Speaking of missing my life...

I have recently admitted to missing fog. This is just crazy to me, because that is probably what I liked least about living in San Francisco. I prefer the hot desert sun to the summers of damp haze I grew used to in SF....

One thing Bay Areans love are time lapses of their fine metropolis. SFist clued me in to The Unseen Sea by Simon Christen on Vimeo, that gives a new perspective on fog - that it mirrors the sea. Watch and be mesmerized.


The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

Watching this led me to wonder if there are any time lapses of the sort for New Mexico, because the skies here are absolutely breathtaking. Saturday morning I spotted my first balloon of the season (and then saw there were actually about six). This can only mean that the Balloon Fiesta is right around the corner! So in that spirit, I bring you a time lapse of last years Fiesta. The balloons bob up and down madly, and if you get about halfway through, you get taken on a wild, sped up balloon ride. Hold on to your butts (and please note, the music is about ten times more annoying, and jarring if you've just watched the fog time lapse. Therefore, you might want to add your own).

Basically, I miss my life

When my facebook status last week listed a few of the things I am missing about the Bay Area, my friend Hank responded with, “So basically, you miss your life.” Yes, that’s exactly right.

I took this picture of the Bay Bridge on my way to eating dinner with the girls at my friend Kelly's house. She lives near Coit Tower in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood.

Of course I have somewhat of a life in Albuquerque. But I spent three years getting to know the huge metropolitan area that is the Bay, the culture, the food, the people. The months before I left I fell into a routine, or life, that made me happy. Without trying, my weeks were full with dinners, hiking, parties, dance classes, long city walks, sports events, etc. I still feel as though any day now I am going to return to that life; like I’m on some sort of extended vacation in New Mexico. I suppose it’s that sort of thinking that can hinder me from building a life here. It’s thinking about what I would be doing right this instant if I still lived in San Francisco that makes my days longer and lonelier.

A quick weekend get away landed us on the beach in Santa Cruz, having a picnic with wine and acoustic guitar.

The truth is, I have been meeting new people and keeping myself fairly busy. I have been gradually building a new life. But with growth come the growing pains. And with growing pains there is inevitable self doubt. I could still have my life, I sometimes think.And there’s a constant internal struggle of how much I let go and how much I hang on to. It bores people to be talking constantly about another place, people they've never met, and soon, another time.

The curveballs life threw at me during my time in California have left me with a much stronger appreciation for life. It’s because of my heartaches that I was able to build a life that made me so happy and that I now miss so terribly. So as I sat here pondering my old life, I realized that the best thing I can do is learn from it. I had much longer, harder, lonelier days when I was living in the Bay Area. And those days were what gave me the motivation to move forward, chin up, heart open. It’s time for me to find again what makes me happy each day and do it. It’s time to learn who I should spend time with in order to make me feel good about myself. It’s time to appreciate what my old life gave me, maintain those lifelong friendships, and build a new life I would be missing if I left tomorrow. 

47 beef and bean burritos in 10 minutes

image via gawker.com

Looks like San Jose, Calif.'s hometown hero, aka Joey Chestnut, hot dog eating machine, took to the New Mexico State Fair to dominate at burrito eating. Is there nothing this man can't eat at record speed?

TEDxABQ

Heard of TED yet? When I got to town last month, my dad introduced me to one of the dedicated volunteers putting on TEDxABQ next Saturday at the Hard Rock Casino Albuquerque. I hopped on to the TED website and started watching videos, and they are all different, interesting and inspiring in their own way. However, for my ADHD mind, I go a little bonkers when on the internet and have hard time committing to 18 minute videos. That is until the Alibi hipped me to this talk by David McCandless. 

Now you say, data visualization? REALLY? Out of everything TED, that's the one that hooked you? Well, yes. Trust me, 17 minutes in I finally looked down at the time and was saddened to realize there was only a minute left. Seeing data in a pretty chart puts a lot into perspective - like our wars in the Middle East and the financial crisis.

When you're done watching that one, check out Ken Robinson on how schools limit creativity. He presents a depressing subject (the sad state that is our educational system) in a way that will make you laugh. And think. Then, check out whatever strikes your fancy. And welcome to the latest time suck. But at least it's a time suck that (hypothetically) makes you smarter.

If you're in ABQ, come check it out live and in person next Saturday! And say HI to me... I'll be working the registration table.

Trolley's, Lightning, and Injury Lawyers

It's been a few weeks, and I am loving the new perspective I am finding on my hometown... below are just a few of the things I have taken time to take pictures of. 

Driving around town (especially the touristy areas - this is taken at University and Central) I noticed a little piece of San Francisco - Albuquerque Trolley's. A quick look at ABQTrolley.com will fill you in on how this is a uniquely "Albuquerquean" trolley - open air, stucco, wrought iron bars. The trolley hits downtown, old town, Nob Hill, the UNM area, and more... I guess there's even a "Trolleywood" tour that takes sightseers to the parts of town used in movies and the hit TV show "Breaking Bad." So it's not used for mass transit, but looks like a fun thing to do with out of town visitors! And I would probably even learn something.

Last week I experienced what I had been waiting for - a massive thunderstorm (and at sunset, too!). From my parents house, you can the storms moving across the city.. and the lighting was like a fireworks show. I worked pretty hard to get this one shot of a bolt of lighting.

Is it me, or is there an uptick in injury lawyers in Albuquerque? Here's Bert. When I was a kid, Ron Bell dominated the market (who, interestingly enough, was recently arrested for driving under the influence... his slogan is "I sue drunk drivers!") Now you can't drive more than 10 miles without spotting a billboard for some injury lawyer. Which begs the chicken before the egg argument... are there more people getting hurt now, or just more people realizing they can sue for getting hurt? Probably a bit of both. If anyone out there has some sort of research as to the sizable increase of these dudes, fill me in.

From 6,700 feet

Well, I have officially moved back to Albuquerque, so I guess that means I will have to change the name of this blog. I hope to update more than I have been, especially if I want to be one of those fancy freelance writer people. Anyway, I thought I'd check in on that whole "California To-Do List" I made for myself.


(01) Attend a Warrior's basketball game
Done! No picture of this. We were up in the nosebleeds, but I am sure Stephen Curry could still hear me cheering for him. We beat up on the NY Knicks.

(02) See a show at the Fillmore in San Francisco
Whoops, missed this one. This is something I thought I would do regularly before I moved to the Bay. There were always so many shows playing every where, I started to get overwhelmed. I couldn't choose where to spend my money! This is a crap excuse. I have to go there on my next visit, I don't care if I have to catch a Justin Beiber show there (right!!).

(03) See a show at the Fox in Oakland

Done! Saw Zac Brown Band. (Photo via KR)

(04) Go for a hike in Yosemite
Nope. sigh.

(05) Spend a night in Lake Tahoe
Nope again. sigh.


(06) Take a road trip up North to Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver

Crater Lake, OR

Seattle, WA

Done! Went on a 5 day, 2,522 mile (round trip) road trip, and it was absolutely beautiful.

(07) Take Highway 1 to Southern California
I took two trips to SoCal, but stuck to I-5. =/

(08) Surf. Again.
Nope! Considering this summer was one of the foggiest/coldest SF has seen in years, I never stopped to think about getting on a surfboard.


(09) Spend a day at the SFMOMA
Nope. Ok, like the Fillmore, no real excuse for this one either.


(10) Pitch at least one story to KQED
Well, I filled in as director for the California Report... does that count?

(11) Go camping in Big Sur
Nope.


(12) Visit Sacramento
Sort of! Floated down the American River with a big group of 15 people. Didn't see much of Sacramento, though.

(13) Visit the "Mystery Spot" in Santa Cruz
Nope. But DID see Blue Oyster Cult perform a free concert on the beach!

(14) Go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Nope. No real good excuse for this one, either.


(15) Take 4 new dance classes
I took one new one! And it kicked my ass. A good way to get your heart pumping after sitting down for breakfast and stuffing yourself full of eggs and bacon is to do a fusion rythm class at ODC!


(16) See Wicked or a production of SF Ballet (other than the Nutcracker)
Nope.

Turns out that in order to check things off your to-do list, you should probably actually look at it every once and a while. With all my "half" attempts at crossing things off, I got 5 out of 16. That's pretty pathetic. Looks like I'll have to plan on a return visit!

When someone you love becomes a memory

For the past week, I have effectively been living in high school. My little brain has been re-living moments on the soccer field, track, zero hour senate, sour apple puckers, Dion's pizza for lunch in the commons, blue lockers, the "secret of the Matador"... I could go on and on. I haven't thought this much about high school since... well, since I was in high school.

The news of a former classmate dying in a car accident has spawned a look back, and thoughts on those people who were so important to me back then. Ben Ashwill was a star soccer player, an intelligent, easy-going guy, and I think any girl who met him that says she never had a crush on him (even just for 5 minutes) would be lying. I still remember the 5 minutes I had a crush on him our freshman year. I also remember cheering him on as he scored goal after goal, on Varsity, when we were freshman, and the team was ranked #1 in the nation. The news of his passing was at first shocking, and then heartbreaking. Not only did we lose a great person that day, but he was my age, and friends and classmates back home were hurting.

Still, I hadn't seen or talked to Ben in the 8 years since we graduated. I didn't even attend a single UNM soccer game. It was hard to wrap my mind around why I was so upset. If there was no facebook.com, I might feel a little more detached. But that made it real. The messages from loved ones, my friends heartfelt statuses of grief...

I wrote in a previous post about how ever since I was in high school, I dreamed of living in California. All I ever wanted to do when I was in high school was get the hell out of there. I did, and I never looked back. I didn't keep in touch very well, and I sure as hell didn't miss the halls of Sandia. But the impact of Ben's death has been the realization that I really cared for the people I went to high school with. Let's face it: for most, high school sucks. It's full of unnecessary drama and teen angst. But underneath all the bullshit, there were some really awesome people there. We have all gone on separate paths, and evolved into different people - hopefully the people we were meant to be. I always bitch about how I can't go anywhere in Albuquerque without running into someone I know... and now I realize, maybe I actually kinda like that. Sure, the small talk is always a little awkward (how do you fill someone in on the last 8 years in crowded, noisy bar or restaurant? or while you're standing in the frozen food section at Smith's?), but in the end, it's always good to see people. To know they're alive and well.

I am beyond sad to come to the realization that I will never bump into Benji at Horse & Angel (or some other place frequented by SHS alumni).

It could have been me or someone close to me in that car that night. It could be me or someone close to me tonight, or tomorrow, or the next day. At 25, we are always planning/worrying/talking about our future. Who will I marry? Will my career ever take off? Will I ever be able to buy a home? Am I going to have kids? Where will I live? Am I ever going to make enough money to stop worrying about bills? Constant worry, constant stress. SO OVER IT. All we have is now, people. We owe it to ourselves and those we've lost to start living for today. I want to say I have lived a full life, even if I die tomorrow. I also want those I love to know I love them. I aim to work on letting people know how much I care and value having them in my life.

I am sorry I missed what sounds like an early high school reunion at Ben's funeral. He was that kind of person - we all knew him, but more than that, we all loved him. RIP.