Happy Mother's Day

When I tell people that my mom still lives in Cincinnati and I'd consider moving back for her, people usually say something like Well at least she has your brother (also in Cincinnati). I mean, yeah, I'm glad he's there for her, but I don't feel like that makes up for my lack of presence. I love my mom very much, enjoy her company, and miss her especially on a day like today.

Because I'm lame, my present will arrive on the late side, but here's a virtual flower for me mum in the mean time from our back yard:



Happy mother's day to all the other hardworking moms as well, especially mom-in-law, Kathy.

(Side note for the photographers: this is a tip straight from Scott Kelby--black background with flowers. And that black background? That's my black fleece jacket.)

Tiger to Leopard Transition

To the Mac users out there...

When we got Leopard we did a complete uninstall/ reinstall/ reformatting or whatever you want to call it - not an upgrade to Tiger so as to have smoother sailing in the general operation of the computer. Upgrades are just buggier.

Anyway I was disappointed when that new install did *not* include the iLife applications like iPhoto, Comic Life, Garage Band, etc. which were originally included on my MacBook when I first purchased it. So I just took the Tiger backup discs and tried a bundle install of the iLife applications...a little nervous about trying to install older versions of things compatible with Tiger on top of the Leopard system I currently have running. Maybe this makes sense to some of you. Maybe not. I hadn't read about anyone doing this but so far it seems to have worked seamlessly for me. That is, of course, after having created only one new thing in Comic Life.

Support Julie & Elie in Walk MS 2008

Recently we received the news that one of our friends was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Julie writes:

Every hour of every day, someone is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. On October 11, 2007, one of those people was my boyfriend, Elie.

I am participating in Walk MS 2008 and am asking you to support my fundraising efforts with a tax-deductible donation.

MS is a disease which progressively makes it harder for people to move. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn't. That's why I'm participating in Walk MS. During the event, hundreds of walkers and volunteers will join forces to raise funds and awareness and to move us all closer to a world free of MS.

It's faster and easier than ever to support this cause that's so important to me. Simply click on the link at the bottom of this message and make a secure online donation. If you prefer, you can send your contribution to the address listed below.

Any amount, no matter how large, makes a difference in the lives of people with MS. I can't express how much I appreciate YOUR support.

P.S. If you would like more information about multiple sclerosis, the Society, or Walk MS, please visit www.MSandYOU.org.

Click here to visit my personal page.

Click here to view the team page for E's Entourage

To know Elie is a privilege and a pleasure and we certainly wish him and anyone else with MS a comfortable quality of life.

Consider donating to a worthy cause and research that will benefit our friend. We love you, Elie!

Cesar Chavez Weekend

Thanks to a guy named Cesar Chavez, it's been a nice, long 3-day weekend - particularly nice because my high school bud, Susan, met me for lunch in Laguna Beach, and I almost died only once on the Socal freeways this weekend.

So spotlight on Susan: There's always a tinge of nervousness when you haven't seen a person for a while because What if they suck now? If they suck it could mean a million different things:

1. They changed
2. You changed
3. You both changed in opposite directions

Okay, maybe it only means 3 things, but the good news is Susan didn't suck. This could also be the result of a million different things:

1. Neither of us changed
2. Both of us changed in the same direction, but we still appreciate people with differences because we're thoughtful, smart, caring people who embrace diversity and will cure cancer with our amazingness alone. Oh, and we're pretty.
   

Well, I'm mostly talking about Susan in the latter part of #2, but back to my original point: Susan didn't suck. She never did. AND, in fact, she's only gotten better. I pretty much want to transplant her inmediatamente to San Diego and hug her so hard that we're like, Oh my god! Your head popped off AGAIN! And then we can barely get it back on because we're laughing so hard and then we eat brownies.

She's as easy-going, even-keeled, and reliable as ever. The reliable part I'm just guessing - she has not yet agreed to be the surrogate mother of our child, raise it, and then give it back to us when it's 18 years old, but we'll see if she passes that test.

And Susan, allow me to be superficial for a minute: Some friends are pretty. Some friends are cute. Some are gorgeous. To me, Susan has always struck me as straight up beautiful. I mean, look at her! As far as "looks" categories go, Susan inhabits the beauty one, which - in my mind - is the cream of the crop. And what makes Susan even more lovable is that she's probably blushing right now.

Susan - Mexico City, Spring Break, 2009. See you there.

Sketch Experiments, Stupid Projects, & Shpilkes

I recently started a new temp job (on top of the photography internship) with a department I quite like. The most succinct description I can give of everyone in the place is smart, funny, open-minded, and drama-free. Sure beats that other department that had a sit-down talk with me because I was using different colored paper clips. Seriously, guys. Hire me already.

Anyhow, I work with the very funny Liz, and this interesting guy, Matt (I especially like his look at robots inside furry toys and his redesign of the States).

How lucky am I?

Introducing Orthorexia Nervosa

My friend, Erin, has defined a new eating disorder on one of her recent blog posts. It's certainly well thought out and an interesting read probably because I know quite a few folks with this. precise. condition. I like to be healthy too, but sometimes these people just suck all of the joy out of eating even if the meal at hand IS healthy because you spend all your time examining/talking about the benefits of the food instead of just enjoying the taste.

Part of the battle of eating healthy, for me, has been learning to appreciate the taste of fresh fruits and vegetables after having been raised on Skyline Chili. And turns out they really taste good! Your body even starts to crave the sugar in fruits instead of the sugar in chocolate. This has been a more effective way for me to err on the healthier side of food choices (though don't look at what I've been eating in my Twitter lately). So for all you Orthorexics out there, keep eating healthy, but JESUS. Rediscover the joy in food.

LSF Editorial Shoot

Meet the founder, CEO, owner, big cheese, and boss of LSF Editorial, Lauri. A couple weeks back we did some head shots so she would have something nice to put on her Web site's profile to show potential clients that she was the rare combination of being both writerly AND someone with good hygiene. I can vouch for that, too, since she's one of my dear friends in San Diego. She showers AT LEAST once a week. Anyway I think we accomplished that goal.

Interesting side note is that Lauri had told me prior to taking any pictures that she had a "bad side" and preferred shots only on the left side of her face. That black and white picture? That's her bad side. I mean, I know your knee-jerk reaction was probably OH MY GOD! WHO IS THAT CRETIN?! But the lesson here is take pictures of people's supposed bad sides. It may turn out to be a pick. Here's her good side just to allay the shock that you may have experienced from that first picture.

And lastly, a second part of the project was to produce some images that convey writing, editing, the whole she-bang to also integrate into her website. It's still sort of a project in progress, but I quite like this image. I might even frame this one for my own keeping.

Before January Runs Out...

I have to get back on the blog train...thanks to Becca for getting me back on board. Woo! Woo!

Catching up:

• Christmas was good. It really was. And that feels like a big deal to say because Christmases have generally been rather joyless since my dad died.

• My brother got engaged. And this may have been what put a little bit of joy back in Christmas. My brother has found someone I really adore and truly brings out the best in him, which is a relief. It's the most optimistic and at peace I've seen him in a long time.

• New Year's was anti-climactic. We went to bed hours before midnight and while I made resolutions the last few years, I didn't this year. I think I'm much better at making improvements in my life when the time calls for it instead of on this magic date called January 1. And oddly enough I'm better at effecting change when I don't make public announcements about it...I guess because then I know when I really want something for myself and not just because I'm beholden to what I've told others.

• Case and point: I've specifically been off the blog because a job opportunity arose on December 28 (as is typical to happen only when I'm traveling) and after some interviewing, etc. I got a little gig as a photography intern! It's unpaid, so in a way I'm still funemployed, but a fun and exciting change, nonetheless. It's all that's been on my mind in January and I needed some self-reflection time to see if I really wanted a career change. Turns out it wasn't that hard to decide since I haven't had much of a career anyway. Btw this is such a cool opportunity to learn the business end of a photography business!

• I'm in two photography classes now. One is a general digital photography class where the instructor is super bad ass. I'm totally inspired by her. And the other is a short sports photography class, which has been fun because it's really forced me to interact with people I don't know and unearth interpersonal skills that I used to have. Somewhere along the line I started hating people (who am I kidding--it was when we were in Germany) and I became this crotchety old woman waving her cane at any and everything people did wrong. I really felt like the world was working against me. But in the humility of having to ask random people if I could take their picture while they participated in whatever sport, people have been really accommodating and interested. Maybe it's just the vanity of California (there's the old crotchety Kell we know!), but it's really renewed my faith in humanity. It's even been fun and a great way to market myself.

• And I had a blogiversary this month. It feels lame to celebrate it when this is one post for the month, but w00t! 3 years!
  

So things are on the upswing. FInally.

Honoring a Memory

With the holidays coming, some of you might be considering various charities or non-profits to donate to, and I ask you to consider this:

My high school friends will remember Sara Later from the good ol' days of SUA. Sadly her nephew recently passed away from a long battle with cancer and her family has organized a non-profit in his memory (text reprinted below):

1009 Elmwood Avenue
Wilmette, IL 60091-1711
JLater@generalcable.com

As many of you know our nephew, Jeffrey Stephen Lamont, lost his 6 year battle to bone cancer. How he lived his last 6 years was truly amazing and courageous. Jeff had a dream to make it to his 21st birthday and did that. Now Jeff's family and many friends have a dream to honor Jeff and we need your help.

Jeff Lamont grew up vacationing in the woods and waters of Leelanau County Michigan. Jeff Lamont loved the lake waters and hiking in the area woods. During his 6 year battle Jeff developed a keen interest in the environment and wanted to do more to help the cause. It is our dream to create a lasting legacy in the area to complete his work and honor Jeff's life.

40 acres of wooded land near Christmas Cove are designated as the Jeff Lamont Preserve and through the Leelanau Conservancy will be preserved forever in his honor. Free from the developers and saving the valuable hardwoods. The Leelanau Conservancy is one of the designated charities for memorial gifts in Jeff's name. Our family would be honored for a tax deductible gift to help raise over $100,000 to purchase the land and help make the dream a reality.

The task is daunting, but we are determined to raise the funds. Feel free to pass this request onto others who can help this dream to honor Jeff Lamont.

On behalf of the Later and Lamont families, thank you!
Jeff Later

Tax Deductible Donations to:
The Leelanau Conservancy (a 501(c) (3) nonprofit charity)
c/o The Jeff Lamont Memorial Fund
105 N. First Street
Leland, MI 49654

P.S. Our letter will touch many hearts, but also may raise the question, "why should I donate for a memorial?" Our appeal does not fund a local school endowment; help the homeless or those in need. But it does help the environment. Jeff's cancer started during his freshman year in high school and he was given months to live. He used the time during his long battle wisely and developed the interest in nature and the environment. Jeff had big plans in life and the effort to secure this land is our way of completing one of his dreams. Visit www.theconservancy.com

Odd Night of Research

You know those articles/blogs that come out every once in a while that list the weird things that people are googling? Look for my search in the next edition. Tonight I've been googling "removing dead body smell" because my bro had a neighbor die...and she wasn't found until other neighbors began complaining of a smell. The poor guy's condo is right next to hers and I guess in Cincinnati's 90 degree October, the smell has become pretty unbearable for him.

If only Dad were alive...he'd have a recommendation. My dad was in property management and he had a couple of stories about having to enter apartments after concerned calls from relatives or complaints from neighbors about a smell. One time relatives called and he entered an apartment of an older woman and he found her on the bed, yelled at her several times for her to wake up, and then shook her. She awoke and was like ??? Apparently she was so hard of hearing that she hadn't heard her phone, knocks at the door, or my dad yelling at her.

Another time neighbors complained of a smell and my dad was a little more sure that something wasn't right because he hadn't even entered and could smell a stench. Well this guy wasn't dead either. This lawyer was a pack rat to an extent that I had never seen before (because my dad had to take pictures before the Disaster Cleanup people came...that's right, the biohazard team that tidies up your crime scene and addresses all your trauma needs).

Question: Out of that "services provided" list, which team would YOU choose to be on if you had to pick? Though "filth cleanup" sounds benign, I suspect that it's wildly deceiving so I pick vehicle accidents.

Anyway, this guy kept every carry-out/delivery container he had ever eaten from and every can of Bud he had ever consumed, which filled his living room knee deep. The flies were so thick you could see them in the pictures. And ten billion times worse, this guy collected his, ahem, waste...also shockingly abundant. Piles and piles. Sorry. Try to think of these stories as festive...priming for Halloween. I'll spare further description, but trust me when I say this remains the worst image I've ever seen, beyond any "shock" pictures on the web.

Update: I've officially seen something much, much worse. And it's a shock web video. I won't even mention what it is because I felt seriously messed up for several days afterward.

And then there was that time with the two week old body, which was, indeed, dead. That was when I learned that in the messiest of corpse disposal, sheriffs will often bring inmates in to help move the body. In return for their service, they get a cigarette, stick of gum, or something of a similar non-stab-u-lous nature.

Oh yes, Dad had many heartwarming death-related stories...from his property management days, his sheriff days, the time that drunken driver wrecked in our front yard, and his vault making days for graves...

Another side note: If you plan on being buried, choose a bell-shaped vault. Most vaults are like concrete boxes (or whatever the material is) that the casket is lowered into and then topped with a lid. Those basically just fill up with water. With a bell-shaped vault, the casket is lowered onto a platform and a cap is placed over it so that the container becomes airtight. Think about an upside down glass submerged underwater. Air stays in, water stays out. Then again, vaults eventually crack from the weight of the earth and heavy machinery overhead; so it doesn't matter. You're dead anyway.

Initially I had planned on detailing my online search (which yielded more in the way of disposing a body in criminal ways and bad cop forums) and subsequent conversations with three different funeral homes tonight in this entry (the most helpful woman said to find something strongly citrus), but I guess the point has become that if Dad wouldn't have had a recommendation (he probably would have said Vicks VapoRub under the nose), he would have had a story.

Oreo 1999-2007

Well crap. Any more it feels like all I do are obituaries on this blog. Just three weeks after DeeDee's passing, Oreo suddenly succumbed to the exact same thing today as well. I'm just speechless.

Keep your fingers crossed for my mom's now one remaining cat.

DeeDee 2000-2007

DeeDee
Originally uploaded by kellinahandbasket.

In a sad turn of events, my poor mom had to put DeeDee to sleep today. I guess it's up in the air as to what happened. Pulmonary edema and possibly a series of strokes within 24 hours? Very very sad.

Grandma

February 7, 1918 - April 2, 2007

I really only ever had one grandparent in my life. My mom's parents had died before I was born and my dad's dad died three months after I arrived in the world. So that left Grandma. Of course I wish I had gotten to know the other three, but Grandma had a personality as big as four grandparents put together.

Before Alzheimer's, before dementia, and before Parkinson's, this lady raced (as in ran with) her grandkids. She never smiled during a game of Gin Rummy. It didn't matter that I was 10 years old--Grandma was a serious competitor in a game of cards and it wasn't pretty when she lost. Thankfully it was endearing to me even then when I knew she was treating me equally by not throwing the game for my benefit. I had my first martini with my grandma.

My brother and I were lucky. We were the only grandkids in town and we went out to dinner every Friday with her to Skyline, followed by Graeter's. I'd vary my ice cream choice, but she faithfully bought a scoop of peppermint stick with hot bittersweet chocolate drizzled on top. With that routine for many many years, I'm banking on a heart attack when my time comes.

She lived with us for six months after she fell and broke her hip. And then another six months when she fell again and shattered her kneecap. She was clearly always mad at herself for those accidents, but had nothing but a sense of humor around us. I remember one day when my brother had crumpled my homework; I was loudly crying into the carpet of the hallway. She came hobbling down with her crutches and ever so calmly asked if I was counting the fibers in the carpet and how many I had found so far.

Then there was the time she babysat us for a week while my parents were away on vacation. She unknowingly cut her toe and bled all over the carpet in the whole house and the goldfish died.

And then the grandma things she'd say: If you asked her how she was doing, she'd say she was "supermalagorgeous."

But above all, my favorite story is the one my dad would tell about how his mom became his mom. He told it like this:

I guess my dad had an accident with his girlfriend because I was born. I was a bastard. She didn't want me so my dad said 'To hell with her' and took me with him. He found another girl, but she didn't like me either. So he said 'To hell with her too.' And then Pop found your grandma. Well she loved me so much that she made me the best man in the wedding, got married on my birthday, and adopted me. The rest is history.

My dad always had his arms crossed, leaning on a table when he told this story and when he'd finish the last line of the story he'd proudly look over his shoulder at my grandma right beside him and she'd scoop a spoonful of food into her mouth and nod like, Yep. That's what happened. She was so humble about it. She took in someone else's kid for god's sake! I always loved that incredibly humanist side to her.

But it's okay. Hopefully she's with a lot of people she's missed for a long time. A palm reader once asked me if I had three deceased grandparents (and I was young then) because I had three guardian angels indicated on my palm. This week I've been looking at those lines, waiting for a fourth to appear.

Lucky Vegas

Five days in Vegas and I broke even, Ryan walked away a winner, we consoled a fellow elevator rider who was in the hole $1500+, two job opportunities came up for me, and a friend from grad school called with news of a big break.

Check the shelves of your closest bookseller next Fall for the Best New American Voices because my dear friend, Jordan McMullin, will be one of the new stars featured in the annual anthology. This is some much deserved attention for a writer whose work I admire as much as Lorrie Moore and Amy Bloom. She's the real deal.

Needless to say it was a great trip and reunion with the in-laws. A lucky trip, indeed. Pictures start here.

Categories: Travel

Was in San Diego, Am in Cincinnati, Will Be in the Mediterranean

Nine months since I've been back to the 'nati and multiple people have reproduced to affirm this precise time frame. Having never seen these people pregnant, I think the babies are taking on this weird Brave New World/Gattaca feel to me. Or maybe because I just saw Gattaca.

Came back for a friend's wedding, which was a blast and high school reunion of sorts, but have gotten much much more:

What's up, Cincinnati? Desdemona Festival? Awesome. Had a taste on Friday with the Sundresses and Ghostface and am looking forward to the Fiery Furnaces, Heartless Bastards, and Walkmen tonight. A scant crowd on Friday didn't seem to bode well for the festival's livelihood in the future, but it's an event worth continuing.

When you read his blog (June 24, 2006 "Desdemona Festival") our story will seem so circular, but in that scant crowd a guy walked by wearing brown Crocs, which caught my attention for several reasons: 1) I own Crocs too, 2) No one seems to have them in Cincinnati, compared to San Diego, and 3) I've recently been struck by how great the brown ones actually look--I had my doubts. So the brown factor had me eyeing his feet to the stage and when I looked up, it was Chris Glass. As in, the guy whose web log I link to in my sidebar because I think it's so darn great, even if it didn't cover my hometown. And because I don't know him, he's something of a celebrity to me, yet he wanted to take my picture?! (Check out his photos, people. This is his forte) Chris is every bit as cool and friendly and beardy as his site would have you think and certainly my odd highlight of the evening. I mean, I was able to ask this guy whom I'd never met how his weekend in NYC was...heh. The web.

Video Monday! Crazy Like the Taz

(April 17, 2006)
Regular readers of Kellinahandbasket might already be familiar with my friend, Marhs (creator of Kell's Big German Scavenger Hunt). However you might not be familiar with her crazy spouse, Graham, who's the lead in this Video Monday's clip. This guy is the father of their recently born child!

Congratulations Marcy & Graham!

The Other Paris

It's the last day of March and I figure if I don't get some kind of run-down of the month's events and travels, I never will.

So Julie and Katherine's visit led us back to the Paris that isn't in the tabloids, where Katherine works as a dancer at the Lido. I had the brilliant idea to drive because I just had to see how far away it was by car. I'd taken a train, a plane, a ferry, a bus, and a pogo stick, but hadn't had the automotive experience and it went relatively smooth. But now I can say, just take the train. I parked the car at Charles de Gaulle airport and 1) it practically takes an hour to drive around that place and 2) once you park the car, you have to catch the bus that takes you to the terminal for the regional train (RER) which will take you to the métro you'll need to get to wherever you're going in Paris. At least a train from Rome or wherever will take you directly into the city. Believe it or not it's worth having to sit next to some weirdos.

Anyway I feel lucky enough to say that this was my nth time in Paris. The first time was in high school when we saw public masturbation for the first time, my friend, Mara, got pooped on by a pigeon, and another girl had left a tampon inside her for 13 days yet managed to be TSS-free. Oh and we saw some monuments. Other memories include a lonesome Christmas with "Ave Maria" on repeat, watching a guy illegally scale La Grande Arche de la Défense with my mom, seeing Wilco in Montmartre and many many more.

(click to enlarge--Kath is the flower behind the green glitter flower)

And the cool part is no many how many times you go, Paris is always a new experience and there's always one more thing you have not yet done. This time around it was seeing "Le Bonheur" at the Lido with the added bonus of Katherine being in it. Kath hooked us up with some tickets (admittedly 120 euros for dinner and a show had been a deterrent) and it was good to see something considered soOo Paris despite the fact that finding an actual French person there is your old needle in a haystack example. And it's certainly not a sex show, people. Being topless seems to be more of a consequence of your costume, which happens to lack fabric in the breast area, rather than dancers who are looking for audience members who'd like a good bruuuuumski. Anyway in my humble opinion Katherine Schwing was the highlight of the show. That's K-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E S-C-H-W-I-N-G (and no, she's never in her entire life heard any references to Wayne's World) She's a star--look out for her in The Producers DVD. It's the bank scene, right Kath or Juls?

Juls at Musée d'Orsay

And while it was a short visit, Juls and I managed to get in a lot of walking to see the major monuments (Louvre, Tuilleries, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, etc.) and hit Musée d'Orsay for some of the finest 19th century fine art...and there's plenty of it...and people too. It was there it struck me that, oh yeah, Juls was in Art History AP with me in high school, where the appreciation all started. Where a group of us spent hours upon hours in her basement trading packets we had made concerning the main points and examples of any given art period. And the "main points" were a mere 100 pages for each of us. I think I got stuck with Etruscan art or something else equally boring and pottery-ish. Luckily all of us passed, me barely. The rest were in all the Honors classes, APs, Super APs, and Xtreme APs and pulling down 20.0 GPAs so I think they were used to the rigor.

After Musée d'Orsay Julie promptly got me hooked on Grey's Anatomy and closed the day down with some red wine. Thanks for the visit and memories Juls and Kath!

More pictures of Paris here.

Task #1: Schlierbach

Take a picture of you standing in this town, by a welcome sign with the town's name. This town/area was first documented in 1245 with hardly more than 3000 inhabitants. This is the smallest district in Heidelberg.

Whooooo-wee! Not for the faint of heart, this one! (Schlierbach is out past Elizabeth's Arch, on the same road along the Neckar River) It may sound simple, but there are some drivers who are impatient to get out of Heidelberg! We almost got run over turning into that tiny driveway behind me, though I'm thankful for it's convenient location next to the scavenger hunt task. Special thanks to my cousin, Kate, for helping out on this one.

Cancer as a Foreign Language

Oh the words you don't anticipate having to look up in a foreign language like Brustkrebs, or breast crabs. More specifically, breast cancer. I looked it up because I didn't know what else to do after finding out today that my mom has it. Luckily it's been caught early so it appears to be in situ, as they call it, but localized as we know it. Lumpectomy next Monday. Sigh.

Kell's Big German Scavenger Hunt

My oh so creative pal, Marcy (aka Marhs) in her concern for my mental health, has taken some impressive measures to keep me occupied by drawing up my own personalized scavenger hunt.
Marcy writes:

Kell's Big German Scavenger Hunt--Something to do during the day, a way to meet interesting people, socialize a bit more, learn about what's around, and practice your German, and good stories to share with Ryan when he gets home each night.

Oh-hoh no, Marhs. Not just with Ryan. I'm sharing this with all of you. We all can probably benefit a little from your crafty project, which is why I'll be posting all my tasks on the blog. And just so you're all familiar with the rules:

These need not be done in any particular order or time of day, just find some time (shouldn't be too hard to do, huh?), and go out and explore. It's like your own personal version of the Amazing Race. Sure you could use the internet to figure out where to go, but what's the fun in that? Go out and bring the clues with you and ask people if they can point you in the right direction or tell you where to go to find the answers. You must be IN all the pictures yourself.

Twenty-nine tasks. Admittedly I'll save some for the upcoming family month here but I think it'll help everyone see what my daily world looks like.