i looked at the forecast this morning and it said that there was a high chance of rain so i packed my umbrella and went on my merry way. thinking it may rain any minute, i cautiously ventured outside to see gorgeous blue sky and the sun smiling down upon the city. i trotted about with vigor and glee at the sight of such beautiful weather.

then, as soon as i began to walk toward the train station, Chicago was punished.

today i stumbled into a dimly lit room where i sat down at a round table and listened as a strangely dressed woman (who looked like a man) spoke warily of my future.

sometimes i wonder why i even bother with academic advising.

my mind is always so much clearer when i first wake up. none of the little things seem to matter anymore and the only thing that makes immediate sense in my groggy state of mind is the bigger picture, the stuff that really matters. this happens to me just about every morning and as of late, there’s been but a single question continuously echoing in the hollow confines of my head during these times.

“seriously, ivan, what the hell?”

that those who believe may never forget.

i’m going to shoot some expired film this coming week.

living life on the edge!!!

miscellaneous pictures from my trip:

i woke up before 6:00am today to photograph a Vancouver sunrise. getting up that early came easier than i thought and i was out the door with a good 15 minutes to get down to the docks so naturally, i took my time. it usually takes about 10 minutes to get to the beach but 15 on the way back due to steep inclines. so i finally made my way to the docks just in time to see the sun climb lazily into the early morning sky. i pulled out my camera, composed my shot and swore really, really loudly.

i had left my memory card back at the house!!!

aghast at my own stupidity, i stared dumbly at my empty D70. then, i realized i still had my trusty FT3 on hand. i brought it up to firing position, shot four frames of black and white and ran out of film. then i had to catch a bus to Seattle.

and now i’m back in Chicago.

sigh.

i caught a live chicken with my bare hands this morning. you see, one of Josh’s housemates keeps chickens in the backyard for egg-laying purposes and they somehow got loose and were running around the neighbors’ yards.

so there i was, chasing two curiously fast chickens around some bushes when i finally cornered one on the neighbor’s steps. then, with one deft move, i clamped my hands down around it and was met with the most peculiar feeling of warm, furry chicken. never in my wildest dreams could i ever envision being in a foreign city 1800 miles away running around a house that has more bathrooms than functioning doorknobs chasing and catching chickens that belong to a seminary student.

life sure is weird, eh?

Vancouver is beautiful. Canada is beautiful. i want to move here and eat fresh sushi everyday. EVERYDAY.

what blew me away about Vancouver is the sheer number of Asians. it seemed like every other person on the street was jibber-jabbering in either Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese or Korean. they prowl the streets in small packs and flash victory at anything and everything. another thing that caught my attention was the amount of “first nation” (native) folk running around. being from Chicago, this was new to me since our local tribes were forcibly expelled long ago. also, there seem to be next to no blacks and Latinos here. walking around today, the closest things i saw were Twista being blasted from a whiteboy’s SUV and a sign for a contracting company called “Esse.”

anyway, i was walking around Vancouver’s historic “Gastown” district when i saw this outside of a currency exchange:

good thing there are no Mexicans here, eh?