Friday, February 27, 2015

photography challenge - february: words

this month's challenge was right up my alley (you know, being a nerdy english professor and all).

i snapped a few shots around my workspaces of the words that i surround myself with daily:



i then ventured to my city's free graffiti wall--a place where graffiti artists can create art with absolutely no risk of punishment.  it was beautiful and creepy and good:







 
and of course, one of my little nuggets had to go on this adventure with me:


 so that's my month of words.

next month's theme: starts with 'b'

Saturday, January 31, 2015

photography challenge - january: family

i totally sucked at this.

i ended up spending the first part of the month sick then was thrown into the chaos of the beginning of a new semester, so this challenge, and photography in general, had to take a back seat.

below are a few images of family i managed to capture during my mom's 60th birthday party.

they aren't great, and i'm less than proud of them, but i must post them to remain true to my purpose.




february will be a better month for me in this challenge.

next month's theme: words.

Friday, January 2, 2015

on new challenges.

so this year, instead of an official reading challenge, i've opted for a photography challenge.

photography has always been a love of mine--waxing and waning from time to time as other interests/necessities took its place.  i miss it often.

i was gifted with a beautiful new camera for christmas, so a photography challenge feels right.

i've looked at a lot of photo challenges lately, some 30 day, some 52 week. i haven't really found what i was looking for in terms of a schedule, though, so i'm creating my own.

mine will be a twelve month challenge, each month having its own theme.

i will take pictures within the theme and post at least one of them here along with a description of where/when/why the photo is taken and (if it's not obvious) how it fits the theme.  there will likely be more than one posted, but one is my absolute minimum.

here, in order, are the themes to come this year:

january: family
february: words
march: starts with b
april: technology
may: flowers
june: vertical
july: blue
august: books
september: pet
october: bokeh
november: self-portrait
december: hobby

ready or not, here we go!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

on 2014.

2014 is over, so here's the obligatory year in rewind:

worst parts: losing pets, one super sick puppy, mystery illnesses

best parts: new tech, getting one super sick puppy worlds better, various vacays, lockhart BBQ, awesome movies, amazing books, incredible coworkers


in 2014, i resolved to:1)  embark on a new book challenge (i don't know what it will look like yet, but i need to do something)
--done and done.  i challenged myself to read 60 books this year, and i was successful.  this blog has been one big book list this year.
2) continue learning and growing as a teacher

--i accepted a new tech-based role in addition to my regular teaching load this year and it has been SPLENDID!  in addition, i've presented at my first conference and have the second one all lined up. done.
3) work on accepting bad news in a productive manner
--this one's a fail as there have been a lot of not so great moments this year.  i've dealt with a ton of anxiety issues as a result, so this one is still a work in progress.

in 2015, i will:1) Embark on a new challenge--probably photography based
2) Write more.  

best of 2014 (the best things i've encountered this year [either truly great or awesomely bad or entertaining])
books:
*the ocean at the end of the lane - neil gaiman
*the coldest girl in coldtown – holly black
*the book of life trilogy – deborah harkness
*bones never lie – kathy reichs

movies:
*american hustle
*captain america: the winter soldier
*interstellar
*mockingjay, part 1

 

2013 in review (quotes from my dear neglected blog):

enero: "so it begins: a new book challenge for 2014."

febrero: "
all in all, this was a deeply moving text for a reason i can't quite put my finger on.  well done, mr. egan."

marzo: "
fun. campy. a bit preachy at times. basically everything the television show is condensed into a book."


abril: "the cliffhangers! the revelations! the theories abound!"

mayo: "i'm currently developing a harry potter class grounded in narratology, so i picked this book up hoping for a good biblical allegorical interpretation."

junio: "
sidenote--his psychopath test is the book that taught me it was okay to cull--to just stop and put a book down in the middle if you aren't getting anything out of the read. "


julio: no posts

agosto: "
while i hesitate to proclaim that this text is better than ender's game, i do think it surpasses it in engaging audience sympathies and leaving the reader satisfied at the end.  if not better, it is certainly as good."

setiembro: "
awesome. fun. totally not my usual read.  i flew through this series really quickly because it was just an absolute joy to read."

octubro: no posts

noviembro: "
it's the middle of the semester...actually almost the end.  blogging has been light, and i've been terrible about keeping up with the books i've been reading here.  but i have been reading."

deciembro: "
i'm done!  i have succeeded!  if only every challenge could be this easy..."