- Nov 27 · 78 gorgeous degrees! Bright blue sky and puffy white clouds… #ILoveRiverside
- Nov 19 · Yay for lower gas prices! $3.59 a gallon? I’ll take it!
- Nov 18 · Jenna and Michael http://fb.me/Q0WS8Hu9
- Nov 16 · Saw a bunch of old friends today, and so many places I love… I miss Fallbrook!
- Nov 16 · Congratulations to Jenna and Michael! Wishing you a very long and happy life together!
- Nov 16 · So happy to be back in Fallbrook for the day. I’ve missed my “home” town!
- Nov 5 · Adventures in commuting from Riverside to Orange County! Today it was strong winds and a massive traffic jam…
- Nov 2 · Own your dreams. There is no better way to make them happen. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/10/on-owning-it.html …
- Nov 2 · If you announce what you want the chances of accomplishing your goal go up and so does the chance that you will be disappointed. -seth godin
- Nov 1 · And to the couple with the “prop” crutches and wheelchair setting up to beg near the freeway offramp? I have no words.
- Nov 1 · To everyone else: Stop and go traffic is dangerous – please keep your eyes on the road! For the sake of everyone else around you…
- Nov 1 · To the motorcyclist who went down on the 91 today near Corona: I’m praying for you!
Jenna & Michael
On Twitter | October 2013
- Oct 31 · I’m tired and I’m busy… but I just realized that my new neighborhood may celebrate Halloween. Should I stay in OC and study? Or go buy candy?
- Oct 28 · Got the second highest grade in the class for the Criminal Law midterm. I am perfectly content with a good solid A- at this point!
- Oct 16 · The danger in discussing a midterm once it’s over? Hearing all the issues you missed when it’s too late to do anything about it!
- Oct 16 · Wish me luck! My last midterm this semester is in a little over three hours!
- Oct 16 · Seatbelt is buckled, still car keeps beeping. Why? Realized my criminal law books are HEAVY enough in passenger seat to trip sensor.
- Oct 12 · Just saw a seriously goodlooking 30-year-old guy with moviestar hair and a cardboard sign, begging? Hidden camera? Or real?
- Oct 11 · Drove my new convertible with top down, through a tiny bit of snow. So the car has been officially introduced to Idyllwild!
- Oct 11 · In Idyllwild to see the first snow of the season! And my Grandma!
- Oct 9 · Is it really so unusual to want a long straw if you order a tall drink?
- Oct 6 · I love Riverside! <3
On Twitter | August 2013
- Aug 27 · …temporarily taken home a super sweet kitten, and started law school!
- Aug 27 · In the past week I’ve moved into a cute little Victorian house, gotten a cute little VW convertible, temporarily taken home a super swee …
- Aug 21 · My cat Roxie is home now, after a night out with local cat gang in our new neighborhood. She is HAPPY to be back.
- Aug 21 · Once again my Grandma comes to my rescue! This time it was a lost cat emergency. Thank heaven for my Grandma!
- Aug 18 · Sold my car today! And the buyer found a brand new video light I “lost” three years ago. So I got cash and got my light back – good deal!
- Aug 17 · Wondering why I can hear happy little kids jumping and splashing in a pool nearby, at 11PM? But also super jealous, because it sounds fun!
- Aug 17vToday? Law school orientation! Tomorrow? Hopefully sell my car… Monday? Move to my new apartment. Next week? Start law school. Busy but happy!
- Aug 14 · Worried about hormones in meat? The USDA allows their use with cattle and sheep, but NOT in hogs, chickens or turkeys http://goo.gl/ti9YaT
- Aug 11 · Streetcars may be coming back to downtown Riverside – right where I’ll be living. Love the trolley in San Diego, so I approve!
- Aug 7 · This area burned just 10 years ago in the Esperanza Fire. #SilverFire
- Aug 7 · Now it’s at 5000 acres. Residents evacuated to Idyllwild, #SilverFire
- Aug 7 · It appears that CBS2 has more than one helicopter on the scene? If so THANK YOU! Multiple views are good! #SilverFire
- Aug 7 · 0% containment and 2500 acres burned in only two hours. So many gorgeous oak trees in that area… #SilverFire
- Aug 7 · My heart goes out to the residents of Poppet Flat! #SilverFire
On Twitter | July 2013
- Jul 21 · My Grandma is back home in #Idyllwild! The evacuation order has been lifted for residents, and tomorrow for everyone. #MountainFire
- Jul 21 · 27,245 acres burned, with 49% containment. 60% chance of rain tomorrow. Things are looking up! http://pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/hemet/hemet-headlines-index/20130720-mountain-fire-crews-nearly-double-containment-of-blaze.ece …#MountainFire
- Jul 20 · 30% chance of rain today! Let’s hope Mother Nature comes through with some moisture, and not just the thunder and lighting! #MountainFire
- Jul 19 · “Better fire lines were constructed along the Ernie Maxwell Trail today, according to several officials.” http://idyllwildtowncrier.com/2013/07/19/breaking-mountain-fire-updates/ …#Idyllwild
- Jul 19 · If you live anywhere near the #MountainFire boil your water before using it! California Department of Public Health issued an alert.
- Jul 19 · I found a reporter for the Press Enterprise, who has been up at the fire the last two days, and is Live Tweeting. @johnasbury#MountainFire
- Jul 19 · “Not the Mountain Fire. It turned a very beautiful forest into what many people described as a moonscape.” http://blog.pe.com/2013/07/19/mountain-fire-blaze-destroyed-woods-scalded-trails/ …
- Jul 19 · “Forest fires can cleanse woods of underbrush and leave trees standing alive. Not the Mountain Fire.” http://blog.pe.com/2013/07/19/mountain-fire-blaze-destroyed-woods-scalded-trails/ …#idyllwildfire
- Jul 18 · Another shot of Lily Rock and the smoke… #IdyllwildFire RT @primadonnaj And just like that, the fire is… http://instagram.com/p/b4_eAZJ6Lm/
- Jul 18 · Just saw CBS2 News in downtown Hemet, on their way up the Hill. Fabulous! We def want more news coverage! #idyllwildfire
- Jul 18 · Some of my favorite photos of Idyllwild… https://www.facebook.com/spelts/media_set?set=a.10151704945844454.1073741825.692194453&type=1 …
- Jul 18 · The Mountain Fire is now the number one priority in the nation. #idyllwildfirehttp://idyllwildtowncrier.com/2013/07/18/breaking-mountain-fire-updates/ …
- Jul 17 · Southern California home prices rose more than 28% in the last year. Sounds like the housing crisis is over! http://fw.to/Gf6VT9D
- Jul 17 · My Grandma’s house is high up the mountain in Idyllwild, next to the national park – usually the best spot to be – but maybe not tonight…
- Jul 17 · They’re evacuating most of Idyllwild, due to the Mountain Fire. It’s burned over 14,000 acres so far, and is headed up the mountain.
A year of commuting to Los Angeles
I commuted to Los Angeles, twice a week, for a full year while attending UCLA Extension’s Paralegal Training Program. It was 102 miles each way, and 204 miles roundtrip. So as a way to have a little fun, and to help document the year, I started to photograph an iconic building in Los Angeles that I passed on every trip into the city. I just held up my iPhone and clicked, without looking at what I was shooting – that was part of the fun – the randomness of what I was getting.
I didn’t edit the images, or even pay much attention to what I was capturing. I knew that it was unlikely the images would be very exciting if taken individually, but I thought they might be interesting, collectively. They show the passage of a full year–from June 2012 to June 2013–and you can see the change in seasons, the effect of daylight savings time, and when my own personal schedule was more erratic, and I arrived earlier or later in the day. You can even tell when my wind sheild was clean, and when it wasn’t! And the curvy wavy wackiness? That’s the result of a longish exposure, and camera movement during the exposure. It’s a little side-benefit of a very old iPhone, and I was definitely in favor of it!
Is it interesting? I think so. Is it too long? I went from hundreds of images shot over the course of the year to just these 30, but should I have edited it down further? Maybe. But for me, it’s a visual reminder of a very long year, with a very long commute…
One final interesting note? I knew this was the Morman Temple in Los Angeles, but I had no connection to it prior to starting this project. It was just an interesting building that I passed on my way to UCLA – so it was a bit of a random choice, selected only because it was convenient. But during the year one of my cousins got married – at this very temple – and I watched her emerge with her new husband, from the side doors, after the ceremony. Kind of an interesting coincidence!
On Twitter | June 2013
- Jun 30 · 129 degrees today in Death Valley?! Please be careful if you’re headed out that way! Crazy hot…
- Jun 29 · Yay! Fireworks in my back yard! Okay, technically they’re at the Ramona Bowl, but that’s almost my backyard…
- Jun 29 · Of the places I’ve lived recently… it’s 86° in Fallbrook, 96° in Idyllwild, and 109° in Hemet. Remind me again why I’m in Hemet now?
- Jun 28 · Pay cash, don’t charge it… http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/opinion/sunday/happier-spending.html … Not only do you avoid debt, but the happiness connected with the possession increases!
- Jun 25 · “Don’t get distracted.” — Paul Comstack
- Jun 25 · At Royce Hall! Ready to graduate! Haven’t done this in a while… Flowers and photos and smiles everywhere!
- Jun 25 · Happy to be back in LA for the day! I’ve missed the city!
- Jun 19 · Wow! Several of my sites are down, but #GoDaddy has a 10 HOUR backup for support tickets? I miss the early days, when it was 10 minutes!
- Jun 18 · Yay! Christina is back, and as tart as usual. Some things never change! And probably shouldn’t! #theVoice
- 16 Jun 2013 · Loving all the photos of everyone with their dad, posted on Facebook today! I’m going wild with the LIKE button!
- 12 Jun 2013 · 11AM and that concludes my jury duty for the year…
- 12 Jun 2013 · Jury duty today!
- 10 Jun 2013 · I’m off to go take the LSAT! Wish me luck!
- 8 Jun 2013 · Always wanted to be a knickknack? 3D figurine printing of PEOPLE is evidently possible now, in Tokyo… http://toxel.com/tech/2012/11/13/3d-printing-photo-booth/ …
- 7 Jun 2013 · “Dolly Parton” as the boys back in junior high used to call the San Onofre nuclear plant, is closing… http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-onofre-edison-20130607,0,3264185.story …
- 7 Jun 2013 · Wouldn’t you be shocked if you saw yourself magically appear in that Gap ad at the bus stop? Yup. http://gizmodo.com/prankster-photoshops-people-into-ads-while-they-wait-fo-511927575 …#PhotoshopPrank
- 5 Jun 2013 · Ever wonder why some concerts sell out so fast? The percentage of tickets actually sold to the public is tiny! http://news.yahoo.com/the-little-secret-of-the-concert-business-184341490.html?vp=1 …
- 5 Jun 2013 · What makes the perfect Pinterest Image? Color, not B&W, 50% saturation, vertical orientation, and no faces! http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/paula-deens-salad-picture-pinterest-perfection-172600652.html …
- 5 Jun 2013 · fen·es·tra·tion 1: the arrangement, proportioning, and design of windows and doors in a building 2: my new favorite word!
- 2 Jun 2013 · If there was a park devoted to Prancercise, with hundreds of happy joyful people Prancercising, would you join in? http://www.incrediblethings.com/video/prancercise-the-best-exercise-evar/ …
UCLA Extension Graduation, 2013
It’s official! After a full year of study, I now have a certificate in Paralegal Studies from UCLA Extension. And graduation? It was fun! Such a beautiful campus, with such a rich history. It made graduation even sweeter!
All the photos in this post were taken with an iPhone.
fen·es·tra·tion
1: the arrangement, proportioning, and design of windows and doors in a building
2: my new favorite word!
[bctt tweet=”fen·es·tra·tion:
1. the arrangement, proportioning, and design of windows and doors in a building, 2. my new favorite word!”]
On Twitter | May 2013
- 27 May 2013 · Maybe someday Carson Daly will say, “And let’s give a hand to Paul Mirkovich, AND Rafael Moreira, Sasha Krivtsov, Nate Morton,…” #TheVoice
- 27 May 2013 · Amber Carrington was great, but will her fans like the song choice? Does Adam know what he’s doing? It’s a toughie! #TheVoice
- 27 May 2013 · …but my pick for the win is still my early favorite, Danielle Bradbery! Shakia is right – star quality! #TheVoice
- 27 May 2013 · Michelle Chamuel – my favorite of the night so far! Beautiful! #TheVoice
- 27 May 2013 · I wish I could like Sarah Simmons – technically, she has a great voice – but something about her performances always feels false? I just …
- 27 May 2013 · Perfect song choice for Sasha Allen! She was perfect! Every little note… #TheVoice
- 27 May 2013 · Adam’s critique of the Swon Brothers was exactly what I was thinking – down to the comment on the fire! #TheVoice
- 27 May 2013 · Holly Tucker brought out Sasha and Rafa to play! Smart girl… #VoiceBand And she sounded great! #TheVoice
- 27 May 2013 · I can so see Judith Hill winning the whole show after that performance. She’s a total pro! But will I buy the record? Just not my thing…
- 27 May 2013 · Baby kittens playing in the backyard! And nothing could make me happier! They belong to a neighbor, so I just get to enjoy the cuteness.
- 18 May 2013 · One of my favorites, @lukasrossi has a new band – and is about to release a new EP! http://espguitars.com/news/thehalomethod.html …
- 18 May 2013 · In this strange new world we’re living in, how personal do I want to get? How open do I want to be? http://cherylspelts.com/?p=4400
- 16 May 2013 · My nephew is coming to California! So excited and can’t wait to see him! Best news I’ve gotten all week…
- 16 May 2013 · Never been a fan of country music, but I started watching Nashville – and I love it! Especially Clare Bowen’s voice! http://youtube.com/watch?v=eLI31IQeB04 …
- 15 May 2013 · Around the block with an iPhone – http://cherylspelts.com/?p=4381
- 14 May 2013 · On my way to Orange County to visit another law school. I LOVE that I have options!
- 13 May 2013 · Just hit 100 degrees! Bring it on!
- 12 May 2013 · The #SurvivorFinale could not have been any more predictable – but bringing back Rob, Rudy, and Hatch was fun!
- 12 May 2013 · If Cochran eliminates Dawn, then he may lose the vote to Eddie, the guy who stuck around despite the odds. How does that make sense? #Su …
- 12 May 2013 · Eddie versus Cochran seems like the most scenario for the win. With Malcom as fan favorite! Right?
- 12 May 2013 · Why all the corcern about Dawn? Seriously, who would vote for her? #Survivor Finale
- 12 May 2013 · My cat who is barely out of kittenhood is HAPPY I’m home. She keeps trying to hold me down and give me a scratchy tongue bath!
- 12 May 2013 · Home sweet home! Enchiladas in the oven. Bottle of wine is open. Ready for Survivor to start! Always happy to be home, after a weekend a …
- 12 May 2013 · Saw Angelyne’s pink corvette in our hotel parking lot this morning! First time in years I’ve spotted that car! Billboard queen and self …
- 12 May 2013 · LOVING your past and looking forward to the future is the best!
- 12 May 2013 · If rattling off your accomplishments, – in your head, not out loud – doesn’t make you smile like mad, it’s time to renovate your life!
- 11 May 2013 · Fire alarm going off… Glad I’m up and dressed, unlike some of my sleepy relatives!
- 11 May 201 · If only I could dance better… If only I could speak French fluently… Then I’d be even happier.
- 11 May 2013 · My stunningly beautiful cousin Ashley is getting married today! And her husband-to-be is a lawyer – so I like him already!
- 10 May 2013 · On the way to Malibu!
- 8 May 2013 · I started using Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator in 1992 – over 20 years! I usually embrace change, but this change is not making me happy…
- 7 May 2013 · Current USA building codes require homes four times the size of the international average. Viva la Tiny Revolution! http://fourlightshouses.com/blogs/news/7823049-house-party-fail-part-1 …
- 6 May 2013 · Hey all! It’s ‘bare’ your soul, not ‘bear’ – as in naked and vulnerable. Bearing your soul would mean carrying it… #ChangesTheWholeMeaning
- 4 May 2013 · 2% of my followers are fake. How many fake followers do you have..? http://sttsp.pl/10h4e @StatusPeople#FollowerSpam
- 4 May 2013 · The Fake Belieber Epidemic: Why Justin doesn’t Have as Many Twitter Followers as You Think! http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-news/fake-belieber-epidemic-justin-gaga-rihanna-don-t-132425987.html … via @yahooomg
- 3 May 2013 · 92 degrees today! Definitely feels like summer… And I love summer, but I was really hoping for a couple more months of spring.
- 2 May 2013 · Definitely worth clicking! A Week’s Worth of Groceries from Around the World http://fb-troublemakers.com/a-weeks-worth-of-groceries-from-around-the-world-12611/