title: big schools

whenever i visit uconn, i get to appreciate the things large schools can have that emerson never could. first, there is the huge library. i may be a bit biased because nathan works there, but i think it is beautiful. they have so many old books, and it is so big that you can always find a place to feel alone and hidden.
the second is the greenhouse. actually, nathan used to work there, too. it has plants from all over the world. someday i am going to get nathan to do a guest post on my blog with the pictures he took of them. they are seriuously beautiful.that's all. i'm home for the summer, so you can begin to expect the usual posts re: flowers, bugs, and the great outdoors.
happy mother's day!

title: venezia di diurna

it's quiet and mysterious at night, but vibrant and alive by day. you really visit two venices when you go.the above picture grabbed me in the daylight and under the flourescents at night.i like them both.

title: and so, to ghent!

fortunately, bruges does not speak for all of belgium. ghent is awesome. it's like if bruges and brussels had a brilliant lovechild. it's full of art and medieval charm, just to the right scale, and everything is affordable for a lowly student such as myself. (don't get me wrong, you can go expensive if you want to, but it's not forced like in CERTAIN towns.) plus, the people are friendly here and the oldsters aren't scabs. i had coffee with a woman who has lived in ghent all her life, and had been going to that particular coffee shop (mokabon, where you can go to the best cappucino ever for only 2 euro) since she was nine years old. a cute young couple also sat with us, and spent the entire time pinching each other as they stirred their coffees. and that was only the beautiful beginning to my day.

one more cool thing: there is a street in ghent where you can do graffiti without getting in any trouble. behold.
does it not speak to the innermost happiness of you soul?! they love art in ghent. i also took in the s.m.a.k., where i saw some crappy modern art and some cool modern art. in addition to its exhibits, there is "coming people": the museum displays art students' work, chosen by curators from the museum itself and from international museums (this year it was a person from japan). also, they actually allow you to take (non-flash) photos in the museum, which is an awesome idea. i'm still working out whether or not any of the photos i took are good enough to be worth posting. only photoshop will tell! for now, just enjoy this beautiful image from a junk shop (where, incidentally, i wound up haggling for and buying a melodica):wow.

title: streets of paris 2: art and architecture

i didn't wind up taking too terribly many photos of buildings on my trip. i have a lot of shots from high places like the butte montmartre and the eiffel tower, but they are really very basic. i think i was just hyped up on caffeine and excited by how much i could see. check out this beautiful place!
i saw that poster being glued to the wall while i was having coffee with my mom and aunt. the man who put it up painted the wall over and over with glue, and took especial care to lay the poster flat. he even cut of the corner so he didn't paste over that red clown's speech bubble, which was an absolutely adorable act.
the next and final segment will be: paris by night!

title: i love junk shops

i am an old lady at heart. junk shops catch my fancy like no other thing. there is something about the layers and layers of compounded lives in them that is at once crushing and fascinating. so, dutch junk shops? count me in! this particular junk shop was in maastricht, owned by a really nice man with a really bad cough.don't tell my cousin max, but there were world war ii helmets and gas masks in there!

title: the past few weeks.

comrades and lovers--i return with photos!
i'm sorry for the long break. at a few parties over the past few days, several friends (and even vague acquaintances!) from high school have told me that they like my blog and/or photography. shamefacedly, i realized i haven't updated this thing since the fourth! there have been quite a few pictures fermentin' on my camera, spanning the time between posts. they are all green. maybe this is because they have been sitting on my camera for so long that they have started to get moldy. take a look.
the below four photos were taken at that time of the day--the late afternoon haze on a summer day when the light is golden and every picture you take is amazing. check out the cool "flare" effects caused by my dusty, uncleaned lens.that's my dad. it's his birthday on monday (july 20th). you should facebook him and tell him happy birthday! his name is chris.i'm friends with him. that's right--he's my dad and my friend!

happy birthday, dad!

title: apr 24

i am at uconn visiting the one and only WUNCH (that's nathan, my boyfriend, for those not in the loop)! he had an hour long chemistry exam today, so i wandered around campus and snapped some shots:tomorrow it will be 80 degrees. expect some hot photos!

title: apr 22

there is a gentle grayish light coming from the picture window in the living room. it is drizzling. the windows are open, and from the fifth floor i can hear cars going by and the wind in the alleyway. some of it catches in the window and blows a soft, fresh breeze on my bare feet and legs. under my soles the wooden coffee table is smooth and cool. the ceramic of the cup of tea i just finished off is still warm in my hand. occasionally a seagull will scraw from outside, giving the illusion that the ocean is just beyond the adjacent building. i feel just like this. it makes me sleepy.