A "Serious" Photographer

I know I haven't been updating much on here about what we're learning in my Digital 101 class, though I have posted some pictures I've taken while being in the class. I'll get more into all of that later, but this week's assignment (as in, due today) was to get some of our photographs printed off (I liked the results I got from MyPhotoPipe.com so I'll give them a shout-out!). It was to help us get acquainted with that part of the whole photography process, as well as help us determine what pictures turn out best on what types of paper (glossy vs matte, etc). We also took a few pictures that were supposed to follow any one of the "rules" of composition... rule of thirds, patterns, leading lines, etc, for fellow photographers out there.

Well, both my assignments this week got a really good reception! I was very pleased/proud! Ryan said that I made good paper choices for the prints I ordered, and both he and my fellow classmates had good things to say about a lot of my photographs. To top it all off, at the end of class I was asking Ryan something about what methods he uses to select between several photos of the same subject (read: so I don't have to repeat my last post for every photo shoot I ever do!!) And the part of the evening that really made my day (which I'm probably waaaaay over-analyzing and reading into because, come on, I'm a girl and we just do that about everything, but still made me happy) is that he prefaced his answer with "Well, you seem more serious about this, so......" and proceeded to give me what, I guess, was a more thorough answer, or perhaps suggested tools (such as portfolio review/tutorial sessions) that he wouldn't bother giving someone that was less "serious".

It was just a compliment that he probably didn't even realize he was paying me by recognizing that I AM, or at least am trying to be, more serious about this. I'm not sure if it was my manner in class, the attention I seemed to pay to the lessons, my level of familiarity with some of the concepts already, or any amount of success that is already coming through in my shots (some combination of all of these things would I guess be ideal). But something tipped him off to the fact that I really am interested in this stuff for more than just weekend outings' sake. And whatever that may be, it made my day that it IS coming across!

So yay!!! :D

In other notes (and in an attempt to go ahead and get some other items out of the way on my to-blog list) the rest of my evening turned out pretty good too. My day started out kind of crappy. I showed up to work only to find that the power and phones were both out, my boss was elsewhere, and the only instruction or direction she would give us was that we weren't to leave and she would call after her meeting (which was supposed to go until sometime between 10am and noon.) I tried calling her after she had spoken with a coworker to see if she could give us any sort of timeline. Any idea of "If the power's not on by ___ o'clock, you can go work from home." But no- she cut me off before I could get the thought out, responded "I know the power's out. I want you to stay there. I'll call after my meeting." And that was that. So I started off my day very upset (I called John after that almost in tears out of anger) that my manager was showing very poor leadership skills by appearing to be "too busy" to acknowledge or deal with the fact that her employees did not have the resources they needed to do their job. The power did end up coming back on mid-day, just a little before she got back. I really wished it had stayed off. Not simply because the idea of being able to go home was enticing, but because the situation allowed her to show up and say "Oh, good. The power's back on. Looks like my plan worked. I was right to just have yall stay here." When in fact, NO, that is NOT good managing, and despite the fact that this situation turned out for the best, that kind of leadership should really NOT be encouraged. UGGG!

Anyways, like I said... my evening DID turn out fine. I promise! First, class went well. Then I came home and, it not being too late, decided to get in some exercise, so I hopped on my gazelle (the exercise machine, not the African animal, for anyone new to my blog), and finished Little Black Book. (I started it earlier this week while also on my gazelle.) I ended up doing 35 minutes, working up a little bit of a sweat- enough to feel like I was doing myself some good- and enjoy a good movie! Because, yes, this is a VERY good movie. Not if you're a guy probably, but it's a great girl-power movie. Not in the sense of shoot-em-up, killer (literal) heels, poison lipstick, etc, like you'd find in Sucker Punch or any Angelina Jolie flick. But more along the lines of *possible spoiler alert* I can have my happy ending with or without a guy *end of spoiler* kind of way. And, while there is technically no random breakout musical number like most of my other favorite movies include, music does play a large role, and the last scene leaves a smile big enough and tears bright enough on your face to make you think it ended with the musical number of the decade! So if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. :)

So that was what made my day so good. :) Now I'm all showered, and done with my post, so I'm going to head to bed and read a little of my latest Anne of... book. :)

Sweet dreams!

PS- Ryan DID say that asking other people for their opinion when you just can't decide between youe last few good photos is actually a good method, so I can't promise that I won't have ANY repeats of my last post, but I'll try to keep them to a minimum! :P

The Bend in the Road

I just finished reading Anne of Green Gables, a favorite of a friend of mine and a fun, easy read between book-club books. And it really was a wonderful book. I've still the rest of the series to finish- and I truly do look forward to finding out what other adventures lay in Anne's future- but this book stands alone just fine as is. It definitely makes you think about an older time, when things were simpler but responsibilities came earlier in life. The writing is wonderful and the young girl who went on and on about fairies and other imaginings earlier in the book is speaking sensibly and maturely by the end without you ever noticing the shift. And as she and her peers go on- at the age of 16!- to begin their adult lives as college scholars, farmers or ministers, or even teachers to other children just barely younger than themselves, it really makes you wonder if today's youth could grow up that quickly if the times still called for it!

But more than anything, I just enjoyed reading about a "kindred spirit", as Anne would put it- a young girl who daydreams and loves reading, and has such big plans for herself in the world. And the closing passage touched my heart more than anything... as if it was meant just for me to read it. (And after all, aren't all things truly enjoyable in any innocent way sent by God as gifts to us, and therefore mightn't He include lessons for us among those as well?)

And so, in order to save it for myself as well as put it out there for anyone else that might get some sort of joy from it, I'll include it here:

Anne's horizons had closed in since the night she had sat there after coming home from Queen's; but if the path set before her feet was to be narrow she knew that flowers of quiet happiness would bloom along it. The joy of sincere work and worthy aspiration and congenial friendship were to be hers; nothing could rob her of her birthright of fancy or her ideal world of dreams. And there was always the bend in the road!

"'God's in his heaven, all's right with the world,'" whispered Anne softly. softly.

Stories and Swimming

Well today's been pretty uneventful at work so far.  I've been seriously considering starting some laser hair removal treatments through American Laser Centers (I got a really good deal through some event I went to with a friend and it's something I've been really wanting to do for a while), so I've been spending some time trying to look through the reviews.  Only the office I was going to go to doesn't seem to have many good reviews online. So now I'm not so sure again. If I end up going through with it, I'll let yall know how it goes.

Watched last night's episode of No Ordinary Family on my lunch break today. It's one of several shows that I'm following now. lol. During the off weeks for my normal shows, when I don't have anything else to catch up on over lunch I start just looking around online at what else looks interesting, then I always end up watching from the beginning, getting all caught up, and next thing you know by the time the seasons are starting back up, I've found myself another show that I'm "following". Here's my current list:
Desperate Housewives
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice
One Tree Hill
No Ordinary Family
Vampire Diaries
Hellcats
V
The Event
America's Next Top Model (when it's in season)
*I also watched the whole of Ugly Betty
*I have now started watching Cougar Town online, though I'm not quite up to speed yet
I think that's everything. Sad, huh? Assuming I waste an hour on each of those shows (among other one-offs) each week, look how many hours a week I could be doing something productive? Checking off one of those many items you've all seen several times on my "do this more" lists.

I guess we all have our vices though. One of mine is stories. It's why when I'm not watching tv, most of the time I'm reading. Once I start, I just can't stop. I have to know what happens. It sucks when I start a book or a movie and realize very quickly that I don't like the story, cuz even then I can't put it down. I have to see it through to the end! It's why, no offense to whoever I'm hanging out with, if we're watching a movie or a show, if you start talking I'm going to pause and/or rewind when you're done. It's why I refuse to use the bathroom during movies. I hate the idea of missing some part of the story! (That makes me sound really lame when I put it out there like that. Oh well, if I can't be myself here....)

But anyways, yes, that is time that could be well spent doing other things. Baking, painting, taking a walk, taking pictures. I am going to make one baby step though, and thanks to my friend who already got one and loves it, I'm going to get a Gazelle I think. And no, I'm not talking some animal you see while on safari in Africa. I'm talking about that cheesy exercise machine you saw all the infomercials for back in the 90s or whenever it was. I figure if I can keep that down in the basement and whenever I'm watching a movie or tv, rather than sitting on my butt, I can do this instead and at least do a little bit of exercising.

Speaking of which, this is another I'm guilty of being an all or nothing perfectionist in the past. So instead I'm currently following/putting together a bit of a mishmash routine. lol. Besides the Gazelle I hope to get with my next pay check, I've been working out with one of my roommates ocassionally. She wanted to start P90X together. Our schedules don't match up very often though, so so far I've really only worked out with her a handful of times. But as she's doing at my house (as opposed to when I was doing it with my other friend last year and had to drive over to her place and back everyday for it) it'll be fairly simple for me to join her when I'm able to- some mornings, some afternoons.

And lastly, I think I'm going to join a gym. I've been hesitant to do so, as it would be another monthly expense. Especially when I thought I'd be doing P90X every day again. But since that's turning out not to be everyday.... my other roommate had a free pass for a friend to go with her to LA Fitness the other day, so I went swimming with her, and o...m...g! So much fun! It was so relaxing to get in the water and just do my own thing for 40 minutes. And it's go so many other advantages! First off, swimming is just great exercise in general. It's also high resistance due to the water, but at the same time less of an impact when it comes to things like shin splints and stuff. It also has the added benefit that I don't get all hot and sweaty and yucky. Do I shower afterwards, yes- but to get rid of the chlorine. Not because I feel gross. And I'm not wanting to quit after a few minutes cuz I'm just so dang hot and uncomfortable! So just that alone was enough to convince me join. But besides access to an indoor lap pool, I'll also be able to take classes (I've been thinking about a bike/spinning class) AND John is a member of LA Fitness, so we can have work out dates! How dorky but fun does that sound? I think that all of that warrants enough reasons to justify the $30 or so a month, right? (Plus, I think Emory employees get a discount.)

So that's my hodge-podge workout regimen. It's better than nothing.

Tonight I'm off to hang out with Sunny after work. I've decided to take her out to dinner on Wednesdays when I watch her to make it seem more like real sister hang out time as opposed to babysitting. I thought maybe she'd feel kind of cool if instead of sitting at home at the kitchen table reviewing her homework over a plate of Hamburger Helper, we got dinner out then headed over to Starbucks for some hot chocolate and studied there instead.


PS- Davey- if you happen to read this, don't forget to wish Dad a happy birthday today!!!! :)

Inspiring Ideas

I have been so confused lately. About all sorts of things, but mainly centered around what I want to do with my life! I know I'm still young and have plenty of time to figure it out, but I'd like to have a pretty good idea and be well on my way towards making it happen by the time I'm married with kids and complicating my life in all sorts of wonderful related ways. And as some of the ideas I'm bouncing around include going back to school for various lengths of time or taking out student loans in various amounts, I've been stressing over the decision a bit lately.

In a word, I would say I am just restless. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that what I thought I wanted to do isn't in fact what I want to do anymore. I am not happy in my day job anymore. I am envious enough of my brother's brand new adventure to be asking God for forgiveness most nights. I find myself wishing for adventure but hesitating to pick up and just leave the things that I have going for me right now.

I think I have a good idea of what I want to start pursuing, but I have to find a way to fit a beginning for that life into my current life. And it's all just got me mood-swinging like crazy! One minute I'm weepy over my indecision, the next I'm taking control of my life and making bold decisions about what my next steps should be, only to find myself second guessing it all again a few hours later.

Luckily, I've had the chance to sit down with the people that mean the most to me in life and talk with them about everything that's been on my mind. One of those people I spoke with regarding all this chaos lent me a book I mentioned earlier: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. And I just have to say that I am LOVING it!! Has it solved all my problems? No- absolutely not. It probably hasn't solved anything at all. But it has given me a wonderful perspective on what I'm going through. And it has just given me some insights into life in general that I think I was desperately lacking. I can't highlight all the wonderful tidbits that I find as I want to return the book as I received it, so I've decided to record them all right here! So that you can all benefit from them as well, and so that I can come back and remind myself of them whenever I need to. And who knows- maybe somewhere along the way you or me will have some inspired epiphany of our own!

Some of these are longer passages, some shorter. Some thought provoking and some just refreshing observations. Enjoy:

"We get robbed of the glory of life because we aren't capable of remembering how we got here. When you are born, you wake slowly to everything. Your brain doesn't stop growing until you turn twenty-six, so from birth to twenty-six, God is slowly turning the lights on, and you're groggy and pointing at things saying circle and blue and car and then sex and job and health care. The experience is so slow you easily come to believe life isn't that big of a deal, that life isn't staggering. What I'm saying is I think life is staggering and we're just used to it. We all are like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we're given--it's just another sunset, just another rainstorm moving in over the mountain, just another child being born, just another funeral."

"I've wondered, though, if one of the reasons we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life is because we don't want the responsibility inherent in the acknowledgement. We don't want to be characters in a story because characters have to move and breathe and face conflict with courage. And if life isn't remarkable then we don't have to do any of that; we can be unwilling victims rather than grateful participants."

"I also knew from the McKee seminar that most of our greatest fears are relational. It's all that stuff about forgiveness and risking rejection and learning to love. We think stories are about getting money and security, but the truth is, it all comes down to relationships."

"If the point of life is the same as the point of a story, the point of life is character transformation.
...
in nearly every story, the protagonist is transformed. He's a jerk at the beginning and nice at the end, or a coward at the beginning and brave at the end. If the character doesn't change, the story hasn't happened yet. And if story if derived from real life, if story is just a condensed version of life, then life itself may be designed to change us, so that we evolve from one kind of person to another."

"'People get stuck, thinking they are one kind of person, but they aren't.'
...
'The human body essentially recreates itself every six months. Nearly every cell of hair and skin and bone dies and another is directed to its former place. You are not who you were in February,' he told me.
...
I also wondered if he wasn't right, that we were designed to live through something rather than to attain something, and the thing we were meant to live through was designed to change us."

"My friend went on to say he was more in love with his wife than ever, which is not something men usually say to each other, even if it's true... So I know he must really be crazy about his wife.
...
'She's amazing,'...'A baby came out of her body, for crying out loud. And now she produces food. She keeps the baby alive.'"

"I realized that the idea a character is what he does makes as much sense in life as it does in the movies... the stories we tell ourselves are very different from the stories we tell the world."

And my absolute favorite idea from this book so far:

"You get a feeling when you look back on life that that's all God really wants from us, to live inside a body he made and enjoy the story and bond with us through the experience."

As cliche as it sounds, I think a lot of my anxiety is currently coming from not knowing what the meaning/purpose of life is. Because if we really knew, we wouldn't have to figure out our priorities, would we? They'd be set:
~"The purpose of life is to find love? Well ok then! The people I love are all right here. I'm set! I'll just find a job that provides the most so that I can provide the most for them."
~"The purpose of life is to learn as much as we can about the world around us? Well then screw the cost, I'm going back to school! And I'm traveling! And I'm going to see as much and learn as much as I possibly can in the 80-some odd years I have on this planet."
~"The purpose of life is to grow as close to God as humanly possible? Then I'll quit my job, go to seminary school or get a position with the church and sign up for as many missionary trips as I can."

See what I mean? Ok- so maybe I was a bit extreme in those instances, but the point still remains that if I knew exactly what it was I was supposed to be trying to achieve, or what I was supposed to be trying to find, I'd have a much better idea of what I should be doing at this point in my life. I know no one has an answer they can give me, and I'm not expecting a letter from God to show up in the mailbox explaining it all to me just because I whine a bit.

So I'm just trying to pray as much as possible, get guidance from the people God DID put in my life, and open myself up to any direction He may subtly throw my way. And that last tidbit from Donald Miller did a HUGE amount in helping to ease my worry over such an epic question. I hope you found it as inspirational and thought provoking as I do!

Another List of Accomplishments

You might have noticed another addition to my side panel. I have decided to keep track here of the books that I read. Mainly because I read a LOT more than I get around to baking or painting or any of the other items on the list of things I hope to achieve in coming months. So maybe by keeping track of this I'll actually be able to take a look and feel like I've done SOMEthing, even if it's not what I said I was SUPPOSED to be doing. haha :)

So currently this list includes any books that I've completed in 2010. The first few pick up in the middle of a series I started last year. And this isn't necessarily the order in which I've finished these books, this is just the order I could remember them in. But from here forward, it'll probably be a pretty accurate representation of the order in which I'm reading things.

I'm also not opposed to re-reading books I've enjoyed. I re-read the Harry Potter series up through whatever book was most recently released at the time before reading the newest addition, so I've read some of those several times over. And this was my 3rd or 4th time reading Ender's Game. So seeing a title on this list doesn't necessarily mean that this was the FIRST time I've read the book.

As you can tell if you follow the links, these are all fiction titles. That tends to be what I enjoy most, but occasionally I'll read a biography or some other non-fiction. Currently I'm on a bit of a fantasy kick- again, kind of obvious with the exception of just a few titles. I expect I'll be reading on my own as well as whatever my book club (see previous posting) is reading, so that will probably keep things fairly broad. I also have a book club going at work. They are, of course, all related to teamwork or leadership, etc, but so far they've all been good reads, so I haven't minded.

So check back often and let me know if you have any suggestions I should check out!

Another attempt

So here I am again. Umm..... about 3 months after my last blog? Anyways, this will consist of whatever brief update I have time for in the 10 minutes before dinner is ready. Prepare for a random list, but hopefully I'll expand on several items in later posts.

~I finished P90X- kind of wimped out at the end, but then I did a month-long boot camp: an hour workout at 5:45am 5 days a week. It kicked my butt in a good way. I'm currently on an exercise hiatus, lol. Hoping to start running either during lunch (I found a shower at work I can use) or after work sometime soon.

~John and I got all dressed up and went to the fabulous Fox theater to see the Phantom of the Opera's farewell tour. One of my favorites!!! It was wonderful. I cried at the end like always!


~I've signed the non-renewal form at my current apartment complex and am looking forward to moving into a new place- I've figured out the complex, I just have to decide on the unit, but I think after today I'm much closer to a decision.

~I have actually baked ONE item since going on and on about how excited I was to get into that! It wasn't anything out of any of my new cookbooks, however. It was a German Chocolate Cake for John's birthday :) We celebrated with his family one weekend during a family reunion at Brosnan Forest in SC, and then the next weekend he and I celebrated with a trip to the Stone Mountain Laser show, a behinds the scene tour at the Ga Aquarium, lunch at the Sundial restaurant down town, and then with a surprise party at my place! I think it all went over very well :)



Mom- I still owe you a banana cake. Don't worry- you'll get it soon!

~I have also started a couple paintings. There's not much there yet, but there are 2 fewer blank canvases sitting in my apartment at this moment, so that's a start!

~I recently co-founded a book club with some of my friends. Our first meeting is scheduled for middle of next month. For our first meeting we'll be reading The Wildwater Walking Club. I've also started reading a book my friend lent me, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. So far I'm loving it!

~I'm currently trying to figure out whether I want to continue down the path I had laid out for myself school/career wise, or if I want to try a different yellow-brick-road. I'm leaning toward the latter, I just have to figure out the details. Definitely more on that to come later.

~John's family unfortunately saw each other again not too long after that same family reunion mentioned above. His grandfather passed away unexpectedly and I went with him and his siblings down to the funeral in Savannah. The ceremony was a beautiful celebration of Ryan Garner's life. I'm sad I didn't get a chance to know him better or play that game of one-on-one Scrabble, but I can testify that he was a man that believed in hard work and loved his wife and his family and the Lord above all else. He will be missed but remembered fondly for a very long time.

~I'm still enjoying my church small group. I also recently attended a 4 week leadership program through the church. We heard different speakers on what it means to be a spiritual leader, got to find out what kind of leader we are and were given the opportunity to sign up for various leadership roles within the volunteer community at the church. I haven't signed up for anything yet, but I'm doing a little soul searching and am looking forward to picking a role. I have been to church the last 3 weeks in a row- very proud of myself for that. Missed today as I was home with family all weekend, but perhaps I can watch today's message online and get back on track next week.

~My brother left today for a year long placement teaching English in South Korea to elementary- to middle-school aged children. My fam saw him off at the airport and I cried. I'll miss him a ton, but I'm so proud of him for doing this. He's really an inspiration to me sometimes. As you might expect, I spent this whole weekend with my family hanging out and saying goodbye to my brother. We were unsure when he was leaving at first, so we spent last weekend having a goodbye party for him and spending a day/night at Calloway Gardens. When we found out his flight was today, we got to spend another weekend together. The siblings (plus John) headed to the Andretti Karting facility in Alpharetta for a day of fun, followed by Davey's last Mexican meal for quite a while.

This morning he got his last Waffle House breakfast before we saw him off.



And for now, I'm going to finish watching Inkheart with my dad and sister before heading back to my place for the night. Hopefully you'll hear more from me before 3 months next time :)

PS- Davey, wherever you are over the Pacific right now, I hope you're loving it!!!