Life in the Slow Lane

Corn harvest Originally uploaded by biukalee Just because I want to share more pictures.

Gloria Originally uploaded by biukalee With a little bit of food, water, and something to keep the sun and rain off me, I could stay in this little corner for a very long time. From here, the noise of the city -- dogs barking, kids yelling, horns, motorcycles' and cars' engines, banging music from a hundred different houses, goats bleating, and dozens of voices -- recedes into a murmur of humanity that allows for me to hear the wind entangling the grasses around me. From here, the houses look quaint and charming, you can almost forget that the people in the kitchen have front row seats to the toilet and shower, that water must be hauled, and that mosquitoes are more prevalent than places to stand or sit. But as uncomfortable as some of this is, there is a strange feeling that if I walked a ways, through the tall grasses, between swaying palm trees, over the dirt road destroyed by heavy rains, I could find my way home. I would remember what it was like to walk barefo...

Walking to sitio Originally uploaded by biukalee For those of you interested in pictures of the civiled couple, be sure to check out my flickr pages.

Sun set Originally uploaded by biukalee . I am sharing this photo with you because I am in just that much of a sharing mood. But I will only let you enjoy this picture if you ignore the large piece of red lint that was aparently on my lens at the time of the picture.

Tho the ocean billows roll Originally uploaded by biukalee . I took this on a visit to the beach a month or two ago, but I thought I would share it all with you now. Why? Because it looks ever so much more peaceful than my day at work.

In my walks, I walk within 100 yards of this tree, yet it was months before I noticed it. When I noticed it, my first thought was "That tree is going to fall on top of the house... someone isn't thinking clearly." And the next time I thought "This is amazing! An incredible tree! How come no one has noticed it before this?" And then I looked up and realized I was standing on the corner of Rock Tree and Rock Vista. So yeah, someone else noticed the tree before me.

My walk Originally uploaded by biukalee . In a moment of pre-existent nostalgia, I took this picture which shows a portion of the path I take between my place of residence and my work. If this turns out to be the last empty lot of these proportions within Los Angeles county, I will be mad at myself for advertising it. If anyone asks, just remember, you have no idea where this lot is located.

Give a boy a hammer Originally uploaded by biukalee . This was taken within a minute of the hammer being taken out of its packaging. Yes, this picture is blurry, but it still qualifies as a classic, right?

Sunset at Big Bear Lake Originally uploaded by biukalee . This picture has nothing to do with Thanksgiving. It is just a cool picture that I wanted to share. So be thankful!

On this, the first day when I am taking vacation time, I thought it fitting to post a picture of my cubicle. This is where it happens, folks, for 40 hours a week, 4 weeks a month, for the last 6 months. Please notice the lovely pillow case in the corner that came with the bedspread . Perhaps now is also a fitting time to announce that this will no longer be my cubicle very soon. I'm moving up! Or rather, I'm moving around. Soon I will be at a desk that will have twice as much desk space, three times as much leg room (I can start bringing my legs to work again!) and no cubicle wall. The desk will be considerably more suited for working, but less suited for showcasing international curiosities. I might actually have to answer that letter sitting on my desk.

Birthday Flowers (1) Originally uploaded by biukalee . Flowers have special powers. Observe and take note.

Lake Tahoe Originally uploaded by biukalee . I uploaded another six photos from Lake Tahoe, if anyone is interested.

Serious Music Originally uploaded by biukalee . This is one of my favorite pictures that I took at the reunion. If you are interested, there are more on my flikr space, but I ran out of room to post all of them so you will have to wait until next month for the others.

My, what big teeth you have! Originally uploaded by biukalee . The last week of life as a full-time babysitter (do you remember those ancient days?), I took a disposable camera with me to take photos of my kids. I made sure to take a disposable one so that my kids could take pictures of me, too. After looking at these photos, is it any wonder that kids get scared of adults?

The Babysitter Giant and the Dinosaur Eggs Originally uploaded by biukalee .

Fee Fi Fo Fum Originally uploaded by biukalee .

After five weeks of vacation Originally uploaded by biukalee . Anyone who can get on a bike after five weeks of travel and 18 hours of airplane time with the entire contents of their luggage strapped to their bike deserves a medal. But mostly I just wanted an excuse to get everyone who has not already seen this to go on over to serapio's blog and see the movie in which I am a star.

I eat good. Originally uploaded by biukalee . I was jealous that Caedmonstia gets to post cute pictures and stories of her godson, so I took these of mine.

What were you going to say? Originally uploaded by biukalee .

Engenho Verde Originally uploaded by biukalee . Engenho Verde This lovely plantation, built in the 1860's (if my memory serves me correctly), is an amazing bed and breakfast. The first amazing thing about it I can say in three words: No Checkout Time. The innkeeper didn't even know what it was when we asked about it. I probably shouldn't put this on my blog because then this will be the next big vacation spot and we will never again enjoy being the only guests, but imagine: Riding horses Fresh fruit picked on the premises Beautiful country side Natural waterfalls close by Goats that you can milk Three delicious meals Pools made from the river on the property And only a short distance from Palmares... home of an inn positioned scenically on top of a gas station.