Day #8 - New year!

The New Year's Eve is more than just celebrations and a good chance to get drunk (although not for me, work tomorrow...). New Year's Eve is the beginning of new chapter in the book (I finished chapter in the book I read today and tomorrow I'll start new one). The year 2013 is the year when you can have your hopes up and expect great things to follow.

I'm not saying that this year is the the one where all my dreams will come true, but I'm sure 100% that this year will help get further in the way of making my dreams come true. 

Today at work I argued with a colleague of mine whether this day is about religion or is it "just" the passing of one day between two years. My point of view is that New Year's Eve is a symbol and got nothing to do with religion (unless you really want to...).

That is the greatest thing about the new year that comes ahead. It doesn't matter how 2012 was, if you did well as you want or not, you can be sure that the next year will give you new opportunities and more positive in your life.

So all I can say is have a great 2013 and I hope that at least some of your dreams will come true! 

Zac

Day #7 - Photography

I've started photographing about 3 years ago. I bought a new camera, went to a photography course and was ready to take the most beautiful pictures ever taken by the human race!

After the first months of enthusiastic photography and taking pictures of everything around me, (I should probably apologize to my wife and dog for that) "burning" a lot of pictures and taking unfocused photos the truth hit me! Most of my pictures are so boring to look at, that it makes my dog yawn.

Because of that, I lost my muse! (She was nowhere I could find her! maybe she started working at striptease like the one from Dogma (really good movie - recommended!)) So I stopped taking pictures for some time and took the camera only to places that I haven't visited for a long time or visit for the first time.

Now when I think about taking pictures, I think whether I want to look at that in the future or is it going to be another 5MB of wasted space on my hard drive. Do you really think that if you go to an aquarium you actually going to look at the pictures of the fish that you took? It "only" took me around 12,000 pictures to understand that...

So far, I have some great pictures I really proud that I took. Like those 3 pictures I took at my honeymoon:

Cape Cod

Sandwich

New York

Nowadays, I just take pictures I want to keep and that makes me appreciate the pictures I have now more then when I used to take 500 pictures a day at vacations and see all the view through the camera instead of using my own eyes!

Day #6 - Clean House

As a man, I hardly notice when the house is in a mess and how the dust takes over my table and you can't even find the keyboard under it.

It's not that I do that on purpose, it's just that man are wired in such a way that we miss certain things, like dirty floor, chaos in the closet and mountains of paper on the table.

So, on Saturday morning I find myself with some free time and no plans for the day, so I washed yesterday's dishes from the sink, and continued by scrubbing the stove (while screaming "I'm melting, I'm melting!" when the detergent touched my hands), hanged the laundry to dry (only the hanging part I can do, because starting the washing machine is the most complicated thing in world!), vacuumed the carpet and cleaned the bathroom.

For me, it was like the cleaning I do in a full year, (got to the point finally...) but to see the shining clean kitchen (with twinkle sparks at the corners) and my reflection on the toilet while I pee, really gives me satisfaction and pleases me to know that I did that!

Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure that no matter how much I like having clean house, I doubt if I go and do that every week. I still think that it was once in a year event that I was extra bored and inspired with the desire to clean stuff out.

Maybe this time I'll try to keep everything as clean as it is now more than I used to?

No chance...

Zac

Day #5 - Mama's Homemade Food

Today I've visited my parents at my old hometown. Of course that one of the best things about visiting the parents is having homemade cooking that my mother and father prepared for my visit.

It's not only the great taste of the food that only mothers can make, it's also the fact that I know that this food was made especially for my visit because it's been a long time since I ate that stuff.

I left my parents house 8 years ago and moved in with my girlfriend then, and today my wife. My wife and I love to cook together. But the food we bake and cook are completely different from the food I used to eat at home. So eating my mom and dad's food is still attraction.

Another thing that makes this visit special is the reminder of childhood meals at home with all the family around the table, not always the most interesting experience, but definitely good memory. (remember the scene from ratatouille when the critic dude tastes the food at the restaurant and it pulls him back to his mom's house, but less dramatic)

Eat well and have fun!

Zac

Day #4 - The Weekend holiday

This is by far the best holiday there is, even though it's a fictional holiday. It comes every week and lasts for 2 and a bit wonderful days.

Every weekend feels like that unique event that you've been waiting for 5 long days.

Some weeks I think, what I'm going to do on this holiday?!
Visit the family? Catch up with friends? Travel to somewhere close? Movie marathon? Some T.V show marathon?

And in the end - most of the times I stay home with the wife and the dog and spending great weekend with them doing nothing at all!

And by nothing I mean - cooking and baking together (yes, the dog helps too with cleaning the floor!), watch all TV series we missed over the week, taking the dog for a walk (3/4 times a day), going out to a restaurant, playing on the computer and just filling the batteries. (I wish that all the "human battery filling weeks" were the same as my iPhone battery. for every day of work u get a day of refill!)

The picture here taken at my last weekend holiday.

So, happy Weekend holiday to all!

Zac

Day #3 - Connection

I really wanted to write something light and funny, but always when you plan things, life happens, or in this case, death.

Sounds very grim, I know, but my uncle passed away yesterday. We weren't that close and we met once in every few years especially at weddings and funerals, but whenever relative, close or distant one passed away, I wonder if I saw him enough, was I good to this person, and you know what I mean.

That brings me to my point, the connections I have in life.

A lot of people come and go during our lives, some we keep close and some we grew apart from.

When anyone I know dies, I always think about the people whom I keep in touch. I hope that I'm good son/brother/friend because in such times I come to appreciate (have to write this word at least once!) the connection I have with family and friends that I want to keep in life.

Well, I have some phone calls to make.

Hope all of you will get only great news!

Zac

Day #2 - Home

Half a year ago my wife and me bought a great apartment in a good area. After some small renovations we moved in and we really like our place. Even our dog loves his place so much that you have to force him out of his bed!

Actually, the thing that I love the most about being house-owner is that you have a place of your own, a place that you feel comfortable to be in all the time.

I think that living in your own apartment after moving between rented places for 8 years, makes you appreciate even more the place you have.

But the most important thing is not the physical house I live in, but the "belonging" it makes me feel. Every vacation or visit away from home I miss my home and my place where I feel free and welcome all the time, a place that gives you peace and where you can relax after long (or short - will explain later in the blog) day at work.

A bit serious blog, but later on I'll get funnier, at least for myself so I won't get bored when I'll read it in the future.

See me tomorrow,

Zac

Day #1 - Why and what

Why blog?

I think about the future all the time. Most of the days I wonder where I'm going to be in 5/10/15 years and when I don't think about that, I compare myself to others and get disappointed from the place I am.

I heard that people that think about the future all the time don't enjoy life and don't appreciate the present as they should.

I decided that every day I'll write for myself about one thing that I appreciate in life or one thing that makes me happy. That way, I'll see what is in front of me and what I should be thankful for.

So...

Day #1 - My Family - My wife and my Dog.

I want to start with the most important thing I have in life.

I've been married for 2.5 years now. I'm married to my high school sweetheart that I love most in the world and we're together for 13 years. She is the most beautiful, smart and kind woman I know.

We also have crazy dog that we love and treat him like he's our baby. Right now he is sleeping on his bed beside me and snorer...

It's easy to take the person closest to you for granted, so one of the main reasons I'm writing this blog (and as anyone can see - writing is not my strongest point...) is to appreciate all that lies in front of me in everyday life and I failed to notice before.

See you (or actually only me) tomorrow.

Zac