CP with my Nikon

I’ve always loved photography. Probably since I was a kid, but more so when I was in high school and after. I took a photography class in high school and totally wanted a dark room someday (still kind of do). In college, I took a few art classes, including photography (technical and history). I’ve been meaning to get a really nice camera for years and finally made the investment earlier this year when I bought a Nikon D3100.

I had planned to take a summer course, but alas too much traveling for work got in my way. So I found a one-time class in Central Park with Judith Farber—Sundays in NY. There were 7 of us in the group and we spent 2 hours learning about composition at Bethesda Fountain. We were instructed to be simplistic, find an interesting background, pay attention to corners, and a few other things... I wasn't exactly taking notes. We framed a few shots and took photos at various points nearby. Now I don't think these shots are my best that I've taken. But you can see some examples of what kind of shots we were framing and what I took away from the class.

Judith does a lot of street photography which I would be interested to do more of. I haven’t been able to capture people in those moments, but would like to try.  If I have the time, I would like to take one of her other classes in different neighborhoods around NYC, but I really just need get out there and experiment more with my camera.

Race Buddy

I’ve volunteered lots of times before. So technically this isn’t a ‘new’ thing on my list. The last time I volunteered with kids, was in college in the Pediatric wing at Strong Memorial. Unfortunately, it’s taken me way longer to volunteer again. I also planned to do something on a regular basis. But life got in the way.  

I knew I wanted to volunteer with kids. I do love them, even though some of them cry too loud on the subway when you are still trying to wake up on the way to work. I also wanted to combine volunteering with 2 of my favorite things—running and reading. So I filled out my volunteer application with NYRR and decided it would be good to influence kids to be more active.

After many attempts, I was able to finally volunteer today with the RACE Program with NYRR. Today was the team's final run (the Percy Sutton 5k was cancelled due to Hurricane Irene) and it was a 5k in East River Park.

It was a bit hot and humid this morning, but a bit breezy on the river. I was paired up with 3 teenaged girls and we made our way around the 2 loops of the 5k course. It definitely wasn’t my fastest 5k (my time was on par with the Yankee Stadium 5k I did last year), but it was fun. It was nice to be out there encouraging kids to be more active. Ideally I’d like to get involved in a regular program so I could see kids more often to get to get to know them and be a bigger influence. Maybe next year.

Classin' It Up

Number 23 on my list is to take a sommelier class. The plan was to take a full-on class and learn the ins and outs of wine. I’ve done my fair share of tasting and drinking wine. And obviously I know a ton because my dad and uncle started a winery when I was in college. No, this isn’t true. I’m pretty sure I was drinking boxed wine during this time.

Over the years I’ve gone on many wine tours in Napa, Long Island, and of course my home in the Finger Lakes. I’ve also visited various wineries in Europe, including Spain and the UK. But I wanted to expand my knowledge a bit more. However, given the limited time I had, I decided to do a one-time class that would be more informative than your typical wine tasting.

A google search later, I found a place that had a class this week and was reasonably priced. I recruited my friend Kara to accompany me to the UWS and made our way to Nancy’s Wine on Columbus Avenue. This is where we took a 2 hour class on various wines from Italy. We tasted 3 whites, including a still Prosecco, and 3 reds. I went home with my favorites, a red, Sagrantino from Umbria and a white, Cortese from Gavi. Both pretty good.

The class was informative and I learned a few new things. I still don’t claim to be a wine expert, but I’m trying to go in that general direction. And the next time I go in a wine shop, I will have an expert recommend something new and different instead of just picking a random bottle that's within my budget.

Animal Farm

I think this is a record. I finished Animal Farm by George Orwell in 2 days. I had seen it at the bookstore and knew it was pretty short. I downloaded this and 1984 on my Kindle as one book. So it was deceiving how close to the end I was.  

The book is about an animal farm that rebels against humans and takes control of the manor. They come up with Animalism commandments and say that all animals have equal rights, and shouldn’t act like humans. Of course, this doesn’t last. The pigs are the cleverest of the animals and slowly but surely, take control of the farm and the other animals. Before long, they are acting like humans and breaking all their commandments.

This novel has historical significance of the Stalin era leading up to WWII. I hadn’t realized, but this book was actually banned up until 1989 in the Easter Bloc. Not surprising since this is when Communism fell. You really see the comparisons drawn from this animal farm and how Napoleon, the leader, is able to take control and sway the other animals to believe untrue things.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. It’s pretty short, and is historically relevant.

Next up is some thriller book about Facebook I downloaded for free on my kindle. Let's see how this turns out. But sounds perfect to read at the beach. I think I may attempt The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas next. It’s pretty long, so we shall see how much time this one takes….

So far I’ve crossed off:

1.       Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

2.       Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

3.       A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

4.       Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

5.       Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

6.       Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

7.       Animal Farm by George Orwell

Lolita

Four books to go! I’m finally making some progress on #11. I just finished Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. This was suggested to me by my friend Sandra, and we are actually reading it at the same time. Of course, I’m on vacation, so I finished it much more quickly. Once we are both done, we are going to have a mini book club to discuss.

First of all, this book was slightly disturbing. A grown man having sex with a 12-year old!?! Somehow he rationalized that this is ok to do. As you read the book, from his point of view, you see how he does this. Even with this level of uncomfortableness, it was a really good book. I don’t want to get into too many of the details, but it’s about this old dude, Humbert Humbert, who marries the mother of the nymhet he is madly in love with. Unfortunately, the mother dies in a tragic accident (not murder) and Lolita is now at the mercy of this man. However, Lolita isn’t as innocent as she seems. But, then again she is 12.

Humbert tells the story from the future after he commits murder. He recaptures his relationship with Lolita as they transverse the US a number of times on a couple of separate trips in the 40s over the course of many years. 

The book is very controversial and I highly recommend it. There also a couple of movies from the 60s and 90s out that I’d like to watch to see how they’ve captured the story.

I started Animal Farm by George Orwell today.

So far I’ve crossed off:

1. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
3. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
4. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
6. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Paddle Boarding

I am finally on vacation and have finally checked off another thing off my list! It’s been a nutty summer (year) so far and am enjoying some time off at the beach. The first few days were a bit iffy weather-wise (rain in August?!), but yesterday the sun came out on Nantucket and provided a picturesque beach day. Something much needed.

Of course, I’m trying to relax a bit, catch up on some sleep, and check off a couple more books off my classic list. But I also wanted to check something else off my list, and figured I’d either try surfing or paddle boarding on this vacation. I’ve been to the beach plenty of times over the last 29 years, but never attempted surfing. Boogie boarding, yes. Water skiing, yes. Kayaking, yes. But not surfing. I thought I’d put it on the list to attempt this year. But I also decided to make it a choice between that or paddle boarding. I wanted some type of new water sport since I love the water so much. I feel like paddle boarding is a relatively new thing. It isn’t. It’s just become popular in past years. I remember some dude stand-up paddle boarding in San Diego Bay last fall. It looked relatively easy, and I figured I’d have it as an option.

Luckily I’m visiting family on Nantucket who are in possession of every single piece of water sport equipment you could possibly need at the beach. Paddle boards (and surf boards) included. I decided to give paddle boarding a go yesterday after a day of reading Lolita. My Aunt Sally was giving me tips on what to do. She said that you needed good balance. I of course stated that I do have good balance. Ha.

Well good balance on the ground is different from good balance on the water. We got into the water, and paddled away from the crowds at Cisco beach, where I attempted to paddle board for the first time. Well stand-up paddle boarding to be specific. I’m really not sure if there’s a difference. I fell into the water many times. I did have a leash on, so no worries on losing the board. I just need to hold onto the paddle. I spent about an hour with my aunt out on the water going back and forth between Cisco and Miacomet Pond. At various points, I was just trying to get the hang of the water by kneeling on the board. Once I’d feel comfortable and didn’t see many big waves coming, I’d stand up and stay up for as long as possible paddling around. There was one point (unintentionally) that I was actually paddle-surfing. I soon fell off. I did start to get the hang of the balancing. I had to tell myself to not worry when any big waves came along. It was pretty fun and I’d like to go out again this week, but boy was I feeling it today in my arms.

I also enquired about a surfing lesson, so I may see about that over the next few days.

Brave New World

I’m halfway done with my classic list! Yay! Luckily this latest one was a bit shorter and actually made me want to keep reading more so than the others. I just finished Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Again, with all the other books, I had no idea what this was about. This takes place way in the future with a society that’s has been developed from reproductive technology and has been sleep-conditioned. No crime, no sickness, no getting old, no families, no science, no art, no free-thinking. Everyone just does what they are conditioned to do, respective to their caste.

I think this would be a good discussion for a book club. I was interested in the genetic engineering aspect of the novel, along with nature vs nurture argument. Especially when John, “the savage”, was introduced. You see how he tries to unsuccessfully influence society. Some of his actions did seem a bit more extreme than necessary once he leaves London, but then again this is all he knows from his enclosed environment. He becomes more of a spectacle with disastrous results.

Overall, I would recommend this book to read, at least for the discussions it would stimulate.

To give a quick recap, so far I’ve crossed off:

1. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
3. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
4. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Next up is Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.