document my life better

Still kicking myself over not getting a picture of my father with his short-lived beard and mustache!

I am starting to do this consciously recording my daily activity concerning my new business venture, And it really makes me feel better about what I do on an average day, it let’s me see how much I’m doing. Wheras before, I would just amelessly wander through my days not too sure of where I was going, or where I was coming from. I’m still not quite there yet, but this first step will help tremendously i think. It also makes me push harder, by keeping track of what I’m doing, i think I push myself harder. and feel more motivated to get things done!

Today, I used my camcorder on my pets, nephew, and father.
I got some really great footage.
I hope I can continue this.

I want to get some film and batteries for my camera so I can take more pictures also. (The photo albums aren’t filling up themselves!)

I was very negligent with my 2008 diary. After May, I almost never write in it, but I have some evidences of facts that I still can try to put there. But in 2009 I’ve been great on it. I hope I can keep the habit until the end of the year. I really think it’s worthy in the next year get the last diary and see what you did in the same day a year ago…

I remember back in the 90s, my family documented EVERYTHING like crazy. If we were breathing, there was someone taking pictures of us. Anytime we went out, whether it was to the beach or just around the block, we would film each other with a camcorder.

But once the 2000s hit….it’s like we just stopped, for no reason.

I want to start it up again.

Years back, I was poking through one of those books that tried to explain for the layman what scientific inquiry was all about.

I remember a passage to the effect that scientific discoveries come in a brown paper wrapper. You can’t immediately discern the impact of a new discovery. An electronic switch can register zero or one. No big deal until this becomes the basis of computer science.

You won’t remember later without prompts. And you won’t know now – or may presently be blind to – what could help or guide you later. So don’t throw those embarrassing journals and photos away, just get better at hiding them from others.

I’m doing well with this goal – and I love that there’s a digital camera I can use now. My journal is regularly filled with entries, I take more pictures, and I have always kept most emails. There is always a danger that I live in the past too much, go back too often and overanalyze things. Knowing I’m prone to doing this, it’s even more important to record the happy times too (which is always a struggle when journaling). In everyday life, I hope that I can find a balance between exercising reflection and living my life to the fullest.

I like the idea of a scrapbook, because right now everything is in a different place – in the journal, my outlook calendar and emails, or my digital photo albums. Postcards and what else I call “stuffy stuff” (subway tickets for places we’ve visited, restaurant menus which I loved, et cetera) are all over the place. It would also be nice to get a treasure chest: just throw everything in, haul it with you whenever you move, and open it a few years or decades later. When I’m old and rocking my Hemingway chair.

Many people wrongly believe that taking lots of pictures proves they have a life. Its so clear on facebook that people who have numerous albums of nothing are just trying to validate their existance rather than correctly use pictures as a way to relive happy times. Its so much more meaningful to have a few tokens of the memories that meant something than having hundreds of pictures of nothing. My grandmother told me that I shouldn’t take too many pictures. At the time, i thought she was so wrong because in our modern digital age, lots of pictures are supposed to be taken. Only recently did I understand the spirit of her message, which is to preserve the important things rather than waste time on things that are so-so.

Happy things are so much better to reflect on.

I’m a terrible person – I’m abusing 43things – instead of writing in a diary, I write about what I feel (in a haste and not with as much detail and depth as in a journal) on these very public pages, probably annoying other readers/users while I proceed to post yet another self-centered posting.
Less time in front of the computer – spend more time with books, the REAL diary, the camera…!

Some friends and I, on my 2006 birthday

Some year ago, I used to get excited for going to the malls to develop my photos and organize my albums and show it to my friends. With the digital pictures, it’s a good moment that most of the people have lost. I decided to print some pictures and started with a cd I made about the best 2006 moments.
Last Saturday, I took it to my friends and we laugh a lot, remembering all the parties, trips and funny moments we had 2 years ago.
Next month, I’ll go it again. I just have to get the 2007 pictures on my backup cds together and choose the best ones.