Owner: david mctavish photography URL:http://www.davidmctavish.com/blog/ Join Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:37:11 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: simple photos of every day life by david mctavish Site statistics:Click here
taking a break 2008-03-07 00:43:00 haven't had much time or desire to pursue this lately. works' been taking its fair share of cycles in the latest push to get something released.
untitled 2008-03-06 00:43:00 more wallpaper material
all better 2008-03-02 00:43:00 zen's learning to be mischievous, complete with cheshire grin. his latest favorite game is hide-and-go-seek. van and i will hide behind the bed, and he'll scoot along to come find us. i'm pretty sure he's crawling faster than i can walk at this point (we've had to go to mothercare to buy some restraining devices to keep him somewhat in check. Read more:better
under the weather 2008-03-01 00:43:00 the entire familia has been a tad under the weather
for the past few weeks. van was hit with the worst of things, but the little *cough-cough* put out by zen were the hardest to deal with. sure, he was fine for the most part, you just don't like to see the little guy not feeling so well. the good news is, everybody is on the mend. :)
amen sistah 2008-02-29 17:09:53 every day i drove by an older building on my way to work that i thought was interesting, until last week when i noticed that it was completely gone. now, i don't find it unusual for a house to just up and disappear in india, it is india after all, but i did regret not having the chance to take a photo of it. so, in my haste, i decided to take a photo of the remains. it turns out that the building was actually an old church, and that it burned to the ground when the sound system went all screwy. it doesn't seem to be putting a damper on their spirits, they've even kept the old speaker as a souvenir for their troubles.
still untitled 2008-02-28 17:09:53 if you have some extra time (a rare commodity these days), i'd recommend a book called "Q&A" written by Vikas Swarup. it's a fairly short book (~350 pages) but does a good job of summarizing the issues that plague india with an exciting story-line packed with drama. if you're working on your tan and need some mental stimulation, you should be able to stretch this for a couple of hours of enjoyment.
fortune 2008-02-27 17:09:53 i wonder if this fortune teller knew that his budgie was going to fly away. he certainly does seem glum over the empty cage, but perhaps it's better this way and instead of just reading the future he can start living in the present. or perhaps he'll just buy another budgie and train it to deal cards for crackers.
godzilla 2008-03-20 14:53:15 and we're back. it's been a long haul, but the long weekend is buying refuge from work. it seems the past few weeks have been stressful on everybody, zen's caught a cold and van's getting a bit overwhelmed; but there is a silver lining in here somewhere. going to spend the weekend packing our bags for next week, 1 week on the tuscany coast is surely not long enough, but we'll be happy for the reprieve from reality.
italie 2008-04-09 03:35:33 our trip to italy was absolutely incredible. we're still confused as to why anyone would actually move away from this place, but are gracious enough that we can sample a pale imitation of the food back home. i'd like to think that i have some potential with cooking, but it was clear that anybody could make a great meal with the ingredients at the ready. my only dismay is that i'll never have italian food as good as last week unless we visit again. nothing against pizza pizza, but everything tastes better in italy.
ponte vechhio 2008-04-17 02:30:58 i should have enough material from italy to keep you all entertained for the next bit; and hopefully after the weekend i can intermix some shots from singapore. i'm not bringing the heavy-duty canon on this trip; after all, there isn't much to do in singapore other than shop. but we plan a trip into china-town (with the hope of finding some delicious dim-sum that isn't infused with the over-powering indian cuisine). as much as we enjoy indian food, sometimes when you order chinese food, you want something without curry. and i realize that chinese people at times use curry, but there's a line crossed when it's making its way into your spring rolls.
so, this has nothing to do with this bridge. it's a pretty cool location in florence; shops built on top of an existing bridge. lots of over-pri
stroller gangz 2008-04-11 03:35:33 zen's already practicing his gangster signs as we ride him about in his italian-made stroller. unfortunately, the stroller didn't stand the test of the cobble-stone streets of firenze; so we're off to singapore to find a new stroller. to be fair, i'm sure india fought the first 10 rounds and italy snuck in at the last minute and stole the tko. i feel pretty bad, as it was a really nice baby-shower gift from our friends, and i suppose it's good that we got a lot of use out of it, i'm just surprised at how quickly india deteriorates everything. we now understand why the locals don't invest in anything of high quality; it's better to buy cheap and replace instead of buying expensive and still have to replace. :(
la familia 2008-04-10 03:35:33 so i've been pretty lazy at posting photos lately. i probably don't have much of an excuse other than the fact that i've just been plain lazy about it. i suppose the two weeks of ignoring this due to work reasons makes it that much more difficult to get back into.
the trip to italy was amazing, not only for the quality wines and food, but it was really nice to see my parents again after such a long stint. the visit only re-confirmed my suspicions that if we went home at christmas, there was little chance of us coming back to india. it's nice knowing we're going home soon, and we're trying to make the best of our remaining time. Read more:familia
entrapment 2008-04-18 02:30:58 the restaurant in the background (gilli) has a prime location for the tourist crowd. i'm not sure howe we got sucked in, but our senses got the better of us as we slinked out the back before putting our orders in. ordinarily, i have no qualms with price; but i'm not sure of the appeal of spending 20 euros for a hamburger. perhaps if it's made from kobe beef topped with foie gras and truffles; but no, this was just a hunk of beef on a bun. oh, and you want fries with that? that'll be 7 euros more. while missing out on a juicy burger may be appealing, this was italy afterall, and we found ourselves planted in a little pizzeria with a fine bottle of wine instead. total damage: 50 euros for 2 pizzas, lots of crostinis, and a nice bottle of chianti classico. very nice-ah!
photo-journalism 2008-04-19 02:30:58 so i've taken some interest in photo-journalism
as a new style. i suppose it's just an excuse to be stalkerish than anything else, but i'm really liking how the photos turn out. ordinarily, i'd probably have deleted this shot due to it being a bit out of focus, but now, it just seems to complete the look.
the whole shooting while not looking sort of reminds me of the first time i rode my bike with my arms waving in the air. there's a certain amount of exhilaration of not being able to control where you're going. and sometimes, you end up in some interesting places.
walking 2008-04-21 02:30:58 zen's on the cusp of walking. he was a bit of late bloomer to the whole crawling thing, but he definitely has mastered that. his current addiction is climbing. we were a bit surprised to experience his discovery; i'd figured it would have taken him a few tries to understand the concept, but no, his first attempt he climbed the entire flight of stairs. the icing was him doing it in effort to see me; now that is priceless.
fashion police 2008-04-20 02:30:58 perhaps i've been in india so long, but the italians definitely had a sense of style. sure, the dhoti may be comfortable, but it hasn't encouraged me to run out and buy one. now, funky-cool specs with faux-fur hoodies, that's got appeal. one thing that i found interesting was that everyone wore leather and scarves in florence. i liked the look so much, i've adopted it myself. perhaps a bit overboard, but i did enjoy the locals confusing me as an italian. at one point, i was even asked to do an interview for a television show... of course, after they realized my mastery of the italian language wasn't going to help improve the ratings, he quickly let me on my way. :)
venice is sinking 2008-04-22 02:30:58 so, if you're ever in venice; the only advice i can give is don't try to rush through it in a day. you could easily spend a week in venice alone, with the dizzying alleyways and beautiful architecture. while we had time to enjoy the quintessential gondola ride, we opted out and instead enjoyed watching others get shilled for 100 euros for a 15 minute float down the canal. and i thought paying 20 bucks at the venetian in las vegas was expensive. for the price in venice, i can at least fly back to las vegas and get a feel for the simulated version. :)
van: that's still my scarf by the way... Read more:sinking
sexy pasta 2008-04-23 02:30:58 i drank wine every day for lunch, dinner (and sometimes breakfast); and still was never drunk. i'm not sure what it is, but there certainly is some form of magic that hangs over italy that allows you to enjoy to excess without having to pay the consequences. we probably all could use a bit more sexy pasta and a bottle of chianti to make the days go by easier.
gelato 2008-04-24 02:30:58 i've always loved ice cream, and before italy, i thought being a connoisseur meant enjoying a tub of ben & jerry's cherry garcia. now, i've been enlightened: gelato is the way! after the first three days, we were quickly able to discern the pros from the poseurs on the gelato scene; and our first priority when we come home is to find a quality gelati to supply our cravings.
growing old together 2008-04-26 02:30:58 i hope that when van and i get this old that we're still this sweet. i'm sure i wear on her nerves; but it's only because i love her. :) Read more:together
No title 2008-04-28 02:30:58 if you're having a corporate event and you need an ice-breaker, have i got just the ticket. zen's become quite the social butterfly, from saying hi to the gardener, the driver, the complete strangers at the mall, it's like pokemon fever and he's gotta say hi to everyone. it's rather endearing to see him interact so well with people beyond 'us'; but also nice to know that he reserves the special treatment for mom & dad.
tuscany 2008-04-27 02:30:58 as hard as i tried, photos will never do tuscany justice. it's like trying to gauge the size of the grand canyon without seeing with your own eyes. i'm saving my money, and buying a plot of land over yonder to grow grapes and olives when i retire. what confuses me is why are there italian immigrants? i'd never have left such a place of my own accord. the only reason we could come up with was there was some mafioso issues that were easier to deal with on the run...
folding up shop 2008-04-30 02:30:58 if you think the guys selling pirated dvds downtown toronto know what they're doing, you need to check out the vendors in florence. these guys' are good. i've never seen such swift movements; collapsing an entire store into an attache, and the smooth disengagement from the crowd to avoid the police crack-down. it's a funny game to watch, the police roll around every few hours, and the vendors migrate in and out like a massive flock that would make houdini proud.
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