[m.olson]

I'm Melissa. This is where I write things down and share new things. Sometimes I even post cute pictures of cats...

if you're looking for my portfolio,
it can be found here, or by clicking any of the links across the top of this page.

I just moved back to Ohio after living in the central valley of California for almost three years. People still mention that I'm all grown up and keep asking how being an adult is going, but I really don't know what they're referring to.

I'm officially a (self-proclaimed) curator -- OF GIFS. GIF CONNOISSEUR. Check it out. My GIF blog even made it to buzzfeed once.
ONE MORE CHECK OFF MY LIFELONG INTERNET TO-DO LIST.

Albums of note UPCOMING/2011/2010/2009
A list of albums from the year that had staying power. Not a top album list, because I haven't heard every album, so that just seems a bit silly to me -- the whole "of the year" thing... although I suppose in my own mind that's what they are...

THE ARCHIVES

Nostalgia
a place where I keep things that are already memories and store things that are currently in my life that will inevitably become memories. Vague enough?

Vestiges of a Life Soon Forgotten
A photographic series devoted to images taken in and around my apartment where I lived for 3 years in college. I moved out for good in December 2009.

Photobooth Sketches
photobooth documentation of sketches i have done and/or found.

Monthly Self Portrait Series
This was a short-lived project that sometimes shows up without warning again on my feed, but definately cannot be considered an "on-going" thing.

My New California Life
What started as an essay series about my experiences living on the left coast turned into a general account of my life here -- through words, photos and other ephemera.

jef etters tips of the day
Jef Etters was a colleague of mine who gave me life tips on a daily basis via a telephone call from a rotary phone. I would then transcribe the tips and post them here for the benefit of all mankind. He didn't know what tumblr was (nor does he now), but he did want to share all his wisdom with the world. enjoy.
PLEASE NOTE: Jef did finally get free long-distance after 7pm EST and will occasionally call to give me tips to transcribe. Be on the look out, it'll change your life.

ScreenCaptureSeries
Funny and or poignant things I feel the need to share with the world via screen capture. This project carries on with the luck that the internet will continue to bring the lulz. I think the odds are in our favor.

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Before the Coffee House on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson)

# my new california life

# photographers on tumblr

Tehachapi on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson)

# my new california life

Daniel on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson)

Roll 010: Photo 001 by ddddaniel. on Flickr.

GPOYW: Tehachapi adventure edition. (Photo by this guy.)

We’ve spent the last two days in the mountain town of Tehachapi at the house where Daniel grew up. I have felt welcome in this house since the first day I showed up here, the day after I arrived to visit Daniel for the first time. It’s been nice to be here for longer than a few hours.

# my new california life

. on Flickr.

The man in this photograph with me is one of the best people I’ve ever met. He’s amazing and I’m a lucky girl. I can’t tell him enough how much he means to me.

[Tehachapi Football Stands, January 2010]

# my new california life

on Flickr.

I got to go to Tehachapi yesterday… I really like it there. It’s one of my favourite places, actually.

It’s funny to remember looking at pictures of Daniel and his brother & sister pushing shopping carts down the street he grew up on and jumping on the trampoline in the backyard of his childhood home… It’s so strange the way having that back-log of visual information about a place has a way of creating a different kind of anticipation about what it will be like when you arrive there in person.

The first time we drove up the mountain to Tehachapi (December 2009), I was so overwhelmingly excited — it was like I was going to Disneyland for the first time… The best thing about Tehachapi is that it’s even more charming than the pictures or the boy taking me there had made it seem. I watched the dark mountains grow bigger as I stared out the windows; I watched train headlights peek out from the tunnels and the sparks fly off the rails as the train moved onward toward the loop. The light from the sun was almost completely dispersed, but just enough lingered to see the wind turbines stretching off into the distance, and their blinking red lights flickered on and off like hundreds of red fireflies. It felt like watching something in real life that you’d only been able to imagine in your head…

# My New California Life