echo’s blog

eve

2009-12-24T15:53:32Z

it's christmas eve and like nearly every year there are rumblings about if it will snow. i think it is a cruel joke that local weathermen play every year and suggest the possibility of snow on christmas. it's like the santa lie for adults. today's weather is cold and wet but does not give me the impression of impending ice of any kind.

yesterday was productive on many levels. i was able to finish everything except the yoga. i will make an effort to fit that in today. my entire body is sore and thankfully, because of the rain, i don't have to make up my own excuse why i can't go to the trail today. i can see where this mountain bike thing is going and how much fun it can be once i stop falling down and trying not to fall into dirty garland creeks. ew.

i took a ton of pictures yesterday and am figuring out the iso/shutter speed settings and the effect they have. i'm glad i didn't listen to my mom who was trying to talk me out of buying a camera. jac and i took the rail up to the meridian room and i took my camera along. I need to start looking for appropriate messenger bag style camera bags. i set up the flickr account and posted "day 1." here are a few other interesting pix from yesterday.

fair park dart station

skyline from the deep ellum station

from the inside out

there isn't really a game plan for today. i have family holiday festivities for tomorrow and saturday but not a while lot going on today. 24 hour to do list:

20 minutes of yoga that i didn't get to yesterday
meditation practice
daily photo
treadmill time*
finish up the laundry*
organize next round of stuff to purge*

*asterisks indicate stuff that can be put off to sunday

05 Christmas Time Is Here [Instrumental]

Vince Guaraldi

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on the eve of the eve

2009-12-23T15:12:29Z

it's christmas eve eve and i'm laid out on the couch "working." it's a good thing my boss let us work from home this week considering i'm not allowed to touch anything. breaking anything anytime is bad but breaking anything during the holidays is extra bad. if i'm focused enough today i should be able to takle more of that CCNA class, as mind numbingly dull as it is.

so i think i referenced in my last post that i was interested in a photo365 project. well i'm in. i've been hassling jac about maintaining his whiskerino to feel like i have some sort of discipline. work has been slow and i've been spending a little too much time on the couch and at jack-in-the-box. it shows. i took my bike on the trail twice this week and the second time i was roughed up a bit. i think i'll stick to the treadmill the next few days until christmas is over to recover. but anyways, i was going through some of my older pictures and found a few i really liked.

sxsw irish night 2009

i don't remember taking this picture and it may well have been an accident but i love it. of course this can't count for today's picture (i will be taking that later on today) but i wanted to share. today's to do list will be limited to the next 24 hours.

go see grandmother (lunch/movie?)
5 minutes of meditation
20 minutes of yoga
30 minutes running (outdoors or in)
"operation NP"
take a picture and post it on my new flickr

Miami Horror - Don't Be On With Her

itunes says i listen to this song a lot.

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sunday night

2009-12-21T04:56:16Z

711 on ross

it's an average sunday night. i'm watching bad reality tv on vh1 waiting for the maintenance window. i've got a cup of texas pecan coffee (i love central market) and i'm listening to jac snore during comercial breaks. the last few days i've considered starting a photo365 project. i'm not sure if it's something i could actually keep up with or not. jac's whiskerino has kind of inspired me a little. the daily photo thing seems like a lot of fun. in my case they wouldn't be of myself but i could use this here blog to track them each day. we shall see. i'm using the holiday excuse for putting off a lot. on one hand i should take the time to rest but at what point am i just being lazy?

the to do list:

make a decision on school
finish up the CCNA courses
resume yoga and meditation practice
hit the trails (often)
take a picture

Thunderheist - Nothing 2 Step 2

Smashing Pumpkins - Siva

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charlotte day 2

2009-12-08T01:11:37Z

charlotte

i'm sitting in a hotel room in charlotte, nc being half introspective and half whiny. there's a profile on some serial killer on the biography channel and i feel queasy after some no so great room service. i'm looking forward to getting back home. 4 days to go. i've lost 3 nails today from idle picking so i know something is up. i think it's mostly because i'm away from home and don't want to be. i miss the boyfriend terribly and i'm trying not to be a baby about it. i need to remember to stay positive and take care of business instead of sulk. the to do list:

gym gym gym
enroll in school
take pictures of reunion arena
get back into yoga and meditating
figure out what to do about the "christmas" thing

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long time, no type

2009-11-22T21:49:09Z

i've been massively neglecting this here vox for a while. i occasionally get the urge to post and then something always seems to distract me. the last few weeks it's been this:

the frenchman

not entirely sure how this happened but i couldn't be more pleased with life's twists and turns right now. going into the holidays (which is usually my least favorite time of the year) i'm at peace with my life. my priorities have been shifting around all year but things are settling in. for the first time (ever?) i'm confident in my thoughts and actions. spending 29 years attempting to please people hasn't really paid off so i'm changing things up. so far i've had mixed reactions from friends and family (what do you mean you won't celebrate christmas anymore?) but that's part of the whole thing. i've got some traveling to do in the next few weeks for family and work. tucson this week and charlotte in december. just trying to maintain momentum and get things done. losing 20 pounds is a priority, followed by deciding what i want to be when i grow up. i've got another year until i'm 30. i'll just take another year to "find myself." i'm close. i can feel it.

Cotton

The Mountain Goats

instead of the to do list i'll make a done list:

mountain goats and final fantasy live
picked CS back up
reconnected with a very old friend
finally hung that shelf over my bed
became a mavericks fan
got happy

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last weekend

2009-11-10T01:08:18Z

method man walks on people

4AM photo mischief

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fall

2009-10-16T00:23:10Z

dallas

fall had quite the entrance this year. one day it was suddenly crisp. so suddenly in fact some friends had been at the pool just the day before. then the rain cloud descended and stuck around for weeks. it's still not entirely clear and sunny though today gave a good effort. the lack of sun took such a toll on my that i decided to give myself an extra day this weekend to sleep in. i'm hoping this weekend is full of shenanigans. i'm planning to hit the fair twice, catch a "funk show", see some of the texas/ou game or some colorful fans and maybe if i'm feeling generous help a friend move.

the fair has been a lot of fun this year. and i've even been on a few rides which was unexpected but a total blast. the corny dogs and fried everything has taken a toll causing me to sign up at the gym at work. i will soon be the hotness, watch out. it feels like a friday so i'm extremely pleased it's only a thursday. and that means project runway day!

R.I.P. blackberry storm. i switched back to my plain old flip phone and sold off the fancy phone. i did get some good pictures out of it before i sent it away for more money to spend at the fair.

ferris wheel

the midway

kiosk

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ACL '09

2009-10-06T01:20:53Z

soaked during dave matthews

blurry pearl jam

my ACL roster (in this order):

coheed & cambria
bassnectar
thievery corperation
citizen cope
mos def
dave matthews band
rodriguez
b52s
heartless bastards
toadies
passion pit
the dead weather
pearl jam

the most surprising shows were passion pit and pearl jam. i didn't expect to like passion pit as much as i did. i heard "sleepyhead" (and blogged about it before) but didn't take them seriously or take the time to check out any other songs. the show was energetic and fun and i've downloaded the rest of the album and am liking it quite a bit. however the big shocker was pearl jam. even though i was obsessed with "ten", like every other middle schooler on earth when it came out, i fell out of love with them in high school. the albums just stopped having the same effect on me as they once did. i wasn't all that pumped until the beastie boys canceled. since nothing else big was going on i thought "this should be really fun." well, immediately i was reminded why pearl jam was so big and how they had filled arenas with rock for about 2 decades already. wow. i mean... wow. that was just damn impressive. if given another opportunity to see them i will certainly take it.

so i'm back at home in dallas, missing austin like crazy. i have to find something else to look forward to... paying down debt? turning 30? new years? how about another trip to the fair. that always raises my spirits.

Passion pit - manners - 04 - the reeling

Passion Pit

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friday night in

2009-09-26T01:51:04Z

it's friday night and i'm sitting in bed drinking water and catching up on my google reader. exciting! i love it. i'm going to bed early tonight so that i can rise in the morning and greet the painters who are coming over to finish my kitchen. i started it and then realised i couldn't reach above the cabinets. whoops. so while they're doing that i'll be cleaning out my entire closet and making a pile of items that will be leaving my home. i started reading up on minimalism and zen in an attempt to solve the most serious issue in my life. i truly believe that simplifying, slowing down and being present in the moment is the answer. i won't solve all of my problems obviously, but it will help me focus on being genuinely happy.

so the drinking is being dramatically reduced and the physical activity significantly increased. no romantic involvement (which should be easy considering i'm not interested in anyone within a thousand miles of here) and daily meditation. i must remember that meditation is supposed to be hard.

in other, more fun news i finally got my camera cable back (bart ran off with it when he left) and was able to get the britney pictures off. i was quite impressed again with the quality of my camera, especially in the video department.

it's britney bitch

it was a great time and i actually wished i had paid the extra cash for better seats. it would have been worth it. in learning from this mistake i've sprung for excellent seats at eddie izzard. it's not until january but i'm very excited. josh said he would take my extra ACL tickets so that should help a great deal. i really need the cash so i really hope he follows through on this one. selling those tickets almost completely pays for the kitchen being painted. and since i'm staying with friends i shouldn't be going too broke that weekend. it IS my birthday so perhaps i can score a few free drinks as well. i bought myself a wii fit as a gift (well... in addition to the ACL tickets).

tomorrow i'm hoping to wrap up all of the improvements/decorating tasks around the loft. i wish i'd taken more before pictures. this place looks 10x better than it did 6 months ago. new furniture layout, paint, bed sheets, art to name a few. tomorrow's task list will go something like this:

replace nasty plastic switch plates in kitchen with new nickel plated ones
hang shelf above bed (pending i find someone to help)
round up all of the unnecessary items (and hopefully get rid of them as well)
finish rothko inspired art for bathroom
frame and hang 50's ads in kitchen

after this i will reward myself with a movie or a show. datarock is tomorrow night. maybe the fair? whatever i do i'm going to try to stay off the facebook. i'm way to addicted to that thing.

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a tuesday

2009-09-22T19:01:52Z

scout is cute

well today it's 64 degrees and i love it. i am planning to switch out all of the clothes in my closet from summer to winter when i get home and i'm super excited about it. mostly so i can start throwing outfits into bags that i've never worn or never will again. i need some cash if i'm seriously going to relocate next summer. keeping the relocation in mind is helping me eliminate purchases i don't really need to make. i was thinking about buying a bed frame, but that would just be one more thing to move. i've started eyeing items around the apartment that i don't need or use. the only thing preventing me from ditching them now is that i don't want to give them away. i see a garage sale in my future. probably in the distant future (next spring?) but definately there. i can probably talk my parents into letting me use their house, especially if i help thin out their garage.

it's the first day it's been "not hot outside" so i'm having a tough time focusing on work. i chipped away at some training online, working on that CCNA certification that would really help me score a new job if i have to leave the vzw. i REALLY hope i don't have to but only time will tell. i think the change in the weather has had a definate positive impact on my mood. not sure why but it has. i feel genuinely hopeful for the first time in months. i just have to make it through 1 more hour of work before i can go home, nap and work on my closet while i wait for "The Maintenance Window." only two more nights left to work before i get back to a normal sleep schedule. that will be nice.

the to do list:

dig out winter clothes and put away white shoes
go pick up that duvet cover before they stop carrying it it was on sale!
wash the blinds in the living room
oil change for the car
clean the car
hang the shelf in the bathroom and bedroom
grocery shopping

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