A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

my world

Day Zero Project: Completed No. 41

Street art from NYC.

A Day Zero Project goal of P.J.’s has been completed!

Goal completed: Buy a piece of art from a street vendor.

Date completed: December 2011.

Number: 41  (remember, these goals will not all be done in order. It’s a random list where the numbers actually are).

Description:  As a fan of art, I wanted to buy some local art from a street vendor.

Why I wanted to do it: To expand my street art collection. I have a lot of cool pieces of art and most were bought on the street during my travels.

How I did it: I always peek at vendors for local art when traveling, whether it be a day trip to New York City or an extended trip elsewhere. I am usually quite successful in finding some sort of street art that I really love (with the exception of finding something in Dublin in 2010, unfortunately).

Some of my favorite art has been purchased from the actual artist, mainly in my travels to Montreal. But I’ve also been successful in finding some really nice stuff in my trips to New York City and other spots. The art in NYC is usually not all original — it might be reproductions or what have you, but it’s some beautiful stuff. I do prefer originals, but the right piece of art is something I enjoy getting.

See above.

This piece was picked up this past December while on a day trip to NYC. This art really was something that was a piece that I wanted to add to my collection. The colors. The symbol. Everything. It is New York City. And, of course, it’s a time captured that we’ll never see again. So it’s a great piece in that regard.

The best part was the price. I got this — and two others — for $5. Seriously. They were $1.99 or three for $5. Unreal. Loved that price! And now it’s a permanent addition to my art collection.

About P.J.’s Day Zero Project: Day Zero is a project where people come up with 101 things to do over 1001 days. I started the project on Oct. 10, 2010 with an anticipated finish date of July 8, 2013. Goals will not be revealed until they are completed. A private list is at the Day Zero website  and the list will be made public upon completion of the project. It’s my thoughts that if things are kept private, should I not do them, change or find a way around it, I’d only be cheating myself.

50 questions that free your mind: No. 17

As part of my Day Zero Project, I will be answering the 50 Questions That Free Your Mind. For each of these, I will blog an answer and then it will be linked here as well. Some of these will have longer responses, some will be extremely short. But by the end of the Day Zero Project, I will have answered all of these.

No. 17: What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?

This, for the most part, is an easy one.

I’ve always wanted to road trip across the US and back.

Why? Because it seems cool. Originally, it was to see the country and people, baseball stadiums and take photos. Now I’d add geocaching, letterboxing and disc golf to the list.

It was something that I felt I could do by myself or with a couple of friends. An adventure for sure. I always figured it would take a few weeks. A lot would be driving. Maybe a little camping. Maybe some sleeping in the car. A hotel here and there.

But what a way to see the country!

You could plot out your daily stops, cache/letterbox along the way and find some great disc golf courses. And, at night, find a great minor league baseball park, watch a game and have a fantastic (or not-so-fantastic) hot dog!

And the photo opportunities… oh my!

Add in technology and you have twitter, blogging and everything else — and the opportunity to meet so many people along the way.

Alas, there’s also reality.

Money.

That’s the reason I haven’t done it. If, during this time of my job hunt, I had built a good savings, it probably would have been the thing to do with all this awful time off. But, I had to be smart and not do something like that.

I figure a trip like this would run me about $5,000 — when you factor in gas, oil changes, hotels, food etc. I would definitely eat cheaper — buy stuff at stores, use coolers etc. I wouldn’t eat out every night. But I would plan for some amazing places to eat, that’s for sure.

The goal would be to start by going across the northern part of the country and do a complete circle. There are certain places — national parks, ball parks, disc golf courses, certain landmarks etc., that I really would want to see, so those would all be planned. And, as I said, with the way technology is, I’m sure there are certain people from caching, twitter and everything else I’d want to meet!

But oh that mighty dollar!

I still think one day I’d like to try and make this happen. I haven’t given up on this dream. Maybe, if the right job comes along and I can make enough money to put aside a good amount for this — and can build up enough vacation time — I’ll be able to do it. One can never tell. I think it would be a fun way to live for a few weeks, that’s for sure.

This question was easy. And maybe, one day, I’ll be able to do it.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

Notes from my Noodle: Nov. 18 edition

Does anyone remember the old roller derby that used to be on television?

They had those high-banked tracks. It was hard-hitting action and pretty fun to watch. And when the train wrecks happened and there was a people pile up, it was fun.

Well, it’s back to an extent.

I didn’t realize roller derby still existed. Maybe not in the big way it used to be, but it’s around. When I was at a wrestling show a while back, I saw a sign for it. So I checked out the Central New York group and figured when the season started, I’d find a way to check it out.

Turns out one of the local towns has a team. And they open tonight.

So a couple of us are going over to check it out. I’m hoping to take some photos of the event, but I don’t know what the lighting is like. Either way, I’m looking forward to watching it live. They don’t used banked tracks — it’s all flat. But either way, it should hopefully prove to be entertaining!

I just hope there’s something that explains the rules!

***

I am fully sold on the iPhone 4s.

I loved it before because of the capabilities. The camera is very solid and the apps have been great. Call quality, too, is pretty strong.

But the past few days, I’ve messed with the video and I’ve found it shockingly good. The sound isn’t bad. The quality is solid. I could see doing a lot more with the phone in regard to video.

Below is a video I took yesterday. Darren tried to send a disc across Hodges Pond in Neahwa Park. Unfortunately, for him, he didn’t make it. The rest tells itself through video.

I will be testing out more later, but I like the video so far. It might drain my battery some, but ya know…

I just need to figure out if I can change settings and how to work with it a little as right now I just know how to turn it to video and record.

*** 

I’ve finally been starting to catch up on processing photos. So I’ve been uploading a bunch each day to my Flickr account. Feel free to go over and check the latest editions, which include more shots from my South Jersey trip, 2CW wrestling in Binghamton, my November 12 of 12, and some others. Upcoming things will include the rest of the Jersey photos, some flag football and more.

Click here to visit my Flickr.

*** 

I finally got some new sneaks for my car. One thing that is hard when you are unemployed is squirreling money away so you can get things you need (such as tires etc). But I went and got some on the car yesterday and I could see the difference.

Goodbye racing slicks!

I just have to stay on top of getting them balanced and rotated. I got them at Wal-Mart, so they have the lifetime free balance and rotation. I can dig that and I just have to get there and have it done every 5,000-6,000 miles.

Next up? The service the car needs.

***

A week or two back, we got a bit of a warm spell in my area.

So much so that I had the chance to get out and wear shorts. A pretty sweet deal without a doubt. I had been itching to throw a few discs, but I didn’t get anywhere to do it.

Still, disc golf was on my mind a bit.

Though I am not going to go into it too much, I’ve been working on a pretty cool disc golf project. The leg work for it got under way and I’ve had the chance to talk to a bunch of people in conjunction with it.

Once the timing is right, I’ll announce some things here, of course.

Needless to say, it’s something I’m extremely excited about. It’s been a good diversion from the real world at times. As I continue my job hunt, using this to take a break has been very good for the mind. And it’s given me something to get a bit pumped about.

I just hope that when it comes to fruition, it will have all been worth it!

Speaking of disc golf, I am hoping to get a round or two in over the next week as next Saturday (the one following Thanksgiving) is a doubles tournament. It’s a pretty neat looking thing. I’ve not played in one, so I am looking forward to it. Darren and I are teaming up, so hopefully we can do some damage!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

50 questions that free your mind: No. 7

As part of my Day Zero Project, I will be answering the 50 Questions That Free Your Mind. For each of these, I will blog an answer and then it will be linked here as well. Some of these will have longer responses, some will be extremely short. But by the end of the Day Zero Project, I will have answered all of these.

No. 7: Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?

At this point of my life, neither.

For the most part throughout my life, probably the latter.

See, with the realization that I am unemployed, it’s hard for me to say I am doing something that I believe in or that I am settling for something I am doing. I am doing what I can to move ahead, to get to where I want to be. I am trying to better things and get to a point where I am doing what I believe in.

I’ve been trying to start that now, too.

With this blog, I realize I have a tool that can help me beyond an outlet to write about whatever. Truthfully, I don’t know if I could ever get thousands and thousands of daily followers to this blog. I don’t understand some things in regard to getting it out there and I don’t really follow one niche. Still, I think I could get some sort of a following, just based on the different topics. So, I have some things I am working on in the backgrounds. I also have some writing projects I am working on to go with the blog. Though they are in the early stages, if they come to fruition as I hope they will, it will be a different feel to the blog at times.

The reason I think that this would be doing something I believe in is because it’s the type of writing and reporting I like. It’s not all negative. There’s no swirl on it. It’s just honest reporting. It helps me build my blog. It helps me build my portfolio. It helps me build me, personally. Maybe it will lead to something. Connections. Employment. Happiness. Who knows.

Basically, I’m eventually looking to re-brand my blog and myself.

Though it will keep a lot of the things I do now (as I discussed in my recent State of the Blog address), it will add a few new dimensions. When I did the State of the Blog address, I kept these things under wrap — as I am doing now for the most part — as I don’t want to jinx anything. I’m excited about this. And this is something more of what I believe in.

If this doesn’t happen, I won’t be any worse for trying. There’s only so much I can do. But it’s helping me change my outlook on things, which, in turn, shows I am trying to do more things that I believe in, rather than settling for the status quo.

Through all of this — the re-branding and changing of my blog in the hopes of having it grow — will help me individually. It will help me grow. It will help me focus, get a grip and realize in this world I need to take things myself. I can’t sit back. I’ve applied for countless numbers of jobs out there and received little or no feedback. The ones I have heard back from have fizzled out. I have my thoughts on some of these and, unfortunately, in the end I didn’t fit with these companies wants and needs, for whatever reason. That’s fine. I keep plugging along. I refuse to think that this will end in anything other than something good.

So, now I’m going to really step it up to see what I can do about improving my chances, my odds and my life. Maybe my idea with this blog will eventually lead to bigger and better things. Maybe it will just crack open a door. Maybe it will just give me some peace of mind (which is fine, too!). But in the end, it’s time to start taking a few more chances in life. Maybe, hopefully, this direction of doing what I want to do here will eventually help me realize what I am going to be doing moving forward — if that makes sense.

So the short answer to the question is that I’m doing neither. I was doing the latter. And, now, I’m truly looking to be doing the former. If that all makes sense.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

Everybody’s working for the weekend…

Ah yes, the weekend is upon us, isn’t it?

I am spending my Friday working, to an extent. It’s work for me, anyway. I have a goal of sending out five applications today and I have a pretty good start on it, so I’m taking a small break to write my daily blog post. The cover letters are starting to flow a little better today, so that’s good. Maybe I’ll start hearing back from some of these places. The big thing is tweaking the resume a little for each gig.

Ahh well, enough of the job stuff.

What’s on the calendar for the weekend for all of you?

The weather here is supposed to be cold. Brrr. In the mid-to-upper 30s, but sunny. So that’s not too bad. Still, I’m ready for spring to be here. I could even deal with temps in the high 40s for a little while. At least that makes me think spring. As I look outside now, it’s been back and forth between sun and clouds and some snow flurries and squalls.

Spring sure would be welcome.

Still, this weekend seems to have a few things on tap.

Originally, this weekend was supposed to be our fantasy baseball draft. Some people had things Saturday and some Sunday. So we pushed it back to next weekend, which comes after the season starts — but that’s OK.

So, time to re-plan.

Today, I’m finishing these applications and probably going to throw a few discs to practice a little bit. I’m hoping the weather kicks in soon as I’d like to hit a few courses and start playing some disc golf. With the days being longer with light, it’s easy enough to put in the job stuff for several hours in the morning and early afternoon and then head out to play a round or two of disc golf.

The annual road rally in our area is Saturday, so I think I am going to head to Walton on Saturday and watch some cars buzzing around the back roads. I haven’t taken photos in a while, so it would be nice to take some shots, especially with my camera and zoom lens back from Canon. I’m excited to get snapping again, but some better weather would be nice to really push me to get out and shoot. That and finding some new spots. I can only take so many photos of the local covered bridges… and I love covered bridges!

On Sunday, I’ll head to the annual March baseball card show in White Plains. Unfortunately, I won’t be in a position to spend too much, but I think I can afford to split a box of cards with the person going with me and maybe grab a few odds and ends that I’ve been looking for/at. I haven’t done much by way of cards recently, so it will be nice to see some new products.

… I’d also like to kind of get mine all together and in holders, too. Some of my more recent finds haven’t been put in holders, so I’d like to do that and get it all set. Then maybe I can do what I’ve wanted to do for a while and that’s organize my cards somewhere online so I know what I have etc.

My hopes for Sunday:

  • A few bargain game-used or authentic autographed Phillies cards
  • Game-used or autographed cards of players I used to cover when they played in Oneonta (or other teams).
  • A hobby box of cards

As many who know I collect know, I don’t look at these as an investment of sorts (though if I need to sell down the line, I hope they sell well!), it’s more of a collection of certain players and cards that I want to nab.

Hopefully I can land some at decent prices.

Maybe I can even grab a cache or two on the way down to White Plains or on the way back. That would be nice as well. Even a park-and-grab or two would work for me.

That’s my weekend — how about you?

More later!