Day 9 - Lights Out

Today I did not really do much.  I went to class, spent sometime with my wife, and worked.  It was an alright day, but I didn't really accomplish much.  I couldn't think of anything interesting to post, so instead I thought I might go artsy.


This is a picture of the lights framing our window.  I like the way the lights hit the wall, it makes interesting patterns.  Especially after getting reflected by the tinsel wrapped in the lights.  I thought it was really pretty, and strangely reflective (haha, get it?) of my day...a colorful blur.  My main concern is that normally when this happens, I "wake up" several weeks later and am failing my classes.  Fingers crossed I can prevent that this time!

Till tomorrow!

Day 8 - Fakin' Dinner

Today my brain broke.  More specifically I think my brain might have finally fried out over the weekend.  Talk to any college student (who has been in college for more than one semester) and they will be able to confirm that there comes a point at which your brain just stops for a bit.  I am trying to get it back in gear, but I figured that in the mean time I would make the most of it.

So today I made Chicken Parmesan for Katie - she deserves a break every now and again, and I thought today would be a great day to help out.  She seemed to enjoy it, and I think I like the new bread crumbs we used (they were rice based and absorbed the sauce in a nice way).

I figured that seemed better than trying to figure out statistical problems on a Monday night.

Till tomorrow!

Day 7 - Thunderbolt and Lightning

This somewhat garish sight is the view through the door way into what used to be my room (and is now formally called the study).  Although I must admit that I was playing with the camera angle a little, and so this looks worst than it is - there is a pathway in the middle that the angle is hiding - this is what I get to work with.  At the back are all the pretty boxes lined up and ready to be sorted through, at the front are all the things that really just need to be boxed up.  Cleaning up my room is always a process, partly because I have always been a terrible pack rat.  So the goal right now is to just box everything up, so that I can go through one box at a time.  As I go through boxes I will sort things into piles; trash, donate, and keep, and then I will rebox to ensure that things are ready to go by May.  With something like 96 days to go, this seems like an awful lot of things to get through.  I figure if I post a progress update like this every time I get somewhere, maybe I can feel productive!

In other news, the Day 0 list tracker page seems to have posted alright!  I strongly suggest checking it out - I will do my best to note when it is updated, but you can look at it whenever you feel the urge!

Till tomorrow!

Day 6 - Compressed

Yesterday I went to a First Aid and CPR/AED class to learn how to know the required info to be a certified card holder.  Mostly because Katie wants kids, and wants to make sure I can fix them up when they injure themselves.  It was a long class, but fortunately for everyone I already knew a large portion of the material that was presented and covered.  I learned some neat things, like you use a credit card to remove the poison sack and stinger from a bee, or that they have invented a moldable foam brace for splinting broken and injured arms and legs (particularly when one is out camping or hiking and is a long way from medical support).  I just hope that now I have this knowledge that I only have to use the most basic parts (like cleaning cuts or making insect bites hurt less).

We had to wake up at about 6:00 in the morning to get to the 8:30 class, and then didn't back home until something like 6:30pm, so I was pretty darn tired.  That meant I fell asleep almost as soon as we got in the door, and so I apologize for the "lateness" of this Day 6 post.  I will still post a Day 7 post later today, just as soon as I figure out what I intend to take a picture of.

In other, less related news, I am working on creating a page to document my progress through my Day Zero List.  I hope to have it up and running by tonight, but I will provide an update with tonight's post.

Till Tomorrow (/later today)!

Day 5 - Orangutan Shavings

Today I got my hairs cut (yes, multiple hairs were cut as can be seen).  It has not even been a full month since my last haircut so this is impressive...but what my trimmings are usually like.  Katie says it looks like I murdered an orangutan.  Poor fella didn't even see it coming.

Tomorrow I get to wake up early to go to first aid and CPR classes.  I elected to go to classes on the weekend.  I am not sure how I feel about this.  This seems good since I wish to continue learning after graduation, but surely I currently have enough classwork?  Ah well, tis life sometimes.

Till tomorrow!

Day 4 - Lights and Chains

   Today I bring you a picture of our kitchen...but more importantly the paper chain that now frames our kitchen.  It has 99 links today, and is counting down the number of days until I am supposed to graduate.  I got home and Katie had made it for me...it is a little weird to see how long it looks in multicolored paper links.  It replaced the Christmas lights that were there.  It adds a nice touch of spring, which warms up the house nicely. T-99 and counting till the next major life milestone.  Wish me luck!

Now, as an added bonus, for the first time I present a second photo! I already had today's picture taken, when this appeared outside our window.  I felt compelled to capture it because of how beautiful and eery it looked.  I am lucky to have caught it, 2 minutes later when I arrived with a better camera it was already gone.  I think it feels like an eery omen in a movie, and should be accompanied with epic music.

Till tomorrow!

Day 3 - Tea!

Today marked the first day I have ever worked 14 hours solid.  It was super exhausting, but I need to get used to it since I suspect it will not be the only time this ever happens.  I was almost falling asleep on the walk home.

Then I got home and Katie was super nice to me and made me an awesome cup of tea.  Tea is the perfect cure for everything, but today it was exactly what I wanted.  The only bad part?  I don't know how to tell her that she made my day 100% better with such a simple gesture.

Either way, I strongly recommend a cup of chamomile tea the next time you get home after a super long day and just feel like crap.  It melts most of the problems away and makes things better!

Also, note the awesome Christmas lights in the background...yeah we still have those up because it makes us feel better.

Till tomorrow!

Day 2 - Snow?

This morning as I walked to work, it was snowing a little.  It started really snowing while I was at work, and by the time I had finished the snow had stopped.  Considering I am currently in Wyoming, that is actually quite normal.  Snow is the order of the day for nine months out of the year for the most part.  In fact, where we are here, there is usually a 5-6 foot tall snow drift sitting in the local Safeway parking lot from October until May (I seriously wish I was kidding here).

What is unusual, and why I bring this up, is that the picture above was when I walked home, barely four hours later.  The snow that you can see?  Most of it was there this morning before the snow had started.  The road had cleared in almost no time, which is really weird.   Also, I would post a picture of the giant snow pile, but it doesn't exist right now.  I personally am freaking out about this, since it is so abnormal.  I am particularly worried that the weather is going to realize it has forgotten to snow enough here and dump it all down on us in a couple of days...right at the end of the semester when I am trying to move.  Irrational, perhaps...but true nonetheless.

Till tomorrow!

Day 1

Finally, the first day!  I chose today since it is my birthday (seemed like a good starting point).

Pictured here, the presents I got from my beautiful wife, Katie.  The pie is pecan, and is my favorite (and tasted exquisite as well).  The picture is the card she gave me.  The socks seem kind of silly, but I actually have always liked getting socks as presents - maybe something to do with my dad liking socks as presents.  Finally the little blue box contains headphones so that I can listen to music while I study, since I keep asking to borrow Katie's headphones (I lost mine a while ago).  I chose this picture because it seemed representative of the awesome birthday I have had (thanks to Katie making delicious food and walking to the store with me).

Till tomorrow!

Final Day

Starting tomorrow I will be posting at least once a day, and will be including pictures with the posts for the 356 challenge!  I am pretty excited about it!

However, tomorrow also marks the real beginning of the semester.  Super fun.  Trying to figure it all out is weird, especially since by the end of it I will have graduated!  Real world, I am on the fast track towards you!

Till tomorrow!

Freedom from German

Yesterday I took the German placement exam for my school...I got a great score.  I needed two semesters of German, but I got three.  I would post a picture, but couldn't figure out how to best explain all of that in pictures.

In other news I found purple Tulips today and bought them for my wife.  I was pretty stoked, because she loves Tulips, and I had never seen them in purple before.  I would post a picture of them on here, but my wife already beat me to the punch and has one posted, so I thought I would wait for a bit...maybe try and post a "I can't believe these are still alive" picture later this week or early next.

Wintery Break

Today it is snowing outside.  This would normally be terrible on a Monday, but since I have the day off, I am pretty good with it.  I just finished almost all of my homework for the week and am sitting here admiring the snow.  It is quite beautiful when you don't have to spend long periods of time out in it!

I am super excited for starting the challenge next week, and keep seeing possible opportunities for pictures that I could take, but I am being good and waiting to start the challenge.  Instead of taking and commenting on a photo, I am working on my resume so that I might begin applying for something called a "real job"....  Not the most interesting thing I have done, but it is a step forward, which is always nice.

Post 0

I am Thomas.  I am  currently preparing to do a 365 day photo challenge (though technically this year it will be a 366 day challenge).  I am going to keep track of my progress through this blog, intending to post at least one picture a day everyday for a year - though I allow for the possibility that some days might just merit an extra picture. I thought it might be good in this "Post 0" post to explain a little about me and such.

Who am I?
I am a senior in Computer Science at the University of Wyoming, and am in my final semester.  I am happily married, and we hope to begin our new lives in May when I finally graduate.

Why am I doing this?
I am doing this for a few reasons.  The first is to have something to do for a year to maintain some kind of consistency.  The second is that I feel like taking a picture a day because I think it sounds like something interesting to do.  The final, and most important reason, is that a lot of things in my life are going to be changing, and I wish to document it in some way, and I feel that this will be my method.

What do I hope to get out of it?
I hope to achieve a sense of accomplishment, as well as having a photographic documentation of my year, and various things I thought were important or interesting from it.

I start this year of documentation on Monday, January 23rd.  I am really looking forward to it, and I might "cheat" and post something before then (like a picture of me), but on the 23rd I will be maintaining the posts at one a day (though I tend to be up till the wee hours, so some might technically be posted the day after).


Finally I would like to provide a link to a great project that inspired me to start this photo blog, the Day Zero Project.  It is a great idea, and I have also just recently begun a list over there.  I recommend that people go there and try out their own 101/1001 list!

-Thomas