Nuevas Fotos!!!

The day starts something like this...
Then someone stickes their nose in your business...


And you want to tell them... well, you know...

And you wish to go somewhere...
To be with the people you love...
And work through the obstacles in your life...
You feel like a queen (or a king)...
Or that you are a world away...
Spanning the centuries...
And sometimes, there is not a whole lot that can be done about the life...
Things begin to look a little gloomy...
And that is why there is family...
Or chocolate...

...

I am not a fan of the opposite sex...

I continually remember the words from a book a recently finished: He's just not that in to you. And it is totally true. If someone really want to hang out, they will remember to call. If someone really wanted to do something, schedules can be rearanged.

Everyday this becomes more of a reality to me. I don't know why I let it bother me so much. Hey, more time for me and no worries, right?. But you have to admit that a little cuddle time is always welcome. At least I think so.

I think it is our inherent nature as human beings to seek out the companionship of others. Whether it be for friendship, a relationship, or whatever. As human beings we long to be with others.

It helps to explain the nature of social circles and our longing to be a part of something. Who we are with may define us socially. Who we are with may help to further define us. It all really circles back to that longing to share ourselves with others.

The Internet has been a huge expansion of meeting the need for companionship and social interaction. Years ago it may not have even been imagined that we could share our joys and also our deepest fears with people on the other side of the world. It was done through pen pals, but that took ages it seemed like.

I have my family and that is a great blessing. I have friends whom I talk to every-now-and-again. And I am patiently waiting for someone who isn't scared to take one step into the darkness and light up what may or may not be there.

Social Injustice

Today I witnessed some of the worst social injustice I have seen in a while. Seven weeks ago 35 people lost their homes and everything they owned to a fire. The fire started because a man (if you could even classify him as that) was mad at his girlfriend and started a couch on fire. Now, this couch was on its end in an escape rout. It was reportedly there for several weeks.

I am doing some investigation and I went to Canyon Cove today. There are emergency exit lights that do not work, smoke alarms that are either chirping or not working, and dibris everywhere. The dibris is a feeding ground for fire. Only one building has a sprinkling system and water access on hand (from a 1999 settlement, from a 1994 fire that destroyed another buidling there).

There are residents who were not able to obtain their things because they would not sign a peice of paper saying they would never sue the company. People watched their belongings looted and bulldozed to the ground.

A 43-year-old pioneer in rocket booster engineering died in that fire because she could not get out. The reason she could not get out: there was a couch blocking the exit. Dana Byrd is gone because of careless management. People have lost everything they own because of careless management.

I am investigating and I am writing a story. The Ogden City Fire Marshall has not done his job. Canyon Cove apartment management has not done their job. Animal Services let animals starve to death because they did not check traps they set. People have lost everything and now they have to start over.

The story may not matter to many, but it will matter to the people who are suffering. It will matter to start bringing the necessary change.

Finet Pt. 2

It is over. I asked if we could talk when he got home and he said he didn't think there was anything to talk about. Besides that he and a friend have been talking and they are going to start to date. Good for him, I hope he treats her better and shows more respect for her. It is good for me. It hurt for a minute and then I realized there is someone better out there for me. I am no longer an enamorada perdida. Life will go on and I plan to have a great time while it does.

Some person said I didn't take consideration for other people's feelings:
Brandy,I just wanted to let you know how rude and thoughtless you are of peoples feelings. You can still write a news article without bringing names into the article itself. Apparenty, you don?t care. Most people already feel bad about things that have happened and by revealing names to everyone, that wouldn?t have known about a situation in the first place, tends to make people feel even worse. In case you didnt' know, news articles can easily be written about occurrences without including names of the people involved. I think the Standard Examiner is a terrible newspaper agency. You need to think before you write.Once again, I'm amazed by&n bsp;the unprofessional articles that the Standard Examiner publishes.
(Note: All typos are fault of the writer.)
This morning started off wonderfully. Kari, Ryan and I went Christmas shopping for a family of six. The children were not going to have a Christmas because no one had adopted them. We took 50 percent of the proceeds from the Paint The Town Purple card to shop for the family. It was a great time and it felt so good to be able to help a family in need.

The last two days have been busy at work. People are mashing their cars all over the place. I find it a lot of fun. Today I chased around for a roll-over for about 45 minutes. Unfortunatly it was cleaned up and I never found it. It would have been a good photo. I ended up doing a round-up because there were so many accidents today. People are such crazy drivers and they don't stop to pay attention to action around them.

I love busy days because it makes the time go by quicker. Here, here to life!

Estoy una Enamorada Perdida

I had an interesting conversation yesterday with a friend from the mission. She makes me laugh. V would write me in the mission and send me some fun photos. She asked how we were doing and I think if I could have broken down and cried in her arms I would have. I miss him so much.

The other night I dremt he came back, we talked and everything was okay. It all felt so real and I wanted it to be. Sometimes it feels like he is so close, but in reality he is far away.

I messaged him today and he seemed so cold. He hardly would converse with me at all. It breaks my heart and I only long to be closer to him. That is the strange part: He is so cold and it only makes me want to draw closer... Imaginete...

Lately I have also been thinking about J. I think it would be fun, but I don't know what he thinks. Who knows... He knows how to come into contact with my number if he wants to.

Platey is getting screwed by The Signpost. It is the classic case of management hates employee, does everything possible to get employee fired. I hope Platey fights, I want to see him win. Top tier management is nothing to be desired let me asure you. He has a strong case if he persues it.

Last night was beautiful. I went snowshoeing at the Bird Refuge near West Point. It was a cold rainy night with fog. The sky had been overcast all day. I debated driving down the dirt road for fear of getting stuck. But as I turned the corner I realized others had been down the road and paved me a good path.

As I drove down the road I saw another truck. It was a white Ford and there was a man sitting in it. I don't know if he was taking in the scenery or what. The interesting thing was that I felt no fear or threat. I got out of my car, put my showshoes on and went down the trail.

At one point when I was taking pictures, I turned around and he was out of his truck throwing snowballs. I just continued walking and figured if I was ment to die in a field, there I would be. But I still felt no fear.

There are some good ones out there

So, last night I went over to my aunt and uncle's house and they invited a boy over... He was a good looking boy, kind-of shy, but it was fun.

We will call him 'J'. He live in my uncle's ward and both of them work at the base. So, they had a lot to talk about. But it was nice that he showed some interest in me. He also showed interest in my mission experiences. (Note to self: This is a good quality to look for.) There is a strong sports emphasis and he wants to do something with that when he grows up (maybe sports med or something).

Overall, I had a good time and I would not mind going out with him. A boy has not asked sincere questions about me in a long time (especially about the misssoin and work). I thought a lot about him last night, but I do not want to get my hopes up. Besides, there are a lot of things I need to do in my life, so if it isn't going to work then I do not want to be in one spot for too long (I probably sound mean and cynical...).

Finet

The semester is finally over and I am so emotional. I cried today in my final critique for Experimental Photography. Drex Brooks basically roasted me. He is such a closed minded burro. He told me I had not attended classes or ever really shown any work. WRONG! I think out of the whole semester I only missed one class.

I worked so hard on lighting, angle and photoshopping. He basically told me what I had handed in was trash. I don't care though. I know I did the work and I know I worked hard. He has his favorites and I am obviously not one of them.

But what makes me happy is that I am done and I know I did a good job. I know I learned from what I did. It is such a relief to just be able to work and not feel like I have to juggle the world too.

DigiPins

A Bear Lake Morning

The Gallery Band

UnShopped Digital Pinholes

Don't Ask, Don't Tell







Flower by Porchlight














Time






Time II

Things are not what they appear

I am working toward finishing my final project. This is going to be the title, although I do not know why. Everthing seemed like such a good idea in the beginning.

Maybe it is because with me, "Things are not always what they seem." ;) Not many people know me for me. Sometimes, I struggle to express 'me' through my photographs.

It is funny, because I will make a picture and months or years later I will figure out what I was trying to say. Drex keeps telling me that photography is a work in progress. There are so many projects I see in my head. When I graduate, I will make the time to complete those projects. This is a promise I am making to myself.

I keep all of my ideas in my sketchbook. I have already started to think about my senior project. It will be combined with my Design: 3D class. I am excited because I have never done an installation before.

What gets me the most is when people are not quite what they seem. Last night I had an interesting conversation with someone about T. I was unfortunatly wrong about him, unless he proves to me otherwise. The door has not been completely shut on the idea, but I definitly will proceed with caution. I do not want to get my heart broken again. It hurts too much.

He has not called since Saturday night and has been otherwise distant. Not a bright outlook I imagine. Too bad. I really liked him.

Tonight I am going to perform a few piano pieces. It has been a while since I have played for a group solo. I am a little nervous. Our activity is a grandparents Thanksgiving Dinner. G'pa Bill and Marylin will be coming with me. We will see how it goes.

Upward and onward in the persuit of eternal happiness!

I am thankful for vacations

Vacations are a good time to reflect on what you have done. It also gives you time to think about what is to come.

The Thanksgiving Holiday will come as a welcome friend. I will be sleeping in, shooting a lot of photos and enjoying time with my family. Going to see my father's side of the family is fun, with the exception of Lois. I think she might be bi-polar... Odd, odd lady.

T and I ended up watching a movie on Saturday night, at about midnight. We watched Racing Stripes (cute movie for children). It was okay, not what we thought it was going to be. After the movie he showed me some self defense moves (everyone watch out, I can kick your butt now!). We watched some television and he got friendly, a little odd I thought. In the back of my mind came a voice saying he was just like all the others. But I did not want to believe it. I told myself, "Someone doesn't get this friendly if they don't like a person." I hope I am right, because it hurts to be wrong.

I seem to find those who want a one night something-or-other and then do the disappearing act. Ugh! I need to learn how to dicern better. I am worth more than that. Going out on one date does not constitute engagement, I know. But either be somewhat hands-off, or make the committment to that second call.

"Don't worry. Your dating life is just on sabatical," Jason said wisely. I just chuckled. But it is so true. I just want to find someone who will respect me for me and who I can go out and have a good time with. No more chasing (that is why I have deleated several phone numbers). If they cannot dial nine digits, then they are just not that into me. ;)

Reporting live from Cedar City, UT

I am making it all over the place! Here in Cedar City I am shooting the last WSU football game. We are playing our instate rivals, SUU for bragging rights. It should not be too hard as they have won one game this year... Sounds familiar... Oh, hey! That was our winning record last year.

This is year is different though. We will finish with a repulable 6-4 overall record. There were a couple of hard losses, games we should have won really. We may even have a shot at the playoffs. Wee-haw!

The game was a good one. At times it seemed like it would be a close game. But our boys game out and played well. Final:27-10, WSU.
I slept for most of the trip. It was nice. I also spent about three hours working on my study guide for my art history test on Monday. Ugh! These tests are always such beasts. At least I can have four pages of notes for the test. Text: 6point.

Our bus has an injector problem. We are waiting for another bus to come and get us. We will be leaving about 6ish. I called my dad to come and fix the bus but he was in Las Vegas dropping a load of cars and picking up some others. He told me to send them to Color Country Diesel. Hopefully they take care of them.

Tonight's outting is looking a little dim. I am supposed to go out with T. We were going to go see Walk The Line. Bummer. I was looking forward to it. He seems like someone who is different, not like the rest of the guys out there who are looking for something short and then never call you back again. We have some things in common: we both swam, we both like hockey (he played), the outdoors, etc.

Although I cannot expect too much. Who knows, he may turn out to be not quite what I thought. I just feel different around him... okay, we are not going to go there.

The trip was great! Traveling reminds me of how nice it will be to be done with school and working. I will make a better effort to go visit places and really focus on my photography and my GMAT exam.

Reporting live from Dallas, TX

I am sitting here writing to you from Dallas, TX. Sometimes in all my ventures I feel like some kind of war correspondent, writing to you from a distant land. And let me tell you, this seems like a distant land.

As the plane was landing I noticed a football stadium. I thought to myself, "How nice..." Then about two miles down the road there was another one. "Oh, that is cool." But when it continued, I realized just how serious they are about football here. Stadiums are almost like 7Elevens, one on every corner.

It was a nice flight. I did not have to be squished, so it was even nicer. Traveling is something I enjoy and I get a kind of relaxation out of it. Maybe it is just me, but I enjoy traveling alone. I like not having to be accountable to anyone and being able to do what I want.

For dinner, Lynlee and I scoped out some restaurants. We all ended up at On The Border. It is a Tex-Mex place with decent food. The chips were like half corn tortillas cut in half and then fried. The salsa was excellent.

Helpful hint for the next time you are in Texas: Salmon can be mistaken for Sampler... This is what happened to me, to the degree that I did not get my food until everyone else was done eating. The upside: We did not get charged for it. When the salmon did come though, it was excellent. It is now in a to-go box in our little fridge.

Yesterday I shot the first round of the Women's NCAA Soccer Tournament. It was a fun place to be and I had the opportunity to talk with some photogs. It was a rough game for the Cats because the ref was calling fouls about every other time a player touched the ball. The Cougs rarely were called for fouls.

In the end, the game became quite intense. It ended in a tie, 1-1. The game then went into a regulation 10 minute overtime. No goals were scored. So, it continued into another 10 minute overtime. Still no goals. The next step was a ten point shoot-out. Weber won the shoot-out 4-3.

It was a key win for the Cats. I believe it really helped to boost their confidence. It was the first time the Cats beat the Cougs in 10 years; the Cougs are also nationally ranked at 14 (now 17th due to the loss); AND it is the first time the Cats have ever advanced to the sencond round of the tournament. WOW!

It was emotional for everyone. Rochelle Hoover, 3, secured the win with the final shoot-out kick. Candice, the goalie, also had four key saves in the shoot-out.

Unfortunatly, The Signpost did not see fit to give the team any coverage on the front. Editors were too worried about going home, rather than breaking news and having to re-do the front page. I was quite disappointed. Many other students also made comments to me today regarding the lack of appearance. The Standard-Examiner even saw fit to run a photo and caption on their front page. Hmm...

It is my worry that lazy journalists are coming through the ranks. These young journalists do not know how to find their own information. They expect everything to be handed to them. It is unfortunate they are unwilling to cover controvercial stories because they might offend someone. This alone is a blow to the very thing journalists have fought for for many years: Right to an open government and freedom of the press.

Passion must replace fear. A passion, remembering we are here to inform the public. A journalist does not become a journalist for selfish reasons. A journalist should become a journalist to help keep our government and society accountable for what it does, to inform the public and most importantly, the right to know.

All hail for Sunshine and a FREE press!

Five weeks to go!

I can't believe everything is passing by so quickly. There is only a blessed five weeks left in the semester. What was I thinking when I signed up for 19 credit hours?! Obviously I was crazy. On top of that I have two jobs.

Next semester will be a welcome relief. I will take 12 credit hours. The only blast to the gut is there will be three art lab classes. I believe, however, all will work out as planned. The only think that keeps me going is singing the graduation song and doing a dance when no one is looking. ;)

I drove up to Monte Cristo on Saturday to look at the snow on the ground. It is such an exciting time of year! Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! Sometime this week or next I will be taking my skis in to get a tune-up. Wee-haw!

Found out this week that I got shafted by a boy. Jerk! He totally led me on, while unbeknownst to me he was chasing after someone else. Ugh!

My mother shoved this book into my hands called, "He's Just Not That Into You." It is halarious! Male and female are co-authors and they bring to light a lot of things we do as women. I read the pages and chuckle to myself because I have done it, or I know someone else who has. It is my recommended reading for the week.

As I prepare to leave the college life and move on, I think more and more about graduate school. It excites me! The thought of going somewhere else and studying something I have dremt about for many years is awesome! My mother does not like it because I would leave her home alone. I have to leave sometime, though, right?

Yeah for the power of women!

umm...

Time is flying by and who knows where it goes???

Things have been going well. A few weeks ago, Signpost members went to Las Vegas for the Society of Professional Journalists conference. It was great to be able to talk to people and do some networking. I talked to two ladies from back east who are in charge of business writing. This is something I would like to explore.

It is interesting to find how few women read the business section. I think this can change by having more women writers. Also, highlighting more women in business. I think I will propose this to my community editor. :)

I went to the Homecoming Dance with B. It was a good time, but I am not sure much will come of it. I am finding out he is quite the drama king. It is unfortunate because I think we could have a good time together.

Over the past weeks, I have been attending a lot of meetings. I am sitting on the Union Board and I went to the Board of Regents meeting today at Utah Valley State College. It is great to see things they were talking about and implementing three years ago in use. I am amazed at the leaps and bounds they have come. I know with Nolan Karrass at the helm higher education is in good hands.

I have been out shooting. There are more digital negatives in the works. When I get some cleaned up I will have to post them. The negs are quite intriguing. I went out with Jenny and Jeremy. We had a good time and got some good pics.

Life is kind-of stressful with this magazine article I am writing. Hopefully I can get it hacked out in the next few days. I find it amazing I can pump out a news story in about 30 min, but I die over a mag story... Imaginese! Bueno, the semester is over in about five weeks. WOO-HOO!!!

Love life is still non-extistent. But I am not sure I have the emotional energy for that right now. I look forward to a peaceful Thanksgiving and Christmas break.

Craziness

Life has been crazy, little time for anything. Homecoming is almost over. YEAH!!!

I have determined activites are fun in the beginning and in the end. Everything inbetween sucks. I am going to Vegas this weekend and I am going to sit and veg no mas. :)

Have a great week. Got to go and do more Homecoming stuff... Then I am going to the dance with B. wee-haw!

Please catch me if I fall
Keep the secret I have given you
Listen to me cry
And soothe my fears
Laugh with me about life
Give me your un-edited opinion
Let me wrap my arms around you
Tell me when I am wrong
Just be my friend
Let me trust you

I saw you

I saw you today and my heart nearly lept out of my chest. I saw you and my hands started to shake and I wanted to crawl under the nearest rock. I am not sure you have even the slightest idea of what you do to me. I saw you and you saw me.

I had no idea my day would take a sharp u-turn. The plan was to go and enjoy a day in Salt Lake with my friend Carla, who is visiting from Chile. We were going to the temple, to do some shopping and to the general Relief Society meeting. The irony? I forgot his best friend was getting married this weekend. On top of that I did not know it would be in SLC...

As I left the parking garage, I saw it. The truck and the quad tucked neatly in the back. I thought to myself, "How strange." Then I noticed the give-aways and it suddenly made sense.

I breathed and told the butterflies in my stomach to go away. The likelihood I would see him in the middle of hundreds of people was slim... Right? WRONG! Carla wants to take some photos in front of the temple with Faith (one of my mission companions) before she leaves. We are walking to the front of the temple and who do I see dead on? I must have been like a deer 15 yards out looking at a bow hunter... He was standing there looking fashionable in his suit and sunglasses. My stomach dropped to the floor. I could not believe it!

To try and be non-chalant and get myself to stop shaking, I tried to go about things as if nothing were wrong. We took our pictures and had a good laugh. As I put my stuff away I looked at him, and he looked at me. It was a moment frozen in time. I could not smile, I could not do anything.

He broke my heart, pero Carla me dice que todavia lo quiero... Y todavia estoy pensando en el.

First Day of Fall!

Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year! The trees are changing colors in the hills, the weather is more temperate and I just love it all.

I have come to the simple determination that boys are chickens. One boy I talked to said girls are too "forward." They almost have to be. There is this terrible mentality that "girls will come to me."

I seem to find all the ones that run away. The first love of my life ran away as soon as he was confronted with a problem with my parents. Love of my life #2 ran away when I confronted him with an issue. I would have given up everything for either. They, however, were not willing.

I find it funny however. Dating, I believe, is a good way to practice your marketing skills. You can find out how good your skills are. Do you sell yourself well enough to get that call for a second date? Do you decide you do not want the job? Or maybe you completely tank it...

I never thought of it this way until my PR professor presented the thought. Then i began to thing about it. So true! Dating is a big marketing scham...