i declare 2011 to be the year of Little-to-No-Fear

here we go. new year, new me.

ironically a big year for me personally, but through it all retained this same appreciation.

2010: The Year of Small Things

The things I hold dear to me fit cupped hands; they are easy to hold on to but hard to let go of. This was a year of things I held, and things that moved me— it was a year for touching.

I do not need big things in my life. Instead I fill days with the familiarity of old songs and the tenderness of apologies. I live for falling asleep during long trips in buses, and waking up to quiet cups of coffee. I want to count things that count to me: the delight in reading new books, the desire to write more stories; the certainty of a hand brushing my knee. And there will be long walks with someone I love or long walks alone. There will be slowness— I will make space and retreat into myself. I will take more pictures. I will collect more keys. I will discover the smallness of the sea.

See— the ocean spread against my palm. Life is waving.

2010 was a year of small things, and for 2011 I say: dream small. Besides, the small things matter, and are the largest things after all.

via meetmy_tommygun

last week, Pellet came by my work for the first time.

now when i share stories about people that i work with, he has faces to reference!

like my boss that calls me “lynndenburg” for being such a great disaster, and my coworkers (who, btw, are close to my dad’s age) that come to my rescue with their best velociraptor impersonations.

consider that Restocking-Pony ridden

it was a quiet night at home after an exhausting day of school and work. i was checking my email for the first time all day while Pellet read the paper. without any warning, my poorly coordinated unbalanced breathing kicked in again.

Pellet didn't even bother putting the whole paper down. with little to no ounces of alarm, he just bent the corner and asked, "did you just buy something good online?"


NO.


i bought it last night. the order confirmation just arrived!


exhale exhale exhale. ok. cool. so ends my year-long pining for this incredibly handsome tool bag. all i need now are tools to fill its beautiful belly.... starting with this hammer!

my proudest body of school work to date

i have a habit of only posting design work about a year after its creation date (and on days when i am avoiding the most homework.) in my 4 and a half years of school, fall semester 09 was the only time i ever felt glad to be there.

this Ohlone Shellmound Cultural Center was from my Senior Studio Green Design class:

i was also enrolled in a furniture construction class where we designed and built our pieces from scratch. (mine wasn't nearly as awesome as my classmates' works.) it was exciting to see how everyone canoodled with their creativity by starting with the raw wood planks that we unloaded from the truk ourselves and ending up with wonderfully functional pieces.

as temporary as it was, i'm glad there was at least a small piece of my time in school where i genuinely enjoyed what i was doing. thankfully i no longer have to fear looking back on my youth and regretting my academic choices. college wasn't so bad afterall...

crisis averted

my first generation ipod nano, more affectionately known as Little Schroeder, has finally decided to forfeit this annoying month-long session of hide and seek.

i am an extremely sore loser so the alternate outcome of this game would not have been pretty. not at all. i’m talkin’ tears, destruction, and an eruption of obese puppies ugliness.

thankfully i can now resume my hour-length night walks with my dog where i continue my attempt to memorize the lyrics to Spanish Bombs by The Clash. Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón!

berkeley kite festival

2 hours was well worth the wait to finally step off the shuttle service and arrive at the bottom of this hill.