dial tone...

Today, I am switching phone carriers. It has been a long work in progress, but it's time. For the past two point five years, I have had a cute little vintage (archaic) flip phone that has been like a brother to me.

Before Flippy came into my life, during the days of working at that famous little burrito joint, I had a BlackBerry. I got it before the days of the iPhones and touchscreens, before apps were created by the millions, before FaceTime meant anything to anyone. And my thumb was permanently glued to it's little glowing orb. I hated it. I mean, I didn't know I hated it, but I did. Constant access to email and, well, email, and email was consuming and daunting. After leaving the famous little burrito joint to pursue full-time photography, I had to find a new phone plan, and leave the lovely, expenses paid phone behind. Along with a new Volvo. And paid benefits. What was I thinking?

Oh yeah. Visions of self-employment. Sorry. I got lost in the enticement of a consistent paycheck for a moment. But only for a moment. The sacrifice is totally worth it, people, all sarcasm aside...

After recognizing my obsession with all the electronic instant gratification, I knew I needed to step away. Immediately. My budget also needed me to step away, as $90/month was out of my comfort zone. So, little Flippy and I began our love affair in late 2010. I re-learned how to T9 text, and I also discovered it was okay, healthy even, to check email a few times a day. I showered little Flippy with compliments - his battery life lasted three days without a charge. Three DAYS. I had to charge the BlackBerry literally three times/day. Can you understand my joy?

So, given the consistency and break from electronic addiction Flippy provided me, I am sorry to announce little Flippy's best days are over. One side of his hinge is busted, and he often hangs at an awkward, painful angle. The charger makes an inconsistent connection at best. I also find myself, more and more often, calling my brother to check on an email, or look up an address while I'm out of town or driving to meet a client.

Knowing that my contract is up, and Flippy is thisclose to being completely broken, I decided I would once again give the smart phone a chance. Using a pre-paid plan, I'm able to save thousands of dollars over a two-year period (it's true, people - those contracts end up making you pay big money in the long run) and have a sweet phone to boot.

Why, oh why, then, has it been so difficult to make the actual switch? All I've needed to do, the the past three days, is make a call with my pin # to have my number ported. And I just... can't... do it. I've literally spent hours fowarding saved text messages to my email. I've sent saved voicemails to another number so they can be resent after my new phone is up and running.  I transferred photos via bluetooth to my new phone. Yet, pulling the plug has been stupidly difficult. I think I have nostalgic electronic hoarding tendencies. Little Flippy has been through some big stuff with me - starting a business, the birth of my nephew, and the budding of a new relationship and all the ooey-gooey texts and phone calls that go with it. There are also the sweet little love notes from my parents, the funny photos my dad sends, including the text, "dad sez hi", and the birthday call from my almost 90-year old grandma who has the impressive memory of an elephant (she has so many grandbabies and great-grandbabies, I can't even count them... and yet she takes time to wish me a happy day - I swoon).

I know switching phones doesn't make any of those memories less memorable. I know the special words and photos are now saved in other forms and not even lost.  All of these common sense things, I know.

It's just a little difficult to say goodbye.  Brian says it's time for him to go to pasture. I hope it's a happy little electronic pasture full of similar devices and motherboards that have had a good run.

Bye, bye, Flippy. Sorry your owner is such a crazy.

welcome to the circus...

Many months ago, I started this post. I like whip them up them annually because I easily forget what happened in my life - I look back and think... uh, I guess nothing really happened this year. But that would be totally false. See, I have the bullet points to prove it.

A spring/summer/early fall, in review:

• One of my favorite people married one of her favorite people this spring. It was beautiful. And fun. And I am super happy for her!
• A family wedding brought me to Oklahoma this spring as well. The wedding was gorgeous, and my cousin is one lucky guy. Well, he's quite awesome already. And the family he married into is so, so great. Kind, hilarious, gracious, and all around lovely. It was an incredibly, dance floor packed evening! My aunt and uncle hosted me and toted me to bridal luncheons and rehearsal decorating. It was really nice to spend extra time with them, as distance doesn't often allow it. I also spent a few days with another cousin on their little plot of land. She's a stay at home mommy, and people, she is fun. We lounged by the pool, made iced coffee drinks, ran the kids to all their activities, and enjoyed an afternoon matinee, lunch, and consignment shopping. We were all out girlie for three days, and it was just what I needed. Well, that and the Nerf war with her three kids - that made it all the better.
• Spring League Ultimate tournament - I didn't die, or cramp and want to die. We were ranked #1 going into it, almost lost our first and second game, (Nate, my ultimate buddy, and I made the winning, diving play to take us to finals... so fun) and finally just pooped out in the championship game. But... super good times. I really enjoyed that team - great captains, great attitudes, and... good beer.
• Went home for a wedding - it was really cool to shoot a wedding where I grew up... it made me look at our town in a different light. It was also windy as h-e-c-k. Dad assisted me in finding non-windy locations - not an easy task, but he did a seriously impressive job. 
• Three lake trips - one almost cancelled due to algae infestation. We are not fazed. It's absolutely my favorite place to be in the summer. This time, with babies! Friends and family brought their little ones - times, they are a changin'.
• Started volunteering at Advice & Aid with the Bridges program - I hang out with moms and dads during classes, speakers, and dinners. It's pretty great. And the babies - they're really great too. We have three sets of twins there!
• Don't read into all this baby talk - I like to love on them. And then give them back to their parents.
• 2-week trip to Colorado:
• First leg: visit Laura and family, and hang out with their new little baby Joseph and big brother Kolbe. So cute!
• I'm not sure how to write about this... but whatevs, it's part of the summer. My camera equipment   + other was stolen (yep, camera, lenses, laptop, iPod, batteries, memory cards, back-up harddrive, books, car keys - all in two convenient carrying bags) in the first few days of this trip. I would be absolutely full of pooey if I said it didn't suck. It did. A lot. I am so grateful it was not worse. No one was hurt. My stuff is replaceable. Life goes marching on. But it sucked. Like a punch in the stomach that just kept slugging.
• The bad news - my visit with Laura was cut short
• The better news - I was able to spend unexpected time with another friend, Michaela, and her family, including a... you guessed it - baby! I had a such a lovely time with them, I considered moving in - they loved on me and tended to my vulnerability and helplessness with such compassion and kindness. And bottles of wine! Time with them was life-giving. I am so thankful for such examples of friendship.
• The also good news - I was able to meet up earlier with friends who were on their way to Colorado for a climbing trip. It was one of the best trips of my life. Yep, right up there with the week-long rafting trip of, let's see, 1999? And the insane blizzard ski trip of 2003. There were 11 of us, many of whom didn't know each other, camping in the mountains.  Climbing by day, and sitting around a fake, Nalgene + headlamp fire by night (the week after the Colorado fires... I get it). It was so chill, so hilarious, and so unexpectedly just what I needed (adventure, friendship, maybe a boy I maybe, possibly, probably liked), I was able to immerse myself in nature and peacefulness, my mind was able to turn off the uglies from the week before. Renee even joined the caravan completely last minute, and I was so grateful. Yes, we were the annoying ones cackling like 7th graders on a Surge rush late into the night. Apparently, tents provide little sound buffer for neighboring tents. I'm sorry. Sort of.
• 10-year class reunion! I had no expectations. Heck, my bestie and her sweet girls were there, so I  knew I'd have a good time regardless if no one else felt like chatting. But, I was so happily surprised.  Saturday evening was the fair dance, and in classic, small town style, pick-up trucks filled the parking lot, tailgates were lowered, and the beer flowed. There was possibly even a truck with a keg in the back - so accommodating of my classmates. I had a blast catching up with old friends. My plans to head home around midnight, quickly turned into 2am in reality.
• Sporting KC game - yes, my first one. I've been slacking. 
• Cool of the Night Ultimate Tournament - played under lights, with music thumping, and no one taking themselves too seriously. Our team... left skills to be desired. But sometimes that's not what it's all about. I ran around catching discs most of the night. And heckling. Must heckle.
• Sara visited and she experienced the family lake weekend in true, relaxation style. She is so wonderful. And she pretends not to be fazed at our family's weirdness - bonus friend points.
• Lynn and I road tripped to the Arch City (I made that nickname up - is that real) to witness our friend's perpetual vows for an order whose name is so long, it doesn't stick in my brain.
• The college roomies met up in the Windy City (well... technically Naperville) for a girls weekend. It was as fabulous as you might think. Five star accommodations, a fridge full of fancy treats, and lots and lots of giggling. We saw Blue Man Group in their original theatre, and spent a half day lounging at a huge pool/park thing. Liz and I made fools of ourselves on the slide and diving boards. Imagine that. Time with these ladies is so, so good.
• I had my first photo session. You're right, people - it IS awkward being in front of the camera. Well... for about 5 minutes. Then I was having a blast. And my photog, Mike, did an awesome job. There is something quite fun about having photos of yourself. Does that sound conceited? I think it does... but it doesn't change how I feel. Photos of self = awesome.
• A road trip west brought me to friends and family in the Salina area. Spent time with the nephew, and also my two favorite little blondes. Ms. Piper is the best. And she is ornery. 
• The new-found joy of climbing has brought me to the climbing gym on an (almost) weekly basis. One day, after being bored by routes I'd climbed (or couldn't climb - ha), I tried bouldering. This means (techies, forgive the description, as it is probably not as accurate as it should be... it's just my peasant explanation, and it's good enough) climbing routes that are not necessarily tall (think literally climbing a boulder) but often times extremely challenging, without a harness/rope. You don't climb as high, and there are usually pads below to catch your shorter fall. Well, there was a route I'd done the week before, and I was attempting again in front of quite a few people. I'm not sure how this happened (all the people, anyway), and my pride got the best of me. I went for a hold that I really wasn't balanced for. And I fell. While twisting. And, in effort to avoid landing on my spotter's head, I did a weird aerial dodge move, and landed on my ankle. While still twisting. It popped. I cringed. Something hurt. Badly. I couldn't even tell what, exactly. My knee? My ankle? People - stop staring at me and please help me instead. I feel like an idiot. And I'm in PAIN! My friends later tell me, the funniest part was that I said, "Could someone please tell me what to do? I've never been hurt before and I don't know what I'm doing." Ha. I laid off it for 12-weeks, because everyone said be really careful not to push it too soon. I missed my Fall Ultimate League, a couple months of climbing, and my rediscovered tolerance of running. I also added a few pounds to the scale due to the long period of inactivity. It was a test of patience. I'm not sure I passed. It feels 90% better now, so I'm finally back at it, people. Well, everything but the running. That's going to have to grow on me again. 
• Erica is one of my favorite people, and also happens to be a florist who does fantastic work. In late summer, I spent a handful of days working with her to prep weddings and deliver/setup wedding flowers. It was awesome. I still have no arrangement skills. But I can clean glassware like nobody's business.
• Need a little adrenaline to get pumped for ski season? Welcome to Banff Film Festival. I've attended the past two years - once in Boulder with Sara, and this year in Lawrence with climbing friends. It happens every fall. Tickets are cheap, and sell out fast. Basically they are short films based in some way about outdoor adventuring - mountaineering, skiing, climbing, etc. - that were submitted to Banff and won high accolades. Be on the look out for it in later 2013!
• Meeting with Ray - I started this blog post in late summer. I now have no idea what this means. And I feel bad about it, Ray. No hard feelings - I just can't remember who you are.
• Mason celebrated his first birthday. Mom and Dad hosted an awesome party for him. He was the most polite cake smasher I've seen - daintily licking frosting off his fingers for a good hour.
• Oh yeah. And that boy I hung out with during the climbing trip? We're still climbing. Gosh I'm cheesy. 

So... a strong mid-year for me. The good, bad, and ugly. A lot more happened this winter. But my fingers and brain are a bit tired of typing. You just make up what I did in your head instead. Be sure it's fun, okay? Here's to an equally exciting 2013. Cheers.

swish...

Sometimes I pretend like I'm at a ski lodge. Sometimes, maybe too often. Like now... wearing my fleece-lined leggings (aaahhh!), wool socks, drinking a beer and eating pretzels.

And editing photos.

If I knew how those hashtag thingies worked, I would #iheartwinter or #awesome or #pleasesnow. Whatever that means.

four-eyes...

Today I visited the eye doctor. After being a 20/20 girl all my life, I had recently noticed some eyeball strain and blurriness - usually after hours of staring at a computer monitor. I was preparing myself to admit old age was finally sinking in its fake little denture teeth.

Following the appointment I called dad to give him the report.

"Dad, it seems as though I have a stigmata."

Yep. You heard correctly. I went to the eye doctor and left with the markings of Christ.

Ummmmm.

I mean astigmatism. I have astigmatism!

Now I can order cool glasses.

pitterpatter...

If I've received a better note, I don't recall it. He didn't write it, but it's perfect nonetheless.  Nerd talk = awesome.

http://xkcd.com/55/

meek...

It seems human nature's instinct is, upon being hurt, to hurt back. To throw out a reflexive punch without thinking, without pause, without a second breath.

It takes humility and self-control to respond charitably. To be loving to the one who caused you pain.

Today's lesson: think before you speak, text, or type a reply to someone who's injured your pride. You'll be the bigger person for it.

rover...

I fell for her in summer, my lovely summer girl

From summer she is made, my lovely summer girl

I'd love to spend winter with my lovely summer girl

But I'm never warm enough for my lovely summer girl

It's summer when she smiles, I'm laughing like a child

It's the summer of our lives; we'll contain it for awhile

She hold the heat, the breeze of summer in the circle of her hand

I'd be happy with this summer if it's all we ever had.

- Maggie Stiefvater, Shiver

...from a book I've never read. But I like it. 

And summer is... over. I don't like that. Not really much at all.

boom...

If ultimate frisbee is a just-out-of-the-oven, warm chocolate chunk brownie, playing ultimate in the cool evenings of fall is the melting ice cream on top - deliciously sinking into all the nooks and crannies.

Today I bought an ankle brace, laced the thing up, and limped around the field for a couple of hours. I couldn't catch half the throws I could normally run for, and I got burned a good handful of times. I didn't care. Well, a little. But I was outside running around again, and the sun was setting in bright pinks against deep blue, rain-soaked clouds. Yeah, I cared about that more. It was glorious.