Sunday, March 29, 2009

Please render!

So this crunch time thing for AB videos is killer! I feel like i'm going to be chained to this thing for hours this week...I am, though, very pumped to say i've finished one! (Two altogether) but I just finished this one called EU Ghost Hunters--which depicts a paranormal investigation into Building 25 similar in style to the cheesy shows that are on covering that topic. Building 25 appropriately fits the description of creepy whether your in or out making a video at an ungodly hour within its dilapidated interior. Good times!

Today I got the opportunity to see my grandparents as they came to visit me here at campus! There was much fun to be had as we searched for a place to eat for lunch, beginning with Lamberts because my grandpa really wanted to go there while grandma wanted to go to Olive Garden. Due to the long wait, I suggested the Brew Co. for lunch and so we went there. The food was delicious and we had a good time! I took them around downtown and we waltzed into the Coffee Ethic to use the restroom and much to my surprise the atmosphere was high in spirit as a local 3-piece jazz band was unleashing their arousing sounds of music. The cool thing about that is my grandparents love jazz but mainly my grandpa, as do I, so we lingered for a while taking in the rich aroma.

At school, i gave them a slide show pres. on my life over the last few months and they thoroughly enjoyed it, as well as my bird cage which they both wanted pictures of themselves underneath. Hilarious! Plus John & Luke and everybody got to meet them, so that was cool. We ate carrot cake celebrating my birthday last month and they got me this awesome sweater which I'm wearing now. Grandma sewed up my PANTS TOO!!

As i wait for the final cut of my work to render into a final product of my video, I kinda wonder how my life is doing the same. I so often wish I could see the whole picture--what it'd be like to get over those humps. I earnestly want to know, because i know God knows...so I want to know too. Is it supposed to be fun not knowing because I kind of feel terrified to be in the blurry shadows of indefinite perception. Wow, I sounded sort of cool there. Maybe I should stop so I can continue letting life render. Maybe.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Wow it's been a while

I really wanted to blog some stuff on my trip to Colorado and all that went on from the pages in my journal and the pictures I took, especially the sunrises. So, going back a few weeks...

Now we're in Denver. Ryan and I left this afternoon after over a week of planning out a possible vacation destination. Possibly Oregon, possibly Europe. Here we are. At his aunt's ornate home in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

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The sun sets between the snowy peaks, buttering the horizon with a look that could melt any heart. Every hill I looked at I wanted to climb. They beckoned me. They sit there covering the land like a multitude of valiant warriors. Every one of them features a unique design and when looked upon they readjust the emotions evoked in my mood. When I take the wheel and sip my IBC cream soda and nibble on this delicious bagel while listening to the music of Nickel Creek. I think to myself, God, this is what you're offering me. Why? What did I ever do to deserve it. Each chiseled mountain pass we move through takes me to a new level of ecstasy.
Oops...we just got pulled over--phew a warning. 74 in a 65.

Ryan's driving scares me a little. It's that queasy, unsure feeling of not knowing if this next bendy slope will be our last.

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So I thought'd look in the mirror and I thought I'd write that song which maybe I'll finish later. But yeah, I looked in the mirror to see last night's reflection on my face and in my eyes. A five o'clock shadow and facial blemishes. Bleary eyed fatigue and a slow pick up on reality. I drove away from Ryan as he left with his girlfriend, up the mountains towards my destination. Telluride was laying in an abyss of darkness with cheery streetlights. A village that stuck out to me as some sort of doll house village that someone would display on their mantle.
After receiving haphazard directions I finally found the house. A man named Maddy was there and he let me in and we chatted. Later more people came and we went to a little pub to listen to a funk band, all the while watching people dance. I really like these people--they're pleasant and vibrant all at the same time. I feel like I've know them from a long time ago. I love life.

It's 1:14 am. We're at Caitlin's house and I am excited to get up even if it's just myself and go see the sunrise! It comes up, according to ChaCha, at 6:41 am. I am so much in awe of how sweet Caitlin is as a person--her giving spirit and all. She gave us an awesome array of goodies in a basket with some towels to shower with. In the mountains, I get excited to experience life in it's fullest. T see the world as it really is. To love what God loves and has loved since the dawn of it's origin. He formed every outcropping and shaped every tree with incredible uniqueness. Thank you God! Everything you make is great and this comfy bed--this secluded home in the backwoods relaxed to the tune of an old lullaby which will woo me into a deep sleep--rooted in you and your powerful arms hold me gently... your soothing breath calms my anxiety and depletes my weariness. Thank you God!
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6:15 am. Well more like 6:25 but I went out disappointed to see that there was already light outside. Bummer! The sun had not peaked itself over the mountains yet so I still had possibilities. I took some shots and made my way down a thousand foot steep slope--the face of a hill delving itself in to a canyon. I wore the wrong shoes first of all but as I journeyed downward I caught on to a new method of sliding which I would define as letting my feet slide down the snow/ice ("snice") slope for those ten to thirty feet steep runs. I would kind of wipe out and almost lose my balance but I eventually made it to the bottom and was greeted by a fresh stream flowing through the ravine. I made my way across a beaver dam and sat quietly on big boulder to eat my trail mix breakfast. Then I got up to walk the river, stopping periodically to examine some dung piles--no I did not taste any. But I did find a massive pile which I thought may be the feces of a larger animal such as a bear or a mountain lion--do bears still hibernate in March? Well we'll see...It is absolutely gorgeous out here and so worth waking up for.

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It was one of those days, last night, our adventures and sight seeing that went on. I made it up the mountain and as I finally made it to the top, after the two hours of climbing, I heard "rancion" and looked a there was Ryan sitting with Caitlin and their large Chesapeake lab overlooking the mountains. I am sore now thinking about the climb. But we took off to see more and we took plenty of pictures. Passing through the most marvelous chains of snow capped mountains, I realized that I was made for this. I was meant to see this and my heart is supposed to be captivated by this beauty, and the prospect of venturing into the unknown and seemingly uncharted wilderness. I got to see a ram yesterday. Ryan chased it down the road which was a sight to see. It was a gorgeous animal and very muscular. It climbed up anything just like that. We saw the city where John Wayne's film was shot. Saw a few hippies--I love the hippies! I want to be one, I want to adopt their laid back philosophies, their hospitality. Caitlin showed us her old town and we hiked up behind a waterfall overlooking the entire village. We then ate dinner with Caitlin's older sister and daughter, Adell. the food was outstanding and very filling. This morning was a letdown because there was absolutely no sunrise and I was even up at 5:45 am. dumb! I waited patiently out there with the camera for about two hours. Nothing. All I want, more than anything, is to be able to capture a beautiful sunrise.

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to be in the mountains is to be one with my boyhood--a state of unblemished youth. We headed out for a trip to Moab, Utah to camp and hike and take pictures. We drove through the desert-like hills experiencing a whole new terrain. Snow peaks blurred in the background, red rock in the foreground. My heart was racing with every canyon and every passing sculpted rock. We got to the town and shopped for some groceries for the camp out. I knew we needed bacon--raisins and even eggs as well and something good to drink. That night, after saluting the sky as it beheld a beautiful pink hue, we pitched a tent, Caitlin began a fire in like 4 minutes and I helped the chef make some food. Potatoes, beef, carrots, onion sauteed in a nice brew of tacate. We ate, drank and were merrier than Mary Magdalene. The moonlight lit up the most elaborate view of the nearby lake as well as the snow peaked mountains on our left. Our laughter in the middle. Thanks to Caitlin's trip to Lebanon we experienced the great apple taste from the hookah pipe she brought back and then we took a night hike to the lake. Early that morning, the third time of the week, I left my squished spot in the two-man tent to go get some sunrise pictures. They were somewhat decent.

Later we climbed the awesome rock formations at the Arches National Park. Once atop a 6-story arch I felt the distinct aura of victory and I was almost swept away by the fierce warm wind. I carved my name on top and struck a few poses for the camera, then made an almost perilous descent down . I recall taking many risks and several crevice crawls of faith. We felt the sand blasts of wind in one climbing area. It was adventure at every corner. I could not get enough! That night back home we ate elk burgers and they were tasty. Nevertheless our stench and sand coated ear lobes would have to remain that way for a while as the plumbing no longer worked in her house, much to me and Ryan's displeasure. We soon showered though and made it back again to Telluride.