To the Beach

Now the summer is upon us, I'm again obsessed with all things summery, beachy, and watery. I decided to have some fun editing photos I took of Northern Michigan and post them on my blog.

I really like how the I made different filters turn this photo look like an oil painting. I love how Photoshop can make make one photo and make it look like different mediums.

Here is the original picture, bland and boring
Here is the edited version with different filters to look like an oil painting postcard




No, Michigan doesn't have starfish, but it would be awesome if they did. I grabbed my mother-in-law's fake starfish she had at her place and took some pictures of it. I played with the adjustments because the original was overexposed.
Below is the original

I also have another picture and added a border:



This picture was actually an accident, I meant to focus on the sailboat, but the camera focused on the cable cords and turned out pretty cool.

Have a happy summer!

Bring it On 2010

As this year comes to a close, I want to recap on some of the things that have happened. From Somali Pirates and North Korean missiles to Michael Jackson and Tiger Woods, this year will certainly be memorable especially for me.

The year started of making history with the presidential inauguration of Barrack Obama—the first president ever with the last name that starts with the letter “O.” It was a beginning of a new era that promised change and hope for the future. I too was hopeful like everyone else not only for the changes at the White House but also for the changes in my life.

Last January was the beginning of my final semester of my senior year. I eagerly waited to start a new chapter in my life. As part of the graduating class of 2009, I was full all the idealism a college student could possess. Brandt and I were going to graduate and find great careers in exotic cities like Phoenix or Denver and change the world. I thought that at the very worst we would make a combined annual salary of 60 grand.

America quickly awakened from its dream by the very people that put them there. Government maladies such as the Blagojevich scandal and a stimulus package with a never-ending debt, the year already pretty much went down the crapper.

Right after college graduation, we had no job offers, no interviews and no prospects of employment. My hopes were crushed. To make things better, Brandt and I packed up, moved across the country and move in with the in-laws. We were moving to a place with the worst economy in the whole country with the auto industry going down the tube. Not to mention I moved to a place were it took me months to figure out where I was driving and how to drive in highly populated areas. Detroit is no Rexburg that’s for sure.

Year 2009 was the year celebrity deaths. Farah Fawcett, Patrick Swayze, and Michael Jackson. Although Kanye West will attest that Michael Jackson’s death was the best death ever. As typical of all infomercials, Billy Mays threw in an extra fatality.

At the end of summer, Brandt and I both landed a job, which was much needed, and we both are fortunate. However, the glimmer of hope working our dream job dwindled even more.

During the fall season the year is wrapping up, and no year would be complete with out more celebrity affairs. David Letterman tells the audience he and his female staff have been going on adventures. Thanksgiving weekend America’s perception of Tiger Woods drastically changed from a generally good guy to a sordid two-timer.

Thank goodness 2009 is over, it has been the most difficult year of my life, and I don’t wish to repeat it. Hopefully 2010 will be much better, but after hoping in 2009, I won’t hold my breath.

Happy Shooting!

Ebay used to have a slogan for their commercials: "shop victoriously." I love that saying because it describes so well the feeling of the bidding and buying someone out on a item that is pretty competitive. A couple of weeks ago, after vigorous research, I did shop victoriously and got a Canon Powershot 710 IS. It's just a point-and-shoot with manual settings, but I figured this would be a good starter camera before I moved on to an SLR.

So here are some pictures I have taken around my in-laws yard. Hope you like them!

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday Brandt and I had our anniversary, and we have been married for two years now. We celebrated by going to a really nice Italian restaurant and saw the new Harry Potter movie.

It has been a crazy two years, and somehow time manages to go by so slow and so so fast at the same time. I feel as if I have known Brandt forever (three years), however I look to see where has all the time gone. I would have never imagined two years ago that I would be living here in Michigan, but I also couldn't imagine graduating from college. Then again, what college student does?

I'm reminded of the analogy President Hinckley gave about life as riding a train. We go through thrills and excitement and the dulls, but, in the end, we should grateful for the ride. This concept is something I'm learning and relearning all the time. That I need to enjoy more of the process of my life instead of the results. While Brandt and I had to do some not-so-glamorous things during our relationship and marriage, such as being apart for six months, practically living at a restaurant to earn money for school, going to school and working so much that we could only see each other for 15 minutes a day, and being jobless, Brandt and I have had many good times. For example, all the adventures we went on such as going to Disney Land, Jackson Hole, the countless trips to both of our parents' house, and going up to West Yellowstone many times. Also we had our mini adventures together such as getting snowcones next to Taco Bell, the numerous walks around Rexburg, and dates going to the cheap theater on center street. I miss those times and wish I could have savored them more.

Thanks, Brandt for letting me be with you on this train ride, I look forward to what's instore for us.

Because I have had some free time, I made a video montage and some fun Photoshop stuff on our wedding pictures.

Stupid People, Married People

Yesterday Brandt and I were off on our adventure to a local community college. Yes, that’s right, we both have a bachelor’s degree and yet Brandt has to go back to school. Brandt is studying to become an actuary, so he is going to take a calculus class as a refresher.

On the drive there, I saw the most irresponsible and stupid thing on the face of the earth. A woman with her stroller J-walked on a highway. Not just any high way, an extremely busy, very fast highway. The speed limit is 55 mph, but people drive at least five miles over. Did I mention that this highway has four lanes of traffic, and it’s busy?

Whenever I think I know the human race’s aptitude for idiocy, someone finds away to increase that aptitude. There must be a law somewhere saying people can’t do dumb things that put the child in danger. But hey, who am I to judge? Perhaps that child was misbehaving and needed a little scare in order for him/her to settle down.

Besides moronic people, I have been thinking of how there aren’t any books/movies (at least good ones) about married couples. It’s seems that we see stories of a couple falling in love or falling apart.

My theory is once you become married, you become terribly boring to other people. Most of my married life consisted of Friday nights going to the grocery store and sitting on the couch vegging from a long, hard week. Now that we are jobless, our adventures consist of finding pop bottles for spare change, teaching swimming lessons, and getting into water fights from washing my father-in-law’s car for $10. It’s exciting for us, but the rest of the world thinks it’s a yawn. What are your thoughts?

That’s all I cared about this Friday. Tune in for next post on existentialism (yeah, right).

The Reality and Truth about TV

“I can’t see you really having a long career with writing because you have a love-hate relationship with it,” Brandt said.

I wanted to punch him in the face for that comment, but unfortunately he was kind of right on that one. Now that I’m out of school, I don’t have professor telling me, “here’s a subject, go write.” Also my living conditions aren’t exactly inspiring me to come up with topics. However, I have been thinking of this for a while so here I go.

Humans essentially want two things: truth and to connect with another being(s). Think about it. Truly successful movies and books have revealed some sort of truth, which leads to a human connection. Almost all good comedians, if not all of them, get their material not because they’re extremely witty, but they tell jokes/stories with truth in them. Jeff Foxworthy is a perfect example.

Same thing with sit-coms, for example, my in-laws (particularly my father-in-law and Brandt) love Everybody Loves Raymond. Apparently Marie Barrone is just like Grandma Malone and Robyne, Frank Barrone is an older and balder David, and Brandt and I are like Ray and Debra. I may be stretching this, but I think that TV show gives my in-laws some sense of connection because it makes them feel like their family isn’t as crazy as the Barrones.

While people crave truth and have relatable people to watch on TV, people have created reality TV shows, which isn’t reality at all. No matter how hard producers try, it just can’t be done. Even with Jon and Kate Plus 8, what was originally capturing how a large family functions, has now turned into a ratings-driven controversy. I originally loved the show because it reminded me of growing up in a house with multiple siblings. Then the show started to get out of hand. What kind of family goes on vacations to Disney World, Park City, South Carolina, the different outings, and Hawaii with in a year or two? Basically the show ended up being a huge product placement, and made average parents feel guilty that they can’t go on half as nice vacations for four people, let alone ten.

Anyways, it’s too bad that Jon and Kate Gosling sold out on their family for money. They may get a lot of ratings for their show, but no one really respects them. Then again, people want to see truth, and maybe people want to see how TV and money will screw up ten individuals.

Starting My Summer in the Mitten

So this past weekend Brandt and I went with his parents to their cottage in Northern Michigan. It’s beautiful up there, and I was really excited to go back to the place where Brandt and I spent our honeymoon. I also was excited to go because of two new passions/ hobbies: photography and all things nautical and beach inspired. I hoped to take some pictures of some lighthouses and sail boats.

We spent the weekend going to Petoskey, Charlevoix, and Harbor Springs (if you don’t know where that is, look at your hand. It’s around the tip of your ring finger.) On Saturday we had a picnic lunch in Petoskey at Little Traverse Bay, a small bay that goes into Lake Michigan. Just before we found a place to park, I saw it on the pier: a brick-red tugboat. It was love at first sight. For as far as I know, this was the first tugboat I have seen. I told Brandt that I had to take some pictures, and if it weren’t for a plague of May Flies, (it was pretty bad) I would have taken more pictures.

I also took some pictures of flowers and a waterfall where we ate our lunch. I wasn’t able to take a picture of a real lighthouse because there wasn’t one around. Instead, I took some pictures of a mini lighthouse in Charlevoix. This lighthouse is used for smaller ships coming in the harbor.

Well it was a good weekend, and I hope to see more of Northern Michigan.