someday...

i will learn enough to take pictures like my big bro.

oh, and someday... i will have the opportunity to travel to all sorts of amazing sights too...

(i recommend screens 1 and 2 for the pure in heart).

proud new owner.

while it may not be the latest and greatest... it's the perfect starter camera for this new photographer.



watch out world... the bennions are out to conquer the world... and will be there to document every bit of it.

a sweet boy.

this is sean. nephew #2. so sweet and so tender. he's always asking for hugs. the mellow genes that never made it into jared's dna were bottled up and given to sean. he is easily amused and laughs uncontrollably.

a crazy monkey.

(i'm not strangling him. i'm tickling.)

this is my nephew jared. everyone thinks they have the cutest nephew/neice. i won't argue with anyone... but i'm just throwing this out there... he's pretty cute. he loves dinosaurs, scary monsters, and most of all pirates.

he's a crazy monkey, but i love him. lucy said he didn't go to sleep until 11 o'clock last night because he couldn't quit talking about his aunt aubry. isn't that just sweet enough to melt your heart...

the handbag that got away.

fashion valley added a million new stores since i was home last... including some of my favs - anthropologie, henri bendel AND michael kors. not to mention its already killer nordstrom (puts fashion place mall to shame) and bloomingdale's.

not only did i hit up the new and improved mall, my mom and i earned our black belts at the trifecta of bargain shops... loehmann's, the rack, and off 5th. originally $175... marked down to $40... with an additional 50% off. black belt, for sure.

it was practically a dream come true.

however...

i walked away from this sweet beauty

... and it was on sale. what was i thinking?! should i go back? i should go back. yes, i should go back. michael and i just celebrated our 3 year anniversary of being together ... and i just turned my back on him. i'm a jerk. don't i know a good thing when it's looking me in the face?

alma 7: 10-12

merry christmas, friends!



hope the day was as great as mine... full of family (especially sweet nephews!), good food, and presents galore!

... and of course, a moment to ponder what it's really all about.

now, onto the after christmas sales! loehmann's, sephora, and anthro, oh my! will it be the annual michael kors? or is 2009 the year of marc jacobs?

2009, please.

not to discount christmas, or any holiday cheer between now and then, but can it puh-lease be 2009 already? my wall calendar awaits.

for once in my life... november's artwork isn't all brown and cornucopia-y.

a sweet present.

i was given this little delectable on saturday night.

i recommend them all. next on the list: mediterranean mint.

154.

... the number of spools of ribbon i bought on saturday morning at the american crafts warehouse sale.

i've googled it... there's no such thing as a 12 step program for ribbon abuse.

Shooting Katy Perry @ MuchMusic

Photographed Katy Perry @ MuchMusic yesterday.
Some shoots go like clockwork, others are a struggle. This one had some glitches, which is very unusual for shooting at Much.


This is the second time I've photographed her recently. At Fashion Cares she was very relaxed and cooperative with the media. Yesterday she was distracted, skittish and not very forthcoming for most of the media op. I guess she came all the way up to Toronto for the minus seven degree weather.

We were informed she would be available right off the top of the show when she was being interviewed, but that didn't happen. Neither did the concert segment.

After several delays the publicist finally gets her lined up with the MuchMusic sign in the background for a quicky headshot. Just as we start to shoot the room lights (which were our only illumination on her) go off because they are back from commercial break and all we have is Katy silouhetted against the backlit sign. All the studio lights are aimed the other way. She does a 10 sec. smirk for each photographer then takes off for the green room like that's it. Photo shoot over.

There is no question of using a flash in this circumstance. You're not allowed to use flash in the studio. The lighting that had been on her went out because the show was once again live to air. Using a flash would have resulted in security removing me from the premises.

When you see a broadcast of this sort at home it is one continuous feed. But live in the studio there are short bursts of live taping interspersed with long minutes when the house lights come up and everyone sits around bored waiting for something to happen while they run a pre-taped segment. Usually it's during these off-air moments that media are allowed to shoot set up photos (we're also allowed to shoot the interviews or live performances most the time, but this wasn't the case for Katy Perry)

As well, with an audience in place and many tech people scattered throughout the studio (it's a smallish studio too) photographers don't usually show up with bags and a ton of equipment.
Standard for this assignment would be something in the range of a 24-70 2.8 on one body and a 70-200mm 2.8 on another. I'm using the Digital Zuiko 12-60 2.8 (24-120mm equiv.) on the E3, and the 50-200mm 2.8 (100-400mm equiv.) on the E510.
No bag. No flash. This allows for much easier movement and you don't have to annoy them by putting bags down on the floor or work surfaces. Sometimes photogs don't even show up with coats on (nowhere to put them so you end up wearing it in a very hot lit studio environment). It was a chilly trip from the carpark last night.

After our debacle in the dark the woman from Reuters, the guy from Getty and I gather around in a circle to compare and all we have is ... well, nothing really. Just a silouhette of her with a bit of rim lighting and minimal detail in the shadow areas.

So the publicist assures us we'll be able to shoot Katy when she comes back from the green room, but she just blows right past us without stopping when that moment arrives.
So the new plan is to do her next commercial break... which becomes next commercial break ... which becomes just before she does her last live song - as in, just before she leaves the building.

This actually works out, but the lighting is set for the opposite direction from where she is standing, so the single overhead light we're stuck with does nothing but render her make-up grossly overdone. However this time she does spend a little longer giving each photographer (there were six in all) a look.

The problem with the second sequence, which should have been our best shot, was they were set up to do her live singing performance and we were positioned opposite to the key lighting for a complimentary look.
Such is life when you are shooting in the middle of a live TV broadcast.

Also, MuchMusic used to have two studios side by side. The one across the hall from yesterday’s was always a lot better from a lighting stand point. I did Rihanna and Elisha Cuthbert in there and it was just superb. But now E-Talk has that studio (gotta keep Ben Mulroney looking good I suppose :)

So the last sequence where the exposure is good doesn't do her justice, and has a very busy background with the studio audience back there. Thus I decided to try rescuing the grossly under-exposed JPEG from the first sequence.

This required a few trips through Neat Image noise removal program, some radical curves and selective levels adjustments, a little bit of fill lighting applied, and just a bit of light cloning. Surprisingly, banding wasn't as bad as some less under exposed images I've worked on in the past. I expected the backlit sign to blow out completely but it held up fairly well.

In the end we got the photo above, which, while not perfect, is a hundred percent more useable than I ever expected considering what I started with.
Heck, If I was using the new Olympus E30 I could say I actually did it intentionally with one of those fancy art effects filters. You know, the 'Heroic PhotoShop Intervention Filter'

Olympus E3 camera with 12-60mm f2.8 lens.

Photo copyright Torontowide.com. All rights reserved.

inspired by miss.

that's right friends... the hoff. i'm posting about david hasselhoff.

while sitting in the phoenix airport a couple weeks ago, miss jen enlightened me to the billy squier video.

that got a good thing going... and this is one of the many wonders that resulted from the all out youtube search. i'm pretty sure the family sitting across from us at the gate (yeah, the one coming back from a week at disneyland, who's flight was delayed, then delayed again, then cancelled...) were absolutely irritated with our fun and games.




(and for anyone that wants a copy of the "i heart the hoff" workbook - including crossword puzzles, connect the dots, "hoffcessories", etc. - let me know. i'll be sure to send it right over.)

a holiday baking marathon.

'tis the season!

for years and years, my mom and i had a marathon baking day of holiday treats for all our friends and neighbors. but since moving away, i'm left to do it alone (something tells me my mom retired the tradition after i left...)

i love to do it... from the baking to the pretty packaging and sweet ribbons. the only problems is, i feel the constant need to out-do myself every year. so this year, i turned to my friend martha for my next brilliant idea: ice box cookies. go ahead... steal the idea... they're fun to make. and you better believe i'm going to keep practicing. martha's are just so freaking perfect. someday...

my well contained kitchen chaos...

i made and colored the dough on friday night... and put them in the ice box (go figure...) for the night. i woke up on saturday, bright eyed and anxious at 7:30 am... ready to bake...

they were even cute just sitting on the cookie sheet...


the finished product!


ice box cookies weren't enough... so i threw in a few homemade oreos...

and in the packaging they go...



signed and sealed... ready for delivery!

now, what to make next year...

These were bad enough to bring my posting back from the dead

So as I'm sure you can tell, I haven't been posting here a lot lately. I've been busy at work, and haven't really come across many new tattoos that are worth mentioning. However, I got an email a few days ago that seriously shook me up. Check out these terrible tattoos, all by the same artist working out of a "pro" shop.


Was the kanji there already, and the rest of the tattoo worked around it? Or was it all designed in one piece? Why is the kanji overlapping with the star? What is that weird black V at the top? It's all a total mystery, and it's all TERRIBLE.


This just makes me think of a pile of pubes, I'm sorry.


...... I don't even know what to say about this. It's not as terrible as the others but it just seems so... sad.

the way to my heart.

seems like every season is concert season... winter 2009 being no exception. i can't wait for all this quality* entertainment to come to slc!

lenka - january 22 at kilby court

adele - january 23 at murray theater

donovan frankenreiter - march 9 at the depot

brett dennen - april 4 at murray theater

BRITNEY SPEARS! - april 14 at esa

*i have pretty respectable taste in music... but lately i've caught a lot of flack for my attendance at the new kids on the block concert. but, really... nkotb come to town after 15 years... it's a THING. you go. you do it. you endulge your childhood nostalgia. you go because tickets are $20 and they haven't been to slc in 15 years. you just do it. it's a THING. (you also go because donnie's hot).

so... when britney spears announced her world tour (on her birthday and immediately following her uninterrupted mtv documentary), i didn't hesitate for a second. it's a THING. you do it. you go. tickets aren't $20, but you still do it. it's entertainment. it's not so much a childhood things as it is a high school dance thing... but you do it. besides, someone's got to support sean preston and jayden james... because we all know k-fed isn't doing them any favors.

a sweet tech thing...

gmail "themes".

my second sweet thing post about technology! what a nerd.

but, do you see how sweet this is?? gmail can transform from plain ol' plain ol' into something so sweet! for the gmail-ites who haven't discovered this sweet feautre yet, google says it's slowly unrolling the themes for all their users... so if you don't see it under your settings tool, check back often... it will be there before too long.

happy e mailing!

tale of a party planner. v 2.0

last saturday was the company holiday party... and who better to plan the party for 100 engineers and their spouses than the token NON-ENGINEERS?

appetizers, dinner, games, prizes, dancing, n' all. while most people were leaving, we were still dancing the night away. the wait staff even joined our dance party. i overheard one of them say, "this was the most enjoyable crew of people... they're so fun! i wonder what they do for a living...?" which may be the highest compliment paid to an engineer...

the party planners. mo, ama, and meeeee...

Recent Events

It's been a while since my last post. Time to catch up with recent concerts and shows.

Virgin Unite: Lady GaGa @ Circa Nightclub

Virgin Unite is a charitable organization affiliated worldwide with Richard Branson’s group of companies that specializes in throwing swank, celebrity-fuelled evenings so people can party away, while contributing to the worthy cause of fighting Youth Homelessness.

The celebrity headline act for the evening’s concert was Lady GaGa, the singer behind last summer’s most infectious dance hit, and opening act was the 15 yr. old wunderkind who goes by the stage name of Shiloh, also with a current radio hit.

With the kind assistance of the club’s lighting crew I was able to position myself perfectly behind the lighting board for a photo that would frame the performer with the crowd’s hands, capturing the energy of the night’s performance.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, the Circa nightclub is an interesting environment with four floors of stylized nooks and lounges surrounding a large floor to ceiling central performance space.

A fun evening for a good cause.

TSO Afterworks Series - Holst’s The Planets

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra have started a new series aimed at the busy professional.

It’s called the AfterWorks Series, and the basic premise is that each of the three concerts in the series has an early start time of 6:30 PM with the aim of having patrons out of the hall by 8:00 PM at concert’s end.

This leaves you with either time for dinner afterwards, or an early journey home. The concerts have no intermission.

We went to the first of the series, Holst’s The Planets on a Wed. night and I think they are onto something here.

The standard start time of 8:00 is often a bit awkward, offering inadequate time for dinner before, or a late light snack afterwards as your only alternatives.
And with the busy lives we lead these days there is often homework to be supervised at home, or shopping and errands that need doing.

The early start and end times of this series takes a bit of the stress out allowing an enjoyable concert experience that can fit in with a busy lifestyle.

For The Planets the TO was in fine form delivering an impassioned performance of this classic piece that ostensibly assigns a movement to each planetary body in our solar system, but, arguably, the composition is really about the arc of life, from birth to death.

The orchestra showcased a huge dynamic range and precise, nuanced playing throughout.

Future concerts in the Afterworks Series will be; Mozart’’s Jupiter Symphony w/ Peter Oundjian conducting on Jan. 14, then Prokofiev and Ravel w/ Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducting on Mar. 25

National Ballet’s The Nutcracker

A holiday classic, and an absolute must for the young aspiring ballet star in your family (and what little girl doesn’t want to be a ballerina?)

The Nutcracker is a stunning, lavish enchantment that brings a child’s fantasies to life with a rich, creative production that makes it an experience for the entire family. I know people who go every year as a Christmas family tradition.

And every year various celebrities from the sports and entertainment worlds are given the opportunity to be part of the production as the ‘cannon dolls’.

For the opening night I photographed Dan Levy and Jessi Cruikshank, hosts of MTV‘s The AfterShow, hamming it up as the slightly inept cannon crew.

A treat for children of all ages, The Nutcracker runs until Dec. 28 at The Four Seasons Centre For the Performing Arts, Queen and University

COCC’s Dickens Of A Christmas

The Canadian Childen’s Opera Company presents their annual opera based on the Dickens classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge’s encounter with the ghosts of Christmas, and his conversion to the spirit of the season.

Staged at Harbourfront’s Enwave Theatre, always a warm and intimate venue that is perfectly suited to the larger ensemble numbers in the show, this production has it’s uneven moments but these are nicely offset by the charm of the youth performers who really give it their best.

The opera moves briskly along with the straight forward telling of a tale that needs no further embellishments.

A nice start to the Christmas season.

Tarragon Theatre: Moliere

A romp through the theatre world of France’s King Louis XIV, The Sun King, this play highlights the creative rivalry of the leading playwright’s of their day, Moliere and Jean Baptiste Racine, contrasting their diametrically opposing personalities.

Moliere’s lusty, bon vivant exuberance starkly contrasts with Jean Baptiste Racine’s tightly wound, obsession with tragedy and melodrama. Life is serious business in Racine’s world.

Throw in an scheming Machivelian Archbishop Prifixe, who may remind people of a certain current Prime Minister, and the play quickly achieves a undertone of menace as the dark forces of these two major manipulators move to squelch the light and laughter of Moliere’s world in service to their own personal ambitions and nation state manoeuvring.

It’s a cleverly produced production with simple yet effective staging that, with a simple swivel of a large proscenium arc allows for glimpses of the on-stage theatrics from both the audience and backstage views, as well as doing double duty to move the play ahead chronologically.

The performances are uniformly terrific, especially Richard McMillan as the lead character Moliere and Julian Richings as the Archbishop.

Pacing never lags, the humour can be broad and coarse in keeping with the era, but there are many subtle asides and ironic moments echoing our own recently perogued society.

This a hugely entertaining play with a stellar cast, even attracting the attention of film director Atom Egoyan, who was among the opening night crowd.

Moliere may not be seasonal fare, but it may just the thing when ’seasonal’ is beginning to wear.

Moliere continues until Dec. 28 at Tarragon Theatre’s MainSpace.



ROM’s Mysteries of Ancient Ukraine

Ukraine's First Lady, Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko opened the ROM's new Mysteries of Ancient Ukraine: The Remarkable Trypilian Culture exhibition last week and there was quite the media zoo following her around the narrow display space, everyone trying to get the First Lady in the frame.

I've done this before in galleries (last time was the Govenor General and a Danish Prince) The key is not to get stuck in the pack. You pick a spot ahead of the entourage. This gives you the shot as they approach, puts you right up front for the talk about the display. Shoot a couple frames then duck out and move to the next spot on the tour. If you stay too long you'll end up at the tail end and have a marvelous view of the twenty other photographers in front of you for the rest of the morning.

But owing to the distorted perspective of the ultra wide angle 9-18mm, where things look further away than they really are, I think I accidentally got a little too close a few times.

On this shot I was literally shooting over the shoulder, almost touching him in fact, of the exhibit's curator as he was talking to her. I think the two well built fellows in the background who looked to be her security detail thought it was verging on too close as well. At 100 percent you can see they are both watching me intently.

Apparently National Geographic is coming up to shoot the exhibit. It's a very interesting glimpse into a little-known culture that thrived 7,000 - 5,000 years ago, then inexplicably disappeared. In their time the Trypilian societies built the largest human settlements anywhere in the world.

Mysteries Of The Ukraine runs until March 22 at the ROM’s 3rd floor Centre Block
Olympus E510 w Zuiko 9-18mm, existing light @ 1600 ISO

Canstage: It’s A Wonderful Life

In a small 50’s era radio station actors are bringing this classic story to life - which was actually produced as a radio broadcast before the movie version was released.

The play follows the production of It’s A Wonderful Life as a radio drama showing the behnd the scenes effects and personalities necessary for mounting such a production.

Adding authenticity are radio commercial breaks performed by the actors that evoke a Norman Rockwell era of innocence and a boundless future.

It’s A Wonderful Life presents to the audience a play within a play situation where one can watch the radio drama unfold on stage, or ocassionally sit back, close one’s eyes and listen to a very convincing radio play.

I found the second half a little long - although, who’s going to edit a classic like this?

And I wish they had explored the relationships between the actors off-mic more. There are some intriguing things going on by the front door during breaks in the action, but the characters personal lives are never delved into.

However, at the play’s conclusion the opening night audience gave it one of the most instantaneous, and emphatic standing ovations I’ve ever seen in a Toronto theatre, so suffice to say these small niggles didn’t hamper anyone else’s enjoyment of the production.

An interesting and unique treat for the holiday season. And Canstage are offering a special $25 for any ticket in the house deal on Mon.Dec. 8. The offer is available for just 25 hours on that day.
It’s A Wonderful Life runs until Dec. 20 at the Bluma Appel Theatre.



Adeona Productions: Someone To Watch Over Me

Okay. If you’re really sick of the holiday hoopla, here is your ultimate anti-seasonal injection.

This play is grim.

Grim staging, a stone cellar and single overhead bulb suffices for the entire length of the piece. Grim dialogue, three western hostages await their fate chained to a wall amid menacing overtones of violence and cultural clashes of hostility.

And grim monotony throughout. Not a criticism, it’s just a realistic depiction of the prisoner’s daily routine.

Deprived of sensory input or stimulation, the audience watches a slow madness creep into the character’s personalities as their fates play out over the 90 minute duration.
Director Tegan Shohet, a woman who’s real life gig includes serving with the International Criminal Court in the Hague, has done a good job exploring the monochrome existence of these ordinary lives held captive in a violent and unpredictable scenario.

R.H. Thomson is particularly outstanding, imbuing his character with a vivid back story through a lean, economical performance.

At one point in the second act the play veers dangerously close to ‘Actors Studio held prisoner’ territory, but at the play’s end people stood so quickly I swear a few shot right out of their trousers trying to keep up.

Well done, and well worth seeing, but … did I mention it was a wee bit grim?

Someone To Watch Over Me continues at Berkeley Street Theatre until Dec. 13

All photos copyright Torontowide.com. All rights reserved

sweet things for christmas.

dear mom, this isn't my christmas list. you probably know my shopping habits well enough to know that i already have most everything on this list.

but, for the rest of you, here are a few sweet things that i'm sure, had i not already discovered these little luxuries, i'm sure i would love love love to see these under the tree.

orla kiely tote. i'm still crying about the orla kiely store that closed early that day in paris.

caldrea hand soap... and cleaning products... and lotion... and every other product they sell. sister company to my original fav - mrs. meyers clean day.

especially ginger pomelo and citrus mint ylang ylang

mor cosmetics lip satin. flower of narcissus, especially. you've gotta be willing to spend $16 on lip gloss, though...

k. hall milk diffuser. yumm. and i don't even like milk.

metro chic from sephora by o.p.i. grey is the new black.

mac little darlings. the holiday collections are ALWAYS a treat. ALWAYS a good deal. and ALWAYS sell out quickly.

the lash stash at sephora. i've already been on the phone for hours with the sephora girls, trying to secure this little treasure for christmas. harajuku lovers fragrance. totally worthy of my "fatal attraction to cuteness".

capri blue jar candle (even though it's very red...). ever wondered what that smell is when you walk into anthropologie? i've sniffed it out. every last candle and lotion in that store. this is totally it.

miss.

today - december 4, 2008 - is the day i post about jen. i know, i know... i just created an entire blog about thanksgiving, which was basically all about jen anyway... but today... for special reasons... is the day i blog about miss jen.

i'll be the first to admit that i live a charmed life. things go my way, for the most part. aside from the occassional missed sale at j.crew or drunk dude...

but i met jen almost a year ago... and my eyes were opened. even the charmed life can be hard. but, chalk it up to sass... this girl took one for the team.

i don't know why we do this... but we have a habit of taking the "self portrait" pic at every occassion. here are the best of 'em.

so grateful for miss jen. grateful that she accidentally came to the orchard 14th ward. and came back the next week. glad she came to brooke's birthday party last february. glad she makes as many sassy comments under her breath as i do. glad we could bond at hip + humble. glad we have soup to nuts. glad for all the fireworks we watched together. glad for the concerts. glad for that's what she said. glad for the designer labels. glad for diorshow. glad for the level headedness. glad for karaoke and american idol. glad for spontaneous road trips to wy. glad for her family. glad for the "moral of the story". glad for britney and sarah palin. and on and on and on.

i'm thankful for arizona.

i just returned from my very sunny, very warm, very shop-alicious thanksgiving holiday in phoenix with miss jen and her very sweet family.

we shopped our hearts out (at places entirely unavailable in salt lake city), i ate wonderful food, saw lots of great movies, and met wonderful people... especially my new little friend francisco. i miss him already.

the highlights:


shopping at loehmann's was our first matter of business on black friday. we drove for what seemed like forever to get there. well worth it, though. where else can you find my main man michael kors for $20? i knew it was best-friend-at-first-sight when jen told me she shopped at loehmann's. not many people share my shopping love (and endurance) but miss jen's got it.

we definitely had to get in on some of this sweet action.

(insider secret... maybe it's not that big of a secret: utah's next in-n-out will be in orem. and that's not just a rumor... that comes straight from the city planning office)

and what the what!? how's that for a wheel-chair lover's dream come true?


a little mid shopping marathon break photo opp...

jen and i made a sunday afternoon visit to see the ginos fam. such great people! i have sweet memories of sunday dinners with bobby, cindy, alli, and katy EVERY SINGLE sunday for years and years. they are way too near and dear to pass up.

and then. AND THEN... jen took me on the "twilight tour" to visit stephenie meyer's old stomping ground.

you see, jen and stephenie (morgan) meyer grew up together in the same stake. think back to your high school years... think about that one girl who all the adult leaders at church loved, but every girl your age wanted to punch in the face (i've got a couple in mind...) the suck up. yeah, that's her.

a couple months ago, i told jen about a local radio contest in which the winner would have the opportunity to interview s.m. one-on-one. jen sent me a *hypothetical* interview. this ought to sum up her first hand feelings about the sitch:

Jennifer – Hi Stephanie…huge fan.
Stephanie – Thank You
J – So how did you get your inspiration for your book?
S – Well you know growing up I was always interested in the super-natural. Plus you know the typical love story…boy meets girl….
J – Yeah I know love must have a huge part in your life….even in High School
S – Well yeah sure there were the flash in the pan crushes I had
J – Right. So were you sad when Brandon Sexton chose me instead of you?
S – Ummm Pardon?
J – Oh you heard me…remember Jeremy’s party where you told me it was easy for me to steal guys because I dressed like a slut
S – Huh…ummm…what?
J- Yeah or when your mom told the Stake Young Women’s president that I should not be allowed to sing at our fireside because I was a bad example?
S – Jennifer Platts?
J – Or when you told the entire stake that not all cheerleaders were hookers just the ones named Jen
S – Wow that was like 15 years ago….
J – Yeah……remember when I hit your sister? Hey how is my arch nemesis anyway? Still own the studio
S- No Comment
J – No comment because you do not discuss family or no comment because she is in prison*?
S - …………………………….
J – Well anyway….can’t wait for the movie…congrats on all your success

*sister in prison - click here.

so... we went on the twilight tour.

51st and columbine... the cross streets of the morgan family home.

the home s.m. grew up in... and as far as anyone knows, her parents still reside here...

what's left of the dance studio that is mentioned (burned to the ground) in book one. owned by her sister... which may or may not have something to do with the prison bit.

while that was a definite highlight... there are many many more... too many to mention.

but, most importantly... buffy and angel. jen's kids. her dogs. i don't really like dogs. i don't even particularly like these dogs... but buffy liked me... so as we parted ways, we took a few pictures. i'm making the "oh-no-buffy's-licking-me-and-i-don't-like-it-when-dogs-lick-me" face.