iVent Vol. VIII

Stream of Consciousness: the flow of thoughts in the conscious mind.

iVent Vol. VII

Surroundings.

Your surroundings determine who you are, your actions, and your overall mood. Think about it, it's true. If you are in an enviroment with smoking parents and siblings, you will probably smoke. If you're in an enviroment where your family controls every aspect of your life, you might live with it, or be rebellious. I'm thankful for my surroundings.

I got the lucky chance to spend an evening with my Seth's parents and his friends. We had an amazing dinner (mood=satisfied) of pasta, pita bread, and salad. Soon after, all the non-adults piled into a Prius and took an adventure to Movie Gallery. The car ride to and from was entertaining to say the least (mood=humored). We got a movie based on our friend Collin's man-crush on Russle Crowe...and Christian Bale was in it too. The movie is called 3:10 To Yuma. An action movie i was skeptical about, but pleased with in the end. Throughout the movie, people would say random things to the actors and what was going on that kept the mood flowing. (mood=chill). I left after the movie grateful for such a wonderful night.

Before i went to Seth's house, i went on a "target run" with Sarah. Target Runs are what Sarah and I are known for. Whenever we go to Target, we wreak havoc. Doing stupid and crazy things such as building snowmen out of toilet paper and alluminum foil or buggy races. Either way, we ventured to Target (mood=pumped). My camera died as soon as we got there and we were not pleased. We usually record our mischief and post it for the world (of Facebook) to see. So what did we do? We bought a desposable camera (and 2 pretzel combos). With 27 picture oppertunities, we went crazy. We took pictures with umbrellas, hats, and sunglasses. We took pictures of us climbing into ceramic pots, buggy jumping, building things, biting snuggies...the list goes on. Those pictures WILL be on Facebook soon. Mood=accomplished.

Before the Target Run, I went to lunch to the greatest mexican resteraunt in town, Los Mex, with Sarah and our friend, Ben. (Mood=hungry). After 45 minutes of chill conversations and mexican feasts, we drove to The Bridge, mine and Ben's church. Ben and i were going to work on some music we are trying to create. It was a success for sure. (Mood=energized) Sarah, in the middle of playing, came and explained to us that there was "a river in the upstairs of the other building." We went to see what she was talking about. Apparently, the water fountain in Wesley Hall went haywire. The stream of water was shooting all the way up to the ceiling (no exxageration) and was flooding the hallway. It was amazing to see, but a mess. We fixed it shortly after. (Mood=amazed). Ben and I went back to the music stage where we met two members of the Youth Band which Ben and I are also apart of. We played Grace Like Rain. I was surprised i remember the drum part, but happy i did. It sounded pretty great. Mood=passionate (for music).

All of these different surroundings changed my mood several times throughout the day. Have oyu ever kept up with that factor? Maybe you should. Maybe you can find the source for any negative moods, and maybe you can fix them. Peace and Grace.

iVent Vol. VI

Spring break 09. A big deal to some, but just another trip tot he beach this year to me. I traveled to Gulf Shores on Monday and arrived back home yesterday (Thursday). The wind was terrible, my brother complained the whole time, and i honestly missed Anniston a little. I loved the trip though, i found so many shells and i have a new project to work on because of all the shells i found. I got to ripstik with the harsh wind, which was fun. I dominated my dad and brother go-karting at The Track. Overall, it was a fun experience, but just another trip to me. I learned a few things though:
-Do not ripstik with wind, because you will eventually have to ripstik against it.
-Don't step on rocks in the lagoon, for some may be sharp.
-Wear your hair up when it's windy.
-Robert doesn't like to be beaten by a girl.
-Dad plays dirty when it comes to go karts.
-When you miss someone, tell them.
-Don't "wish you were home" when you are away. Find stories to bring back.

iVent Vol. V

"It's 46 degrees outside. I'm in shorts and a tanktop. I'm still going."

That was my train of thought 30 minutes ago. Anniston, Alabama is a very boring town. We have close to nothing to do here, so i make my own fun. I can go to the creek, take pictures, stay inside, ripstik...that's about it. Tonight, i can't go to the creek, there's nothing to photograph, i've been inside all day, so i wanted to ripstik. Sure it's cold, and i'm not dressed properly, but i could care less. It's all about the surroundings, that's why i love this town.

The sunsets here beat the beach sunsets by miles. The stars live in clusters and shine brighter than any city streetlights. I love the Anniston nights. I could sleep under the stars here. I have many times actually. Whenever i question my place in this town, why i ended up here, i can go outside and see billions of reasons why i should stay. I've been to DC, i've been to Seaside, i've been in other countries. Still nowhere compares to what i see here. I ignore the temperature.

"When i look at the stars, when i look at the stars...when i look at the stars i see someone else. When i look at the stars..the stars...i feel like myself."-Switchfoot.

If you want to witness this, i invite you to Anniston, Alabama. Come to my backyard and you'll see for once the reason i love this place.

iVent Vol. IV

Cubicle: a partially enclosed workspace, separated from neighboring work spaces by partitions that are usually five to six feet tall.

Since i was little and understood that one day i will have to work for a living, i swore to myself that i would avoid "cubicles" at all costs. An office where you sit at a desk...surrounded by borders. I couldn't imagine being able to sit still and be content in that little enclosed desk. This is another post about my intercession experience. Yes, it may be boring, but this is just my iVent.

As stated, i have been shadowing a professional photographer for a week who works at a newspaper. We have our own room, not a cubicle. It's a small 25 by 15 ft. or so, with a huge deadbolt door and two Mac computers. The room has boxes everywhere with files and discs, old newspapers, the works. Outside our little world, are cubicles, cubicles and more cubicles, where the reporters and editors and everyone else works. The first day of work, i stayed in our photography room and away from The Land of the Cubes. But as this week has progressed, i found myself going all over that land, visiting the editors and reporters, and being comfortable there. I know it isn't the cubicles that i like, i think it is just the environment. Everyone here knows everyone, about their kids and their home life. Everyone talks to one another like long lost friends, and they all care. It made me realize i wouldn't mind working in a little cube for the rest of my life as long as i was happy. Every employees cube is different too. Some have pictures of their families, some pictures of cats. Some have sticky notes galore, and some have wooden carvings of their name. I could tell everyone's personality before i even met them just by their little 5 by 5 cube. This intercession week was a great experience. I'm asking the boss later today if they have summer jobs.

The people at this newspaper aren't all "normal" and some people are probably turned off by that, but I'm not normal in the least bit! These people are so much like me and what i see myself being in my future. Later in life, i hope i don't judge a job by it's cubicle. I hope i judge it by the environment. I believe that is a good philosophy to live by. Metaphorically speaking, "Don't judge a job by it's cubicle".

iVent Vol. III

iVent Vol. III

As i said in the previous iVent, i am shadowing the chief photographer for the Daily Home in Talladega. This morning, i awoke at 6:47 A.M., running late. We sped to the Crisp's house and only a few minutes later, Mr. Crisp and i were on our way to the "Salt Mines" (that's what he calls it to freak me out). We arrived at the headquarters around 8:25 A.M. and i received one of the greatest surprises of my life. 

Last year, my freshman year, i got one of my poem's published. It started out as a class free write assignment and turned out to be a victory for my writing career. It's called "A Teenage Dream" (go to google, type in: "A Teenage Dream" poetry. It should be the first link.) It was published in an actual book and that made me feel like an absolute celebrity. Something i'm good at was noticed and appreciated. The surprise i was given this morning, however, was very similar to that published poem i wrote. 

Mr. Crisp dropped the morning paper that we pressed yesterday onto my desk. I gazed at the front page and there, on the cover of The Daily Home for so many people to see, was my trophy picture. The one of the bridge covered in water reflecting that little sunlight in the water with the reeds all around. That picture that was my definition of tranquility, was on the front page. I was published again for my photography. What a way to start off a day of work. 

I don't see why this great event happens to me. Anyone could have been there with a camera, but i got the shot. It was enough for me to just be there in that tranquil setting, but to be known for being there is so much more than i had hoped for. 

To see the picture go to www.dailyhome.com and look for today's paper. Click on the picture. 

iVent Vol. II

iVent. Vol. II

Today, i woke up at 6:30 to meet Mr. Bob Crisp for my intercession shadowing. He's a photographer, a CHIEF photographer, and a baller at that. It was very foggy.

On the way to the office, he pulls a quick U-Turn and says i need to shoot something (photographic term for "i need to take a picture of something"). We went onto Jim Pruitt's land (yes the senator) and he found this one spot that amazed me. It was the definition of tranquility to me. We slipped past a fence, found a bridge, coated in dew so it shined along with the sunlight that managed to escape the dense fog. Geese appeared out of no where, and i took the greatest picture in my life. I saw that picture through my lens, i snapped the shot, then i looked up to the beauty i would never be able to describe to any person, even with photographic evidence. I was tired, i was not awake, my medicine hadn't kicked in yet. There was mud everywhere, wet grass tickling my legs all the way up to my kneecaps...and yet for a split second, i seemed to have forgotten all of those factors. I could look at the sun because the fog was pair of sunglasses. The geese didn't run, they were content. The water seemed to have caught the sun light and thrown it at me. It was beautiful and i was happy.

I questioned soon after, why there can't be more things in life such as this tranquil setting that seemed to hand its beauty to me on a silver platter. I wondered why God can make things so beautiful, but He seems to throw them around every "now and then". For the rest of the day, throughout my photographic adventures with Mr. Bob that i took, i thought about that one question. Why does God hide these beautiful things from us?

After a days worth of thinking, i think i have come to a conclusion. I believe God hides such amazing factors from us and saves them for that special "every once in a blue moon" moment so we WILL question that. I think He wanted me to not question why that was so beautiful, but question why He doesn't show me that more often. After coming to that conclusion, i've also created a theory. Maybe, these settings and wonders are always right in front of us, but God only opens our eyes when He knows we will give credit back to Him for the beauty.

My picture is a trophy to me now.