Memorial

I wanted a pet since I could remember. I used to pester my mom and my dad again and again about how great it would be to have a pet at home--especially a cat. I promised that I'd keep up with caring for kitty and I'd scoop the litter and feed her.

Sound like familiar territory to anyone?

My parents eventually caved when I was in late elementary school and I got my wish.

Over the years, we became the best of friends. She tidied the socks I left around the house and helped protect me when I was being scolded for something. She kept my mom on her toes and chewed the wires only when my mom was looking. She knew all her meal times and promptly notified us when it was exactly 6pm (or 6:30am, for that matter).

When I left for school, I saw her less and I guess I never really noticed it but she wasn't young anymore. In early 2010, she was diagnosed with a genetic heart problem and the cardiologist told us she wasn't going to get past June.

But this kiddo was a fighter and she made it a whole year while keeping us busy with all her hijinks. Ever try pilling a cat successfully? We were doing this twice daily. And she was considered "easy". Despite being sick, she kept the house lively and there was never a dull moment. She even managed to keep the little one in check.

Lots of people talk about rescuing animals and taking care of them; the animals were fortunate to have those to care for them. But, in our case, I know we were the ones who were fortunate to have her.

Green with ENVY!

Today is totally coming up Milhouse! I'm so excited. I got my Travel Roller in the mail and I've only used it for a few minutes and I love it already.

I've also got a challenge at work; and for those of you who know me pretty well, know that I keep a competitive streak well hidden... except when you call me out and challenge me to a du-el (complete with glove). I've got a bet with my manager about how fast I can roll out a tactic/procedure. What's in it for me? Other then the fact that I can totally wow her? A free lunch! Free's always awesome and the whole situation is really just a big win-win.

Oh, and I finally got a hold of the elusive (not who you think, Amber) NDC office. Practices are well on their way to being booked. Hurrah!

Anyways, that's probably not that exciting for y'all. Instead, let's take a look at something else that really gets me excited: pretty clothes. No, not just "pretty" but beautiful and/or stunning. As much as I love men's suits (or maybe that's men IN suits...especially the 3-piece kind--The Mentalist, anyone?), I love jewel toned dresses and tops and lovely tailored pieces and evening gowns. Vintage and era specific clothing... all things that really catch my eye. Really, my love of beautiful fashion doesn't have any real boundaries.

I was chatting with a coworker today whose brother is getting married this year. In their culture, looking like you're a million bucks can really be a big deal. But, we all have budgets so she asked me if it was worth going to Buffalo to check out some of the stores there or head to NYC to look for something nice (and effectively, 'safe'). Actually, she probably needs 2-3 different dresses/outfits for the family weddings. (I'm not secretly jealous because it's a costly endeavour I had to partake in, during 2011--it's nice to get a break)

While we were talking, she was trying to communicate the type of outfit she wanted to purchase. Anyone who's tried to do this knows that it's just easier to find a picture; Kate Winslet's Golden Globe dress of 2012 was her aim:

It's a classy and pretty dress, isn't it? But, it just didn't catch my eye. At least not in the same way that Lea Michele's green dress from the SAG Awards (2010?) did:

I watch Glee and the way they dress Rachel Berry is just too hilariously awesome. I'm never sure if she's trying to play innocent school girl or sexy librarian... or grandma. And that's why I would never have thought that she could look so stunning. Someone's been so kind as to post several of the beautiful dresses that Lea Michele has worn since coming into the spotlight, on their own blog.

Enh, who knew that Monday could be so awesome!

Uhh Earth to Matilda, I was at a day spa. Day, D-A-I-Y-E. Okay?

--Derek Zoolander

No, I wasn't gone for a week where nobody could find me; I had a fabulous weekend. Friday started with yet another birthday dinner from my favourite person and I got to watch The Watchmen. I read the comic/graphic novel and thoroughly enjoyed the social commentary (though was somewhat distraught at times). The movie was certainly longer than I would be able to keep my attention... but I think that it had to be all done (there was still parts missing and they changed the ending) to make it an effective movie.

On Saturday, I helped my mom get a birthday present that she was ecstatic with: a mega deal for 6 pairs of cordory pants which were a savings of well over $300. Yea, I know--what a deal, huh? I am pretty certain that the present itself was not in fact the pants... but the fact that the deal was so awesome. I wish all my clothing sales were that awesome.

Then we headed to an invigorating yoga class with a fabulous yoga instructor which we did for 1.5 hours an the 26th floor of my favourite person's condo-apt. It was such a great feeling to be able to stretch out and unravel all the tight and uncomfortable bits.

Dinner was a delicious grass-fed striploin steak at 5 Doors North with my 'sister' from UW. It was so great that we didn't realize we had been chatting for over 3 hours!

Sunday was the cherry on top of the sundae. I was swept away to a day of relaxing fun and bonding with my bestie. We went to Hammam Spa on King West for custom facials and steam room stuff. Then we proceeded to the Distillery District for a (super) late lunch at Pure Spirits: Oyster House & Grill. Yum-o. Their chowdah was awe-som-o.

Anyways, without further ado, I present several photos taken from our little trek out that way...

This one is my favourite.

The following are some more that need some post-processing but what the hell. Sans post-processing!

All aperture priority with my nifty50.

I'm Gonna Keep on Rollin'

For the last few years, I've been complaining about my age being a cause of the symptoms I've been experiencing... slower healing time, aches and pains, needing more sleep and possibly caring less about what others think of me.

While most things are tolerable to a variable degree, I've started considering the additional aches and pains to become a hindrance to my daily activities and disruptive to my necessary periods of focus while at work... or listening to friends talk to me about their troubles or how the day went.

I decided to up my medical coverage so that I would have the benefit of massages and I started to incorporate more stretching while nobody's looking. Even basic core strengthening is something I try to incorporate regularly while I'm standing about.

I suspect that my poor posture (which used to be perfect, like Seven) and aches and pains are caused by my lack of physical activity--particularly yoga and a sedentary work-life. It doesn't help that my desk set-up should seriously be shot.

I was watching Dragon's Den one Wednesday evening and one of the pitches that came out was called the "Travel Roller"; click here to watch the pitch.

That's Arysta Bogner-Wood, one of the owners/creators of the product.

I've heard of foam rollers for tight IT bands, hamstrings or even calves and thought, if physiotherapists are recommending/prescribing patients to use these to help loosen these muscles to reduce/eliminate pain caused by tight muscles, there has to be some use to doing all this. My brother who is far more active than I ever was, has a similar product and said that it helped him when he was running more. (I should mention that I have been testing his for the last week and don't find it particularly well designed and too many bobbles and bits)

There was a special price being offered and Arysta herself was answering my online inquires with patience (I'm really slow, and indecisive) in a very timely manner--good customer service is a big deal to me. I submitted my order late last night for an order of the "truth blue" roller with acupressure balls.

In about a week's time, I'll start using my new truth blue roller and it'll be the start to body without pain. I hope to incorporate a regular (20-30 min, daily) routine of self massaging with the balls (ha) and roller. I'll be sure to let y'all know how this goes.

Just in: Solar Flares Forecasted for 2012 and 2013

I haven't had many posts about things that intrigue me.

I've always been fascinated with nature and science--perhaps the reason for my desire to get a science Bachelors from school. Even though I'm not working anywhere near a science related industry, I find myself always quickly clicking on the article link about something that happens in nature.

The latest one to catch my eye is from CBC about "Massive solar flares not expected to cause disruptions". What exactly is going on? Well, our Sun is an active star that has "cycles"--11 years to be exact. In essence, every 11 years, there is a peak of activity in our Sun, such as solar flares.

These solar flares are eruptions which spew out into space (solar wind). As a result, our solar system gets a spewing of ions, electrons and atoms in the form of radiation. First, electromagnetic radiation, then proton radiation and finally, the plasma from the sun (coronal mass ejection).

Usually, our technology dependant society gets a little worried because all this solar ejection can sometimes disrupt the "radiation" which we enjoy... in the form of cellular phone service, radio, television... etc. In other situations, it can knock out entire power grids, like it did in 1989, for Quebec. And we can't forget about the astronauts out in space or the satellites that carry all our signals... but a really neat bonus for us Torontonians is that we have the opportunity to view the aurora borealis in our backyards.

And really, who cares if the power grid goes out for a day or two. I don't have to go to work!

This storm has been classified as the largest one since the Halloween Storms of 2003. The Halloween Storms were so powerful that they were seen as far south as Florida and Texas!

Bobbles and bits

The daily grind is already starting to wear me down; and it's only January.

I set out on a mission to do something creative and relaxing; and nothing that remotely resembled work. I asked my friend Amber if she wanted to take a day to celebrate our January birthdays with a day of crafting.

Saturday came around and we went out to Queen West and found ourselves some beads and bobbles and bits and headed back to her place to do something totally different than what we spend the majority of our weeks doing.

This is one of the pieces that came out of our day:

I tried to do a macro shot with my kit lens (18-55mm) but it's not working. The features just aren't coming out sharp enough (and they should be, in a macro shot). I was in Av mode with a low aperture setting and an auto ISO (I should probably learn how to get those ratios right). I'm going to do some reading about macro shots...

(Event) Planning is...

Becoming a hobby.

A few years ago, I thought that event planning was a "fun" and interesting sort of thing to be doing. I actually considered it as a living (since I was getting bored at work--surprise!) and considered looking into the diploma/certification. I mean let's face it, it really is often just a big party that you're putting together.

I'm an antisocial person, you say... and organizing parties is for social people. Sure, I don't throw parties in general, but I like the logistics of a "party". The coordination and the sourcing of vendors, and the schmoozing of key guests. Socializng isn't my thing but I figured that I'd be so busy running around that I wouldn't have to socialize. In my mind's eye, event planners are these super anal retentive type A personality women (rarely men) who have everything planned down to a T and the execution; a flawless flow of events with every contingency considered and planned for.

I've been around event planning since high school. My first stint to get a very indirect taste for this was through a (now) colleague who happens to head a successful marketing company. He started in his late 20s and hit an untapped market and now, over a decade later, he's got one of the biggest "nerd events" in the country. I never left with a bad impression and so, I always thought that it seemed like a fun thing to consider.

Even my dragon boat seasons are also an extensive amount of planning and coordination of people, resources, finances and strategic direction. For the four month season, we start in December of the previous year and pretty much go on until the end of the summer. I mentioned in a previous post about the amount of sleep I was lacking. Often times, the time spent planning and coordinating was all for a few days, hours or even minutes of a specific regatta or event.

Tonight, our large corporate machine hosted an employee affinity network event in the spirit of the Lunar New Year. This is something that many (if not all) Asian countries celebrate around January or February and this is usually the most significant and longest holiday.

The planning and time that went into this from a minor contributing member (i.e. me) was a substantial amount of work and time! I started to realize the amount of time that I've been spending on planning this event... I think that a lot of my spare time goes into my planning of events or "seasons".

As a result, I have come to appreciate the events I attend (be it a few hours or several months) and recognize the amount of work that people can put into such an endeavour. It isn't something that should be taken for granted since it takes more energy to put something together than just to passively experience something.

I did get a break tonight though. I spent the evening snapping photos of the participants, performers and guests. Because I was enlisted as one of the "official" photogs, I'm not permitted to post people photos... which is fine. I managed to learn how to use one of the features on my camera for exposure stops.

Ta-da:

In case you don't know what this is, this is a chinese caligraphy brush and the stand it perches on.

Coupon Squirreling

Have you ever taken a walk along Bay Street to check out the buildings of the various banks? There's a lot of history there. The most prominent building in my mind is Commerce Court North (CCN).

History lesson!
Commerce Court North was built in the 1930s in an art deco style as the headquarters of the Canadian Bank of Commerce (now, CIBC). The driving factor of the major financial players in essence goes, image builds consumer confidence and increased consumer confidence means more clients and more clients mean bigger bottom line. I mean, would you invest/bank your money with a financial institution that was operating out of a trailer? I didn't think so. So as the history goes, each bank was trying to out do the other one by building the bigger, more impressive building (some things in finance still haven't changed). If memory serves me correctly, CCN was built in response to BMO's impressive neoclassical style structure out in Montreal.

It is notable that the building was the tallest building in the British Empire/Commonwealth for three decades. At the time, it was "one of the most opulent corporate headquarters in Canada" (Wikipedia).

When it came down to the Canadian Bank of Commerce to erect their headquarters, they wanted to project the strength of the bank as a sound financial institution which gave confidence for their customers to bank/invest with. One of the motifs you'll see along the entrance way (and I'll consider getting a photo for this in a later post) on King Street is the Squirrel. The epitome of thrift and savings!

I like to collect coupons from people and places I frequent and squirrel them away. This coupon clipping fanatic actually isn't new. When the neighbourhood paper arrived (my brother also used to deliver this paper), I'd grab the stack of flyers and go through each one, reviewing sales, news and potential coupons. Then I'd make the list for my mom and tell her about the deals for meat or produce (or the junk food that I wanted her to get--can't blame a kid for trying!).

Since most of my resolutions/goals pertain to me improving myself and making me more efficient and better rounded overall: become better at taking photos... figure out what I want to do with myself... get on the trainer regularly... finding better ways to do things etc... I decided it was time to organize myself and get those coupons together; enter the poly expandable folder--exclusively FOR COUPONS! I don't have a lot of coupons in there, but I welcome any of my readers to suggest or send me coupons to use. And who knows, I'll probably link up some good coupons on here if I get any!

Oh, and if you get the chance to head out that way, go into CCN and check out the main foyer... look up.

Larry Welcomes Feedback and Comments

This video was shared with me via Facebook.

Larry Smith is by far, one of the most pragmatic lecturers/speakers I have ever had the privilege to listen to. I took his Econ 102 (Intro to Macroeconomics) class in my second year at the recommendation of several students who had just heard about the sheer popularity of his lectures. Most of the lectures which he had were not just full of his students, but students who dropped in and weren't registered!

I found out what a TED talk is this year after reading an article in the Toastmaster monthly magazine and after my mom showed me another talk held by a doctor who happened to cure her own MS. So far, what I've seen of the TED talks, there has been some very engaging speeches by people from all walks of life, on all sorts of topics. Literally, if you can think it, it probably has been talked about or, it is an eligible topic.

Anyways, Prof. Smith speaks to a bright-eyed undergraduate class about their future (which is pretty dim, btw) and why they'll all fail. Though I'm certain that the intent is not to beat the dream or desire out of people, I feel that his talk resonates strongly because of the topic and the ideas which he touches upon in his 15 minutes.

If you've got the time/chance, certainly take the time to sit back and just listen; then think and apply.

p.s. Larry does indeed welcome feedback and/or comments

"Yeehaw! Yippi Kayo!" to my Lords & Ladies

I declare it my month-long birthday celebrations and today, I go out in style.

The morning starts rather early (for a Saturday) and I'm out to the shooting range in Markham. This is the second time I've gone shootin'.

We pick a .9mm Glock handgun and a pink Hello Kitty .22mm rifle (you know know better than to say "oh man, please don't pick the pink Hello Kitty one... I don't want to be caught dead shooting that"). I don't have photos to post yet but I really really REALLY enjoy shooting guns. Is that healthy? Sure! I'm not pointing the loaded gun at a living being who is the source of my frustrations or breaking things that don't belong to me. Instead, I'm calmly and safely imagining the face of my frustrations on the target and practicing my aim at the range.

I didn't do too shabby, btw. Heh, no, not the head shots... I have to work on using the .22mm. My .9mm shots were concentrated on the body of the target.

Looks like the .9mm handgun is my weapon of choice. Watch out, zombies! Note to self, need to work on cardio and remember to aim for the head. (Did ya catch the reference to Zombieland?)

Then the evening commenced with... MEDIEVAL TIMES!! *royal trumpets*

We were cheering for the B&W Knight who's the second from the right. These guys really are great at what they do. Sure, it's a little like watching the WWF when you were a kid or dreaming about being a warrior (I do) in combat, fighting for honour, valour and chivalry. It might be a mega fantasy but I think the best part is you can lose yourself with the child-like wonder and fantasies that you don't have the opportunity to partake much, as an adult.

My first photo attempt for the evening was when they set up one of the challenges right in front of our table. I knew this could be a great chance for some action photos. The first one didn't come out clearly and the Blue knight looks like he's going at 299,792,458 m/s...

I adjusted the shutter speed in time for the Green knight:

I don't remember the shutter speed but even then, I found it a little too slow. By then, I had run out of chances to take more photos :(

Although I was sitting in the B&W knight's section, I have to admit, there's something intriguing about the evil Green knight. His evil laugh gives you the chills and you want him to lose but that thing that makes him sinister also makes you want to secretly cheer him on. Perhaps it's the evil laugh he has--amazing. I'll be practicing my evil laugh for future instances where I require it. You just never know when that'll come handy.

About-Collage

Today, I am 18 years old with 12 years of experience. It also happens to be Friday the 13th.

For weeks (perhaps months or year(s)? It's certainly become more frequent lately), I've been lamenting about how turning 30 would make me old and how my memory is failing me or how there are more aches and pains than I used to have. Even staying up past a certain hour leaves me nearly incapacitated the following days (note plural use of the word).

Google regularly does this thing where they modify their logo to represent a specific event of the day--often a birthday. There was not a specific one today. I have friends who work at Google... if they were to create one for my birthday, I'm sure it should include some of the items below:

This happens to be an attempt at photos for 2012 but I still have issues with lighting at home and good composure. Looks like one of the themes will be creating good composure with items as your subject. Regardless, I thought I'd showcase the "Survival Kit" I was provided at work today:

1. pamphlets: arthritis and menopause are 2 conditions that aging women should be considering. After all, according to Health Canada, 1 of 6 Canadians have some type of arthritis and 60% are under the age of 55 (2003). Menopause... well y'all know what that's about.
2. magnifying glass with light: too bad the batteries are tricky to get in, for those affected with arthritis!

3. night cream: by the time you're 40, it's too late; apparently you can never start too early

4. tweezers: for those chin hairs that sprout up randomly from menopause
5. sudokus: for keeping the brain sharp
6. sticky notes: different coloured arrows in case you forget where the bathroom is
7. denture safe gum: to keep those pearly whites, white; and the breath, fresh

8. double mirror: one magnifying and the other regular
9. discrete bladder control pads: for those days where you need a little extra protection
10. post-it notes: so I won't forget stuff
11. denture adhesive: to keep those pearly whites in place
12. pill box: to keep track of all my happy pills
13. metamucil: you know... to keep things moving along
14. special eye cream & super line prevention: so that things will stay smoother, longer
15. the proper signage: to warn others of my condition

16. chocolate covered prunes: just kidding. Chocolate macaroons so that I can keep my blood sugar at normal levels

I would say that of all the presents I have ever received, this has got to be the most practical and necessary. For example, I already put my pills in the pill tower and labelled the days of the week. I might add I was rather excited when I was doing this because I considered purchasing a pill keeper at one point but couldn't justify paying for it because I felt that my brain should be in suitable enough condition to remember. But now I don't need to!

Heh... joke's on my coworkers: I'm using 80% of that stuff already!

Outlier

It's raining today and it's nearly the middle of January. It should be noted that I live in the land of ice and snow--Canada.

Any eye-rolls there? or perhaps little yelps of glee at there not being any snow on the ground so far. That's right folks, no snow. We barely even had a white Christmas. It's not just the lack of snow, but the temperatures have been really mild for January.

Needless to say, I'm not a fan of rain--I really hate going out in the rain (there goes my chances of ever living in Brazil or Ireland?) even with galoshes, umbrella, rain hat and rain coat. It's by far, one of the least favourite experiences for me. It's even more of a PITA when it's part winter and part rain.

I ran out of the house with my favourite umbrella I bought on a trip to Quebec City.

(this photo is from my last photo challenge so it doesn't technically count for 2012 but it happens to be one of my favourite ones)

When I tried to close it this morning, it popped open again! The stopper-clip thingy is broken so it doesn't get caught on the hook!!! I also noticed a pin-hole. Woe is me :(

I saw a pile of umbrellas in the rubbish bin in the subway station and had a thought... "most people probably don't even realize that the umbrella is broken until they use it". They discover it's broken and dispose of it. Like many things I own, my first thought was how I could get it repaired. Am I the only one who thinks like this? I don't think it's because I'm a hippy-dippy type of person but I usually try to find a way to repair things that are broken. Maybe because when I get something, I genuinely enjoy it for purposes beyond its practical uses. Or, maybe people are just of a disposable mind-set.

How many people do you know, would pick an orange and magenta skull and hearts umbrella with purple lace fringe? Gotta be someone with an uncommon mind-set.

Bathroom Project

I wanted to take photos after work today.

My original plan was to use 30-45 minutes after work to walk up Yonge and snap photos. I found little that was inspiring. On the way home, I was lamenting to my "Companion" that I had taken zero photos for the project today because I felt no inspiration around me. He suggested that I attempt a project that a photog friend of his tried: lock yourself in your bathroom with your camera and then create a small portfolio of photos derived from your bathroom.

Crappiest project ever! I spent 30 minutes and the only things that really inspired me were the medals from my dragon boat festivals.

And my denture tablets which made an interesting macro-shot. Yes, I have denture tablets in my bathroom.

I felt that because there was so much font on the packages at different fields of depth that it initially confuses the viewer because the area in focus is not obvious. The lighting selection is also somewhat questionable. A tricky project... :(

Aritificial Intelligence

Run run run as fast as you can. You'll never catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!

While it is true that one can avoid or run away from impending danger (such as a hungry bear), there are equally as many things which one can not run/hide from.

I had a conversation with my manager/boss last night before the end of the day. I took a business tactic  to review, along with the template and the other relevant items. She started going through the report template saying to cut this or to add that or modify such then stopped short. She said to me "I could have sworn that we've had this conversation already."

I responded that it was the first I had remembered hearing about it. But then, this woman is blessed with the memory of an elephant and these days, I seemingly have the memory capacity of a goldfish. Apparently we had spoken about it at some point and I forgot that we chatted. Gooo me! What a way to make an impression.

This isn't the first time I've noticed that my memory just 'aint what it used to be. I rely on technological doo-dads to get me to the next meeting and remind me when something is due. But here's the caveat, if you didn't set up the reminder, you're screwed. Since I started working, my dependency on these gadgets has become more and more heavy. Ever go the day without checking your smartphone or email... even when it hasn't alerted you of anything? Yea, me neither.

The reliance on these doo-dads is probably what is contributing to my decline in memory... and not at all my pending birthday...

Getting up on the Right Side of the Bed

I worked a coop job in university and had a coworker who seemed to function on very little sleep. He used to tell me, "sleep is for the weak. I will sleep when I'm good and dead."

If that's the case, I should probably be heading to a sleep gym. Last summer was the first time I really felt how sleep deprived I could be. I was doing way too many things and not sleeping enough.

"People complain about not getting enough sleep all the time... you're probably just wasting time by sitting in front of the tv or computer." I know that's what I'd tell me if I heard the complaint. But, in truth, I was running a dragon boat team (we went to Montreal too), I got pulled into a community group, an alumni group, a local cat rescue and I was also told to think about what I wanted to do with myself in the long-run. With the exception of the last item, all things that I chose to participate in. That's why the Christmas holidays was SOOO enjoyable.

The holidays helped me realize that I really needed to work on getting my sleep schedule into a routine so that I would actually get enough sleep and manage to function doing the things I wanted to do.

Enter, my Blackberry Playbook, Playberry. Berry for short.

The first app I downloaded was the sleep tracker. I've tracked a week's worth so far and I'm really getting a better idea about the sleep pattern I've been creating for myself. So far, I sleep on average, 7hr 44min. Not too shabby! The only problem is that it's looking more like a daily stock market chart than a normal established sleep pattern. Just because I sleep 12 hours one night, and 5 the other, doesn't make this, by any stretch of the imagination, sustainable or close to my goal.

Hopefully in a month's time (that's how long it takes to build in a habit, I'm told), I won't look (act, and sound) like a cast member of the Walking Dead.

Meet my Robot Friend

I've gotten creative with my "Companion" with regards to our Christmas exchanges.

This isn't anything new but rather an accidental tradition where we set a limit on our gift exchange. I think as children and perhaps young adults, somewhere, the message and the purpose of Christmas got a little lost among the growing list of "WANTS". I was talking with a friend about gift budgets for 'companions' and told her my budget was $75CDN. That's enough, I think. But she gave me a blank stare and responded with a "what are you ever going to get with that much???"

It's a good thing that in addition to my very expensive tastes, I have some less expensive tastes as well. I have a knack for geeky toys and games. Good thing for the gifter, huh? Meet my Robot Friend, Awesom-o.

He comes with two shopping bags too!
I took this photo of my subject on my laptop just to get started with my photo project this week.

This is how cool Awesom-o is! Complete with the toothpaste eating disheveled Eric Cartman on the inside. Boy, he looks exhausted.

I thought I'd mix it up a bit and place my subject in a jungle-like setting to mimic the trauma that could have potentially caused the expression on his face.
My initial take was poorly lit because of the bright background. I decided to experiment with lighting.

The first one came out too bright with my flash and washed out the original bright background.

I attempted the desk lamp at a downward angle facing slightly away from the subject to reduce any unwanted shadows. This is clearly the incorrect type of lighting and I'll need to find something with less of a yellow tint. Maybe I'll consider using a reflective board to bounce the outside light off the front of my subject next time.

This post is primarily for the photo blog/challenge I've decided to set up for myself (along with my colleague). I have a DSLR Canon T2i and I want to learn how to take better photos. I hate getting somewhere and having to make a billion adjustments only to realize I've lost the shot. The goal is to snap a minimum of 3 photos in a given week and then post by the Sunday. You'll probably be seeing quite a few of these types of posts. And who knows, I might get better at this ;)

And so it begins... again

This year is going to be different. This blog's going to be different.

I've created and closed three or four blogs by now. None of which ever got past their 1 year anniversary. I'm still not too sure what it was that got me drifting away from posting more regularly but I did. I remember feeling pressured and compulsed to write something, say something, get attention. But when the purpose or driving factor isn't coming from somewhere internal, the drive eventually wanes...

So, I've resolved to creating this blog to post things that interest me. Things that I end up getting involved in (voluntarily or otherwise), things I want to become better versed in and any areas where my creativity is able to fly free. And of course, the occasional random brain fart that presents itself while I'm riding the public transit or strolling the city streets.