Deployment

Got some bad news tonight, and got some good news tonight. My brother Jon, one of my three brothers, was been told he will be deployed in September. All three of my brothers have been or are currently enlisted in the armed forces. My brother David was in the Army and spent over a year in Iraq, and my brothers Justin and Jon are both currently enlisted in the Air Force. The good news is that Jon will be deployed in a small country on the eastern side of the Saudi peninsula called Qatar. According to Jon, this is a good thing, as these people have friendly sentiments toward the American troops stationed there. Regardless, another brother is entering a hostile foreign country, with another potentially going there as well. I really hope that any of my family reading this has already heard, but if not, I'm sure Jon will be calling you soon. Everyone please remember our brothers and sisters, daughters and sons who are risking their lives daily fighting this senseless war.

Childhood Toys

We were helping Steph's mom and dad move some cabinets into her Grandma's garage tonight. I was looking around, trying to find something interesting to shoot, when I saw this horse off to one side. I immediately remembered having one of these as a kid. I can't really remember much beyond that, only that my siblings and I used to beat the heck out of it. It was a plastic horse mounted to a steel frame by springs, and you would sit on it and bounce. Yeah, that's about it. Tech wasn't quite then what it is today. This one is far more styalized and expressive in the face than mine was, but it still was a lot of fun.

Pizza Time

I did really bad at groceries last week. It's never good when you wake up and you have absolutely no idea what you're cooking for dinner that night. It's an odd situation, since Steph and I eat at completely different times and we eat completely different food (Steph's a vegetarian). I guess this week I'll have to actually make a list....

I found out last night at work that Chrysler again is taking applications for jobs at our plant. If anyone's interested, the address is www.dcchourlyjobs.com. They're hiring for part time, which is Friday and Mondays (and Saturdays when we work them), and they're also hiring "full time temporary", which is similar to what I am right now. It seems this may just be summer help, but with all the buyouts and retirement packages coming, who knows what can happen.

The Challenges of a Daily Blog

One of the things I've found challenging about this project is consistently finding new and interesting to shoot and write about. When it comes to this kind of thing, I can be a bit of a perfectionist, so it's difficult for me on days like today when nothing particularly interesting happens. While this can be frustrating at times, I think that days like today are especially important. I think that days like today can really help me to expand my vision photographically. It really forces me look at things in very different ways. By trying to figure out how I can make these everyday, objects look different, interesting, and relevant, I'm really exercising my creative muscles. I've also been spending much more time in Photoshop, so getting practice in that is also very good for me. The "One a Day" aspect of this blog is challenging, but hopefully in the long run I know it will be worth it.

Reading Habits

I don't read as much as I used to. I used to read a lot. The last couple of years, I really only read things online, such as blogs, news sites, or message boards. I went through a period where I was reading a large amount of history books, based mostly on World War II, and now the majority of my reading is in the realm of non-fiction. I really don't know why that is, but I think that my changing tastes in literature stem from reaching a certain point in my life where my interests are migrating to more practical things. I've gone back and tried to read again some of the books I really enjoyed as a younger man, and find that, for the most part, some of the books I loved then are really quite bad. I just orderer this book last week, Fast Food Nation, and I also ordered another entitled The Omnivore's Dilemma. Both books focus on the American diet, and both were critically acclaimed. I'm looking forward to reading them, but I'm concerned I'll never want to eat again!

Tea Time

Our local grocery store, Woodmans, had a new display in the coffee isle. You know the displays of all the different whole bean coffees, all different blends that you can choose and grind in the store? Now they have a similar display for tea. I was really captivated by the display for a good 5 minutes. All the different blends were really interesting, visually speaking. Some had dried fruit, some were just leaves, and some had things I couldn't even identify. It was very interesting to me. I decided to try a couple different blends. This one is called Chinese Gunpowder, and holy cow is it strong. I'm typically a coffee guy, but it's nice to try something different.

Cutting the Grass

Well, it's that time of year again. I was able to get outside today and do some yard work. I have to admit, the first time I have to mow I really don't mind doing it. It's not too hot, the air smells sweet, and after being cooped up inside all winter, I welcome any chance to spend some time outside. All too soon, however, it becomes another chore that I put off as long as I can get away with it.

It was such a beautiful day today. I got out of bed relatively early, around 3:30, so I didn't miss as much of the day as I usually do. Right now it's about 82° outside, but it's really windy. I was going to do some burning, but I'm not really keen on burning down my garage. I guess it will have to wait.