Sorry!

Alas, I have fallen off the picture taking wagon. I do have about a good 10 to 15 days of pictures but they are on my camera and I am missing days so I do believe that this is the end of my 365 days of photography, at least this time around. This summer, I have decided, is a summer of non-commitment and a summer of doing whatever I so please. Since I am starting college in the fall, which is a psychological commitment as well as a financial one, I needed some time to just do nothing, or everything if I so please. So far it has been a whole lot of nothing and I'm alright with that. I just found out I didn't get a scholarship that I wanted/needed but hey, life goes on. True life goes on deeply in debt but as Gloria Gaynor said, I will survive. I really want some ice cream today, that always tends to make things better doesn't it? I think so. But while on the topic of delicious desserts, I made creme brulee (minus all the special snooty french markings above the letters) for my parents' 22nd anniversary last week. They also got homemade seafood alfredo, salad, and yummy french bread. The creme brulee, unlike my last few attempts, was amazing! I realized while making this batch that I had made a terrible mistake the last 2 times I had attempted this delicacy; instead of including only egg yolks, I had made it with whole eggs! What a travesty! With that extreme abundance of exclamation points I leave you today! (Ha see, I put another one in just for fun)

As long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive.

-Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris

Day 15

I couldn't decide which picture I wanted on here today so I'm putting up two. As I said in yesterday's entry, I got to fly home today, much to my relief. At the Allegiant airport however, there was quite possibly one of the longest lines I have ever endured in an airport. I was stuck behind a family with multiple small children and even more luggage they had to lug through the never-ending line. Even worse, the attendants at the counters were slower than molasses in January. But, the high point of the day was Chipotle for lunch followed by a nice mocha frap from Starbuck's and a free sample of instant iced coffee, yum! The flight home was pretty good, I got an exit row which was fantastic, more space for my feet than I knew what to do with. Well, back to the frigid north where I may or may not miss the hellish heat of Arizona.

A morning without coffee is like sleep.

-Unknown

Day 14

What is this, foot picture number ten? Probably pretty darn close to that. I was going to take a face shot today but sadly I spilled Dairy Queen on my dress and was unable to take a picture that would include the atrocity that was then my dress. The lighting in this room was terrible, I could not get a good white balance so this is as good as it gets. After my almost two weeks in Arizona, Yuma specifically, we made the trip to Phoenix because I will fly back home tomorrow. I realized now that I have spent only one week at home the entire summer. I have decided with all my absences that absence truly does make the heart grow fonder and home is where the heart is. So to my parents who would love to hear this, I am excited to be going home.

Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.

-Theodore Roosevelt

Day 13

Alright folks, today something very rare is about to be revealed on this blog: my handwriting. Now, don't be alarmed, it truly is the writing of a soon to be college freshman and not the mindless scrawling of a four year old boy. Someone did not believe how truly atrocious my only form of written communication so I felt that I needed to show them how terrible it was. It also is the quote thing in USA Today, one of my favorite papers. I also finished the sudoku right above this quote fill in and the weird 6 X 6 sudoku that they have as well. I, however, am not feeling too inclined to write a bunch so that's all you get. Ooh wait, that is also my nerd pride shirt in the background and since my webcam is silly this picture is mirrored so you can't actually read anything.

If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear as it is- infinite.

-William Blake

Day 12

Hey day 12 today, the picture is of my hand and head. This is because today I worked for four hours in 114 degree weather under the blazing Arizona sun to build a stone patio and fire pit. So it suffices to say that I became dehydrated and got quite the headache. Well, I can't think of much else to say so without further ado, here is my picture of the day.

I'm so happy because today I found my friends- they're in my head.

-Kurt Cobain

Day 11

My calves/lower legs/ankles are almost undeniably my favorite body part. Perhaps it is the absence of cankles or the presence of a good even tan but, whatever it is they still remain one of my favorites. Feet are interesting too; without feet we would find it much more difficult to go anywhere. Despite their integral part to daily life poor feet are looked down upon, seen as dirty, ignored by many. Well, you feet haters out there, I love my feet and that's all there is to it!

It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees.

-Emiliano Zapata

Day 10

Every little girl at one point in time wants to be a princess. Well, today I was a pretty princess for a short period of time. My crown is of wire that is "normally" used to hang things on walls, and right up until it became my crown that's what it was going to do. But, wire can only withstand so much weight before it snaps and that is exactly what happened to the wire used for my crown. Turns out 10+ pounds will tend to snap wire. It was pretty darn secure with the nails it was attached to though, snapped a few inches away from one but, luckily nothing broke besides the wire and no humans or animals were harmed in the making of this post, well except for the bug that just crawled across my screen, I killed him (or her).

A throne is only a bench covered in velvet.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Day 9

I have always been fond of black and white photography. I feel that with the absence of color, all that is left is emotion. At times, emotion is derived from the colors in a photograph, dark violent reds, bright playful yellows, deep calm blues. Other times, the times most suited to black and white photos, emotion is derived from subject matter or context. One of my newest favorite pictures is a monochromatic taken of my grandfather before I was born. The playful attitude of the photo comes not from his clothes or surroundings but from his expressions and actions. This picture, at least I hope, conveys a sense of calm and security, togetherness, a unity of upper body and lower, hand and foot. The black and white should draw out the contours of flesh on leather and the darkness of the background conveys its lack of importance. Well, there's my technical spiel for the week/month/year/decade and here's the photo to enjoy.

Power and speed be hands and feet.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 8

A sunburn, according to the Wiki gods, is a burn to living tissue caused by overexposure to ultraviolet light. Well, that is exactly what I got from laying out in the Arizona sun for only a mere two hours. I am now the proud owner of a sunburned belly, back, legs, and shoulders. Ouch. This gorgeously attractive picture of me was taken shortly after returning to the amazing shelter of the indoors. Well, my sunburns tend to fade to tans so I should be good in a few days. But Wikipedia cautions me against repeated overexposure to the sun, guess I might just have to keep my delicate white complexion. Although you could never tell from this dark picture.

It's better to burn out than to fade away.

-Neil Young and Jeff Blackburn

Day 7

Shorts, what a wonderful invention. I know, I'm showing some ankle, what a scandal. At least at one time it would have been a scandal, this was the time when bathing suits were rented and covered wrist to neck to ankle and were anything but flattering. God forbid a woman's ankle be seen. This is not a rant though, simply a form of expression through photography. At this moment I believe I was thinking "Hell, it's hot here, a lot like hell actually". That is precisely the reason I was wearing the shorts, to cool off from the baking Arizona heat.

A lie has no leg, but a scandal has wings.

-Thomas Fuller

Day 6

Yes, I do wear my sunglasses at night. I am simply that much of a "gangsta". Just kidding, I'm really not a gangster and I generally try not to wear my sunglasses at night. However, the flash on my camera is permanently set to stun and blind so they became necessary to prevent temporary blindness. And, as every good soon to be college freshman knows, blindness is not a good thing. Prior to taking this shot I took some long exposures of the sky which turned out phenomenally well. But, those shall be for another day when I am feeling more giving :) So for now, I'm wearing my sunglasses at night. And for any curious kittens, yes that is indeed the moon behind me, we were joking about getting moon blindness. Get it moon blindness like sun blindness? Well it just loses its funny when it's explained...

What a nice night for an evening.

-Steven Wright

Day 5

Calves are wonderful muscles. They are actually made up of two major muscles, the gastrocnemius and the soleus. The soleus is personally my favorite because not too many people know about it. It lies under the gastrocnemius so is often overlooked. Also, it is my favorite because it was my indicator for when my injured ankle was truly recovered. If I could stretch my soleus without my ligaments or the swelling around them hurting, I would know that I had recovered, at least in my own mind. On this picture of my calf however, there is a scratch, actually a collection of scratches. These scratches are from textured pool deck which despite its texture is still slippery when wet, especially when one is being chased by a possessed labrador puppy. Well that's my story and here's my picture for the day!

Falling down became second nature and it really didn't bother me.

-Nancy Kerrigan

Day 4

My uncle is a retired marine, sadly I did not get to attend his retirement ceremony because I was too busy traipsing about the East coast on a band tour. To make up for this travesty, I get to spend two weeks with him and his wonderful wife and their new puppy. This picture, while too bright, is of the two of us outside of a Subway after brunch in Utah still roadtripping it down to wonderful AZ.

As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.

-Pope John Paul II

Day 3

This fantastic picture, yes is me with the Idaho state sign. I am currently in Arizona spending some time with family after driving down from the frigid midwest. Just kidding, it's only frigid in the fall, spring, and winter! But, now for the significance behind the picture, I have never been to Idaho so I decided to document this momentous occasion with my picture for the day. And it has been unanimously decided that all of the water in Montana is muddy while all of the water in Idaho is beautifully clear.

Idaho, no you da ho!

-I don't even want to know

Day 2

Day 2 of 365. Today's picture is of my dad and me since it was fathers' day. We are just so darn cute aren't we? Short and sweet today people.

A father carries pictures where his money used to be.

-Anonymous

Day 1

This is my first legitimate Project 365 entry, Day 1. This picture, taken in our kitchen/dining room area is yes, of my feet. I worked this morning and walked a good long ways so they were feeling in need of some loving so I decided they would be the subject of my Day 1 picture. And yes, those are neon pink socks protecting my little piggies from everyday dangers like the inside of shoes. Sadly, they are getting some holes so I'll have to get some new ones soon. Well, I feel that is enough explanation for a picture of my feet.

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.

-Abraham Lincoln

365 Days

Well, since this is basically just a blog for my posterity, I have decided to start the 365 days project tomorrow and post my pictures here. That's right, I'm going to try and take and blog a picture a day for the next year. Well here's to high hopes! So as the official day 0, I have to say that my outlook for this is quite positive. I think that taking a picture of myself each day will help in many different ways such as learning better the limits of my camera, which I love, and also being able to look back on myself on any given day in a year. It will also be a good documentation of my freshman year at MIT. Hopefully this goes well!

Day Zero

Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your belief in yourself.

Robert Collier

El Fin de Semana

Pretty senior picture!

This week was possibly one of the longest weeks I've had in quite a while. Despite the burden of my research paper being lifted, the burden of dropping calculus grades and numerous pages of reading for English have started to take their toll. These next two weeks, and last week, are really big weeks for scholarship deadlines and deadlines for basically everything in my life. On Thursday I turned in my paperwork for National Honor Society and for the Presidential Scholar program (wish me luck!). On Monday, I have two scholarships that are due, the first day of track, and our midwinter band concert. The scholarships I'm not so excited for; however, the first day of track and our band concert will prove to be interesting.

Track is most definitely my favorite sport of all those I have tried. Pole vault is my favorite event even though it just barely edges out hurdles and sprints which are both tied for 2nd/3rd depending on how you score it. Earlier, the last weekend of January, there was a pole-vault clinic at University of Mary and that was really fun to go to. Since then, every Monday has been open gym for vaulters at the gymnastics gym, also a really fun experience.

Band has been interesting as well the past well six months I guess. Mandan band festival followed by Sax and Perc festival, Jazz tour, U Mary jazz festival, Woodwind festival, our last pep band, and now our second to last concert. Our last pep band was bittersweet, fun because it was pep band, but sad because it was our last and also Mr. Fogderud's last. This picture has soo many picture crashers! Oh well, all in all it's a pretty good picture of the four of us. Props to Daso for his photography skills.

Gov is starting to get hectic, soon our national question preliminary drafts are due and we have a test coming up on AP material soon, but the date escapes me at the moment. When I was in class the other day I counted the books that I had with me and they amounted to the grand total of ten, TEN books!! Three of those are mine, brand spankin new from Barnes and Noble courtesy of their Bargain priced section and their Publishers' Remains. Finding any book for less than five dollars is a win in my book on any day.

A little bit of serenity among the madness.

No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness.

-Aristotle

School

I am not doing homework. I have a lot of homework to do. Luckily, some of it is at least partially completed. That's all for now.

Grand Opening

I decided today to start a blog (obviously). I have been snooping around the blogosphere for a while and decided that if they can do it so can I. Also, I have all these pictures of accomplishments, at least in my mind, and nothing to do with them. Such as my acceptance tube from MIT which I graciously gave you a picture of :) Right now, I'm probably going to end up there, I know what a tragedy, partially due to my lack of observance of Harvard's financial aid deadline. Oops!

However, the only way I will ever be able to make it to MIT is if I finish my senior year with "flying colors" meaning that I really do have to finish my research paper with more than a minimal effort. But really, how much effort can you put into a 6-8 page essay about the social environment of The Time Machine? Apparently a lot since I am currently on my 5th draft and still not quite there.

Well, I suppose I should be off to finish writing that essay, a.k.a. doing anything but, and finishing the rest of my homework.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

-Mother Teresa