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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night windows on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson). This photograph is over 3 years old. I used to spend a lot of time on the rooftops of parking decks when I was in college. I would run around outside at night in the late summer and take my camera with me. On this particular night, Darren was my adventuring companion. Darren recently moved to Los Angeles with his amazing ladyfriend Kayla. I went to their going away party a few weeks ago and I realized how easily people can become a big part of your life. It’s not like Darren and I were particularly close, but for some reason we had a connection to each other. We both have a strong desire to pursue our passions in a tangible way, and we both actually have (and continue to) take risks for those things. I think it was just comfortable to be around another human who just understood an integral part of me with no explanation.  Sometimes even the littlest interactions can have massive repercussions in the life of another. Don’t forget that. Ever. 

night windows on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson).

This photograph is over 3 years old. I used to spend a lot of time on the rooftops of parking decks when I was in college. I would run around outside at night in the late summer and take my camera with me. On this particular night, Darren was my adventuring companion.

Darren recently moved to Los Angeles with his amazing ladyfriend Kayla. I went to their going away party a few weeks ago and I realized how easily people can become a big part of your life. It’s not like Darren and I were particularly close, but for some reason we had a connection to each other. We both have a strong desire to pursue our passions in a tangible way, and we both actually have (and continue to) take risks for those things. I think it was just comfortable to be around another human who just understood an integral part of me with no explanation. 

Sometimes even the littlest interactions can have massive repercussions in the life of another. Don’t forget that. Ever. 

funtastic: Freewaywheelin #getonyourdamnbike @bordash (at Fog Town) This literally just broke my heart into a thousand pieces. I used to love heading down 35 toward the great highway. I need to go West. I need to go West soon. It’s been too long since I’ve seen the fog burn away from that coastline…

funtastic:

Freewaywheelin #getonyourdamnbike @bordash (at Fog Town)

This literally just broke my heart into a thousand pieces. I used to love heading down 35 toward the great highway. I need to go West. I need to go West soon. It’s been too long since I’ve seen the fog burn away from that coastline…

Eagle’s Point on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson). This was the last time I went to my favourite place. The message I found on this log seemed to be telling me that my future feelings would be reciprocated. I cannot wait to be back in this place with my toes in the sand, slowly losing feeling in my feet as the icy waves roll over them. 

Eagle’s Point on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson).

This was the last time I went to my favourite place. The message I found on this log seemed to be telling me that my future feelings would be reciprocated. I cannot wait to be back in this place with my toes in the sand, slowly losing feeling in my feet as the icy waves roll over them. 

Eagle’s Point on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson). I miss this place so very much.

Eagle’s Point on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson).

I miss this place so very much.

Harvard House on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson). This is where I used to live. I lived here a little over 3 months ago. This photo was taken before I ever had keys to that door or that gate, before I ever planted flowers in that flower box, before I ever got locked out, before I ever rid the porch of black widow spiders and before I ever cried in that doorway…  I miss you, Fresno.

Harvard House on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson).

This is where I used to live. I lived here a little over 3 months ago. This photo was taken before I ever had keys to that door or that gate, before I ever planted flowers in that flower box, before I ever got locked out, before I ever rid the porch of black widow spiders and before I ever cried in that doorway… 

I miss you, Fresno.

You’ve been dead for years,
but you never knew.
And the rabid bits of time,
have been eating you.

No one knows where we go.
No one knows where we go
when we’re dead or when we’re dreaming.

Skype Date with BFF Brazie aka “Web Beers with Brazie” Geeze I miss this guy so much. This is my Sunday night. Don’t be too jealous.

Skype Date with BFF Brazie aka “Web Beers with Brazie”

Geeze I miss this guy so much. This is my Sunday night. Don’t be too jealous.

The UXC. We made it and we didn’t even run into any danger (or contract any horrible diseases… yet.)

The UXC.

We made it and we didn’t even run into any danger (or contract any horrible diseases… yet.)

The Giant Grove on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson). My friend Ryan F. took this photo of me when we went hiking at the Giant Grove in Sequoia National Park last autumn. This is one of my all-time favorite places. It smells so fresh and everything is so beautiful. This spot was just east of a huge grove that had suffered a forrest fire a few years before. Things were starting to spring back to life beneath all the charred branches and underbrush. That was the first day in 2012 that I really believed that I needed a year of devastation to become who I had been before; to remember why I have a high baseline for happiness; to be myself again without having to rely on anything else to define me.  I love that I’m out of focus in this photo and that I was literally just dancing around the forrest and loving every single second of it. 

The Giant Grove on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson).

My friend Ryan F. took this photo of me when we went hiking at the Giant Grove in Sequoia National Park last autumn. This is one of my all-time favorite places. It smells so fresh and everything is so beautiful. This spot was just east of a huge grove that had suffered a forrest fire a few years before. Things were starting to spring back to life beneath all the charred branches and underbrush. That was the first day in 2012 that I really believed that I needed a year of devastation to become who I had been before; to remember why I have a high baseline for happiness; to be myself again without having to rely on anything else to define me. 

I love that I’m out of focus in this photo and that I was literally just dancing around the forrest and loving every single second of it. 

January 2, 2013 on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson). It’s a new year and I’m still changing and still won’t stop moving. A lot of things are different than they were a year ago, but many things are the same. 2012 taught me a lot about who I am, what I want and where I want to go. I further proved my love of traveling and seeing new places, meeting new people and finding adventure every chance I get. I don’t think I would have guessed that 2012 would be one of the best years of my life last January. I hardly understood how wonderful last year was until just a few weeks ago. It was a rough year for a lot of us, but to me that is beautiful; to me that is just what I needed. If this year wouldn’t have been filled with so much heartache and grieving I wouldn’t have learned so much. I owe it to the friends I lost last year to carry on in happiness and joy, that’s what they would have done and I’m here to carry on their memory.  Things aren’t going to get any easier, but I know that all I can do is laugh and love. This is my life and I want every moment to matter, even if it’s just to myself. That’s really the only standard I can be concerned with: my own. This year is just another year that’s mine, like all the others, and I’m so glad to be here. I’m so glad to be alive.

January 2, 2013 on Flickr by icatchfoxes (melissa olson).

It’s a new year and I’m still changing and still won’t stop moving.

A lot of things are different than they were a year ago, but many things are the same. 2012 taught me a lot about who I am, what I want and where I want to go. I further proved my love of traveling and seeing new places, meeting new people and finding adventure every chance I get.

I don’t think I would have guessed that 2012 would be one of the best years of my life last January. I hardly understood how wonderful last year was until just a few weeks ago. It was a rough year for a lot of us, but to me that is beautiful; to me that is just what I needed. If this year wouldn’t have been filled with so much heartache and grieving I wouldn’t have learned so much. I owe it to the friends I lost last year to carry on in happiness and joy, that’s what they would have done and I’m here to carry on their memory. 

Things aren’t going to get any easier, but I know that all I can do is laugh and love. This is my life and I want every moment to matter, even if it’s just to myself. That’s really the only standard I can be concerned with: my own. This year is just another year that’s mine, like all the others, and I’m so glad to be here. I’m so glad to be alive.

BFFz on Flickr. I miss Jon. For most of this year I spent at least 6 hours a week with this guy. I guess one good consolation is: I have time to work on my bowling average to be more impressive since he’s such a boss on the lanes these days…  I’m so glad I’ve gotten to be part of his life and that he is part of mine. I couldn’t be more proud of the steps he’s taken toward a goal he is very passionate about. I can’t wait to show him Ohio (and more importantly, Ohio beer) after he finishes his beer school externship in Vermont next summer. I’m even more anxious for the day he opens the doors of his future brewery. Keep an eye out for this one, universe, he’s going to do amazing things.  xo.

BFFz on Flickr.

I miss Jon. For most of this year I spent at least 6 hours a week with this guy. I guess one good consolation is: I have time to work on my bowling average to be more impressive since he’s such a boss on the lanes these days… 

I’m so glad I’ve gotten to be part of his life and that he is part of mine. I couldn’t be more proud of the steps he’s taken toward a goal he is very passionate about. I can’t wait to show him Ohio (and more importantly, Ohio beer) after he finishes his beer school externship in Vermont next summer. I’m even more anxious for the day he opens the doors of his future brewery. Keep an eye out for this one, universe, he’s going to do amazing things. 

xo.

(Source: icatchfoxes)

Somehow.

That moment keeps playing in the front of my mind. Somehow looped eternally, mostly overlapping all the things that are currently taking place around me. Even when it’s faint and barely noticeable, it’s still there in the front keeping at least a bit of my attention. I have begun to wonder how long it will be until it fades, if it ever will.

It was dark, the only available light lingered from the streetlamp in the distance outside that peeked in through the drawn curtains. My eyes (nor anyone else’s, for that matter) are not good enough in the dark to have made out any sort of reliable image. Every aspect of this memory is completely fabricated, save for the words that wafted through the air.

Those few words. I remember them distinctly because you were the one saying them. I didn’t ask you for these words. I barely even suggested wanting you to say them, yet you did. They are not any words that are out of the ordinary when separate from each other, when distance keeps them apart.

“I’m going to kiss you goodnight.”

(Source: icatchfoxes)