Absent Not Inactive!

Sorry for the absence of posts and updates, I assure you this project has not died yet. I’m trying during the wee morning hours of the 24th of September, and thus far have done 23 days of interviews and photos. My hand has fully healed and there is only a bit of light brown scarring where the burn was. If you didn’t know my hand was burnt you’d probably not even notice, or if you did you’d more likely assume I had residue of mocha on my hand. (I work at a starbucks thus the mocha assumption isn’t that far from the truth sometimes). I was rather surprised at the strength of the pain killers they gave me. Very effectively they stopped the pain, but they also made me drowsy and I wasn’t too safe for driving. Thus in the morning for the next three days I only took aspirin that way I could still go out. Then in the afternoon I took the pain killers that were prescribed to me. Also despite getting the burn on a Sunday evening, it hurt enough that I kept it on ice until Tuesday night and then on and off for the Wednesday. One interesting adventure down- many more to come? School has also just resumed, thus I’m now juggling classes, work, TAing a class, trying to do this project and figure out where I’d like to go once I’m done with Foothill. While some days are harder than others, I’ve had the dumb luck to be invited to various social events where I only know one or two people. Such events are utterly ideal as there are many people to meet and potentially interview, and this project ends up being a great conversation starter. The other perks is at social events the answers I get are also more in depth. Though I don’t know how much time I’ll have for social activities now that school is in session.

Also I’ve just finalized plans for a family trip this October. During the end of the month we’ll be visiting Portugal, London and Spain. Which I’m thinking will be an excellent opportunity to meet new people. I’ll definitely have to get someone during the stop over in New York so I don’t lose a day during the extended flights. But that’s a few weeks away. For now it’s nearly 3 am and I should go to bed so I can get 3 hours of sleep before work starts. I’ll try to get my act together with uploading, processing and posting- but no promises. I’m keeping up with the interview side- and for now that’s challenge enough.

Hands on Project

I've thus far completed 17 days - 15 are on the blog as you can see.

But yesterday night I managed to burn my hand through a klutzy accident at work thus I'm now typing and shooting with one hand while the other remains covered with a burn cream, gauze and on ice. After a 6 hour adventure today I got a doctor to look at it and prescribe some heavy duty painkillers, a better cream for the burn and a side effect of dizziness (thanks to el painkillers). It made today's interview a bit harder for me at least. Typing speed- not so good. This is definitely a hands on project and I'm for the next couple days, limited in the use of my left hand.

Day 15 - Smokey

Day 15 - September 15th 2007
Location: Mountain View, California
Setting: House Party

1. Preferred nickname?
Smokey
2. Birthplace?
El Camino Hospital
3. Paper or plastic?
Oh paper. Hands Down.
4. Favorite childhood toy?
Oh what was the toy that would ... actually no. That came around when I was older. Tricycle, big wheel. I couldn’t say jungle gym cuz that’s a play place.
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
9-11 happened and I was woken up when my brother and my dad were like, “oh my god.” Cuz it happened at like 6 at like 9 ... around there. I had just woken up before school.
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Life is short, you need to realize that every second is another second that will never happen again. Carpe Diem.
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
*exhales* *pause* It would be um... day at the beach. Surfing. Surfing at the beach. Or maybe just outdoors with nature.
8. Song of the week?
So ooh this is a good one. It would be uh... It’s a cover of a punk band by tower of power. Oh Shining Star *pause* Oh wait... that’s not the song. Roll Over by The String Cheese Incident.
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
Racial jokes are kinda difficult because there are stereotype of groups for a reason... yeah I can think of many racial jokes.
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
The Bourne Ultimatum. (Movie)
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Oh Rosie O’Donnell would probably knock that bitch out in like ten seconds

Day 14 - Rik Ihli

Day 14 - September 14th 2007
Location: Santa Cruz County, California
Setting: beach

1. Preferred nickname?
Rik Ihli. My name is Rick Wayne but I got the name Rik Ihli from an old black soul singer
2. Birthplace?
Seattle 12:56 am St Patrick’s day
3. Paper or plastic?
Paper, I can reuse paper
4. Favorite childhood toy?
Oh my god, Favorite Childhood toy? You got me on this one. Any time I get a favorite, it’s a problem. (Later.) ... toy cars and tracks
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
I was laying in bed at home watching the television, and I knew the government was behind it because 9 seconds later all the channels had the same scene.
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Learn your rights and responsibility as an American, take them seriously and defend them with your life.
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
...I get bored easily so I’m always changing...
8. Song of the week?
Shake em up by Delbert McClinton (went into a story about how he taught Lennon how to play harmonica)
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
I know a million racist jokes, and a lot of black people don’t like niggers any more than I do.
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
Healing codes for the biological apocalypse
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
No one wins that one. You start a loser you end a loser.

Two Weeks In

It is now September 15th and I've successfully completed 15 days. I’m not sure what exactly I’ve expected thus far, but it’s been that and more. Some days are harder than others. Already I’ve noticed that earlier in the week people are more likely to be rushing to and fro- and it is much easier to just grab an acquaintance on those days. Earlier this week when wandering around Palo Alto trying to find a person for the 11th, it seemed absolutely everyone was rushing about or engaged in conversations that it would be rude to interrupt. That day I ended up walking in circles for nearly an hour and a half before I decided to try my luck at Stanford where I found my face of the day. In the two weeks I’ve been to two weddings and found those days so incredibly easy. When you’re at an event, and people aren’t roaming about they’re much more relaxed and easy to approach. Then the issue isn’t finding someone, it’s about being limited to one. Whereas during the midweek slump after a long shift it’s harder to muster up the energy to even talk to one person. I feel like I’ve been cheating to meet so many of the people in and around Starbucks, but because I work there, if I’m having a busy day it’s so much easier to just talk to someone while I’m on my lunch break. I’m guessing part of this is because even if I don’t know them, they’ve seen my face while getting coffee so thus they’re more likely not to just assume I’m a weirdo who they need to avoid. The other problem I’ve encountered is purely technical- my external hard drive died and without a place to put my files my computer is being slowed down. This means I’ve got to upload in batches, work goes slowly, and right now I’m at the point where I need to go purchase another one before I can upload more photos. As soon as I’ve got one you’ll see yesterday’s and today’s faces. Until then- hope you enjoyed looking at these and I’ll keep you updated on my progress (though most likely in bursts of posts rather than daily updates.)

Day 13 - Nana

Day 13 - September 13th 2007
Location: Los Altos, California
Setting: Farmer’s Market

1. Preferred nickname?
Nana
2. Birthplace?
Pennsylvania
3. Paper or plastic?
Paper
4. Favorite childhood toy?
I don’t have one
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
At a friend’s house
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Oh I don’t know
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Beach
8. Song of the week?
Icky Thumb by the White Stripes
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
No no
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
Shoot em up
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
I Don’t know... Rosie O’Donnell

Day 12 - Leni

Day 12 - September 12th 2007
Location: Main Street, Los Altos, California
Setting: Outside Starbucks

1. Preferred nickname?
Leni
2. Birthplace?
Holland
3. Paper or plastic?
Plastic
4. Favorite childhood toy?
Barbie
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
At home
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
To laugh
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Hanging out with friends
8. Song of the week?
Apologize
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
No
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
Georgia Rule
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Rosie O’Donnell

Day 11 - Kou

Day 11 - September 11th 2007
Location: Stanford, California
Setting: Outside the bookstore

1. Preferred nickname?
Kou
2. Birthplace?
China
3. Paper or plastic?
Paper
4. Favorite childhood toy?
Slingshot
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
Singapore
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Stay positive, being confident
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Sports field
8. Song of the week?
Hotel California
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
No
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
Transformers
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
The first one, I don’t have a clue.

Day 10 - Louise

Day 10, September 10th 2007
Location: Main Street, Los Altos
Setting: backroom of starbucks

1. Preferred nickname?
Louise
2. Birthplace?
Germany
3. Paper or plastic?
Plastic? I don’t really care. Whatever has handles
4. Favorite childhood toy?
My little pony
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
I was at home and then I went to school that day. I was in Junior High
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Oh god. umm... I don’t think I should give any advice because I never follow my advice. I would say go with the flow, but I never follow that myself.
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Honestly, doing nothing. Just hanging out with someone I really enjoy spending time with.
8. Song of the week?
Please Forgive Me by David Gray
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
Oh. Shoot. *laughs* No actually, I can never remember them.
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
For the book I would say definitely A Thousand Splendid Suns. And the movie, oh the Ten, that was really funny.
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Oprah. She’s the shit

Day 9 - Manda

Day 9 - September 9th 2007
Location: Stanford, California
Setting: Cancer Clinic Event, Volunteer’s table

1. Preferred nickname?
Manda
2. Birthplace?
Washington D.C.
3. Paper or plastic?
Paper
4. Favorite childhood toy?
Stuffed animal dog
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
Kenyon College
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Brevity is the soul of wit
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
With friends
8. Song of the week?
Soweto Gospel Choir

10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Oprah

Day 8 - Blondie

Day: 8 - September 8th 2007
Location: Bear Creek Rd., Los Gatos, California
Setting: Wedding Reception

1. Preferred nickname?
Blondie
2. Birthplace?
Madison, Wisconsin
3. Paper or plastic?
Plastic
4. Favorite childhood toy?
My mother’s high heels
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
In an electrical engineering class. And I thought it was a joke when the professor told us.
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Don’t worry because it creates a second problem to the initial problem you were worrying about.
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
With a good book, next to the pool.
8. Song of the week?
What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
Yes.
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
The Zanzibar Chest by Aidan Hartley
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Rosie O’Donnell

Day 7 - Ann

Day 7 - September 7th 2007
Location: Main Street, Los Altos, California
Setting: Starbucks coffee in the afternoon

1. Preferred nickname?
Ann
2. Birthplace?
Youngstown Ohio
3. Paper or plastic?
Plastic
4. Favorite childhood toy?
Train
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
I was ... I was teaching. I was teaching English.
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
To listen to your parents, they know more than you think.
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Reading or doing something with my children. Probably doing something with my children would be first and reading would be second because I’ve got incredible children.
8. Song of the week?
I have no idea.
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
No
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
Cleopatra’s nose it’s by a historian, and I’m trying to think if I can remember his name. It’s about how the unexpected changes the course of history.
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Oprah, I don’t like Rosie whatever her name is. She’s course and crude.

Day 6 - Debi

Day 6 - September 6th 2007
Location: Main Street, Los Altos
Setting: Starbucks

1. Preferred nickname?
Debi
2. Birthplace?
San Mateo, California
3. Paper or plastic?
Paper
4. Favorite childhood toy?
Skip it
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
At my house when I found out, and then school. And then they cancelled school.
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Be yourself.
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Playing frisbee
8. Song of the week?
Release by Timberland
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
I probably do and I’m blanking on them. My chemistry teacher in 8th grade showed us a video on racist jokes and how they were wrong.
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
Ummm... Any book by Lisa Gardener
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Oprah

Day 5 - Kathy

Day 5 - September 5th 2007
Location: Main Street, Los Altos, California
Setting: Starbucks Coffee

1. Preferred nickname?
Kathy
2. Birthplace?
Hanford California
3. Paper or plastic?
Paper
4. Favorite childhood toy?
Oh, my dolls, they’re my friends
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
At work.
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Be happy, life’s too short.
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Probably with my family
8. Song of the week?
I don’t know if I’ve had a song this week, not enough time for music
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
Of course
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
The Kite Runner
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Rosie O’Donnell

Day 4 - Kalvin

Location: Palo Alto, California
Setting: Video shoot for Gumball Capital (ran into them again while on an errand)

1. Preferred nickname?
Kalvin

2. Birthplace?
Mountain View, California

3. Paper or plastic?
99cent tote

4. Favorite childhood toy?
my imagination

5. Where were you on 9 -11?
Waking up and going to school

6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Do what you would do if you knew you couldn’t fail

7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Reading

8. Song of the week?
There's a Fine, Fine Line - Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Avenue Q soundtrack)

9. Do you know any racist jokes?
“Everyone's A Little Bit Racist”
Actually none off the top of my head, not even Chinese ones

10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
Stardust

11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Oprah

Day 3 - Rina

Location: Los Altos, California
Setting: Dinner with family friends

Preferred nickname?
Rina

Birthplace?
Santa Clara, California

Paper or plastic?
I bring my own

Where were you on 9 -11?
First day in Zambia.
...
“This is lame guys, stop hazing ”

Best piece of advice you could give?
Don’t pull Samay’s finger

Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Playing with my dog at the park.

Song of the week?
This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan

Do you know any racist jokes?
Yeah Oh yeah I live in the South yo

Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Rosie O’Donnell

8 days a week

So today will be day 8. Thus far I've completed every day, though there is a lag time posting due to computer troubles with uploading the shot.

I finally managed to upload everything, but it's getting late and I'm not sure how much more computer time I can handle. Due to this problem there will probably be one more post in a few minutes, and a new post either tomorrow mid morning or on Sunday when I have time to post more of the new stuff.

Total list of participants thus far in order: Jeff, Geoff, Rina, Kalvin, Kathy, Debi, and Ann.

Day 2 - Geoff

Day 2
Location: Mitchell Katz Winery, Pleasanton, California
Setting: Wedding


1. Preferred nickname?
Geoff
2. Birthplace?
Quincy, Massachusetts
3. Paper or plastic?
Plastic
4. Favorite childhood toy?
Legos
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
At work.
Paraphrased: Talking to a guy from New York when I found out.He said “We’re under attack” Avon, Massachusetts
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Have a good time.
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Drinking
8. Song of the week?
It’s My Life by Gwen Stefani
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
Of course
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
Post Office by Charles Bukowski
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Who cares?

Day 1 - Jeff

Location: Palo Alto, California
Setting: Video shoot for Gumball Capital

1. Preferred nickname?
Jeff
2. Birthplace?
Baltimore, Maryland
3. Paper or plastic?
Paper
4. Favorite childhood toy?
Legos
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
In science class
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Do that only which you want to do
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Surfing
8. Song of the week?
Killer Queen by Queen
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
Not off the top of my head
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
Ratatouille
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Rosie

Day 3 - Jeff, Geoff and Rina

In three days, I've kept to the goal; although there is the slight problem of I'm exhausted from other activities and thus posting here hasn't happened and my notes are rather freehand chicken scratch. I need to get more organized quickly before being disorganized becomes a chronic pattern that lasts the whole project length. This weekend I've shot over 3,000 photos between various wedding events, a film shoot, and of course this project had a handful. I'm pretty sure I like a lot of the shots, but I'm thinking I need to make a return to film for a while in order to get back to valuing every shot more and getting the quality over quantity thing back. I should have a real post including Q/A and photos soon.

Day 1 - Knowledge Day in Russia and Anniversary of WWII beginning

Final Question list:

1. Preferred nickname?
2. Birthplace?
3. Paper or plastic?
4. Favorite childhood toy?
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
8. Song of the week?
9. Do you know any racist jokes?
10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?

Today's first interview was with a pleasant Stanford student named Jeff. I met him while helping out with a Gumball Video... More later when I've uploaded the photos.