michaniel

As a Blogger

2012-01-09T20:54:00.000-08:00

I'm fired. Well, I should be. I can't believe my last post was back in June! I'm sorry people, I will try and keep on it. I am on the edge of delirium from exhaustion, but I wanted to say there will be a new blog very soon!

Oh, Lorne and I bagged Shasta, here's a pic from on the way back down.

Full story on this trip soon. Next up is Mt. Whitney, maybe a couple other peaks the same week. Today I was really itching to get out into the woods. Life is so simple out there.

Ok, this is a totally random quick blog, more of a "Facebook" update I guess. More blogging to come, I promise!

Fourteeners

2011-06-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

It's getting close to the time of year that I make an annual backpacking trip with my co-worker from the bay. Two years ago we backpacked to Papoose Lake, one of the most grueling physical experiences I have ever experienced! Then last year we had a mellow trip to Big Duck Lake. This year we started texting to make plans and he asked about Shasta. I thought that might be a little intense for this annual trip, but then he mentioned that he felt like we need to summit something and I agreed.

Then he took it further. He mentioned that we should summit all the Fourteeners in California. One 14,000 foot altitude mountain a year for 12 years. Now that sounds like a man adventure! I want to do it now. If we can do it, I'll be 41 when we summit the last peak. It is good to have some life goals and I am excited about this one. So here's to California's Fourteeners!

Mount Shasta - 14,179'

Prominence - 9,832'

-dg

Asking The Hard Questions, Discovering The Easy Answers

2011-03-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

So I've been thinking a lot lately. Thinking about life. Thinking about death. How things around us mold who we are. How we think. How we act. How we treat others. And unless we choose to stop and ask ourselves, "Why, exactly, do I live the way I do" we would continue to do so until the bitter end. Completely oblivious to anything outside of our little rat race bubble we call life. I recently turned twenty-five and I can honestly say that the last couple years has been thee most challenging years of my life. People who were my rock when I was younger have hurt me harder then I could ever imagine and continue to do so. Others have come into my life and I could not imagine life without them. Some friendships have come back from being stagnant and others have progressed from uninterrupted, perfectly sustained, purposeful love and attention.

I have also mentally removed myself from a traditional word that I've been raised with my whole life. Or maybe I should say that I'm a new hybrid version of the word. I call myself a "No Bull-Shit Christian". I love Jesus. And I have a relationship with Him. I believe that I am called to show people who may or may not believe in anything His undying, uninterrupted, unbroken, endless, love. That's it.

I am tired of people (most of them who call themselves Christians) living in a little subculture not able to be a normal, decent human being in the real world. The world they are all trying to change. I used to be one of them. And of course I didn't see it like that at the time. I was just doing what I thought was right. Until I started questioning it a bit. "Am I more special then someone because I'm on the worship team? Am I closer to God because I manifest it in a physical way? Why do I have to go to church every Sunday? Does that make me a better Christian than someone who doesn't make the time to go?" And I never noticed how exactly I would be affected by that thought process until I experienced it first hand for myself. When I got a job that required me to work weekends I was unable to continue my hardcore routine of Sunday church. Not because I realized yet, but because I just worked Sundays. That's it. So when weeks went by, then months, I lost all the connections that I thought were so solid. Turned out it was just because we're all part of a club and if you stopped going, you wouldn't really ever see them again. Until one day when I was working at my job (which in the christian world would be a little scandalous and had me dressing and wearing a lot of makeup) and I was instantly judged by a woman who used to pray and intercede for me while I was on the worship team. She didn't recognize me. She didn't smile at me. She didn't even talk to me. But I was judged and I could feel it as a human being. From that moment on I changed. I had an epiphany. That was a woman who was supposed to represent God's love and she couldn't even look at me and say hello. All she did was judge me. Who the hell do you think you are to judge me? You don't know me at all. But we all do this, all the time. Who the hell am I to treat someone like they're inferior to me? So I don't. At least it's my lot in life now to not judge anyone anymore. But I'm human. And I am not perfect and I catch myself doing it but I believe it's not just a choice, it's a lifestyle.

So here's my deal. I prefer quality then quantity. Quality in people. Quality in life. Family is the most important thing to me. My husband and my son is my joy, my work is my quest for peace, my life is for loving and to never take a single thing for granted.

-MG

The End of This Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Ten.

2010-12-29T16:22:00.000-08:00

Yup, another year down. So for your viewing pleasure or displeasure, here is a link a few photos from the beginning of my digital photography path and even one from a medium format film camera. Progression .

As I am writing this I am editing a photo-shoot for my sister-in-law and her man (which was fun!), listening to mellow music and waiting for my coffee. Ah, it's done.

As I was saying, I'm in mellow mode. Not necessarily a good mellow, more of a melancholy mellow.

A friend of mine took off from his house this morning without telling anyone where he was going, he only took his wallet and ipod and left a note, "I don't belong here". I want to let out a stream of swear words because I hate to see and know people feel like that. YOU DO BELONG!

I can be tough about a lot of things. I can do what needs to be done under any circumstance, amongst horrible tragedies and violent events. But I can not stand to see friends hurting emotionally. Unfortunately that is more likely to occur than horrible tragedies and violent events. I care about people. Without that what do we have? A rat race, literally, a mindless race to get to the end of the maze, consume the consumables and die. No art. No creation. No love.

To quote a movie, "Life is pain, we need to squeeze every minute of joy out of it we can" - Hot Rod.

So here is my little joy.

-dg

29th Birthday Blog

2010-12-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

Hi all. So today is my 29th birthday. Wow. This one has made me contemplate things a lot. I do not know if it is because of the craziness these last couple years have brought, or if it is because 29 is almost 30. 30 is an age that I figured certain things would be in place, certain goals would be accomplished. So as I stand here at the end of 28, looking over the edge at 29, I find myself re-evaluating goals. I have a good job, I have an amazing family, great friends and I have endured and survived curveballs that life has thrown me. I guess my new goals to accomplish by 30 are really to continue the pursuit of creativity, joy and love in the face of adversity, pain and suffering. To live a life worth living.

Thanks for reading.

-dg

That Sucked

2010-11-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever written a letter to a Judge hoping that it will have some sort of an affect on a friend's sentencing? It ain't easy. In fact it sucks. There are so many things I wish I could say, things that I want to believe would make all the difference in the world, but the reality is the Judge may not even look at one letter. It is so frustrating because I love this friend and his family and wish that it could be as easy as one letter. I would not leave my computer and would type a letter detailing every way this man has influenced me and how it has helped me navigate the stormy waters of life.

I would explain how one of the very first lessons I learned from this friend is that you should be honest even when it can hurt yourself. He told a story of a man he worked for, this man was a chemist who apparently garnered the attention of a particular branch of the government who wear black suits and investigate things. These government types called and talked with my friend. Shortly afterwords my friend received a call from the chemist who said that the suits would be calling. He said they would say horrible things about him and that they would ask questions. The chemist recommended that my friend not talk with them then invited my friend for a drink.

My friend became nervous and asked the advice of his mentors. He asked if they thought he should lie if the chemist asked if he had talked to any suits. His mentors recommended that he be honest. This chemist had made hints and threats that he could mix chemicals in such a way that they could be mailed and the recipient would die from opening the letter. But my friends mentors still suggested he be honest.

He met the chemist for a drink not knowing the outcome but expecting to be asked if he had spoken to the suits. My friend was prepared to be honest even though the outcome may harm him but the question never came up.

The situation my friend is facing a Judge for is very similar in the sense that he was honest despite the harm he and his family now face. At least now the harm that they face is no longer a physical harm. Unfortunately the harm they face will affect them for the rest of their lives.

My friend and his family's situation is that of a tragedy. It is easy to sit back and come up with a simple to solution to the problem he faced a little over a year ago, yet it is an entirely different situation to actually be in his shoes then. There are failures and were failures in the systems that were designed to protect people. As a result of that my friend was faced with a choice that I would not wish on anyone.

There are those of us who have faced that choice, those of us who know we may face that choice and those of us who have never considered that choice. Those of us who know we may face that choice can understand a little bit. We will never fully understand the gravity of that choice until we are faced with it. I imagine that once you are in a situation which requires you to decide whether you want to continue or not, you really have no option and the last thing on your mind is that you may face a Judge for wanting to continue.

On one hand I want to cry for my friend's situation, but I think those tears would be fruitless. My friend understood the rules. He was aware of the risks. He chose to participate in this arena. I know that he will soldier on because that is what a warrior does. Pull out the arrow so you can live to fight another day.

If there is anyone that I should grieve for it is his family. I only hope that they are able to move forward and recover from this heartache. My friend was protecting them in the best way he knew how.

I wish that I could have fit that into a letter to a Judge and I wish it would make it all go a way. It is not going to go away though, so I have choice to make. To go on and do my job better than ever, to not be dissuaded by the choices of others and to honor my friend by doing what is right.

Friend, you know who you are and if you by chance get to read this, I'm praying for you and your family, hang in there and soldier on.

Daniel

Preventative Maintenance

2010-11-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long lapse in blogs. I've been thinking about writing for a long time, just did not get around to it until now.

First of all, you'll notice there are no numbers in the title. My once a week blogging project spiraled into oblivion and will not make a return. I am still going to make an effort to blog consistently because I do enjoy it and it is therapeutic in a way. Ok, on to the meat and potatoes.

This year we have let go of two cars. In turn we purchased two cars, but in doing research and trying to decide on which cars to get, I began to really understand the importance of preventative maintenance. The interesting thing about preventative maintenance is that it applies to nearly all aspects of our lives. Mechanical preventative maintenance can actually relieve stress, I don't know about you, but I have driven many miles in cars that I was not sure if they were going to make it and it is stressful!

The more I thought about mechanical preventative maintenance the more I realized how similar it is to all the other types of preventative maintenance, emotional, physical, spiritual, relational and so on. I thought about how it is really hard to spend $200 on your car that seems to be running fine and how I used to think of all the other things I could spend the money on. Physical preventative maintenance is the same, I could spend a couple hours working out, which is hard, or do nothing and wait until I have a physical problem to do something.

Recently I applied the preventative maintenance concept into my relationship with my wife. After having a kid and being married for 6 years, being romantic takes a herculean effort! We decided on a night to have a date and I secretly began planning a few things. It was difficult and took a real effort to plan the evening, order the flowers, clean the house and have enough energy to enjoy the date. All that effort paid off though and I noticed a difference in our relationship. The date was what we needed.

Now I am trying to be vigilant and stay on top of preventative maintenance, it is worth the effort for the peace of mind.

-dg

Quitting Facebook. (#17)

2010-09-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I pretty much failed at the "once-a-week" blog thing, but it should get better soon. I just deactivated my Facebook account. So now instead of posting one line thoughts every 10 minutes, I can save them all up and post bigger blogs. I've been toying with the idea of quitting Facebook for some time now. It isn't that I think Facebook is evil, it is definitely a cultural phenomenon that has changed the way the world communicates. I have just been thinking about how much time I spend on it when I could be calling, texting, talking, thinking, blogging and creating. Every time I would sit down to write a blog or edit a photo, Facebook would be running in the background. So now if you want to know what is going on in my life just read the blog, or call me. Pictures will still get posted to my Flickr and here. So really we won't be missing anything without a Facebook.

I'm going to go do something now that I am free from the Facebook tether. See ya.

-dg

Rough day (#16)

2010-08-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been interesting. My commuter car has not been doing well as of late. It started with an oil leak that drops oil onto the motor and exhaust, thereby creating a cloud of smoke that an Army Ranger battalion could use to conceal their movement. Ok, maybe not that big, but definitely annoying! Then the air conditioning went out. Not good in 106 degree weather. Lastly, the a/c compressor started making a horrible grinding noise. I was able to stop the grinding noise by removing the a/c, alternator, crankshaft belt and replacing it with a shorter belt, bypassing the a/c compressor all together. So now I am trying to sell an old car with an oil leak and no a/c. Oh yeah, and I'm selling the Porsche too. I need a shop before I get a project car.

Man today has felt rough.

Last night I watched "Stranger Than Fiction" with Michelle and I thought it was an awesome movie. The story was great, the actors were incredible and the movie moved me. It reminded me how much I appreciate creativity and wish I had more of it in my life. I went to bed impressed and thinking. Then I dreamt all night about weird things. Woke up and had to start reality. A project that I like, my spouse doesn't. A problem I don't want to deal with, but must. The reality that I'm responsible for me. I don't want to be responsible for me. Maybe that made today rough.

Here's to a good tomorrow.

-dg

Finally Some Photos! (#15)

2010-07-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

After what felt like eternity, I finally got out and captured some photos. First I was able to get out and get some basic portraits for my good friend Tyler, then I grabbed some head shots of my sister-in-law Carissa. In both shoots I tried out a few different lighting set-ups. For Tyler's stuff we started outside with natural light and a reflector, then moved inside a dirty garage and set-up two strobes.

It was nice to push the shutter button a few times, I missed it. Keep an eye on my Flickr for the final edits of both shoots. Both Tyler and Carissa want to do another shoot, so I'll get on it and not let nearly as much time go by before the camera gets out!

Thanks for looking!

-dg

Mobile Update (#14)

2010-07-17T16:49:00.001-07:00

Alright, trying out this mobile blogging deal. On my work days I struggle to find the motivation to write blogs, but I have a long commute which allows me time to think. So as I sit here in the passenger seat, I decided to blog.

I'm getting excited about the next couple of weeks. After taking a short hiatus from image capturing, a couple people have asked if I would do a photo shoot with them. I can't wait!

Now it's time to come up with a focus for the shoots...

-dg

Sent from my iPhone

Lucky (#13)

2010-07-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well I missed a post last week, but there is no better way to recover than to jump right back on it. This last week was, um, productive. I was not selected for that job I applied for, I had a couple of really good conversations in which some things I needed to say got said and some things I needed to hear I heard.

Also, this last Saturday, Michelle and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary. Well, we actually celebrated for three days and nights at the beginning of the week sans baby! It was great to have a little "staycation" at home. I love my son, but it was nice to be alone with my wife. I think we both forgot how simple life was before a child. I'm sure those of you with more than one child are thinking, "I remember how simple life was with one child". Oh well, I guess that is the way of life. Always being challenged at whatever place you are on the path of life.

I have been really lucky(read blessed) in my life.

Hopefully there will be some fresh photos to post next week, there are a few chores that need to be taken care of next week, like a transmission replacement on a PT Cruiser. The photographic itch has been acting up.

-dg

TANSTAAFL (#12)

2010-06-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

Mr. Gilbertie wrote that strange combination of letters on the dry erase board in micro-economics class one day and posed the question, "Any one know what that means?" Then he curled his lips into a wry smile partially obscured by his magnificent mustache, "Anyone?" We students sat in silence knowing that he was about to explain a new concept that we would be tested on in some formidable pop quiz. "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch". In my head I caught myself thinking, "Ain't ain't a word!" Mr. Gilbertie, oblivious to his egregious grammatical error, proceeded to explain success, work ethic and various other life principles that were always woven into his lessons about supply and demand graphs, capitalism and Adam Smith.

In that classroom, I connected with that acronym. I was very blessed growing up, my parents and grandparents were of the old school variety, valuing hard work and the good old fashioned tenacity of the American Spirit. I felt like I understood TANSTAAFL. Since that day in economics class, it has become apparent that I did not really understand it as well I as I thought. I assumed that because this acronym was used in economics class, it pertained to money. Somewhere, the connection of TANSTAAFL to life was disrupted.

This topic came up in the last few days because I applied for a position at work that will be coming available soon. The last time I filled out a resume was when I applied for this job nearly four years ago. So I asked a few other guys I work with, who are also applying for said position, if I could take a look at their resumes to get some ideas on formatting and what is important to include.

One look at those resumes and I knew that my chances of getting this position were greatly diminished. On paper, these guys blow me out of the water. In person and actual quality of work, I think the playing field is much more even. Unfortunately, I think this position will go to the person with the most lines on his/her resume and the most time on the job. Meaning I do not think I really stand a chance, but I applied anyway.

After realizing how lame my resume appears and how much time I have left in my career, I decided that now is the time to start pursuing some things. A phone call to a person who was very influential in my life for about 6 months, a talk with a supervisor about a few things, and TANSTAAFL popped into my head.

There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

If I want to try some other things out in my career, if I want some specialized training, if I want to improve my work quality, no one else is going to give it to me. I have to step up and volunteer for things. I have to work a little extra to pursue training on my own. I have to put myself in positions in order to make a difference and become "known". That's how I get what I want out of this career. Nobody is going to give me a damn thing. No Free Lunch! If I want it, I'll ask for it. If that doesn't work, I'll demand it. Still not enough? I'll show you why your making a big mistake for not giving it to me.

I'm coming to get my lunch.

Do work son.

-dg

Who You Are vs. What You Do. (#11)

2010-06-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

So I fell off the horse and missed a blog last week. I have had a concept rolling around in my head for a long time and last week I decided I wanted to blog about it. In my opinion, knowing your identity is very important.

I guess I should throw in a disclaimer. Considering that I am male, and therefore all my experiences which dictate my opinions are from the male perspective, this blog may only mean anything to males.

In my line of work there is a lot of machoism. In fact, in my family there is a lot of machoism. I was raised around construction workers and spent most of my childhood picking up nails, stepping on nails, picking up scrap wood and smashing my fingers with framing hammers around beer swilling, beam lifting, hard working manly men. I should have known then I would enter a career path where you are measured by how willing you are to "be a man". Jump into the fights, show up to help your co-workers out and never turn from the scary, the difficult or the messy.

I have noticed, unfortunately, that a large number of males in my workplace are not secure in their self-identity as "men". That is not a reference to sexuality. It means that there is a validation that they missed out on as a young man. In most cultures, there is a defining moment when a boy becomes a man. After that moment, the boys are treated as men. We do not really have that in the American culture anymore.

Luckily, I had an experience where my dad called me out and said, "From now on you are a man." I was no longer just a 16 year old. I was treated like a man. Allowed to make my own decisions and held responsible for those decisions. As a result, I do not feel like I have to do anything to prove my manhood to anyone. My father recognized it and validated it. Done.

All my life experiences, the choices I have made and the principles my parents instilled in me created my character. Those things define who I am. Not the job I chose. Not the amount of fights I have fought. Not the sports I play. Not the art I create. Not the instruments I play. Who you are should not be defined by what you do. What you do should be enhanced by who you are.

I believe that knowing who you are increases your ability to process what is going on in your life. It makes it ok when you realize that you can not control anyone or anything but your self. I choose to perform what I do with honor and respect. The way my dad taught me to live, that is who I am.

What I do sometimes calls for me to physically control people. The way I do that is determined by who I am. When I gain control of a person, there is no need to belittle them. To trash talk and act like the toughest guy in the world. That does nothing for me. However, if a person is defined by what they do, then every time they accomplish a task, they do everything they can to show how good they are. Calling out to any one around to validate them as a person, as a man.

As I write this, I do not really know where to go from here. I guess I just want to say that I hope you fathers out there will validate your boys. Teach them what it means to be a man, to be a warrior. Being a warrior is not always about beating people up. It is about not ever giving up, taking responsibility for your decisions and treating everyone with respect. Do what you enjoy. Learn to appreciate the "artsy" stuff. Some of the toughest warriors in history did things often considered "not manly". Samurai studied poetry, King David played the harp.

Who you are should enhance what you do and what you do should not define who you are. Make sense?

-dg

iMac (#10)

2010-06-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

Post #10, the first post from our new computer. Michelle and I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a desktop computer. I really do not know why we resisted for so long. Maybe it was my way of being ready to move at a moments notice. Not feeling comfortable with things that have semi-permanent psyche.

Our laptop, a 5 year old 15" Powerbook, has done an outstanding job as our main computing machine. It even handled Lightroom and Photoshop CS4 processes, not fast mind you, but handled them. Once we started getting excited about the possibilities available with the new iPad, thanks in a large part to our good friend Jesse Rosten, we looked into picking one up. Looking closer at the system requirements, it became clear that our laptop would not be able to sync. If you are syncing with Mac, it needs an Intel chip.

That's not the first time I have not been able to do something because my computer was getting too old and decrepit, so we went all out. My face is being light up by a 27" iMac screen that takes approximately .5 seconds for my eyes to travel from one side to the other and it is glorious! It makes me wonder why we waited so long to do this. My neck and back no longer hurt from leaning forward in order to view the screen and the photos look amazing on here! I can not wait to get some new shots to edit. In fact, I may have to revisit some old edits and see if I can't improve on them now that I can see details.

Work time is quickly approaching, so I must head off, but I'll leave you with a photo comparison of the old and new.

eBaying It Up (#9)

2010-05-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Howdy Ya'll. This post is going to be on the simpler side of things today. I sold an item on eBay for the first time, so now I need to get it to UPS before work so I can get some dollars! eBay is a pretty cool tool if you are willing to put forward a little effort in getting rid of unused things around the house. The next item going on the auction block is going to be an oil pan... don't ask.

In other news, I recently started taking advantage of the piano we are "storing" for my sister and printed out some sheet music for a piece I used to know pretty well. Reading music is a very perishable skill! I think I drove the wife and kid nuts while attempting to play what was written. I'll keep trying and just call whatever comes out "indie jazz punk rock", it's a genre most of you just won't get because it is so cool and emo.

The Porsche project made some slight progress this week. I put an actual car cover over it instead of the black plastic tarp that was taped on. If enough items sell on eBay, a new timing belt and water pump may be put on order soon. Not necessarily because the Porsche (it's insulting to call it a car I guess) needs those items, but the motor is dismantled to that level and the experts recommend replacing it as a precautionary step. I can't wait to get that thing on the road!

Ok, short and sweet and simple. Must drink 8 more cups of coffee, shower, play some indie jazz punk rock, go to UPS, then finally head off to work.

-dg

New Project (#8)

2010-05-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

Well I picked up another project. With this new project I am trying to stay realistic on goals to accomplish. It seems like goals that are accomplished, no matter how small, help build momentum for the next goal. This project is no small task, in cost and time, but it is a step closer to a childhood dream of mine.

My grandpa used to tell me stories about his old cars and timing races at various race tracks in the bay area. Maybe that is when the bug got me, but for nearly as long as I can remember I have wanted to drive a race car. The first time I actually got to drive on a closed circuit was during the academy and all that did was increase my desire to get on a track someday.

Recently, while searching for an used pick-up, I came across a little red car on craigslist for next to nothing. Originally I figured I could pick it up, do some cleaning, put the interior back together then drive it around on the weekends. Then I started looking into the costs of materials for this particular car and quickly discovered that to make the interior "nice" again, it would cost more than I could sell the car for!

So to keep with the accomplishable goal way of thinking, I plan on turning this beast into a street legal track car.

If your in the area and your handy with a wrench, or if you just want to drink some beer and make snide remarks at my feeble attempts of mechanicatry (I made that word up). Hit me up and we'll do a work date.

Wish me luck!

-dg

Head-shots(#7)

2010-05-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

This last week has been a productive one for me. I was able to get a lot of yard work done, complete a minor repair on my car and take some head-shots for a local hair stylist. Of course I had the most fun doing the photography stuff. It was nice to bust out the lighting gear and get some decent results.

I tend to be the kind of guy that likes to have all the high-quality tools, gadgets and sometimes unnecessary equipment. So I have been trying to challenge myself to get good results with simple stuff. Part of the reason for the challenge is that photo-gear cost bucks and if I spent the kind of bucks I would like, I probably would be adding alimony to that list of expenses... Love you honey!

This last week is the first time I feel like I got some of my best one-light head-shots to date. Michelle wanted to try out some make-up techniques and see how they photographed and I wanted to practice some more one-light stuff. I busted out the Vivitar strobe light, stand, shoot through umbrella, ebay cactus wizards that I am borrowing and some white foam core board for reflectors. Michelle acted as a model and a VAR(Voice Activated Reflector) stand all in one! One of our trusty pub chairs acted as a second reflector holder and away we went.

Please forgive my photo-editing errors, my computer runs like a VW Bus trying to climb a mountain pass over the Sierras when running Photoshop. It makes for really long editing sessions then I get frustrated and stop. I need to work on that. Anyway, this is one of my favorite photos I have taken to date. It's hard to tell in this blog, but you can jump over here to check out a large version on flickr and see some more detail. I was really pleased with the overall sharpness. It seems like it has been a long road to sharp photos.

After this session, Michelle told me that our hair stylist, the awesome Ms. Joanna Montemayor at Razors Edge Salon, needed head-shots for their website. Joanna wanted Michelle to do her make-up for the shoot and Michelle figured I could take the photos. At first I was a little apprehensive, but decided to give it a go. You don't know what you can and can't do until you try.

So Joanna came over and brought her friend Zac. Little did he know he would be put to work as a VAR holder. Michelle rocked the make-up, then I put her and Zac to work and we came up with this.

I feel like it came out pretty well for one-light and a couple reflectors. I'm anxious to see how it looks on the website.

Next lighting mission, high-speed syncing with a medium format camera...

-dg

Life Imitates Art and Some Other Random Stuff (#6)

2010-05-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, got my coffee brewing on the stove, the house is quiet, Lightroom is open with some decent looking head-shots of Michelle and it is finally time to blog. These last couple blogs are getting published a little late in the week, I'm going to have to get on top of it!

About a day after I posted the last blog, I was driving to work and had a journey of thoughts for about 15 minutes that followed no apparent course. It went from thinking about family drama to what makes life good, contrast in photos to what defines good art and finally to the quote, "Life imitates art [...]". The whole gist of everything is that without contrast in art, what ever you define art as, there would not be anything interesting to look at or experience. Without contrast in life, the experience would be bland.

Generally, I do not want to feel pain. I do not particularly enjoy experiencing heartbreak and unhappiness. But with out those unwanted experiences I would not know how good being healthy feels, or how good it is to experience joy. I have been trying to learn how to experience the bad parts of life, the contrast to good, in a way that will let me completely appreciate when times are good.

When I get to the end of my life I want to look back and know that I experienced the hell out of it.

Film, BMX, and Sacramento(#5)

2010-04-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

Phew, this has been a busy last few days! Sunday I attended a really cool event at the local BMX track and got a couple good photos. Then Michelle and I jumped into the car and headed south to Sacramento for two nights of alone time. While down there I got flipped off once and mean-mugged by a gangsta wannabe in his 300M with chrome fool! Good times. We also spent a few hours at Ikea and brought some organizational items home. Upon our return to Redding, I immediately began assembling shelving units and hunting screws that little Daniel wandered off with. After much grunting, sweating and hammering the Swedish furniture was completed and it was already time for a birthday party for Lyn. I'm worn out just from writing all that! It was a lot of fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat, bad Sacramento drivers and all.

On the photography side, I didn't take as many photos in Sac town as I should have. I was thinking about bringing a Mamiya down, but didn't really want to lug around a 6 pound camera plus tripod, plus the Canon for metering with out a clear idea of what I wanted to shoot.

In short, it stayed home.

Since receiving the two medium format cameras I have run a roll of film through each, but only developed a roll from one. The results are fantastic, meaning no light leaks or major problems with negatives. As for actual artistic value of the negatives, well, there is room for improvement!

It was a lot of fun to process film again. Once the chemicals were mixed and in storage containers it was really simple to knock it out at home. In fact, I may process another couple rolls today.

The duties of father-hood and husband-hood our calling so I must be off. I'll leave you with this picture of Kevin Suttmoeller, 43 years young and still rocking BMX!

Don't let the lens distortion fool you, that gap was 20+ feet! There are few more pics of BMX over at flickr.com/ihatecrashing and I will be posting more up as I get them edited.

-dg

Medium Format Here I Come... (#4)

2010-04-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

After the last blog I began scouring the internet for a deal on a medium format camera. I was really hoping to find an older Hasselblad for a deal on ebay, but quickly realized they don't go for much less than 1k and accessories for them aren't cheap either. While checking a particular online camera forum, I stumbled across a gentleman selling two complete Mamiya RB67 Pro S models for a price I couldn't resist. After sending a few text messages to a friend that has a similar model and exchanging emails with the seller, I decided I was going to take the plunge.

I decided to give medium format film a try for a couple of reasons. One, I feel like with film you have to slow down and really considered what you are about to do. Once you release the shutter, there is no "delete" button. Sure you could throw the negative away, but that negative cost you money. Two, looking into the viewfinder, at least a waist level viewfinder, makes you look away from the subject and down at the focus screen. In a small way it helps me look at the negative I am about to make in a more objective way. Three, the shutter makes the coolest sound ever. Ok, that last one is a little cheesy but it is true!

The goal is to get a scanner and do most of my developing at home for black and white, color stuff I will send off for. Hopefully the process of making film photos will help improve my digital photography and maybe I can get some good art out the whole ordeal!

-dg

Crossroads... (#3)

2010-04-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little bit obsessive-compulsive when it comes to things I'm interested in. Cars, boats, motorcycles, biking, skating, surfing, sailing, radio controlled airplanes, photography, backpacking, shooting... It is a long list, really long. Unfortunately my time and money isn't as long as my list. Maybe someday I'll create something that becomes wildly popular and produces enough income to be a full-time adventurer. But for now I have to create a hierarchy of importance. Decision time.

BMX (Bicycle Motocross) used to be on top of that hierarchy, it had a long reign in fact. I rode BMX bikes from the age of 5 until 22. Really getting serious around my sophomore year in high school. The JV soccer team cut me and I pretty much swore off team sports and jumped on my bike. That same week I completed a four foot tall launch ramp and landing, shoved it into the street and started jumping.

Working all summer for my dad, I was able to save up the $575 it cost me to build my "dirt jumper". A beautiful chrome GT Fueler with Profile three-piece cranks, 48 spoked double walled rims. It was a beast. When we moved to northern California it was all about racing. My Fueler was cannibalized for the cranks and a very expensive 20" racing machine was built. It's pretty amazing how much money I spent on BMXing.

Now, as I'm sure you have gathered if you have read the past blogs, photography is right up there in importance to me. When I think about it, I was always the one trying to get pictures and video of my friends when we were riding. Maybe photography has always been that important to me but I just didn't recognize it.

Here is where the decision comes in. I have a limited amount of fundage to spend at will. So if I buy a bike, I have to wait to get camera gear. What makes this decision difficult is that the emotional satisfaction of creating images is nearly identical to the satisfaction of riding. The riding requires more physical work, but when you manual through a rhythm section, flow through a skatepark, or float a simple table-top over a smooth double, there is a feeling that you just created something pleasing. It is art. People enjoying watching it, you enjoy making it. Just like photography.

So last night, I was telling Michelle about my dilemma and she said I should go after photography. Initially I resisted and stuck to my guns about buying a BMX bike. But last night I couldn't sleep. Sad, I know. Seriously every time I woke up, which was often, I was thinking, "BMX or Photography". Part of what I am afraid of is that if I don't get a bike now, the opportunity will never come again. Talk about an irrational fear! So after that sleepless night. And this blog. I think I am going to stick to photography.

Maybe I can do some stuff for the local BMX track with my photography. Plus I have a son I can live vicariously through...

-dg

The Journey. (#2)

2010-04-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

Last week I had an awesome opportunity to hang out with few really cool people and get to help out on the set of a "fashion film shoot". My friend Jesse has been turning his Red One digital camera on its side lately and filming stuff in portrait format. You can read more about it on his website jesserosten.com. Anyway, Michelle was the make-up artist for the day and I tagged a long to help lug lights around. It was kind of a date for Michelle and I because we both got to hang out and do things we love!

I try to jump at every opportunity to be involved with things that interest me. Lately that interest has been heavy in the photography department. I'm not really an aspiring cinematographer, but a lot of principles from film-making bleed over to photo-making. Even when moving light stands around there are little concepts that I pick up and it encourages me to stretch my own creativity.

Speaking of stretching, our friends the Skinners asked me to take some photos for them and I agreed. It was a little nerve wracking considering this was my second time doing a photo shoot with someone other than Michelle and Daniel! They seemed to be happy with the results which is what really counts, but I definitely was not breaking any molds.

As a novice photographer, I am noticing how it is a journey to find my own style. It seems that some people pick up a camera and have a distinct view on the world and it shows through their work. Someday I'll have a signature look. In the meantime it is a lot of copying and experimenting, which is kind of fun and frustrating.

I guess the whole purpose of this post is to say that I am on an artistic journey, although it doesn't always feel that way, and I am grateful for the opportunity to participate. What journey are you on?

-dg

52 Blogs.

2010-03-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

With all the "365" and "52" projects I see on Flickr and Photography-on-the.net, I figured it may not be a bad idea to do one of those for blogging. Part of the reason is because I think that this trend towards online communities and social networks is going to be an important part of society and I for one do not want to be left in the dust! The rest of the reason is that I believe writing (typing) your thoughts increases the flow of creativity.

You may have noticed that photography has been a recent hobby for me and it is slowly growing into a pretty important part of my life. Lately I feel like I have been hitting a wall in the creative department and would really like a break through. After a few conversations with some friends about art, creativity and life, I decided I need to commit to do something to get the juices flowing.

So here are my ground rules for this project. I am making a commitment, starting with this one, to write a blog per week for 52 weeks, a full year. They may include photos, they may not. It may be about photography, it may not. We will just have to see how this all pans out. I feel like this is going to be a good journey, tough, but good.

-dg

Michelle's New Hair

2010-01-02T14:24:00.001-08:00

IMG_9355
Originally uploaded by er_gold

Alrighty, I'm trying out this blog from Flickr thing. So here is a recent picture of Michelle that I took with our new lens. I'm trying to learn more and more about photography and it is exciting to see small improvements as I go along. I really need to start learning some Photoshop stuff. Anyway, I'm really proud of this photo, I think Michelle looks stunning with her new hair style and I feel like I was able to capture an image that shows how stunning it is! Thanks for looking people.

-dg

Holiday Cheer

2009-12-07T14:56:00.000-08:00

We went and picked out a tree this morning. It was freezing and we were in a hurry because I had a work related phone call which ended up getting rescheduled for another day minutes before the mini-hearing took place. Oh happy joy.

Anyway, the tree we did end up with cost an arm and a leg, I'm seriously considering planting my own christmas trees, but it looks pretty good. With that photo, I'm off, we are about to have our images captured by Lynn and Jesse Rosten. As soon as we get some of those we will post them up! Be blessed.

-dg

Blah.

2009-11-10T20:29:00.000-08:00

So the last few blogs have been from Michelle, I figured it was my turn. With the last few months many things have changed, some good, some bad. One bad thing is that we moved again, the good part is that we moved into a house that we bought! Another bummer deal is that my parents split up. Whatever the reason doesn't really matter to me, I love both mom and dad equally, I only care that they find a way to happiness. Again on the good side of the balance sheet, I am now working close enough to home that I sleep in my own bed every night. It feels so good.

The path life is taking right now is one of the most challenging times for me. Not physically, but emotionally and spiritually. I have never been in a better position financially, my wife and son are healthy and I am surrounded by some amazing friends. While I am in a good place, my siblings, my parents, my grandparents and some friends are facing some of the toughest times they have seen. It leaves me wondering what to do. All the things I thought were steadfast and sure in life have been turned upside down. Except one thing.

Now I sit, faced with an up and down roller-coaster everyday. I laugh with my dad, trying not to get depressed, watching as he tries to start his life from scratch. I chat with friends and try to be supportive as we try to sort through the confusion and heartbreak presented before us. I avoid the news because it just makes me want to quit. Apparently misery is the new happy. Michelle is listening to a song right now that sums it up, "All we can do is keep breathing" - Ingrid Michaelson. And pray.

Oh well. This is the path in life I am on, for better or worse. All I am going to do is try to live up to my name. My first name, for example, means "God is my judge". My family motto from ancient times is "Victory or death". That's a lot to live up to, good thing I don't quit easily.

Thanks for reading my blah-blog.

-dg

What Happens In Vegas

2009-07-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

"Really?! Has it really been five years already?" That's what we were saying on our trip to Las Vegas for the weekend. It was great! And it was our first real weekend away from baby Daniel so it was a big step for us all. We had a great time! We shopped til we dropped. It was such a treat and I am so thankful for a husband who doesn't mind hitting up the retail stores with me. We went to The Forum Shops where I bought some product at MAC PRO. We went to Miracle Mile and I went into Urban Outfitters for the first time and bought a dress and jacket at H&M and the sweetest pair of heels I've ever laid eyes on at Bakers. But I think my trip to Fashion Show Mall where I got two dresses from Betsey Johnson was the highlight. Truly, I was in retail heaven this weekend!

We went and walked the strip and it was pretty crazy due to 4th of July weekend. Hope everyone had a great 4th this year by the way. We went and saw Circ De Soleil's "O" at the Bellagio which was amazing and saw fireworks after that. I think I was literally on the edge of my seat most of the time watching "O".

The next day was filled with more sites to see and then hanging by the pool to catch some sun. We had a lovely dinner at the Top of the World restaurant followed by my winning $58 on the penny slots!! Thank you to Mom and Dad for watching baby Daniel this weekend! Without you we wouldn't have been able to go away for our anniversary. And thank you also for the card. Aunt Alison I got yours too! :) You helped make this anniversary that much more special.

-mg

SPONTANEOUS DAY TRIP!!!

2009-04-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I decided to take a last minute road trip today to somewhere we've never been before. And that place was Bidwell Park in Chico, CA. We've heard a lot about it. It is after all the second largest park in the US, the first being Central Park in New York. We've been into parks and nature lately since we bought our camera that we're totally obsessed with. We call it our second child. It goes where ever we go and for good reason. We get to capture all the special little moments of a 15 month old baby D discovering nature. It's lovely (except for the mosquitos) and I have proof. Hence all the photos your eyeballs are going to see right now. :)

-mg

It's that time of year... again.

2009-04-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

Yep. Another move for the Gallagher family. Our lease was up with the house we were in since relocating back to the motherland and we decided it would be best to scale down into something more comfy for a family of three and save, save, save for owning our own home, home, home. That will be one glorious day. The day when I can finally say "we will plant roots here for ETERNITY". But until then, boxes have been packed and unpacked, floors have been swept and mopped and swept and mopped again. I have made Daniel fully aware that we will be here until however long it takes us to only move one more time. Because nine times in less than five years is ridiculous in my opinion but alas... that has been our life and we have done many things most people would not get a chance to do.

On a happy note Daniel was able to buy the camera of his dreams after many months of saving. We bought our friends', the Rosten's Canon 5D because they too have upgraded and purchased the Canon 5D Mark II. Yay for them! Happiness all around people!!!! So thank you Lyn and Jesse. Your generosity never goes unnoticed. We've been playing with the camera ever since so I will leave you with a few pictures that I was able to capture this afternoon.

-mg

The Calm Before The Storm.

2009-03-05T16:42:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling really inspired lately. I got the chance to see a friend whom I haven't seen in about six years. We played in the Shasta Youth Symphony together before she moved away to pursue a career in music. She came back last weekend and performed as the viola soloist with the Shasta Symphony and blew me out of my chair. It kinda sparked that fire up in me again to play like I used to.
As far as makeup goes I've been able to do a couple professional gigs a month which is another great creative outlet for me. I love to do bridal makeup but the picture below is inspired by the great model Twiggy. Lyn was so perfect for this look and it was so fun to try and re-create something so timeless. I hope that I can continue to do things outside of being a homemaker. I value the time I have away to explore other things about me that I might not have known about if I hadn't taken the time to find it. Nothing is worse then sacrificing the very thing that makes you... well; you.

"As time goes by..."

2009-01-25T10:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know this is a song about two people in love but as I'm listening to Jimmy Durantes recording of this classic love song I can't help but think about this past year and all of the change it has brought. (And if you don't know which song I'm talking about go rent the movie "Sleepless in Seattle") Particularly our ten fingered, ten toed, tooth grinning, almost walking, brown haired, hazel eyed, chit chatter I'd like to call my son. He is one and that is crazy. It's hard to think that a year ago today Daniel and I were three days into being new parents.

I have to give a big shout out to Daniel. For the first two weeks solid he was taking care of both of us and for that babe, you are the most amazing, patient, wonderful, husband EVER. He never complained once shuttling the baby back and forth to me seeing as I had an extremely hard time doing anything while I was healing from the surgery. I didn't change a single diaper for the first two weeks!! I couldn't use my stomach muscles to get out of bed in the middle of the night so I'd have to wake up Daniel just to use the bathroom. He was so natural at being a father it was ridiculous. It seemed he was never clueless about anything to do with the baby and if he was it never lasted. I will never forget how amazing it was to watch him in action those first couple weeks.

And to see how far we've come as a little family is wonderful. I am so very thankful for everything in my life. I feel so blessed to have the men in my life that I do! Happy Birthday my son, I am so very proud of you.

Gallagher Christmas Shoot!

2008-12-11T22:58:00.000-08:00

Tis' the season to be jolly, fa lalalala, lalalala!!

Happy Hallow-thanks-mas.

2008-12-05T18:46:00.000-08:00

That's what happens when you don't blog in the fall -- you end up having a funny title because so much happens this time of year. Well we've been enjoying all the firsts with baby Daniel, clearly as you can see here by his first Halloween. He was Rambo for part of the night and a bunny for the rest of it. I'm sure you can figure out which parent had their influence on costumes. :)

Then there was Thanksgiving. We had three all together which was a lot of fun. And when I say "fun" I mean "turkey". But Thanksgiving has always been my absolutely favorite holiday, even more so than Christmas. It's a time to reflect on how much we are truly blessed in this life, a time give, a time to eat yummy food, a time before everyone starts to commercialize Christmas and definitely a time before people stomp walmart clerks to death to get a good deal on a flat screen. Makes me sick just thinking about it. Anyways, it was great to spend time with family and friends and that's exactly what we did.

And now it's December. We just celebrated Daniel's 27th birthday (crazy) and we are loving our nice little twelve foot christmas tree we had plucked out of the Lassen National Forest yesterday with other friends. You just can't beat a ten dollar 12 foot Christmas tree!! And of course it's been fun to decorate the house with all the appropriate decor. We had the huge honor of our friends Lyn and Jesse hook us up with a photo shoot which I will soon post pictures of. Until then, hope you have a very merry christmas.

-mg

2008-09-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

How quickly summer days have come and gone. Well, actually in Redding it is more like summer days have come and are still coming. All I can really remember is trying not to breath in the smoke from the fires surrounding our quaint little town. Or wondering why Costco had to repave the whole parking lot in the hottest month of the year and watch as cars left turn marks and they drove off before their kirkland super premium vanilla ice cream melted. No doubt it was a classic Redding summer. But there were good things that came from this summer too. Like going to my little brothers swim meets, taking the baby to his first swimming lessons, working a few shifts at the MAC counter and being able to hang out with the girls, going to the lake with Daniel and having lots of bbq's with friends. Yes it has been a great summer indeed.

Daniel's work schedule is much more consistent these days as well which is a huge relief. Baby Daniel is crawling like a champ and is ready to walk just as soon as his legs figure it out! I am branching out and starting to freelance on my own as a makeup artist and with the help of our friends, The Rostens, I am beginning to work on my makeup repertoire/portfolio.

All in all, we are one happy family and we look forward to the next season and what it brings!

-mg

Finally sailed...

2008-08-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

And I am hooked. Some of you know, and some of you may have heard from Michelle about my obsession with sailing. I don't remember when it started exactly, all I know is that it is always there.

I am a waterdog. Some of my fondest memories are all involving water, and of course some of my scariest memories also involve water. No matter the memory, scary or fond, they all have great stories to go along. Yesterday was no exception.

When Michelle and moved to the Bay Area for my job, I got all excited when I realized there was a sailing school about ten minutes from our apartment. I figured I would save my pennies and attend all the classes I could before the end of our "tour" in the Bay. But money has a way of slipping through my fingers rather quickly and soon we were planning to move back to Redding. So I turned my eyes towards smaller, lake-type, sailing vessels. Once again driving Michelle mad with my plans for yet another hobby. Sorry babe.

One day while I was working with one of my supervisors, he mentioned how he would rather be out on his boat on such a hot day. The mention of a boat immediately peaked my attention and I asked him what type of boat he had. "An older 34' sail boat". I explained my obsession of sailing to him and he shocked me again with the news that he was an instructor for a sailing school in Berkely for a long time. I offered my manual labor services and expressed my willingness to scrub the deck, scrape barnacles, and retrieve anchors released to the dirty depths of the bay... ok, maybe not the last one.

We made arrangements and I finally got to go for a sail on an honest to goodness sailboat. It was great. We motored out of the marina and onto the bay south of the San Mateo bridge. As we cruised along the windspeed starting picking up and soon we were in full on 30 knot winds. Sitting along the windward side, staring straight down into the water, I asked how fast of winds the races were usually held in. "15-20 knots" my supervisor replied, "actually right now we are sailing when most people won't, the small-craft advisory is at 25 knots". He glanced back over his shoulder with a border line maniacal grin as another five gallons of seawater sprayed over us. It was great.

I'm hooked, I want to sail more. I don't need a boat yet, but I would like to go get all my certificates so I can charter boats. I sense good adventures ahead!

- dg

Thinking.

2008-06-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

Howdy internet world. Michelle told me she posted a new blog and it reminded me that we had one. Then I had to ask what the web address was, yeah, it's that bad!

I have been spending a lot of my time sitting at various Starbucks around the penninsula, watching people and waiting for work to come around again. So maybe with this spare time I can post a few more blogs. Reading would be fun too. Who knows, hopefully I can be slightly productive and increase my knowledge in a subject or practice my literacy.

Having this much time to yourself can be scary. There are all kinds of decisions you are forced to make. For example, what do you want to do? It does make you exercise your brain a lot more. More time to think, less time to be distracted by 30 second commercials and distracting video games. Although the distractions are nice every now and then. In my line of work, I make decisions all day long, so a little time with no thinking at all is a nice break. But then the brain synapses start working again and I begin thinking. So back to thinking...

-dg

Happy to just be...

2008-06-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends! Just wanted to show you some of the pictures from our wonderful shoot by Heather Armstrong here in Redding this past month. It's so great to have pictures of all of us together... as a family. Usually I'm the one behind the camera! Heather was just amazing! Seriously. You'll have to check out her website to see the rest of her work. HeatherArmstrongPhotography.com

I'm still waiting to hear back from the M.A.C. counter to see if they need any extra coverage. If they do, I'm their "go to" girl and will be happy to help out! I should find out more next month. For now, I'm perfectly happy sitting down friends and them letting me practice on their faces! If you are interested let me know. The more the better!

Daniel is doing great. He still commutes and we still miss him like heck when he's gone!! He is always wonderful with the baby. There is never a time when he's not willing to help out so I can get a little break when he's here!

Alright, well I hope you are all well. Daniel and I will be celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary very soon and we're planning on seeing the 4th of July fireworks in San Francisco this year! Should be fun. All for now.

-mg

A New Kind Of Redding.

2008-05-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

Ah, so we made it to Redding in one piece! It will be almost a month since we moved up. The drive up was great, baby slept the whole way in a very packed car while Doug (my father in law) and Paul (my brother in law) followed close behind in a moving truck. Ps. I cannot thank those two enough for helping with the move and for everyone else who helped unpack once we were here! Thank you Lord for family!

For now, we are renting a big beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath house off of Shasta View that we were so blessed to find. We love it, and it's about $800 cheaper than the tiny apartment we had in Redwood City. It's pretty empty feeling since we've never had a lot of furniture but that will come eventually. :)

I spent my very first Mother's Day with my family. It's so nice to be close to my mother and sisters, they have been a big help (especially my youngest sister Carissa) when Daniel is gone for the week. I don't really like being alone in the house so she keeps me company and helps with the baby. My youngest brother is here with me ever so often too. It's very sweet of them.

I'm still an on call/freelance artist for M.A.C. and I hope to work a few shifts here and there at the counter again if they need the help. Daniel is amazing. I am so thankful for him and everything he does to take care of his family. He is still on grave yards and is having a good time with it. I'm looking into getting our first family portraits taken by the amazing Heather Armstrong so if that happens I will let you know where you can view the latest pictures of us!

-mg

Homeward Bound

2008-04-01T10:58:00.001-07:00

It's official - we are moving home!! The California Highway Patrol has concurred with keeping the twelve hour shifts which is enough for Daniel and I to make the decision to move back to Redding. Daniel's work schedule will be more consistent with working the 12's being four days on, three days off and vice versa. He will commute down to Redwood City every week until a spot opens up closer to home. We are just thrilled at the thought of being back in Redding mainly because we will be looking to buy a home, raising baby Daniel close to family and friends and really start to get ahead in life. It will be easier for me to go back to work too and also try to build relationships and work with people in the similar field of make-up artistry, media and the general public. We look forward to seeing you all very soon!

-mg

Smiles and Gas-x.

2008-03-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

I love when babies react to your cooing! I love it even more when MY baby starts smiling after I say his name or talk to him. He's just started doing that. When he's happy he is SO funny. All smily when we talk to him and then he starts talking back. He can almost click his tongue after every single time we do and he can stick out his tongue now every time after us. He's laughed twice in his sleep (BUT IT COUNTS!!) and it makes my heart melt. I love his smell. I could kiss him all day, and I usually do. I went to go see 'The Other Boleyn Girl' yesterday with a girl

friend (who also had her newborn son) for our first movie/hang out time minus our babies and the big pregnant bellies and it was great. But I'm not gonna lie, I was really excited to see my boys by the time the movie got out!

Anyways, life is awesome. I'm getting ready for my family to come visit us next week! I can't wait to see you guys! Plus we're planning on bringing baby Daniel to meet his Great-Grandpa too so it should be good.

Oh, and the gas-x comment refers to us having to pump his legs up to his chest at least a million times a day to help the poor boy out! I want to die laughing after every "Pooooooofffffffff" we hear and then him coo like he's saying, "YES, THANK YOU!"

Here's a picture of baby at one week old and then the most recent picture of him in the same pose at eight weeks. Yep, we've officially arrived to "smily town"!!

-mg

"They grow up so fast!"

2008-03-10T23:45:00.000-07:00

That statement doesn't sound like it packs much of a punch coming from a mother of a seven week old baby but it's so true! He has changed so much in so many different ways it's amazing. Baby Daniel is so much more alert now and showing a lot of emotion in his daily life. We know what cries mean what, what his different facial expressions mean, when he's concentrating on something really hard (like trying to imitate the face that dad makes when he's sticks his tongue out), and when he's perfectly happy just staring at something weather it be your face or a book you're reading to him, or a blank wall! He is just amazing and we are having a lot of fun with him.

Baby and I have finally nailed down breast feeding (PRAISE THE LORD!!) so now it doesn't feel like I'm feeding a shark anymore. Daniel is about to start his second week of work and he is loving working graveyards. It has been interesting though with both Daniel's sleeping schedules because the hours Daniel is at work are exactly the hours we are trying to flip flop baby Daniel to sleep. And then once baby and I make it through a night and it's morning time Daniel gets home from work ready to sleep for the next six hours. Oh well. Baby Daniel has been gracious enough to sleep a good 5 1/2 hours during the night so I'll feed him at midnight and won't wake up to feed him again until 5:30 the next morning.

We have discovered many wonderful things this past month. Visiting family and friends and seeing them pour out their love on baby Daniel... the value of good sleep, the baby smiling when he's happy (or pooping), how much Daniel and I love each other, and most recently: Safeway.com!!! They deliver!!! AMEN.

-mg

Feels like home.

2008-02-01T15:39:00.000-08:00

Wow, what an adjustment it has been to having a baby around the house! So far everything has been good. We are learning what works for us and what doesn't and to be honest it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Baby Daniel is so chill for the most part - sleeping lots during the day and most awake during the wee hours of the night! We're still working with him on his sleeping pattern but you just can't get mad at this little face!

So again, lots of sleeping during the day time but

putting him on a strict eating schedule is slowly helping him stay up a little bit better during the day time. As for now, Daniel and I are enjoying our time off work and our little guy! (Even though baby Daniel ROCKED daddy's world last night when all daddy wanted to do was sleep and baby Daniel didn't!!)

-mg

FREEDOM!!!

2008-01-26T19:20:00.000-08:00

Finally!

Michelle, Daniel Braden, and myself our free of the hospital. Don't get me wrong, the hospital staff was really good and I would recommend anyone who is looking for a hospital to check out that one.

Unfortunately hospitals are not the best places to get rest in. I know that everyone is thinking, "Duh Daniel, you have a brand new baby, you aren't going to get rest anywhere!" So let me explain. Baby Daniel sleeps for about 3-4 hours at a time. If you are efficient, you can knock out all the baby business, feeding, burping, changing, pretty quickly and therefore have about 2-3 hours or more of sleep at a time. Not so at the hospital. As soon as you think you have a good routine going, a nurse comes in to check vitals and pass out pills. She is usually followed by food service people who leave the door open behind them, then housekeeping, lactation consultants, dieticians, phlebotomists, pediatricians, gynocologists and just when they all clear out, food services shows up to take your food tray away.

They are just doing their jobs, and they do their jobs very well. The timing of it all just seems to be orchestrated so perfectly wrong that you are constantly teased by the thought that you just might finally get some rest. Oh yeah, and to top it off the nurse comes back in and tells you, "just try to get some sleep, you need it!"

So finally, we are home, in our own beds, getting as much rest as possible. Yes I'll wake up in another three hours and change a dirty diaper, I'll probably wake up in 45 minutes and freak out thinking that my son isn't breathing, but at least I am in my own bed and if anyone walks into my room they are leaving with a freaking bullet hole!!!! 6 and a half days in a hospital will make a guy go crazy.

I think I am going to walk around the house naked now just cause I'm home.

-dg

The Moment We've Been Waiting For...

2008-01-24T12:43:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, the moment we have been waiting for finally happened on Tuesday night the 22nd at 10:47 pm. Daniel Braden Gallagher was pried from his mommy's uterus...

So we went back to the hospital on the 19th for more blood testing on Michelle. The results came back and her blood platelet count had dropped again. The good news was that we were able to go home, but the other, umm, ok news was that we had to come back on sunday the 20th for another blood test and the good possibility of being admitted. So the nurse gave us instructions to bring our bags and all the stuff we needed for having a baby and sent us on our way to one last night of rest in our own bed.

Sunday the 20th we arrived at the hospital at about 10:50 am, with no coffee mind you, and headed up to the maternity ward to get some blood tests done. When the results came up they started all the paperwork and basically told us to settle in. I made a bunch of phone calls and the inducing began. The doctor had Michelle put on a small dose of Patocin to stress test the baby and her. She began to have mild contractions and the baby's heart-rate did fine. Sunday night they turned off the Patocin and used another medication, I believe it was called Cytocin, to soften her cervix and help her body get ready for labor.

Monday was pretty much the same, but they gradually increased the Patocin from about 2 mls/hour to 10 mls/hour. The results of another blood test showed Michelle's platelet count had dropped again, but she was making forward progress and the baby seemed fine so the doctor decided to give it another day. Our doctor was really hoping that Michelle would

be able to deliver the baby the "Old-fashion" way and was trying to avoid an unnecessary C-section which I really appreciated.

Tuesday is when things really started to get exciting, Dr. O'Callahan (Killer name by the way!) promised Michelle the baby would be out by day's end. Michelle was started on Patocin and the waiting game began. Each time she was checked she was a little more dialated. Around 1:30 pm she really started to go into intense labor and went for about 2 hours of straight up hard-core contractions. At about 3:30 she had dialated to about 5-6 and was ready for an epidural!

Our biggest concern about the epidural was that it would slow and possibly stop labor. Not so with Michelle! She gradually progressed to about 8 centimeter and the doctor had her push once to see if it would move things along. Because Michelle had progressed so good the doctor gave her an hour to see if anything would change. During that hour the baby took a turn for the better and it looked like everything was going to move forward. Dr. O'Callahan checked again and Michelle was at 9 centimeters and really close to full dialation. So the doctor gave us another hour to progress, but she wanted Michelle to start pushing with every contraction.

When the doctor came back, Michelle was doing good, but the baby's heart rate decelerated at the end of every contraction. Michelle was fully dialated but the baby was still really high and we couldn't really figure out why. The doctor had Michelle push for a while, but the baby's heart rate began to take longer and longer to recover after the contractions. The doctor decided it was time for the c-section.

The c-section went really good, I believe most of it was caught on video, and we disco

vered why baby Daniel was struggling to come out. He was huge!!! Dr. O'Callahan exclaimed, "You're having a three month old!" and another doctor laughed and said, "That's not a baby, that's a toddler!" I watched a good portion of the surgery through a reflection and when they pulled Daniel Braden out, I was shocked at how big he looked!!! Everyone took bets on how much he weighed, but most were conservative around the 9 and a half pound mark. He weighed in at 9lbs 14 oz!

Everything has been great so far, he is very healthy, just a mild case of jaundus and Michelle is recovering wonderfully. We will be at the hospital until Saturday so I am not sure if we will get another chance to blog until then. I'm off back to the hospital to go take care of my family.

-dg

Happy Almost Birthday?!

2008-01-18T21:04:00.000-08:00

So here's a picture of me today strapped to some machines at Sequoia Hospital to monitor the baby and my blood pressure. No need to worry, I wasn't in any pain... or feeling sickly... I just wasn't wearing any make-up! HA! Let me back up...

We had a doctors appointment today and my blood pressure was higher then usual (again) so my Doctor sent Daniel and I across the street to the hospital to get some blood work done and so they could monitor the baby and I while they processed the tests. And the baby is doing GREAT - he's happier than a tornado in a trailer park! Sorry, I couldn't help myself. We are mainly concerned about me and my body vs. the pre-eclampsia that's trying to creep its way into the picture. So I had my blood drawn in the hospitals lab, then we went up to the maternity wing and they set me up in a room for about an hour, then I got sent down to radiology to get an ultrasound to measure my amniotic fluid, and then went back up to the maternity wing again to rest, and then we were giving the thumbs up to go home.

My doctor was going to have us do the same thing again on Monday with a good possibility of being induced that night but instead of going in Monday I'll be going in tomorrow. So, I'm not really sure if I'm just doing the tests or getting the tests and getting induced tomorrow! I guess it will all depend on how those tests come back!

All for now folks... Wish me luck!

-mg

Quick update!

2008-01-07T13:40:00.001-08:00

I am officially done with work now! I was scheduled to work twice this week, which would have been my last two days but when I went to my doctors appointment last week I was on the boarder line of having pre-eclampsia so everyone (including Daniel) felt it would be better to just get those shifts covered and be done with it. So now I'm trying to take it easy yet still be somewhat productive considering we've only got about three weeks left until our due date!

I feel like baby Daniel gets a little bigger everyday. At this point I believe he's "good to go" and considered a full term baby if he decided to be born now which is cool. He's doing great by the way. Still moving around and kicking my ribs all the time! I'm posting a picture of what I see when I look down these days - which isn't much other then the tips of my toes IF THAT!

Anyways, just wanted to keep ya'll in the loop!

-mg

It hurts so good...

2008-01-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

I joined a gym. As a Christmas gift to myself I marched my rear down to Granite Planet and signed up. Granite Planet is a rock climbing gym that has all the weight machines, free weights and cardio machines you could ask for. Oh yeah and there are some bitchin' climbing walls!!!

I've spent the last two days climbing around in one of the two bouldering rooms and feeling the burn in my forums. I was proud of myself the first day. I climbed all of the routes rated V0 and most of the V1's... V1=pansy, V=wilting pansy. Then today I was determined to complete all the V1 routes in the room only to be embarrassed by a 17 year old girl making the V4's and V5's look like they were escalators, V4=badass, V5=spiderman. So I hung my head in shame and headed to the locker room. Suddenly a voice calling for more rope caught my attention about 25 feet above me. I raised my head only to see a 14 year old girl rapidly climbing a wall that was rated at 5.10 (I think 5.10 also = spiderman) and she was doing the hardcore "leading" thingy. That means that she was attaching the safety rope to anchors on the way up. For us newbies they have ropes that hang down from ceiling so we don't kill ourselves.

I got a long way to go, but I couldn't be happier!!!!

-dg

Sunday Morning

2007-12-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

So I finally picked up a computer again this morning. The holidays brought me an iPhone and a Xbox 360 which have soaked up a lot of my free time lately and therefore my blog time. Hopefully I will balance my life a little better... well, for a month anyway, then it's time for baby Daniel! He will dominate my life, but I am super excited. It is amazing to feel him move around in Michelle's abdomen. He has already kicked me hard enough in the night to wake me up. That's a trip! Ok, this blog is more of a ramble, but a jumpstart into blogging again.... peace.

-dg

Working MAC PRO and my new iphone!

2007-12-20T22:07:00.000-08:00

So today I worked my first day at MAC PRO in San Francisco and I must say - I was impressed! The level of customer service, professionalism between coworkers, fun work atmosphere, and creative artistry within every single person there was AMAZING. I had to make sure I wasn't just standing there watching someone do a make up and actually stay busy with doing something because I would just want to get lost and watch them work. I was both humbled and awestruck by working there today... and also very tired when I got off my six hour shift. (I stand the whole time and I'm just at my eight month pregnancy mark, OKAY!?:) It's about a 45 minute commute into and out of the city each way (which is enough to not want to work there all the time) and I'm astounded by how many people make that commute everyday without even flinching. CALL ME A SMALL TOWN GIRL - I'm totally okay with it!

When Daniel picked me up he told me he had an early Christmas present to give me. You guessed it - I got an iphone too! I was happy to see how much Daniel loved his (the one I got him for his birthday earlier this month) and how he raves about it to everyone at work and I told him that I would like to eventually get one myself but I was perfectly okay with my razor phone until then. Well, there was one sitting at home waiting for me and I've been transferring all my info on it ever since! What a lovely gift. And a big thanks to Terri and Doug who also pitched in to get it for me too. I love it! :) I'm posting a picture of me as I head out the door to go to work (feeling a little nervous!) and a picture of me and my new phone ten seconds after I got it! :)

-mg

Rain day

2007-12-18T08:45:00.000-08:00

It is finally raining pretty good down here in the Bay Area. Traction is significantly reduced as all the oils from the road are being rinsed off which in turn means more people are crashing. I don't get why people still try to drive so fast in the rain. The dreary weather makes me want to sleep not drive fast.... If anything exciting happens I'll throw it up here.

-dg

Tis' the season - for an update!

2007-12-16T10:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not really sure how to start this blog. Usually I blog right after something happened (like when I was mistaken for a pregnant lesbian with a pregnant partner... TWICE.) but I feel like I'm having to pull this blog out of the air and just right down a few thoughts. I guess this will just be a little update for all ya'll.

The baby and I are doing great! Last night Daniel and I were playing with him and I think he was getting mad. We've noticed lately how baby Daniel LOVES to hang out up by my ribs thus making it fairly uncomfortable for me to BREATH or sit down without feeling like he's playing my ribs like a harp. So we'd gently squish him down towards my lower tummy and hold our hands there while he'd try to push against our hands to get back to his favorite spot! We could tell he was like, "HEY!! What's going on out there?!" and we'd sit there and laugh! It's great fun to play with a baby we haven't even met yet. I feel like he has so much personality already and when Daniel talks to him he responds by kicking him back in his face. We are so ready to meet our son!

Daniel and I just went to see the San Francisco Ballet perform The Nutcracker and it was amazing. So much fun! We also went to his first work Christmas party which was a lot of fun. Very entertaining to see CHP officers getting down on the dance floor all night. It was good times for sure.

I'm posting a picture of the MAC Store that I've been working at a lot this month. It's off of Burlingame Ave which is a neato place to shop. The store itself has only been there since last April and it still has that new feel to it. I'm also working the Hillsdale location in the mall this week and MAC PRO in San Francisco which I'm looking forward to!

-mg

Trying out this blog thingy...

2007-12-09T22:07:00.000-08:00

Howdy ya'll! Michelle and I are going to give this whole blogging thing a try. With all the big changes, new career and baby on the way, it seems like a good time to start journaling this stuff.

Actually, anytime is a good time to start journaling.

I am going to really try hard to be consistent in my blogging. I promise!

-dg