Off By A Day

When I started the breadcrumbs project, my first picture was taken at Llanerch Diner. We were supposed to go last night as my friend who is moving to Texas leaves this week and we were to hang out there. The outing was postponed to tonight. So while the Lost-like start and end being the same did not occur, I think it's still fair game.

Plus, it goes to show how little has changed despite how much as changed. This place which I still frequent on weekends summer after summer, year after year is now one of the few constants that span that time. Friends have moved away, we have graduated college, careers have started, some friends are engaged, one is pregnant and I am at the eve of my 23rd birthday. Sheesh. No need to reflect anymore on that.

Goodnight!

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.

A Cause Worth Your Time

Falling Whistles

Time To Shine

Tomorrow I have to test at the facility where I work. I have observed enough and have been deemed prepared enough to conduct the testing on my own under observation. I am a little nervous. Fingers crossed!

Oh Tuesdays, My Arch-nemesis

Today was impressive. It's easy to reflect on after the whole thing has passed but in the moment today was one of the worst days I can/could remember. Just about everything went wrong. Ready for the run down?

So, woke up at 6:20 as always. Was showered and pretty much ready to walk out the door by 6:45. At 6:50 I headed downstairs in search of my keys. Typically I have my keys, wallet, phone, and ipod all next to each other on my dresser in my room. Sometimes, however, I leave my keys downstairs in the kitchen. After searching for a good 5 minutes both downstairs and back up in my room I was losing hope. Then I realized where they most likely where, and it was not good.

Yesterday I went to the gym. My two sisters were taking a class early enough that I wouldn't make it in time to go with them and would have to drive separate. My dad was in the same boat, but he was staying after for a class at 7 with the girls. It made the most sense for me to drive my dad, and then he would ride home with my sisters after the late class. When my mom found out she could go without having to stay (aka me as a ride home) she decided to come. She does not feel comfortable with any of her kids driving her and so I was no longer driving. My dad would drive his car and my mom would drive it back. It turns out, my keys, which I had with me as I had planned to drive, but no longer needed, ended up falling out of my pocket in my dad's car.

Flash back to this morning and now its 7 am, my train is at 7:22 and my keys are 45 minutes from home. My keys, by the way, are the only spare set to begin with because my original set was stolen a few years ago. Now my only option is to quickly find my sister's spare keys and borrow her car for the day. I make it out to the car by 5 after and have the slight possibility to make my train. Wrong! I need 4 quarters to pay for parking in the lot and the roll of quarters I so intelligently purchased to ensure I'd always have change, is locked in my car. So it's back inside again to get change. I finally make it to the train station at 7:22. And I watch my train pull away as I am parking. I decide to hang out in my car, cheer myself up with the radio show I like to listen to and wait for the next train. There is nothing I can do, despite the incredible inconvenience this morning continues to be.

I realize at this point that I never got confirmation from Christy about whether or not she was bringing in treats for Kathleen's last day. Oh. My. God. Kathleen's last day. I bought her the present we were giving to her as a thanks. Guess where it is sitting. My car. Locked back at home. I sat there for probably 5 minutes in total disbelief. We have a staff meeting at 9:30 which I have to be at, but I also have to have this gift because we are presenting it to her today, because it's her last day. I finally decide that I have to call my dad and ask him to drive back from work and meet me at home with my keys.

Completely stunned at how things have just gone from bad to worse, at 745, watching the next train approaching the station, I leave the parking lot to head back home. When I reach my house my mom is downstairs. She hands me a spare key to my car. Turns out she found one after I left and was planning on telling me when I got home. Unfortunately I never told her about my plan to come home and so my dad is still driving home from work, for nothing. We quickly get him on the phone and only save him about 5 minutes because he was just about there. Now, its after 8, I am still in my house, I just asked my dad to leave work and drive home for, ultimately, nothing and I have 90 minutes to be at work and in the meeting.

I head to work and realize, about 20 minutes in that I forgot to do something very important the day before. I get a 10% discount as well as can pay out of pre-tax money on my monthly train pass if I purchase it through my school by the 4th monday, 2 months in advance. Yesterday was that 4th monday, and I didn't remember. This is quickly followed, finally, by a return text from Christy. She has no idea what I am talking about in regards to bringing in treats and cannot get them anyway because she will be late for the meeting as is. I now have to get my boss on the phone and ask her to pick something up.

I finally get into work and get to my office to see Heather, another grad student, walking towards me with a cake knife. Light-Bulb. Heather, not Christy, was the person who was bringing something in. This is why Christy was clueless and wasn't planning on bringing anything in. I quickly now have to get my boss back on the phone before she wastes money on treats we don't need. Luckily, I catch her as she is parking at the bakery and things work out.

Somehow all of this occurred before 9:30 in the morning on, already, my least favorite day of the week. Sheesh. This was definitely a day where I just wanted to give up, stay home, and start over tomorrow. Unfortunately, this is the one day of the week I have to be in due to my meeting, and of all of my regular mandatory meetings on tuesdays, this one was even more so due to the special occasion.

Oh yeah, and at the end of the day I was told that I forgot someone's birthday. Great!

More Than One Meaning

With the recent release of the movie Inception, everyone is chatting about whether or not the ending was one thing or the other. Everyone seems to be equally convinced of their own opinion with sufficient proof in their corner. I really love when literature or a film can be vague or misleading enough to create very well founded but totally different opinions about the subject in regard to what transpired or what things meant.

To me a great story isn't just one that leaves you feeling after it ends, but one that demands discussion, that does not hand you every answer. I recently was reading more about the American adaptation of the Sweedish novel Let The Right One In. Some may be aware that there already exists an adaptation of this book which goes by the same title. In the novel, there is a very clear explanation of some elements, which are intentionally left out or left vague in the movie. The American adaptation is taking is own twist on things. Until reading about the American version I never even considered the other side of the coin to the vagueness in the movie which was supported by the original story in the novel. It's been two years since seeing that movie and so much just changed in terms of implications and such by considering the other side of it.

I apologize for being vague but if you have not seen it I do not want to spoil the vagueness for you.

Active Sunday (For A Change)

Most Sundays are spent in recovery. Not that I drink or do much that needs to be recovered from, but until this weekend I was busy every weekend this summer. Sundays were either spent lounging after a friend left from visiting all weekend or driving back from New York, or something else uneventful. It makes sense, then, that my first slow/low key weekend would find me busy on Sunday.

I have been reading a decent amount this past week. I have read the first five volumes of Scott Pilgrim as well as 2.5 more volumes of The Walking Dead. If you are not a comic book person then you might scoff at this being listed as an accomplishment. To me, however, this is a step in the right direction. I have somewhere between 75-90 minutes on my round trip train ride every day where I am able to be productive. Over the past 6 years of my life I have worked 9-5 jobs that I had to drive to. By the time I get home I don't feel like reading either. This time around, though, I am trying to use this time. I am both able to be in transit and do something else. For a few weeks I would read the paper, do a crossword, fall asleep, etc. Those weeks I found myself very tired getting into work. I started watching movies to keep myself more mentally engaged.

With the stack of Scott Pilgrim novels in my possession I decided I would give reading a go. I have a hard time staying awake on the train while reading, but I thought that since comics have images to them and have a faster pace I might be able to get into the routine of reading during these trips. After 5 days I knocked out all five volumes. I then used my low key weekend to plow through the rest of Vol. 2 and then Vol. 3 & 4 of the Walking Dead.

Today I woke up and quickly finished Volume 4 of the Walking Dead. I then drove to Delaware to pick up the next volume. I returned home and watched the Phillies game until it's rain delay. Then I drove to a my friend Alex's house and together we jouneyed into the city to Dave & Busters for a free Penrose show. Our parking voucher gave us 5 dollars off of food, and checking into using the app FourSquare we each got free $5 game cards. So I proceeded to eat, watch the remained of the Phils at the bar, kill some zombies, and then watch Penrose while sitting on the water with a great view of the Ben Franklin bridge over my shoulder.

For what is typically a day spent on the couch, I really enjoy this Sunday. I am also looking forward to this week for no other reason that for what I am going to read. After picking up the next volume in the Dead series, I also borrowed the latest Scott Pilgrim and the novel World War Z from Alex. Can't wait to get started on them.