Some of my favorite music to listen to when I’m just chillin’ is simple, accoustic tunes. Vocals and guitar…solo instruments such as a piano. Raw. Stripped. No frills.

This is why I LOVE Bethany Dillon. She is such a talented artist…so when I stumbled upon this video on YouTube, I thought I would share it.

I’ve seen her in concert and it’s really cool to see her jam…playing and singing…doesn’t get any more simple than that. Just her and a guitar. And it’s simply awesome.

One of my favorite weekly rituals is Boston Legal. I’ve been watching this show for the last few seasons and have quickly become addicted to the fast paced, dramatic legal happenings. James Spader is definitely impressive in his role…and there have always been beautiful people on the show.

New this season is a gal by the name of Tara Summers. She plays a fairly young and slightly naive attorney. She’s good-hearted, soft spoken, and cute as heck.

And her British accent is to DIE for.

Her character is very passionate and driven…and she plays her part well.

She is quite tasty.

Well, I was planning on getting to bed early tonight and heading back east in the morning…but we decided to postpone the trip until next weekend to give the fires a chance to die down a little and the craziness to subside. So, anyone who was expecting me not to be around for the next few days…surprise…I will be around.

In case anyone wants to hang out or take pictures or something.

But I will be DC bound next weekend. I can’t wait! :)

It’s been an interesting two days…being unemployed with nothing to do, that is. Actually, with these fires going on, it’s definitely been interesting. It’s depressing and sad to watch the news…so today, I didn’t watch a single minute of news.

My brother, sister, and mom have been displaced…but the good news is that the house is still standing from what we know. They were evacuated early Monday morning, so my sister has been chilling here at my grandma’s house…and I have to say it’s been cool just having her here.

On Sunday, I had a great shoot with the beautiful and sweet Monique Myriah. Not only is she gorgeous, but she’s so much fun. Brian and I had a blast taking her picture…and Brian was a genius with the light.

Here are a few luscious shots…

Check out more as I update my Picasa Gallery. We are already planning our next shoot. :)

Today, I joined Doug and his fiancee, Frances, for tacos at PB Bar and Grill. Good to chat with them since I hadn’t seen Doug in forever and to talk to his girl a little more than just in passing. Good tacos too.

And now, I’m thinking about getting to bed. I have a lot of miscellaneous errands to run tomorrow before heading off to DC. Hope everything is okay with everyone. I know quite a few people affected by the fires one way or another and I’m praying for each of you.

There’s something hot about trains…especially when Kimberly is involved.

Ennis and I took Kimberly up to our secret train location and shot a few frames up there.

Then we had Olive Garden. Definitely a highlight.

Taking pictures of Kimberly on the train was pretty okay too.

Tonight, I counted and rolled $51 dollars in change.

On a Friday night.

Can someone please tell me to get a life?

So, today ends another chapter in my life as I said goodbye to my WaMu friends.

That is, of course, until Monday when we are hitting the bars at noon and getting a jumpstart to our lives of unemployment whilst the rest of the world slaves away in their cubicles.

It is very sad knowing that I won’t have any thing to wake up for on Monday. I won’t have to go into the office. The plus side is that I won’t have to process anymore stupid files or talk to stupid loan consultants. The down side is that I won’t see my kick-ass team members day after day…and that is a sad thing because they are all cool. And here’s why…

Diana…she was one of the best managers I’ve ever had. She was somewhat soft-spoken, but she pushed me when she had to. And she didn’t just push to be *that* kind of manager…she pushed me because she cared and truly wanted me to be the best.

Reina is just one super-cool girl. She taught me everything I could ever want to know about WaMu…and some things I didn’t want to know. But 9 times out of 10, you could ask her a question and she would know the answer off the top of her head. And if she didn’t know, she’d know where to look or who to ask. She’s one of the smartest and most level-headed people I know.

Tasha provided endless entertainment for us quiet guys on the other side of the cubicle. But I love that chick. She could always make me laugh.

Carrie was and is someone I will always aspire to be…she could do her job like none other and yet still have a good time. She turned what would have been a mundane job and made it fun. But not just fun for her, but fun for everyone around her. She was my sanity…and whenever she was out, it just wasn’t a good day. She definitely brightened things up.

Pat was the quiet one…but someone I definitely understood. He would occasionally bust out with the most random funny things. Great guy…great, great guy.

And Chris, even though he was only around for the last stretch, was someone I got to bond a lot with. He was an okay buddy…and left me crap files to work on when he was out…but I did the same to him. It was great chatting over the cube wall, shooting out “your mom” jokes like they were going out of style, and generally creating havoc with paper footballs, paper airplanes, and our last week hacky sack tournaments. He’s still going to be at WaMu since he scored a job in the wholesale department…but things definitely won’t be the same without him. I may drop by and annoy him and his mom from time to time.

Big Will is just the most pimpin’ dog ever…and I will truly miss his intellect and profound love for music. Another person I definitely got…he is just so chill and smooth…I’m definitely going to have to hit the clubs with this guy as my wingman. But he always had a minute to share his latest musical cravings and do iPod swaps with me. Will is the essence of cool.

Teresa was just as loud as Tasha…but just as fun-loving. She also knows how to have a good time…and we did have good times at the office. I’m going to miss that chick like crazy.

Jamie left our team a little early, but she was still around and has always been there for me…to vent, chat, whatever. She was someone I could always dish to and share the latest gossip with…even though I don’t gossip all that much. But she is definitely going to be someone I will miss. I’m helping her with a couple of projects, so it definitely isn’t good bye…it’s just that the walk from the 2nd to 3rd floors is getting a little bigger. We’ll do coffee, I’m sure, in the future.

And dudes, that’s JUST my team. There were others that made WaMu a cool place to work…but these were the ones I saw day in and day out, who suffered the long hours, the lack of bonuses, the drama with our sales partners, and of course the layoff. And we also had some good times too…which will never be forgotten.

I’ll always remember you guys…best of luck. Team 4 rules. :)

PS…did you notice I said “WaMu” instead of “The W?” Like you didn’t know! :)

So I ran down to Starbucks for a coffee and some file transferring fun…and I will be heading back to the office in a little bit for pizza and salad. It’s rough having nothing to do…but getting lunches. :)

So, a long while ago, I was watching some late TV and Lost In Translation came on one of the movie channels. I love that movie…the sort of dark feel to it…but also because Scarlett Johansson is hot.

Anyway, this scene particularly caught my attention 1) because I’m a photographer and 2) because even though I speak English, giving direction can sometimes be a pain. Anyway, just a humorous little clip…

So I’m sitting at work with absolutely nothing to do. I cleaned out my desk this morning and packed everything in boxes. I could walk out right now and no one would ever know I was here.

We had a nice team lunch together and some time goofing off…

And I cruised up to UBOC and chatted a little bit with Cyndi and Brian.

And now, I’m in the middle of the arduous task of installing CS3, the production suite. Once this is up and running, it’s going to be pretty freakin’ ridiculous the things I will be able to do video-wise as well as photo-wise. I’m so stoked. It even came with a version of On Location CS3 for Windows that I’m going to try out. Should be fun. :)

So, I was driving in North Park yesterday … and drove past a cheese store. It was pretty much the best thing ever.

So it’s Wednesday and it feels like Monday. I have a case of the Mondays. It would be blatantly obvious that I have no desire to be here let alone work. Man, this sucks. :)

Anyway, I’ve been busy, uh, sleeping…otherwise, I would have posted massive amounts of photos from the weekend. But don’t worry…knowing me, photos will come soon.

Saturday was a bittersweet day…more sweet than bitter…

Danny Glenn Harrison Von Rosenberger, III became the first of the Nice Guys to get married. Let’s just say Saturday was pretty much the best day ever…it was great to watch my good friend get married. And he’s found himself a great woman. I had the privilege of photographing the events of the day…Ennis came out and helped a great deal as a second shooter and got some great shots too, so we had a lot of fun snapping pictures. I don’t think the day could have gotten any better.

Brian caught another garter. Guess he’s next to get married, huh? :)

Sunday was low key…but I did chaperone a photo shoot for my pal Kimberly and got to meet a fellow San Diego photog.

Sunday was spent surrounded by beautiful women. :) I headed out to Mast Park in Santee and shot some video of a promotional shoot for Simple Glam Girls. Whitney, Donna, Sarah, and Erin were there. :P We headed to the studio when then sun went down and were joined by Danielle and Amy. Jon and I shot Danielle and Amy until pretty late, but we had a blast. Good times.

And now it’s Wednesday. I’ve been going through wedding pictures and calendar pictures and I’m ready to pass out. More later…I should probably do something
“work” related.

CSI…it stands for Crazy Sexy Chick.

Okay, so maybe that doesn’t quite fit…but anywho…

I’m addicted to all three CSIs. It’s a sickness, really. And while there are quite a few crime fighting hotties, Anna Belknap definitely has my attention now. Mostly because I’m watching CSI: NY right now. Maybe I should do a little tribute to CSI ladies?

Anyway, Anna, or Dallas, the character she plays on CSI, is pretty darn cute.

Wait, her name isn’t Dallas…it’s Tallahassee. No, that isn’t right either. I know she’s named after a state, not a major US city. Minnesota? Ah, Montana. That’s right. Duh.

She’s always sort of reminded me of this friend I used to have…and I had a minor crush while she was on the short-lived show Medical Investigation.

And now, in this current season of CSI: NY, she’s sporting a super cute do. Nice, Anna…real nice.

I am SO loving my new Civic. I will most likely write about all the things that make it cool at some point or another…but one of the perks I’m totally digging is the XM Satellite radio. :)

For a while now, I thought it was all a bunch of hooey…I mean, radio is radio, right? And I have my iPod, so I didn’t really listen to the radio anyway. But XM is a whole other world of radio. It’s pretty freakin’ amazing.

You’ve got rock, jazz, country, R&B, news, talk, and just about everything else you could want to listen to. And today, I discovered an All-Soundtrack channel. A lot of you don’t know, but in addition to being a school bus driver in the days of my youth, I also wanted to be a movie score composer. I love movie scores. It’s a sickness, really. But I listened to the Alan Silvestri score from the movie Contact on the way home from work today. It was pretty cool.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say about that. :) CSI: NY is on. Well, it’s on the DVR. Later…

It’s that time of year again…for ghouls, goblins, and that STUPID freaking door decoration our neighbors put up. I swear, if that thing goes off one more time, I’m going to rip it off the door and do the Mexican hat dance on it.

I’m Mexican, after all. :)

Seriously, everytime you walk by it, a sensor activates it and its eyes pop out and it screeches like none other. It’s especially delightful when you are coming home late at night and dead tired (no pun intended), and it goes off.

I figured since I don’t get too personal, I’d do a little personal writing today…because of some events in the past week. There have been ups and downs, but this one has left me a little annoyed.

Without going into much detail, we recently had a little roommate shuffle situation that has left me and my current roommate, Jeremy, in sort of a tough situation, financially speaking. We’re going to be okay, don’t get me wrong…it’s just that certain people made poor choices; inconsiderate choices. I’m not upset or angry by any means…but I’m truly disappointed. I’m disappointed that this person let us down. I’m disappointed in myself for letting him disappoint me. I should have known better, but in efforts to be a nice guy, I thought I’d give him a chance.

Long story short: I will never put myself out to help this guy ever again. Ever. Lesson learned. Tough noogies. That’s the way the cookie crumbles when you screw me over. He definitely poured kerosene over the bridge…and if you know me, you know I hold grudges like a mo-fo. Sad, really…but true.

And jeez louise…thank goodness for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. :) They definitely make life a little better, don’t they?