Sheila Bocchine, Photographer

Could we call this pinhole macro? This not so perfect shell caught my attention on the beach and I wanted to see how close I could get with my pinhole camera without loosing any detail. I think it was successful. I’m also quite happy with the composition. When I was shooting it, I pictured the shell more in the middle of the frame, but am happy with these results.

This blog will be short and sweet. It’s been quite a busy week at work for me. I started a new project at my day job and have been spending my nights redoing my other website. Gary and I have our own photography company, four white walls, and we photograph weddings, portraits, events, pet portraits, fashion… basically whatever we get hired for! It’s wonderful! I love it so much! I am working towards doing it full time.

What a perfect life that would be! Wake up around 8am every morning, go to gym, make green juice for breakfast, take a shower and then start working… calling clients, calling potential clients, going to networking events, spending the afternoons doing on-location portraits in the warm glow of the Arizona sunshine…. mmmmm…… photographing weddings every weekend! OH! Life is grand!

I’m going away from the traditional website and turning our wordpress blog into our new website. So far it’s looking great. I wanted something fresh and clean. I’ll announce it here when it’s complete! Keep your fingers crossed, I’m hoping that will be tonight!

This week, I started something new. I have a goal of drinking one gallon of water per day. I’m pretty close to being able to do that. I also ordered this book. I’m looking forward to learning more about how water can be a cure-all. I don’t want to jump ahead of myself, but since I’ve started drinking copious amounts of water, my stomach doesn’t hurt as much…. perhaps it is not a gluten/wheat allergy after all…. I would say before on a daily basis I was at least drinking 32 ounces of water a day…. some days closer to 64 ounces… One gallon has 128 ounces, it’s doubled the recommended 8 glasses of water a day.

How much water do you drink a day?

My afternoon on Venice Beach lead me to these fine fellows who spent three hours creating this wonderful sand castle. I took a few pinhole photographs of them, and have yet to send them, but I will…. perhaps tonight I will make time for that. I would like to build a castle like this one day.

My sister sent me a link to this video and after I watched it, I sat here for just a moment before I decided, I’m going to blog about it! I definitely enjoy blogging.

Watch the video for yourself, it’s 10 minutes long, but incredibly thought provoking. I won’t spoil it, but one of the main messages was, what were your childhood dreams? Did you achieve them? If not, and you tried, then it was about the experience. He thinks very similarly to the way I think. I am all about the experience. Sure I’m still paying my student loans and I’ll be paying them off for years! After all I spent 160K on combined undergrad/grad schools and the experience was worth every penny.

I would have to say, my boyfriend keeps me focused and for that I am truly grateful, otherwise I would still be like my childhood self. Every time I read about something new I wanted to be it when I grew up.

I spent time wanting to be a scientist and had my chemistry set, telescope and microscope. I would mix chemicals together with dirt to see what would happen. I would gather the neighborhood kids and put on chemistry magic shows for them. When I learned the word ‘wicked’ every thing was ‘wicked’. I would ask what color did I make, the simple answer would be red, but unless they said ‘wicked’ red, they would be wrong.

I spent almost a lifetime wanting to be a writer. Perhaps that is why I love to blog. When I was a little girl I would make weekly/monthly newsletters for my family. When I was 10, I wrote my first book of poetry and tried to sell it. With every 10 cent copy I sold I had to write the book out by hand. The book was full of haiku’s. I had learned about them that spring in school and was still obsessed with them come summer. One Christmas I received the best gift ever! A publishing program! Instead of making my newsletter/magazines by hand, I could now do them on the computer. When I was 13 I spent the whole summer writing a movie about my friends. It filled 5 notebooks. When I tried to film it, that’s when I got bored. I didn’t know anything about filming a movie and definitely didn’t know the first thing about editing. Quite honestly I don’t think I knew I had to edit. I just thought it would magically turn out the way I wanted.
I wrote for my high school newspaper, if fact I was the editor. I went to undergrad and double majored in photography and journalism. I soon found out that I wasn’t cut out for journalism. There are too many rules and I just wanted to write. I’ve had stories published and wished I went the route of critic when I was in college because there are less rules and more excitement. Once I graduated from college and had some time on my hands, I started to write my first novel. I had 80 pages before I lost the zip disk that I had my life’s work saved on. I looked everywhere for that zip disk. I tore apart my apartment and even Gary’s apartment at the time. I had just met him and carried that silly disk with me everywhere. I never had the energy to do it again.

There was a time in my life when I wanted to be a lawyer. Gary says I should have been one, but I have friends that are and I’m not so sure I would have enjoyed it. I was going to go to Harvard Law. I remember being in 6th and 7th grade and wearing my navy Harvard sweatshirt all the time. The Harvard ‘H’ was a red plaid which I thought was very sophisticated. Then when I was a sophomore in high school, I joined this program for students interested in government and law. I had to take classes every week, and at the end, I had to take a test. If we passed we were able to be judges and lawyers or something like that. I remember being bored to tears in those classes. I wasn’t even disappointed when I didn’t pass the test. I knew after that experience that being a lawyer was definitely not creative enough for me.

When I was in high school, I was going to be an actress! Oh Yes! I wasn’t even going to attend college, I told my parents I was moving to Hollywood and the next time they saw me would be in a movie theater. Thankfully my wonderful parents talked me out of that and talked me into going to college. They should have seen it coming. I would write plays and get the neighborhood kids to act in them. I even had my own radio show. It started around 8/9pm in the evening. Every episode was taped. The audience was me and my sister and if we heard footprints coming towards our bedroom door we would pretend we were asleep, but as soon as the parental units walked away, the show would start again! I was the interview and interviewee. I made up all the commercials, I sang all the songs… It was a one woman show with a one person audience (my sister). ha! I was in the Drama Club. I acted in the plays at our community theater. I was even in a commercial when I was 17. My mom would take me to movie auditions in Kansas City. I acted in several film student projects. I dyed my hair blond to be like Marilyn Monroe. I watched old black and white films and studied their moves and the way they talked! Oh, how I adore old Hollywood. I would still choose to dress and act like a 1940′s starlet….

I spent time wanting to be a fashion designer too. I used to draw out clothing designs to the best of my ability, drawing is not my strongest artistic ability. Then when I realized I had to learn how to sew, I decided that I would just be a stunning dresser instead! I still love clothes and if I have some dollars left over after developing film, I always spent it on clothes or accessories! I especially love vintage clothing. Always have, always will.

The most interesting career choice I declared was when I was 8 years old. I used to hang out in my bedroom with my National Geographic magazines and a dictionary because I had no idea what most of the articles were about and would pour through the pages, dreaming of visiting every single location in the magazine. I told my mom I wanted to be a photographer when I grew up. AND! Do you know what she told me!!!!??? That photography wasn’t a real job. I swear to you, that until I was 17 or 18, I had NO IDEA how photographs were taken or who took them. I remember taking my first photo in Taormina, Italy. I still remember the wood oven smells and the cobble streets lined with criss-crossing strands of lights… it was a cool night and I took a photo of my family. I remember the spark that lit up inside of me. I knew something amazing was happening. I received my first camera when I was in 6th grade. I consistently broke cameras, year after year after year… and continued to receive them for birthday’s and Christmas. When I was 18, I took all my birthday money and money I had saved and bought my first real camera! A professional Nikon camera! It was the most gorgeous camera in the world! …and then I went to college for photography… and when I graduated I was bored and picked up a gorgeous wooden teak pinhole camera and that was the end of that… after that moment, I was a pinhole photographer!

phew… my childhood dreams…. always involved creativity and fame. I have wanted to be famous since the minute I was born! Not just locally famous, world famous! I would say that was my ultimate childhood dream. It didn’t matter what I was scheming, it always involved being world famous!

Free to fly where she wants. I wish my life were more like a birds life. Gary always says ‘where ever the wind blows thats where I go’… I wish that statement were more true. I really wish I could act on my every whim. I’m pretty good about doing what I want, but as a somewhat responsible adult I do have limits. I no longer just get up and go when I feel like it. Oh to be free and 21 again.

On my Tuesday evening drive home, I was behind a VW Golf, plastered with ‘save then environment’, ‘vegan’s rule’ and ‘anti bush’ stickers. This car would have you believe that the woman driving was a hemp wearing, vegan eating, super hippie. WRONG. She was smoking, and tapped her ashes out the window, and when she finished her ‘delicious’ cancer stick, she threw the butt out the window. I’M TOTALLY SERIOUS! How can people be such hypocrite’s? How can health conscious people smoke? I leave you to ponder these questions, because I have more interesting things to blog about.

I stayed home sick from work yesterday, I awoke with a not so good feeling and stayed in bed until 10am. Then I went from bed to couch, picked up a book by Tucker Max called ‘I hope they serve beer in hell’ and spent the rest of the day immersed in that book. My sister lent it to me a few weeks ago and I’m still not sure what to really say about it. I wanted to like it, it was well written but so degrading to women. It amazes me that there is this world of drunks and ho’s out there. I mean seriously, can one man drink that much, cause that much trouble and sleep with that many women? BUT as long as he’s happy… that is the Law of Attraction, and he’s obviously getting what he wants!

I spent the rest of the day thinking have I ever dated or slept with someone like Tucker Max? When I was in college I definitely enjoyed myself but I always prided myself on my choice of men. I preferred intellects and passionate artists and pretty much stayed in that social group. BUT that does not mean none of them were man-whores. And after reading this book, it appears that I may never have known if they were or weren’t. Unbelievable.

My Wednesday (which was also my sister’s birthday… happy one day late birthday Sabrina), ended with a scenario that could have easily been in Tucker Max’s book. Gary and I found ourselves at Myst, a club in Scottsdale, photographing a body painting event. Upon arrival, it was slow, but within an hour, naked girls were everywhere, walking around with thongs and tape over their nipples and that was it. We were in the back room, a private room where the painting was happening. Flocked red and gold wallpaper, fancy chandeliers, pool tables and many many mirrors.

I don’t want to say anything bad or negative about the event, just because it’s not my cup of tea, it was definitely interesting. I think one of the greatest things about being a photographer are the situations I find myself in. I would never have attended that event. I would never have gone into Myst if it weren’t for that event. I would never have associated with women like that if it weren’t for this event.

I cannot believe how thin they were. How on earth do you get and stay that thin? One of the girls in particular, had an absolutely stunning body. It was perfect. There was also this girl Julie, I’ve seen her before and recognized that she had a Pablo Luna bag, he’s a local designer, so we started talking. I could not remember where I saw her before but then it hit me, she was at that Graffiti fashion opening at the Phoenix Art Museum this past fall. I definitely remember her because I remember thinking, wow, she is gorgeous.

The weirdest part of the evening were the other photographers milling around.  I know that my boyfriend was enjoying the models, but so was I.  Except we were doing it tastefully.  The other two photographers, one who didn’t even have a professional camera were taking photos of their nipples, doing booty shots when the girls weren’t looking and posing them on the couches and pool tables in a pornographic manner.  AND one of the photographers had the nerve to tell me “it must be nice having an assistant”  and he was talking about me.  He should happy I didn’t give him some serious attitude right then.  He doesn’t know anything about me, I am NOBODY’S ASSISTANT!  Yes, in these situations Gary is the photographer and I am the stylist/media person, but I am not an assistant.

I did meet some interesting new people and for that I am always grateful. I forget his name, but he owns a clothing company and is always looking for new photographers. Jay, was one of the painters, who recently relocated to Phoenix. Benjamin was the mover and shaker of the event. I have a feeling we’ll be doing more work with him and our interesting photography events will continue to grow.

We’re shooting a dog fashion show for him next Sunday. I am looking forward to that, I think it will be quite the event.

And that’s the end of another exciting day in my life. Although living on 3 hours of sleep and not showering this morning, is hopefully not the highlight of this Valentine’s Day.

Oh Venice Beach! How I wish I were there basking in your warm sunlight… instead of being cooped up in an office. Standing on the beach from left to right: Gary Millard, Marilyn Szabo, and myself. I will admit, this photograph was directed by Gary. He occasionally asks if he can direct a shot, and of course I always oblige. I am a ghost like figure in most of my self portraits due to running back and forth from the camera to open and close the shutter.

The weekend went by in a blur and I’m still shocked that today is already Tuesday. It was a weekend full of photography. On Saturday Gary and I photographed our friend Kristian’s pets (dogs and turtle) and his sister’s two dogs. Kristian has a darling turtle, Randal Pink Floyd and he smiles and lets you pet him. His two pit bulls were super sweet. Ruka, the younger, brindled coat one joined me in a game. I was the remote controlled sumo wrestler and she was my opponent. I think she had a lot of fun, but ultimately, I won. She didn’t know what to make of that toy chasing her.

On Saturday afternoon we stopped by the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix to celebrate the Year of the Rat. Ate at the Golden Buddha and raved (like we always do) at how delicious their crab rangoons are. Funny story. When I was in high school, the mall in Kansas City or Columbia, Missouri were places we obviously hung out. After a day of shopping and boy chasing we would eat Chinese food or Pizza. Every time we ordered Chinese food, we would get crab rangoon or crab puffs, how ever you prefer to call them. I was all knowing, even if I did not know the answer and one time my sister asked what was in them. Naturally, since they were Asian, I said the white stuff is Tofu. I can’t remember if she ate them or not after that. It wasn’t until I was in college that I learned they were filled with cream cheese! It also wasn’t until college that I tried tofu and I definitely prefer cream cheese to tofu.

Back to my day. After dinner we waited in line for 45 minutes for Chinese pancakes. I had never tried them before, the lines were always long, so I figured they must be good. My thoughts were correct, yummy golden warm cakes with a custard filling. Super delish.

On Saturday night I organized my cds and negatives, a project on my to-do list for about a year.

On Sunday morning we photographed our friends Tony and Raquel’s little chihuahuas, Poncho and Oscar. I have changed my mind about chihuahuas and will forever think they are cute and adorable. I must of seen a really ugly one once because I’ve had a low opinion of that breed for quite some time. When you look at this photo by Gary Millard, you can’t possibly think they are anything but cute:

Raquel and Tony have a luscious garden abundant with broccoli, tiny tomatoes, and herbs. The tomato I tasted was divine. They gave us a stalk of broccoli and a few varieties of basil seeds to take home with us. We steamed the broccoli last night and it was out of the world! So fresh and full of flavor. I wish all vegetables tasted that good.

The afternoon lead us first to Tammy Coe’s for delightful cupcakes and then to an afternoon photography engagement session with our friends Jessica and Jonathan (soon to be Standifird). She is a poet with a huge heart and he, also a poet is an wonderful pianist/songwriter. We have the pleasure of photographing their wedding this weekend! They are too in love and too adorable! We photographed in an abandoned hotel on Grand Ave and Roosevelt, even trespassing into a pool of deadly sharks! No, not really, but the shadows in the pool resembled sharks and the photographs turned out neat. If you want to see the photos check this blog periodically.

After the hotel, we ventured to another abandoned building near 4th Street and McKinley and photographed them, appropriately in front of a HUGE painted grand piano on the side of the building. I did some pinholes that I am dying to see!

Then it was off to dinner at Switch. Switch is owned by the same people who own Fez and Ticoz, two restaurants I do love. I ordered a prosciutto and mozzarella gallette, which was excellent although a bit salty for my taste. I could tell they didn’t use prosciutto di parma and their choice was too salty. I often splurge when I find prosciutto di parma, really, truly the only kind I adore with a hefty price tag of around $20 per pound. But seriously, no comparison to the cheaper brands. Gary had macaroni and cheese, and it was excellent. Jessica had turkey and spinach crepes which were pretty good, I liked the delicate flavor of them. Jonathan had a sandwich, which was much too spicy for me, but my one bite was tasty.

And like I said, today is Tuesday. Almost the middle of the week again. Where does the time go?

Sedona Reflections. I love going to Sedona. A peaceful sanctuary in the middle of Arizona. The energy in that city is amazing. This was right before breakfast on the porch balcony over looking a small creek. I can’t remember the name of that bed and breakfast, but I had read about their 4 course breakfast and made reservations. It was one of the tastiest breakfasts I ever had. I like to travel and I like to eat, or I should say ‘we’, because these adventures are always with Gary. I think that is becoming quite apparent in my blogs!

I had the most amazing phone call yesterday at work. I do have a second job, I’m not just a pinhole photographer. I am also a Communications Specialist for Earth911.com. If you have never been to that website, I highly suggest you give it a whirl! At the top of the website you’ll notice a box. Enter in what you would like to recycle and your zip code, and voila! Instant results from numerous places you can take that item in your own city. Now you never have another excuse for throwing out that #6 plastic or for dumping that used motor oil down your drain.

Oh, yes, back to the phone call. I called Ellijay, Georgia yesterday to update recycling information for their city. The woman who answered the phone in her pleasant southern accent said, “Oh, Earth911, Let me pass you through to the mayor!” and she did just that! That phone call made my morning and my day yesterday.

For the first time in my working career, I actually have an amazing job with an amazing company. It’s not non profit, but we are providing an incredibly important service, so it has elements and feelings of a non profit.

I have had some interesting jobs in my life. In fact, I lived in Chicago for 3 years, while I went to undergrad and had 22 jobs! YES! 22 jobs! A lot of those jobs only lasted a day or two, I wasn’t really interested in working, but like every photography student, film and photo printing paper were like drugs and I handed paycheck after paycheck after paycheck to Central Camera to get my fix.

I’ll never forget my very first job, for a I have a scar the length of my thumb to always remind me! I worked at Biffles BBQ in Concordia, Missouri. Best BBQ in the country! I hear a rumor that one may open in Phoenix… how’s that coming along Chad???? hmmmmmm…… One day instead of opening the potato salad, I opened my thumb and received 14 painful stitches.

I worked at a gas station also in Concordia and that was fun. I was able to do my homework at night and the band P-Funk All Stars were driving through, filled up on Thanksgiving and spent the rest of the evening hanging out with me! It was wild. I was 17, I had NO IDEA who they were, but they did give me autographs and told me to go home and ask my dad about them. Unfortunately my dad wasn’t the funky 70′s kind of guy that would have listened to them, and he didn’t know who they were either. Ha! I have lots of great memories from that job…

I think my most interested job was working for this lady who designed fetish wear in Chicago. I can’t remember how I ended up in her apartment/shop, but before the end of our ‘meeting’ she offered me a job! Since I had recently quit my job and was looking for something, I thought, why not! I had to read all these books, I had no idea what bondage was. There was also two security guards outside the door at all times. People would come into the shop with masks on because they didn’t want their identity to be known. Part of my job was to photograph the fetish ball in Chicago. That was a highlight for sure! I took awesome photos that were published in the Columbia Chronicle, my college newspaper and I got to talk to Billy Corgan himself! Yes, yes, the infamous Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins was there and gorgeous as ever.

I have a couple of other interesting working experiences, but I’ll save those for another blog. After all I had 22 jobs in one city… you know a few more of those were jobs only a college student would accept.

I’m happy that I’m 28 and only have 2 jobs right now! Pinhole Photograph and Communications Specialist at Earth911.com

The beach in San Diego. How I long to spend all my days watching the waves crash along the shore. I believe this must of been in August of 2005. My sister married her husband on a yacht on a sunny afternoon in San Diego, so I spent some time going back and forth with her before and after the wedding.

My drive to work this morning was full of sights not often seen in the dessert. It was wonderful. Fog looming over treetops with cacti in the foreground… lush green golf courses with rolling soft hills covered in frost… patches of warm sunlight peeking through the clouds, bouncing off the sand colored mansions built into the mountainside….I felt like I was dreaming, like I never woke up and was still sound asleep.

I have a bit of a cold this week and took some sleeping pills and went to bed super early last night. I thought if I had a peaceful, restful sleep, I would awake fresh and well… perhaps I feel better, it’s still too early to tell.

I had another wild dream last night. I tried out for a basketball team and made it. Now you know it’s a dream, for I am not the most athletic pinhole photographer. I knew in my dream I was shocked and I felt like I needed to practice. I ended up at this guys house. He also made the team, he lived with his parents. We were eating sandwiches and drinking bottled soda. I shook my soda, put my finger over the top, but could not stop the streaming sweet liquid from spraying over the wall and his mother’s photographs. His friend went to grab a wash cloth and said, what can I mix with water to clean this mess up. Someone said powdered clorox. Some powder fell on the table, but perhaps it was sugar because I dropped something into the powder fished it out and swallowed it, and it was sweet tasting.

The game that we were picked to play in, was in Italy. We had to buy tickets, leave tomorrow and play the game at 1pm on Friday. I got confused when I bought my ticket and instead bought a one way ticket to Italy for $1400 to the wrong city. My ticket came to me in a pouch filled with delicious olive oil. Mind you, as soon as I purchased the ticket online, the pouch was in my hand. If I did not open the pouch/ticket I could have returned it, but I opened it and was stuck with a one way ticket to Italy. At first I thought, I will just drive to my destination, but found out the city I was flying into, was on the opposite end of the country and I would never have made it. I started to panic, but went to the airport anyway. My teammates boarded their planes, they bought tickets to the right city and round trip for $400.

I landed in Italy, made friends with an Italian man who helped me find the city I was looking for. By the time I got there, the game was over… ONLY the game was no longer a basketball game, it was a play. We found a tabloid style magazine and with plus size super model Emme on the cover. Inside the magazine on every single page was gossip and evil bashing about me. Apparently my roll in the play was to hold the basket of carrots and although I only had one line, I had the most important part in the play. I knew my only hope was to find Emme and get back home. We searched everywhere for her. We even ended up in a strange movie-house, not a theater, but a room painted in browns and greens with folding chairs and a movie screen. The room was jam packed with people, but there was Emme. We walked towards her and, then I woke up….

I have no idea if I made it back home or not… BUT really, I have this reoccurring daydream that I buy a one way ticket to Italy and move there. I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO LIVE IN ITALY!!!! Sometimes I stare at my computer screen at work and daydream of moving somewhere more exciting… and Italy is definitely in my top 5 places of ‘one way ticket daydreams’.

This image is part of my sleeping series. Gary and I stayed in the San Carlos Hotel in downtown Phoenix for a few nights in summer of 2005. It’s rumored to be haunted but we didn’t see any ghosts. Marilyn Monroe also stayed there when it was a glamorous hip hotel back in the day. There is a Marilyn room, but it was booked. I document my globe-trotting adventures with pinholes of myself (and gary) sleeping in hotel rooms, friends living rooms, parents couches….
It’s an ongoing series, I never feel ready to show the whole series, but when I do, it will be beautiful.

Last night I went to bed early, like 8:30pm early. My brain is working too hard lately. I’m full of thoughts and ideas and I’m exhausting myself. If I could get a hold of my brother to see how my website is progressing, I think that would help. I feel like all these incredible things are about to happen, it will be like the fireworks grand finale every single day, once a few things are taken care of. All of these thoughts must be why I had such bizarre dreams last night.

All I have to say is, don’t mess with my car or you will be sorry.

I made Gary walk to my car with me this morning because I was weary of the ‘panda rapist’. What? Don’t you know who that is? Quite honestly, I don’t either. I had a bizarre dream last night. I walked to my car and there was a CD on my windshield. It was titled ‘panda rapist will kill you’. I played the CD and it was people screaming and obviously it was a recording of people being killed. The rest of my dream was like a movie, a partially black and white, partially color film with wild 60′s style music. I was being chased and all the signs were there, dark parking lots, a blanket in my back seat hiding the panda rapist, cautious peeking around corners…. it was crazy… he never did get me, but I’m positive that is only because I awoke.

I had another dream. I was living in a beautiful large house. My mom was there and so was Gary. It was 2am in the morning and I needed to run an errand. I walked outside, and noticed my car was gone. At first I didn’t suspect that I had a stolen vehicle case on my hands, I thought I forgot where I parked. After walking up and down the street, I realized that it had indeed been stolen. The house next door to us was dirty and ghetto and loud noises were coming from the back yard. I peeked in a crack and saw the tires and VW emblem of my car. I realized they had stolen my car and took it apart. The tires were standing upright, like they would on a car, except there was no car there. Just magical standing upright tires with the rims still intact.
I went back to my place told my mom and gary what happened. Then the next scene is a blur, but somehow the old lady that lived next door came over and I jumped her. I was beating her to a bloody pulp, except there was no blood… I was dragging her around the living room floor. I was throwing her against walls, I was jumping on her, I was trying her arms in knots. THE WHOLE TIME I was doing this, I was on the phone with the cops, telling them about my car and what happened. They wanted me to stay on the line until backup arrived. Every time I thought they had hung up on me I would say ‘hello’ and they would respond. The last time I said ‘hello’ I was having a hard time keeping the old lady down, and the cop said, they are right outside your door… and then BAM! Cops busted into my apartment and saved me! and I got my car back….

Yes, those were my dreams last night… welcome to my world.

In the spirit of what Gary calls a ‘national holiday’, I thought I would post this delicious photo from Will and Vaiden Kirchheimer circus/carnival wedding.  All the food was vegetarian… crackerjacks, popcorn, corn dogs, pretzels etc.

So the Superbowl is in town and the FBR Open as well. Traffic has been surreal. I work in North Scottsdale and the number of SUV’s and Cadillacs have doubled. Tourists are everywhere. It actually feels like a city. I like that.

On Saturday night Gary and I went to Scottsdale to see ESPN’s post and to play ‘spot the celebrity’. We walked everywhere; I was amazed to see block parties with every turn, red carpets lined with photographers, bicycle taxi’s and the wonderful sound of horns honking!

We hung out by the red carpet for a while and photographed some bike racer and M.C. HAMMER!!! That was pretty rad! I’ll share a little tmi right now… I still have an M.C. Hammer doll. I got that doll when I was in 6th or 7th grade and was obsessed with him. I remember washing dishes after dinner and singing to my M.C.Hammer tape! He was on tour and it was the first time I remember wanting to go to a concert. Unfortunately it would be 5 or 6 more years before I experienced my first live concert.

We also stopped for a slice at Joe’s. Pizza never tasted so good. It’s been ages since I’ve eaten pizza and although it’s technically forbidden due to my wheat/gluten allergy, I ate it anyway and my taste buds ooh’d and aah’d with every cheesy bite.

I mailed my photographs for the exhibition in France. My first quote from UPS was $440 dollars! I KNOW!!! How insane is that! I went to the post office and mailed my package for $75. I don’t know what I would have done if $440 was my final quote. I could have bought a plane ticket, delivered my pieces, taken a whirl wind tour of Paris and be working again in 3 days. And the delivery date would have been the same… by February 11th.

We attempted to go to Glendale today to partake in the madness that is Superbowl 2008. The stadium looks incredibly large as you’re driving up to it. Finding parking was a task impossible to overcome. We definitely tried. Unless you had a ticket you couldn’t park within 2 miles of the stadium. We drove out further and those parking lots at about 3-4 miles out were barricaded off and cops weren’t letting anyone but users of those parking lots park. Every side road, barricaded. Every alley, barricaded. Every park -n- ride, barricaded. After trying every possible solution, we headed back home and joined the party that was happenin’ in our clubhouse. We live at Papago Trillium in Phoenix and we do a lot of hanging out and working in the clubhouse. We even have a rent-able office that we use with our clients.

I’ve been spending a lot of time working on the design for my new website. My brother is designing it for me. I faxed the drawings (since I don’t know html), to the strip club he works in.

The hoopla is over tomorrow and it’s back to normal traffic and casual city living.   And I must say,  a sunday with excellent commericals, is a super sunday indeed!