Yearly Archives: 2010

The theme is shapes. I doubt that I’m going to submit this one though. My boyfriend’s not a fan. He usually likes all my photos, so if there’s one that he doesn’t like, I really take it to heart. Or when he says “it’s alright”, it usually means that he doesn’t like it. This one got a whopping “it’s alright”. But what if Canon likes it? Anyway, I’ll take a few more. Deadline is October 1st, so we’ve got time.

My after work shoots are always super rushed because I’m always trying to catch the sun before it’s gone for the day. I get home at 6:20, change into sweat pants and a tee, run out for a shoot from 6:30 to 7:00pm and then the sun is no more. Ever notice how fast the sun sets between 6:30 and 7:00??? Really fast. You can literally see it slide lower and lower and lower until it goes underneath the earth. And during those 30 minutes, as it’s sliding down, you don’t get to shoot with the full sun for the full 30 minutes. Timing plays a part because it’s moving so fast that you have to be prepared for when it passes through clouds, goes behind trees, hides behind an apartment building, etc. Sometimes it goes behind 65 trees and by the time it’s done with the trees, it’s gone and you would’ve had a total of about… 5 minutes of sun time. But then comes winter, where the sun is gone way before you even get off work. That’s a story for another day.

Today marks my third month at Canon. My feet are wet. It’s good stuff.

I’m going to take this seriously and try to do a fair bit of the required speeches and get through a few of the (eight) achievement levels. The highest and final achievement level is the Distinguished Toastmaster, which I don’t think comes around for at least four years, unless your whole life revolves around Toastmasters. Anyway, one speech at a time! It’ll be good. :)

Photo below is of my Golden Retriever. Don’t you just want to kiss the screen? I do.

This is what I used to think: to compare yourself to those who are better than you, smarter than you, faster than you, farther ahead than you, because that drives your hunger and becomes your ammunition to work harder, to improve, to move forward, to get better, to BE BETTER. Made sense and still makes sense to me.

But the thing is: comparison will eat you alive. My thought was toxic! Don’t compare at all!!! If you do, then you’re headed for bitter. Fast. You’ll be chasing and chasing and chasing but you’ll never catch it, because each and every time you accomplish something great, someone else has accomplished something greater. Every time you do something big, someone else did something bigger. And on and on like that it goes. Don’t compare at all. Just know and be comfortable and be confident in your own way, your own standards, your own goals, your own happiness, your own beliefs, your own lifestyle, your own self. He is not you, you are not him. She is not you, you are not her. We are all different and therefore, there is no ground for comparison. That’s really it! There’s nothing more to it. :)

Today is September 11. I was in Grade 9 Typing class when the Twin Towers came down. I was fourteen years old and barely understood the magnitude of this tragedy; that it was a moment in time that would be told in history books and studied by fourteen year olds of the future; that it would be the beginning of many wars.

Sending my thoughts to all who’ve lost a friend, a husband, a wife, a brother, a sister, a son, a daughter, a father, a mother, a colleague, an acquaintance, not just from the Twin Towers, but from every day.

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Sorry that the photo below is so out of place. I was drinking milk and eating Lucky Charms cereal this morning and ended up taking photos. You know how it is. Spontaneity.

I’ve also removed the background music on this blog because it’s annoying me now.

Fridays make the world a better place. That’s all I’ve got for you tonight. I’m headed out to Walmart to buy things I don’t need – Walmart is good like that. Make it a great Friday night, everyone!

Former LFO pop group member, Rich Cronin, passed away today. He was 36 years old and lost his battle with Leukemia. I know people die every day but when it’s someone I know of, like a celebrity, it really strikes a chord with me. Nevermind someone I actually know and am close with because I’ll die myself. I have a lot to say about death but I’m going to go ahead and switch gears before I depress you or myself. RIP, Rich.

I am writing a special letter on behalf of our Sales Director at work. This letter is about his vision and his strategy for the remainder of 2010 and into the new year. Today I spent some time writing the first draft and it was strangely stimulating. It felt like I was writing a visionary or motivational speech for somebody important. I like it!

Speaking of speeches, I am going to start back up with Toastmasters next Monday. I love, love, love delivering speeches and presentations. It’s just that my current role does not provide me with as many opportunities to speak in front of people, compared to my former role. I have an obligation to myself to create my own opportunities, so that these skills that you’ve worked so hard to build, don’t start to get rusty. I’ve joined a Toastmasters club right by my home, so it’s just lovely. If you don’t know what Toastmasters is, read up on it. It is a FANTASTIC way to develop your speaking skills and honestly, it is so. much. fun.

Being able to speak effectively is one of the most valuable skills you can have. A good salesman is good at what he does because he can TALK like awesome and grab a hold of your soul just like that. Wear your confidence and talk like a star and it is a done deal.

Photo below has no connection to this blog entry. Just simply mama Wall-e reading a book at the park.

As I said, the blog needed an ‘about me’ section to feel complete, so I drafted a paragraph with a series of random facts about myself. That’s the best that I can do! This paragraph is in the new ‘about me’ page or down below. It ended up being useful as a blog entry in itself. :)

Here we go.

I am a Marketing graduate from Ryerson University and I fell in love with Canon back in 2007, when I bought my first Powershot; today, I work in Marketing for Canon Canada. I’ve always wished that I was born in the 60s, so that I could live and breathe life with the greatest rock band of all time, the Beatles. I take a photo a day because it’s remarkably therapeutic. I was a geek way before it was cool to be a geek. I’d rather spend my nights having meaningful conversations over dinner than go to a club. Alcohol hates me and I hate alcohol. When it comes to shopping, I don’t buy for labels; I buy because I like it, it makes me feel good, and I think it looks good. I am a Taurus, the Queen of Stubborn. I want a house with window boxes of flowers, pretty shutters, a white picket fence and a creative room. Consistent traveling year after year is my deepest, darkest desire. I am lucky because I found love at a young age and it’s here to stay. I have the kind of family that I’d wish upon everyone; the best there is, was, and ever will be. I believe in God over and over again every time I take a moment to observe the beauty of nature and the way every intricate detail is designed and calculated to perfection; the kind of perfection that could never occur by chance. When it comes to movies, I will always pick horror over any other genre. I love anything old, antique, and/or vintage and I desperately want a personal 50s pin-up model to create vintage photographs with. I see the world through a photographer’s eyes, where everything is a thousand times more beautiful. I wanted to be a graphic designer once upon a time, therefore, I am savvy with graphic design today. I get a high out of speaking in front of people. I make an effort to build and keep relationships, make time for people, and be on time. I will always step down / swallow my pride to make things okay again – I clear the air, I make peace, I don’t hold grudges because life’s too short to be a bitch. I want to help people in any way that I can, for as long as that help is within my power. My greatest weakness is crying when I am angry and I can’t articulate myself. I am an advocate of eating whatever you want to eat, healthy or unhealthy, because food is one of life’s greatest luxuries and I couldn’t stand to miss out on it. This paragraph could go on forever, so I’ve forced a stop. The rest of me is an open book through words and photographs. Thank you for reading, :).

I saw a dead raccoon on my way to the bus stop today, :(. Its mouth was wide open, as if screaming in pain or crying for help right before it died. It made me really sad. I called the Toronto Animal Services to take it away.

I think I have to put up an ‘about me’ section on this blog with something short about myself. I was never planning on it but the blog feels incomplete without it and I have a raging urge to fill the void. But the reality is that you’d get to know me better by the reading of my blog entries and the viewing of my photos than any paragraph I could ever write about myself. I don’t think anyone wants to read about you unless you are really and truly an interesting person or if you’re famous in some way. And if you find yourself forcing to sound interesting and awesome, stop. Your readers can see right through it. Don’t try to be interesting because that makes you uninteresting. I guess I’m saying be yourself. I’m starting to go off on a tangent here, so anyway, I’ll throw something quick and lame together just so the blog feels complete.

The photo below was taken in the bedroom I slept in, in Montrose, Pennsylvania. The single best part in photography is finding the most interesting things in the most ordinary things. You don’t have to have a conveniently pretty scenery, or be at the Eiffel Tower, or the Swiss Alps, or the Grand Canyon, or the Great Wall, or a studio, to take a good photo. You could be at a dump site and find absolute beauty in something. Anything. The kind of beauty that you can’t find in the most beautiful places. In fact, a dump site would be perfect for a photoshoot. It’s like wearing special glasses that reveal the beauty in all things ordinary – things that people do not normally pay attention to or are not drawn/attracted to. It’s the greatest.

It’s September and I think it’s ridiculous.