light & (darkly)

Statistics, destiny, and attractiveness. eHarmony adventures continue…

[This is the second post in the the eHarmony Adventures series by an anonymous guest blogger. More commentary after the jump. - Mat]

Update Two

For the past week and a half, I have been receiving 6-8 emails each morning telling me that I have a new match at eHarmony. At the beginning of this period, the prospect of an interesting guy (aka potential date) sitting in my inbox was pretty exciting. I thought that eHarmony – with its “scientifically matched” branding campaigns would do a good job of creating complements – but as it turned out [so far], I’ve only found 3 out of the 50-some-odd candidates to be potentially date-able matches.

Continue reading…

The Good Left Undone

All because of you, I haven’t slept in so long. When I do, I dream of drowning in the ocean.

- Rise Against

This is how I feel at the end of every single semester.

NIKON D700 and 85.0 mm f/1.4 shooting f/2.8, 1/250 s, ISO 400 at 85 mm. Taken at 2009:12:08 23:09:06

Just one more week of finals… Hit the break for setup shot.

Continue reading…

eHarmony: The Adventure Begins

[This is the first in a series of posts about the adventures of online dating through eHarmony. The posts are obviously not mine--I've just agreed to post them so my friend can stay anonymous. Besides, I've laid out what I think about relationships. Anyways, here's her first post--I'm hoping this is the start of a long (and fun) journey to something substantial. - Mat]

The Beginning

For many reasons, my relationship track record hasn’t been great. Continue reading…

This year, I’m thankful for cupcakes in cones.

I’m sure I’ll have more Thanksgiving photos up, but for now it’ll just be these…

This year, I’m thankful for OReyes–my TiVo-master, fellow-procrastinator, always-up-for-Korean-friend-chicken, always-forgets-to-put-away-her-personal-items, rat-hunting, Facebook-photo-tagging, made-me-awesome-cupcakes-in-a-cone-for-my-birthday roommate.

Thanks for the birthday Cupcakes in a Cone. A month late, but hey… it’s the thought, right?

Continue reading…

Gotham.

It’s New York–concrete jungle where dreams are made of–there’s nothing you can’t do.

NIKON D700 and 50.0 mm f/1.4 shooting f/1.4, 1/60 s, ISO 1600 at 50 mm. Taken at 2009:10:24 23:29:44

Continue reading…

Long exposures. Long overdue.

For some reason, I forgot to post these… They’re really old now. Sorry.

NIKON D700 and 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 shooting f/4.0, 915 s, ISO 400 at 24 mm. Taken at 2009:11:15 00:08:52

And one more after the jump.

Continue reading…

A stroll through Central Park

Once I spent my last dime, and counted the ratio of miles to time, I looked up to my disdain and my surprise. I had driven my car around the world, ended back in the town with the girl, so I wrote a book called Life in Prison: Volume 1.

Avett Brothers

Leaves are changing. When it starts, I forget about San Diego and perfect 72 degree weather all year long. About a week into it, I’m over it and cold. In a month, I’ll be cursing myself for leaving the house with just 5 layers.
Continue reading…

Love, Life, and Index Cards

In the spirit of Indexed (one of my favorite blogs–if you don’t read it, you need to RSS it right now), I decided to do this blog posts with index card photos to help elucidate my point.

1) Girls are looking older while I’m getting older.

Continue reading…

In photos: 10 best South Africa moments + some.

My ten favorite South Africa moments in photos:

1. Khayelitsha. Being my third trip to Africa, I was hardly shocked at the poverty that can be found in particular areas; however, something you will absolutely never get used to is the astounding optimism of the people who live there. The resilience. The will to continue on in the face of overwhelming odds. It’s amazing. Don’t let the shantytowns fool you–the people living inside are as colorful and bright as the tin panel walls that shield them.

Continue reading…

Townships.

We might be poor, but we’re proud.

Nothing can really give the full emotional spectrum like seeing extreme poverty. In terms of quality, the poverty in South Africa is not nearly as bad as the poverty in parts of Uganda; however, in terms of quantity, it’s unfathomable. Along the highway, there’s just layer after layer of tinroof, shanty-esque homes–rolling into the smoggy mountains, until it just starts to turn into a sea of rusty poverty

Still, nothing can give you hope like meeting and talking to the people inside and seeing human optimism at it’s finest, witnessing how a home is more than just a building, and seeing the resilience of people (as one described to us) who might be poor but still proud–proud of who they are an unwilling to give into overwhelming opposition.

As sad as it makes me, nothing can make me as happy as playing with those kids. I have more photos, but here’s a small taste for now:

Continue reading…