Andrew Niesen

Happy birthday to Rachel, who turned 30 yesterday. We threw a little shin-dig at No Mas in Castleberry Hill. Rachel's tastes must be known to all, because she got four bottles of wine, one of which we're enjoying as I write.

Thanks to all of our friends for coming to welcome Rachel to her third decade: Rachel's brother, Jonathan LaCour (Mr. Q) and his wife, Lacey LaCour, Delaney Holliman, Katie and Chris Torres, Mark, Erin, our studio manager, Mel, and her husband, Jeremy, Jean Shifrin (who just got ENGAGED on her birthday!), Patrick Williams, Matt and Melissa Yung and Ella and Robin.

Thanks to all of you for enriching our lives and reminding Rachel to relax and take herself a little less seriously! We love you R!

1. By the time I got to first grade, my vision was so bad that I couldn’t see two feet in front of me. I endured nearly two decades of glasses and contacts before the miracle of technology allowed me to have LASIK surgery in 2000. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about how lucky I am to be able to see without assistance.

2. My favorite movie was The Goonies until it was trumped by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind a few years ago. The message in the latter movie completely knocked the wind out of me – in a good way. (Although I still have a major obsession with pirate ships, and big ships in general, which started with The Goonies).

3. I had my identity stolen in New York in November 2001, after being pickpocketed. In addition to maxing out the one credit card I had, they opened nine department-store credit cards in my name, and I was completely shocked (and terrified) when I received all the bills for $800 each a couple of weeks later. Fortunately, after filling out many fraud reports, everything was forgiven and cleared from my credit report. But it was one of the most harrowing ordeals I have experienced.

4. I have a compulsive need to consolidate/stack dishes at restaurants. Also peripheral items such as straw papers, napkins, plastic cracker wrappers. Even at nicer dinners where it would be improper and just plain weird to do such a thing, my eyes still can’t help scanning the table thinking about which dishes could be stacked together to help the waiter.

5. I took up cello as an adult, starting lessons at age 23. It’s a pretty incredible feeling to be able to create those beautiful sounds that come out of a cello. One of my dreams is to eventually play cello in a rock band.

6. I am music-obsessed, mostly within the indie/punk genre, and spent a few weeks following the band Sebadoh around the Southeast back in high school. I was also a DJ for my college radio station. I still love the thrill of finding and falling in love with a tiny little band that only a handful of people have heard of.

7. I have been a vegetarian for 9 years (with an occasional bit of fish thrown in for extra protein). Everyone asks why, so I’ll say it here: I love animals of every kind, and if I can survive happily without having to create more demand for animals’ lives, I’m all for it.

8. I began dating my husband Mark in 2001 when he used the classic photographer pickup line: “You wanna come inside and see my portfolio?”

I tag: Regina Holder, Woodward + Rick, Corey McNabb, Delaney Holliman and Patrick Williams

1. I am a P.K.—preacher's kid. My Presbyterian minister father and I had heated debates about theology at the dinner table and I rebelled just a bit. Thankfully, my parents showed me a lot of grace and I turned out okay afterall!

2. I lived in College Station, TX for six years. Fortunately, I moved away before I was old enough to buy hairspray.

3. Wanderlust is a serious problem for me. My high school friends called me "Restless Rachel" because I was always on the go. Before my 16th birthday, I had traveled in Germany, France, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Ecuador, Jamaica and Mexico. Also, I have a bad habit of pacing while talking on the phone.

4. I spent part of my senior year in college traveling in the Dominican Republic. I lived with a family in La Penda, a rural community that had no electricity, roads or plumbing. Rolling old bicycle tires with local kids was one of the most sublime experiences I've ever had. Also, there's nothing like hanging on for dear life while riding a motorcycle up a muddy mountain pass! (Sorry Mom)

5. I am obsessed with language and could spend hours reading a dictionary. Or, better yet, losing a night's sleep to www.visualthesaurus.com

6. I was/am a tomboy. Evidence: only girl on the Little League baseball team, collected He-Man action figures (She-Ra was a wuss!) and built a half-pipe so I could practice skateboarding tricks I picked up in Thrasher magazine. (Yes, I had a subscription.)

7. I don't care much for sports, but I'm obsessed with soccer, the real fútbol!

8. I love the long-lost art of the handwritten letter. If you want to win my heart, mail me one.

I'd like to tag the following fine folks:

Me Ra Koh
Matt Mendelsohn
Denis Reggie (it's no big secret DR doesn't have a blog, so we'll have to work harder on this one!)
Mitch Burt & Pepper Nix
Carlos Baez

* Bonus secret: This is the photograph that changed my career path. I was studying photojournalism and was driven by my restless desire to wander the world. When my editor sent me on an assignment to photograph a midwife, I traded my front-row seat to world history for a front-row seat to family history.

Congratulations to our good friends Jenn and Adam Linke, who gave birth to their first child, Hayden James, yesterday. Jenn runs The Decisive Moment. Adam, in addition to being a photographer with The Decisive Moment, is also a Pictage Pro Consultant for the Southeast. Mark had the honor of photographing their day, from start to finish. The rest of us bonded in the waiting room with family members, anxiously waiting to meet our new little friend.
Adam gives Jenn some loving encouragement shortly before she was to start pushing.
The doctor put Hayden in Jenn's arms immediately after delivery.


















Adam hugs Jenn after the delivery.
Jenn's mom Barb, who was also present for the birth, congratulates her daughter.
The nurses polished Hayden up a bit and put him right back in his mother's arms.
Adam gets a hug from his proud father, Don Linke. Hayden is the first grandchild for Adam's parents, Don and Colleen.

So I'm in. Here's 8 things you might not know about me:

1. I lived in Alaska for a year and had a blast. Just a few of the fun things I did there: Two weeks on the Iditarod documenting the race, 8-day trip telemark skiing through the Brooks Range, sweatin' in a sauna with Jewel's grandpa, ice climbing and spending any waking (or sleeping) moment I could doing some sort of mountaineering.
2. After college, my brother, Phillip, and I spent 4 months traveling through South Africa and Zimbabwe. One of the highlights was being about 10 feet away from a Lion and having it look directly in my eyes and roar. Oh and an elephant nearly killed us. And we spent a night in a tiny cave at the top of the Drakensberg mountains that was infested with the ugliest spiders you've ever seen. This cave was about 2 feet high and 15 feet deep. Just enough for us to sleep in. Only reason we were in the cave was because of an insane rain and lightning storm that shook the mountain all night long and we had nowhere else to go!
3. In Africa, I started growing dreadlocks (I lost my brush somewhere along the way). I kept them for about 5 years. They were down to my butt when I cut them. Now I'm going bald, so I try to buzz my hair really short. I'll have to dig up some old photos at some point.
   
4. I've been learning Jiu-Jitsu for the past two and a half years. I love it if I can make it to the gym 3 times a week.
   
5. I am a Multimedia Flash Designer and programmer. Although I haven't worked on anything big in a while, I still love it. Check out some older work I created: WW2 Vets, Can You Step?, Monks of Wat Carolina
   
6. I'm a drummer. I have the same Pearl drum set that I bought in High School. It's in our guest room, so if you come to visit and stay the night, you can wake up in the middle of the night and rock out! I've also been collecting lots of hand drums from my travels around the world. Djembes, doumbeks and more.
7. In college, I took a modern dance class and also an afro-haitian dance class, the latter which prompted a trip to Haiti, where I also learned some drumming and went to a Voudou ceremony (where they had the most amazing drummers ever!). So, let's get our groove on at the next conference. WPPI in Vegas '08, anyone?
8. Vanilla is my favorite flavor of ice cream. Vanilla Bean, especially!

Um, now I'm supposed to ask other people to list info about themselves. Anne Ruthmann asked us to do this. So let's see, how about:

• Sean Cayton
  
• Matt Adcock
• Sol Tamargo
• Cameron Clark
  
• Jenn Fraser Linke
• Patrick Williams

That's probably enough for now. Hopefully this has been a great distraction for y'all!!