When Overpaying is a Value

Benefits of Ownership
Originally uploaded by :shawn:
For as long as I remember I have leased cars. It all started early on, just after getting married. Leasing was a new concept. Basically it allowed you to get into a brand new car for about the same payments as what it would cost you to buy a used car. This all worked well, AS LONG as you did not go over the estimated yearly miles. For me, we did not drive the much and I used to manage that whole thing pretty closely.

After doing that for about 12yrs it started to get old. After all, at the end of the lease, you had nothing and there is no worse feeling than turning in a car knowing you have nothing to drive 5 minutes later. Thus getting into yet another lease..

So, at the end of the last one I was determined to end the cycle. No more leases. At the same time I did not want a junk car. I am not a mechanic and I hate to tinker, so fixing my own car was not a option.

After some research, a LOT of research, I decided to buy a Certified Lexus. Quite frankly I could not afford a 1 yr old or two year old certified. But, I was able to manage to find a 3 yr old with very low miles, 20K. So, to the dismay of my then wife, we purchased what she called a "old man's car".

But you know, there has not been a day I have regretted the purchase and especially not today. Today I had to bring the car in for service as the engine light went on. Nothing wrong with the engine, just the light went on. Seems these are sometimes faulty.

Upon arriving at the dealership you are treated like gold. Coffee, muffins, juice are all ready for you. They even provide shuttle service to the local mall. Not a bus , but our own personal driver. Now it ended up that the work was more involved and they needed to keep my car overnight. That entitled me to a loaner car, of which this is the rim. This car is awesome. It is the Lexus ES 350 with SmartKey, a keyless system. Amazing!..

After getting home tonight the dealership called and informed me of the terrible news. They may not be able to get a part in till later tomorrow and I may be forced to be with out my 7yr old Lexus and have to use theirs over the weekend...

Bummer..... :)

A Purpose

Elevated Landing & Slightly Obstructed View
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

Do you know what the purpose of a butterfly is? To be honest, I don't. I mean I could Google it and find out, but if I do that, then I won't have anything to write about. :)

But the question of the day is; What is the purpose of this blog?

There are a couple..... You see, I have always been intrigued by the blogging phenomenon, but to be honest, I don't write all that well. So I figure if I blog, that will give me a way to improve my writing skills. The fact that I couple it with photography, that gives me a topic. Another is I am not very organized. So selecting pictures I have shot that I personally like and putting then in one place gives me a single place to look. And to be a tad deeper, when I look at certain pictures I have taken, they stir thoughts and memories that I figure would be nice jot down. Now if only I can learn to write so well that it has that effect on others..

So, you now know the purpose of the Blog.. Now I just have to figure the purpose out for some of the other things I do and don't do.

Hybernation

Half Asleep
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

Even as a kid, turning the clocks forward or backward made absolutely no sense to me and really, it didn't matter. I mean, if it got dark at 4, 5 or 6 made no difference because we still played hard outside, rain or shine. Once it starting nearing 5, or when ever we heard my mom yell out the back door, the fun ended and it was time to go in. After dinner we would pretty much be fixated to the tv watching Happy Days, Eight is Enough or some other family friendly show.

My point is, as a kid, the time change did not really impact my "funtime" very much. School-work, dinner time or company stopping by; that impacted fun time.

Fast forward and my feelings have completely changed. The fact is, I really don't like the time change, especially in the fall. That loss of an hour seems to change everything. I mean it is 5:15 and it is pitch black out right now.

The biggest impact, at least to me, is the lack of light which prevents me from going out and taking my walk during actual daylight hours when I would also take pictures. No pictures, no posting to flickr. No posting, no comments. No comments, no....... you get the point!! Well you do if you use flickr. It is so dam addicting.

Anyway....

I bet there are people who really don't care or even notice the impact the time change has on their lives. After all, if they are the type to just rush home and sit in front of a screen, TV or otherwise, then the lack of sunshine makes not difference, right?

Do you think daylight savings impacted this guy, sprawled out on steps in Washington DC? Actually, maybe it messed up his sleeping patterns so bad that he needed this afternoon nap. :)

This all probably sounds like a rant... well, it kinda is, basically because I completely missed enjoying the sunny day today. In fact I didn't even leave the house to go and get a coffee.....

hmm... you know, that's probably the real issue here.. :)

Looking Up, Looking Forward!

Sun-Up
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

Last night a new flickr friend made my night by commenting heavily on several of my photographs I had taken in and around Boston. That got me thinking about just how much time I have spent walking around with my camera wrapped around my wrist walking up Milk, State and Newbury.

On some of those walks, I didn't press the shutter once, others it would take me weeks to process the shots.

In a couple of more weeks I will be back in Boston for an extended period. Frankly, I can't wait. In fact, I better start planning what I am going to do. Of course the priority will be spending as much time with Ryan & Tyler as possible and then seeing some of those that I just have not had a chance to get together with on work related trips.

No matter how busy the schedule may be, one thing is for sure, I will get my butt over to Quincy Market. That is one place I have always enjoyed taking pictures, such as this one here. The scenery and shear amount of people watching that can be done in such a short period of time is amazing.

While I am there, well, I just may have to indulge myself in one of my favorite tasty beverages, a Grey Goose Martini straight up with Olive... mmm mmm.... Selecting the drink is easy, picking from the myriads of possible establishments to have it, that's the tough part...

Any suggestions? :)

Sushi-the "All-American" Food?

Rainbow Roll
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

When I was younger, "hanging-out" with friends always involved food, usually at ungodly hours of the early morning. That's when we would either head over for a pizza at Santarpios in East Boston or for a Beast Sandwich at Kelly's Roast Beach on Revere Beach.

If by chance one of us actually had money that week and was willing to part some to those who needed to leach, we would splurge for chinese and there was only one really good place for that, Kowloon's on RT 1 in Saugus.

But pretty much, Chinese food was about as close to "Asian" as our diet would ever see. I mean, Chinese food is Asian, right?

Well times have changed and so have many American's pallet and in my opinion for the better.

Take for instance my newly developed fetish for sushi. It all started about 2 or 3 years ago. A friend of mine introduced me to California Rolls which for many is the stepping stool to real raw fish. Not that imitation crab stuff. The next step for me was Salmon.

I will never forget the first bite. Now to be honest, I was in no way squeamish, in fact I liked the texture and the chill on the roof of my mouth, until I got to the wasabi which basically took over every sensation in my face.

From salmon I went to Yellow Tail then to eel and on over to octopus. Octopus, now that took a little getting used to, but still, it was delightful.

So, last night I went out for sushi yet again too a new place I found out on RT 64 in Cary, NC. First, I have to say that Rt 64 is in no way like Rt 1 in Saugus, you can actually get back on Rt 64 after eating without worring about running into your next mealtime.

Wasabi is a decent sushi place found in your slightly better than average strip mall. The food was incredible, the atmosphere, well that could use a little work. It was a little to bright and the tables where a lot to close for my liking.

The thing I like most about sushi is the feeling you have after. It's that satisfied, yet not full feeling. There is this "clean" feeling to it, like you did not eat a bunch of "monoglusic watcha ma call it's".

See the Rainbow Maki Roll? It's the one in focus, second from the left. That was my meal. Yup, the whole thing, all eight pieces. Each with a sizable amount of wasabi then dipped in my own Lite soy-sauce and wasabi creation.

And remember, all this for what it would have cost for a large pizza from Bianchi's on Revere Beach.

Keep It Simple

Missing Something
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

A few weeks ago my roommate and I decided we REALLY needed to start using her very spacious home to entertain a little bit more. After all, whats the point of having a nice house if you don't use it. Plus, neither of us really socialize all that much, she works a lot and I travel a bunch and have not really had time to meet a ton of people.

I have this firm belief that you really DO NOT need to go over board when having a few people over. I mean really, if it's a lot of work and costly, what's the point? Besides, I learned a long time ago, people REALLY don't care, they just want a place to hang-out with fun people.

So this is what we did.

We sent out E-vites and said we were having people over for three things; nachos, wine and good company. Since I have been here, I have met a few folks. Where? The gym, a local sports bar that I was going to for the World Series, a local fair in Cary, heck even Target. Surprising? Not really, I talk to everyone.

Ok, , I know what your thinking, wine & nachos? ya, it is a somewhat unusual combination, BUT, it was a hit.

In total we had about 10 guests. We talked for hours, mostly geek talk. I mean REAL geek talk. Heck, you know you are with a bunch of techies when you get to the point of discussing 'B',G and 'N' WIFI standards. :)

I so felt bad for Andrew and his girlfriend, neither of which were as "into" the conversation as everyone else was. It got to the point everyone starting feeling bad that they had kinda been left. We targeted them with questions to figure out what subjects might interest them.

Well Andrew's girlfriend said she was going to NC State for Graphic Design and that she was enjoying it. Then she said she had just purchased a MAC.......... BIG MISTAKE!! Guess where the conversation went from there?

Yup, you guessed it!

Road Trip

Yes!!! It was Open!
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

This week is by far the heaviest travel week of the year. Many hit roads or grab a flight to head "home" or the place that once was. This week I ended up staying put in NC and hung around with my roommate Lauren and boyfriend Carlos. We had a great time, did a little shopping and had a great dinner. Actually, if it was not for them, I would of ended up hanging out by myself. Not that I mind doing that once in a while, but it is so much nicer doing things with other people.

Well that gets me to the fact that in just over two weeks I will do my first Road Trip to Boston. Each trip I have taken to date back "home", I have flown, but since I will be there for the remainder of the year, it makes sense to bring the car.

Now for a trip that long, I best be prepared; and I will be. My iPod is rearing to go as I have been filling it up with some great music. Lets see, 16.5 hrs of driving with a average song of 4 minutes., hmmm... ok that means I will be able to listen to 247.5 songs.. Each way..

Actually, I like road trips and this one will be well planned with at least one stop on the way, likely to DC or New York. Both are favorites of mine.

That gets me to my final thought; since I will do this trip alone probably 2 times in the coming months, you can be sure a coffee will be in hand as I pass many of the 566 mile markers along the way.. Each way..

"there is more happiness in giving..."

Profile
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

You know the old proverb; "there is more happiness in giving than in receiving", and it certainly is true with the gift of photography.

Go ahead, give it a try! Take a picture of someone or something that has significance and give it as a gift and just watch the smile. In this case, the smile on the face of Laurens boyfriend, Carlos, Not that the picture is perfect, but it is means something to them.

Self Portraits

A Haircut, all of them even..
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

Over the past year, every once in a while I would take what is known as an 'SP'. 'SP' stands for SELF-PORTRAIT.

Some may think this is an 'odd' thing to do, flipping the camera backwards and taking a picture of yourself. Actually I would have a hard time doing it in public, that's for sure, but I have reasoned that there are several reasons why it is not such a bad idea.

For starters, if you want to get good at taking pictures of people, you need practice. And I don't think you are going to have a subject readily available to sit still long enough and often enough for you to get the type of practice you need to take a good portrait.

Second, who better to take, critique and edit a photo of YOU, than YOU?

Finally, in my family, I am the ONLY one who takes pictures. Who is going to take a picture of me?

So, although I have not really done 'sp's regularly, I am going to attempt to do one a little bit more frequently.

The reason? well it is quite personal, but to be honest, I really could use the extra practice. :)

Jaleiya

Jaleiya
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

Three weeks ago I was on a business trip to Boston. This trip I was supposed to fly in and out on the same day, or so I thought. As much as I hate to admit this, I had a major "senior moment" and confused this trip with another that was taking place the same week. Ended up that rather than my flight departing on the same day, I was actually leaving the next day.

Well, I don't know about you, but on a trip that I expect to leave the same day as I arrive, I tend to pack very light. As in no extra clothes light (thank goodness for Marshall's). And I left my camera bag at home because heck, I had no time for that, right?

It just so happened that a few days prior to this trip my niece Jennifer gave birth to Jaleiya, my first Great Niece. I felt really bad I was not going to have time to see her and missed out on taking newborn pictures.

Well, this week I am in Boston for nearly a full week and yes, I brought enough clothes (too much actually) and my camera bag. This picture is proof.

Time in New England

Wishbone
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

This week I am spending the week in Boston for work as well as giving me a chance to see by boys. This is the first time I have had this long of a stretch in my home town and I am looking forward to it.

On a past trip to Boston, while walking from the North End to my car parked in Charlestown, I took this pictures. To be honest, I knew it would come out pretty good. After all, its tough to screw up a pictures of a sunrise or sunset. They are the most beautiful parts of the day.

The Trail Ahead

The Trail Ahead
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

I walked about 5 miles on this trail yesterday and I don't think I once turned and looked behind.

Living in the past is something I don't do, those that do miss out on a lot.

So I will just keep looking forward this fall. After all, look at all the color.

A Golden Morning

A Golden Morning
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

I got up early again this morning, this time I was out the door by 7am. The plan was to go to the gym, grab a coffee and then find out where there might be a local hiking trail that I could walk around and take some fall foliage shots.

As would have it, the gym did not end up opening till 8am, so I had 45minutes to kill.

So I mixed up the order a little bit and hit a local Starbucks for the coffee and then cruised some familiar areas that I always had wanted to get some early morning pictures of.

A very familiar street that I once drove pretty much daily runs from Route 55 all the way up do Davis Drive. Along the way there are several bends in the road each one giving a reason to pull over and grab the camera.

The particular bend happens to have a intersection with several barns that are visible. The thing is, this morning it was not the barns that I noticed first. As I was rounding the bend, the glow of the rising sun literally just lit the tops of this grass/weed/growth up a bright golden orange. The fact that there was a barn there with a red tin roof was just a bonus.

Tunnel Vision

Tunnel Vision
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

Nothing special here. Just a picture taken while I was driving a convertable on a trip to Boston.

Do not attempt this at home... or in your car for that matter.. :)

On a Whim

King of the Hill (Cropped)
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

This shot is probably one of my most favorites. I think it is because I am totally shocked that it actually came out.

As I have written before, this year was the year I really for the first time "toyed" with macro photography. Mostly because I received a macro lens as a gift.

Now let me just say, I had noooo idea just how complicated and precise the technique is in order to get good quality macro shots. From having to get close, to selecting the appropriate aperture, all with in seconds (if you are lucky) of your subject just taking off on ya.

So on this shot, the fact that I was leaning over a fence with both arms extended, squinting my eyes so as to see the viewfinder now 2.5 feet away from my face so as to be able to see if the little red square was lit up indicating I had focus lock.

Yup, just another lucky shot...

Cross Walk

Cross Walk
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

Boston is such an awesome city. So much history, including my own. The spot you see here is right in front of Faneuil Hall.

Now that is history!

I have personal pictures that have been taken in front of this building dating back to when Ryan was born, over 16yrs ago. Gosh, some are so dam cute, like the one where he is all dressed up like a little man in a winter dress coat with vest & tie. He was all in to Barney at that point and there were Barney balloons on display at the florist that is located to the left of the above building.. Once he saw those all we heard from him the rest of the night was "I love you, you love me, were a happy...."..

This shot was taken a couple of months ago while on a business trip back. I had rented a car and was pleasantly surprised to be "upgraded" to a convertable, thus making taking shots like this oh so much easier.

I have several other shots taken over the winter this past year...Those too will be some of my most favorites.

Alright, back to work!!

O great!!!

I am not going to be able to get that dam Barney song out of my head! :)

Good Morning

Good Morning
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

Sunday morning I awoke feeling better than I had the previous several days. No, I have not been sick, just not my usual self.

A habit of mine of late is that I will get up on the weekend and venture down to the local Panera to grab a cup of coffee and do a little surfing and LOTS of people watching. Little known fact, some of the best people watching can be done at Panera on the weekend... (More on that another time)

Well as I headed out to the main road, Olive Chapel Road, I normally would turn right, but this particuliar morning the road was closed due to a Wide Load that was coming down.

Well I figured if normally I would take take a right and then a left to hit Route 64, then I should be able to take a left and a right and hit it as well.

And guess what?, I was right!!

But, there was a little surprise. You see, I never went left before and I had been missing out.

Along Olive Chapel there are a number of ponds just off the road, each seems to have a different personality. Some look "fresh" and new, other look old and mysterious. This particular one that I stopped at was more of the latter.

I only took a few shots and of them this is really the only one I liked. Picture taking was not really on the agenda that morning, but looking out over this pond made me think of a few things... Things I will think about every time I look at this shot.

I guess that is the reason for photography itself, now isn't it?

Real Life

In the last year or so I have had the chance to take in more of the great outdoors than I had probably done in the previous 5 years, combined. This included not only the surroundings of my own backyard, but also of areas of the country that I had never been to before.

On nearly each and every trip I had either my 10D, 20D, or Panasonic Lumix with me. Hmm, speaking of the Lumix, I will have to write about that little thing sometime.... but anyways, where was I?.... o, ya, my trips...

The last week or so I have been fussing through a lot of pictures over the year and gosh, there are so many good ones mixed in with so much junk. Many of these shots have never made it to flickr or to print, so I think I will just post a few here with a little story behind each one.

This picture was actually a little more recent, taken just about a month or so ago at a local botanical garden here in Raleigh.

Using my most favorite lens, the Canon 60mm Macro, I snuck up about as close as I could get before he seemed to just vanish. :)

America's Hometown

Yesterday I finally got a opportunity to take a walk around Historic Downtown Apex, NC.
Finally!!After all I have been living here for 4 months.

Driving down South Street through the downtown area literally would take no longer than the time it would take to let out 2 sneezes, but until you actually get out of the car and and walk through it, you can't possibly realize just how well Apex has been able to retain the America's Hometown look and feel.

Although there is a relatively new firehouse, volunteer even, that is about as modern as it gets as every building around it has established dates in the late 1800's.

After getting out of the car, it seemed there wereno people around and to be honest, I was not really surprised. I think that is the big city mentality, you know, why would anyone go to any other place than the mall to shop. And god knows, there are some really bustling malls in the area. Streets of Southpoint come to mind.

But after walking past a few storefronts I quickly realized where the people where. They were in places like the South Street Soda Shop, a very neat looking establishment. And the locals must agree as nearly every table was FULL.

I will write more about this place once I take a few pictures of the inside on my next trip, which will be really soon because a certain someone tells me that they serve a killer breakfast for $3.75.

Count me in!