November 19--"Hi Family"

I love nights like these.
It's the nights when we're all home from our busy days, relaxing, making dinner together and chatting about what's new that are becoming so special to me.
Jamie and our friend Kasey (meet kasey--she's the far left) and I were hanging out tonight when Manal stormed through the front door yelling "Hi Family!" It put a huge smile on my face because I'm realizing lately how lucky I am to have such amazing roommates and friends and how Northridge is feeling more and more like home.

November 18--My Self Portrait...In Bed

This was my latest assignment for photo.
It's my self-portrait in bed.
They're silver-gelatin prints that I shot with my beloved Holga.

November 17--"Hi, Miss Klein"

I could tell Austen was excited for me to volunteer in her 1st grade class today when she took me around to all the bulletin boards in the hallways showing me all of her artwork and "E" papers that were hung. The majority of my time in Mrs. Arnold's class was spent cutting laminated nick-nacks for her in the back of the classroom. Although I wasn't working directly with her, Austen was so cute and kept turning around and thumbs uping me (as if to say that I'm doing a great job at being an awesome older cousin). When it came to "reading center" time, I was assigned to walk around and help the kids that weren't in a group with their reading workbooks. I noticed that this one little boy kept turning around and looking at me, then turning back around and giggling to himself. After a few rounds of the "giggle looks" he started raising his hand and asking me how to say certain words in his book. I thought he was just having trouble reading it, and it wasn't after he asked me the 10th word that I realized he had mastered the art of flirting at age 5.

November 16---Ryan Gosling & His Dead Man's Bones

Who would have ever thought Ryan Gosling would be in a band??? This glorious photo (that I sadly did not take, but really wish I had) is of Ryan Gosling and his new, 2 man band, Dead Man's Bones (myspace.com/ deadmansbones).
I got a phone call this week from Dee asking if I was able to take her daughter, Hope to a recording for her choir today. When I said I would do it I had no idea that the recording was for Ryan Gosling's new album (I wasn't even aware that he could sing)! Apparently he and Rachel McAdam's sister's boyfriend, Zach Shields have started a band with both of them on vocals and guitar. Hope's choir teacher has connections to his manager and when Dead Man's Bones was looking for a choir to sing on a few of the tracks of the upcoming album, Hope's choir landed the deal. Today we left for Hollywood and when we arrived at the recording studio we were sadly greeted by a woman letting us know that the recording was changed to next Sunday. Hopefully I'll be able to sneak my own photo next week....

If you're as curious as me to hear what his voice sounds like, here's a link to a cute ballad that he recorded on his own.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6W62b98wd4&feature=related

November 15---Word to the Wise: Don't Wear Sandles to a Hardcore Show

Since Matt & all his friends have major "man-crushes" on the boys of Underoath, it was only appropriate that we would drive to Irvine to see their show. They played with Devil Wears Prada (who's vocalist {not to be confused with their screamer} I have a small crush on now) & Saosin. I scared the boys when I backed out of the pit momentarily while Saosin was playing (due to the fact that I stupidly wore sandles and was beginning to get my feet trampled on). I realized how much I am loved when Matt & his friend Sam spent Saosin's set searching the venue for me, thinking that I somehow got pushed into the center of the pit and was getting hardcore danced to death---even though getting "hardcore danced to death" isn't exactly possible and even though I only stepped a few feet back from them and was perfectly safe.
*I'm realizing that I think I've accidentally made this show look like a dangerous mess so I just want to re-assure you, mom & mama b, that it was a perfectly safe concert, I just wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed by wearing sandles.*
Underoath's set was outstanding (especially since they played an encore of an additional 3 songs from their new album). It was a first for me being at a show with Garr B-Bacher instead of Kate (his older sister/my best friend and a usual "show see-er" with me). It was also ironic because she and Matt Q were at the Carrie Underwood concert in San Fran while we were in Irvine.

November 14--Abby's Thankful Party

Abby & Ben had a fun afternoon making posters and signs to tape around their house for our "thankful party". I'm still unclear about what a "thankful party" is exactly, but I didn't ask questions as Abby's vast imagination never seems to surprise me.

November 13---Round 2 at CSUN

Tomorrow I register for my second semester at CSUN which means I just spent the last hour 1/2 trying to find a way to keep my job at MHS and take a full load of classes on the remaining days. CSUN's class times/days aren't agreeing with me right now so I've taken a break to watch Greys. I'm pretty confident I'll figure something out by 730 tomorrow night though.

November 12-- Bustin' a Mission to TJ's

I came home from Pasadena this afternoon and picked Jamie up to "bust a mission" to Trader Joes (as she called it). When we got home I started walking to our dorm, only to realize that I forgot the many important things in my trunk...my laptop, laundry, uggs, groceries and overnight bag. It's a twice weekly occurrence that I have quite a handful when I return to the dorms so Jamie felt inclined to document it for today's post.

November 11--"That's Not My Style"

I had the school day off in honor of Veteran's Day and I spent the afternoon with my cute little cousins. It was an exciting day for Logan as she came home from school with news of a boyfriend (she was all smiles when she walked through the door--especially since he's a sophomore). Austen and I played slap jack and later took a trip to Wal-Mart (which may not have been the best idea considering she wanted everything she set her eyes on). She had a whopping 2 dollars to spend so we headed for the cheap nailpolish section. When I suggested pink as a nice color she responded with "that's not my style..." and followed in handing me a bottle of black and saying, "I want this one."

November 10---Manal and Meghan Sharing the "One Butt Kitchen"

After 2 months of sharing the same living space, I'm finally introducing you to my roommate, Manal. I'm not sure why she hasn't made the blog yet, but tonight we shared our "1 butt kitchen" (as my mom would call it because its too small to occupy more than one butt). She cooked herself dinner while I cleaned my dishes from the Trader Joe's pumpkin bread mix that I made earlier (If you're a fan of pumpkin I strongly recomend it).

November 9-- The Return of the Vectrex

Matt pulled out a chunky black box tonight that looked to me like the TV I have in my apartment. Little did I know the magnificence of the "Vectrex". As Matt inserted the color card and detached the controller, I watched as he played one of the original video games that I'm sure all of our dads grew up gaming on.

November 8---Nancy Has Facebook Fever

Last night I helped Mrs. White get familiar with the world of Facebook. She recently had some friends move out of CA and was convinced by them that Facebook was the fastest/easiest way to keep in touch (little did she know how addicting it would turn out to be).
By tonight, she had begun "making friends" and filling out her info, but her transition to facebook wasn't yet complete without some photo albums. While we watched Laws of Attraction (If you're in the mood for a chick flick I'd rent The Wedding Planner or The Notebook before this one...) and while Matt started snoring (who could really blame him), Nancy and I sipped our tea and added her Facebook albums.


P.S. We got an email from my dad today who arrived safely in Kenya and will be starting open heart surgery on Monday. From his email, it sounds like he's having an amazing experience so far. He watched a surgery today on a 21 y/o man who had a 6 inch arrow through his throat....

November 7--Aaron Gillespie Wanna-Be

Matt's favorite band, Underoath, has a song on the new Rock Band 2 and he couldn't be more excited. He spent our evening in "Aaron Gillespie mode" rocking out as if he were one of the Underoath boys himself.

November 6-- Landon & Austen

November 5---Prayers for my Daddy and Tenwek

I ask for your prayers as my dad left this morning for a 2 week trip to Kenya to perform open heart surgery at Tenwek Hospital.
I figured my dad could tell you more accurate info about the trip than I could so from the words of Tom Klein...

"I am now getting ready to embark on another incredible opportunity that I have always wanted to do, but have never had the chance. As most of you know, children’s ministries have always held a special place in my heart, which is why I’ve chosen to specialize in pediatric perfusion. On November 5^th, I will be traveling to Kenya on a humanitarian effort sponsored by World Medical Mission, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. A group of physicians and medical staff from the pediatric cardiac surgery team at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and other clinicians from acro ss the country will travel to Tenwek Hospital in the Western Highlands of Kenya, 150 miles from Nairobi and 100 miles south of the equator.

Tenwek Hospital is one of the largest Protestant mission hospitals in Africa and provides primary health care to 600,000 Kipsigis people in the immediate and surrounding areas. Tenwek Hospital has recently built a new Medical Education/Surgical Theatre and the Chief of Surgery has requested Vanderbilt University’s assistance in bringing cardiac surgery to this region of Eastern Africa. It has taken a lot of planning over the past several months to be sure we have the supplies and personnel that are required to start this open-heart surgical program. Our cardiac team will be working with and teaching the Tenwek hospital staff as we perform 10-15 open heart procedures during our time in Kenya.

As I step outside my comfort zone to do what I do every day in a sophisticated surgical theater here in the US to do the same thing in a foreign country at a location where it has never been done before I ask for your support. Not only will our cardiac team need financial support, but more importantly we will need your prayers. The conditions will be sparse and antiquated as we have pieced together the medical equipment necessary for this endeavor. Our team will need the strength to work long hours, remain healthy, in good spirits and with positive attitudes. The support staff surrounding us at this remote location will be untrained and therefore unprepared to provide the potential life-saving back-up support we might require should our medical equipment fail. Please pray that we have adequately anticipated our equipment and supply needs for the patients that are relying on us. Please also pray that the heart-lung machine I will be operating and all other life support equipment is safe and in good working order during our time at Tenwek."

November 4--Making History

In past elections, I was never one of those underage teenagers who had a strong opinion about who should become President. I thought of it as my parents ordeal and I tended to stay out of it (except for the actual polling--I loved marking the dots for my mom when I was a kidling). As this year's election grew nearer, the pressure was on for me to do my research and make an educated decision about which ONE man I believed should lead our country. How does anyone do that? How are we supposed to predict exactly which man will clean up the mess of the last 8 years and provide a solid future for us? I felt the disagreements of the two parties burning as I did my best (as someone who has little to no interest in politics) in making a decision. As I neared my polling place with my Aunt and Logan, I prayed that my final decision was the right decision and I embraced the experience of being a part of this historical election as I voted for my first time.

November 3---Abandoned Baseball Fields and Forsaken Mirrors

After photo class today, my friend Christian and I stumbled across two monstrous mirrors left for the taking at a dumpster near campus. We decided to put our discovery to use and haul them to a nearby abandoned baseball field. We turned our discovery into a makeshift photo shoot which I think turned out quite amazing given the beautiful array of colors that God gifted our sky with today.
(PS. the weather was a lovely 65 degrees today which meant scarf and moccasins for meghan--my favorite!!)

November 2---Life Lessons From Lenny

Lenny was in town from Arizona this weekend and today she came to visit me in Northridge. We spent the afternoon catching up on what's new in our lives and discussing such things as college and the upcoming elections. As we sat on my couch discussing the frustrations I've recently been having with my "life plan", Lenny filled me in on the little things that she has learned over her 40-something years of experience---all of which I like to call "Life Lessons from Lenny"

November 1--(Finally) Feels Like Fall

Austen, Landon and I spent our afternoon carving, baking and listening to the rain and "funder" (as Landon calls it). Austen insisted that we carve her pumpkin (even though Halloween was last night) and once we extracted all the seeds, I couldn't help but bake them. When we completed those projects, I decided it was the perfect day for pie. We began making a pumpkin pie and when we realized we ran out of cloves, we went to the grocery store and stopped to get our flu shots on the way.

October 31--Sushi and The Shining for Halloween

Instead of passing out candy, going to a halloween party, or going trick-or-treating, Matt and I spent our Halloween eating wayyyy too much sushi with the White family + Lauren (Matt's brother, Tyler's girlfriend) and - Mr. White who is currently in Cambodia.
After sushi, we took our party back to the White house and watched The Shining which of course creeped me out big time.

October 30--77 Degrees!!!!

It was a glorious 77 degrees in Northridge today! I wore a sweatshirt to my 2:00 class which on any other day would be miserable. I took the picture to the left from our balcony because (and I don't think you can see it) but it's windy and the trees are swaying...what a wonderful day!

October 29--Critiques

(click to enlarge)
Today was critique day for my photo class. I don't ever really look forward to my class's critiques because it never seems like anyone's ever honest about how they feel about each others work. My professor always LOVES everyone's photos (even if they're the most horrid thing you've ever seen) and no one ever really speaks up if they don't like a photo, to help improve each others work. No one actually really speaks at all unless you have a phenomenal photo of some kind. Our critiques always leave me frustrated (if you can't tell) because they are meant to be exactly what it sounds like...a critique! You're supposed to leave class feeling challenged, having learned something, and wanting to take your work a step further as an artist. I think I'm just venting at this point, but here are 2 of the 3 double exposures that I turned in today...if anyone would like to critique them feel free!

October 28--Tastes Like Seattle

This time last year I was working in the rainy (and wonderful) city of Seattle at Noah's Bagels. I was making far too many "sample bagels" (mainly so that we could eat them all ourselves---MISS YOU BRENT!) and gorging myself with pumpkin shmear (and pumpkin bagels--how I worked there without gaining the dreaded "freshman 15" I'll never know).
This morning I enjoyed a toasted (whole wheat--trying to stay healthy...) bagel topped with freshly opened Noah's pumpkin smear and as I ate the bagel, the taste brought me right back to the days of living in the 40 degree, rainy city of Seattle, working pointless hours at Noah's with Brent and giving free tea to Marissa & Hannah.
I miss you all....

October 27---Exploring Los Angeles

It was a field trip day for the photo 2 class at MHS. We traveled via gold line and red line throughout Los Angeles-our first stop at Highland Park and our last stop at Sunset in Hollywood. The students captured the graffiti and signage of Highland Park (the above photo was taken by the photo teacher Brenda Schlenker--I only had my film camera with me), the wonderful cultures of Olvera Street and China Town and the art gallery at Freestyle Photographic Supplies in Hollywood. It was a fun, yet tiring, day as we traveled like tourists through the city most of us have lived in our whole lives.

October 26-- Ringing in Sunday with Katelyn & John Matthew

It's been 2 months since I've seen my best friend and tonight we remembered the long lost art of webcamming. We spent the last 2 hours chatting over the interweb and at midnight took a picture for today's blog to mark this special occasion. If anyone is interested in donating to the "Meghan Needs Money to Buy a Plane Ticket to San Francisco To See Her Best Friend" fund, please contact me for further details.