Sunday, December 31, 2000

A Thousand Years

As I write this it is less than 12 hours until midnight, January 1, 2001. The new Millennium! The 21st Century!

I can hardly believe it. Here we (as in mankind) are on the verge of the future. It didn't really sink in until a few days ago. Usually I regard the New Years' festivities with boredom and indifference. I don't party. I don't drink. I usually stay at home, while others whoop it up. Of the parties I have been to, they have been unsettling. I would usually stand around in a corner, watching everyone else and their wives, husbands, significant others going through the traditional ritual of giving and receiving hugs and kisses. Well, they should know that those of us who HAVE no one find it "not in good taste, these public displays of affection (PDA's)." Of course, it can also be said that we knew ahead of time it was going to happen, so we should shut up about it. They just don't realize we fell “left out” and “not worthy of being loved.”

But who cares about that. Why dwell on the past, when the future is just around the corner? Sure, we don't have a lot of the fancy things that were talked about it movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey. But we have some of them.

How did this date sneak up on us? Maybe on a subconscious level we knew that the 21st Century was coming, but it always seemed a long way off. Something to think about later. There were other things that occupied time: school, work, girls (or boys, if you're a girl), having fun, etc. But later is now. We've arrived. And we're not really prepared.

“But,” you may ask, “How can you prepare for a specific date?” Good question, and it’s one I have the answer to. To a lot of people it’s “just another holiday” whereas it’s a big (sort of) date for those of us who are science-minded. The 3rd Millennium… the 21st Century… the binary date 01/01/01.

The future holds much promise. And to that end, I am going to make a few predictions. Normally I won't do “New Years’ Resolutions” but I'll do a “Millennium Resolution.”
  1. I resolve to finally have a date (not the fruit, but a date with a human female) before the end of the 3rd Millennium.
  2. I resolve to NOT be working at my current job at the end of the 3rd Millennium.
  3. Watch more movies.

Wednesday, November 22, 2000

Picture Review

Finally! A little good news for a change. I ran into Julie's mom at work today, and she told me she thought the photos I took of Julie were great. That's a good boost to the old ego. Even after years of doing photography, I am still not a very good judge of my own work. It's silly, as I've sold several of my photos, so I guess they are pretty good. I just never believe it. :)

Tuesday, October 31, 2000

Age is More than a number

Don't ask me why, but I'm depressed more than usual. Why you ask? My brother - my little brother - is turning 30 today. Three Oh. Man, do I feel old.

Usually I just get depressed around my birthday and the holiday season (which is coming up soon) so this is a change for me. Is change good? You be the judge.

Actually the day itself was very good. I finally got a chance to get out and photograph Julie (my "baby sister" - a long story) this afternoon. We've been trying to do this for a year, and it finally came together today. I would have liked to do it a few weeks ago when the leaves were still on the trees and in their full colorful glory, but it wasn't to be. We should have done something last week Tuesday, because the fog during the day made it a very evil, surreal feeling outside. All that was missing was some suspense music. Maybe some Danny Elfman.

Nevertheless, I went up to the farm north of Cedar Springs where she keeps her horse. She was still riding when I arrived, but soon we went way out into one of the fields where there was an old fallen tree. It makes for a great photo spot, and I shot a bunch of pictures of her with her horse, as she had no good ones yet. After the stump, we moved down to another area near a really large, evil looking tree (think Sleepy Hollow), where I proceeded to shoot even more with her and the horse.

We then walked back to the barn, where the horse was unsaddled and walked to a fenced area so she could romp with a few of her horse friends. She and I went back out to the tree (after she changed out of her riding clothes and into "civvies") for some informal portraits. I was shooting in both color and black & white, since there is just something about black & white photography that is appealing to the situation. I shot a bunch of photos of her on the tree and around the farm, with some nice wider shots of her walking in the fields and looking at the farm from a hill. I hope they turn out good. I'm always worried I will screw something up.

I finally left her around 4, because I had to stop at Best Buy and get my brother a present for his birthday. I settled on Rocky Horror Picture Show on DVD because I A) knew he liked it, and B) he asked for it. :) We had dinner at 4:30, mainly to be done and done with dishes and stuff before the sniveling, whiny rugrats came around for their Halloween candy. I always want to leave the lights off.

I did go up to the store for something to drink, where Jamie was dressed up like Tinkerbelle. After a few minutes of talking she said she'd like to go out and let me photograph her someday. I said we'd wait until next Spring so we could have some nice outdoor shots.

Ended up falling asleep on the couch just after That 70's Show was on. All that walking in the afternoon wore me out. I must have walked over a mile at the farm. I'm not complaining though. Far from it. I got the exercise I never get, I was out in the country where it's quiet and peaceful, and I was in the company of a wonderful young lady. Almost like heaven...