400th Post!

Somewhere on this blog exists 399 posts. It's amazing that I have written that many times on here. For those of you who continue to check from time to time, I hope this has not been too dull. I don't lead an incredibly interesting life. I think I used to write more interesting blogs but my job and daily routine are so tiring that I find myself wanting to be in bed by 9 pm. I remember I used to see this in my older sister and wonder how anyone could be so inactive. Now, I find myself asking the same question but in the mirror.

I definitely was not made to work the 9-5 life. I am hoping to get involved in some things this fall. They will both make my life, and hopefully this blog, more exciting.

I spent a majority of this weekend working on a paper. A paper? Yes, despite graduating a few months ago, my weekend was spent splitting time between band practice and a paper. Feels like a standard college weekend to me. I am submitting this paper-proposal to be presented at the national psychological and legal conference held in March. This year it is an international conference and that means two things. Getting in is harder, but getting in looks even better. I am submitting research on potential jurors perceptions of risk factors that could lead a juvenile to giving a false confession. The false confession rate for juveniles is scary. It is really an interesting area and I love my research. The paper is due to the grad student overseeing the project tomorrow and then to my boss next week. Official submissions are in September. Acceptance means a huge booster to my resume, experience, and a free vacation of sorts to Miami Beach. Yes on all accounts, please.

Band practice went incredible well this weekend. After a dilemma of losing our drummer, potentially having to drop the show, cancel practice and can the reunion, we were able to enlist my drummer from high school to fill in. He came up with his kit from DC to practice with us and it was a lot of fun. It was the first time a band has practiced in there in 5 years - wow! It felt like it had been only week. The show is this saturday at a BYOB swim club party.

This is definitely a very very busy time for me right now. Work is in overdrive with assessments, this paper-proposal is a big deal, and the show this weekend is right around the corner. September is now not only looking nice as a break from the heat but also a break from the work. Hopefully, if things die down and I really feel comfortable with the day-to-day I can stick to the plan of finding a clinical setting to volunteer my Saturdays. Fingers crossed!

(As I am sure I have mentioned on here before, I always find a way to be really productive doing anything else when I have pressing work due. Today I spent my day cleaning out the pantry and refrigerator of foods we don't ever eat/were stale/had expired. Here is a picture of condiments I removed from the door of the refrigerator. This was not all of them. Yeesh!)

Another Anniversary

On April 9th, 2009 I started this blog. April 9th, 2010 rolled around and I did not make any note that it had turned 1 years old. I think that is partially because for the first few months of this blog I was not really sure what the purpose was. That was more of a trial period, to see what would happen or if I could even keep it going.

On July 30th, this blog gained a purpose. Somehow, while out that day or maybe it was earlier that week, I had thought up the idea of a digital trail, a photographic version of the Hanzel and Grettel breadcrumb trail that they left to be able to trace their steps back. I set out with a goal of taking a picture every day and posting it on this blog. The picture could represent something I did or saw that day, a place I visited, and so on. Essentially, this picture would capture a moment in time for me. They each are something I saw or was in the presence of on that particular day. Down the road, I would be able to follow my days, weeks, and months back through these images.

While I did not succeed at posting every day due to two trips that kept me from a computer and maybe one or two other days, for the most part I kept my promise and achieved my goal. Today, one year later I have made over 300 breadcrumb posts. I have taken more than twice as many pictures. Very few of them could be photographically significant to an outsider. To me, however, each of them is a visual representation of something or somewhere for each day of the past year of my life. For most of them, I can look at them and remember what I was doing or where I was when I took that picture. That alone makes the project a success.

To the future: I have no plans to stop. Maybe eventually I will put this project to rest. For now, my philosophy that the world is beautiful and everything is worth capturing keeps me motivated to continue.

Thanks for reading.

Half-birthdays

Do we ever really celebrate half birthdays? I know there are sixth month land marks for relationships and such, but birthdays? I think the closest we come to that is as kids, referring to our age down to the fraction. We never really pinpoint what day is our half birthday, but we might generally know that we are not 4 but actually 'four and uh-haff'.

Well while it is no celebration, today marks the 6 month anniversary since I started my Breadcrumb project. I could be worded as an anniversary, it could also be considered a birthday as 6 months ago this project was born. Either works. Regardless, since its inception I have been challenged to find new things to take picture of on days I don't seemingly go anywhere new, and other days, travel somewhere new in order to get a new photo. Sometimes I'll take a walk, or go a different way back from class or from work to both get a new subject for the picture, but also to see something new for myself. So it has been an all around positive experience and once I am glad to have started.

Invitations have been sent out for Movie Night number 2. For the second week, I have decided to show The Brothers Bloom. I am already excited about the night. While I am nervous about everyone's reception of the film, I am also excited that already there are more people RSVP'd as coming than came last time, and we still have 2 more days before the screening.

If you can't be there and you have not seen the movie I do suggest checking it out. It is a really smoothly done con-man film with an emotional core to it that really sets it apart from most con movies while also having a quirkiness to it that makes all of the main characters stand out and feel fresh.

Thanks for reading.

150

i feel like i was just posting about my 100th blog update and it is already number 150. crazy.

law and order: svu marathons kill my day.
getting in bed early tonight so I might be more productive tomorrow.

Lesson of the day: too much honey on honey glazed chicken

another celebration

a little while ago i celebrated my 100th blog post, and today I have reached another blogging landmark. today is the 100th post for my breadcrumb project. back in july i decided to start making a post once a day of a picture that in some way related to the days events whether it was something i had done, somewhere i had been, something i had seen, etc. Today marks the 100th 'breadcrumb'.
Recently I realized that I would be coming up on this post and decided to figure out both when it would be, and to see some of my past posts by starting from the beginning and looking through them. I realized that somehow the quarterly posts all, by chance, happened to be noteworthy pictures or events.

Breadcrumb #25 - Picture of the photograph of my grandparents framed in my house

Breadcrumb #50 - Philadelphia Eagles home opener

Breadcrumb #75 - Where The Wild Things Are midnight release photo

Picture 100 then was pressured because after realizing these pictures happened to coincide with those posts I thought about what I could have as my 100th picture while still wanting to not plan it out. Ultimately I decided not to plan it and see what I came across today. I took and am posting this picture because while it may seem mundane it has significance. This captures the final roster for my final semester at Fordham. Having registered this morning, I felt like it made sense to use this as my 100th image. How did we get to be choosing our final 4 or 5 (or less if you are that ahead) classes of our college careers already?