Tag Archives: Change

Living Long Distance

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Seems like I keep writing blog posts about change and loss. How depressing right? And come on, after a summer where your precious goldfish went to bigger waters, four of your best guy friends moved away, a semester where you said goodbye to two jobs and a ton of great classmates, a year that your parents moved to Saudi Arabia and your apartment of the last three years was vacated… what the hell else could you have left to say goodbye to?

Believe it or not, something bigger than all of that recently left, moved away to the great left coast of California.

Ryan and I have been trying for years to get back to California, visiting at least two times a year since we started dating three years ago. I never thought it would be Ryan that would move to San Francisco first but it sure did happen that way. Just a week ago Ryan made the long drive west to start a new chapter in his and my life.

We’re both baffled when the two of us think about how much has changed for us over the last three years, how much we’ve endured, grown and loved. When I moved out of the downtown apartment we were both so excited to actually, officially, share a home together. I think that lasted all of around 2 weeks. After a whirlwind summer between coasts for education seminars, job interviews and some well deserved vacation time, Ryan got the great news that he would be moving to San Francisco for a fantastic new job.

Oh, and me? Well… I’m here in Columbia. I’m continuing my work here, which I enjoy so much, paying a mortgage, which I am not enjoying so much, and thinking about the day I get to make the very trip Ryan made nearly two weeks ago.

It’s actually kind of funny. Phoebe, aka @fotofobe, joked that Ryan and I were the only two people in a long distance relationship who lived in the same house. Never a truer statement was spoken. You can see a typical Monday through Friday on the right.

I only worked 5 hours on Sundays so my weekends were mostly free. Unfortunately, Ryan often worked 24 hour shifts on Saturdays so there goes the weekend.

But I guess what I’m really getting at here is this. For three years we lived together and more or less barely got to see each other. We took trips from time to time, we were lucky enough to have a few weekends off here and there but really, on average, we saw each other only a handful of hours every week. It’s insane right? Yet it never messed with us. If anything it only made the time we spent together more important and more cherished.

We always looked to the summers, when I wasn’t in school, for long trips to California or somewhere on the east coast. This summer, for the first summer ever, I was done with school and had entered the real world. That is to say, I had a job. Which also means, our summer together traveling never happened.

In less than a month I will be flying to California to spend a week with Ryan in our new apartment in San Francisco. Do you have any idea how exciting that is? After a summer behind a desk and away from Ryan, we will finally have some time together, for an entire week! I cannot wait.

Ryan moving away has been incredibly difficult but I refuse to let it be the coup de grâce of my life here in Columbia. I’m so lucky to have some great friends still left here in Columbia, a job that let’s me travel and iChat for us to video chat.

Big thanks to Laura, Chadd, Korrie and Dave for being there for me. I may not be showing how sad and lonely I am but with you guys, I don’t have to.

So look forward to lots of pics from San Francisco soon! It’s been forever since I broke my camera out and shot things I wanted to shoot. Way too long.

Election Paaarty!!

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We all knew November 4, 2008 was going to be a big deal.  What we didn’t know was exactly how it was going to play out.  And what better way to deal with uncertainty than with a large group of similar thinkers?  So off to the watch parties.  But first, I had a drink with Chase.

Since the theme of the evening was Change, we decided to check out the all new, very tall, Quinton’s Bar and Deli.  This is a bar that went from basically a wide hallway to a full downstairs bar, a second floor bar, a third floor bar and a fourth floor terrace.  Yes.  Four levels.  The views on all three (?) balconies/patios are great.  For a moment we joked that we weren’t in Columbia.

Then we saw the water tower.  Blurg!

I was interested in how well they built this thing.  It certainly doesn’t feel like it was built by Missourians, in Missouri.  It’s built like a tank, no jankity, ghetto going on here.  Nice stuff, especially for a college town.  Go there, you’ll understand.  They even have outdoor couches.  Nice touches like accent lighting and speakers built into the metal guard rails and 3/4″ thick glass walls just really seal the deal.

Even the bathrooms smelled nice.  For now at least.

It’s very industrial, have a look!

After we had our drinks there, I just had a Monster Vodka since I had taken some vicodin earlier in the day…  Chase took down a few beers.  Like a man, hurrah!

Then it was drinks and Texmex with Karen (aka @ok2baprincess).  Ryan and I shared the vegetarian fajitas which were amazing, his peach margarita was pretty tasty too.  I just had a sip, he can be a bit of a booze hog!  (j/k j/k!)

Finally we made it to the watch party at Ragtag Cinema Cafe.  There we found a few other friends, but not the ones we were aiming for.  Nevermind that, apparently they went to Bleu, our other haunt.

We watched The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert report the election results.  Hilarious.  Plus there were drinks and popcorn and it was full of like minded liberals, which are the best kind, IMHO!  So many that it scared away the Republican we had in our group.  Like Minded Liberals FTW!

I remember when they announced Obama won.

The crowd went wild, and thus so did the rest of the night.  Well for everyone else there.  Ryan and I went home to watch the rest of the festivities on the big screen in HD in the comfort of our home.

Who else absolutely loved Obama’s acceptance speech?  I’ve never heard anything like it.  I’ve never seen such a crowd that wasn’t celebrating New Years.  It was a sight to be seen for sure!  I posted the video earlier, check it out if you missed it as well as McCain’s Concession Speech which was also quite good.

This election ended as it should have begun.  Anyone else with me on this?  Especially for poor McCain.  He would have won had he been himself, the maverick he really, and truly is.  He is a hero for America and for half a decade, one of her greatest servants.

gObama.  I’ll be reliving the night over and over until it finally becomes real to me.  Perhaps sometime in late January 2009…

Obama’s Acceptance Speech

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Just as I thought speeches could not get any more emotionally driven, Barack Obama accepts the presidency before an ocean of supporters in Chicago.  It was as though we were waiting for the ball to drop on New Years Eve in Times Square.

Oh to be there, to experience that kind of positive energy and love.  The celebratory spirit, the first time in our history that an African American was elected President-elect of the United States of America.

His speech was more of a compilation of earlier speeches, taking the best bits and creating something that captured the moment, a moment that will forever live in history and will be something I tell my kids about.  It was one of those moments where you remember where you were, what you were doing and who was with you.  It’s one of those moments you never can forget.  It’s one of those moments you live your life for, that you dream to come true.

Tonight it did!  Barack Obama is our new president and with his guidance and the support of an incredible amount of the popular vote, I think we truly can turn things around for America.

Here is his speech.

[flv:Obama_Acceptance.flv 500 336]

Mizzou Obama Rally

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Apparently you had to line up for the Obama Rally at 9:00am to get a good spot… That’s 12 and a half hours before he even was to take the stage!  I got there at 6:00pm and here’s what the line looked like.  Apparently the total was around 40,000 people, though some estimates go up to 65,000!

And apparently there were some 16 charter buses on the way!  Basically a freaking ton of people were all anxious to see Barack Obama speak.  As I type this I can hear the cheers and music from the quad, it sounds like victory to me!

Here’s a few pics of all the people waiting.

I hung out with the media folk for a while.  With my camera, lenses and tripod, I totally fit in.  Might have even gotten to go further into the rally area if I’d stuck with them but I wandered too far out and the cops sent me across the street.  Apparently you need real credentials haha.

Oh, and of all the people there, I only saw two guys who were for McCain/Palin.  Oh, yeah, you could totally tell too, besides the Obama is a socialist t-shirt… look at that face!  Holy moly…

Yikes right?!

Micheal, Ryan and I walked around, bumped into a few friends but ultimately decided not to stay for the event seeing as we probably wouldn’t even see Obama from where our standing room only spot would be.

I really don’t think there is anyway 50,000 people could fit in the area they designated.

We went to Flat Branch for appetizers instead. I bumped into one of my fellow photography peers.  Her photography is absolutely amazing.  I’m always amazed at how incredible and personal her pictures are.  Stunning stuff.  What’s great though is that she saw me first and told her boyfriend and buddy that I was a really awesome photographer in her class… Wow, so cool.  She’s better haha.

We had a great time, then we headed back to my apartment where we are currently watching the zombie movie, 28 Days Later.  I’ve never seen it, it’s pretty decent though 🙂

Fun night!