Flickr

I now have a Flickr account! It's pretty sparse at the moment, as I am using a free account with limited uploading. In a few months I will upgraded to the paid account, but for now I want to save up for my DSLR. And Photoshop CS5. And some lenses. And more hula hoops. And maybe a hooka. And some more poi. I could use new jeans, too.
Yeah, it may be a while before I manage to find $25 for the upgrade, which sounds pathetic, but I'm a broke college student.
You can find me at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexagrey/
Feel free to stop by, browse, and say hello!

Inspiration

First Print

I did my first photography print today! And it only took me 3 tries to get the perfect recipe of time and magenta.

35mm, taken with a Minolta X-700.
55 seconds with 70 magenta

It was a lot of fun.
I can't wait to try more on Monday

Things To Love: Hula Hoops and Sock Poi

Lately I've been getting interested in hooping and poi spinning. Maybe because winter is starting to get to me and I'm feeling restless. Or maybe this little pink-haired raver is finally growing up. Regardless the reason, it's something I've decided to pursue.

An old photo proving that before I played 

with bioluminescent bacteria, I played with glow sticks.

With the goal in mind to eventually spin fire, Wil and I began researching poi spinning. In the process we fell in love with Flowtoys, and ordered some beautiful glowing poi. While waiting for them to arrive, we made a late-night supply run and crafted our own, homemade practice poi by harnessing the power of knee socks and soft balls. We made them at Ryan's apartment. The poor guy had consumed quite a bit of vodka in an attempt to reach Ballmer's Peak, and watching two people stuff neon softballs into knee socks only added to his confusion.

My sock poi.

Between his experience in theater, juggling, and martial arts, Wil has a bit more experience with the flowing movements required by poi. While I envy his talent, he does make an excellent teacher. I also found an excellent instructional series on YouTube.

I found a hooping workshop which begins next month, and a hula hoop is already on it's way. I never thought I would get so excited over a silly hula hoop. Best of all: The hooping instructor also works with poi and can spin fire, which means she can help me out with both hooping and poi :)

Accidental Date

I work at a local art gallery. I absolutely love my job because my boss is awesome, I see some beautiful pieces of art (and some really weird ones), I learn a lot, and, most of all, it forces me out of the lab. Since 70% of my job is just sitting in the gallery and monitoring the art while people come in and admire at it, I get to be near people while only minimally interacting with them. Most of the time patrons rarely speak to me, and the few who do are generally quite pleasant. (In my 1.5 years of working here, I've only had to deal with 4 crazy/annoying people, which is much better than working retail.)

The average retail customer

Don't get me wrong, I love being around people. I am just not very good at interacting with people. I think this is why street photography appeals to me; It forces me to be near people and even interact with them, but I always have a camera between me and them as a security buffer. The longer one spends in a lab analyzing bacteria and blood, the more social skills get lost, and this job helps me retain what few social skills I have left.

Socially Awkward Penguin has nothing on me.

This still leads to some pretty awkward situations, as the latest incident reveals. Lately a guy as been coming into the gallery. We struck up a pleasant conversation, and I learned that he was an engineering major. I will confess to having a soft spot for engineers: They are also quite socially awkward. I am fairly certain the first nerd in existence was an engineer. I am also descended from multiple generations of engineers: My father, and both grandfathers all studied engineering.
One day he visited the gallery, and asked me out to a movie.
I said yes, thinking "Awesome! I made a new friend and we're gonna go see a movie!"
It wasn't until he talked about cooking for me that I realized I had just agreed to go on a date.
The problem: I don't want to go on a date! I just got out of a serious relationship, and am enjoying being single! Not ready for dating!

I wasn't sure what to say, and by the time I had any courage to say anything, he had left. I tried to get advice from some friends, but they all ridiculed me for not realizing that when a guy asks a girl to go to a movie on Saturday night, that is code for "date." (They never taught me that in school. Yet another strike against the American education system.)

Let's do the math: An engineering major prepping for a date + a socially awkward lab geek who didn't know she was agreeing to a date = the most awkward date in the history of the universe. All happening this Saturday night! Stay tuned, kids.

I should be studying.

I've been quite overwhelmed these past few weeks with school. This week I have two huge exams, one in immunology and another in molecular genetics. And the following week, my first photography assignment is due. As a result, my time has been consumed with studying, making flash cards, reading and highlighting chapters, reviewing power points, and snapping a few photos here and there. I feel constantly exhausted and every afternoon brings a severe energy crash, most likely from my habit of forgetting to eat.
But I honestly love it. Not the lack of energy part, that's annoying, but the material. I have fallen in love with immunology, as well as genetics. It's so fascinating!
I've also decided that I want to move next year, either to Oregon or Washington. Eugene is cheaper to live, but Portland and Seattle have more job opportunities. We'll see how it goes. I need two years of experience before I consider grad school, Doctor's Without Boarders, or Peace Corps, and Oregon seems like a fun place to live for a while.

Nerdy Pillow Talk

Me: "I am so sorry about the sheets! I've never had sheets rip during sex."
Him: "As long as you accept that I blame you entirely and in no way shape or form take any responsibility for the sheets... or the subsequent forehead shaped dent in the wall..."
Me: "I dented the wall? I am so sorry!"
Him:  "Oh Cat, that was humor couched in hyperbole. There is no dent."
Me: "What does dent have to do with graphing? Was the dent hyperbola-shaped?"
Him: ".... Leave it to you to employ the homonym."
Me: "Not funny! You've gotten me in the mood for graphing, and there is nothing to graph. You're a graph-tease."

...Yes, this conversation actually happened. I makes me want to buy some kittens and name them Hyperbola, Parabola, and Ellipse. Maybe I just find mathematical expressions of conic sections kinda cute.