Daily Photos

Day of the Dead

Thu, 2 Nov 2006 10:07:31 -0800

It was the last day of the Day of the Dead festivities and since Lucia had the car I could only partake by going to a festivity reachable by foot. Fortunately we live close to several Hispanic neighborhoods, so not only do we get great Mexican Food, but we also have great Mexican markets. The Historic District of Los Angeles is also predominantly hispanic and it was there that I decided to visit to experience my first Day of the Dead. On the one hand it was close enough that I could walk, but on the other, it is probably the most well-known festivity and, therefore, the most touristy. For many reasons it was a very interesting experience with many contrasts.

Lucy Goes Resident

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 16:58:30 -0700

Something crazy happened today. Lucia and I went to her green-card interview and it wasn’t crazy. There weren’t thousands of people, we didn’t have to wait hours, the guy wasn’t super rude, and they didn’t even separate us to determine if I knew what color underwear she was wearing today or whether we had any birth marks. The fact of the matter was that it was an absolutely painless experience. In fact, it was quite enjoyable. Even the seats were comfortable.

Angeles National Forest

Sat, 12 Aug 2006 12:21:16 -0700

Luli and I were feeling sort of low and so, to battle the onset of laziness we decided we’d go for a Saturday drive to nowhere in particular. We ended up heading up towards Angeles National Forest via Tujunga Canyon Road. While watching the navigation screen we saw some road heading off to Botswana when we decided to find out where it goes. We started driving up the dirt road, taking the corners like locos (in a hybrid), and eventually we came to this place where there were cabins not much unlike the one we were considering buying a couple of years ago. After chatting with the rangers about the best way to pay the $5 parking fee we decided that it would be best to get yet another parking violation for $5, something even the rangers considered the best option, though in the end they didn’t give us the ticket. Anyhow, up the trail we went towards some purported falls.

L.A. Demonstrations

Mon, 1 May 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Lucia and I had a lot of work to do, and we knew what we should have been doing, but instead we decided to go downtown and experience the huge demonstrations relating to several laws which state that it is a felony to both be an illegal alien in the U.S. and to aid one. Sort of strange considering the government educates a large number of them. Opinions aside, this was an amazing experience, as I had never seen so many people marching at a single time. Huge avenues filled with people as far as the eye can see, and even crossing a large fraction of the city. Our neighborhood was shut down as many hispanics showed support for the cause.

Santa Monica

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Tristan and I were going to go meet Reyneir and Jen (Reyneir’s a very good old friend of Tristan) and go to the art exhibit Ashes and Snow. Tristan and I got to know parts of Santa Monica we had never been to, while waiting for René and Jen, like the City Hall above. After I royally pissed off R., Tristan and I headed over to the photography show and enjoyed some time watching freestyle trick bikers, music on the Promenade, and just sitting and chatting in the bookstore. Life is good.

J.J. and Liz’s Baby Shower

Sat, 11 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800

John Joseph and Liz are expecting their newborn any time now. Unfortunately for those who love to know names ahead of time they’re keeping their lips sealed about Gertrude’s new name (Oops). Anyhow, bad humor aside, click on the photo above to get to the photo album

Caltech Nov. 2005

Mon, 28 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800

A few more photos of my officemates and the like. Just in case anybody wants to know what physicists really do with their time.

Bode Family Get-Together

Sat, 22 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700

My uncle Carl wasn’t well, and so both my dad and my uncle Dennis were visiting Carl and his family not far from Pasadena. Lucia and I went up and we were all able to hang out as a family. I do not remember the last time I was with the whole Bode family like this, but it was a very, very long time ago. You just can’t complain about being able to see everybody and get to know where you’re from.

Caltech Sept. 2005

Thu, 22 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Here are some more photos of the Caltech area, my office, and some cool things we do at school.

Thumper Taking it hard

Thu, 22 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0700

It’s amazing that this is a Caltech student. Actually this is a different Tristan than the one that’s been highlighted in so many other entries, but actually his roommate. Anyhow, after what was apparently too big of a dinner at Rosarito’s Tristan started slamming his head against a post. Don’t worry though, he used protection...

Caltech Aug. 2005

Sat, 20 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Just a few photos of the goings-on at Caltech: an interesting Asian bird (or so somebody said) and a spider who was fortunate enough to catch a dragonfly (or a dragonfly unfortunate enough to catch a spider).

Hernan and Tristan for Dinner

Mon, 15 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0700

The apartment that we were renting wasn’t very big and, so, we really didn’t have many chairs. As it stood, we couldn’t invite more than two or three people at a time, because there just wasn’t enough spots to sit. It was finally Hernan’s and Tristan’s turn and so we were able to partake in what was ostensibly a romantic dinner...

Day at the Ballpark

Sat, 13 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Tristan, Lucia and Hernan had been wanting to go a baseball game for some time; Lucia and Hernan because she wanted the experience of a pro baseball game, Tristan because he’s a little strange. Anyhow, Lucia and I happen to live within walking distance of Dodger Stadium, so we decided to watch the Dodger’s vs. Mets (a N.Y. team). Tristan claiming to be Californian rooted for the Dodger’s, while his mom, Bitty, who happened to be in town, rooted for the Mets. It was quite an experience for everybody.

Tristan’s Shrine

Sun, 24 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Tristan invited everybody to come and watch the movie that he starred in as a kid, Matchbox Circus Train. With his little shrine and a lot of good naturedness he hosted a plethora of commentary and jokes. He actually did a good job, though the movie left something to be desired. Well, actually, the movie was a learning experience for those of us who know nothing about making movies, because we saw a lot of what needs to be thought about when you are going to make a movie. In good movies, these things are transparent, but in M.C.T. they were done poorly enough that they were easily perceivable. Anyhow, with a shrine like that above, how could you not love this actor.

MacArthur Park

Sun, 24 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lucia and I decided to go out on the town. We found this great park on Wilshire Ave. called MacArthur Park which was filled with people enjoying themselves. There were parties, and get-togethers, games, and people just sitting back and relaxing. It was a breath of fresh air.

30th Birthday

Fri, 8 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0700

It happens to everybody, they all get older. And I guess it was my turn too, since I turned yet another decade older. There was only one way to do it right. I wasn’t sure what that was, so instead a few friends and myself headed down to Huntington Beach for a little barbecue California Style.

Debeardifying

Tue, 3 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700

It was silly but fun. A camping trip was in the works and any trip to the mountains necessitates appropriate beards. However, being grad students we didn’t really have the time to go on the trip and so, the longer it got put off, the longer our beards became. It finally got to a point that we had to take care of business, or we would never again see Tristan’s face. It was time for the beards to come off.

New Home?

Sun, 17 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I was planning to move off campus and thinking of a home that Lucia and I could afford. In the end I found these cabins just up the road from Pasadena. They were amazing since they were located up in the mountains and were essentially located in a pristine environment: just about the antithesis of L.A. Check out the photos and you’ll see what I mean.

U. of C. Friends

Thu, 3 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0800

My time at the Univ. of Chicago was actually very special for me, because it was one of the first points in my life where, despite the fact that I was surrounded by people five or so years younger than I, I really felt like I fit in. Well, let’s not get carried away, but the friends I made there seemed a lot more easy to get along with. It was a real eye-opener for me.

Chicago Winter

Fri, 17 Jan 2003 00:00:00 -0800

I returned to Chicago where I was living in a relatively down-to-earth apartment (slum) after my trips home and to Seattle. The windows leaked so much air, that ice crystals formed on the windows. The patterns were truly beautiful as you can see in the photo above. One of the beauties of a modest life. No matter I was surrounded by good friends and good times. Even Lucia came and visited me during the Winter.

Battlefield

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 00:00:00 -0800

I was moved by this tree. It had already snowed several times in Chicago. All of the other trees had given up, there leaves wilted and fallen, but this tree was still brilliant, almost unyielding to its certain fate. I saw the brutal conflict: Winter was unmerciful and coming on strong this year, unleashing snowfall upon snowfall. The plants’ leaves, the soldiers of the venerable warriors, are aged by the onslaught and slowly the armies succumb to Winter’s plan. But here there lies a battlefield, beyond it’s date. An army denying the aggressor an easy defeat, and, shining in the face of defeat, it stands beautiful when the rest are barren. Below it is the battlefield, with the bodies of the fallen one over the other, in a splattered sea of the frigid snow protected by its owner’s shield of cold.

Thanksgiving

Thu, 21 Nov 2002 00:00:00 -0800

My first Thanksgiving alone, I was feeling sorry for myself and so took a bike ride to downtown. It was chilly though beautiful, lonely though enlightening. In a somber way it was one of the most memorable Thanksgivings I have ever had.

U. of C. Autumn

Wed, 20 Nov 2002 00:00:00 -0800

One of the things we really miss out on in San Diego is Autumn. My time in Galesburg, State College, and finally Chicago really stand out as some of the most beautiful places on Earth for about two weeks in the Fall and Spring. Well, okay, maybe it’s a slight exaggeration, but these were the periods when I truly began to understand the brilliance of the cycle of life.

Home During College

Fri, 7 Oct 1994 16:13:47 -0700

The good ol’ days: in college, young and vibrant with only the world to conquer. I was off for the summer after my first year and here are a few pictures that were taken (only to be developed years later... and I mean years) to record those moments for posterity.

Freshman Year

Wed, 15 Jun 1994 13:44:20 -0700

Well, there is not much to say really, but that I was actually once a college-going not-so-focused freshman who was as much interested in having a good time as anything else. These photos are an interesting snapshot from a period of my life which I rarely think about. In fact, this is the part of my college career that I think about the least, so it is quite a stroll down memory lane for me.

High School

Wed, 8 Jul 1992 00:00:00 -0700

So these are some photos resurrected by a friend of mine from High School, Lenden Webb, from a previous life of mine that would correspond to the Summer and Fall of our senior year (for you young ones, that would be 1992-1993). It is strange to think back to those times and those friends. I have been so far removed (not from Lenden who some of you might recognize as one of the “Bachelors” on the crazy Bachelor Party to the Amazon) from them that now it is almost a vague memory. Seeing these photos reminded me of a part of myself and a time in my life that I rarely have the possibility to relive. That said, my desire to relive my life is not so great, beyond the desire to only remember the path by which I have gotten to where I have. Anyhow, for those of you who have only known me in recent times you may find some of these photos humorous, and for those of me who knew me then, what were you thinking ;) !!!