I’m a non-conformist by nature. I taught on St-Patrick’s Day in black… but my next class, I wore my green blazer. It’s just how I roll. 😀
I don’t WIAW because I think you might die of boredom looking at what I eat all day… I don’t Chuck Taylor Tuesday ’cause I only just learned that Chuck Taylors are Converse, and I don’t have any… and I generally even eschew most of the more popular blogs for the lesser-known gems. What can I say? I just like to go my own way.
Until that day, I had fun reliving my camera pics… the best part is that one comes is actually totally relevant to my Brazilian life… so this is actually maybe a “before” and “after” post… read on, if you can stand it! 😉
Best. Drive. Ever. From PG to Calgary, I get to go past the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, Mount Robson. And it *never* gets old. I’m happy in São Paulo, but I love and miss BC!!
This little beauty is Dolli, who I used to dog-sit in Calgary. She’s not allowed on the couch. Ahem. But who can say no to that *face*?!?
Picture this: September, 2009. On a research trip in Paris. Thanks to a grant, my hotel is in my beloved 6th arrondissement. Thanks to jetlag, I’m actually up for a run at 6.30am. After 45 minutes, I stop for a breather, and realise I’m RIGHT.NEXT. to. Nôtre Dame. Just wow.
Today, in SP’s “winter”, it was 27 degrees. In PG’s winter, the only “27″ we saw had a minus in front of it. But that didn’t stop me! Cross-country skiing is an addiction. It was -31°C one fine day when I went out and did the big climbs with the best downhill sections. After 90 minutes, I was starting to feel a chill, but I was also euphoric… and looking not unlike a snowbeast. There’s frost on my eyelashes, my eyebrows, my glasses, in my hair, on my hat… oh, the good times!
For a little contrast, it was July. It was the Rocky Mountains. It was a hot day… but happily, in the distance, there’s also a glaciar. And they’re receding SO fast it’s terrifying, so hug the planet today!
After the trauma of my Comprehensive exams in my PhD, I spent a week staring at the walls… and sometimes, doing an oil paint by number—replicating the Master’s work, in every way possible. It was Christmas, 2004. When I moved to PG in 2007, I was still too attached to this to let it go… so it went into storage in Calgary. I cleaned that storage out before coming to SP, and finally felt strong enough to chuck it. A shame, I think. It might have been worth something someday. An iPhone photo is all that’s left of it…
OHMYGOD. *I* was in the presence of THE Tool Guys’ van from Outrageous Fortune.
Auckland Museum, December 2010.
Yeah.
This is my phone’s wallpaper. For a year, which is a record for me. It’s the view from Eagle Harbour beach, West Van. And I like to pretend that one day I’ll have $2,000,000 to drop on a house and I’ll live there. Until then, I have this picture.
Oh, a little cheat here… during the “I have no camera” era, I took this and posted it. It was… I think around the Ides of March. It’s my first cheesecake. Sure, it cracked, but I still think it’s pretty!
Do you know what this is?
If you said “a shoe”, well, points for literality, but you were actually right only if you said “a cautionary tale”.
I… don’t make decisions involving money quickly. I circle the grocery store repeatedly to figure out if my impulse purchase is going to lead to remorse, and half the time I’ll leave without it after my circles. In the case of these shoes, I needed new black heels. I liked these ones, but I was trying to be frugal. So I thought on it for awhile, and “awhile” was just too long: DENIED. I like to call these, the ones that got away…
Now, careful reflection is a good trait when trying to be financially responsible, but I keep this pic as a cautionary tale because, hey man, you gotta just commit sometimes, you know?
So to try to practice commitment, I signed up for Groupon. The old me DOES NOT make decisions in a day! ARE YOU KIDDING?!? But the experiment was bust, in a sense, because the Calgary Groupon offers me nothing I feel like I can’t live without—coffee? I’ll buy it anyway. Manicure? SP has ruined me for that. An overnight mountain cabin stay for 2? Well, sounds good, but the Rockies aren’t going anywhere, and all my Canadian friends are having babies THIS WEEKEND, so I have trouble finding a plus one who’s free these days… so: I’m still a conservative spender.
Making my experiment more relevant, I have ALSO signed up for the São Paulo Groupon, and this one is just freaking TORTURING me… Do you know what it’s sent my way in the last 10 days? Buenos Aires.
As in, Argentina.
At 50% price.
Luckily (?), I didn’t even fret about this one—Jessica was there a few months ago, and in her words, “it’s freezing there now, anyway”. (Er, average temperatures these days are between 6 and 11°C, so “freezing” is a relative measure…). Still: I knew she wouldn’t be up for it.
But then came Machu Picchu. Oh, my. I began pressuring Jessica… however, neither of us was going to commit in a day. Though I thought about it… which I considered progress.
And then the next day… was Machu Picchu again. It seemed like a sign. The universe was conspiring. I harassed Jessica by email at work… and long story short, we didn’t take it.
What we did to was take Jessica’s crazy-ass air miles, book flights, and then plan our OWN trip to Machu Picchu, thank you very much. And it’s all going to happen in less than a month.
I owe it all to a pair of shoes.
Are you spendy or spendthrifty? And tag, you’re it: your 10 fave camera pics?