five on a friday

This is an off-shoot of the "seven on a Sunday" project. I always thought the number seven to be overused, and "five on a Friday"just sounds better to me. Plus, it helps time drag a little less at work on a Friday.

I didn't choose a theme, unless you count "random" as a theme. In fact, that will likely be a common "theme" as I just take a photo as the mood strikes. And don't be surprised to see photos of the pooch either.

1 - north point lighthouse, milwaukee | 2 - historic water tower, st. mary's hill

3 - play ball, miller park | 4 - adorable kid, miller park

5 - daisy, simple cafe

2012 birthday wishes

oh, 2012...how you move so quickly. 2011 tested me quite a bit - and although I survived, I probably could have handled some situations better. 

ergo, most of these year's wishes focus on me and what I can do to better myself, my relationships and perhaps society as a whole (if only for a few hours).

2012 birthday wishes (in no particular order):

• successfully complete a 5k - about seven years ago, I actually embarked training for a marathon (stop laughing) but I changed careers and stopped. despite my knees, I could do this.
• continue to be physically active - ideally, I'd like to do something "active" (read: swimming, hitting the gym, hashing, yoga/pilates) five times/week. if that three-week boot camp in September doesn't kill me first...
  
• explore more in the culinary world - ok, I am a good cook (something my dad apparently "knew"?) and I finally enjoy it. but I'd like to learn how to cook Thai food and take some classes.  I love chicken & veggies, but a girl needs variety.
• continue the "no soda" quest - I've been soda-free since 4 June 2012 (thankfully there's La Croix and tonic water). and honestly, I haven't even craved one since.
• increase social media knowledge/promote rjl creative -  I decided to combine these two this year.  I may even slightly change the direction (and potentially the name) of rjl creative to more of an SoLoMo focus, while keeping the design aspect secondary.  I love design, but the future is SoLoMo - and sadly, pretty isn't as important in that arena (but dammit, my stuff will be pretty AND functional!)
  
• continue to engage in artistic endeavors - this might be a little easier as the focus of my paying job is evolving (more online, less design). I would like to do picture journaling more frequently (read: more than once every two years) and perhaps will revisit "The Artist's Way".
• get my bartending license - I just always wanted to do this, for no particular reason.
• become involved in causes I believe in (namely Pancreatic cancer and APBT/AmStaff groups) - since I was so stellar with this last year (sans the PanCan walk),  it's really something I need to make time for this year. if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem
• visit at least two of the remaining 11 states I haven't yet - in a nutshell, I'm either going west or south. 
• organize my finances - this will be hard. I like spending and not saving, unless I'm saving for something (see above bullet).
• figure out this whole "relationship" thing - thing about these things...they are work. plus, when there are possibilities - including one from complete left field that throws a wrench in it all - it makes it that much more difficult/interesting/<insert word here>...
• cherish the time with friends & family - life is short (something that came to realization about a year ago). make time for those you care about.  remember, it's not what you do it's who you're with.
• be thankful/grateful for the things I have, rather than lamenting about what I don't have - this will likely be the hardest. human nature is to want what we don't or can't have (myself included) and all that does is sabotage us.  time to practice an "attitude of gratitude".

go on living, always keep on breathin'

from the mouth of memory, you give back yourself

~ the gufs

behind the lens

By the end of this month, I may have actually succeeded in getting my trip pics from Spain (2010), Greece (2008) and the Baltic Sea (2006) into photo books. Better late than never, I must say. This may be a sign of the apocalypse.

As one would expect, Spain was the easiest to complete as I was there the most recent and it was the freshest in my mind, followed by Greece. The Baltic cruise proved to be a bit more difficult as I couldn't really differentiate between Denmark and Sweden at first (or fifth) glance. Eventually it all started to run together. And based upon the number of pictures taken, I had an affinity for the Slavic areas of Russia and Estonia as well as Germany. (I'm Polish & German....go figure).

Yes, it was nice take the pictorial view of my travels. However, in looking at the photos from 2006 and then the ones four years later, I noticed something. I believe my photographic eye has improved.

As someone who doesn't brag about her talents (or lack thereof), this is of revelation-type proportions. Maybe Spain is easier to photograph, than say Finland, thus the photos came out better. Well, at least it's more intriguing - no offense to the Finns. Then I thought it could have been the camera, but I used the same camera in 2006 and 2008. There's even a difference between those two years, the Greece more exciting than Finland argument aside. But even after (over)rationalizing, I came to the same conclusion: the photos really are better. (Note: you can actually judge for yourself by viewing my photo blog. Yes, this is a shameless plug.)

It is true that I did have a photography interest when I was younger, and even took a class in high school. And this was old school with the film developing in the darkroom. I even had a fancy-schmancy camera and everything. But the female teacher favored the boys, so I somewhat lost interest (and maybe sheer stubbornness played a part as well). After that, I pretty much only took photos of friends and stuff. Nothing serious.

It was the Baltic cruise that piqued my interest again.

After that cruise, I started carrying my camera around a bit more often just to get a little more "experience" behind the lens. Of course this also sometimes leads to taking pictures whilst driving, which is not recommended. It also led to the role of being official photographer where I work, which includes visiting facilities and capturing the therapist/patient interaction for marketing materials. Another example of how a hobby became part of my career.

Nowadays, I almost aways have my (or work) camera on me. Yes, I may very well be that person along the lakefront or driving down I-94 with her camera in hand. However, photography has allowed me to capture life's moments such as a rainbow over the Marquette interchange to a nine-month old stuffing his face with avocado, as well as to have a visual memoir of my travels. While I do enjoy sharing my photos (especially the travel ones) if asked, I really photograph for myself - simply for the art and escapism of it all.

To quote Ferris Bueller's Day Off: "Life goes by pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Photography allows us to stop, observe and capture those life's moments that we might otherwise miss, forever.