Day 14 - Songs from my Childhood

Jeez. I'm not so much a music person, but I'll give it a try...

Used to love this song, yes sir yes sir. It was awesome.

My parents used to sing this to me while giving me a backrub. It still makes me feel nice and warm when I hear it.

Day 13 - Whatever tickles your fancy

Hmmm...I don't know. I'm at a loss of what to write about...I guess I'm just excited about where life is going to go next. I'm making plans, getting things ready, and starting the next stage of my life, I think. I have no idea where I'll be in 2 years, and I love that! San Francisco, Australia, New Zealand, England...all these places I'll get to live...so awesome. I really can't wait to get out and go places. I'm going to make a pledge to myself to try and do something cool every weekend.

Day 12 - A Self-Portrait.

I'm shit at drawing.

Day 11 - Share your favorite recipe

I'm not much of a cook, though I really do enjoy cooking. My favorite style, however, doesn't follow a recipe--instead, I just try to experiment with different flavors and see what happens. Usually, the result is god-awful. Here's a simple one that I enjoy, though:

Roast Duck and Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 duck
• Some potatoes. 4 is probably okay.
• Salt, pepper
• Rosemary, any other spices you want. Cumin sounds nice, I don't know. Curry powder might work as well.

Recipe

1. Clean and wash the duck. Rub salt and pepper into the skin.
2. Place duck on a rack above a baking pan
3. Roast duck in the oven until done. I think around 300° Farenheit for...an hour per pound, maybe? I really don't know. Maybe it's just an hour all around. Oh well, google it. Or find the instructions on the wrapping the duck comes in.
4. After putting the duck in, cut the potatoes into cubes (eights or smaller) and cover with salt, pepper, and rosemary/whatever other spice.
5. Allow them to roast. Again, I don't know how long. The normal amount.
6. Once it's all done, enjoy!

I like duck a lot. This recipe's gone quite badly in the past, so be careful about how you cook it.

Day 10 - A letter to the person you hate the most or who caused you the most pain

This one's hard. I don't really feel like I hate anyone...there's not really a standout for the causing-me-pain thing either. I'll do the one I can think of but...it's really not too long. It's all I can think to say to this person. Anyway...

Dear...you,

You could have...TOLD me first. No matter, though.

Day 9 - List some of your favorite bloggers

Hmmm...I'm not too hip on the ol' blogosphere, so I'll take a very liberal definition of "blogger" to include...well, essentially any website with an RSS feed :-). This includes podcasts, etc. So...here we go.

• Being Rubbish at This Thing Called Life by Laura Day - this is a given! She's my favorite blogger...though she could update once or twice <coughcoughcough>!!
• Joel on Software by Joel Spasky - Joel on Software. Kinda a must for any software engineer. I find myself being directed to his posts so often (and reading his thoroughly entertaining Mercurial tutorial--which, by the way, completely converted me from my old-fashioned SVN tastes) that I figure I should include him here. His insights on software management and design are entertaining and very accurate.
• Pharyngula by PZ Myers - A very interesting science blog by PZ Myers, a biology professor. He writes not only on science, but primarily on critical thinking and fighting pseudoscientific thought. Living in the deep South, his skeptical perspective can be a refresher.

I'll also include some podcasts I quite enjoy:

• Stuff You Should Know - SYSK is one of my favorites. Each podcast--usually 20-40 minutes long--educates about a specific topic. The hosts, Chuck and Josh, present the show in a very accessible format, discussing the topic with a lot of humor and making me laugh.
• This American Life - A fantastic podcast/radio show presenting stories from all walks of life. One of the more intellectually stimulating radio programs on the air.
• Smodcast - The creation of director Kevin Smith and producer Scott Mosier (you've probably heard of Clerks), this podcast is...hrm. I find it hilarious. It's just about the opposite of This American Life...the jokes are base, but oh so funny.
• Radiolab - Radiolab is quite similar to TAL but more...I don't know. Arty? It uses some fantastic sound design--if listening to this podcast, make sure you have surround speakers (e.g. in a car or awesome stereo system) or headphones.

That's about all I can think of for this one...subscribe and read 'em!

Day 8 - Photo of you taken recently

This is a photo of me and my girlfriend Laura sitting on a very, very big chair. We were in Colorado skiing! We'd just gotten off the slopes, and I'd just been treated to a tirade of profanity due to the fact that a run was a bit too steep. Fortunately we laugh about it now (well, she does...I still have nightmares). Colorado was fun, but, of course, saying goodbye was sad.

Day 7 - Youtube video you find funny

The wild women. The wild women. The rippin' and the tearin'. The rippin' and the tearin'.

Day 5 - A list of what I ate today

Hrm...well! Not really a healthy list, but...

• Marmite and cheese sandwich
• Hawaiian Punch can (I drank it, I don't eat metal)
• Leftover Chinese food
• Curly pasta (not sure of the name) with meat sauce
• Salad w/ Italian dressing
• Ice cream

Day 5 - Letter to an Ex

Hello!

It's been a while since we've spoken. I don't know what to say, really. We didn't really end on a negative or explosive note...things just fizzled out. That's okay, I think...better for it to end that way than on a bombshell. I do think we could be friends, I just don't really know what to do to make that happen...silly, I know. I don't have any lingering romantic feelings. I think I've seen that you've moved on as well...though that's not particularly something I think you'd struggle with.

We just weren't right for each other. I see that now, I should have seen it earlier. I'm with someone who IS right for me now...and if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have found this person. I definitely owe you a debt of gratitude in that regard. I hope there are no negative feelings. There certainly aren't any on my side. We should talk sometime. I do miss our conversations. You're a very interesting and creative person.

Good luck and all that! I hope you're successful with that thing you're doing...

Lawrence

Day 4 - A photo of you taken over ten years ago

Unconfirmed and unnamed sources claim I was cute. I don't believe it.

Day 3 - List your favorite movies

Aaah, movies. I'm somewhat of a film buff, so if I were to list movies I consider favorites, I'd be here all night. I'll list a few particular standouts. I like most films...the ones listed here, however, will nearly all be dramatic rather than comedic. I would say that, in general, my "mean enjoyment" of comedies would be greater than dramas. Even so, my favorites tend to be ones that give me some sort of emotional takeaway. Though I enjoy many different genres, I particularly enjoy films with a darker or more existentialist slant. Therefore, noir films always appealed to me. I enjoy well-made science fiction which, unfortunately, is all too rare. Most sci-fi movies tend to focus on action or special effects rather than a coherent storyline. I try not to constrain myself to sci-fi...only one of the three movies I picked takes place in the future. Anyway, let's get on with the show.

Blade Runner is my immediate answer when I'm asked about my all-time favorite movie. It moves slowly, but with a poetry and grace that I find lacking in much of modern cinema since. The philosophical plot questions raised by the plot (What does it mean to be human?), the long, dark shots setting an eerily ambient scene, and the ambiguity at the end gives the viewer a lot to think about and, in my opinion, all combine to make this my perfect movie.

I decided to add Сталкер (Stalker) at the last minute. Yes, I admit that I was bored the first time I tried watching it. And the second. But the movies of Andrei Tarkovsky is like whiskey--if you're not in the mood for it, you'll hate it. His long, loooong, slow cinematic style strips the film down to its' bare essentials, with no wordy dialogue or special effects getting in the way, reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman. It's certainly not a movie to watch for thrills or a happy ending. Incredibly the movie was written before the Chernobyl accident and the creation of the "Zone"-like ghost town of Pripyat.

I enjoyed all of Tarantino's films, but Reservoir Dogs, as his first, gets a mention on the list. When I was a kid, I used to look at the DVD shelves and see Boondock Saints and Reservoir Dogs sitting on the top shelf: two rated-R movies that I really, really wanted to see but were out of my reach. When I finally got the chance, I rented Reservoir Dogs and immediately fell in love with the works of Quentin Tarantino. The fast dialogue, pop culture references, brash cinematography...everything about his films make them special to me.

I knew halfway through There Will Be Blood that it would be one of my favorites. The story of how a 19th-century oilman's greed brought about his emotional downfall, Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano steal the show. This movie also has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard. It perfectly matched the emotional and physical bleakness of the landscape portrayed on screen.

I could have gone on a bit more, but that's all I can write for now. Who knows...I might go back and add some more later.

Day 2 - Make a list of everything that happened in your day

• Overslept (as per)
• Went into work without a shower.
• Tried to finish the build strategies for my overarching script
• Got a Rockstar energy drink
• During a break downloaded the Inception soundtrack (bittorrent on Android!) and an audiobook about the fall of Enron (basis of my favorite documentary, Smartest Guys in the Room)
• Around lunchtime, texted my mom for a Marmite and cheese sandwich
• Remembered the checklist
• Started a Google Notebook
• Went home for lunch
• Talked to Laura on the way
• Ate a Marmite and cheese sandwich
• Went back to work
• Spoke to Laura on the phone on the way.
• Sat at desk, tried to concentrate
• Banged out a meager helping of Ruby
• Went home, talked to Laura (noticing a pattern?)
• Spoke until she went to bed. Played Minecraft.
• Ate dinner with my parents. Chicken and couscous and salad.
• Read for a while
• Fell asleep

I live a life on the edge.

Day 1 Introduce yourself / List your likes and dislikes

My first real entry!

I've never been particularly good at introductions (or, well...social situations in general, really). I don't know what to say. There are facets of my personality even I'm still discovering. The basics: I'm twenty-three years old, from South Carolina, and I'm a software engineer with an area HR company. I'm certainly a geek--my intellectual interests tend to be broad and, in some cases, deep. On a standard weekend, you'd find me reading a book, on my PC either playing games or writing code, or out hiking (though I haven't been doing that as much as I should...as my softening waistline will testify). I'm impulsive: often I'll say or do something without thinking through it properly. The only way I get through the day and end up not ruining my life is to use my interest in technology to keep myself in certain boundaries (especially financially).

I'm usually happy, though sometimes I'm sad (I guess like everyone else). I'm pretty low-key and, as mentioned before, shy. As a strong introvert, sometimes I need my alone time away from other people. One of the most difficult things about my recent trip (7 months through Europe and Asia) was dealing with the attention I received upon returning. I tend to become quite nervous in social situations, so the questions from acquaintances and coworkers made me want to shrink. On the other hand, I can be quite chatty and enjoy opening up to friends. I have a thick shell, I guess. My girlfriend is one of those people. We met traveling, and I miss her. She's English, so we've embarked upon an intercontinental romance. I feel quite confident about it, however. We've made definite plans with achievable goals, so there's no reason that distance and time will cause it not to work out.

I feel like I've rambled on quite a bit. I think I explained a lot of my likes and dislikes in this post, so I won't do a full list. Plus, it's pretty late at night...I need to examine some code for work and hit the sack. I will write more tomorrow...until then, goodnight and good luck! (Also, I'll try to get a BIT of structure/organization...this stream-of-consciousness rambling's not the best).

The Blog

I've never really been one for blogging. I find it quite difficult to speak about myself. As silly as it is, I can't help feeling a bit pretentious (though I know that certainly isn't the case). Whenever I attempt it, I usually only stick with it for a few posts. What should I write about? Who should I mention? Who will read what I have to say? All these thoughts swirl around in my head and lead to procrastination and eventual abandonment of what could be a very interesting project.

A blog should be just as much for the writer as the reader. Therefore, I will try to keep this blog as honest and personal as I'm able. My early attempts will, I'm sure, be stilted and awful, but hopefully I'll catch on. And yes, I know the title is awfully generic, but I think it describes what I'm doing pretty well: like painting by numbers, I have the outline drawn for me already. I just need to fill in a bit of personal color.

Anyway, here's the list. Hope I'll make it to 50...

Day 1 Introduce yourself / List your likes and dislikes
Day 2 Make a bulleted list of everything that happened in your day
Day 3 Your favourite film
Day 4 A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 5 A letter to an ex
Day 6 List of what you ate today
Day 7 A YouTube video you find funny
Day 8 A photo of you taken recently
Day 9 List some of your favourite bloggers
Day 10 A letter to the person you hate most or caused you a lot of pain
Day 11 Share your favorite recipe
Day 12 Post a self-portrait
Day 13 Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 14 A song from your childhood
Day 15 A letter to someone you wish you could meet
Day 16 Provide pictures of 5 celebrity crushes
Day 17 A photo that makes you sad
Day 18 Set or share a goal
Day 19 Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 20 A letter to someone that changed your life
Day 21 Your favourite television program
Day 22 A photo that makes you happy
Day 23 Share one of your current favourite tunes
Day 24 Time to face morph
Day 25 A letter to someone you judged by their first impression
Day 26 Favorite books
Day 27 A talent of yours
Day 28 Favourite places to shop
Day 29 Provide the HEX code of your favorite color
Day 30 A letter to the friendliest person you knew for only one day
Day 31 Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 32 A photo you took
Day 33 What you’re craving right now
Day 34 Your favourite quote
Day 35 A letter to your crush
Day 36 Some hobbies of yours
Day 37 A song that you like to dance to
Day 38 A photo of your parent(s)
Day 39 Zodiac sign and do you think it fits your personality
Day 40 A letter to a deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 41 Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 42 Bad habit(s) you have
Day 43 A picture of your favourite place in the world
Day 44 Something that fascinates you and why
Day 45 A letter to yourself a year ago
Day 46 Photos of personal things in your life (pets, family, house, ect.)
Day 47 Birthday wish list
Day 48 A photo of you right now
Day 49 Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 50 A letter to your reflection in the mirror