Day 303 - Roses

Thought of the day: College students are coming back in town this week.  You can tell that by the increasing number of visitors in the cafes and the long lines at the front desks of popular restaurants.  The town seems to have woken up from a lazy summer slumber. You can really feel the energy in the air. On one hand, it's invigorating to have all these young people back in town.  On the other hand, it's a bit frustrating to experience these extra delays in traffic and hour long waits for dinner.  By living in a college town in Colorado where the students make up a quarter of the population, in addition to going through the cycle of seasons, we go through the cycle of the comings and goings of college students. With these two concurrent cycles, "the wheel of time turns, and years come and pass…leaving memories" that will become us and experiences that will define us.

Photo of the day:

A bunch of beautiful roses in Lila's preschool - a thoughtful gift from a student's parents.  It really brightened up the room - a nice symbol of a fresh beginning.

Day 204 - Chair Reflection

Thought of the day: My undergrad college in China just celebrated its 100 year anniversary.  It was a big event that was broadcasted on TV.  Some of my classmates participated and were kind enough to share their photos.  I haven't been back for many years and going through those photos tonight brought back a lot of memories.  Most of the dormitories, buildings and scenery looked oh-so-familiar.  Everybody looked a tad older but I could still recognize them.  Of course, there seemed to have been a lot of changes too.  There were a few ultramodern looking buildings that were not there before.  The cafeteria were posting calories, proteins, and other nutrient information for each dish instead of just a name and a price tag.  Students were studying in the classrooms with laptops instead of notebooks.  Going back there must make one feel a sense of history and a sense of progress, a sense of kinship and a sense of loss, all at the same time.  If I had attended the event, I would probably have been proud that I had spent a good five years there, and would probably also have been glad that I left when I did.  Looking back after all these years, I think I owe a lot to my college.  The relationship to one's college can be a complicated one, but I think there isn't a more apt description than the conventional alma mater - "nourishing mother".

Photo of the day:

Dining chairs.  It was another day of staying at home nursing my illness.  It offered a great opportunity to reflect on the past, and, to study the reflections of a few chairs on the floor.

Day 176 - Photo Exhibition

Thought of the day: Tonight I attended an interesting talk by Scott Carlin about his night time photography.  He used a tripod for a long exposure and while the shutter was open, he walked around and "painted" selected surfaces and objects with a flash light so they would be illuminated in the image in a way that he envisioned.  The result was some pretty striking images that I had never seen before.  At the talk, I met a woman who took self-portraits with her built-in laptop camera and then manipulated them with various cartoon like effects.  She came up with some pretty surreal images - some of them might be a little disturbing but they were in general pretty unusual and interesting.  People can be so incredibly creative.  A million people can have a million different ways of perceiving the world and a million different ways of expressing themselves.  It's constantly manifested in photography, arts, technology, and daily living.  I think each one of us is blessed with a unique vision and voice that can be nurtured when we're young; and when we are older and more capable, as long as we have the courage and conviction to stick to them, we may leave a unique footprint on the earth and enrich the lives of many others.  Indeed, much in the same way that the diversity of genes is essential to the survival of species, our individuality is essential to our collective survival. 

Photo of the day:

Today I went to Mia's 39+ photo exhibit at CU's UMC Gallery.  Her 39+ blog inspired my blog.  Mia's photos have a sense of daily progression - every day's image relates to previous day's image either conceptually or visually.  I'm  more focused within the context of a day as I try to inject a daily thought  that can be connected to the  image one way or the other.  I think we both found a way that worked for us.