Blacks Beach Sunday, August 13, 2006

Sunday dawned completely overcast and I worried about my plans to spend the afternoon at the beach. While driving to church I noticed the clouds had thinned and I sent encouraging thoughts to the patches of blue showing through. By the time church was out all clouds had been banished from the sky and Operation Go To the Beach was on. After running an errand I called Eddie who had sandwiches and beach paraphenalia ready. We headed towards La Jolla and Blacks Beach with our fingers crossed knowing that even though the sky was perfectly clear everywhere else, it may be clouded over at the beach. We made the last turn west and cheered. It was clear, perfectly clear!

The bluffs above Blacks Beach offer spectacular views and we had to take advantage of the amazing photo opportunity. Eddie is a much better photographer than I am and has helped me out a lot with my picture taking. To see more of his photos check out his blog at: www.mrmagdaleno.com. His site directly inspired mine. We have different styles of blogging and give each other feedback making both our sites better.

For this picture I was starting a series of photos to show the whole beach, left to right. I thought Eddie was just trying to get out of the shot and I thought I'll get him in there any way. I didn't notice at the time he had his camera out.

So while I wasn't paying attention, he got these shots of me. I may still crop off those skinny legs.

Down by the water we napped on the sand, walked along the beach, tossed a volleyball, and bounced in the waves. The surf was light and the water cool enough to be refreshing but not too cold to stay in.

The breeze comes directly from the West right off the ocean. The cliffs channel it straight up giving hang gliders and these para gliders the perfect place to play.

On the way back to the car I stopped to take this shot of a sailboat out on the water. Afterwards I thought this shot would be better closer to sunset, but you can never count on those sailboats to be sailing across the sunset when you need them to be.

James' Life by Chocolate, Saturday July 8, 2006

On a perfect Saturday afternoon in July we gathered on the bluffs above Blacks Beach in San Diego in honor of James. We ate and talked and laughed and ate some more. There were no speeches, no testimonials. We just enjoyed the afternoon and the food and each others' company and the common bond of having loved James, each in our own way. After most of the food was gone this photo was taken. Then part of James' ashes that had been sent back from his family in New Jersey were put into a backpack along with those of Sunshine, a canine friend of Terry's that had passed last year. A few of the guys that surfed took James and Sunshine down to the beach and out into the ocean and spread their ashes into the waves while the rest of us watched from the bluff.

I hope everyone there found this all to be as much of a comfort, of a reassurance, as I did. James died about midnight on a Thursday night and over the next 2 days a large group of his friends came in and cleared out all of his things. They were physically and emotionally exhausted but determined and thorough. In the long run I'm glad they were so efficient, but when they left Saturday afternoon I was left in the middle of a half empty apartment looking around wondering where did my friend go? Just 2 weeks earlier we were talking and laughing with friends enjoying Courtney's fabulous cooking. Now, along with his stuff, his presence, the energy and vitality he brought to the place, felt deflated like a balloon. I found myself wandering around looking for signs of James. So when I got to the memorial and all these people kept showing up with food and children and dogs and smiles, I realized he was there. He was there in the sunshine and the breeze and the surf. He was there in everyone's smiles, eyes, laughter, wagging tails, and the chocolate smeared all over little Aubrey's face.

Visiting Mark and Rey in Austin, August 4 - 6, 2006

This past weekend I took Friday off and jumped on a plane to Austin, TX to visit my friends Rey and Mark. They moved from San Diego last year and are greatly missed here in San Diego. I'd been talking to them about visiting for several months and finally decided the time was right. Austin is a great town with lots to do and a diverse population. Mark and Rey have made themselves at home and enjoy all that Austin has to offer. Thanks guys for welcoming me into your home and showing me your city. It was great spending time with you. I hope I can come back soon.

One of our first stops was at the Whole Foods flagship store in downtown Austin. It's a huge, beautiful palace of food with a 2 level parking garage below and many places to eat inside and out, including a pasta bar that attracts couples on Friday night dates.

Rey took me to meet their friend Shane who lives with his wife in this really great RV park near downtown.

Rey is holding Jackson, the dominant male in the house. I love their house. It's comfortable and spacious with plenty of room to do the things they like but not too big to take care of, enough yard to landscape but not so much that it takes all their time.

A short hike up these stairs shaded by the trees takes you to ...

... the top of Mount Bonnell.

And this panoramic view of Lake Austin.

Early Saturday Rey and I went to Hippie Hollow on Lake Travis. It's an area set aside for swimming. There's no beach but lots of places to relax on the rocks. The lake is currently 13 feet below normal so the climb down to the water was kind of like bouldering. The water felt great. Next time we'll take some flotation devices.

Sunday we went to The Salt Lick BBQ, which has been featured on The Food Network. Texans like their BBQ and this place is well worth the short, scenic drive out of town. After the main course we all split 2 orders of blackberry cobbler with ice cream. Those faces belong to (left to right); Matt, Russ, Shardot, Dave, Mark, Rey, and some guy my mother insists looks incredibly like my oldest brother Steve?!

MCC Walking Disciples does Lake Hodges November 19, 2005

These photos were taken November 19, 2005 from Adolfo's camera. They are of the Walking Disciples of MCC. We get together the 3rd Saturday of each month and hike one of the many trails in and around San Diego. This hike was around Lake Hodges which is between San Diego and Escondido. San Diego is fortunate to have lots of these open spaces preserved in the middle of a major metropolitan area.

I'll end tonight with my favorite sunset taken by me with my own camera at Torrey Pines Beach, 7/23. This is currently my wallpaper on my new Toshiba laptop. So all you far flung family and friends, you can do whatever boring thing you usually do (kick in the shins to DRL taking your usual tour of the midwest (?) for the umpteenth time) or you can take a plane or a train out to see me and experience the wonders of San Diego in my back yard. And, no, SKEA, a lay over at the airport doesn't count.

These were taken with my own Olympus 810 on Torrey Pines Beach here in San Diego, Sunday, July 29th. That's Heriberto, also goes by Eddie, trading shots with me.

Keith Ramsey moved in as my new roommate officially August 1st, but he had been moving stuff in before that. We've been friends for over a year. He's very inteligent with a ready sense of humor, which I appreciate after everything that's happened this summer. Of course he's a very good dancer. Keith brings a desire to organize and lots of books. Both are very good things. Welcome to the neighborhood, Keith!

I met James Gearity over 2 years ago at Kicker's where we both liked to 2-step. We became good friends. I loved his inteligence, wit, and sense of humor. July of '05 we became roommates. He found this terrific condo for rent in the Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego. James had battled cancer for half his life. He went through many rounds of chemotherapy, most recently last year. In January of this year test showed the cancer had continued to grow. James realized that more chemotherapy would prolong his life a little, but what kind of life would that be? He decided he was ready to go and declined further treatment. This spring his health failed enough that he took a leave of absence from work and entered hospice care. Eventually he was confined to bed and a cadre of family and friends arrived to take care of him 24/7. Robert and Mike and Tina and David and Courtney and James' mother and broher and aunt and everyone else who stopped by, you all are my heroes. You allowed my friend to die at home with dignity. James, I miss you very much but I know you're in a better place. I imagine you're in a beautiful restaurant with family and friends that have been waiting for you. Save me a seat, I'll be there in time for dessert.

Adolfo and I dated for about 7 months from November '05 to June '06. Even though we're no longer boyfriends, we remain the best of friends. This is one of my favorite pictures of him, taken May '06 from Twin Peaks overlooking San Francisco on our second trip there. He usually has his camera with him and takes very nice pictures. He introduced me to picture taking and continues to give me feedback and good suggestions. When we broke up I decided to get my own digital camera so I could continue to have fun taking and sharing photos. He's promised to provide copies of all the photos he took while we were together, so I may be posting some photos out of sequence to give you some idea of the things I've done and the places I've been in the past few months.

Adolfo, you have a beautiful, strong spirit. I'm lucky to have you in my life. Love always.

Tim's Life in Pictures and Comments

Hello one and all. Welcome to my corner of the Web. This site is to provide distant family and friends a way to keep up to date with me and, hopefully, inspire said distant family and friends to keep me up to date with you all. Eventually I may get brave and post some purely editorial comments, but for now this will be a photo album. Enjoy. Comment. And email me with some of your photos. This computer/email/web thing works best when it's interactive.