Playing Around with Topaz Adjust
I was working on a logo design for a former co-worker of mine last night when I got the urge to just play. I’ve only been feeling creative sporadically lately so I thought I would take advantage of this moment of inspiration and indulge it a bit.
Twitter: Photoshop Tips of the Day
Starting last night and continuing every weeknight, probably around 10pm (Eastern) or so, my followers on Twitter will be treated to a new segment I am doing called – imaginatively enough – Photoshop Tip of the Day.
Though I could do full-length tutorials with one tweet/step, single tips are easier to digest and lend themselves so much better to the Twitter format.
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We’re Expecting!
My friends on Facebook and my followers on Twitter got a jump on the news last night when I shared the amazing announcement that Kim and I are expecting the arrival of our little one somewhere around April 19th.
We had our first appointment yesterday afternoon and the doctor said everything is going very well and we’re right on track. We are simply ecstatic and are anxiously looking forward to welcoming our new addition this spring!
I am so very lucky to share all of this with my best friend! Kim, you’re going to be an amazing mom and I Love You So Much!
“No-Blog” Tuesday
After noticing last night that I inadvertently scheduled yesterday’s post for the wrong day it is now up for your viewing pleasure. It’s some eye-candy from my friend, illustrator Eric Maruscak of Pepper Ink.
In light of that, and some side work I’ve been doing for my dad that has kept me busy lately, I am declaring this a “No-Blog Tuesday”! (Of course, by posting this, it’s making it a “There-Actually-Is-A-Blog-Post Tuesday”, but you get what I’m saying.)
Be sure to come back tomorrow for some more Photoshop & Photography goodness!
January 4, 2004
It’s late at night, very early on the 4th; my birthday…
Since I last wrote here, much has happened in my life, too much, perhaps to adequately chroncle here. So please forgive the holes that won’t be filled in. (After all, I’m not going to tell you everything!)
I suppose that other than graduating, getting my first car, and moving out and into my own place as the typical milestones of post-college life that I have reached, the most recent – and rather signifcant – period of my life is when I met someone… Just about two months ago, a lunar eclipse could be seen in the skies over CNY. As I drove home from a movie about reclaiming life and discovering oneself again, I pulled into the empty parking lot of a local park and stood out in the frigid air to watch the celestial event. As I stood stood there, I was reminded of the nights in high school when I would sit out on the roof of our back porch – which was right outside my bedroom window – and stare into the sky. Were the moon out those nights, I would focus my thoughts, attention, and prayers towards it as though the moon were the eye of God looking down on me. And so it was this particular night.
I came to a point where I realized that I had just about everything that I’ve always wanted, or, was at least on my way to achieving them: I had my own place and a job I truly enjoy; a good car to give me freedom; a great family and a church that made me feel loved and welcomed; an education and opportunities to do things that many have only dreamed about; and so much more than I have ever deserved. Yet, with all of those things, I lacked something that I desired so much, for so long: someone to share my life and love with.
The next day when I got home from church, I checked my email and found a messege from someone I didn’t know who wanted to learn more from me about my writing and my experiences around the world. She had come across this website and knew that she wanted to get to know me better. We talked on the phone, we emailed constantly, and finally met in person. And through the course of it all, we fell in love. It’s a hard thing for me to do, to let myself be open and vulnerable enough to allow my heart to fall in love, but because I had left my life in God’s hands that night of the eclipse, I just “let go, and let God.” Never before have I so quickly become so comfortable with someone and forged such a strong bond of friendship. I was convinced that she was “The One” and deep down, I just knew that it was meant to be.
Long-story-short – and out of respect for her privacy and our relationship together I’m keeping this as vague and vaccant of detail as I am – things didn’t work out as we both had hoped, though they did work out as best they could. As the song goes, “Sometimes love just ain’t enough…”
Though we aren’t together any longer, I am not angry, upset, or hurt. Though I do feel sadness and loss for what we shared together, I am so grateful for the time we had. To quote from my journal, “I am thankful for her, for the gift of her love, and the blessing of her presence…Not only have I felt love in my life once more, I have felt loved in return for perhaps the first time. [She's] shown me that I’m capable of love again, that I’m worth loving, and that who I am, as is, is someone special and amazing.”
So, once again, it’s just me…
For everyone else, New Years is a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. I never really made any resolutions or anything like that. The closest thing was New Years 2002 when I wrote an email to a girl I knew telling her just how I felt about her and, in the end, that didn’t work out so I decided not to try to make them again. As I wrote in my journal the other day, the thought came to me that since my birthday is so close to the 1st and really marks the beginning of a new year in my life, it’s kinda like my own personal New Years. I’m not making any resolutions or dedicating myself to losing weight or anything. What I am going to do is look ahead with newer eyes and see what will come for my life. I’ve always been serious about my prayer life but I’m going to try to “let go, and let God” more than I have. We’ll see what happens! “What is good and right will come, whatever that may be…”
Happy Birthday to Me! And here’s to my “new year”!!!
Less Than 2 Days from Chennai, India
I’m not sure what to write this time. As I think I’ve said before, the pace we keep is quite rigorous. Sure, we only have classes between ports but the time spent in each country is quite exhaustive mentally, physically, and emotionally. And it will only be more emotionally draining in India. To compensate for the constant traveling and the tiredness we all feel, we got to gain an extra hour last night and we get another hour and a half tonight! It’s such a treat!
Another bonus would be my friends. Though the first month or so was rough because it seemed like so many people were making friends left and right while I was still spending much of my time alone, through day trips and classes, meetings and chance encounters I have developed a pretty great group of friends. In some sense, it’s a new situation to me. I am not quick to make friends and I was scared to be tossed in with 600 other people in a closed environment. But the proximity and shared experiences we’ve had have certainly made a community out of us. I’m really enjoying it!
I got my trip selections the other day for the remainder of the semester. I pretty much got everything I wanted minus a small trip in Kenya that I can do independently without too much trouble. I still have my two-day safari planned for the end of October in Kenya, our executive dean is trying to arrange some sort of meeting with Desmond Tutu who will be in Cape Town when we’re there. I signed up for a trip to cycle through the winelands of South Africa but a friend of mine didn’t get into the trip so I’m going to sell off my ticket so we can do something else. I’m going to be going to see Bahia by night in Brazil. There, we will see some dance demonstrations and other entertainment. And, finally, I’m going to be visiting some colonial fortresses in Havana. To fill the rest of my time I am planning on seeing a lot of different things independently where possible. I think there is still a group that is going to try to do a trip into the forest canopy in S. Africa. I know some people are going sky diving there but I’m thinking that I’ll opt out of that one. I’m thinking of using Brazil as a time to relax for at least part of the time. And depending on his schedule, we might get to see Castro in Cuba. So, even though we are past the halfway point for ports and quickly coming to the 50-day mark of our 100-day voyage there is still much to see and do and I’m eagerly awaiting it all.
Though this is all great fun, I do miss you all. I miss going to a regular service and all of the programs at Marsh. I’m actually listening to the “Sending Forth” tape I was given last May – Thank You Hope! I miss all of the great friendships that have formed over the past 3 years in Boston and those that I’ve formed elsewhere throughout my comings and goings. I carry all of you with me as I continue on around the world. I know that there will be much to share when I return. But until then, I hope you are all having as much fun as I am and that you find as many blessings as I have.
Still in Hong Kong
Last night I went to the Night Market here in Hong Kong. From 7:30pm till after midnight sometime dozens and dozens of shops are set up along a single street offering only about a 5 foot aisle down which to walk. The shops offer almost anything you could want from purses to watches to clothes to electronics to toys to almost anything else. Haggling is a must. Regardless of how fair you think the price is you are expected to at least try to get it cheaper. My “best buy” was a royal blue traditional-style Chinese shirt with silvery dragons and things on it. The shopkeeper wanted 185 Hong Kong Dollars for it and I got him down to 130 (basically from about $23.84(USD) down to $16.75). I am planning on wearing it to the Ambassador’s Ball (our big dance in Nov. sometime) and you can see pictures of me in it then. For now, I’ll just keep you in suspense.
Today I slept in. I’ve pretty much just been bumming around the ship and relaxing since I did a lot of walking yesterday. Tomorrow classes begin again for the 2 days before Vietnam. So I think it’s a good time to get some rest in before my big trip to Cambodia next Monday through Wednesday. That trip is the one I’ve been looking most forward to and I’m sure it will be one of the most memorable experiences of this voyage. If you want to have an idea of where I’ll be in Cambodia, check out nationalgeographic.com <http://www.nationalgeographic.com> and look at the article for the Temples of Angkor from the August 2000 issue or the outside view of a large temple surrounded by water about 2/3 of the way through “Tomb Raider.” I will, of course, send pictures along sometime afterwards so you can see what I’ve seen.
