its always sunny in philadelphia

i just found the funniest show ever - its always sunny in philadelphia.

sure, its a little in the raunchy side in terms of language and content (no nudity), but it is so freaking hilarious.
watch it.

abandoned longhorn cement factory

so today, marlon, andre, isaiah, and i decided to go scope out some abandoned cement factory, way out on wurzbach parkway and thousand oaks - kinda by the forum, on the way to austin, near 1-35 north and 1604.

anyways, before we headed out, it was pouring rain, and i was like, 'dangit, i really wanted to check out this factory!'

oh well, we still headed out, hoping the rain would either stop, or we would just have to settle for taking an umbrella.

i get to marlon's house, walk in, and im hoping everyone is ready to go, and lo and behold, marlon is still in his church express outfit, sipping coffee. im like, double u tee eff? heh. whatever - i go in and make the best chia tea EVER. i love that stuff. i convinced marlon to change into another outfit to the tune of 'i don't want to change - i want to take some pictures in my nice outfit, yahdah yahdah, yahdah.'

we headed out there, arrived, and parked - and realized we parked right in front of a 'NO TRESPASSING - VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED UNDER FEDERAL LAW' sign. needless to say, we knew we were trespassing, so any excuse wouldn't have cut it had we been caught. actually, we had our excuse - the part of the fence where we had walked through was torn down - so we were just gonna say we walked through there, which, we had.

after about five minutes, we decided it would be wise to move the car a ways away, and just walk, in order to not risk any one who passed to see us. well, actually, what made us decide to move the car was the hug white truck that parked right next to marlon's car, stopped for about thirty seconds, and then turn back around. we thought someone was ratting us out.

anyways - this whole time, im in sandals, and its super dirty and messy and there is concrete mix all around

sdafjkasdf.

so we parked a ways away, and walk through the forest, to the other side of the entrance, hoping to find a torn fence like we did last time. but this time, we didn't, and instead, we were greeted by a fence with about two feet of barbed wire on the top.

so we climb over, and we suddenly hear a couple of ATVs, and we freak out, and climb back over rushed; in all the rush, though, andre took a major gash to his pinkie/hand, and he was just sopping blood.

lo and behold, itsu[only a few kids messing around in the forest, and this upset us, because we were already over the fence, and in the rush, andre messed up his hand. oh well; being the brave soul that he is, andre insisted that we press forward, so, well, we did.

to make a long blog short, we took the pictures we wanted, and got back home without any further ado.

avid readers, i apologize for not writing so much anymore - my stupid internet is out. i hope to resolve that this week.

UPDATE - pictures are up on my flickr now - www.flickr.com/photos/davidteran/

what if

there was not light?
nothing wrong, nothing right.
what if there was no time?
and no reason or rhyme.
what if you should decide, that you don't want me there by your side..
that you don't want me there in your life.


ok. that's not what i meant to post.
but whatever, here goes.

what is the greatest act of love?
giving your life for a friend, right?
yes.
what about giving of your life for your friend?
giving to your friend on a daily basis?


what if..you decide to go to a friend, and wash his feet?
what would they say?
how much would they freak out?
not, 'would they freak out?'
no - 'how much would they freak out?', is the proper question.


what if you practice humility more often.
how about this - someone slaps you, and you turn your cheek, to be slapped on the other side.
you know, when someone slaps you, they are basically saying, 'i am better than you; you are lower than me, and i am putting you in your place by slapping you''.

how about this, though: you turn your cheek, and subtly you tell them, 'no, i am not lower than you; i am on the same level as you, and im raising myself above you, because i am not answering you in the same way you answered me.'

i don't know.
i am watching movies right now.
transformers. (oh my freaking gosh - megan fox is so dang hot - WOW)
the italian job.
spiderman 3.
hairspray. (yeah, my sisters made me watch it with them - so what?)
casino royale.

and then 'its always sunny in philadelphia'; that's a HILARIOUS tv show.



oh, and sunday, want to go to austin, to see switchfoot.
and i want to apply to magnolia pancake haus.
that's just breakfast for thought.

megan fox

is so freaking gorgeous, it should be against the law.

seriously.

look at her! i am so jealous of trent (her real life boyfriend)

...

yeah. 

google 'megan fox' yourself. 

enjoy.

cod5

im not one to be into games much, anymore..

but seriously.

call of duty: world of war.

i am so excited about this. 

this news made me happy.

especially since they're going back to their roots. 

seven reasons why i think you're a retard

i told you i would do this.

1. we're not as cool as we used to be - not even close; and we used to be really dang cool.

2. we're not as close as we used to be - not even close; and we used to be really dang close.

3. we're not as..just kidding. starting over. 3. you promised me you wouldn't stop being my friend FOR THE EXACT REASON YOU DID STOP BEING MY FRIEND. just with someone else.

4. i miss talking to you on the phone; you're a retarded cause you never wake me up at 1am to talk to me while you clean anymore. 

5. you really hurt me when we stopped being friends.

6. after that one dinner, you pretty much ignored me.

7. march 25, 2007, 1:58am. *

*you're not retarded for this - actually, you're pretty cool cause of this, but i ran out of reasons. 

internet

so for some reason my neighbor's internet went out.

and that means my internet went out, also.

ugh.

well, im leeching off their internet. 

but it sucks, cause now i don't have internet.

oh well.

there was no breakfast with matt this morning.

it made me extremely sad.

oh well, something to look forward to for next wednesday.

warped tour

there is this july 5th event, a veterans appreciation deal that i was asked to photograph at.
i wasn't too excited, but then i found out that they are giving away FREE bar-b-q!

im happy about that. haha.

anyways, i read that they are giving away tickets to the warped tour to all the veterans who want to go - so i hear i am getting one, too.
im excited, cause i haven't seen relient k in a long time, and, well, that should be fun.

i finished rocky vi today.
im inspired.
i want to lose weight.
pah, ha.
wish me good luck! lol.

oh, and i decided i want alejandra's glasses.
she wouldn't let me have them - so i want a pair of my own.

my brother

is the best brother that i can ask for. 

rocky vi

so im watching rocky vi right now.

it is pretty good, actually.

oh, and the cotton is supposed to come in tomorrow.

im excited about that - dang work about to hurry and pile on!

coldplay sold out in the first day.

im so disappointed about that.

i am gonna have to buy scalped tickets, and im sure those are gonna be inflated a TON.

oh well. coldplay would definitely be worth it.

as they say in the land of the toast, bonne nuit.

critique

in many ways, the work of a food critic is easy.

we risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and the selves to our judgement.

we thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and read.

but the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.

but there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new.

the world is often unkind to new talent, new creations - the new needs friends.

earlier today, i experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. 

to say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement.

they have rocked me to my core. 

in the past, i have made no secret for my disdain for mexican food.

there was a famous chef, gusteau, if you will, who had his motto: anyone can cook.

but i realize, only now do i truly understand what he meant. 

not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist can come from anywhere.

it is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at taqueria jalisco, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than one of the best chefs in san antonio.

i will be returning there soon, hungry for more.

toobs

why is it spelled like that?

someone mentioned maybe its because 'boobs' and 'tubes' sound the same, so another someone decided to spell it 'toobs'.

anyways, that's what i did yesterday.

texas toobing is what i did, with about some twenty other people that i know.

that was actually pretty dang fun.

$10, to toob (there it is again; its rubbing on me) down the comal river, for about three hours.

i beat george in a breath holding contest. 

i was actually just getting started when they tapped me on the head to get out. ha.

my record for holding my breath under water is 1 minute and 41 seconds. 

don't ask me how i do it, cause im not telling.

oh, and i heard about a new artist yesterday.

i got her cd; i like it.

its a little hebrew/french jazzy type i don't know what.

yael naim is her name. 

she sings  the macbook air song. you'll know it when you hear it. 

stall out

is such an amazing song.

i can't believe i went so long without realizing that this song was on the mutemath cd.

honestly, it is quickly becoming one of my favorite songs.

it just gets me every time.

"i keep stalling out
i just can't keep up
there's alarming doubt

am I good enough?
but you keep coming around
to convince me
it's still far from over, oh"

for sale

i have had my beetle for sale for a month or so now, and its frustrating.

i get about three or four emails a day, asking to come see my car.
and they drive it, and they promise to call me back, or come by a different day..

but NO.

ugh. its frustrating, and it really irks me.

but i guess it comes with the territory of selling on craigslist.

(oh, that reminds me, i have to update my listing on craigslist - brb)

anyways, im back, and i updated it. 

i met aaron today, to see my car.

ironically, he works at the convention center, down town.

he organizes weddings there, and receptions.

he said he has a photographer, but that he, well, he sucks.

so he is looking for a new guy. enter, d&m, anyone?

yes, i gave him d &m's information, and hopefully he likes what he sees.

yes, yes, yes!

'i used to rule, the world, seasons rose when i gave the call..'

oh, shoot.

i have chocolate chip cookies in the oven right now, and the buzzer is sounding!

and its hot in here.

cana? or d&m.

before i begin, id like to propose a toast to matthew b., who started getting serious about d&m wedding photography. :)

just kidding, im giving him a hard time. he is extremely busy, especially with a wedding of his own, to say the least, coming up, and a trip to isreal, and youth pastor ministries. geez. i don't know how he does it. 

which brings me to my blog point. 

what would be a better wedding photography name?

d&m wedding photography (our current name)

oooooor,

cana wedding photography?

i love how cana wedding photography rolls off my tongue.

plus it has that biblical ring to it. 

i don't know. i am heading towards cana wedding photography. 

canaphotography.com 

anyways, the site is up!

well, the preliminary site is up.

http://homepage.mac.com/mutematt/dmphoto/D%26M_Wedding_Photography/Welcome.html

you can get to it there.

and anyone who would like to (kindly) proof it, that would be much appreciated.

oh.

and, my butt hurts.

UPDATE - i just ignored the 'less than 10% battery power left' warning three times. not good. :D

carbon

there is this cologne that an old friend gave me.

i still have it, and every time i spray it on, i just remember every little thing about this friend.

from the times we hung out at her house, to starbucks off of thousand oaks; and then jack in the box at three in the morning, and spiderman 3, and a whole ton of memories.

the thing is, they seem so tangible, as if they just happened yesterday.

in a way, it makes me sad, cause of the friendship i don't have anymore.

but at the same time, it makes me happy; happy that i know i had those fond memories with her, and that every time, for the rest of my life, that i smell that cologne, ill remember these fond memories.

carbon.

crazy

much has gone on since my last post, sunday.

i've been WAY too busy to post. sorry, avid readers. :p

anyways, here goes.

i finished the website - it hasn't been posted yet, but it will be, hopefully! before this weekend.

www.dmphoto.com

and/or

www.acordofthreeweddingphotography.com

i think we might do both, and see which one pulls in more hits.

anyways.

monday, i went to ben's house, and we got sonic - that is always fun. 

got some wise words and insight (ben is so freaking wise - he should have whiter hair, cause he's that wise ;).

he's a cool guy. 

tuesday, i didn't do anything - just stayed home. 

i saw 'fight club', honestly thought that was a terrible and crappy movie, and i feel disgusted after seeing it.

just too much, ugh.

we (me, along with a dozen other people) are waiting anxiously for those bags to come in, to start on the 'cotton job', and get that over with. im hoping to have it finished by the end of june, july 5th, at the latest.

i got ANOTHER wedding request, by the ever so lovely alexandra (what a sexy name, seriously - sounds russian if you ask me). im excited to do that wedding, august 23.

oh, and this morning i went to cracker barrel with matt again; that was good. got a semi-serious approach out of him, towards d&m wedding photography. good for him.

i think wednesdays are breakfast-with-matt day.

im off to church.

ciao.

traversed the swamp

the proverbial one, at least. 

i finished the website, and i think it looks pretty good.

you can see the 'semi' finished (not launched yet) version on my flickr.

other than that, we have to get the domain first, which i think will cost around $9.99 a year.

that's fairly reasonable, right?

i think we'll try to get:

dmweddingphotography.com

dmweddingphotography.net

dmweddingphotography.org

all three. 

swamped

no, i don't mean that kind of swamp. 

im making a website for d&m wedding photography..
and its hectic.

i didn't realize there was so much that went into photographing a wedding.

long, ten page contacts have to be written, insurance has to be obtained, death and taxes and all that follows.
man...had i known, nevermind.
http://www.myspace. com/dmweddingphotography
dmweddingphotography@gmail.com
ok, cool.

booming business

ok, so maybe its not entirely booming, but yesterday alone (friday), d&m wedding photography got two wedding jobs.

one is almost a sure thing, while the other was only an inquiry. an inquiry is an inquiry, though, and if played well, can lead to a definite job.

UPDATE: as of the time of this blog writing, D&M has received an email inquiring about another wedding to be photographed. 

UPDATE 2: as of writing this, four weddings are up in the air - july 12th, august 2, second week of august (8, 9, or 10), and november 1.

yes, business is booming. 

lord of war

breakfast, speeding ticket, wii, and pizza hut

enough with being deep.

i woke up around four am this morning.

that's how excited i was to eat breakfast.

yeah, call me crazy - but i was pretty excited about eating today, i don't know why.

maybe it was the fact that i was eating at Magnolia Pancake Haus? maybe it had to do with matthew john bell joining me to eat. i don't know, but whatever it was, it made me wake up at four, and not be able to sleep till, well, not sleep period.

breakfast was at seven thirty, and let me just say, those were the best 12 dollars i have spent on breakfast - EVER.  this is what i had: 'smoked turkey hash', which consisted of mesquite smoked turkey breast, mixed with shredded spuds (po-ta-toes), and just the right amount of onions. oh yeah, topped off with two eggs, any way you want them [i had them over easy, cause i've never had them like that] oh, and lest i forget, it also came with two huge pancakes. 

really, really, amazingly awesome. (terrible grammar, but i don't think anyone is checking)

anyways, they were awesome, and i would recommend that place to anyone with a ten dollar bill and a stomach of hunger. 

after i dropped matt off, i had a meeting with walker advertising (where i work), at nine, and i was like five miles away, and it was 8:55am. so, im driving 48 in a 35mph, and lo and behold, 'weeooohweeeeooooohweeeeooooohweeeeeeeeooohhweeeeeoooooh' (police sirens) - i get pulled over, and i get a $181 ticket. yeah - so much for being on time. not only did i get the ticket, but they didn't start the meeting till 9:27am! ugh. that made me upset. speeding for nothing. :/ now i think im gonna do defensive driving. ugggh. too bad it wasn't that police officer that pulled me over. ;) haha. im lame. 

my day then went by pretty smoothly.

my siblings and i took pictures for father day, to put on a tie, and a mug for him.

that was cool.

they then blew up a picture and offered to sell it to us for $114; i could have taken that same picture, and made the same size poster, for $21! talk about being ripped off. now i know what to do with my wedding customers. :)

[talking about wedding customers, you can find us {d&m wedding photographers} here: http://www.decidio.com/ ]

im still trying to get a relatively cheap d300. and i think my secret ways might work. :D :D :D

church was good; we talked about war, and if it was ok, or not, or justifiable, or not. then we went to play wii at michael's house - that was a blast, even though i suck at mario cart. 

and i ate half a large pizza from pizza hut.

im such a fatty! :/

im going to sleep.

g'night.

UPDATE - zac efron is so freaking gay

why even bother?

perseverance has no peers, it's more important than talent, more powerful than intelligence, and more resilient than the best strategy.  most, if not all of us, cannot claim genius, beauty, nor the best schooling - but perseverance, we all can have. there is great virtue and glory in never giving up. 

nothing concentrates the mind or tests one's character like a demanding goal - the desire to be something better than you are, or to be the complete person that you are meant to be. before a goal is achieved, you will experience and envision both triumph and tragedy.

no great achievement in your life will ever come without obstacles; physical limitations, the part of nature that is unpredictable, 'murphy's law', or even resistance from the outside world - those who wish to see you fail. 

in all, be thankful for those obstacles; they are your practice ground, your stepping stone, if you will, as each new victory prepares you for a greater future victory.

in the end, though, express your greatness not by the acts you perform as a person, student, chef, teacher, whatever you maybe be, but by the endurance and fortitude that made those acts possible.

growth of any type requires personal struggle; perseverance keeps hope alive. through challenges and uncertainties, and in the face of stern obstacles and setbacks, you need to keep moving forward - no matter how tempting it might be to give up and let go of your dreams. don't do it!

we live in a time (june, 2008) and age of immediate gratification. what we want - we want it now. and just the way we ordered it, too. no delays, no substitutions, no excuses, no tomatoes. 

sadly, many view new tasks and the accomplishment of most goals that way. we want overnight growth, instant mastery, and flawless performance on the first try. but you see, that's not how success works. patience and perseverance are at the core of what it means to be truly successful.

pace is irrelevant to perseverance. it does not matter how slowly you go so long as you DO NOT STOP. steady perseverance, patient endurance, and the achievement of a little every day is of more value than the overly aggressive rushing forward and the enthusiastic endeavor of the emotional and temperamental person. 

patience and perseverance are two of the most difficult things to embrace for one whose commitment is being tested and tried through the fire. if you patiently persist in doing the right things, you will ultimately get the right results.

in order to receive a victorious outcome, perseverance is the ONLY option. if you lose patience and perseverance, you will, by default, forfeit victory. as long as you are willing to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes, no one will be able to prevent you from reaching your goal.

for me, personally, this is geared specifically toward culinary school, and thereafter. 

there will be numerous twists, turns, burns, and more than half a million dollars in expenses. however, if i keep up with p&p, i will succeed. 

remember: in your efforts to achieve your goals, you will be buffeted and pummeled. you will be criticized and opposed. you will be attacked and assaulted. you will struggle and fail. but you must fight one more round; you must rise each time you fall; you must embrace the power of patience and perseverance - you must finish the good fight.

courtney lynn hild

its insane how much i miss you courtney. i really wish i could have one day with you - oh, just one. id let you wear my watch all day, and spray that perfume on it. (remember that perfume? i used to pretend to hate when you'd spray it on my watch, but in reality, i loved it) oh, and then id let you write whatever you wanted to on my soap shoes. maybe we would hang out with joshua yates. but only for a little bit. :p then we'd ride the swings together for a while, and then move on to the see-saw. (but id be really care and make sure you didn't get hurt this time) after all that, maybe we can spend the night at six flags like we did that one time - except jon b. won't be mad at me for talking to you anymore. then id have to ask for another day with you, and we'd go to dave and busters to eat, maybe even listen to pillar's fireproof along the way. ;) [by the way, i never thanked you for that cd...] i would let you play my guitar, my martin, and then id play you whatever song you wanted me to, especially that one song i played in the competition, cause that was your favorite. (i'm sorry i never got around to teaching you the guitar like i promised you i would) id make you whatever you wanted to eat, cause im gonna be a chef someday. then we'd sit down and watch lord of the rings, cause i think deep down inside you loved it just as much as i did. oh, and definitely, you, my mom, and i would talk - talk about this disease, so that she can get better, too. then id make sure we took at least a dozen pictures, cause now im so sad that i don't even have one with you. :/ after all was said and done, though, id give you a big hug, and tell you i love you, and miss you. yeah, i miss you.

sum, sum, summer

summer ep is here, by jon foreman. i got it last night at midnight, and i've listened to it six times (according to itunes; and that's not even counting the times i've listened to it on my ipod this morning [which is still for sale, by the way])

i am a little sad that all four of his seasonal eps have been released, as now i have nothing to look forward to musically, in regards to good, wholesome music.

fall was the best; winter, not so much; spring is in the middle; and summer, an amazing finish. 

quite possibly my favorite lyrics out of all four eps, 'instead of a show' really brings it home for me: 

'I hate all your show and pretense, the hypocrisy of your praise, the hypocrisy of your festivals. I hate all your show. Away with your noisy hymns - I stomp on my ears when you're singing 'em; I hate all your show'

jon foreman really has a way of writing dark, yet true and honest lyrics. i don't know what it is, but he always knows how to drive his point in, with style and ease. 

the second to last song, 'the house of God, forever', is a beautiful rendition of psalm 23, and jon is accompanied by a lovely lady who takes on the falsetto part of the verse/chorus. 

closing, 'again' serves as a reminder that God will always be God, and that He is in charge, yesterday, today, and forever, amen.

iphone 3g, nikon d300, and twitter

yeah, after the long wait, the new iphone was announced today, and finally comes out friday, july 11. even though i don't have at&t, i am pretty excited for it; and im pretty sure im gonna be getting one before the end of the summer.

so if anyone wants to buy my red 8gb ipod nano, just let me know. ($175, firm, no pun intended)

after much consideration, i decided that instead of the nikon d200, im gonna save up the $500 extra and just get a nikon d300. i've read a lot on both of them, and even though the d200 is an amazing camera in and in of itself, it just doesn't cut it when comparing to the d300. 

i just signed up to twitter.

i don't know how ill do it, but i will try to learn it, considering i just might get an iphone. :)

light summer reading

oh yeah, i forgot to mention.

there was a section of books on sale at barnes and nobles today, so i went ahead and purchased two, for some summer reading.

one was by bram stoker, and the other by a leo tolstoy.

both are actually collections of each writer, thus making each book well over a thousand pages (stoker, 1280pp; tolstoy 1525pp). 

anyways, those two books are on my summer reading list.

if i finish them, ill be happy.

g'night!

sneaking into movies

so i know its not a good record, but i have been trying to see how many movies i can sneak into without having to pay.

i was about to get into my third movie in a row (tic tac toe anyone?), and then some manager had to come by and tell me, 'no sir, you can't use the restroom unless you have a ticket stub.' [i actually had to use the restroom this time!]

anyways, i went to see what happens in vegas, and it was pretty good. i actually liked it; although, for some reason, i had to pay two more dollars than my friend to see the exact same movie. -_- how lame. 

now i have to start another streak of movies i don't have to pay to get in to. 

ha.

(yes, this is what my blog is gonna consist of for an entire summer, and much longer, if i like it)

viva la vida...or death and all his friends

when a band makes a great album right off the bat, i think it kinda might screw them over, because they are constantly trying to beat that one album with all their other albums, and its just hard. parachutes is, in my mind, just that album that coldplay is, and will be, trying to beat. 

that being said, viva la vida, or death and all his friends is an amazing album. i didn't think i would like it as much as i have, say, x&y, but it sure came really close. 

that album starts off with an instrumental - 'life in technicolor' - that as of right now, has everyone wondering if the quality was meant to be so low, or if, well, nevermind...

my favorite songs on this album are 'cemeteries of london' and '42', 'cemeteries of london' talking about i don't know what, but i still like it because of the elegiac feeling it leaves one with; and '42' dabbing at the possibility of life after death. 

'lost?' changed dramatically from the previously released 'lost! (acoustic)', adding drums, and hand claps, which gives it a sort of marching tune, although the haunting church organ in the background sure doesn't help much. 

low points in the album would be 'lovers in japan/reign of love' and 'yes!'; 'yes!' is what would happen if any one song off of a rush of blood to the head was mixed by an arabian director, leaving you wondering what c. martin and co. were drinking while writing this tune. 

on the other end of the spectrum, for the high points on the album, are the title track and 'violet hill'; although i wouldn't say i agree with martin on his political view, as portrayed in the lyrics' "when the future's architectured by a carnival of idiots on show, you'd better lie low", the song still captivates me every time i listen to it.

coldplay closes out the album on a strong point with the second part of the title track, 'death and all of his friends', and a hidden track that sounds extremely similar to 'life in technicolor'. 

album track list is as follows:

"Life in Technicolor" - 2:29

"Cemeteries of London" - 3:21

"Lost?" - 3:55

"42" - 3:57

"Lovers in Japan"/"Reign of Love" - 6:51

"Yes!" - 7:06
"Chinese Sleep Chant" (hidden track)

"Viva la Vida" – 4:04

"Violet Hill" – 3:50

"Strawberry Swing" - 4:08

"Death and All His Friends" - 6:18
"The Escapist"  (hidden track)

with two bonus tracks coming with the iTunes purchase:

"Lost? (Acoustic Version)" - 3:39

"Lovers in Japan (Acoustic Version)" - 3:44

 

all in all, i was extremely happy with this album, and can't wait to get my hands on it in it's entirety. ;)

PS - you can listen to the whole album off of coldplay's myspace. ;) ;)