first time i've picked up my camera in over a year!

~ ~ ~

this camera has trekked across a volcano,

navigated through venetian canals,

and frolicked through the tea hills of tanah rata.

picking the neighbor's flowers

to garnish our rainy day cake!

when your roommate desperately wants to go see her

favorite band, but the tickets are $$$

then your ex-coworker says her cousin's band is in

town & wants to know if you want to go with her to their show.

and the band is the same band your roommate worships.

then you all go to together and

have a jolly good time

today, a stranger thanked me for the work I do.

CELEBRATORY NOODLES

i took some giant steps,
and landed my next new job!

~*~*~*~*~*~

wandered around a forest for 10 miles

and spotted some first signs of autumn

 foggy sunsets and rolling hills

taking giant steps in oakland

#postfinalinterview

some late night waterdoodles~

Lina and I embarked on a museum + garden day.

And overdid it.

 Then we made lasagna.

 "the water at your house is so good,

it tastes like Pakistan!"

-Maryam

"build a life so uniquely yours that no one can imagine anyone but you living it. Make your choices so intentionally and specifically tailored to your personality and your goals that it is impossible to conceive of anyone but you living the one specific life that you live."

[out on the open road]

it's been the best of times,

it's been the worst of times.

one year ago, i put flowers in my hair,

and moved to this glorious fog city:

we deal with hysterical tots (and grown-ups),

dead birds, ambulance calls, and other people's

offspring's biological spills..

and that's why we sometimes consume alcohol.

happy belated 27th birthday Marie~

instead of going to work,

i went to a castle.

an update on my newest hobby...
it's been one of those blood, sweat and tears

experiences (mostly blood and some tears),

but i have learned an adequate level of
glass techniques and skills
to create this artichoke window:

in the midst of madness,

i was asked to design + create an outfit

last minute for this mannequin.

i dug through boxes of fabric, feathers, trim

and with needles in my teeth and thread in my hand,
came up with this:

it made me realize that i love

high pressure time-crunched situations where i am

pressured/encouraged to be my most
creative resourceful self.

i was excited to bring it home

but it was already taken by someone;

now some little girl somewhere

is running around wearing my

deconstructed poncho dress.

"you look like helen of troy"

- j

*in reference to the time i wore a

thrifted pink grecian gown to work

exactly 1 year ago today, i drafted & submitted the CV

for my current job. 365 days later, here i am again.

drafting a new one, for a brand new adventure
where i continue exploring my role and potential
in shaping lives as an educator.  

~*~*~*~

the girl who was part of my skype interview is now

one of my favorite people. our destinies/lives are

reoccurringly and eerily intertwined.

this is the henna i did at her house during

open mic night where people

sang their hearts and vocal cords out.

giant ravens and white butterflies circled above,

thank you ggm.