Opportunity and Cost: An Anniversary

I am still me.

It feels weird to say that. Or rather, it feels weird to have doubted that. But I guess that's what this past year has been: doubts about assumptions that used to come naturally.

Let's rewind: 1 year and 1 week ago, I strained my hamstring at pole vault practice. Again. And I decided it was time for a change. Two days later, I sat down at a friend's table with a box of tissues and wrote "Leaving Love Behind." A few days later, I sketched out some ideas in my composition book, went to the photo studio, and took a self-portrait that felt like it fit the gravity of that moment.

I wrote at the time that "I don't really know what the future will hold," but I figured that I would figure things out in time. There's no way I could have imagined the changes that were in store, for all of us, but I was dedicated to making the best of an unfamiliar situation, and I'm pretty happy with how the last year has gone.

Drops of Jupiter

I spent yesterday evening watching a presentation of work from the Center for Investigative Research at Open Show Bay Area, this time hosted at the Berkeley Rep. It was fantastic. The CIR has been on my radar ever since I read their piece The Shooter, and the work presented at Open Show was of the same high quality. In fact, we watched a video from the Broken Shield project, which project nearly won the reporters a 2013 Pulitzer Prize (they were finalists).

After the presentations, we went to the nearby beer garden Jupiter for drinks and chatter. That's when I pulled my camera out and took a few pictures. For your enjoyment, a few vignettes from Jupiter.

Two chefs prepare food in the kitchen.

One of the chefs on the pizza crew tosses a pizza dough.

A bartender moves some glasses to a dish rack before sending them through the dishwasher.

¡Mambo! Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra

L and I went to a concert last night. I should note: when thinking about the concert, my ability for rational thought is diminished, as is my power to construct coherent sentences. In the photo, two people cheer and wave the Venezuelan flag during a curtain call at the end of the concert, in celebration of the homeland of both the conductor and the orchestra.

Now, let's go back in time. Gustavo Dudamel is L's favorite conductor. While searching for him on YouTube some number of years ago, I bumped into this video of him leading what was at the time the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra. It was by far the most moving orchestral performance I had ever seen; I still can't watch or listen to it without dancing in my chair.

And then I found the encores (click here), which redefined for me what an orchestra could be, and how it could behave. They combined joy, pride, and musicianship in a way that I had never seen from any other orchestra.

So suffice it to say that when a friend pointed out that they'd be performing at Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall, my wallet practically leapt out of my pocket and threw itself at the ticket ordering website. And man, was it worth it!

To be honest, last night's concert even bested the videos on YouTube. The orchestra was again cheered on to two encores, and they again played Leonard Bernstein's "Mambo" as the second encore. In the photo, Dudamel directs the audience as they sing along to the piece. ¡Que chévere!

Street

Spent last weekend pretending to be a street photographer. Photos are in chronological order, starting off in Berkeley, then SF Chinatown, then Pier 39 for the tree lighting.

ARE YOU HERO, OR ARE YOU PRINCESS?

Last month, my friend Mimi invited me to the 3rd annual Iron Stomach Triathlon, held at Berkeley's Tilden Park. There were three competition classes, Hero, Princess, and Relay.

The order of events was simple: swim, eat donuts, bike, eat burgers, run, drink beer, cross the finish line. The rules were also simple: you throw up, you're disqualified. Hero competitors were tasked with 4 Krispy Kreme donuts, 1 double-double (with fries) from In-N-Out, and 2 PBRs. Princesses had 2 Krispy Kremes, 1 single-single, and 1 PBR. Relay teams went parts on the Hero food challenges.

You can find all of the images here. Also, click on any image below to jump to that image in the set.

GO! The competitors start running toward Lake Anza for the swim as the timer starts her watch.

Competitors work on downing their burgers between the swim and the bike ride.

Rudy Ramirez, one of the Hero competitors, gets ready to shotgun his second PBR before crossing the finish line. He was by far the most enthusiastic about drinking the beer after the run, and he demonstrated the only proper way to spew beer before the finish without getting DQed.

For the folks who hadn't had enough (or were watching rather than competing), there were two rounds of donut eating after the triathlon ended. This would have been pass interference, but the ref was looking the other way.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the photos here.