Dear Citi Field,

Posted on May 18, 2009 by elizabeth

Through a strange and amazing twist of fate, I came into some unbelievably good seats for the game vs. the Pirates on May 8. It was a Friday night game, but the universe aligned so that both my brother and I could leave work early to make the drive up to Queens. I’ve been watching every game I can see this season, eagerly trying to soak in every nuance of the state-of-the-art-shiny-newness they assure me you ooze. I grumbled when people called talk radio programs to complain. How can people complain about you, Citi Field? I know you’re no Shea, but what’s not to love?

Our tickets were so good that John and I kept looking around, shifty-eyed, waiting to be kicked out, told we weren’t supposed to be in the Delta Sky 360 club. Or at the full service bar behind our seats. Or peering through the little window by that bar down into the batting cages under the stands to watch Gary Sheffield take some practice swings before pinch hitting. Our seats were cushy. We had waiter service and ordered Shake Shack hot dogs and beers and fancy fries called “Frites” right from our asses. There was an attendant in the bathroom. The people in our row came back halfway through the game with cupcakes and wine. CUPCAKES AND WINE. At a BASEBALL GAME. I was deeply, deeply torn: my love of cupcakes is strong, and oh my did I want one. But I refrained, on principle. You just don’t eat a cupcake at a ball game. You eat a hot dog (bonus: mine had kraut!) and you drink a beer and maybe if you didn’t have too much beer, you have some ice cream in a baseball hat bowl. I get the whole amenities thing, I really do. And maybe it’s just that I’m simple, but I’m just not a cupcakes-wine-coffee-and-swanky-BBQ-sandwich baseball person.

Don’t get me wrong, Citi Field. You are gorgeous, shiny and new in a way that’s hard to conceive of. In fact, I think in a lot of ways I was far too distracted to even appreciate the game (which featured an 8th inning rally and even an appearance by the new and wow shiny home run apple). John and I walked around the whole park, and I was amazed by the vastness of the Jackie Robinson rotunda (something that I have much, much more reverence for thanks to Ken Burns’ Baseball documentary). You really do feel more intimate, more quirky. And walking through the concourses, it’s all airy and you can see the field as you walk past hot dog stands and beer vendors. Maybe I’m not fancy enough for such good seats (but OMG they were SO GOOD I can’t even EXPLAIN IT we were SIXTEEN ROWS BACK you just don’t get to sit there more than once in your LIFE so don’t get me wrong I LOVED IT THERE) and maybe I don’t feel emotionally vested in you yet.

Shea was crumbly and beat to shit, yes. And the former diamond is commemorated in the VIP Parking lot on your third base side. But I got a little teary and yes, maybe a little overwhelmed, seeing the site of Shea’s third base. I don’t hate you, Citi Field. But I’m not quite ready to say I love you yet. I hope that’s okay. I’m certainly going to come back to visit as often as I can, because more than anything, I do want to love you. I think we’ll get there.

Love,
Elizabeth

Minibook: Shea Stadium

Posted on April 15, 2009 by elizabeth

I signed up for Elise Blaha’s Get Crafty workshop, which started on Monday. Along the same lines as my kickstart photo project, I’m hoping this workshop will get me thinking in a crafty frame of mind again. I finished my first project last night, and I’m so happy with it… not just because I like how it turned out, but because it was fun to put it together: cutting, gluing, stamping, all of that jazz. I’ll admit to being pretty skeptical about the whole scrapbooking phenomenon, but the workshop is sort of scrapbooking outside the box, and I can get behind that for sure. It’s more collage and papercrafts and photography all together, which is right up my alley. Plus! It was an excuse to buy things at the craft store and Staples, things that would normally count as “unnecessary” like a date stamp (!!!) and markers and cardstock and labels and shipping tags and new scissors.

The book itself is a collection of photos and memories of my seven trips to Shea. (The full sets of photos are over on flickr.) I printed one photo from each game wallet-sized, and wrote little bits about what I remember most about each game (or rainout, as the case may be). This is especially cathartic as the Mets begin their season at CitiField, which promises to be gorgeous, but is still in need of some memory-building.

Kickstart: 25 days

Posted on April 14, 2009 by elizabeth

1. first signs, 2. another sign, 3. the height of cool, circa 1989, 4. ready to burst, 5. in profile (and the glow of the tv), 6. signs of life are everywhere, 7. I learned that this is called a balustrade., 8. I am really out of practice, 9. progress, little by little, 10. lights and raindrops, 11. mirrored, gilded corner, 12. opportunities are everywhere, 13. A little hope in the gloom, 14. star magnolia, bricks, 15. shooting into the sun, 16. it’s just spaghetti, 17. yellow like sunshine, 18. quick, before it starts raining again, 19. it’s a lot easier to take photos like this when you’re the passenger, 20. leaves! green! sunshine! I can’t deal!, 21. just one, 22. awaiting their fate, 23. stripes in the sky, 24. spring can look a little like winter sometimes, 25. bagel run

I’ve been trying desperately to kickstart my creativity by (not-so-secretly) taking pictures every day, and I finished with a nice, even, square 25. (I’ve been swearing all along that I won’t do another 365 days in a row.) I did it because I missed it. And because I’d stopped taking photos of anything but beer. So I just… started. And my inspiration may be slowly coming back. (And you know, it ended totally naturally… I just didn’t feel like forcing a photo on Saturday, so I didn’t take one. I think I’ll do this again soon.)

Rollin' Fun

Posted on March 19, 2009 by elizabeth

Having a birthday party at the roller rink was about as cool as it got in third grade. We’d wear smelly roller skates and skating in endless circles (except during special songs like the Ghostbusters song which had complicated choreography that everyone knew) before pizza and cake were served in the special party room. I never had a party there (not being the type to enjoy that much attention), but I went to so many.

The rink itself closed years ago, although I’m not sure exactly how long ago it was. It has to be at least ten, maybe fifteen years ago now, but the building has stood empty since then, cheerily advertising “rollin’ fun” and birthday parties alike.

I’ve wanted to take pictures of this place since my first 365, but I’m always too chicken to park in the lot (which is on a busy highway) to take pictures properly. But I drove past a few weeks ago and noticed that it’s fenced off and the roof is caved in or being taken down. So today I drove down there and parked in the empty lot and took some pictures. I’m really glad I did.

ELO: Elaborate Lasers, Orchestrated

Posted on January 19, 2009 by elizabeth

On Saturday night, a bunch of us headed out to a planetarium at a local community college (who knew?) to see a regular planetarium show followed by a laser light show. Nerdery, ahoy! I don’t know what it is, but I adore planetariums. And it was like a double plus bonus, seeing as how learning new constellations was TOTALLY on my 27 Things To Do When I’m 27 list. So anyway, yay! The planetarium! After the “winter skies” show, we were ferried out of the planetarium, and then back in for the laser light show. While we were looking for directions earlier that afternoon, Dan and I discovered that not only was it a laser light show, but one set to the music of ELO. Now, I’ve heard of ELO in my general fondness for classic rock, and I like some of their songs, but as we listened to the few songs Dan had, I realized that this had the potential for sheer awesomeness.

The others weren’t so big on ELO, and not all of them had even heard of them before. But the lasers! It was somehow awesome and cheesy at the same time. I was partly fascinated by the new digital projection system in the planetarium (they had that old star projector in the middle of the dome at first, but only to show us how they don’t have to use it anymore! Because of the new and awesome digital projection system! OMG!), and partly astounded by the actual setup of the laser show, in that most of the laser pictures were obviously hand-drawn by the Laserist himself. Like he sat there with the digital laser-pointer-style device and drew the outline of a globe. And a lady playing a cello. And a lady with huge boobs. And some mountains. And a guitar! Woah!

So yeah. It was kickass. And really, really, really hokey at the very same time. The music, though? I don’t know how I don’t already have all of ELO’s albums. I adored it and have had the songs stuck in my head since about 9pm on Saturday night. My mind, it has been blown.

PS. Don’t tell Bill, the Staff Astronomer/Laserist, that I was taking photos during the laser show. It’s totally not allowed.

Old, New

Posted on January 16, 2009 by elizabeth

If I could get away with wearing sneakers every day (especially to work!), I would.

Blurring the Lines

Posted on January 13, 2009 by elizabeth

A Photo A Day For A Year!

Posted on December 31, 2008 by elizabeth

Day 366/366

Well holy shit, I present to you my last photo of Project 365 Year Two. I’ve been counting down, kicking and screaming the whole way, and yet it’s still hard to believe that I’m done.

Since I started the year with an homage to my first photo from round one, it seemed fitting to end the year with this, an homage to my last photo last time.

2008 was an interesting year, and this project has seen me through some rougher times to what are now awesome times. At the beginning of the year, I was still reeling from my car accident, trying to find my place in my new career, and getting out of a not-so-great place, relationship-wise. But now! I’m happier than I ever have been as a librarian, building my new career and figuring out what I like best. I’m happily living alone, even if I’m not trying as hard as I claim to learn how to cook more than just pasta. I have made so many really great friends this year (online and in real life), friends who I am beyond happy to have in my life and who have helped me through crappier times, whether they know it or not. And there’s the other matter of a burgeoning relationship, one that is very, very good and that makes me very, very happy.

But even more than that, 2008 has seen me learn even more about myself as a photographer. I know I said last time that I see the world through different eyes, and this second year of daily photos has made that even more true. I’m constantly surprised and proud of photos I’ve taken (although surely it’s still a small percentage) and as much as I’ve whined these past few months, taking photos has really become a big part of who I am and how I see myself in the world. So this dumb project may be over (again), but I can’t imagine NOT taking photos every day. They just won’t be numbered anymore.

Thank you to all of you, my flickr friends, for cheering me on, and inspiring me, and letting me copy off of you, and teaching me new ways to look at things and use my camera. And thank you to my real life friends (although the two groups overlap so much now) for following along and listening to me complain and being the subject of so many photos. And the family, too, because you have no idea how very much I love that you’ve bookmarked the link to my photos just so you can look in at what I’m doing.

And because I couldn’t resist more statistics, here’s Project 365: 2008, by the numbers:
12 photos of stripes
31 photos of me
45 photos of food
11 photos of beer
32 photos taken in or of my car
6 photos of tea
21 photos of flowers
6 baseball or Mets related photos
16 photos of shoes
32 photos of the sky
7 photos of fall colors
9 photos of holiday lights
8 photos taken in New York City

Projects and Life After

Posted on December 10, 2008 by elizabeth

I’m a little more than twenty days away from finishing my second year of Project 365. I find this to be an incredibly awesome thing, because the fact that I am this close to completing another entire year of photos is a pretty big deal. (Of course, just the fact that I’ll be done and can stop stressing about it is equally awesome.) I have done a whole lot better this year; I’m happier with more of my photos, and I can honestly say that (knock on wood) I haven’t missed a day, other than one or two that may have been taken just after midnight. This taking a photo every day has become a pretty big part of how I operate, how I think, who I am. So naturally, being the over-thinker that I am, I’m chomping at the bit, getting myself all worked up about what I’m going to do NEXT.

Here’s the thing: two years (with a few months in between) of daily photos is a lot of work. It’s exhausting. I’m ready for a break. However, I also know from last year that it won’t be very long before I’m feeling the urge. It’s become too much a part of my life to just… stop. But I’m putting this out there now, Internet: there will be NO YEAR THREE without at least a six month break. You have my permission to punch me if, in a month or two, I start talking crazy. Just direct me to the set of photos I’ve tagged “Project365 Can Bite Me What Was I Thinking Seriously? Year Two?” or the ones tagged “help we’re struggling we’ll never make it uuuughhhhh year two” to remind me about how much of a grind it was.

So the next logical question becomes: so what should I do instead? A few of my fellow Project365 alumns moved on to more manageable projects like 52 Weeks – some have taken self-portraits once a week (don’t really know if I’m too keen on that…) or found a tree and documented its changes each week (this is so cool, but I don’t have any pretty trees nearby). Some are even doing 100 Strangers, in which over time, you try to find 100 stranges to take portraits of. That’s just crazy. I’d like to get better at taking pictures of people, but I am usually crippled by shyness. Somehow it seems like if I haven’t yet forced my boyfriend to let me take pictures of him, I’ll be completely lost taking pictures of strangers.

The funny thing is that I was talking about this with Dan the other day, about how I was so stressed! About picking a new project! Because I want to start it in the new year so it’s even and orderly and neat! I’m running out of time! What should I do?! And with his calm, easy-going logic, he just goes, “Why do you have to do a project at all? Couldn’t you just decide what you feel like doing? Like if one month you decide to work on photos of a particular thing, then you just… do it. And change it when you feel like doing something different.”

Oh. So… I don’t have to have, like, an Official Project with a Group To Post To or Rules? Huh. Imagine that.

So anyway, I am still trying to decide. I like having a project, a neatly organized and numbered set of photos to look back on. But maybe he’s right. Maybe I don’t need an Official 2009 Photo Project. Maybe I’ll just resolve to let go a bit, and just continue taking pictures every day (or almost every day) and see where it takes me. Do you think my organizational tendencies could handle it?

The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance

Posted on December 5, 2008 by elizabeth

Last night, I saw Vampire Weekend play a sold out show at Terminal 5 in New York City. Seeing a concert was one of the things on my 27 Things To Do While I’m 27 list (a list which I’m proud to say, is being completed with due diligence!), and since I haven’t been to a show in a really long time, I jumped at the chance. Vampire Weekend’s debut cd is the most recent cd I’ve loved enough to completely kill; I listened to it on repeat from the beginning of August through the beginning of October.

I met up with Irma for empanadas before the show, and we walked to Terminal 5 in a light rain, which was kind of annoying. Once we got inside, the beer I had was the kind that tastes unusually good, a spectacular reward after a long walk in the rain followed by waiting in a hipster-filled line outside the venue. It didn’t, however, make the opening band, a strange duo named Telepathe whose set was all electronic and drum machine and strange keening noises, sound any better.

We knew the show was sold out, and decided to check out the balconies overlooking the main floor to see what the view was like. We parked ourselves on the third floor balcony, almost directly overlooking the stage, quite possibly the coolest place to watch a show I’ve been in. Granted, we only got those front row balcony spots because no one else wanted to have their eardrums blasted out by the giant, hulking speakers four feet to our left, but OH MAN it was so worth it.

Vampire Weekend’s set was so perfect. They played most of their album, which made me so happy (although was unsurprising, seeing as how they only have one album anyway). The album itself is very upbeat and full-sounding, so I didn’t expect it to sound better, per se, in person. But it did. Somehow, the sound was fuller and just MORE. Or maybe my proximity to the giant speaker just caused it to reverberate around in my skull. We sang every word to every song right along with the sold-out crowd. If you have not experienced this, I highly recommend it. There’s something about that feeling, feeling like you are so there with a few thousand other people that is unlike any other. Kind of like being at a baseball game, just with bouncing around and screaming at the top of your lungs until your voice is hoarse.

My best description of their music is that it is reminiscent of Paul Simon’s Graceland album, combined with a little Guster and a little pure indie wittiness. They played a few new songs, which didn’t feature the keyboards, but rather more guitar. The lyrics were predictably strange and fun, of course ramping up my expectations for their second album, whenever that may be released. All four of them are beyond adorable, dancing maniacally around the stage, looking a bit 80s, a bit Kirk Cameron or Tom Cruise in Cocktail, all shaggy hair and sensible button-down shirts. The absolute best songs, though, were the ones they played with the string section. I have to be honest and say that I didn’t notice the strings so much on the album, but wow did that add something wonderful to the live sound.

While I probably need to work on my ability to describe music well, the bottom line is that this was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. My expecations were high, and they were exceeded somehow. I sort of wish I could go see them again on Saturday. I suppose I’ll instead have to put the cd back in my car and listen to it on repeat for another few weeks. Oh darn.