July 21 2004
Spidey
The day started early when I drove Shelly to JFK to pickup her mom. I told her mom all of her secret bad habits.
Nah, I can't even make up any bad habits because living with her has been a dream!
I finally got around to seeing Spiderman 2 and thought it was good. What makes this film better then the first is that
the villain isn't cheesy. It's a love story-Wahab take note- in the end love always prevails and finds away.
I picked up my prints and was very disappointed. Out of 3 rolls I liked maybe 10 shots. I'm always on a quest for the
perfect roll and it hasn't happened yet. The ease and inexpensive cost of digital photography is the way to go for me right
now at least until I get back in the darkroom. I'll post a couple shots soon from the rolls.
July 22 2004
In the Cards
I spent most of the day designing my online photography store. It should be up and working either Friday or
Saturday evening. I'm super excited about this! It's another step down my path to somewhere. And on this path I've undervalued
the suggestions and opinions of others- so sayeth the 'sacred path' cards.
Shelly has a set of cards that combine many Native American traditions and teachings to aid in self-discovery. I guess
you can say it is a form of Tarot reading. Before selecting a card, we burned sage around our bodies cleansing our horas.
I was very careful not to burn myself cause I can be a bit clumsy at times.
The card I choose aka # 15 aka Talking Stick, spoke to my closed approach on this journey. It said:
"The Talking Stick reminds us of the validity of other viewpoints and teaches us how to listen and apply what we hear.
We are being reminded not to interrupt others who are imparting wisdom. We are taught through listening that life has millions
of options and answers to any dilemma.
If the Talking Stick has appeared in your spread, you are probably not allowing yourself any options in your present
situation or have become too stuck on one idea to see any further than your self-created tunnel. Open up and listen to the
opportunities that the Talking Stick says are coming your way. Remember all life signals and or options are available to those
who will hear. You are being given an opportunity to grow through an alternative route. Use this gift now."
I can dig it. I will listen to the advise you have for me.......for the next 24 hours =)
July 23 2004
In the Zone
Being in the zone means there is a sharp focus on the task or tasks in front of you. Once I enter the zone, I'm not thinking
about food, sleep or entertainment. Today was all about that.
From the moment I rolled out of bed, I was designing my photo store. I really feel like a small business owner cleaning
out an abandoned building and hanging the store name on the outside. The 'open for business' sign isn't on the door
yet, there is still some interior work to be completed. In the meantime, Karim dropped in for assistance in designing
his wedding website.
Next January Karim and his fiancé
Chinyere are getting married in Negril, Jamaica. That's going to be incredible! His site will be ready probably by
next weekend so I'll have info for everyone interested in attending.
Well, off to work I go.
July 24 2004
Return of PayPal
I integrated paypal into the online store so that means that I'm placing more trust in this company. But, I'll have you
know that you can't fool me twice. In fact I emailed President Bush before making this decision and he said: ( click me)
uh...yeah exactly Mr. President.
Well, I completed that task and hit a mental block. Shelly and her mom invited me to have dinner with them at Two Boots, an Italian and Cajun restaurant and that seemed to clear some space on my hard drive. The gumbo wasn't all that, in fact
it was more like rice and meat, but the atmosphere helped to clear the cobwebs in my brain. A country & bluegrass band
from Kentucky called 'The Smith family' really lightened the air and brought southern charm to Brooklyn. Ok that was an over
statement because Brooklyn is huge, but let's say to Park Slope. Cool? Cool.
Still in need of more mental cleansing, Shelly and I went to Royale- the local bar I wrote about a month ago with the
percussionist and DJ. We danced the night away and now its time to put the finishing touches on the website. Who am I kidding;
I'm going to sleep.
July 25 2004
Dem Con
It's 6am and I'm still awake working on this darn photo site! We're getting there though. I gotta tweek a couple more
items but the layout is finished.
A tool that I frequently use to stay awake is listening to talk radio from the bay area online. Tonight the station
of choice was KG0 and the host was Ray Taliarferro. KGO is one of the few liberal am radio stations in the country and the topic of conversation was the beginning of the democratic
convention.
I'm really trying not listen to Kerry speak because I may lose the desire to vote at all. I don't know, he just seems
lame to me. There is a slight chance that I will go up to Boston this week to shoot the atmosphere surrounding the convention.
Stay tuned to see if I get on the Fung Wah Bus again....
July 26 2004
He did it
Wahab got married. I've been trying to figuring out how I feel about this and I'm not sure yet. I think I'll let
it soak in for a day and come back to this later. In the meantime this is what he wrote:
*********************************************************************************
'I got married on a Monday morning.....'
-by Wahab Algarmi
before i go any further
let me explain how marriage here works. first is the "khutba" or engagment, which already happened without my knowledge
while i was still state side. second is the "agd" or the i dos between me and the girls father, which happened today and
officially makes here my wife... third is the "iris" or wedding party, which can last up to a week. im betting a few
a you are reading this and thinking "well have you seen her yet?" yes, i have. shes pretty. granted the poor thing had a lot
of make up caked on. shes 19 years old with a birthday in october. neither one of us slept sunday night. my stomach
was killing me from lunch that day and my nerves were shot to shit. but you know me, i made the best of the situation and
made myself at home... she had to tell me to sit up because i was making here uncomfortable. we sat alone for as long as i
could get with her which was about 2 to 3 hours. i played rock paper scisors with her jabbed her in the ribs with my finger
made her jump, and constant farting noises from my mouth whenever i couldnt think of anything else to say. i have no idea
what ive gotten myself into this time... she seems okay, im still not sure if shes going to take well to the american life
style but oh well i guess i get to that when WE get to that. funy how i gotta think in those terms now.
the agd went well, i didnt hurl or freak out or anything like that. her dad is pretty cool. hellsa old and sick too. we (my
family and i ) brought the preacher to his house where my father in law constantly made fun of him for not looking like a
preacher but more like a con artist. the preacher read some words as we held each others hands and repeated. i didnt sweat
or freak or any of that. i dont know how i remained cool as a cucumber, but i did. after that they other guests threw raisins
and almonds on me... dont ask. after a few minutes of signing my single life away, everyone left the room and the girl's...
maha's mom came in i said hello (still not knowing her moms name) gave her some money (tradition calls for 20,000 rials...
thats 184.7 rials to every dollar). she said thank you and then sent her daughter in. at this point i could only imagine myself
as a movie character waiting for his bashful prom date to come down the steps. palms sweety as ever, i greeted maha with a...
i cant remember. the next 2 hours are a blur. i hit her with every question i could think of. we did have a few awkward silences,
but im king cracking ice so i did. by the end of our short time together we were doing pretty good. then my sister showed
up. the women at my house sent her to take pictures of the newlyweds. me and my sister were going off at the mouth. (for those
of you that know my sister you know i taught her well in the ways of being annoying) i asked my sister if she knew the name
of my mother in law, in english of course, and she didnt know either. this ones getin long im gonna cut it here for now...
as far as how i feel, its not 100% great and its definetly not somber as last week... but its still not the end of this story. wahab"whish
i knew how to feel abou tall this but i dont" algarmi p.s. let me know how the con was ...and surges sorry pool skills...
********************************************************************************
I'm speechless.
July 27 2004
The Rain
Well I let the whole Wahab marriage thing soak in and I can speak on it now. Since we are talking about soaking, I did
something I haven't done in quite sometime-play in the rain. It felt so good once I got over the initial 'what the hell am
I doing' phase.
Where was I? Oh yes Mr. and Mrs. Algarmi. Wow! I guessed that he would get married but it was still a bit of a shock.
I think this will be a wonderful marriage and experience for both of them.
On behalf of the Harrison clan I wish you both happiness and love. Wahab, just remember that sometimes it takes many
lifetimes to get to know someone, so be patient.
As for me. My eyes are about to fall out from lack of sleep. I have finished the photo site! The domain name is harrisonjoe.com but its not registered yet.It takes 24-72 hours to reach the servers so by Friday it will be up. Actually if you want
a sneak peak you can check it out here.
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