Boycotting the Post Office

The "economics" of the world is always pulling the people involved in it around and around. Everyone thinks that they need more money to support their programs, and if it gets approved in a bill or a law, not technically democratically voted on in America, we have to pay.

This is the case again this year when the post office decided that they needed more money to set up an escrow account. Their solution--raise the price of stamps. I've seen the price of stamps go up so much just in my lifetime, and there's always a "reason" for it. This time, as a citizen of the United States, I won't stand for it. If I didn't get to personally vote on a law wherein the post office is needing to set up a billion dollar Escrow account, I'm not going to pay. What does that mean?

It means that I am going to avoid using the post offices services in any way except for Priority Mail and Media Mail items. All letters sent by me will be sent via email. This year as I was setting up my financial accounts for 2006, I set everything up to be paid online. Less stamps, and for those companies that are billing us and are still not online with their payment systems, I've signed up for free bill pay with US Bank. US Bank will send the check for me for free, what does that mean, I spend $0 on stamps each month.

We'll all be happier, you don't have to hear me bitch all the time about paying more for stamps, and I get to spend the $3.00 I save all year on a dinner at Mcdonalds!

The New Best Christmas Song

Ok. Last Christmas I posted a Christmas song that I really liked a lot. Today, I have found one that I like even more and I think that it very fitting considering that I went to Italy this year.

Here are the lyrics. Enjoy them!

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Santa's got a little friend,
His name is Dominick.
The cutest little donkey,
You never see him kick.
When Santa visits his paisons,
With Dominick he'll be.
Because the reindeer cannot,
Climb the hills of Italy.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Jingle bells around his feet,
And presents on the sled.
Hey! Look at the mayor's derby,
On top of Dominick's head.
A pair of shoes for Louie,
And a dress for Josephine.
The labels on the inside says,
They're made in Brooklyn.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Children sing, and clap their hands,
And Dominick starts to dance.
They talk Italian to him,
And he even understands.
Cumpare sing, Cumpare su,
And dance 'sta tarantel.
When jusamagora comes to
town, And brings du ciuccianello.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)
Hey! Dominick! Buon Natale!
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)

One More Addition to My Christmas List

Ok. So there's the camera that I'm really interested in trying. It's called a Woca. It can be found here.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=&pid=2683

The good news is that unlike my Canon Digital Rebel XT, this camera costs about $30 delivered to the doorstep.

Jared's Edited Christmas list

Ok,

So I found out after the fact that Jared didn't want his desire for new underwear published. Just kidding. I have had people take certain of his items. If you are one of them, no big deal. But, here is the revised list. If you're going to get something for him, let me know.

A new pair of jeans
A new pair of sweat pants
RAM for his computer
a 250 GB hard drive for our server
the website www.jaredsbrain.com
Warm slippers

There you have it. Let me know if you have any questions.

Paying for college? A broke student's tale...

OK. So I'm really the broke student in this scene, but at least I got your attention. I'm trying to pay for my next semester in school. I need 70 people to donate 20 dollars each. In exchange, they get art.

Check out the official website (which I made by the way). www.yellowcowphoto.com/college

Pass it on to as many people as you possibly can. I have 9 days to make my goal.

My Christmas List

Ok.

Right now, I am just interested in big ticket items like plane tickets for Greece and college tuition, but I've also come up with other things for my Christmas list that people can look at if they desire to get me a gift. Of course, all of them are photography related.

1.) A plane ticket to Greece Approx.. $1500
2.) Help paying for my current semester in school Approx... $1100
3.) One of these. Specifically a snazzy one that I can use to archive CD's. Approx... $35.00
4.) 512 MB CF cards for my camera. Approx... $50.00
5.) One of these.
6.) Some NICE looking photo albums about this size. These need to be pretty nice so that I can use them for handheld portfolios.
7.) A nice electronic dictionary so that I don't have to carry a paper one around with me all the tine.

Jared's Chrismas List

Hello,

I'm posting this up here in case anyone was wondering what to get Jared for Christmas. He is pretty easy to shop for. Let me know if you have any questions.

Warm Down Ski Coat
Warm Shoes
A new pair of jeans
A new pair of sweat pants
RAM for his computer
a 250 GB hard drive for our server
the website www.jaredsbrain.com
Warm slippers
New underwear

There you have it. Let me know if you have any questions.

Interesting Digital World

You know, it is an interesting world that we live in where you can do everything online. Only from a string on the back of your computer, or if you're even more high tech WIRELESS. You can find out the news without ever turning on the TV or having a paper delivered. You can research almost anyhthing. You can even order flowers with such websites as www.dotflowers.com Just thinkg of all the possibilities for the future. Many people can do all the shopping they need from the comfort of their own homes by looking online. The service fee--shipping :)

Jimmy Neutron in Trouble Again!

Who will save him this time? Hurry, before the Sherwood Express runs through town.
 

What's for Dinner

Tonight, I was missing Greece an especially lot, so I was looking online for something to satisfy my need to have something Greek. Well, in that situation, the best thing to do is look at food. When I was in Greece, I remember having this incredible pastitsio that was just the best. So, I made arrangments to make that. While I was making it, I was thinking about how much I miss souvlakis, so I started to put chicken on skewers to cook. I also figured that while I was at it, that I might as well make spanikopitas, so I got everything ready to do that. I was in the kitchen for more than 3 hours just painting phyllo dough with butter and cooking noodles for my pastitsio. However, nothing is better than coming out the other end with a fully Greek meal. I told my husband that the only thing he should expect from me foodwise for the next couple of decades is Greek food.

My latest and greatest adventure involves being able to speak Greek fluently. I'm not too shabby right now, but I've got to figure out a way to learn it faster. Time to go to my other favorite site, www.craigslist.com to post and see if there are any Greeks that are willing to talk it out with me!

Reunions and the Amazing Things About Old Friends

Ok. I haven't been posting so diligently, but I guess that it's time that I start again. This weekend, I went out to Delphi. There was a reunion of all of the Alumni that have ever gone to the school. It was good to see old friends and find out what everyone has been up to since the last time that you saw them. I really enjoy seeing the people that graduated in the same class that I did and talk about how things have been going.

I got to meet up with someone very similar to me. She graduated from Delphi as well. She then immeditaly went on to Greece to the Aegean Center for the Fine Arts. She spent two semesters there and then went on to NYU. I then went this last semester, and we hadn't talked about it before. We were roommates before at Delphi. When I saw her, we immediately launched into talking about Greece. It was totally amazing. It was just like being back there. We got eachother very excited about being in Greece, and we have made plans to return next fall together. I'm excited about that.

I also met my friend Nicko that is Greek, and he just got back from a vacation there. All in all, it was a very productive trip out to Delphi. More plans for Greece to come in the future.

Another Hurricane Katrina Photo

OK. So this one is a little more scary! 

Hurricane Katrina

This is a picture of hurricane Katrina coming in. Very pretty, but I wouldn't want to be there! 

Photos of Our Condo

To those people that wanted to see our condo and didn't get to. Here are the photos of it. Enjoy and pass them on!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/christibale/my_photos

Photos of Our Condo

To those people that wanted to see our condo and didn't get to. Here are the photos of it. Enjoy and pass them on!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/christibale/my_photos

My Doggie--Flaff

This is my totally cute doggie. Doesn't he look like he just needs some love? Please pet me Chris. 

Chris In Greece

So, What do you think about that huge cliff behind me? Am I going to fall down it? This is my new wallpaper for my computer, and I love it! 

The New Things in My Life

Ok.

So it really has been a long time since I last updated you all on my blog. I'm going to try to be better, but isn't that what I always say when this stuff happens :) I am now, at the very least just going to update you on what's going on in my life.

I am working in Portland right now helping out at my Church. I'm having a lot of fun doing that. It looks like in the next week that I'm going to be helping out with several hundred people that are going to be coming to live here in Portland. All the people are victims of hurricane Katrina. It will be really nice to help those people that need help.

Jared and I adopted a pug. He is really cute. We found him online, and we inquired about him pretty quickly. It turned out that he was a breeder, but he wasn't being used anymore, and they wanted to get rid of him. He was sent to a shelter place that takes care of animals, and he is really cute. We adopted him with a lot of red tape. Can you believe that we actually had to fill out an application that said who our vet is and name all the pets that we had previously? Also, we had to have a house inspection where they saw where he "reacted in his new living space." It was pretty crazy. However, all in all, he is very cute. He has a kennel at our house and a bed. He likes being around us because Jared really stays with him all day long. It's actually been a good move because Jared and him go out for walks all the time, so Jared doesn't spend his entire day in the same house all the time. It's been really good for the both of them. Actually, the dog (Biff but renamed Flaff to match the character in Jared's book), was abused we think because he flintches every time you bend down to pet him. He's getting much happier though with us. I'll keep you updated on this, and I'll post pictures as well.

Another exciting thing is that my sister Melissa and her baby, Eli have moved closer over here to me, so I get to see them more often. Eli is very cute, and I plan to visit as much as possible . :)

I recently got a new laptop, and it is helping me do my job a lot better as a photographer. It's been very worth it. I'm actually getting more photo assignments now, so I take it to the shoot with me and show it to the clients after the shoot. That way, the shoots are way better.

I've officially decided that I am going back to Greece next April or May. Jared is going to come with me, and we'll be there for 1 months together, then I'll be off to do my European tour adventure alone.

Cool eh?

Chris Making the News!

Christine Anderson, a 2002 graduate of the Delphian School, recently returned from a semester abroad at the Aegean Center for the Fine Arts in Greece. She is the third Delphian School graduate to attend the program.

The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts is a school based on the Greek

island of Paros. The school focuses on small classes of students who

come together to raise their ability in the arts. Anderson studied photography, digital photography, painting, drawing, figure drawing, literature, art history, photography history, mosaic, drama and writing.

When she arrived home in May, Anderson held a seminar for a group of Delphian School literature class students who were reading Homer's The Odyssey. She explained what the school was like in Greece, demonstrated how to pronounce Greek names, taught the students how to speak a few words in Greek, and cooked a traditional Greek meal for the class so that they could get some real understanding of the Greek culture.

She told the class: "I had a lot of fun in Greece enhancing my ability as an artist. One of the ways the school intends to educate is to surround a person with so much beauty that they can't help but be inspired to create something beautiful on their own. It was just what I needed to become inspired to produce beautiful works of art.

"My education at The Delphian School gave me the ability to balance studying many subjects at the same time and to succeed in all of them."

The Delphian School is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school offering college preparatory, English-as-a-Second-Language and summer programs for elementary through high school students. The Delphian School is licensed to use Applied Scholastics(TM) educational services.

http://www.delphian.org

Very Exciting Wedding

So, I've been doing a lot of weddings and things lately, and I've been trying to get odd jobs here and there to make money doing my absolute passion as a photographer. A couple of weekends ago, I was out shooting a wedding, and someone came to me and asked me if I would be willing to do their wedding. I said of course, and since then we have been coming up with agreements and things like that!

I put together a super small and super fast portfolio. It is temporarily available online, and you can see it. It is available at

http://yellowcowphoto.com/photo/wedding/wedding.html

Chek it out!!!