Stay in Focus

Today my eyes had a tough time focusing... all day, for whatever reason, so I'm going to try and get to bed a bit earlier than I have been tonight. Everything has a soft haze around it, it's almost like living in a dream state at times. My dreams may even have more focus than reality, right now, and that's something very strange to say, especially since I don't typically remember my dreams

I dreamt last night about being in a fight with somebody... boxing them... and training for it. It wasn't really in a ring, and the training wasn't tough, it just al came to me fairly naturally. Pushing those weights around like I was driven by something else, and then eventually leaving the dream right as the fight was beginning. It felt very Rocky-esque, and I haven't seen one of those films in months, with the exception of the trailer for the most recent installment, out about 2 1/2 months ago.

The feeling at the office is growing tense, and the feeling is that we're pretty much crunching now. In to the office earlier, I guess, and home later, all driving toward that goal that will be a month away as of about 45 minutes from now.

Time to push, time to crank, time to get this thing done, and move toward the future. Let's do this thing...

more later...

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Streaks, Day 7

Well, it's been a week, and so far, I'm doing just fine with everything. I've managed to keep everything going that I set myself out to. It's going pretty well, at that!

I am having a bit of a haze on my eyes these days, as the crunch time really settles in on me. These blurred lights, like those above, are moving sometimes in so many different directions that I don't know which one to stare at so that I might blind myself to the rest of them. I'm sure I can put them out one at a time, I just have to steady my aim, and go at it.

Onward to the next week, and more to come later...

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2/26/07, Fighting the Fog

And so I work my way through this day... It has been a good one. I felt focused today, in some way that I haven't in quite a while... I feel that we'll be fine with our work... we're progressing quite nicely toward our goal, and we may even be able to help others out that aren't quite up with us yet. I like that feeling a bit, as it makes me feel more comfortable about where the whole project can go, and about where I can go with the project. I makes me feel good about the way things are going with my first project here. I feel like I've managed to get myself up in good with the crew, and that they'll take notice when we start dropping our stuff into this massive puzzle that we only have 5 weeks left to solve.

At the same time, I feel a bit in a fog... more of a haze and not the San Francisco soup I've known before... but it's not a terribly bad thing... when it lifts over the course of the day I can find my way, and push along to it, before it settles back in on me in the night, only to be there when I wake up the next morning. The workouts are becoming more focused as well, with weights and cardio on alternating schedules. I feel like I want to aim for rowing shape, like I had 4 years ago (wow, has it already been that long?!) but I know that's not likely, and that any benefits I reap along the way to that will be great for me.

I'm going to expand my phototaking, I really am! I'll get there soon, and then things will really start to shine on this blog. This photo is somewhat about that, about just being so tired of resorting to these photos in this fog that I fight back against them. I'll do better soon.

More later...

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Day 5

So I had one written earlier today... but it didn't make it through, due to a failure of modern technology and issues that were beyond my control... it was a pretty good post, too, but something that I guess I can deal without having up here, word for word.... I'll do what I can to recapture at least a portion of it here for your reading pleasure, and I hope that you enjoy... and I hope this one gets through...

I think that this way of living, with little periods of time in which you change habits or start new ones, is something to be studied and perhaps even continued or extended into normal life, one outside the bounds of this religious waiting period. I've thought about starting something or not doing something every month, and seeing how it might affect my life. No beef for a month, for instance... and those that know me know that beef is probably my main source of protein, almost to the point where it becomes too much of one thing that I'm consuming... I'm sure I could develop other things... and put myself on the task of completing them, but we'll see where this takes us right now.

Congratulations to all of the winners of the Oscars tonight, especially to the big winner The Departed (and Martin Scorsese), and Pan's Labyrinth, wiith it's haunting and somewhat eerie look and feel. It was a decent night at the Oscars, with exceptions made for a few categories I might have a differing opinion on and the standard politics and the moments where bygone days seem to stretch to a period longer than they those in which they first existed. There were very few memorable speeches, primarily, I think, due to the fact that everybody had a piece of paper with exactly what they wanted to say written on it.

So I've just checked, and I've got 5 weeks left on the current project that I'm working on... It may seem like a long time, and I know that we'll be just fine, but that is the kind of time that runs out on you amazingly fast. The pressure is really going to be on soon...

The photo for today is somewhat of another self portrait... but more of techniques from my built in iSight camera applied somewhat creatively... Fingers through my hair... at the very least, when the idea to shoot a photo like this hit me, it made me happy for just a brief period... and now I've posted it up here, and it's no longer just mine to hold and smile about. I hope you enjoy, or find something in there... no deeper meaning or posts about that today, folks. Just me with my hands in my hair.

More later...

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Light in the Hall, Day 4

Yes, this post is a bit late for what some may call the day, but I'm still awake in the same stream on conciousness that has been my flow all day today. I'm not sure what to make of this photo either... I saw something in the hallway on my way home from a housewarming party, and decided to take a photo of it. The light playing with the leaves, or the leaves playing in the light, either way you look at it, that's what this photo was about. The leaves could even be playing near the light, which in that case would be the body of the light structure, and not the actual rays themselves.

Totally deep here at midinght. Almost like the darkness that envelopes the world wherever this time of night reaches. (Whoa... that's just way to much now...)

I hope you all have had a fantastic day, whoever is reading this, and I'm sure I'll have more tomorrow. Perhaps a better photo will come then as well, as I know you've likely come to expect just a bit more from me over all. At the very least, I think I can pull out a decent status report in between watching the Oscars and the Nascar Race from out near here in Fontana (I'm sorry to anybody who I told it was going to be in Pomona, definitely not there, although they are nearly the same direction from here!). Have a good morning everybody, and I'll catch you later, with more then...

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Staring down the barrels

As I stare down the barrels of these days, I wonder what bullets they will bring upon me, what challenges they will come to show. Can I stand up to their miniscule size, which may be conquered with moments of strong will, or will I fall to their heart ripping, earth shattering power, dropping to the side in the process? Can I keep pushing through, knowing that all will be well once the bullets stop coming, or will I see the hail, and simply accept the defeat that they might represent?

Many more days lie ahead, and I will find what these barrels will truly bring with them...

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Raindrops, Day 2

So today it rained... and that's that story... but I got this photo of the window of my car, tweaked it a bit, and thought you might enjoy the raindrops...



But moving on... Day 2 has been a wicked success, and I've managed to accomplish everything I set out to for my goals today... still charging ahead... it's hard to believe it has only been 2 days



Something I've been meaning to blog about, just because it's frustrating to me... The kids in the Apple Store these days that treat the computers in there like they are their own personal hookup to the internet. Sure, they might one day be customers, and that day could even be today, but when they're huddled in a group across about three computers, giggling and commenting ("OH MAH GAH? WHY HE BE SUCH A PUNK! HE KNOWS THAT BECKY TOLD SUZY THAT JAMIE TOLD BRAD THAT I TOTALLY DIG HIS PANIC AT THE DISCO SHIRT! OH MAH GAH!"). Yeah... that bugs me... and yeah, the Mac is somewhat sacred ground to me... so... just... GET OUT OF THE STORE AND GO HOME AND DO THIS FROM YOUR OWN COMPUTER!! Anyway... there you have it! That's my vent about all that. It's still not as bad as the people in Barnes and Noble (or whatever fine book retailer you may frequent) who sit and read the books and never buy them. That's another day though....



More later...

Day 1

Well, it's the end of the first day... I worked out, I worked hard, and I think I may have even may have managed to keep from saying that I'll try and do something. That last one felt pretty good, and it made me feel motivated. It even helped with the workout, when I could tell myself that I was going to do something, and then put my brain on that effort to do it. The hardest part today was sitting at home, eating the burgers I fixed tonight, and thinking about how good a beer would taste with them. It's only been a day, and I'm already craving that. That's how it goes, I suppose, and I managed to behave myself... so I'm doing alright there. I imagine that the desires will fade as time goes on, and I may not even have any craving for it at all when the end is there. We'll see about all of that later. I've got a photo above, just something I could put together here at my desk, but also something sort of marking the first day, with my mirrored finger outstretched and reaching for the sky. For now, though, I'm going to head off and get some rest, so I can do it all over again tomorrow. We'll see where things go, and I'll be back later!

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40 Days...

Alright folks... I'm getting a few things together for Lent. They're not really connected in a religious way to these 40 days, but I'm using it as a way to try and start a few things, and kickstart some others...

-- 40 days in the gym -- working out for at least 30 minutes a day during this time
-- 40 days on the blog -- blog every day about my progress and other things
-- 40 days without beer -- yeah, I'm going to give up beer during this time (not forever though, so no worries there)
-- 40 days of hard work -- it's going to be around crunch time for my current project, so I'm going to rock that out
-- 40 days of photos -- take a photo and post it up here (or on the photoblog, more on that later) everyday
-- 40 days of doing -- "Do or do not, there is no try" -- I'm tired of saying "I'll try and do X" and then not doing it, or knowing that I'm not going to do it when I say I'll try... time to start either deciding to do it or not

There may be a few more, but I'll add them if they come to me...

Some of these will be tough (BEER...) and some will be fun (photos), but I think they'll all be good, and I think I can do them all without dying. In any case, that's my list, and I'm going to make a run for it!

I've also set up a counter on Joe's Goals, and I'll be tracking as many of these things as I can that way, as well as with the progress reports in the blog.

Roller Derby...

The next time you're looking for a good random event to get to here in Irvine, definitely check out the roller derby, featuring the Orange County Roller Girls! OC Elvis (yes, that is his name) even made an appearance, and the action was pretty sweet once the wheels started spinning. Any sporting event where you have to sign a waiver on your way into the gates is going to be pretty sweet, in my book. Definitely wear your proper rock-a-billy attire, I know I'm going to have to round up something like that next time! By the time I left, I was starting to get the hang of it all, I think, and understand the scoring and stuff, so I'll be ready for their next outing, coming up in about a month now. I've got some photos below, showing what I got of this night.

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Irish Pub

MULDOON'S - Dublin PUB & Celtic Bar est. 1974

This is a fun irish pub, where you walk through the entrance door and yet are still outside. It was kind of baffling at first, but once I got the hang of it all, it was pretty excellent. Food was good, and the beer was tasty, so good times were had by I believe all that were there. Much better than perhaps the time I would have had witnessing the train wreck that might be Ghost Rider... I still may have to see that before too much longer, while I still can while it's in theaters.

So far this Flock Browser thing is pretty cool. I'm digging the more fluid interactions I've got with almost everything, from this blog to uploading photos, to just about everything. Woohoo! Give it a try if you're feeling froggy.

More later!

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Thoughts on Music

Steve Jobs' Take on music... a few weeks old, but still a good read if you haven't yet.

"Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats. In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players. This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat."

Apple - Thoughts on Music

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