2010 January 01 » Hubman's Hangout

NY Diva posted this the other day and I liked it so much I stole it for myself.

IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND…(NINE)

1. What did you do that you’d never done before?

Traveled to a few places [Miami, Las Vegas], had some spectacular erotic adventures with and without Veronica.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I’m not big on resolutions, if I made any, I don’t remember what they were. I have a few things I want to accomplish this year.

3. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

Six-pack abs? Who says it has to be realistic!

4. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory?

A new date that didn’t have personal meaning before? I have no idea…

5. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nothing to speak of, my health has been pretty good.

6. What was the best thing you bought?

An airfare and hotel package for our trip to Las Vegas in October.

7. Where did most of your money go?

Mortgage, other assorted bills. We also managed to invest or save about 10% of our gross income last year.

8. What did you get really, really excited about?

Veronica and I had several exciting adventures last year!

9. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter, by about 10 lbs. Arrghhh
c) richer or poorer? Richer. Veronica and I have been very fortunate in this economy

10. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Rode my bicycle and my motorcycle.

11. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Work (Really, who wishes that they worked more?). Eat (See 9b)

12. How will you be spending new years?

As usual, it was a quiet evening at home. 20 New Years Eves together, we’ve never gone out.

13. Did you fall in love in 2009?

With Veronica, all over again!

14. How many one-night stands?

Oh crap, let’s see….

There are 6 women I had sex with on just one occasion in the last year. I hope to see 4 of them again in 2010

15. What was your favorite TV program?

I watch very little scripted network TV. I do watch a lot of sports, especially football and baseball, and the Discovery Channel- Darling Boy and I love to watch Dirty Jobs and Mythbusters together.

16. What was the best book you read?

I should have answered “reading” for #10! I think I only read about a half-dozen books all year, so picking the best isn’t really that significant.

17. What did you want and get?

My new camera!

18. What did you want and not get?

Nothing comes to mind. How about to win the lottery? Oh wait, I never buy a ticket…

19. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

It was a Saturday and Veronica had a half-day conference, so I was Mr Mom for part of the day, then she made me chicken parmigiana for my birthday dinner. We probably spent the evening watching the NFL playoffs, and I’m sure that we had birthday sex! I turned 39 in 2009, 40 is just a matter of weeks away.

20. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?

Utilitarian

21. What kept you sane?

Veronica keeps me sane!

22. What political issue stirred you the most?

The health care debate- what a cluster-fuck!

23. Who was the best new person you met?

One best person? I can’t narrow it down. From the blogosphere, in 2009 I met Emmy and her hubby Garbonzo, Red Rider and his lovely wife, Jess, Dharma, Saucy Wildcat, April, Sexy PTA Mom, The Dirty Side of Us, and 2 others who are remaining anonymous

It’s a pleasure every time I meet a blogger friend in person, whether it’s only for an hour or two [Saucy Wildcat, Dharma] or an entire weekend [several others] and hope to meet more blogger friends in 2010. I’ll be traveling to San Diego [late March], Anaheim [late April], Baltimore [early June], then spending 2 months in San Antonio later in the year [and driving there and back], so there should be ample opportunities!

24. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:

I didn’t learn it in 2009, but remembering that my kids are the most important people in my life is pretty damn valuable!

The end! Goodbye to 2009, here’s to 2010 and all that the future holds!

Today I’m starting my Photography Project365. What’s that, you ask? Any of you who also read my friend Emmy’s blog knows that she just completed her Project365, and she was actually the inspiration for my own attempt. She directed me towards the Digital Photography School website a little while ago when I was researching cameras, and I found this not too long ago:

As the year winds down and many of us starting looking towards setting goals for the new year, I’d like to put a little bug in your ear. Or on your screen. Consider starting a Project365.

What is a Project365? While they can take many forms depending on your hobbies, for photography’s sake it’s the simple act of taking a picture every day for a year. Many people will then post the photos on their blog, Flickr, Picasa Web Albums or just send them to friends. The format of presenting is not the important part of the project, although it can become a very useful way to keep committed to the project.

The idea behind starting a Project365 is to make photography an every day event, with hopes of improving the art. It also has the added benefit of forcing a photographer to slow down and take a different look at the world around them.

It seems those who start a Project365 either make it past the three week mark and keep going, or abandon all hope. Others still will flail along, juggling a busy schedule with the desire to make photography more of an every day event. The point, for me, isn’t whether or not you make it the whole 365 days (although I commend those who complete the project!) but that the effort is made. Admittedly my own attempt to start a project last year made it only 27 days. But those 27 days did spark new interest in photography for me and I’m hoping more of you out there can catch the bug and run with it.

One of the easiest and free ways to start a Project365 is to sign up with Flickr and join the 365 Days or Project 365! or Project 365 group pools (yes, there is a difference between those last two). It’s a great way to keep inspired and to meet other photographers with similar interests. If you’re on Twitter, add the hashtag #project365 to your posts to make it easier for others to find your photos.

The bold-face is mine, I wanted to highlight why I’m attempting this. So now that I have a fancy-dancy new Nikon D90 that my fabulous wife Veronica got me for Christmas [scroll down in this post to see it], I’m going to put it to good use and hopefully improve my novice SLR photography skills along the way.

While Veronica and I certainly enjoy photographing our bedroom activities and that will surely be part of the project, I hope that it’s much more than that. There are opportunities for picture taking all around, and I hope to discover some of them in the process.

Sometimes it might be a picture and no accompanying story, some days there might be 2 posts, who knows, but I hope that the unknown will be part of the fun! What I do know is that I’m committed to posting a picture every day for the next 365 days, and that the picture will always be one that I took the day before.

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Day 1

When Veronica and I got married, her cousin gave us a pair of gorgeous crystal champagne flutes that she bought on a trip to Ireland. It has become our little tradition that we toast each other using these glasses each year on our wedding anniversary and on New Years Eve.