I'm re-posting something my fellow intern Natalie posted about on her blog, "Live in the Layers": Sophie Blackall's Illustrated Missed Connections, because this new blog that's going into my Google Reader subscriptions truly romanticizes the quick, seemingly unimposing interactions between two strangers on the street. On one hand, it's kind of unsettling and creepy -- borderline "Craigslist" creepy, but her drawings and sketches appropriately illustrate the social "single-serving" interactions between people (to steal a phrase from Fight Club).
Ever since I can remember, I've lived for these moments. Sure, I love the lasting friendships I forge and the simple nights of comfortable silence or uncontrollable laughter, but I love meeting new people. Perhaps that's why I am pursuing journalism. I hold onto those single servings because I find people inherently interesting. Everyone has a story to tell and my raging curiosity engrains an image of these people in my mind. Just the other day, my friend Paris and I were walking alongside the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, taking strides to the rhythm of three drums. A family of three -- a father and two sons -- perched on seats on the sidewalk with stoic faces, playing the same simple four-beat rhythm over and over again. Another man stood less than a block away playing his guitar as he leaned his head back and belted sweet melodies. These curious, curious people. How I wanted to find out their stories and talk to them about their thoughts, lives, ideas.While I was studying for my SATs few summers ago, I sat outside the Coffee Society outside of the Cupertino Library and ended up having a nice hour-long conversation after snapping this photo and watching the musicians set up for a free concert. The barista came out, sat in one of the two unoccupied chairs near me, and we chatted about his life and mine. How I was sitting here studying for the SAT, hoping to earn that high score "required" for admittance into a prestigious university while he was living on the streets, trying to find a job, and struggling to pick up the pieces before his coffee-making job. Yet, he had such a calm misdemeanor. The way he carried himself simply said, "Don't even worry about it."
If I had the artistic talents of Sophie Blackall, I think I could fill a post with hourly sketches of my single-serving encounters. While I love all my friends and the wonderful connections I make with the people I meet in Guatemala, at Sunset, in life -- sometimes a one-time interaction is enough.
1 comment:
okay, not to sound like a creeper, but when i stopped by harker the other day and borrowed a lens from mr daren, we started talking about you. i think it went something like this:
mr d: have you talked to emily chow this summer? she's interning at SUNSET.
me: S;LKJALSKDJF I KNOW HOW COOL IS THAT IM SO JEALOUS LA;SJDFLSJDF (insert gibberish here)
anyways, glad you're rocking it up over at sunset! i'm working at blendz (smoothie place) in downtown campbell and los gatos coffee roasting company in downtown lg. and doing a little photography interning on the side.
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