Caution: Some Traditions May Be Changed...

Last Thursday night/Friday morning, my friend Yasmin left the Bahá’í World Centre to continue her service elsewhere - as so many of my friends have already done (and as I will do in slightly less than 2 years....)
I don't have time to tell you ALL of the remarkable things about Yasmin (pictured below) - but I can tell you that she (well... now ME) is the last of the 'original Traditional group'. Courtesy of my friend Will: What does “traditional dinner” mean?
To which I naturally replied: I know – it makes it seem like there will be a turkey involved somehow…
On the contrary
It started one night shortly after (Universal House of Justice Member) Mr. Dunbar’s class moved up the mountain (of God) – at that time Kadria & Yasmin were my neighbors & Joe was (of course) living in the Blum. So I invited them over for dinner one night before class for just a quick bite as Joe might not otherwise have time to get all the way home, eat, get back, etc – and I was just starting to really be friends with Kadria and Yasmin.
Anyhow, it was meant to be a one-off, but after dinner Yasmin proclaimed that this should be a tradition. And so it became….

Also, I had – around that time – decided to make cooking my hobby b/c I figured that if I failed I could always eat a sandwich. BUT (!!!) I really hate cooking for one – I don’t like most leftovers and I felt like I wasted too much food. So this gave me a good forum to practice my recipes, etc.
Eventually the dinners expanded (mostly b/c Joe was tired of being the only man) so the meals became less elaborate, but I got really good at putting together a dinner for 7–10 people in 30 minutes!

*and there you have a basic history of Traditional Thursday*

Okay - so this story is over - time for a new Tradition: maybe Thursday, maybe not. I have some ideas (courtesy of Yasmin) and I'll be keeping you posted. I somehow think the new ones will be better than the old (hard as it may seem to picture now).

A Change is Gonna Come...

I know that with all of the positive and negative changes happening in the world - as we speak - it may seem trite to speak of this seemingly insignificant change looming on my horizon.... My flatmate Kalila is going home. For the very best of reasons - she's getting married y'all! - but that doesn't mean I'm not going to miss the heck out of her. So I suppose this is just a head's up. If and when I start waxing sentimental, you'll know why.

True story: brought to you by Le Love

Kalila and I: ladies night out

From the Vault...

As promised - more new(ly developed) pictures....

As Kalila and Kadria can attest, I was up on this trolley forever!

I was like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Photographer....

I wish that my other pictures of this had turned out - cest la vie, no?

But it was rad, trust.

I took this picture of Kalila as she was trying to fix her bag.
She looked really endearingly earnest.
Now that I see the picture, I really like the angles of it - like a zig zag sort of effect.

This picture I had to crop the heck out of!
It's taken in the heart of the street bazaar in downtown Tel Aviv.
*note to self: need flash*
But I really dig the way the fruit is lit in this shot.
It sort of reminds me of how obvious early Christian and even Rennaissance artists were in letting their audience know what about the piece was the subject - or, in certain conversations, what was good and of God.
I guess you should eat fruit?
...a message from my camera.

A Preview of Sorts...

So as you may know, I've finally completed my first ever roll of film! ...okay, so I've completed rolls on disposable cameras before - but this is different. This time I took pictures on a camera that is all my own - forever. To tell you the truth, I'm pretty pleased with my initial efforts. I was truly pleasantly surprised with many of the results.
When I first mentioned to Kalila that I wanted to learn to take better pictures (and with film), she told me that, with any hobby, you had to be prepared to spend money and time. I suppose it only fitting, then, that she be the subject of the first photo I post:

This picture was taken at a little (and terribly cute) cafe in

Old Jaffa, Israel.

In a 'putting it all out there' kind of way, I wasn't super happy with the colors in this one.

...so I made it black & white; now I really like it.

Yay for editing....

This picture is really rad. Grafitti is a big deal here - artistically speaking.

This piece is actually 3D - it's like they've decopaged a Dandy (a la Oscar Wilde) on what would otherwise have been an unremarkable stretch of wall....

I'll put more up soon - hope you like the initials....

Life in the Fishbowl...

So my office is located in what is commonly referred to as the fishbowl. This is because one of the walls is made entirely of glass - and it's curved. One of my favorite stories involving former Universal House of Justice member Mr. Grossman is when he said that we had very pretty fishes in our fishbowl. {Insert blush here}
Well... thanks to My Constant Photographer (get it? okay, good), I now have concrete evidence! Ladies & gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce Ladies Night on the Town, also known as Fun With a Fisheye Lens: Volume II!

We so crazy!

Shar & I

Jamak & I
*Modern Interpretations of the Fish Face Classic*

The Fab 5
Kalila, Shar, Yo, Jamak, Kadria

We 3 Queens of Israel

Jamak & I

*Location: Amazing Ratan Hammock Seat Thing*

ps. This excursion doubled as 2 birthday parties & a farewell - wishing Shar (and Rich) all the best in New Zealand!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race?

So I realize that I sort of suck at keeping promises - or, more to the point, I sort of suck at taking/uploading pictures of places I go & tell you about & promise that you'll soon see all of the wonderful things I've seen....
I mean to be better at it, I'm just challenged. Of course, when I tell you that it is a regular occurence in my family to develop a single roll of film (most usually from a disposable camera - awww yeah! We practically invented lo mo!) and find pictures from Mother's Day, 4th of July, and Thanksgiving - all within 36 little pictures, it'll make more sense. **It's okay if you want to laugh, it's kind of funny.**
Thankfully I have fantastic friends who rock at taking pictures! Below is a shot of Kalila & I (and Kadria, too) in Tel Aviv.
Dad - yes, the bug in the shot is on purpose. And, to be fair, I should tell everyone that my dad's also a great photographer - the penchant for forgetting to bring the camera/take a picture/develop the film is totally matrilineally inherited....

Anyhow, it may take longer than anyone would like (ahem. I mean me), but I'm still learning, right? ...I wonder how long that excuse will work - maybe until Thanksgiving? {wink}

...Si, Solo los Domingos

Some friends (the K's) and I went to Tel Aviv this weekend. Excepting the airport, I'd never been there before - and I really loved 'adventuring' around the city. Such a fantastic atmosphere. (Hopefully, I'll be able to post pictures from it soon)
I felt that we were in perfect harmony with summer that day.... Like we weren't quite ready for summer to be gone - and summer wasn't quite ready to loose it's hold on the world.

... in fair New York, where we lay our scene, my friend Amy of Montague fame (I told you about my nerd factor, yes?) took this picture at the Coney Island boardwalk. I actually saw this picture earlier last week - and I was totally won over by the beauty in it. But I had no idea how completely it would capture the feeling of my experience with the beauty of summer's end. Enjoy!

Literally or Figuratively...

We clean up okay.

I didn't cook (what was an AMAZING dinner), therefore I must clean. My mama raised me right!

Picture taken by Sina Taheri

Kalila at the Commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Báb
Picture taken by Kadria Simons - she's wicked talented...