[weekend] friends

i think it's only natural for friends to evolve and change as one goes through life. "childhood friends" give away to "school friends","school friends" eventually turn into "college friends". who knows, one day i might even find myself with "couple friends" and then "married friends", and eventually "parent friends"! but that's too far down the road to think about. right now, i'm still in that "single guy" friend stage. lately there's a group of friends i've been hanging out with nearly every weekend. these friends are always ready to party it up on saturday! i almost can't keep up! now, like all groups of friends there's a few i really get a long with and some i just "put up" with. let me introduce you.

here is "vacuum cleaner", aka "hoover". we've only been hanging out since christmas 2008, but he's already become the leader of the group. he's sort of the "vincent chase" of the cleaning entourage. he's also very considerate, he's aware of my allergies and is always there offering up his hepa filter. this is "swiffer". we've been hanging out for a few years now, although i feel like our time is growing short. he's a very needy friend. although he does a great job, it seems like he always needing a disposable towel. when i check the closet only to find out i'm out, he just sits in the corner and pouts.

this is "tide". i actually don't get along with him. he's kind of like that friend that sort of just shows up even though no one invited him, and when he does find you guys, he's bring a lot of "dirty" laundry with him, that you now have to entertain. by the end of the night, tide is no where to be found and you're left having to deal with all his friends. don't even get me started on his crazy friend "bleach".

this is "pledge", she's an absolute sweetheart. she's the best smelling of everyone. i think she's from florida or california, some place citrus-y. i don't even own that much wood furniture, but i find myself cleaning my desk and end table more then i should just because she makes the whole apartment smell fresh.finally, "windex". well actually it's not actual "windex", it's the cheaper target version, but please don't let it hear you say that, he's got some self esteem issues. i just let him know that he does just as good as a job and not to be worried. windex and i get along great. i'm not sure exactly what you are and aren't suppose to use windex on, but i find myself using it on more surfaces then i should. he however does a great job with what ever i ask him to do, and just to be nice, he does it with out streaking.


so what does this post tell me? that i probably need to get out of the apartment a little bit more......although it's a very clean, and tidy apartment.

pre[flyover]

i've always had an interest in airplanes. it started at a very early age. both my parents had their pilot's licences and would take me up, when i was only a few months old. along with that, growing up, most of my friends had parents that worked in the industry, so most of us had some knowledge of the planes our they worked on. couple that with my own interest in architecture, and the open house the kansas aviation museum hosted last thursday, seemed like the perfect event to attend.

i had visited the museum during a middle school field trip years ago, but remembered very little of it. i took off work early, to attend the event in the daylight. it's location is a little tricky to get to, and has the feeling of being tucked away from the rest of wichita. pulling into the parking lot, i had forgotten how beautiful the building really was, or maybe as a middle schooler just didn't care. it was originally built during the 1930's as wichita's municipal airport, and was crafted in beautiful art deco styling. i followed a few people into the entry. unfortunately it was not into the lobby, but a small room on the side of the building. entering, i had found that i had once again followed the above 65 crowd to the "hot spot" in town that night. i skipped the free appetizers, opting instead to take pictures of everything i could.

wondering around, snapping pictures, it wasn't hard to notice that at one point the whole place had been gutted. everything had been removed including the heating. wondering around, trying to keep warm, i overheard wonderful conversations. old men, telling their wives about what they had flown, or worked on in years past. i even had my own conversation with a museum volunteer that had worked in the building as a baggage handler when it was a functioning airport in 1953. after thanking him for telling his story, i ventured outside to get some shots of planes and the exterior.

leaving the building and walking towards the runway, there was an air of plane travel from years gone by. no awful seating, no lines, no metal detectors, no jetways, just a beautiful walk outside onto the plane. the whole experience made me want to find out more, so i started researching. apparently during the 1940's this had been the fifth busiest airport in the nation. with it not being possible to travel from new york to l.a. non-stop, wichita was the perfect spot to refuel before heading west over the rockies. it was also a hot spot for test flights during the war. during this time aviators such as charles lindbergh, amelia earhart, and howard hughes, spent time in the building, as well as actors like fred astaire, and bob hope.

finding all this out, as well as looking through my pictures, i really felt like museum, is a bit of a diamond in the rough. the potential it has to be an architecture, and historical icon for the city is unbelievable. i don't' feel like it's getting the respect it deserves in either field. hopefully one day, with a little patience and, unfortunately a lot of money, it could regain it's forgotten elegance, and become the jewel it deserves to be in this city.

[diner] with friends

one of the little "kicks" i get in life, is watching a movie, at the same time of year, the film is set in. for example, i enjoy watching "planes, trains and automobiles" during the days leading up to thanksgiving, and watching "the sandlot" anytime during the summer. i also religiously watch "back to the future" on november 5th, which is of course the day doc brown invented time travel. one movie that usually finds it's way into my dvd player during this time of year is "diner". not only is it a classic "guys" movie, and is set in the late fifties, it takes place during the days leading up to new years eve. although i was late watching this flick this year, it was none the less enjoyable.

for anyone that hasn't seen "diner", the movie takes place in 1959, and is centered around six college aged friends that constantly hang out at an all-night diner eating gravy and fries and drinking cherry cokes, discussing music, life decisions, and women.

watching this film, i was amazed how much a movie made in 1982, about a group of guys in the 50's, reminded me of my own friends. much like in the movie, i met up with a few of my college friends over the holidays, and much like the movie our conversations centered around music, life decisions, and women. a few years ago, these conversations were held in the confines of our own "diner", a tiny bar in manhattan known as "rock-a-belly deli". there was a bit of all my friends portrayed by the characters on screen, as well as myself.

while watching, i was reminded why i felt this was such a great film. a whole movie devoted to hanging out with friends in the days before, jobs, families and responsibilities! the movie reminded me how much i missed my friends and the days at "bellies". a place where you could always find someone you knew. a place where we had our own table. a place where we could solve all the worlds problems...needed now more than ever with the current economic situation we're finding ourselves in.

when the movie ended i decided to "geek" out and research the movie. checking out facts and trivia from the movie, i came across the plot synopsis. upon reading it, i found that i had actually missed the entire point of the film! the movie wasn't trying to glorify guys hanging out having pointless conversation, but rather knowing when to put that time of your life behind you, and become adult. to leave the safety of the diner, and venture on with your life. the very situation my friends and i are in now.

...and it suddenly made sense to me why this movie is a classic.

the year in pictures [2008]

year four for [the year in pictures] post.

once again, another year has ended, and it's time to pick ten photos that in some way represented the year. looking back, i'm disappointed in myself. i didn't take nearly as many photos as i should have. as i searched through various folders looking for photos to use. it occurred to me, this year was a very [internal] year for me. i didn't take many long trips, and i rarely had my camera with me. maybe it was just my way of trying to live "in the moment" and not behind a lens, or maybe i was just lazy. this year seemed less about the "big trip" and more about the continuation of discovering new friends and experiences in and around wichita.

my disappointment in the lack of photos didn't last long, because i realized i still had a lot of wonderful memories of 2008, just not very many pictures of those memories. are those [un-captured] experiences any less important, of course not...but in the end, i find myself wishing i had some photographs to look at, and not just digital images on a screen, actual, tangible, photographs! i'm a little digital-ed out. that being said, this year, i'd like to take more photos, as well start developing them and placing them in actual albums.

barn_door_1.11.2008

the first project i managed broke ground january of 2008. the site consisted of an old farm house with several barns near by. with everything needing to be cleared, all the buildings were slated for demolishing. the week before work began, i took my camera out to capture as much as i could before it was lost. walking through the old structures, i fond old mason jars, dated wallpaper, and letters from the 1960's. there was a lot of beauty on that farm site, and i felt incredibly guilty for being apart of it's destruction, but i was also thankful for the pictures it provided before it disappeared.



we_the_people_in_the_back_row_1.29.08

whether you were interested or not, it was hard to escape politics this year. even here in central kansas, we were visited by several candidates. i attended campaign speeches by barrack obama and mike huckabee. this photo was taken while listening to barrack obama speak in el dorado.



guitar_lessons_3.22.08

i enjoy playing the guitar, although i hardly play in front of people, and have never played in front of a group. it's strictly a hobby and stress reliever. in march, a friend visited me for a whole day of guitar playing, and beer drinking. although my fingertips were sore to the touch by the end, it was a great day.



project_graduation_4.6.08

two of my friends graduated from college this year. knowing my love of photography, they asked if i would take some "senior" photos of them. all day, i tried different poses and stances, but nothing seemed to look natural. finally, near the end of the day, i simply had them jump in the air, and sure enough it turned out to be their, and my, favorite picture.



famous_cafe_4.26.08

my love of coffee grows stronger every year. the past few months i've even ventured into enjoying the pure-ist taste of straight black coffee. one weekend, while in kansas city, i had to stop and visit the famous "broadway cafe", the westport coffee shop that put the starbucks next door out of business. this picture seem to capture and exude the warmth of a coffee shop, and the coffee was fabulous as well.



giant_van_gogh_5.12.08

in may, we took a family trip to colorado to attend a graduation. the whole tribe loaded up into the family truckster just like the old days. wanting to make the most of this small vacation from work, i told everyone we would try and find a few roadside oddities. as it turns out goodland kansas has the worlds largest easel holding up a replication of vincent van gogh's sunflower's. it was nothing short of amazing.



miranda_7.20.08

i purchased another vintage bike this year, a little older, and a lot nicer. this bike really lets you know what it is to ride a "coaster". it's a joy to ride. not only does this bike now give me options on what to ride, it also flung me deeper into a new hobby. keeping with using names mentioned in "decemberists" songs, this one received the name "miranda".



festival_sunset_9.27.08my one, planned and organized, extended vacation this year was to the austin city limits music festival. there's nothing like sitting in the hot sun, getting sweaty and dusty, while listening to amazing music, to make you forget about work for a while.



neko_9.28.08

getting the chance to meet neko case, and watching her perform was the highlight of the acl festival for me. i'm not sure what it is about her music, maybe it's the lyrics, or the tone of her voice, but it never gets old.



project_completion_11.6.08

the first project i managed finished construction in the summer, however this photo was taken after all the landscaping had a few months to settle. i was very pleased with the way it turned out, but better yet, the client was extremely happy. the whole process reassured my desire to become an architect. now, is this building as beautiful as an old abandoned barn nestled amongst long forgotten farmland? maybe not. but i'm learning fast that destruction is just as important as creation in this field. hopefully we always replace beauty with beauty.

baby...it's [lounge] outside

wishing all of you a happy holiday season, and a wonderful new year!