Hitting My Wall

Every so often my office gets so cluttered I can't work in there. The desk is piled with paperwork. Stacks of magazines gather dust on the side table because I mean to get to pages I've dog-eared, listing a website I want to check out or an article that merits rereading. I can't open the door all the way because my yoga stuff and my weights are behind it (oh yeah, I mean to get to that, too) and the bookshelves are, shall we say, overwhelmed.

It's time to take a day to clean it out so I can get some work done.

The same becomes true of my calendar from time to time. I'm attracted to this party and that event. I want to do everything, say yes to everything, so I load up the dates. When I do, there's that word again: overwhelmed.

It's not all bad. When I get overwhelmed I give up on office tasks and do something physical. This is how the yard work gets done.

What's your trick for handling life when you're overloaded?

Door, 3

This door is a bit of a flirt. With her screen slightly ajar, she says, "come hither." Yet just inside her petticoat screen there's a giant lock on her full underskirt. I guess that makes her a tease. (Door is feminine in French--la porte.)

You might say she's plain, even simple. It's true, if you judge by exteriors alone. But what delights await behind her skirts?

She's for sale, or she was when I took the photo a few weeks ago. Therefore I'll cease with the metaphor. I wouldn't want to sully la porte's reputation. Besides, that changes the whole idea. A tease is exercising power.

Superfluous Details: Home

I suppose I should define what I mean by a "superfluous detail."

I think of it as a detail on a building's exterior for which there is no structural necessity; it exists simply for the sake of beauty. Generally it's an architectural detail, but in today's example the homeowner added it--just because it's pretty.

It's not unusual to do that. We all love to decorate our homes. This added detail is very much to my taste.

Even if it were artificial flowers and plastic flamingos, which are not to my taste, it's better to at least try than to let the yard fill up with garbage, broken toys and dying bushes, right? (Before you say anything, just know I've been weeding the back yard.)

The Occidental Runners

This picture is my favorite of all the photos I've taken. I took it last year at about this time at Hahamongna Watershed Park when the Occidental cross country team was using the trails for practice. I remember the moment: I saw how perfect the light was, heard the young men coming, aimed my camera and snapped when they galloped around the bend, kicking up the dust.

I wasn't going to post this shot. I was going to enter it in contests or sell it to a magazine. (Still might do that, who knows? Still might crop it some more. Might not.) I did enter it in one contest. It didn't place.

Then I got busy and a year went by (whoosh!) and yesterday the Occidental runners were at Hahamongna again. They were young and serious. They ran hard. But they weren't the same. The light was different. I was different, too.

I could come to conclusions about this
(a photo is an unrepeatable moment)
(art is meant to be shared, not hoarded)
(I'm not objective)

but I'd rather hear your ideas. Have you got something you're keeping, waiting for the right moment to show it? A secret? A surprise? A recipe? A work of art?

Update: checked out the info on the photo. I shot it in September of 2008. I've been holding onto it for two years, not one. Jeez.

1001

Among City Daily Photo bloggers, one's one thousandth post is a big deal. I knew mine was coming but it landed yesterday, Zen Monday. I wasn't about to mess with tradition just to toot my own horn. I didn't want to pass it up, however, so I chose today for tooting.

But what photo to post? I tried snapping photos about town of street addresses. (If you live or work at number 1000 on any Pasadena street, thanks for not chasing me off.) But when I took a look at the photos, all those 1000s seemed wrong when I knew I'd be posting on day 1001.

I considered a "best of" shot, more Boz, more Hahamongna, City Hall, the Huntington and other Pasadena favorites. I couldn't decide.

I was looking up information on the Rose Bowl when I noticed the street address of our famous landmark: 1001 Rose Bowl Drive. How handy for my 1001st post.

Zen Monday: #113

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. And unless I absolutely must say something I stay out of the comments box to avoid influencing the discussion.

We're here to have fun. There's no right or wrong, although some folks may disagree with me on that.

Bite Club

Let's just call it "critter weekend" here on PDP.

What are these two doing? When I came upon them they were completely still--they weren't fighting, and it doesn't look like sex. Then again, what do I know about lizard sex? It's been a long time since I dated reptiles.

Here's the side view:

That grey guy's got a grip on his brownish counterpart and they're clinging to the wall, as still as a pair of sconces. Maybe they're waiting for me to leave so they can get on with...whatever.