Browse Author: beakatude

Make the pounding stop!

studying_03.jpgI’m in super-detox mode and it sucks. I decided to lay off the morning cup of coffee and I’m certainly paying for it. I didn’t think that I drank enough to get withdrawal symptoms but I’m in the trenches at this point.

It started yesterday when I woke up at 9 am and didn’t have my usual cup of coffee. I had a tingling, unpleasant ache above my left eyebrow and it slowly spread to the forehead and top of my head. I decided to ride it out and see if I could beat this thing. Unfortunately, it didn’t go away and I had to drop the dogs off at Pacific Whey at Crystal Cove. Patty invited me for brunch there so I sat and ate half of the salad she ordered for me. After 20 minutes of trying to hang tight, I had to leave because of an awful nauseating feeling that came over me. I drove home as carefully as possible and ended up sleeping from 2:00 pm until this morning at 7:00 am.

I felt a little better this morning but as the day progressed my head got worse. I thought, “Pop a pill? No, those have caffeine in them.” So, I’m sitting here about 60 hours away from my last cup of coffee and still dying. This sucks but people have told me that that it’s better for my health to kick the caffeine habit. I’m crossing my fingers for my head to stop pounding by tomorrow morning or I’m calling in sick.

Patty and Johnny are hitched!

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Patty and Johnny got married on Saturday at Seven Degrees in Laguna Beach. The day started at the Irvine Marriott where the girls got ready. Hair and make-up were done by about 2:00 pm and Patty was ready by 3:00 pm. At 4:00 pm the bridal party squished into the limo and rode off to the wedding site.  Seven Degrees is an art studio that holds lots of special events, especially weddings.  The ceremony was on the roof where the sun set behind us.  Mochi and Fuji wore fancy outfits and had to be dragged down the aisle.  Mochi practically mowed the rose petals down to the altar.  Patty and Johnny looked so excited to be getting married. 

Cocktail hour was on the roof with a complete martini bar.  By then, my feet hurt so bad and I realized that I forgot my flipflops at the hotel.  DOH!  Anyway, the wedding was really nice and the decorations were to the nines.  It was also a casual high school reunion with girls I hadn’t seen since Juliet’s wedding three years ago.  Some hadn’t seen each other since high school.  I had to make the bridesmaids’ speech and was so nervous.  Luckily I pulled it off and Jesse said I did well so I think I did ok.  He’s the only one who would tell me if I blew it.  Johnny and Patty did such a great job coordinating all the flowers, colors, and everything else.  Johnny had his Martini Menu for all to try and the ice cream cake was yummy.  At the end of the night, we held sparklers for them as they ran down to their limo and took off.  Congratulations, you two!!

Here are the photos.

found a gig

I was on craigslist last night and found a neato gig. I’m going to be a volunteer freelance photographer for a charity walk that’s taking place at UCI next month! It’s just a funny coincidence that the Brother and I went around the Westside looking for stuff to take photos of. Now we get to do it for a good cause!

Here’s a description of the assignment: “Cover the Festival area and walk path (on campus, goes through beautiful Aldrich Park) looking for action shots, candids, poignant moments between patients & families. Firemen, puppies, children shots.”

How perfect is that?! Should be fun.

Let the games begin!

Today is the first day of school and we’re already hearing kids crying! I’m going to cross my fingers for a smooth year but I’m sure things will get pretty bumpy soon.

fruits and veggies

On Sunday morning, the Brother and I went to two Farmers’ Markets. One was down the street from the apartment and the other was a much larger one in Santa Monica. It was so nice to walk around and to be surrounded by the smell of citrus and berries. The colors were so vibrant and an aura of “granola” filled the parking lot. I ended up bringing home asparagus, white peaches, strawberries, daisies, and about 45 photos of fruits and vegetables.

In the afternoon, we drove down to Melrose Ave. and walked around in an antique fair. It was outdoors and people were sellling all kinds of junk. I did, however, score a rare red cover “Catcher in the Rye” for 5 bucks…a nice find. We then walked down the street and browsed through the shops and got a few more photos taken.

I would consider this to be a pleasant Sunday filled with lots of walking, exploring, and photo-snappin’. Until next time, Brother.

Bipolar

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I’m at the 2nd WORK Artshow, which seems to be quite a success. The theme this time is “Bipolar” and people interpreted it in various ways. It’s neat to see so many creative people all in one little room sharing the stories behind their pieces. I missed the last one, “Robots and Bunnies”, but saw all the pieces hanging in the back room. It’s funny that Jes went to that one while I was at a bridal shower and now I’m at this one while Jes is at a bachelor party. Hey, Kenneth came by too! That was cool.

Anyway, I’m hanging out with the brother and his friends and I trying out a fast lens (Nikon 50mm f1.4) that I rented for the weekend. It normally retails for about $280 but I got to rent it for $12 for the entire weekend! It was well worth it too because I didn’t have to use flash all night. I can’t believe the low light shots that I was taking and how clear they came out. I may be renting it one more time for Patty’s wedding next Saturday and it will probably be one to put on my wishlist.