J. Jason Lazarus Blog

These past few months have been crazy - with me teaching and working more than I have in the past and Aidan at day care, I find it hard to find the time to really update this blog. Everyday, once I do get off work, the last thing that I want to do is spend half an hour updating this when I could enjoy playing with my son - so, seeing that I’ve been lacking on the updates, you can imagine who has won.

That being said, he is doing well and progressing well. Of coarse, if you’ve been following my Twitter posts, you know that Aidan’s been walking since late February. Even though it was a couple of steps here and there, by late March he was really walking by his own - as indicated by the first video taken on 3/27.
Granted, at that point, we could still manage to corral him - we hadn’t gotten to the point that most people talk about dreading - the “he’ll wear you out cause all he does is run” stage. I think we’re now getting pretty close there - the second video was taken about three weeks after the previous one.
He’s a bit under the weather right now with a horrid cough and a fever that has now, finally after about three days, dissipated. He’s waving at practically everyone and everything (he tends to wave hello and goodbye to the inanimate Fred Meyer store) - flirting, as per usual, with anyone that’ll look at him - and clapping upon command. He has yet to really go out on a limb vocally but he is babbling up a storm and is pretty vocal when he wants something. I don’t think we’ve gotten to the point where we should expect him to be saying things by name but he’s managing to realize what things are - like “Binkey” - so talking can’t be far away.
Now that the snow is practically gone from the backyard, we finally got to take him outside - he has NO idea what to do with the space. He’s magnetically attracted to dirt, though, racing his chubby thighs as fast as he can directly toward the flower garden. For now, the fall’s leaves and a rake is enough to enthuse him outside - although we’re hoping to get a slide and some playset stuff before too long. With 70+ degree weather this week, we’ve got no excuse.
Hope you enjoyed the videos - there will, hopefully, be more soon.

It’s been a busy, busy month.  Everything, pretty much, has managed to take presidence over updating this blog - which isn’t clearly indicitive of me not having any time but it still has felt far too busy lately.  I am, however, proud to announce that I’ve managed to get my preliminary edit of my Polaris Series online.  I’m using the series currently as a class demo as well as fielding people’s interest in the shots - so that means I want comments and critiques!  Any and all comments will be greatly appreciated.  I will, desperately, attempt to get some update on Aidan as well as life in general up here sometime this weekend.

Polaris Series Preliminary Edit Gallery <Flash>

Let me just end with saying that Aidan is walking - practically running - now.  Possibly this is why I’m busy so much - nah - can’t blame him for wanting to be mobile but it does make trips to the store more interesting!

Earlier this week, through a stroke of amazingly good luck, I got to legally go into Fairbanks’ fabled Polaris Building - most recently known as the Northern Lights Hotel. This “skyscraper” of 12 stories is the tallest building in Fairbanks and has been abandoned for over a decade. A constant target of inebreiated individuals, urban explorers and vandals, this building has been locked up tighter than most buildings that actually have something worthwhile to steal in it. With two restaurants and bars (one on the 12th, one on the ground) and 10 floors of rooms (4 of which never got renovated after the ’60s I’d guess) I spent over five hours shooting and still could fathom shooting for another five.  I’m teasing at the idea of waiting to edit these pictures until after I get my hands on Lightroom 2 but I did want to provide a bit of a preview. This is the perfect subject for my current interests and I’m hoping that, without having to go back in there, I’ve got a series out of the photos I took. That monkey that’s been on my back all winter long finally jumped off - I feel so much better after doing a bit of photography and coming out with some outstanding results. Enjoy and expect more soon!

Dear Al Gore,

I’m sitting here, in Fairbanks, on April 2nd and it’s a balmy -11F.  That’s a full 43 degrees below water’s freezing point if math isn’t your strong suit.  I’d like you to know that I was especially looking forward to your forecasted Global Warming this year and, yet again, I’m left sitting here empty handed.  By this point in the game, especially after your never-ending alarmist rants for the past half decade, I would’ve thought that I’d be at least looking forward to Springtime in April in Alaska - like a nice balmy 60 degrees.  But apparently your “scientists” and your other various “smart persons of interest” failed miserably at getting the prediction correct.  I suppose I can’t blame you entirely - at least you’re desperately attempting to make this whole “global warming theory” reality in your own small way - congrats on your <$30,000 electric bill>!  Way to sock it to mother earth, sir!

Oh - by the way - I didn’t vote for you.  K - Thanks for nothing.