New Years resolutions and considerations

2011 is almost gone and 2012 is about to take its place in about less than twenty-four hours. I hope 2012 will be a better year than 2011.  The current year had its good moments, but it could have been a better year though.

I have many thoughts about 2012 in which I want it to be a good year, and the only way it can be a good year-is that I have to make it happen myself.  I have a feeling that a lot is going to happen in the upcoming year and I hope it is good. There are several things that I have been thinking about, some of them are resolutions but some are considerations:

1. Not multitask as much and take one day at a time. Lately I have been doing a lot of multitasking due to the holidays and nearly exhausting myself. Even tonight I have been multitasking: doing two loads of laundry, surfing the net, playing an online game, and even chatting online with a family member. I need to only concentrate on one thing and remind myself that Rome was not built in a day.
2. Like multitasking, I should not overload my mind on so many things, and only concentrate on the most important thoughts.
3. Sometimes I just got to take a deep breath and get my thoughts together, and not let unpleasant minutiae get to me. As my late father said: "consider the source," which was the best advice he ever gave.
4. I should always think positive no matter what. 
5. If I want it to be a good day, it is up to me to make it a good day.
6. I should always make time for exercise, even if I am not in the mood, I need to make the time.
7. I need get at least 8 hours of sleep, drink plenty of water, just only drink two carbonated beverages a day, and remember to practice portion control.
8. In order to save more money, I should only buy the things I need, and make more of an effort to save my pocket change. I also need to cut out cable television, which I hardly watch anymore.
9. I have accumulated so much stuff (i.e. old clothes, toys, kitsch items) that I really don't need anymore. All this stuff is taking up a lot of space in my apartment and I seriously need to downsize. I have already made some progress on this: during the past two months I have donated old books from college, old history and craft magazines, and some old toys to the local thrift shop.
10. No matter what, I should always consider this mantra:

I wish everyone a wonderful and awesome 2012! Remember it is up to you make it a great year!   : )

Hole in a cloudy sky

I went out to the store during a lull in the torrential rain and wind today. On the way back home, I saw a patch of bright blue within the clouds. I thought my eyes were giving me problems or I was coming down with a migraine, but it was a blue sky peeking out from the moving clouds. I only had seconds to catch this photo, because the clouds were moving real fast.

Wishing a Merry Christmas!

Saw this house earlier tonight-lights were on and in every part of the house and in the front yard. Some of the lights were even flashing and blinking. It reminded me of the Griswald's house in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Lights

One of the things I like during the holiday season is seeing Christmas lights and displays. Seeing such a sight brings joy and wonder, as well as a smile.

Apartment balcony lights brightly shining.

Colorful lights at the Ronald McDonald House.

'Christmas under the sea' store display.

Glowing apartment porch lights.

A big pufferball ornament at the local art gallery.

A shopping mall display with a gift wrapping reindeer.

The same mall display, which was sadly tucked away in a corner where it could be hardly seen.

Lighted Christmas tree decorated with baby toys, bottles, and bibs.

Apartment tower balcony lights of various colors.

Lighted toy duck display during the day at the beach.

Lighted Jack-in-the-box display at the beach.

I hope these pictures brought you joy, wonder, and a smile too. Merry Christmas!!

Crashing Waves at Winter

I have always have found the sight and sound of the ocean a calming sight.  During the Summer, I soak my stressed and tired feet in the soft and salty water. Going to the beach is a stress reliever of sorts. Earlier this week during a long and grueling holiday shopping trip, I decided to go look at the ocean.

The Virginia Beach oceanfront is usually very quiet during this time of year. There are some couples walking on the sand or people tossing sticks to their dogs, and nobody in the water. The sand is piled high above like a cliff and gives a breathtaking view of the Atlantic ocean. You kind of feel that you are at peace there.

The cloudy winter sky and the ocean.

The lovely sight of crashing waves.

Crashing waves against a cornflower blue, yellow and pale orchid sky.

The sight of crashing waves calms me.

No one can outdo the beauty of the ocean.

I feel like I am in a Impressionist painting.

Full Moons

I have always liked the sight of the full moon, when it is glowing on a clear night or when it is trying to shine through moving clouds on a cloudy night. I try to take a good picture with the cell phone, but sometimes it can be hard. 

Full moon trying to shine through the clouds as seen from my bedroom window, Spring 2011.

Finally a clear shot of the full moon through my bedroom window, Spring 2011.

Another clear shot of the moon shining through the bedroom window, Spring 2011.

A glowing full moon amongst bare branches, December 2011.

Whenever I see the full moon, I think of the song "Silver Moon":

 

Sunsets

Have you ever happened to come upon a beautiful sunset and just had to take a picture of it? These pictures were taken in 2010 and 2011:

A pre-Hurricane Earl sunset with bands of  bright yellow, desert rose, and light blue, September 2010.

An ultraviolet winter sunset, January 2011.

A golden vapor trail lit up by the sunset, November 2011.

An yellow gold setting sun caught in a swirl of blue and orange clouds. November 2011.

Last week I tried to take a picture of a pre-Thanksgiving blustery sunset, which consisted of bands of blue-ultraviolet and hot fuchsia with an red orange sun, but I could not get a good photo.

Art and graffiti seen here and there

Ever since I moved to my current neighborhood seven years ago, I have seen many things. One of those things that I have seen is street art or graffiti. Which comes up but doesn't stay for long. When I first arrived I remember seeing spray paint stencils of grizzly bears with a bright red heart. I have also seen some really nasty and vulgar street art which I will not talk about in this blog. I was going to include a graffiti stencil of a teddy bear with a toy machine gun painted on glass, which I took this past Sunday, but I thought it was tasteless and decided to delete it from my phone. I am not endorsing graffiti on this blog, but I am posting these pictures as an observation what I see walking through my neighborhood. Here is some of the street art that I have encountered:

Here is a graffiti tag of Marilyn Monroe taken last year. It looks almost photographic in a sense. When I took this picture, I ended up missing my bus, and to wait an hour for the next one.

Same Marilyn, but wearing 3-D glasses, taken in June of this year.

Pac-Man graffiti taken in August of last year. I see a great deal of Pac-Man graffiti art in this area from time to time. This the only picture I could get.  

Banksy may have been a inspiration, but it does not compare to a work like his. This was taken last year and I found it to be sloppy, and it was removed the next day. Notice the Pac-Man influence, on the upper right corner.

Came upon this while going from one garage sale to another, earlier this year. I thought it was cute, even though it was on someone else's property.

My favorite, took this in early April of this year. The cats with question mark shaped tails, seem to point to an uncertain future. I have always had a affinity to cat related art.

Face Off

Last weekend I happened to pass by the old San Antonio Sam's restaurant, which is now being remodeled into a Chipotle burrito place. During the remodeling and construction, engineers and construction workers have been encountering structural problems, in which I would see buttresses on the side and front of the building from time to time. I didn't know the structural problems were that bad, when I went by. From the photo, the whole front of the building has been removed, giving it a bombed out look. There were still buttresses holding up the side of the building (not pictured). I was kind of sad to see the front go, which was semi Art Deco with a front patio for outside dining.

What the heck happened to the front?

Studies in light and shadow

Last week I took these pictures of my cat Spot. The pictures seemed to capture light and shadow in different ways.

Both shadow and light play off the curves of the magenta towel and green blanket, as well as the layers of Spot's fur.

Photo of Spot taken with a 'daylight' filter. Notice the glow and aura, giving a peaceful look.

Same photo, but with a "incandescent" filter, thus darkening the surroundings and  making the subject more elegant.

Post Halloween Pumpkin

Another Halloween has come and gone. There were hardly any trick or treaters at all last night, maybe it was because of the rainy weather, but for the past several years the numbers have been getting smaller and smaller. I noticed not many people decorated their homes either. Halloween isn't what it used to be. However walking home today, I did notice a Halloween pumpkin, still out on someone's doorstep. It was a big pumpkin that just ate a small pumpkin (notice the small pumpkin's expression). I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Help me! I am trapped inside!

Red Bikes

Yesterday, I came across a spray painted red bike along the street next to a mini bike rack.

There was also a pair of spray painted red Converse sneakers tied to the bike. It appeared to be part of an art installation called "Paint the Town Red," but I couldn't find any information online.

Today further northeastward up the street. I found a children's bike-yep you guessed it: spray painted red. 

Apparently the headlight area was cut up like streamers and there was tinsel in the wheels. It looked cute. 

I kind of liked the colors of red and green in that being opposites on the color wheel, seemed to compliment one another. The colors also reminded me of an upcoming holiday...

Changing Colors

While waiting for the light rail that was taking its sweet time to come to take me home, I took some pictures of the Wells Fargo building last night. The lights on the top floor change color every minute or so. I find the sight soothing, in which the changing colors remind me of the fiber-optic light decorations I had as a teenager.

Aqua changing to

green into

blue and slowly morphing to

violet...

Any good reading lately?

Came upon this "redesigned" library sign. There must be some interesting books there...

Food for thought...

I saw this on the way home earlier today, and it made me hungry. I ended up having grocery store bought picante flavored noodle soup for dinner.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

A couple of months ago I got this fortune from a fortune cookie. I thought something good would come out of it, but I ended up having the day from hell. Sometimes fortunes do not come true or they just have the opposite meaning. Even though I had the day from hell, I did learn something from it.

Saran-Wrapped car

I almost passed by this yellow sports car all wrapped up in Saran-Wrap last night. Apparently it was a farewell to a restaurant employee, because I saw signs saying "We'll miss you!"

Life's advice

These pictures were taken on the street several months ago. They seem have some great advice for living life...