memory keeper

You don't take a photograph, you make it.
~ Ansel Adams

A year ago I bought a camera; my first DSLR. It also happened to be my first single lens reflex camera of any kind. I carefully inspected my dad's Canon SLR from 1978 (the A-1, Canon's a runaway best seller) before finally deciding which camera I should purchase for myself. Even though I can't convert his SLR over to digital, I can convert his lenses. But that's something I may do some day far into the future.

For now, I live in two worlds: the world of digital photography and the world of print photography. I have two different cameras to serve me in these parallel domains. I have two different media. Actually, I have three. I grew up with my father making slides. He even had a mount for his SLR. He'd set the camera up over the open reference book and shoot textbook photos for slides. This is how he gave presentations up until about two years ago. Then he switched to PowerPoint. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the sound of the slide carriage advancing.

I was home vising my family two months ago when my Aunts came over to go through my grandmother's old boxes. My grandmother passed away 20 years ago, and my dad had stored all her possessions in our crawl space. All her remaining possessions fit into two storage boxes. It took us hours just to go through one box.

My grandmother is the student in the middle of the first row.

What did we find? Important documents, memorabilia, sentimental letters, and many photos. But mostly we found slides. 

We also found a lot of photos in terrible condition. But I couldn't just throw them away. I'll fix them up, I thought, as I put them in my keep pile. I planned to bring them back to San Francisco with me, scan them, and make them beautiful again. 

  

This is how far I've gotten fixing our old family photos. I don't know how to use Photoshop. I don't have a fancy computer. Honestly, I don't know what I'm doing. But I know I have to keep trying. Because what if it works? What if it turns out technology can not just preserve, but also save, old memories? These memories are so old, the people who actually lived them have long since passed. My grandfather passed away over 33 years ago, his parents long before him. I now have in my possession photos of his parents' parents, going back hundreds of years. 

My great-great-grandmother. Don't get on her bad side.

So what am I fixing the photos for, when all I have are faded photos and hundreds of negatives? How do I even know what I've got? Scanning negatives as a novice is not easy. I'm getting the hang of it, but there are a lot of photos go to through.

In the midst of discovering what is on these negatives, I know that I've got someone's memories. I'll keep going through the negatives until I've scanned them all and seen what's still there. Because somehow these are my memories now too, even if they occurred long before I was born. Unlike digital photos, there is information scrolled on the backside of the photos; names and dates and even phone numbers. I know who, when, and where I'm looking at. What better time is there to make these memories my own as well?

            

My great-grandmother        The backside of the photo

I'm going to have to score +1 for the real deal photos. And thank my grandmother for keeping them tucked safely away among her most cherished possessions. I can't say I treat any of my digital photos with the same care. I still cherish actual old family photos. So, dust off your photos and look at them. And just because they aren't in good condition, or were overexposed, don't throw them away. Because you have memories that are often worth holding on to. And ones worth discovering; those that you didn't even know existed until now.

More family photos found in the box, restored by yours truly

My Dad's family

Aunt Ferne's graduation

Aunt Robin

Dad's family on vacation

app obsession

I have too many mobile apps on my phone. Or perhaps I don't have enough phone memory. Either way, I frequently find myself running low on phone space. Because I like apps. Well, to be more specific, I like the concept of apps. I like learning about new apps. I like searching for new apps. I like reading reviews of new apps.

Oxford Dictionary Definition of an App

But then I never actually use these apps. Okay, it's not true to say that I NEVER use the apps. I like Yelp. And Facebook. And Instagram. But have I even once opened Yerdle? No. But I might. You never know, it could come in handy. I might suddenly decide to trade something online. So, I'll just keep the app for now.

Yerdle

But I'm running out of memory. Darn 16GB iPhone. Why must I have to delete a selection of already downloaded apps? What if some day my contacts all move to TextMe and I'm behind because I don't have it? Or what if I really want to use Khan Academy and I can't just type "Khan Academy" into a browser on my phone? What will I do then? It'll be a godsend that I already downloaded the app. Wait, what folder did I place it in again? Eeh, I'll just go to Safari and type in the website. This is fastest, and I already have Safari open...

Which begs the question: Are apps even all that important? Or do they just make my phone look busy? And pretty? I have at least 50 apps I'll never use. I'm not exaggerating. I won't join Yerdle. Or TextMe. Or even Blinkist. But I just read about Blinkist. It's supposed to be awesome. If only I could remember what the app does. Oh well, I'll just leave it on my phone for now.

Blinkist: An app about books, maybe? Or blinking?

I checked online to see if my behavior is out of the ordinary. It turns out I am just like all other mobile technology users. Yahoo says that, "between 80 and 90 percent of apps are downloaded, used once, and eventually deleted by users. But deletion often comes only when your device is performing so poorly that a massive overhaul is necessary." Good thing I still have my Yahoo app to research my behavior.

I think it's time to bite the bullet and delete some of these never been used apps. It's true that too many apps slow down your phone. So, goodbye Lens Ink Free. I have no use for you, Symbol. Ohh, but Symbol offers accents. So maybe I won't delete them just yet. I no longer need Cell Splat (I never did), but I'll keep Words with Friends. In my case, it should just be called Words with Mother. She's the only person I play.

And I am not allowing myself to download any new apps this month. Ooh, but I just read really good reviews on the Royal Baby App. So maybe just that one is okay. I'll use it for sure. Princess Kate may be having twins.

You can download the royal baby app here: http://royal-baby-app.en.softonic.com/iphone

wassap?

More people in more places can now compete, connect and collaborate with equal power and equal tools than ever before.
~ Thomas Friedman

I'm learning a new language: Spanish shorthand. It's found mostly in texting. It's similar to Spanish, except that spelling doesn't matter, there's no time for adding in accents, and abbrevs. are all the norm. There's a steep learning curve. Or, as we say in Spanish text language, "x apre."

Here's a typical text message from a friend in Playa del Carmen

The same message in regular (aka longhand) Spanish would read 
"no te preocupes" or "don't worry"

My learning of shorthand comes mostly in the form of instant text messages sent to my iPhone through the wonderfully popular global app "WhatsApp?" The beauty of WhatsApp, aside from its surprising dependability, is that all messages are free. It doesn't matter where the messages are sent from or to whom they are sent. All you need is a smart phone, a WhatsApp account, and the phone number of all your friends and acquaintances. It really is that simple. Videos and photos are instantly sent and received via cellular service or an internet connection. I love the pictures I've been getting from Mexico.

Vero sent me a photo of her son Ian making pot holders!

She is great about sending out photos and videos from her phone.

I'd first heard about WhatsApp on the cusp of its impending sale to Facebook. What I've recently learned about WhatsApp is that it has existed for years. And, more impressively, so solidly has the product established itself, that it has become a part of everyday conversation around the world. Its global recognition is up there alongside Facebook. When I'd meet someone new in Mexico, something that happened several times a day, introductions were always followed by "tienes wassap?" I'd pull out my phone and enter in my new friend's contact information. I even got really adept at knowing which country codes to add. +1 in iPhone speak equals 011. Sneaky, huh?

With WhatsApp I am in constant communication with my friends over in Mexico. I love being able to practice my Spanish and learn Spanish texting shorthand. But I don't love the constant pinging of my phone. A ping means I have a new message. Although it's never just one ping. It's typically a steady stream of messages coming through. And the now all too familiar pinging sounds are definitely not restricted to occurrences solely during daylight hours. 

But this is not a shortcoming of WhatsApp. It's the price I pay for keeping my phone on, with the volume up, letting the pings come through and distract me. What can I say? I like being connected.

Want to try WhatsApp? https://www.whatsapp.com/download/

Look me up and send me a message. (Just try to make it during a reasonable hour). 
I'll get right back to you.

writing season

My first few weeks of unemployment didn't really feel like unemployment. Between travel, travel, and more travel, every day was filled with some sort of meeting, obligation, or deadline. For the past four weeks I have longed for a true unemployment day - nowhere to be, nowhere to go. A "holy shit, I'm unemployed" realization day. I took that day, and I'm bored already. Or rather, I'm ready to get back to work. 

I'm beginning to realize that unemployment = time. It is completely up to me how I spend my time. Right now, I spend it writing.

Because I have to write a business plan. Not just any business plan; the plan for my start-up company. There are a lot of firsts along with writing this plan. My first start-up. My first market testing. My first move into Venture Capital. My first investment. My first for profit company. But not my first partnership, not my first passion project, and not my first venture into the unknown. Just my first real business plan.

So, I sit at home and write. I sit in the coffee shop and write. I sit in the library and write. I sit outside (when my computer is charged) and write.

Writing something as long as a business plan requires stamina. There are no quick emails sent out, no quick feedback, and no quick phone calls. There is definitely no stopping by a co-worker's cubicle to ask her a quick question. 

Instead, I write and write. And then I look for something else to do. Most of my day is now spent alone, writing. And drinking coffee. And surfing the internet while thinking. And texting/sending instant messages to have some way to communicate with other people during the day.

Currently, business planning is enough for me. But I can tell that sometime soon I'll look forward to heading into a job, complete with meetings, deadlines, constant email communication, and even being judged by someone else's standards. But that's some day. 

For now, I've got to work on this all consuming business plan...

only the locals know

Get a bicycle. You will certainly not regret it, if you live. 
~ Mark Twain  Taming the Bicycle. 1884

I'm back in my city of San Francisco and I'm hitting the road again. In true San Franciscan style, I'll be cruising the Avenues on my bicycle. San Francisco weather makes bike riding a fun, yet chilly, activity. I always have to layer up, especially if I plan to bike home after sun down.

This winter/spring has been brutal for California farming, if not perfect for bike commuters such as my beau. It has rained once during the past three months. We Californians are in a drought. A serious, serious drought. So much so that I ask the skies for rain on a daily basis. But every morning, when I look out the window and see the shining sun, I can't help but think, "another sunny day? Oh well, I may as well take advantage of the weather."

So I hop on my bike. But before I can actually go anywhere new, I check the internet. For some suggested bike route options. I typically grab my handy smartphone, open Google Maps, and enter in where I want to go (this activity is reserved for distant locations outside my typical biking comfort zone). I hit bike route and voilà, I am given the suggested route. So, I head off. I love bike rides across town.

Except that I almost never follow the suggested bike route. I find that it is never the best/easiest/quickest/safest/flattest route. So why even look it up at all, if I'm going to learn to navigate the streets myself? Force of habit, I suppose. I do rely heavily on Google Maps for driving directions. But whatever bike route Google Maps does tell me to take is not the one I end up taking. 

When it comes to navigating the streets of San Francisco, regular bike riders know best. I can honestly say I know the best routes. I knew the wiggle long before I even had a smartphone. I am glad the city has taken to painting in green bike lanes and arrows to help novices learn the flat routes throughout the city, but even they don't always get it right.

Almost every time I ride my bike through San Francisco I notice the sharrows. Sharrows are exactly what they sound like; they are "share arrows" meant to let cars know that they must share the lane with bicycles. Sharrows also alert bikers that they can and should use this street (as opposed to the major thorough-way one block to the left or right of each particularly painted street). I feel safer on sharrow or bike lane marked streets. But more often than not, I don't choose to take these streets.

Cars are notified to share the road with bicyclists

Because sharrowed streets are not necessarily flat streets. Or through streets. There is simply always a better route or street to take. Thank you City of San Francisco for painting arrows on blacktop, but your arrows are useless. Or at least should and will be ignored by us locals. I rely on what I know about the city and its streets to get me from start to finish, every single time. I go where the locals know to go, and I choose every street I take based on experience on these streets; not by any map, painted arrows, or bike lane. I know where to go because I have been there before. 

Some day I hope our friends at Google think to ask us, "what is the bike route you'd take from ocean beach to the ballpark. Or from Pacific Heights to the Embarcadero" and then edit their mapping software to reflect these best routes. Until then, we bike riders already know the best way to go. So we hop on our bikes and head across town.