Haitian Lovin

Had to post these to the blog. They are a couple months old and I took none of these pics. It is all Jean-Marc's attempt at photography. He claims to be a Nikon lover...but he admitted that he was in love with the Canon that day. Jesse's amazing cooking was definitely the highlight of the day. The food was amazing and the wine even better. We had Napoleons at this French bakery the same weekend, so this meal was the pretty much as one would call, sealing the deal. Some part of me had to be Haitian during one phase of the cycles of Karma and reincarnation...and if not, then i sure wish the next time around. The food was delicious and the company it was enjoyed in, even better. We ate, drank and chatted the night away. Reminiscing back, I cant think of anything else that is needed for a good time but a good circle of friends, delicious food and oh did I forget to mention bottomless wine?

The McConnies

Instead of going into deep posts, I figured I should keep the blog to be more photo oriented and mention a few blurbs about it. This was my first official family photo shoot with the McConnie family. The kids were exhausted by the summer heat but were good sports and let me snap away at them. It was definitely an eye opener cause one thing was evident...kids definitely dont work on your time but their time..so get with the program!

Tokens of Nostalgia

This one goes back to the Mobile visit. Saturday morning, I decided to step out and take some pictures. Monk was awake and the better part of the morning pictures were focused on him, as usual. However, walking through the yard, one fixture caught my attention. The old and beaten basketball rim made me pause and wonder of possibly better times it had seen. Standing erect in the sunlight, paint flaking, rim holding on for dear life to the backboard, this basketball rim seemed to have led a fulfilling life, possibly completing the tasks thrown its way. I had no idea, how long ago it was put up and didn't have a single memory around it, but it made me reminiscence on my good times involving similar tokens of nostalgia.

Through our lives, we develop memories and along the way we start associating certain things with memories. I refer to these as tokens of nostalgia. To me soccer cleats, toy guns, Toblerone candy bars, firecrackers, grilled fish, and action figures are all associated with fond memories. The younger elementary school version of myself, didn't like books or to study and definitely didn't understand why grown ups had to work. I do however remember one thing through my whole childhood...the image of my exhausted dad returning from work everyday with a Toblerone bar tucked away in his pocket. No matter how stressful or busy his day was, he wouldn't forget that candy bar...maybe cause of the time I sulked when he did forget. Now whenever I am at the checkout line at Target, I see these bars and first image that pops up in my head is my dad at my old apartment door and then me falling asleep on his lap with a half finished candy bar. Another time I have this memory is when I am sitting in the dentist chair awaiting my 30th root canal, but thats neither here nor there.

Similar memories surrounded this basketball rim. To Lyssa it was a memory of simpler times when they were young and played countless hours of basketball with the family. She told me their dad would lose and then blame the sun being in his eyes for missed shots when the sun was clearly behind them and not the culprit. Things are more complicated now, but these memories stay and the rim continues to provide solace in these memories. I can only wonder what tokens Monk and the younger kids I know will use to weave their web of memories. If you made it to the end of this post, take a step back and think of your tokens of nostalgia. How have your memories been molded and wrapped around simple tokens that now affect your daily life? Think about it and while you ponder that thought, I am going to go get myself a Toblerone bar.

Lost Birthday Memories

"Hey you on the couch...you need a shot" Ben yelled out across the apartment. This was just the starting of many more to come. It was the last adult birthday I attended in March and of what little I remember of it, I had a good time. It was a 180 degree turn from the festivities I attended this weekend in Mobile. So, I finally mustered up enough sentiment to write again and the next few entries are going to be about my weekend in Mobile, Alabama.

After about 5 long years, I finally made another trip to Mobile for Audrey's birthday. Once my initial dilemma of getting the gift was solved, my next one surfaced at the back of my head. How do I capture a 5 year old's birthday? How do I make sure every moment is remembered?Being a grown up, it appears a standard norm these days for measuring one's adaptability was tagged with one's copious amounts of alcohol consumption. This copious amounts of alcohol consumption also meant that you did not want your birthday night to be remembered past that particular weekend and god forbid into the next birthday celebration. This contrasted a kid's birthday where sobriety (an adults lost birthday buddy) hung out.

What struck me the most was how packed the parking lot was at a place called Jumps a lot. Then I moved towards thinking of operating costs. If this does not show you how adulthood has made me lame, then read no further. I bet the first thought going through any kids head was to decorate their bedrooms like Jumps a lot. Iron Man was the theme and our birthday girl was all decked out in the best alternative to an armored suit, a t-shirt. Rest assured, there were no missiles or energy repulsors used at this party. Needless to say, the party was a huge hit and all the purchased memorabilia by Iron Man's mom, Terry, was well worth it.

Through the whole event, the same thought shuffled through my head...how little it actually took to make a kid happy. A few jumpers, a few friends and family, a cake and some decorations was enough to make even the most mischievous kids smile. Did I mention the truck lods of gifts? There was this innocence around every kid, which I believe we as grown up have lost...maybe as a necessity. Maybe, I am wrong. Maybe we do carry this innocence with us through into adult life. Why else are we still happy to see our friends at our birthdays instead of celebrating it alone? Why else do we ask the waiters at random restaurants to sing to our friends in unknown languages? I think the memories we capture as children travel with us through the years and in one way or the other manifest's itself into our grown up lives. What else are we besides culminations of our experiences? So my previous questions were answered. I was sure no matter what I missed through my camera, those memories were captured...by Audrey. This birthday was special to her. She would hopefully take these good memories with her into adulthood to serve as nostalgic moments and aid in the planning of her future celebrations. Eventually down the road, there would be one guest left out. ... sobriety.

Chaat le Phattey...

As the red and the green sauces mixed and flowed down the broken puri shells, my mouth watered. My tastes buds reached out and i felt the immediate need to savor the dish . But that didn't happen..I knew I had to capture this dish as best as I could. Its was like the colors of Christmas on a plate..only this time they could be eaten. I wanted to photograph a portion of the dish that showed all the wizardly ingredients that went into it. The broken puri shells stuffed with potato, onions, cilantro, tomatoes and ton of stuff i didn't know could only be made better with the crunchy sev that topped it off. YUM. So i fought off my killer instincts and for the better part of me decided to take a few pics before tearing though the plate. Lets just say, this dish was devoured in a matter of seconds.

Time to get a good pic : 3 mins

Time to eat the plate : 55 second on the dot!

So here is the first trial at a blog..

Hola!!