Tis the night before my birthday...

On the eve of my twenty-nineth birthday I cannot help but to reflect on my life, about the things I have done and the future that awaits me. Sure, there are plenty of things in my life that I could have done without or that I could have done better but all-in-all, I have very little to complain about and as for my future, although it is more uncertain than say that of a Pre-Med major, I am lucky to have the opportunity to learn.

Every morning during my commute to Davis, I listen to NPR. I listen to the news and as of recent, the news is dominated by the revolutions in the Middle East. I am proud that there are revolutions occurring...people standing up for what they believe in. Yet, that is easy to say from my privileged position. I hate hearing about the current violence, the suffering of innocent people. I hate knowing that for some right now, a peaceful sleep does not exist and turmoil dominates daily life. I hate there is nothing that I can do to change it. Today it is Libya dominating the media, but it would be naive of me to ignore the fact that there there is pain and suffering happening around the globe--injustice and exploitation of people to help maintain and perpetuate my way of life. It is easy to complain about simple things when there is little to complain about.

For those that know me, and know me well (or maybe those that have caught me in my rants), know my political opinions about our form of government and the downfalls of our capitalist society but yet, I have to admit that I l am fortunate. I am thankful for the opportunity to receive a higher education...the opportunity to talk!

Today after my "Great Cities" class, I had an insightful and satisfying conversation with my professor. As I walked away in the downpour to my car parked about 1.5 miles (2,4 km) away, I kept thinking how amazing it is to discuss ideas! Furthermore, to have someone knowledgable on the subject to give me input. This is not an opportunity given to everyone and I recognize this. I could not find the room to complain despite being cold and being soaked from head to toe. I could not find the capacity to complain that I had to put my last $20 into my car tank as I drove soaking wet to the gas station. Even know as I write this, I cannot find the words to complain that I have to study for my Italian exam tomorrow. Passato Remoto is nothing compared to the thought of having a war breakout just outside my door.

There is a point in this blog...I swear!

So ok, I hate...no loathe that I am turning another year older. I don't like that I am going to have to collect some change from around the house to fill up my car with gas again here soon. I don't like that my favorite pair (and second to only pair of jeans) are about to have a hole in them. There are plenty of things that I don't like about my life and I am unsatisfied about but I have very little room to complain. I have a roof over my head. I have food on the table. I have clothes to wear. I have the chance to get an education. So what if I have an Italian exam tomorrow and I am not adequately prepared? There are people dying out in the world, don't have a place to sleep, don't have food, etc.
Everyday I want to wake up and feel fortunate, I want to feel empathy, I want to live and learn, I want to love, and I want peace.

I am not saying the status quo is ok, there are plenty of things that can be changed right here but I am fortunate and from my position of privilege, I cannot complain! Things could be much harder. I could be in Iraq, the Congo, in the slums of India, let's not to go so far, the slums of Guatemala. I am thankful. I repeat one hundred times: I am thankful.
What will I do with this marvelous opportunity in my life? What will I do with the privilege given to me? I must be the best I can be. To make other's sacrifice's worthwhile. I cannot change the world but I will do everything in my power to make the world a better place, beginning with me.
Here is to another year...Happy Birthday me.

Addition at 19.55:
Yasmin was curious as to what I was writing and asked me to read it to her (occasionally she likes me to read my term papers to her too, hahaha). Afterwards she said that it was really moving and yes, she actually used the word "moving." She said that she also wishes there was less violence in the world and said, "We need peace not war so everyone can be happy." And there it is: Se lo capisce una bambina, il mondo completo devi capirlo. :)
Ok, now I must really study for this exam tomorrow. Arrivederci!

Oh what fun...

Flour and Sugar...check

Chocolate chips...check

A crazy seven year old ready to bake...check

I have everything to make the best deserts for Christmas. Yasmin and I got a little zealous to prepare our double chocolate chip cupcakes that we began eating our chocolate chips early. Unfortunately, I think we might have to go to the store again tomorrow though to re-buy our chocolate chips because we had a little too many to eat today.

Happy Holidays!

What's the point of having a child if you cannot brag about them?

This morning my daughter received an academic award for being an excellent speller! Sometimes I wonder if this child is even mine with this ability because it is certainly not my forte (thank goodness for spell check). Needless to say, I love her.

Yasmin = LOVE

Studio Light Fun

Before my dear friend Naomi left for her "Great Escape" I asked if she planned on selling her studio lights because I was very interested in purchasing them. After having them in my possession for over a month now, I have finally been putting them to good use. I have to admit that although I am a lover of natural light, studio lights open up the opportunity for I-feel-like-doing-photography-but-there-isn't-enough-light photo shoots (haha, were you able to follow that?). And so, I have been photographing many different things at many different times and these are some of the fun projects I have been working on:

Some photos for Imagine All That Vintage:

Now just for fun:

The following two pictures are Yasmin and her Tia (aunt in Spanish) Dana:

Our rendition of "Hear no evil, speak no evil, and see no evil"

The following image is a satirical self-portrait of my opinion of the times we live in. Notice the cell phone, the bad habits (smoking), and the casino coffee mug. The text was added in by my sweet penpal Ellen, who said she would print this out to put in her kitchen.

The little ham known as Yasmin...

It is an understatement if I were to say that my daughter, Yasmin, is entertaining. I have to say that a little part of me rejoices every time she asks me to take her photo because I know I am guaranteed to have fun doing it. Even after a long day of shooting for business, I still found the inspiration to photograph her. She's such a little ham, don't you just want to eat her up?

The Love of my Life

I am in love with the most amazing human being on this planet. I am enthralled by all of her inner beauty and outer beauty. Every moment with her is filled with laughter and when she is away, her absence hangs heavily in the air. Despite all this love, sometimes I wonder how it is that I came to love her like this...I suppose a part of me can't really help it, I mean after all, we do share twenty-three chromosomes. But maybe what I find truly amazing is her sweet disposition and her fun personality. All I really know though is if there is one person in the world I cannot live without, it would certainly have to be her--hands down.
Yeah, I know what you're thinking, "Of course you love her! You're her mother!"
But is that one hundred percent true? Is there some kind of rule booking stating that is so? Because if there is please hand those books out to the countless of abusive and useless parents in this world. But back to my point, I do love her because she is my offspring but I feel like I love her more because of all the beautiful things she has taught me and her strategies with coping with "troubles". Yasmin truly lives the live of the uncarved block (please refer to Taoism for this reference) and she is simply one of the sweetest people you'll ever know. One morning I remember I looked in the mirror and I felt the reflection looking back was quite frieghtening when Yasmin walks in to use the potty and turns to me saying, "Mimi (her nickname for me), you look so beautiful. Your heart is like an angel." I turned to her smiling and I said, "Yasi, you are an angel." I know, it's a sappy love story but I can't help it, she is my angel. Yasmin has saved my life in so many ways and continues to do so daily.
With all this said, she is the main subject of my personal photographs. I have probably taken thousands of pictures of her and I am never tired of it. She is theatrical, goofy, and fun in front of the camera. Sometimes she even grabs my camera and asks me if I plan on photographing her soon but today I grabbed my camera and as I played with her toes, I wanted to capture all the joy she brings into my life. This is my visual ode to Yasmin.