On the Plus Side

Getting used to working in an office again--after being self-employed and working from home for 12 years--is a huge adjustment. I really can't say how well it's going. I just don't have enough perspective to make any judgments yet. One plus, though, was that I was up early enough to see this glorious sunrise on Friday.

I decided to start Project 365* again. It reminds me to be cognizant of my surroundings and helps prevent me from thinking about work all the time. It also is a great way to make sure I get out for a walk every day, so I can get some exercise and appreciate all the weird and wonderful things Portland has to offer. I've even found some weird (though not wonderful) things in the icky suburb where I now work. Who knew?

*Project 365 is a photo-a-day project on Flickr.

Proud of Myself

Well, I did it. I took a photo* a day for 366 days in a row. Every ding-dong day last year! Project 365/366 is done. I'm proud of myself and more than a little pleased with some of the shots I took. I think Woody Allen's comment--"80 percent of success is just showing up"--applies here. I got out there. In conjunction with the photo-a-day thing, I took a walk every day,** usually a pretty decent one (i.e., at least a couple of miles). Yeah, sometimes I didn't get out until after dark and, yeah, there were a few days when all I did was take a spin around the block, but those days were in the minority.

I think getting out there every day, walking with my eyes open helped keep me from losing it while embroiled in the most stressful and ill-conceived (work) project of my life this summer. And, quite simply, I just saw so much in my own neighborhood that I probably would have breezed right past, if I hadn't been under the gun to get some kind of decent photo every day. Not to mention all kinds of weirdness that it would have been a tragedy not to document.



One completely unexpected serendipity was that I got to meet up on my last day of the project with another Project 365er who lives in the Chicago area. Here's my final shot of the project, with both of us reflected in the Cloudgate (AKA "the Bean") sculpture in Chicago's Millennium Park.

Here's a short (30-seconds), semi-cheeserific movie of just a few of my faves that I remixed about 20 times and am not too happy with. It just keeps coming out weirder and weirder because the "movie" (really just a slideshow with music) is a free application and the user has no control at all over what comes out the spigot.

If you're so inclined, click here to see all 366. You know I want you to!

*Actually, I took way more than one photo every day, and then had to choose one as photo of the day. Mega, mega, mega time-consuming, as you can imagine.
**I didn't get out for a walk on Christmas--so out of 366 days, I missed one day of walking (but I still took a photo). I'm not beating myself up over it! It really wouldn't have been right to walk out in the middle of a family gathering and by the time everyone left, it was dark and all of Chicago was covered in a treacherous sheet of ice.

Death Ray

My camera has a fireworks setting.

To quote (I think) Sir Ralph Richardson, "I love fireworks...they're so unnecessary."

That is all.

Wrecked

Peering through the disintegrating wreckage of the "Peter Iredale," a steel barque that was shipwrecked about 10 miles south of Astoria, Oregon, in 1906. More wreckage here.

P.S. This is my 500th blog post (that is, if you can call this a blog post and not just a sly way of touting the photos I take).

Pig Cheek Hash Available Here

Pig Cheek Hash Available Here
Originally uploaded by Rozanne.

One of the best things about Project 365 is everything I'm discovering right in my own neighborhood, like this restaurant that serves, among other things, pig cheek hash (or maybe it was billed as pork cheek hash...but same difference). Note of irony--it's right across the street from a nonprofit called In Defense of Animals that is dedicated to protecting the rights, welfare, and habitat of animals. I don't imagine there's much love lost between the restaurant and the nonprofit.

Cat Not on a Hot Tin Roof

Another cat post--two days in a row--because cat blogging is so wildly popular, I know.

Cats are always getting stuck in trees in cartoons and children's storybooks, but I've seldom seen a cat in a tree in real life. Today I did. Doesn't this remind you of the kind of photo that shows up on greeting cards? The kind of card with a lame-ass sentiment like "Hang in there!" I would deem the cheese factor on this photo to be very high if it was on a greeting card, but since I took the photo myself, I think it's fabulous. Plus, this is the perfect metaphor for the kind of day I had today.

In other news, the entire roof of our house was torn off today, and I found out I have a Vitamin D deficiency. It's always something.

H-O-T

It's Day 138 of Project 365, and I am finally desperate enough to resort to a photo of our cat, Rusty. It was so hot yesterday (mid-90s), I didn't get out to take my photo walk until about 8:00 PM, by which time it wasn't really light enough for photos. Earlier in the day, I'd snapped this shot of Rusty, all overheated and splayed out on the carpet under my desk (why he chose a carpet instead of the cooler wood floor I can't fathom). The photo was very underexposed, so I clicked the "Enhance" option on iPhoto (that's as much retouching as my lazy ass is willing to do), and for some reason it turned the carpet B&W and gave Rusty this sort of subdued antiquey colorized look. I quite like it!

The Chill East Wind

Day 24/366: Bubblewrap Jellyfish Whipping Around in the Wind
Originally uploaded by Rozanne.

This is the 24th day in a row I've gotten my butt outside and taken a walk and the 24th day in a row I've posted a Project 365/366 photo. I've been loving doing both, but, boy-howdy, was it cold and windy today. Just the sort of weather I thought I'd gotten shut of by moving away from Chicago.

There were tons of great photo opps today, but it was murder having to take off my gloves and handle that metal camera in the wind. I suffer for my art. Yeah, right.

It's been interesting to see what each day will yield. Some days I'm not really thrilled with any of the photos I take; other days I end up with several that I quite like. Then I have trouble making a decision about which one is going to be the official photo of the day.

Today, was one of those days. I couldn't decide between the bubblewrap jellyfish lanterns and this rusted Medusa with her beer can boobs. I finally went with the jellyfish since they were being buffeted around by the chill east wind just like I was today. Plus, will they look as compelling the next time I'm out if the wind isn't blowing and the sky isn't so vividly blue? Will they even still be there in a few weeks or will the elements have shredded them or will neighborhood toughs have stolen them?

Yes, I know I am taking this project just a smidge too seriously.

Project 365

So far, so good with my plan to take a walk every day. As added motivation, I've signed up for Project 365*, a Flickr photo group whose members post a photo a day to the pool. (Shout-out to Marilyn for posting about the project and for her inspiring photos.) I'm really pretty excited about the idea, not only as a way of melting some of the too too solid flesh off of my arse but as a way to pay more attention to my surroundings.

In fact, I just got back from a walk. Thanks (but no thanks) to the possible implosion of one work project and a stall-out on another, I've not got a lot of work on my plate for the next few days. That's OK. As I walked, the sun unexpectedly came out and the sky cleared and became a lovely baby-blanket blue. It got warm enough and dry enough for the neighborhood cats to venture out beyond their porches. I even saw an earwig. Can summer be far off?

Here's today's photo:



My set is here. Four so far, and 362 to come.

*Yeah, I know, this year has 366 days.