Bald Point State Park

This weekend my boyfriend, Adam, and I did some outdoorsy things. For anyone who knows me, this is rather unusual. I like air conditioning and technology, and sadly, neither of which are found in nature. So I often neglect the outdoors and take for granted the fact that I live and often travel to beautiful areas of Florida. Well the weather was so beautiful this past weekend, it was hard even for me to pass up!

On Saturday afternoon, Adam and I traveled to Bald Point State Park, which is a beach on the Gulf of Mexico. I got to use my new Canon Digital SLR. Though I still don't know how to use my camera correctly, I just decided to mess around a bit with some of the settings. I find the trial-and-error technique very rewarding :-) Below are some pictures of the park.

I found this great horseshoe crab on the beach, even though it was in two pieces.

I loved the textures that were found all over the shell and patterns in its eye.

There were some pretty neat trees at the park, and they looked really beautiful at sunset!

Hello World.

I hate writing.

At least that is what it feels like. But I'm not sure I hate it as much as I hate the thought of others reading it. An insecurity issue, I suppose. So what better way to overcome this aversion to putting thoughts into words than to start a blog? Sure I may have missed the peak of the "blogosphere" experience, with people now moving onto bigger, better, and more immediate and interactive Web 2.0 things, but I have always lived by the phrase, "Better late than never."

This phrase got me through school. Well, not actually, since that implies I never turned in anything on time. As the complete opposite, I would stay up all night finishing projects, putting aside all of my other interests so I could turn something in that I was proud of. And by the time I was finished, I was too sleep-deprived to do anything else.

But alas, I have since graduated - University of Florida, Class of 2009 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Media! I was able to immediately (i.e. two days after being handed the diploma on-stage) secure a full-time job working with the Department of Veterans Affairs as a web designer and graphic designer. Seriously, how does that happen in this economy?? I am not complaining! And it is wonderful! I love my job and I love coming home and having the freedom to do whatever I feel like before bed - no obligations. But...

Nine months later and I am still sitting on the couch, watching TV...

I am finally ready to stop wasting my time and start to find out what I am truly interested in. There have been many hobbies and activities that I have always wanted to explore, but have never had the time (or patience) to do it. I do now.

Here are my list of interests that I want to explore in this blog (in no particular order):

• Cooking
  I watched "Julie & Julia". It inspired me to do three things: buy Mastering the Art of French Cooking, actually cook (with the first meal being "Bouef Bourguignon"), and start a blog (yay for one of the three!)
• Sewing
  I have always wanted to learn how to sew.  Like really sew. Like give the designers on Project Runway a run for their money (ok, not quite that serious). But I recently took a class on sewing with patterns, and have since made about four pairs of pajama pants. I am ready to branch out.
• Knitting
  Kind of goes along with the sewing thing. Still domestic, but looks like fun. And I love scarves.
• Photography
  I received a Canon Rebel EOS XSi for Christmas and I am ready to use it! Thanks to Jeff Grandon for giving me an incredibly useful list of books and resources to get started with digital SLR photography - I know exactly how my $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble will be spent...
• Web Design
  I truly feel as though this is my ultimate calling. And how wonderful is it that this is what I get to do all day at work?? The only problem is that it becomes the last thing I want to do when I go home. My Web site is truly suffering nonexistent, and my father has been asking me to do his Web site for over a year now. I need to stop procrastinating on this one.
• Video Games
  Growing up with an older brother has given me an appreciation and passion for video games. During my time at UF in the Digital Media program, I even got to take a class on "Art Games" where we created conceptual video games. Most of these turned into commentaries and critiques of the art world (among other topics). But in the past, I have not had the time to play some great games, so I am ready to invest some time into it! A tough job, I know....

So here I am. Writing. Blogging. Mostly about these topics. And whatever else I feel like talking about. For those who are interested, I hope you will follow me, and maybe even give me some insight into some of the topics that I know only a little about.