to explain what I do, but I would rather give a visual.



























Yes, those are jars of testicles. For two days or so, we made around forty-five jars just like these. They are made up of turkey testicles, modeling clay, and cheese and the pink stringy stuff coming off is fiberglass insulation. They are a very integral part of the story ;)

"Sometimes nothin can be a real cool hand"

A great moment from one of my favorite movies.

Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.

Tonight I came down to our spare bedroom, read poetry, wrote and listened to Clair de Lune by Debussy and right now I feel so great my eyes are beginning to water. I'm not sure what or why exactly, but I feel this overwhelming feeling of love, an everything will work out feeling, and it's not that I have been feeling frantic lately or like everything is not alright. I do get the occasional worry of how are we going to get to Europe, or when will I finish school, or lately I have thought a little about my financial situation, being unemployed and all, but all in all I feel really good about where I am. I am only 26 and the world holds endless possibilities for me that will unfold in due time. I just got a text from Julia that says "Get ready because when I come home we're making out." See, the unfolding has begun. ;)
Cheers.

Bond Company Stooges

I was let go today from Gentlemen Broncos. It started on Tuesday, Krystal said that me leavin for school was a bigger problem than they initially had anticipated. I was told that they were going to have me work three days and not have me come in on the days I go to school. They were going to hire a clerk for those two days to come in and do filing and stuff on the days I wasn't there. Then today when I went in Ami said that we needed to have a chat. She told me that the bond company said that they had to have someone there full time and they were going to have to let me go. Sucks.

What I heard

"These are turkey testicles. Do you think they would be good for the bobcat?" (props guy to animal wrangler)

Awesome huh? Not something I ever thought I would hear, but I'm glad I did.

This is my hope.

"In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."

This is who I want to be.