Busy January!

Hello all-

I totally suck for not keeping this blog up to date - it really is my
intention to post more often.

January has been busier than I had expected. I think that's because
it hasn't really been busy in the way that I am used to. Instead of
lots of shoots, I've been busy with people visiting, catching up on
office work that I've been meaning to get caught up on for ages now,
and actually doing some housework.

Anywho, my brother came and visited a few weeks ago, and since he's
moving to Manhattan this summer, he figured that we should all take a
tour together. While now I feel like I've only been spending time
with my brother on tour buses lately, it was a great idea. He was
smart and got us on a five hour tour, complete with a quick trip on
the Staten Island Ferry, so we could see the whole city from a
distance, including Ellis Island. I took a quick series of photos
with the intention of laboring through the tedious process of making
a panorama of it, only to learn that my new version of Photoshop
(CS3) does it for me now. I can't complain really, it did a much
better job that I could, and MUCH faster.

I have to say, that the weather here is much milder than in Chicago.
Which I especially appreciated when I was back in Chicago last
weekend for a job and it was -4 degrees, and like 34 degrees at
home. Lindsey made sure to point this out to me. It was so nice the
other day that I took a walk on the beach. I'm looking forward to it
actually getting warm, because I've been learning that there's a lot
to do on the island when the weather is nice, and not much when it
isn't.

Other than that, our new couch finally came, so we spent this weekend
repainting the living room. We decided that we should touch up the
spackle and scuffs before the couch came, and when we did, we found
out that the paint that we found in the basement that we thought
match, really didn't. Oops... so we've spent the weekend repainting,
and our new couch is currently in the kitchen until the paint dries.
Fun!

Well, that's about it for now. I've actually got some New York jobs
coming up for Stony Brook University, so I'm very excited to have
work that doesn't involve flying somewhere.

Take care, bye4now.

-Sam

Last Day in Argentina

Grandma chatting with Lindsey while we wait for Erica.

Grandma wishing Erica a Happy New Year.

The shanty towns off of the highway with BA in the background.

Elvis is alive!  And fixing cars in Tigre, Argentina.

Marcia and Paul before boarding the boat for a river cruise in Tigre.

Everyone boarding the boat for a river cruise.

Grandma sitting pretty on the boat.

A rower on the river.

Everyone enjoying the sun and fresh air.

Erica explaining about all of the houses along the river.

An old casino on the river that's now an art museum.

One of the houses along the river.

An abandoned boat along the riverside.

Aaron and Emily sitting on top of the boat enjoying the view.

One of the old president's houses preserved in glass.  It's now a museum.

Another boat full of tourists check out the water temperature.

Judy, Hayley, and Ashley enjoying the sun.

Locals waving from their dock.

Another neat house along the riverside.

More shipwrecks.

An amusement park in Tigre that Erica suspects is really used to launder money, as it's hardly ever open.

More shipwrecks... sorry, I find them really neat.

Locals having their New Year's picnics.

The Israeli flag (among others) at the Plaza Hotel.

The new Park Hyatt.

The French Embassy.

Our last lunch in Argentina at La Parolaccia.

That's it!  We're all now safely back in the frigid north!  Hope you enjoyed the photos!