greener grass

recently i've been thinking about
photos
cameras
lenses
geeky stuff
i'm on this quest to be able to capture
what i see with my eyes
some things look better captured
and some things look better in my eyes
every once in awhile
while i'm perusing craigslist
or some gear-page
i notice how amazing my eyes work
whether you wear glasses or not
your eyes are the best lens you could ever imagine
sure they don't zoom or have metering options
but they are so clear and quick and alive
the colors are so vibrant
no panoramic camera can capture a landscape
like your peripheral vision

i wonder if someone could measure it
how much memory our brains have?
would it be like 1,000 terabytes?
or 10,000 petabytes?
or a zottabyte?

i think the one thing that amazes me
about photos/cameras
is the macro
they are by far my favorite pictures to take
because i can't see the little details
it can see those little flower stem hairs
and i love to see them!

a peaceful night

a walk at the creek (which is actually a man-made lake)
with our photo takers

coming out both ends

don't get the flue
whatever you do
there's not one upside to the flue
unless of course you want to lose a few pounds in a matter of hours
and cleans your body of all things
and i mean, all things.

the hotline

not many people
let alone friends come along like this
this friend of ours (lauren and i)
is like none other
he has taught me so much
about life
friendship
struggle
victory
self
outlook
positiveness
believing
honesty
faith
reliableness
faithfulness

this man walks to a different tune
the kind that people speak about
about great men
great thinkers
great artists in history
ask anyone who knows him
they will tell you
he is real
he is available
he is honest
he is love

we celebrated his last birthday at our house
half way through the night i found myself talking
to two of his friends i had just met
and as i looked around
i realized what we all had in common
we had all been infected by the love
the love of jeffrey
Jeffrey Dressler makes it a point
no matter who he is talking with
to make time for them
to listen
to care
and he expects the same
not only does he love
but he teaches with his life

i love jeffrey
i love when he comes over
i love going on adventures with him

back when me and lauren first started dating
we were all cuddling in the back of our tour bus
me and lauren and jeffrey
all cuddled up on a cold night
marcus was driving us who knows where
and we were just in the back happy as could be

one night jeffrey came over for dinner
and after about the third time heating his dinner up
i asked him what setting he was using
he looked back and said
"dinner plate"
26 years i'd lived and never
never had i paid that button a second though
much less used it for my "dinner plate"
a pure stroke of genius




jeffrey loves life
even though it doesn't always treat us like a pillow
he has his struggles like we all do
with love and happiness and contentment
but he deals with it in a way that shows he is real
he loves the essence of life
and it is contagious
jeffrey appreciates the things that are most pure
whether it's an
american spirit
a stella artois
a cordoba burrito
a note on his Lowden
a crescendo in a song
a good hair cut
or a meaningful conversation
jeffrey has the most amazing memory of anyone i know
he can tell you the date he first met you
the month he bought his car
the last time he saw the wizard of oz
who was sitting next to him at church 7 weeks ago
hands down
he has the most healthy memory of anyone i know

he is also our personal heath adviser
fitness trainer (encourager)
music appreciator
the heart behind camp jeffrey
(a camp me and lauren have been telling him he needs to start...a place of wellness and serenity where people can recharge their life...while being taken care of by jeffrey...he plans their meals and exercises and events...and provides and atmosphere where they can find their life)
he introduced me to
not only the dinner plate
but levi premium jeans
the button up, american apparel thermal
the best lose-leaf tea
crystal skulls
for all the drifters
the list goes on...

i dedicate this
the space it takes up
the time it takes to read and write it
to my buddy
jeffrey
thanks for your friendship
thanks for your love

harmony

taken care of

today i came home to:
our wonderful home
my lovely wife
an abundance of scrumptious kisses
fresh salad with cranberries
white chicken chili
a bowl of watermelon and blueberries
alagash
does it get any better?

my life is very different now that i'm married
and i love it!

i want three days in my weekend

iced coffee and marsh creek
two of our favorite Saturday morning celebrations



next stop
panera and providence

enough

Lately I have been uncomfortable with the thought that I am an American ^ There are so many things that I am ashamed America is known for ^ There are plenty of good things too ^ But still, some days the good outweigh the bad in my thoughts ^ Every time i step foot into another country ^ [Whether physically or mentally] ^ That is monetarily less fortunate than we are ^ I am reminded of what does not bring us "true" happiness/joy/contentment/purpose ^

Take for instance my Saturday morning ^Me and Lauren woke up earlier than we(she) wanted and so we did some productive things ^ Periodically we go through our closets and throw away (give to the salvation army or clothes-to-go) the clothes, shoes, belts, jackets, bags, "whatever" that we haven't used in awhile ^ [Here comes the ashamed part of my American Consumerism/Materialism]

This morning I threw out some shoes
Most of them I hadn't worn in over a year


That's right...count 'em...nine pairs of shoes!
Nine pairs of shoes
That I haven't worn in over a year
{mind you i'm not bragging here...i'm embarrassed}
Before you start feeling the urge to buy me a new pair of shoes since I have thrown all my nine pairs of shoes away...take a look at how many shoes I still have left in my closet



It gets worse
I have to show you two pics to fit in all the shoes I still have left!
{mind you i'm not bragging here...i'm embarrassed}




Yep...25 pairs of shoes
After I threw 9 pairs away
Not to mention the 2 pairs of shoes that are on our porch
That means last night when I went to bed I owned 36 pairs of shoes
{mind you i'm not bragging here...i'm embarrassed}

I'll let Lauren explain her own inner turmoil about our American life ^ But I will say she is the most diligent in cleansing her closet of unused articles ^ This morning while I was digging through shoes she cleaned out one of her tank-top drawers



I can't speak for how much use these tanks-for-the-trash have gotten ^ But I can attest for the 3 drawers of shirts she still has left over on my side of the bed



Needless to say I think we have "enough" ^ I think we could have a whole village come and clothe itself and still have "enough" ^ The thing is ^ I didn't just pick this up in college ^ I've had this instinct since I was a child ^ I stole our pastor's kids G.I. Joe weapons when I was like 6 years old ^ (don't worry my parents made me give them back and apologize)
Not because I didn't have "enough"
But because I wanted more!
More
More
More
Me
Me
Me
My parents made sure me and my sister always had "enough" ^ This has nothing to do with them ^ They were the most providential parents
But when/how/why did I learn that I needed more?!

Whenever, However, Whyever
I don't know
I would love to think that I have learned a new way of living
A new measuring stick for "enough"
But sure enough
While I was at Marshalls today
I tried on a pair of shoes
And was disappointed that they weren't my size

bdm

while we were gone
i did miss a few friends
one of them was this guy


founder and partner of brownstone inc.
father of a very special and cute boy
husband to one of my oldest friends
plucker of bass strings
the most diplomatic person i've been blessed to know
killer of keyboards
inventor of harmony
ingenious designer
one of the three members of the cheese-0-meter team
song writing extraordinare
starter of all new and cool trends (mac, nikon, beinfang, timbuk2...)
fastest non-fast person i know

oh how i've missed you

lauren's ark

she loves them
every last one of them

every animal (well most)
leaving insects and snakes out of the discussion
she loves animals
some would say an animal lover

when we saw this elephant in Kunming she turned into a 7 year old
"Stephen there's an Elephant! Can I ride it! Please! Please! Please!
Oh he's so cute! Can I ride it please!!!!"

and then the monkey in Guilin went the same way
"Aw there's a monkey! Can I please get my picture taken with it!
I wanna hold it. aw it's so cute! Please! Please!

I love animals! don't get me wrong.
But my idea of getting my picture taken with one is more like this picture

i ate dog meat one day in Guilin (without lauren)

and found this cute little paw mixed in
I admit though, i felt sick
I wish i never ate that cute little puppy

ni hao

we're back
we're asleep
no we're awake
no we're asleep
no we're awake
no we're...