It's the second coming of Christ. Josh Hausen just sent me the picture and I thought it needed to be shared.
- Jeremiah
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Halloween
I don't actually like halloween at all, but last year Robby and I carved the best pumpkin ever.
It's the second coming of Christ. Josh Hausen just sent me the picture and I thought it needed to be shared.
- Jeremiah
It's the second coming of Christ. Josh Hausen just sent me the picture and I thought it needed to be shared.
- Jeremiah
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Costa Rica Wedding (Surfing)
The A Bryan Photo guys just started posting some shots from the wedding in Costa Rica last month. There are some really great shots and you can look at them all on their blog.
Here are a few of the good ones so far. And yes, at first glance they have nothing to do with a wedding.
The whole crowd out surfing -
Here's Drew, the groom the day before the big wedding -
Look at me protecting my skin from the danger of UV rays -
We're excited to see the actual wedding part soon...but for now this will have to do.
- Jeremiah
Here are a few of the good ones so far. And yes, at first glance they have nothing to do with a wedding.
The whole crowd out surfing -
Here's Drew, the groom the day before the big wedding -
Look at me protecting my skin from the danger of UV rays -
We're excited to see the actual wedding part soon...but for now this will have to do.
- Jeremiah
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
'I'm On a Tree' and Mean Dog
Anytime you get your own blog post at A Bryan Photo, it's a pretty big deal. So I'm awfully proud of the latest...brilliantly entitled 'Jeremiah On a Tree'. It consists of this one picture -
Even better, here's a great video from our trip to Costa Rica and a really mean dog that terrorized the guests up and down the entire beach. (In a possibly related story, last time I was in Costa Rica I went to Manuel Antonio after our car wreck and the first time I tried to run - after barely moving for weeks - I got attacked and bit by a random dog. I'm not sure if this was the same dog, but I didn't take any chances. Except for this one.)
Man vs Wild: Costa Rica Edition from A Bryan Photo on Vimeo.
I know of at least four people that were bit by this dog while we were there. Oh well.
Surfing pictures to come tomorrow...
- Jeremiah
Even better, here's a great video from our trip to Costa Rica and a really mean dog that terrorized the guests up and down the entire beach. (In a possibly related story, last time I was in Costa Rica I went to Manuel Antonio after our car wreck and the first time I tried to run - after barely moving for weeks - I got attacked and bit by a random dog. I'm not sure if this was the same dog, but I didn't take any chances. Except for this one.)
Man vs Wild: Costa Rica Edition from A Bryan Photo on Vimeo.
I know of at least four people that were bit by this dog while we were there. Oh well.
Surfing pictures to come tomorrow...
- Jeremiah
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Balloon Thief
I spent about four days in Pamplona during the summer I was in Europe. I traveled with Dwight (one of my best friends) and we arrived at the start of the Festival of San Fermin. Within about 3 minutes of being in Pamplona we had already given in and purchased the standard attire (which we wore for the rest of the week).
Here's Dwight
And me...
Our time there was part fascinating and part miserable since we had nowhere to sleep (for some reason we ended up sleeping on the ground near a river...and also northern Spain is the windiest place I have ever been) and nothing to do from 8:30 in the morning until 8:00 the next morning. So we did what we could to pass the time. This included wandering around town, looking for cheap food, and arguing with the police who had detained me and taken my camera the first day. However, our nights were filled with two joyous events.
The two things we did in the evenings were attend the nightly fireworks jubilee with throngs of white and red clad Spaniards -
and spend hours at the local fair.
One evening while we were at the fair, someone robbed the balloon vendor. Lucky for us, he didn't steal the vendors money, but his balloons. Few things are funnier than a huge crowd of people chasing some crazy bandit through a fair while the bandit has about 80 large balloons in his hands. We just stood about 50 yards away and watched the clouds of balloons race through the paths of the fair while people screamed and tried to run after him. I can't think of a more obvious thing to steal than helium balloons but the fearless attitude seemed to fit the zeitgeist (I learned that word in high school) of the whole place. In the end, he eventually ran out of sight and I'm not sure if he was ever captured, but I remember me and Dwight just looking at each other as if to make sure we had just seen the same thing. Only in Pamplona...
- Jeremiah
Here's Dwight
And me...
Our time there was part fascinating and part miserable since we had nowhere to sleep (for some reason we ended up sleeping on the ground near a river...and also northern Spain is the windiest place I have ever been) and nothing to do from 8:30 in the morning until 8:00 the next morning. So we did what we could to pass the time. This included wandering around town, looking for cheap food, and arguing with the police who had detained me and taken my camera the first day. However, our nights were filled with two joyous events.
The two things we did in the evenings were attend the nightly fireworks jubilee with throngs of white and red clad Spaniards -
and spend hours at the local fair.
One evening while we were at the fair, someone robbed the balloon vendor. Lucky for us, he didn't steal the vendors money, but his balloons. Few things are funnier than a huge crowd of people chasing some crazy bandit through a fair while the bandit has about 80 large balloons in his hands. We just stood about 50 yards away and watched the clouds of balloons race through the paths of the fair while people screamed and tried to run after him. I can't think of a more obvious thing to steal than helium balloons but the fearless attitude seemed to fit the zeitgeist (I learned that word in high school) of the whole place. In the end, he eventually ran out of sight and I'm not sure if he was ever captured, but I remember me and Dwight just looking at each other as if to make sure we had just seen the same thing. Only in Pamplona...
- Jeremiah
Monday, March 30, 2009
A Year with David Brooks
Some of you know David Brooks and for those of you that don't, let me just tell you that he is very unique. He has lived a life that really does span the globe (except for Central/South America and most of Africa...he has decided he probably wouldn't like those places as much) and in 2006, I spent 10 or 11 months working with him in Europe. He called me out of the blue this morning so I thought I would write in his honor (he's not dead or anything...it just got me thinking about that strange year).
David loves good stories...especially those that are slightly unbelievable or impressive. Thankfully, the 10 Commandments don't say 'Thou Shalt Not Try to Make Others Envious' or David and those that spend time with him could be accused of violating that one. For instance, here's a quick list of the things we did during that year -
- Went to the Olympics in Torino, Italy
- Went skiing in the Alps
- Stayed in the Monastery of St. Bernard in Switzerland
- Went to Cannes, France for the Cannes Film Festival
- Went to the Monaco Grand Prix and drove part of the track at night between races
- Went to Germany for the World Cup
- Ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain
- Spent countless evenings biking along rivers in Tuscany
- blah blah blah
Part 2 -
The above list is the one I would pull out if I was trying to impress people with some of the 'things' I have gotten to do in the last few years and the thing I have realized more and more is that they just wouldn't care. There probably isn't a person alive that knows we did all those things (at least until I press 'Publish Post') and for me that is the funny thing about so many life experiences. For the people that are with you when things happen, the memories are great but pretending like others are going to care is a huge mistake. Everyone out there has remarkable experiences and somehow that makes everything look alike.
So basically I have already gotten tired of the whole 'telling stories' thing because I still don't think they are all that interesting. I may try to post some random pictures with some short anecdotes but the whole thing just feels way too selfish. Thankfully there aren't as many people checking the blog since our trip has ended...if you are still checking, thanks. Since the story thing isn't too exciting, I may just start writing about the economy.
- Jeremiah
David loves good stories...especially those that are slightly unbelievable or impressive. Thankfully, the 10 Commandments don't say 'Thou Shalt Not Try to Make Others Envious' or David and those that spend time with him could be accused of violating that one. For instance, here's a quick list of the things we did during that year -
- Went to the Olympics in Torino, Italy
- Went skiing in the Alps
- Stayed in the Monastery of St. Bernard in Switzerland
- Went to Cannes, France for the Cannes Film Festival
- Went to the Monaco Grand Prix and drove part of the track at night between races
- Went to Germany for the World Cup
- Ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain
- Spent countless evenings biking along rivers in Tuscany
- blah blah blah
Part 2 -
The above list is the one I would pull out if I was trying to impress people with some of the 'things' I have gotten to do in the last few years and the thing I have realized more and more is that they just wouldn't care. There probably isn't a person alive that knows we did all those things (at least until I press 'Publish Post') and for me that is the funny thing about so many life experiences. For the people that are with you when things happen, the memories are great but pretending like others are going to care is a huge mistake. Everyone out there has remarkable experiences and somehow that makes everything look alike.
So basically I have already gotten tired of the whole 'telling stories' thing because I still don't think they are all that interesting. I may try to post some random pictures with some short anecdotes but the whole thing just feels way too selfish. Thankfully there aren't as many people checking the blog since our trip has ended...if you are still checking, thanks. Since the story thing isn't too exciting, I may just start writing about the economy.
- Jeremiah
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
A Walk to Beautiful
Two nights ago Sarah and I watched a movie called 'A Walk to Beautiful'. It was about Ethiopia and it was an amazing story of the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa and the young women who travel from around the country to be treated there. It was a heartbreaking movie (in a good way) it reminded me of the last time I was in Ethiopia.
Last January I traveled with Sarah to Ethiopia as she began her time there. Since I wasn't really supposed to accompany her on this trip, I immediately tried to find a way to get out of town and leave her to get settled. My plan was to travel south through Kenya and spend some time in Tanzania before returning two weeks later for my return flight. Unfortunately, the week before I arrived in Ethiopia, Kenya broke out into riots and 'civil unrest' over an election or something (I don't even remember) so that ruled out travel through Kenya by bus. This left me with no plans at all and I ended up traveling to the northern part of Ethiopia with a guy I met through Sarah's group.
(This is a shot looking over the Rift Valley and the Blue Nile on my way to Bahir Dar...it's hazy)
It took about 12 hours of driving to get to Bahir Dar on Lake Tana - the source of the Blue Nile -
where he and his wife had lived for a few years. I was there for nearly a week but there were two specific events that stood out...one was the day we spent with a local family 'celebrating' one of their holidays. In this case, a celebration really just meant that they ate slightly more food than usual and lucky for me, I got to share in that meal (I say that sarcastically because Ethiopian food actually makes me cringe...I'm not exaggerating when I say that the meat was so tough I would occasionally have to chew for more than 10 minutes before swallowing).
The most fascinating part of the day was sitting in a thatch hut for hours and hours. The interesting thing about spending your day in a little hut with people who think you're an alien is that it forces you to come to grips with the vast differences in our lives. They all lived in one-room mud huts with dirt floors. They wore the same clothes every single day. They ate the same food every single day. Their daily routine was the same every single day. And yet here I was showing up in their hut because I had just flown from America to Ethiopia just to try and impress a girl. It really was a powerful reminder of how big our world is and how blessed I have been with so many opportunities and physical blessings I always seem to forget about. That was a very grounding day for me.
(These next three are pictures of the kids that hung out with me in the hut all day)
The next day I accompanied the couple I was staying with to a woman's hospital in Bahir Dar. I have an aversion to all things medical (unlike the rest of my family) so when I didn't understand what was going on at this hospital initially, I pretended to know for fear that someone might actually try to explain it to me. It turns out that hospital where I spent the afternoon was an extension of the Fistula Hospital in Addis that Sarah and I watched the movie about this week. It was amazing how a few hours I spent over a year ago suddenly had far more meaning.
I guess the point of this story (without going on forever) is mainly that you should watch the movie 'A Walk to Beautiful' and be reminded about how easy our lives are, and also, that life is so crazy in the way random experiences often come full circle long after you have started to forget them. It really gives me hope that the Lord does have a purpose for all the odds and ends we experience.
P.S. The next day I saw some hippos.
- Jeremiah
Last January I traveled with Sarah to Ethiopia as she began her time there. Since I wasn't really supposed to accompany her on this trip, I immediately tried to find a way to get out of town and leave her to get settled. My plan was to travel south through Kenya and spend some time in Tanzania before returning two weeks later for my return flight. Unfortunately, the week before I arrived in Ethiopia, Kenya broke out into riots and 'civil unrest' over an election or something (I don't even remember) so that ruled out travel through Kenya by bus. This left me with no plans at all and I ended up traveling to the northern part of Ethiopia with a guy I met through Sarah's group.
(This is a shot looking over the Rift Valley and the Blue Nile on my way to Bahir Dar...it's hazy)
It took about 12 hours of driving to get to Bahir Dar on Lake Tana - the source of the Blue Nile -
where he and his wife had lived for a few years. I was there for nearly a week but there were two specific events that stood out...one was the day we spent with a local family 'celebrating' one of their holidays. In this case, a celebration really just meant that they ate slightly more food than usual and lucky for me, I got to share in that meal (I say that sarcastically because Ethiopian food actually makes me cringe...I'm not exaggerating when I say that the meat was so tough I would occasionally have to chew for more than 10 minutes before swallowing).
The most fascinating part of the day was sitting in a thatch hut for hours and hours. The interesting thing about spending your day in a little hut with people who think you're an alien is that it forces you to come to grips with the vast differences in our lives. They all lived in one-room mud huts with dirt floors. They wore the same clothes every single day. They ate the same food every single day. Their daily routine was the same every single day. And yet here I was showing up in their hut because I had just flown from America to Ethiopia just to try and impress a girl. It really was a powerful reminder of how big our world is and how blessed I have been with so many opportunities and physical blessings I always seem to forget about. That was a very grounding day for me.
(These next three are pictures of the kids that hung out with me in the hut all day)
The next day I accompanied the couple I was staying with to a woman's hospital in Bahir Dar. I have an aversion to all things medical (unlike the rest of my family) so when I didn't understand what was going on at this hospital initially, I pretended to know for fear that someone might actually try to explain it to me. It turns out that hospital where I spent the afternoon was an extension of the Fistula Hospital in Addis that Sarah and I watched the movie about this week. It was amazing how a few hours I spent over a year ago suddenly had far more meaning.
I guess the point of this story (without going on forever) is mainly that you should watch the movie 'A Walk to Beautiful' and be reminded about how easy our lives are, and also, that life is so crazy in the way random experiences often come full circle long after you have started to forget them. It really gives me hope that the Lord does have a purpose for all the odds and ends we experience.
P.S. The next day I saw some hippos.
- Jeremiah
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