Testing out the new backdrop

Now that I have disposable income, I am looking to further my photography. I am still a beginner but I want to have some fun with portraits. I bought myself a gray backdrop to use, but with no models to test it out on, I had to use myself. I asked my sister to help me with the first picture so she is the female. Something to consider of course is don't judge me on these pictures.

Need a new avatar picture for one of your social media accounts? Maybe you need a more professional looking picture for one of your online profiles? What ever the reason, I am currently looking for anyone in the Greenwich, CT area to pose. I will be taking free pictures for anyone interested. I just want to get better with portraits.

A smile a day

I have done a great job so far trying to make people happy. My motto of a smile a day is really working wonders. Just seeing peoples reactions to things they don't expect is something that makes my day a lot better. I am not going to make a list of everything I do, I just want to promote good behavior in people. I feel there is a rush in everyone's busy schedule even when they aren't in a rush.

For example, today my friend Bridget told me that while she was on her way into the gym, a little 14 year old boy saw her walking, so, he ran past her and opened the door for her, saying, "Here you go." Something completely unexpected and from a young boy non the less but it made her day. Actually, it didn't just make her day, it reinforced her withering belief that there may be a nice guy out there. She has been meeting guys who haven't treated her with respect. Something that is hard to find at this day in age and it doesn't help that early 20's guys just have 1 thing on their mind.

While I am on this subject, it has come to my attention that it's not just 20 something year olds having trouble with guys. During my volunteering, I am always walking past a group of ladies. They seem to always be talking about guys in the building. I thought it was funny cause whether it's, "they are too old," or "too young," or just "not being any good guys out there" they always come to the conclusion that there aren't any good guys out there.

But enough about that. I recommend you go out, going about your day, and if you're about to enter a building, look behind you and see if someones going to be coming in. Wait the extra 10 seconds it takes for the person to reach the door, and most likely they will hurry. Just mention it's no problem and tell them to take their time. They will still rush to get to you, but they will be most appreciative that you took the extra couple of seconds to hold the door open. It might be a small thing but it does mean a lot, more so when there are things in their hands, or its just cold out. Wouldn't you want someone to hold the door open for you if you had your hands full or didn't have gloves in single digit weather? Just something to think about.

Day 2 Volunteering

I park my car, sign in to the volunteer sheet, grab my volunteer ID, and clean my hands. Now, I am ready to make someones day better. I make my way to the physical therapy area to get further directions.

I am there no longer than 30 seconds when I have my first patient. I go and find her to bring her over. Remember this is my first day on my own, and second day in total, so I am not totally aware of rules and procedures. But, being very adaptable to my surroundings, I get by. I get to the room and well this is the conversation that went down.

Me: "Hello, I am here to take you down to your physical therapy appointment."
Patient: "No."
Me: (In my head) Shot! Do they have that option? What do I do if they say no? (Being quick on my feet I reply. "But it will make you feel better. I have had physical therapy on my shoulders and look at me go! *Lifts arms up*
Patient: "I'll go next week."
Me: "I just want you to feel better. What kind of guy would I be if I didn't want you to feel your best?"
Patient: (Smiling) "Okay, let's go."

So after convincing the patient to go, I find out that I have to unplug the oxygen. So many little things I was unaware of. Well, I asked a nurse, which just happen to be walking by to assist me and I was finally on my way. I was able to talk to the patient as we walked, and had a small pleasant conversation. It really made the patient feel better knowing someone was there that appreciated them. As opposed to someone who was forced to be there. I think that's the great thing about this place. Most people that are there are volunteers. They want to be there to help them, so it makes it very easy to get along.

In the process of getting this patient, I complimented another patient on his hat. Why would I do this? Because it was a Mets hat. Being a Mets fan, I could only smile when I noticed he was wearing the hat. He told me he had something to show me, but currently being with a patient, I told him I would come back. I came back to see what he wanted to show me. Turns out he had a shirt in the closet and not just any shirt. This shirt had a prediction on it. What did it say you ask? Well, it said, "I predict the Mets will win in 2010."

After having a good talk with him, I went back to wait for the rest of the patients to finish up so that I could take them back to their rooms. During the wait, I assist the physical therapy staff walking the people who can't walk themselves. I may not get paid, but the feeling is much more rewarding.


I am playing with an idea to show my progress with my workout routines/marathon training. It would have pictures of me in poses so that you can see the difference in fat/muscle ratio over the past 3 years. Stay tuned, that's this weekends plan. After my 2nd week of volunteering blog post of course.

Make someone smile

I have had a change in my thinking lately. Where it came from you may ask? Could be one thing, could be a mix of things. I think it's the latter. My routine for the past year has been wake up help the family with anything that needs to be taken care of, and job search. The bad part was when I was doing this, hundreds of people were getting laid off. So there weren't too many jobs available to recent grads, more so, because we didn't have the "experience," which was needed to be able to function in the real world as it turns out. But that's not what this blog is about. It's about my new found addition, I guess you can say to my already thinking brain. I set a goal for myself. Make someone smile, laugh, chuckle, smirk even. Just something that says, for that split second, your day was better.

I have applied to volunteer at Nathaniel Witherell, a local elderly home. My job? I find and bring patients to their physical therapy appointments. But, that's not the part that moves me. Well, I am helping but I don't have too much interaction with the patients. The time that I appreciate is the time when I am walking around the facility. There is one guy there that seems to be full of life. Just happy to still be around. Yes, there are very few of these people and it is very depressing to see and interact with the rest, but just seeing this one guy rolling around the entire facility with a huge smile on his face and talking to you for the 5 minutes that he stops you for makes it worth coming back for more. That's what makes me feel better; knowing that no matter how much stuff he has gone through in his life, which I am sure is a lot, he is completely content with the way it has come to pass. I saw him on my introduction day last week and maybe that's where some of my new thoughts came from. So I will continue to go and help out where ever I need.

Now for my thinking. It could be anything, and not that I don't do it already, I just figure I would put in the extra effort to look for ways to help. I pride myself on many things, and going out of my way to help a friend is one of them. Just knowing someone else's life/day was made better by something small is something that really hits home for me. Cause in all reality, the small things that you don't expect are the most important. Anyone can hold a door open, but do most do it? Anyone can help pick something up that someone has dropped, but do they do it? Not always, and that's mostly because there is extra effort in doing so. They may do it for a pretty lady, or an elder lady, but how about your average Joe/Jane? Most likely only if it disrupts their personal bubble. I've seen a guy open a door for a pretty lady in front of me, let her pass, then just let the door go. Besides making me mad, I thought, what kind of rush was he in that he couldn't hold it just long enough so I could tell him I got it.

Recently, I have been in a rough patch, but it's looking up. I mean, what's that phrase, Why do we fall? So that we might learn to pick ourselves up. And I am learning to pick myself up. But back to the rough spot. I went day by day, constantly thinking but no change was going on. The things that made me feel better were the little things I experienced through out the day, not to mention the occasional blinking red light on the Black berry.(That is a very addicting light.) I love seeing it blink.

Well, that's my new thought process. Make someone smile. A smile is worth more than you would think. Also, I over heard someone saying, everyday you wake up is a good day. If there is nothing else. Take that and store it away. And because I don't have pictures about any of this enjoy a picture of me. Freshly taken.

Recent happenings w/ Pic's

I took a trip to VT this past week and as it turns out it didn't go the way I planned but what can you do. Nothing really, just take it with a grain of salt. But that's not the point of this blog entry. It's the things I learned from this tragic event that I do want to point out. Although things are still "in the works" I hope for a positive outcome. Memories can't be forgotten so either they stay where they are or more are added. I myself prefer making more! That will be all I say on this matter but to continue, here are my learning numbers.

1st. When your down on your luck, friends will always be there. And I realized I have a great group of friends in VT. I plan on visiting them in the coming weeks once again. Thank you Lisa, Julie, Rachael.

2nd. I have too much time on my hands not to help others out. I may have my own problems to figure out but mine have time to get fixed. I can't dwell on things or it will overwhelm me. I just want be able to stay motivated to go out and look for the job opportunity that I desperately need. SO. I have recently become a volunteer at a Home for the elderly here in Greenwich, CT. Nathaniel Witherell to be exact. I volunteered there when I was in high school and loved the experience. Not to mention being able to interact with different characters. I have been appointed to the position of transportation in the area of Physical Therapy. Something I can relate to because I've gone to PT twice in my life already. Long story short. I was a not so big kid playing the position of someone who should of be at least 50 more pounds then me. So shoulders got a little destroyed. I was introduced around to the PT crew and shown the way around once again. I will not be talking about much that happens there because "what happens at Witherell, stay at Witherell" according to my supervisor.I begin the 21st and look forward to providing some joy to anyone who could use it.

3rd. I have been signed up with my brother and his Girl-Friend to run the Jersey Shore Marathon. This would be the first time I've ever entered in one of these events but it has been on my to do list for a while now. That good ol' bucket list I have not yet done. I have a new spirit right now, sort of a determination that can't be broken so as for training, I have already begun. Should anyone read this and have some insight as to how you train, please feel free to comment or contact me. My training will consist of running at least 2 miles a day, and slowly progress and push my way up until I am doing 10 a day. Then I will push myself to completing 18 every 3 days.

4th. I am going to be building my dad a website for his company. Yeah, it's time my pops joins the online revolution! On top of that. I will be using my knowledge of SEO, keyword development, organic search, etc. to centralize his business in the greater Greenwich, CT Area. Go me!

6th. And last but not least, I went to Florida around Dec. 15th. Let's just say that it wasn't as warm as I expected. Sitting by the beach drinking a daiquiri I got the shivers. I didn't expect it to be this chilly because I was at Key Largo, the intro key to the Florida Keys. Yeah the trip was by road and it took 24 hours to get there but it was accomplished with a 24 foot Penske truck, which was governed at 75... but not limited at 75 ;). Yeah, I got that baby up to 77. My co driver beat me and got it to 78. As for pictures, I didn't take many for either of the trips but the ones I did are to follow this sentence. So enjoy. I meant this sentence.

The Golf Course - Managed to get a few holes in now that I am a "golfer". Quotes because I just started this past summer.
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4. Pimpin.


5.Road to paradise


6. May look nice but it was cold.