sam101

1 year down.

2009-03-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

Looking back at the list of things I compiled, the 101 things, I noticed a few fell by the wayside. That's natural. Life changes. Jobs change. Situations change. I went through a huge transition at the end of 2008. New job, new house, new relationship.
I feel like I'm just coming up for air again.
But one thing I also noticed - I've incorporated a few of my 101 things in my habits. Cleaning. Cooking. Better health. The things I wanted to do more of in my life, and I've just done them. No need to check off a list. I like that feeling.
Now is a time for a little reflection. A gauge to see where I am with life. I'm generally liking it, but there are always little things that could be better. More time for photography (I need to make it). Better spent time (again, my fault).
I'm looking forward to another year.

March!

2008-03-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

I feel like February was a waste. Not necessarily in that I didn't do anything, but that it was all maintenance. Nothing new and shiny.
I'm feeling a disconnect with a lot of things, and a general state of being overwhelmed. I haven't seen many of my friends lately. I know I want to fix this, but I'm not sure of the path I'll take to accomplish that.

I did make it to a different city. I met several friends in Vegas for a quick weekend. It was a good trip, but the vacation was too short. Perfect length for Vegas, but I would have liked a day on either side to be in Austin.

As a result of that trip, I missed kung fu. I feel extremely detached from it lately, and I don't like that feeling. Master Joe called me out on it, and told me to come to more classes. I know I'm viewing this as a chicken and egg scenario. If I had more time, I'd be in class. If I went to class, I'd have more energy, and make better use of my time.

I've been pushing really hard on the photo front lately. Three shoots last weekend, and at least three more schedule for the next couple weeks.

I won 2nd place in a contest for my shot of Nicole Whiteside, the aerial dancer. She invited me back to shoot her, as well as several other dancers. That's one I definitely want to schedule. I'll have to get lights and assistants again. I hope I can line up if not the same four from last time, some that will rock just as hard. I owe so much to those awesome people for helping me out.

Does anyone read the comments down here? I'm just curious, but not curious enough to put on some sort of tracker.

It's February

2008-02-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

One month through this thing.
I thought I'd lose track, but I'm actually keeping up with it. It is getting easier. Every time I'm wondering what to do, I think to this list, and try to push my life forward, rather than spinning it around. I still waste time, but I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere with it.
Some things are harder to reinstate in my life. Like biking. Those things will happen in time.

My motorcycle is finished, apparently. Now, I just need to take the rider course, get it all insured, and I'm good to go. Only thing left after that is figuring out an appropriate camera rig, so I can shoot while riding. I'd really like some sort of hydraulic articulating arm that's easy to adjust. I'll see what I find.

I successfully turned 30. I still feel good about it. I finished my 20's well. Not as strongly as I'd have liked, but I have no regrets. The next decade shall be taken a day at a time. And each one of those will be pushing more towards what I want to do and who I want to be.

The 3sp list.

2008-01-14T20:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I went and did it finally. I recreated the thirdspacephoto mailing list.

I set up the list in 2005, after a discussion with Erik, and wanting to be in some sort of photo community. My only problem with most photo communities are the people and topics. Well, I guess those are pretty major problems.

Usually, when photographers get together, there's two types of conversations. The gear whore conversations, where the finer points of who has nicer toys are discussed, and the photo conversations. The photo conversations actually talk about composition, thought, art, and what goes into a photo. It's more personal, and philosophical. It's more about connecting with people, rather than blathering on about the latest glass penis that someone purchased.

So I started the list, and set up a few meetups. But interest died, and I let it. But I want this list for me. I like the friends I have in photography, and I like doing odd photo projects. Even if the list is me and one friend, I'll keep it going. It's mentally healthy.

The Photo blog is up

2008-01-09T17:30:00.000-08:00

In case you can't see 2 posts down, the link is http://3sp-photo.blogspot.com/

List Maintenance

2008-01-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

When I started this project, I knew one of my biggest problems was maintenance of the list.

With 101 things, updating the list on any sort of regular basis was going to be a nightmare. I'd spend more time on the list than I would doing things on it! That seemed counter-intuitive to me.

So I dusted off what little programming skill I have, and wrote up a PHP script, with a database backend. I had to learn some AJAX/JavaScript stuff as well.

The script is pretty simple. Color coding if things are coming due, edit the list on the fly, as well as the totals.
If the script is called without a specific maintenance function, it just displays as you see on the right.

Here's a link to a sandbox/test script - here.

If there's any actual interest, I'll make the script available.

And to see the output of the script - here

Progression

2008-01-08T09:51:00.000-08:00

I'm settling into the New Year well.

I'm on the eve of a big photo shoot (for me). It's a personal project, but I've never attempted anything of this scale before, at least in a serious manner. I'm not sure if the difference is the big photo lights and assistants, or that the shoot is massively more different.

I'm also setting up a photo blog, where I'll post at least one photo a month.
The blog will be here

Happy New Year.

2008-01-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

It's now on.

I've never been a resolution person. I've always believed more in doing the right things year around. But I'm throwing some weight behind the ritual this year.

Rituals can be good for us humans. They provide structure, a general framework for us to follow. Not everything has to be rigid, but not everything has to be fly by night, seat of the pants. I'm seeking a balance between the two. To have enough structure to not get lost, but not so much that I can't do things on a whim.

So Happy New Year to everyone. The Chinese new year is coming up soon as well. Close to my 30th birthday. I'm still trying to decide what to do for that one. Should it be a blowout, or just something quiet and get out of town? That's for another day.

The list is up.

2007-12-26T13:39:00.001-08:00

Oddly, one of the biggest stumbling blocks to getting this list going was not entirely the content.
It was the maintenance and updating the blog.
I'm inherently "efficient", which can translate to lazy, and I knew I wouldn't update a blog repeatedly.

So I wrote a php script that interfaces with a database on the backend, embedded in an iframe over there on the right.
Yep, all that's dynamic data & content, managed by a separate admin script.

I had to learn a bit of ajax stuff to get it accomplished, but it works.
And now I can go back to forgetting how to program.

If anyone is interested in the ugly and horribly written script, drop me a line.

T-minus 6 days till this thing gets goin!

The list is done.

2007-12-24T10:19:00.001-08:00

I'm now formatting it and fixing it, and then it'll go live!
Happy xmas.

I'm having a hard time thinking of 13 more things.

2007-12-17T06:02:00.000-08:00

My list has sat at 88 for about a week now. I went through and organized it, however.

It's hard planning your life out for the next 1001 days. Even just a basic framework.
I'll revisit and have this thing done in another week.

My beginnings.

2007-12-07T07:18:00.001-08:00

I shamelessly am stealing this idea from a good friend.

101 things in 1001 days

1001 days, 101 things. This is doable. This is a focus. I've overcome things in my life, but I know I still have a lot to do. This will help me.