Shaine Mata Blog: July 2012

Rooftop Sunset

While I was up on the roof during the Golden Hour, I decided to take a sunset pic to silhouette the tree blocking my view to the West.

Today, I decided that instead of walking around town, I should explore the scenery from my roof. I am a little disappointed; I expected more. It's still a good idea; but, my own roof doesn't offer too many photo opportunities; the neighborhood trees are taller than the roof. I think I'll borrow some rooftops around town.

I was fortunate that my neighbor, who feeds birds, went out and tossed some feed. All the birds in the area came out and landed nearby, including the roof.

Wine Online

I had the company of a some good wine as I watched photography videos last night. I have found a great creative outlet; but, there is much to learn.

The basic concepts of photography are present in my mind now. It will come down to practice. It's funny, not ha ha funny, strange funny, that I've been taking pictures for years, and it's only recently that I've been interested in doing it better.

Strategically located

These weeds are growing right at the opening of a water spout. They are sure to receive whatever precipitation there is, even if it's drops from morning dew.

Another sunset

Another sunset photo. It's the same sunset from a few days ago; but, I zoomed in a bit more to capture the outline of the palm trees and the treeline.

Locked on the Fence

This is a lock that is on the fence at the junior high school nearby. It's been there for some time. I forget about it and am reminded it's there when I see it. It's interesting on some level that some kid put the lock on the fence ages ago; and it just hangs in there.

I can't help contemplating its future. Will it stay up as long as the fence is up? Will it be cut off? Will some clever kid figure out the combination? Will it rust off?

Dilapidated

Walking around town, the fronts of homes are not as interesting as the fronts. This dilapidated home caught my attention as it is in the center of town. But, unless you walk the alleys, you wouldn't see something like this.

Walking through the alleys gives you views of lots of trash cans and fences; but, occasionally, there are back yards that are interesting.

Another thing to note is that there are still some yards with laundry out to dry; but, clotheslines are increasingly rare compared to when I grew up.

Locked Gate

Turn

I went for a walk to the nearest bus station. I am considering the use of public transportation to get to and from work. The schedule is posted in a display mounted on a pole. When I got there, I walked around the pole to find the schedule. It wasn't until I decided to take a picture of the schedule that I saw the word "TURN" on the display. Sure enough, it turns; no need to walk around the pole.

Sunset

Chairless

There have been articles written about how sitting too long shortens your life. Adding to that, my office is much smaller then I need. So today I did my work standing up after raising the monitor and keyboard to standing level.

Taking the chair out of my office seemed to be a good idea. It lost the ability to adjust its height long ago. In addition, the back seems to lean back more and more over time. It has done nothing for my posture. Last night I tossed the chair out along with other items that were cluttering my office.

After one day, I can't say that I'm too pleased. My feet hurt. They had started hurting early as I worked barefoot. The floor is concrete. I put on some comfortable sandals, which helped most of the day.

Unfortunately, as the day progressed, even the sandals could not prevent my feet from hurting. Not only that. My calves are sore too. I finally came to the couch and picked up my feet because my upper back started getting sore too. I think I am unaccustomed to not slouching for so long.

The sore feet, that's natural for standing for prolonged periods. The sore leg muscles and shoulders should improve with time as the muscles strengthen.

The biggest difference between today's end of day and previous days is that I feel physically tired, not just drained of energy as happens when sitting all day. And despite the physical exhaustion, I don't particularly feel drained of energy.

I think, if standing all day doesn't improve too much, I may consider part-timing on the floor. Sitting on the floor at least has some benefit of stretching your legs and other muscles. Being less comfortable, you are likely to shift sitting positions frequently to rotate the discomfort. It may even strengthen core muscles; but we won't know until sitting on the floor a while.