International Flights: October 2012

Photo Booth

Halloween at Ashley & Scott's wedding:

the bride and groom

It's a-me! Mario!

One needs jelly beans to play Munchkin

Meanwhile, back at someone else's desk:

Aloha!

From the bottom of the deep blue sea to the top of the highest mountain. My Hawaiian vacations in 20 pictures.

The Coffee Shack

Gold Dusk Day Gecko (video and pictures)

at the End of the Road

swimming into the rainbow

Kilauea

Wai O'pae Tide Pools

above the clouds at Mauna Kea

and there's life on Mars after all

Akaka Falls

Mahukona Beach

snorkeling with the Green Sea Turtles...

Spinner Dolphins (video and pictures)

Green Sand Beach

more photos here

"Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Chops"
because that was the name of his dog
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and a gold star
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and read it to his aunts
That was the year Father Tracy
took all the kids to the zoo
And he let them sing on the bus
And his little sister was born
with tiny toenails and no hair
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine signed with a row of X's
and he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And his father always tucked him in bed at night
And was always there to do it.

Once on a piece of paper with blue lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Autumn"
because that was the name of the season
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and asked him to write more clearly
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because of its new paint
And the kids told him
that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left the butts on the pews
And sometimes they would burn holes
That was the year his sister got glasses
with thick lenses and black frames
And the girl around the corner laughed
when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And the kids told him why
his mother and father kissed a lot
And his father never tucked him in bed at night
And his father got mad
when he cried for him to do it.

Once on a paper torn from his notebook
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Innocence: A Question"
because that was the question about his girl
And that's what it was all about
And his professor gave him an A
and a strange steady look
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because he never showed her
That was the year Father Tracy died
And he forgot how the end
of the Apostle's Creed went
And he caught his sister
making out on the back porch
And his mother and father never kissed
or even talked
And the girl around the corner
wore too much makeup
That made him cough when he kissed her
but he kissed her anyway
because that was the thing to do
And at three a.m. he tucked himself into bed
his father snoring soundly.

That's why on the back of a brown paper bag
he tried another poem
And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"
Because that's what it was really all about
And he gave himself an A
and a slash on each damned wrist
And he hung it on the bathroom door
because this time he didn't think he could reach the kitchen."

by Osoanon Nimuss

in "The Perks of being a Wallflower", Stephen Chbosky

Eventually, the girl who cried ice skating...

...got up in the morning and went to the rink, but nobody was there.

Strawberries and Parsley

Fostering a runaway lizard

"Far away far away, I want to go far away."

Oktoberfest

Combine beer, sausages, live music and a German speaking Russian obsessed with Germany, Germans and European passports and you're up for a fun Oktoberfest in the Bay Area.

Oktoberfest at Stanford...

...and at Schroeder's

lala la la lala la

the Russian mobster ;)

New hobby: photography class

Homework assignments: Through my camera lens.

Stern Grove Festival

Bring your picnic basket and let's celebrate "summer" in San Francisco with ballet, opera and music concerts in this natural amphitheater surrounded by giant eucalyptus, redwood, and fir trees.

San Francisco Ballet's performance

The amazing OK Go concert with the confetti explosion :)

"You can't stop these kids from dancin'.

Why would you want to?

Especially when yor already gettin' yours.

'Cause if your mind don't move and your knees don't bend,

well don't go blamin' the kids again.

When the morning comes."

Impressions from Canada

The thing you immediately notice when you arrive in Canada is the strange Canadian accent in words like "out" and "about". It's super funny and kind of hard not to smile every time you hear it, which is constantly... Fortunately Canadians are the nicest people I've encountered so far and don't mind it :)

The second thing you notice is that Canada is a lot different from the US. Sure it looks the same, with its traffic signs and steaks still being cooked from rare to well done... But if you are able to forget that for a second it's not hard to imagine you are in Europe: old buildings actually look old, cities have caracter, people have a real sense of humor and there's a special way of enjoying life... un certain je-ne-sais-quoi... un "Le Joie de Vivre"... You really have to love Canada for that!

Bilingual Ottawa

Busy downtown Toronto

Quiet and laid-back Montréal...

...full of vibrant and exciting nightlife.

margaritas!!