Flashback: West Montrose
Another round of organization has been done, and I'm up to 317 archived photos (i.e. photos that I've tagged and "developed") now. I just finished March of 2005, which saw Carolyn and I journey from Richmond, VA back to Kitchener. I was still getting the hang of the camera back then (and still am) so the photos of Shenandoah National Park are nothing to write home about. When we got back, Carolyn took me to Elora and to the West Montrose Bridge, otherwise known as the Kissing Bridge. For a comparison, check out the photos we took when we went back in 2007.
Flashback: Washington DC
Lest you think I have neglected my promise to organize and upload my photos, I present to you my first update:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgevnoucek/sets/72157612914551057/
Waaaay back in 2005, Carolyn and I were stationed in Richmond, VA. In preparation for our first road trip, I had bought my precious Nikon D70. My first subject was the United States capital: Washington, DC. Click here to view my original blog posts about the trip, including original versions of the photos I've touched-up.
I suppose the timing is fitting, considering Obama-rama.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgevnoucek/sets/72157612914551057/
Waaaay back in 2005, Carolyn and I were stationed in Richmond, VA. In preparation for our first road trip, I had bought my precious Nikon D70. My first subject was the United States capital: Washington, DC. Click here to view my original blog posts about the trip, including original versions of the photos I've touched-up.
I suppose the timing is fitting, considering Obama-rama.
Blowing Bubbles
Four-score and half a lifetime ago, I failed my Maroon level swimming lessons... for the second time. I can't recall ever being a water baby, but I certainly wasn't during those years. I can still recall the feeling of impending doom as I waited for the lessons to start, made no more enjoyable by the irrepressable shivering caused by showers that spewed not only frigid water but inspired hate as well.
Perhaps it wasn't quite that bad, but I certainly didn't enjoy it, and I certainly wasn't very good at it.
So that begs the question: why am I taking adult swimming lessons?
My first lesson was two nights ago. If I didn't know this by the calendar, I would know because my legs are killing me. The pain is reminding me of more reasons why I chose the life of a landlubber. But the truth is, just because something is hard or uncomfortable doesn't mean it's not good for you. Carolyn and I plan on doing a canoe trip in Algonquin this summer, and we thought it would be good for me to be more comfortable in the water.
I'm signed up for AquaAdult II at the Waterloo Rec Centre. It's great because I've already learned something: when doing front crawl, you're supposed to breathe out underwater. I had always thought that you held your breath while underwater and then do a full breath above. Not that I was any good with the first technique, but this new technique added a whole new dimension of panic I hadn't experienced before. So while other students were practicing their front and back crawl, I stood at the end of the pool, face partially submerged, trying not to choke as I blew bubbles in the water.
So my question to you, the loyal reader, is: how do you breathe when you're swimming? Do you breathe out your mouth, or out your nose? Do you count to 3 before taking a breath? I am curious to how other people do this, as it is a foundation of swimming properly. If you have suggestions on how I might get more comfortable with my face underwater please pass them along.
In the meantime, you may find me at home in my bathroom, playing with my rubber ducky and blowing bubbles.
Perhaps it wasn't quite that bad, but I certainly didn't enjoy it, and I certainly wasn't very good at it.
So that begs the question: why am I taking adult swimming lessons?
My first lesson was two nights ago. If I didn't know this by the calendar, I would know because my legs are killing me. The pain is reminding me of more reasons why I chose the life of a landlubber. But the truth is, just because something is hard or uncomfortable doesn't mean it's not good for you. Carolyn and I plan on doing a canoe trip in Algonquin this summer, and we thought it would be good for me to be more comfortable in the water.
I'm signed up for AquaAdult II at the Waterloo Rec Centre. It's great because I've already learned something: when doing front crawl, you're supposed to breathe out underwater. I had always thought that you held your breath while underwater and then do a full breath above. Not that I was any good with the first technique, but this new technique added a whole new dimension of panic I hadn't experienced before. So while other students were practicing their front and back crawl, I stood at the end of the pool, face partially submerged, trying not to choke as I blew bubbles in the water.
So my question to you, the loyal reader, is: how do you breathe when you're swimming? Do you breathe out your mouth, or out your nose? Do you count to 3 before taking a breath? I am curious to how other people do this, as it is a foundation of swimming properly. If you have suggestions on how I might get more comfortable with my face underwater please pass them along.
In the meantime, you may find me at home in my bathroom, playing with my rubber ducky and blowing bubbles.
Brand new year
So it is a brand new year (2009 for those not paying attention), and this time of year is often used as an opportunity for people to reinvent themselves... or at least wholeheartedly make plans to nix those bad habits and get back on the track to being a happy and successful human being. Now of course there are naysayers that claim that people who really want to change could do it anytime of the year, if they really put their mind to it. And to be honest, they're probably right.
But I say nuts to them.
I'm the type of guy that only likes cooking when the counter-top is clean. The transition from one year to the next, as arbitrary as our calendar system may be in the universal scheme of things, lifts the cloud of problems, tasks, and details that was last year and shines a light on all the possibilities ahead. Tabula rasa.
Having said all that, I'm also a pragmatist, so I don't plan on achieving unreasonable goals, or even trying to set goals with rigid timelines. Life is too unpredictable to adhere to tight schedules. But, I do believe in the importance of goals, and that keeping track of progress towards a goal can help you stay on track.
To that end, I'm going to try to use this blog to help achieve some of my goals this year. Hopefully it will keep me honest. [And if not, it's my blog so I can lie and nobody will be the wiser ;)]
If it's not obvious by now, organization of my photos has been a gargantuan monkey (would that be a gorilla?) on my back. I would love to have all my photos tagged and archived by the end of this year. But there are over 18,000 photos right now (with more coming), so that's not exactly realistic. I will be happy if I can come up with a system that lets me chip away at the pile faster than it grows. My plan is to tackle one month at a time, starting with my 2005 photos (when I got my D70!). After I've tagged and archived (meaning, backed up on DVD, and maybe stored at Ryan's house?) that month, I'll upload the best to flickr. I'm hoping that will give me incentive to continue. I have also added a progress bar to my sidebar; I suspect it may become discouraging at some point, but right now it's pretty.
Do I have other goals for this year? Sure, but I'll keep them to myself for now until I'm successful enough to admit them.
Good luck to everyone with their own goals, private or otherwise.
But I say nuts to them.
I'm the type of guy that only likes cooking when the counter-top is clean. The transition from one year to the next, as arbitrary as our calendar system may be in the universal scheme of things, lifts the cloud of problems, tasks, and details that was last year and shines a light on all the possibilities ahead. Tabula rasa.
Having said all that, I'm also a pragmatist, so I don't plan on achieving unreasonable goals, or even trying to set goals with rigid timelines. Life is too unpredictable to adhere to tight schedules. But, I do believe in the importance of goals, and that keeping track of progress towards a goal can help you stay on track.
To that end, I'm going to try to use this blog to help achieve some of my goals this year. Hopefully it will keep me honest. [And if not, it's my blog so I can lie and nobody will be the wiser ;)]
If it's not obvious by now, organization of my photos has been a gargantuan monkey (would that be a gorilla?) on my back. I would love to have all my photos tagged and archived by the end of this year. But there are over 18,000 photos right now (with more coming), so that's not exactly realistic. I will be happy if I can come up with a system that lets me chip away at the pile faster than it grows. My plan is to tackle one month at a time, starting with my 2005 photos (when I got my D70!). After I've tagged and archived (meaning, backed up on DVD, and maybe stored at Ryan's house?) that month, I'll upload the best to flickr. I'm hoping that will give me incentive to continue. I have also added a progress bar to my sidebar; I suspect it may become discouraging at some point, but right now it's pretty.
Do I have other goals for this year? Sure, but I'll keep them to myself for now until I'm successful enough to admit them.
Good luck to everyone with their own goals, private or otherwise.
