As an event planner, I am constantly scouring websites, looking for information, photos, and contact details for venues all over the country. Whether it is a hotel, a theater, a banquet hall, or a loft space, they nearly all have one thing in common:
It is almost impossible to find a decent photo of what their space actually looks like. If they DO include a photo, it is 200 pixels square and was taken with a point-and-shoot from 1995.
Really? You charge $4,000 for 4 hours of room rental, but you can’t hire someone to build a decent website and take a few nice photos? You are trying to sell your space but you don’t want anyone to actually SEE it?
ugh.
And don’t even try to find room capacity information on the website. They want you to fill out a little form, wait a week for someone to contact you..by which point the date you wanted has been taken.
Sometimes they try to get fancy and have a video or some muzak start playing when you open their page, which makes you jump because you forgot to turn down the sound after watching Mad Men last night. If I want a soundtrack, I’ll turn on my own music.
So this is for all of the venues out there who can’t seem to get their act together: if you want me to use your space, build a decent website. 
On Friday night I went to the Gene Siskel Film Center to see a documentary film that a friend (Aaron Wickenden) edited called The Interrupters. The cast and crew answered questions after the showing, which was a powerful experience after having just watched them on the screen.
From the website:
The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed.
The Interrupters captures a period in Chicago when it became a national symbol for the violence in our cities.
…The Interrupters — who have credibility on the streets because of their own personal histories — intervene in conflicts before they explode into violence.
This film is incredible. See it. Talk about it. It will make you laugh, cry, and think. If you want to bring this film to your community, contact the filmmakers.
I took a camp chair, some books, and a sandwich and carbonated doogh (yogurt drink) to the beach a few nights ago. The doogh fizzed a bit when I opened it, and I had nothing to clean up my hands, so I had to wipe my hands on my tank top, leaving yogurty white streaks.
I settled down to read, wincing every time the yuppie mom yelled at her daughter Ella to come back toward shore, and tried to enjoy the sunset and water.
At some point, a gaggle of teenagers were playing with a soccer ball in front of me and spraying me with sand until I gave them a bit of a glare, and they realized that there might be violence and quickly moved away.
THEN flies were biting my feet non-stop and the sun went away and I was cold, so I gave up on the sandy area and moved over to a grassy area in the park nearby.
My doogh didn’t have a cap anymore because I had dropped it in the sand. I set down my camp chair and placed the doogh in the cupholder. When I sat down and leaned into it, I nearly toppled backwards because I didn’t realize I was on a slight incline, and doogh sprayed ALL OVER ME.
Face, hands, legs, clothes, chair, sunglasses…covered in a salty yogurt drink.
so yeah.
I packed it in after that and called it a night.
I was making spaghetti tonight and didn’t notice anything special outside through my kitchen windows. I left the kitchen for a bit to do some things in the living room, and when I went back to stir the sauce, I gasped out loud. This was the view from my window:
I took a few quick shots, then went back to cooking. About 5 minutes later, I looked up again, and saw that the sky had turned more pink/purple.
The view from my place at night is just stellar.
Unlike the vast majority of the people I know, I actually love hot weather. I would spend all day outside if I could, wearing a large floppy hat, giant sunglasses, and a killer swimsuit, reading a book by the Lake.
There is something drowsy and wonderful in the sunsets of summer, the golden light and iced coffee, toes in the sand…I am never more alive than right now.
The trunk of my car is always full in the summer. There are picnic blankets, a frisbee, a large hat, swimsuit, towel, and sandals. The necessary accoutrements for impromptu afternoons that bring a smile to my face and a cool breeze off the lake.
The simple things.
5 hours at a pizza place.
17,520 hours later…
this time the pizza was carry-out.
“All humankind are as children in a school, and the Dawning-Points of Light, the Sources of divine revelation, are the teachers, wondrous and without peer. In the school of realities they educate these sons and daughters, according to teachings from God, and foster them in the bosom of grace, so that they may develop along every line, show forth the excellent gifts and blessings of the Lord, and combine human perfections; that they may advance in all aspects of human endeavour, whether outward or inward, hidden or visible, material or spiritual, until they make of this mortal world a wide-spread mirror, to reflect that other world which dieth not.
…Wherefore, O loved ones of God! Make ye a mighty effort till you yourselves betoken this advancement and all these confirmations, and become focal centres of God’s blessings, daysprings of the light of His unity, promoters of the gifts and graces of civilized life. Be ye in that land vanguards of the perfections of humankind; carry forward the various branches of knowledge, be active and progressive in the field of inventions and the arts.”
-‘Abdu’l-Bahá
I finally bought a photo-editing program, Adobe Lightroom 3 (it was on sale). I’ve been using free programs for years now, but this is a lot more powerful, and also allows me to sort my photos and upload them easily.
This is kind of a big deal for me.
I’m the type of person that carries her DSLR camera in her purse on a regular basis. I’m more than happy to take a ton of photos and post them…I love it! But the strain of trying to find the few good shots out of hundreds, process them, and upload them was making photography no fun anymore. Since I try to shoot in RAW, I have process most of my photos.
Just in the last few days since I started using Lightroom, my workflow has changed, I am working quickly and efficiently, and I have more of the joy that I had when I first got my camera. Totally worth it.
there are a dozen things on the list that I carry in my head. technology tries to help me but in the end, I am left with this.
write it down, go from here to there to here, with these people and this event and and…
there is no sitting still.
I’ve been dreaming lately. I’ve always dreamed, sometimes I dream the future and it comes true, sometimes I dream the present and my fears. there have been dreams about every noun. I dream through the lens of my camera. I live in a place that is no longer new to me, I miss the warm sun and thousand year old streets and year-round flowers.
writing will begin again, with honesty, with the kind of raw power that I used to carry in every word. I forgot to hold onto that part of me when I started speaking more than I was writing. I want to write my book, the book of the things I learned. It is so difficult to be honest now when everything is analyzed to death. just be.
Here is the truth. Each day is wonderful, even in silence sitting side by side. The past has never been more distant.
I found this old post from December 10, 2003, and it made me smile, remembering the college days and how very horrible I was at test-taking (and apparently at writing odes). I don’t know why I put it in the drafts, because obviously it was published at some point, so I’m putting it back out there.
Accounting was atrocious
as it had the right to be
a horrible subject
it enjoyed torturing me
History was turned in
with absolutely no fuss
I quite enjoyed the class
I felt like such a genius
Management was tedious
but open-note tests do help
someone wanted me to sit with them
so they let out a yelp
All that is left is now Mathematics
statistics just kill me
probability gives me headaches
in this class there is no mercy
So wish me luck
my dear friends
as I study insanely
and pray for the end.
This is what has been happening…a glimpse into my (mostly) suburban life since we last spoke. I’m always busy, that is nothing new. And I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting a lot of things…
1. I took a flight around the city in a 4 seat Cessna. I have not had a chance to edit most of the 120 photos I took that day, but it was quite the experience. I hope to write a blog entry about it soon.
2. I hosted a bridal shower for a friend, during which we made fascinators and were really quite fancy. I will be attending her wedding this weekend, which I really am looking forward to.
3. My little sister graduated from high school with honors. I am incredibly proud of her, she worked very hard. The graduation nearly got evacuated because of severe thunderstorms, but we made it through.
4. I attended the funeral of Gayle Woolson, a Knight of Baha’u'llah and wonderful person who lived in many countries in Latin and South America, on June 1st. She was nearly 98 years old when she passed away. I took public speaking classes with her when I was a child. The funeral was beautiful and such a testament to her nobility and sweet nature.
5. I threw a surprise party this past weekend which nearly got torpedoed at least 3 times, but in the end everything worked out.
6. An adventure in Chicago with some friends, which really does merit its own post.
7. Lots of new material over at Nineteen Months! A number of articles, and a bunch of photos.
Mixed in with all of this is my junior youth group, a Ruhi study group, and responsibilities with the Wilmette Local Spiritual Assembly. Plus all of the amazing visitors and dear friends who come through Chicago on a regular basis. Life is great here.
In my last post I told the story of my adventures in mud on the way to my grandfather’s funeral in March. Well, my grandmother gave my sister and I some of Granddaddy’s tennis racquets. The one I was given had a wood frame around it to keep it from twisting from the force of the strings, and it is probably around 40 or 50 years old.
I arrived at the airport about an hour before my flight, but when I went to the counter to get my boarding pass I was informed that my flight is delayed. Also, since I only had a carry on, I couldn’t fit the racquet into the suitcase, so the racquet had to be my carry-on and I had to pay $25 to check my suitcase. The gate agent felt sorry for me and upgraded me to economy plus.
As I had several hours to kill, I wandered around the Atlanta airport with my gigantic purse slung over my shoulder and an odd-looking tennis racquet in my hand. Now, I find it a bit strange that I can’t take water or a miniature Swiss army knife on a plane, but a tennis racquet with a solid wood frame bolted onto it doesn’t get a second glance from security…
Anyway, I had so many random conversations with people because of that racquet. Most of them were older folks who remembered playing tennis with a racquet like that when they were kids. I know I must have looked rather strange with that thing, riding the transit system and placing it carefully on the seat next to me where ever I was.
I am lucky to have a lot of paintings that my grandparents created, but I don’t have a lot of personal items from them, and it felt nice to have that racquet with me, almost a companion in my travels.
I forgot to write about an incident that happened on March 4, 2011. Well, maybe it isn’t so much that I forgot. It was slightly embarrassing and hard to convey without photographic proof, so I let it slip out of my mind for a while.
At 10:00 am I left my house to go to my grandfather’s funeral in Atlanta, Georgia. My flight was at noon and my friend had offered to let me park at her hotel near the airport and catch the free shuttle.
Instead of exiting at Mannheim road, I nearly missed the exit and quickly pulled over to the area that is designated “Mud Trap” on the map below, thinking I could just cut across that little triangle of dirt and continue on my merry way.
Unfortunately, days of rain had created a mud pit that immediately sunk my car 4 inches deep. I tried using pieces of cardboard under the wheels, used a snow shovel, turned my wheel in every direction…nothing worked. I called AAA for roadside assistance…30 minute wait, minimum. I was getting worried that I was going to miss my flight.
After a while, a gentleman stopped to assist. He was wearing a very nice suit. He told me to turn the wheel a certain way and hit the gas…and promptly splattered him with goopy, side-of-the-road mud. I apologized profusely. of course. Finally a couple of taxi drivers stopped, and the three guys pushed my car onto drier land.
All I had to offer as thanks was some banana bread. The gentlemen refused my offer. One of the rough looking taxi drivers said with his thick Chicago accent: “Honey, I’m on Jenny Craig!”
I zoomed to my friend’s hotel and told the story to the employees while I waited for the shuttle, covered up to my knees in mud and with mud all over my hands. I made it through airport security (they were baffled at my appearance) and had to wash my boots off in the bathroom by my gate. I made my flight (just barely).
The inside and outside of my car were mud-infused, and I had to get my car detailed twice before all of the mud was removed from the seats. I am still trying to get my boots clean. I truly wish I had photos, but all I could think was that I could not miss my flight.
Next installment: the flight home.
I’ve been attending the United States Baha’i National Convention since I was a kid. There have been a lot of changes over the years, but I have to say that this year was one of the best that I have attended.
171 delegates are elected by Baha’is all over the country, and they come to the House of Worship to vote for the National Spiritual Assembly and consult on topics relevant to the advancement of the Baha’i community. If you want more details about the 103rd Convention, click on the links, as the articles are much more explanatory than I have room for here. There is also a Flickr page with photos from Convention, including an amazing photo of a red-tailed hawk.
There was a cohesive force, a unity among the delegates that I haven’t seen before. There was also an elevated level of discourse and desire to change habits of thought and action that was highly encouraging. A sense of joy and excitement pervaded Foundation Hall the whole weekend.
I was at the Convention for nearly every session, working as stage manager and doing other random duties as they came up. It is such a privilege to interact with Baha’is from across the country, and Mr. Hooper Dunbar (former member of the Universal House of Justice) and his wife Mrs. Maralynn Dunbar were attending as special guests. It took me back to my days in Haifa, attending the youth classes that Mr. Dunbar had every Thursday night.
There are always things happening behind the scenes at every National Convention…staff members doing heroic things to make sure that everything goes smoothly, sweet moments of conversation between friends, a youth inspired to offer a prayer, even the panicked rush to make sure the microphones are working (my constant battle this year). But as I try to convey every time someone brings it up, it is truly a fun, intensely rewarding experience to contribute to the success of this gathering.
Although I have to admit, I would like to take a nap right now.
I can almost feel the soft summer
there is a murmur, a promise in our words
we can plan and scheme and the whole world sees
but mostly it is just between you and me.
One day we will be wrapped in blue skies,
once in a blue moon we’ll be stepping
through cherry blossom trees.
I almost forgot to write it all down
I almost told them all before I told you
every secret in my heart,
I almost fell asleep wrapped in black velvet dreams.
Our hearts are dipped in fine fiery lines
in steady beats amidst the echoes,
the simplest thing at the perfect time.
If you haven’t already checked out the awesome photos over at Nineteen Months for the Baha’i month of Glory, I highly recommend that you do so right now.
I’ll wait for you to do that before continuing.
There are also some great articles on the subject of “Community”, and we’ll keep updating those throughout the month.
I took the above photo in D.C., and have yet to upload the other photos that I took there. I’m working on it, there are a lot of other things going on right now. Keeping Nineteen Months going, family, friends, Holy Days, Baha’i National Convention coming up at work…not to mention all of the people and side projects I have to keep up with. It is great fun, but sometimes I just want to curl up on my couch and do absolutely nothing.
Contrary to popular belief, there are times in which I actually do rest and let my mind take a break. It isn’t often, but I try to make that effort. There is just no way to be productive if I’m constantly running on empty or am stressed out.
I have the blessing of many dear friends and am in my 20s. This equates invitations to 3-5 weddings per year, which is actually fun for me because I love this stuff. The insane wedding industry is not appealing, but the organizational tasks, the brainstorming and list-making are so interesting. I truly love helping my friends as they plan.
Then of course, are the crazy stories surrounding the weddings…the time that the florist forgot to make the bridal bouquet, guests getting lost, DJs forgetting the music (this happened at two weddings I’ve attended). I guess it was funnier to me because I was a mere guest.
I attended 2 weddings last month, 2 weekends in a row (Chicago and D.C.). I am excited for both couples starting their lives together, and seeing how they continue building their lives as a couple. The weddings are fun, but the marriage is the part that matters. Congratulations, dear ones!
I was in Washington, D.C. to attend a friend’s wedding last weekend. It was a beautiful, special time that I feel blessed to have participated in.
However. I have figured out why all of the politicians who are based in D.C. are so angry. It isn’t the divisive politics or the lobbying. It is the complete inability for anyone in that town or the surrounding area to drive.
I have never experienced anything like this before. Part of the problem, really, is that the city is laid out in such a way that there are stoplights on every block, no decent signage, and few left turn lanes. But whatever the issue, there is no excuse for the terrible decisions that I saw being made on a regular basis.
Now, Chicago can get a bit crazy sometimes. But it doesn’t hold a candle to D.C. These people seriously don’t know how to use turn signals, they cut across 3 lanes of traffic on a whim, and are just plain obnoxious. THEN add tourists and pedestrians on phones, and you’ve got a recipe for a nervous breakdown.
And by the way, it did not matter what state they were from. They’re ALL terrible and I literally shouted “I LOVE CHICAGO.” when I got behind the wheel of my car on Sunday night.
The international photoblog that I’ve been working on for the past year has evolved. We have turned it into an international collaborative online magazine. It still has the photos, but we have added articles, features, and reviews.
Ronnie and I asked photographers and writers to join our team over the course of several weeks, reaching out to a diverse group of friends around the world. It has required conference calls across two time zones, many emails and gchat conversations, and a great deal of consultation. Oh, and we did most of it during the Baha’i Fast. That may have been a little crazy.
To answer a common question I’ve gotten over the last few days: no, we do not have any funding. None of us get paid to do this, it is an individual initiative. The response has been overwhelming and inspiring. We’ve had 2,100 hits in three days. People have been emailing us from around the world, commenting, and promoting it. (Please keep it up, folks! We love our readers!)
If you’re interested in participating (or know someone that you want to recommend to us) you can check out the FAQs. Our contributors are so amazing and I can’t wait to see how Nineteen Months progresses. Thanks for all of the support!
Follow us on Facebook or add us on Twitter.
It has been a long winter. Not necessarily bad, but…long. It is mid-March and I look outside to see gray skies, the pervasive gray that hovers over my thoughts and makes everything the same.
I started setting up my haft-sin table in preparation for Naw-Ruz (the first day of spring and the Baha’i New Year) and am dreaming of summer, picnics, flowy dresses and sunlight.
For now, the gray skies follow.