Tenacity

Another finished project! This one was a lot of fun to make.
Hope you enjoy!

I don't know if you've ever heard James Horner,
but he writes some of the most beautiful soundtracks ever.

Oddity

Check out this picture. It's really weird. If you look at it with your eyes slightly unfocused, you begin to see shapes or pictures that sometimes even seem to rotate.

Odds and Ends (Flotsam and Jetsam)

This song just correlates so well with what I've experienced this last week and a half. Unfortunately Blogger lacks the ability to post a music file outright, which is faintly annoying, therefore forcing me to do one of two things. Either create a WMV or link to it. I have decided to do the former, as it also allows for more pictures than I would ever really use on the post itself.



Found some really cool Latin this morning : caligo (1) -inis f. [fog , mist, darkness]. Transf., [mental darkness, dullness; calamity, affliction, gloom]
That just makes my brain whirl!!

Listening to the Prestige right now. It's an amazingly crazy book.

The end nears. . . tomorrow's my last day in Bandon.

Photo Collage

Thus far, my blog posts about vacation have been text only. I now have had the opportunity to download some pictures (at night there's a lot less stuff to do) from the camera, and have spent the last hour or so editing some of them. I know they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and while I would not dispute the fact to be incorrect, I would still state that words are worth just as much as a picture. No idea why I put that in right now. At any rate, try to figure out which photos were touched and which weren't. . . .

Joy

To someone in particular, but to everyone in general.

Have you ever heard a fog horn? It's wonderful deep tones booming forth, guiding ships home through the darkness? Every half minute it rolls forth in mellow declaration of safety, the tones vibrating softly in the air. Nearby, the waves roll steadily inland their thunder of movement filling the ear with a comfortable backdrop to the lilting music of the birds. Where the water comes in contact with stolid rock, it roars upwards with boom and a flash of white that surprises the senses. The silence brought by the concussion of tide is filled with the hiss of water returning to it's course.



It's honest, the sea. It makes you face things honestly. . . It speaks to you of things that you wish could be, and it speaks of who you are, pointing out your flaws, but through all things is fair. Not letting us stumble under the weight of it's words. One can ignore it's words as merely the natural sounds of a vigorous habitat, but one always hears whether one wishes it or not. Those of deep inclinations become enthralled by it, becoming devoted to it. They love it as few masters are loved, and they fear it's power. For she is a cruel mistress. (I thought of adding something witty here about the wedding, but I held my tongue.)

But what is the sound of a calling gull? And what is the roll of the wave? Beauty is as beauty does, they say. For what are these without someone to share them with? For beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and solitude is poor company. A mind without friendship is crippled, a house with foundation removed.

Joy is a balance of worlds, a combination of love, beauty, and peace. Rarely do men find it , and then, they don't know why. So in the end my master is not waves, salt, and sea. My Master is instead the God who placed me here. Who told me without a doubt that my place was to be with friends. To watch them and to help them the very best I can.

For the Joy that people search for, is more than just the land. But rather the words:

"I am, and always shall be, your friend."

Darkness

As I'm sitting here in my car looking out over a 100 foot cliff over the beautiful glittering expanse of the pacific, I finally reach the end of of 'the Phantom of the Opera' cd I was listening to, and a quite song by the title of 'learn to be lonely' swirls quietly into the air. While I listen to it, a dark fog rolls steadily across the sparkling waves, dulling their colors into dull grey. The lyrics speak of the fact that my heart has always known that it has been alone, as the sunlight fades to shadow.

My heart sinks slightly at the thought of being alone, and speculates at the truth or non-truth of the words. I live alone in my heart for now, and while that may be normal, my heart begins to panic at the thought of the continuing seclusion that may be my lot in life. Meanwhile the tendrils of choking fog crawl across ocean towards the shore.

I clear the foolish despair from my mind in a flurry of normality as I start my car once more, and am content in my hope. But as I drive away, a small crevice in my mind notes that the fog is familiar. . .

. . . I have seen it before, and its forms still wander in my mind. The darkness conceals working tentacles covered in barbs, ripping apart a wooden fishing boat. The darkness hides winged horrors that settle with finality upon a bright cruise ship.

. . . I can not look that way. That way is insanity.

It holds my fate.

A long weekend

This last weekend was absolutely exausting, what with Emilie and Justin's wedding, finishing the graphics for Ahea, working Saturday morning, and driving to Oregon for the first time, with me driving the whole way. I considered giving a outline of everything that happened, and I had even started it that way this morning. But then we had to be on the road again, and I realized that I had already written close to 600 words, and hadn't even finished Friday. So this time I'm going to do something like what Nicole did, making a list of things that stood out.

I really enjoyed setting up for the wedding and the reception. It was a lot of work, but when working with friends, you really don't mind that much, and it felt good to be doing that kind of stuff again. I really appreciated that you allowed me to give advice, and be bossy, Merissa.
In the end, the church and the gym looked fantastic. Despite the too small table clothes and the silverware.

I had to laugh at the silverware. It was the hyper-cheap silverware collector's dream, with no two forks alike.

It really warmed my heart to see Emilie walk up the center isle. She's been looking forward to this for so long.

I had to get up at 5:30 to go to work on Saturday, which was a real pain I can tell you. Add to that the fact that it was snowing, that I had only an hour to change and get to the church afterwords, and that I also was losing my voice, and you've got a pretty lousy morning.

I lost my voice completely after the wedding ceremony. Mainly ordering about the many drudges under my control. By the time we got to the gym to finish setting up, I sounded like my voice was changing all over again. Then by the time supper started, I couldn't speak above a whisper without totally cracking all over the place.

While the choir was singing, "we are not alone" I had to move one of the candle things so we could use the projector, but the stupid thing tipped over, and I get wax through my hair, down the back of my shirt, and down the back of my pants. I looked pretty funny.

After the reception was over, I could barely stand I was so tired. I sat on the steps up to the stage, trying to stay awake.

And now, I'm here in Oregon!

Talk later!

Oregon (Prelude)

As I mentioned in my last post, I love the Oregon coast so much.
While I was browsing my photos for a project, I came across these fantastic examples of Oregon in all it's glory. I hope you enjoy them.


Dark tidings brood 'round the sleeper.