I just have to say that since yesterday when I wrote my last post I have been smiling pretty much non stop… It is a great feeling. 
Here’s the proof:
Here I Am Smiling!!!!
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From the category archives:
Life
I’m not sure… I know it happened sometime in the last four months. I know this because I just realized it was gone, and I can remember a time a few months back when it was here.
The strange thing is that I don’t remember how it left. But I know that it did.
This may take some of you by surprise. If you know me at all, you know that I am generally very upbeat and happy. I love life. I love being alive. I love sharing who I am with the people around me. I love making them see the beauty that is life and the strength that is within them.
You see, I have always believed in the divine nature of man. I know that we have the potential to be so much more than we are. And I know that getting there is within our power. It’s within us.
I have always told people this. I have always tried to instill in others knowledge of the strength they have inside, the power that is their vision of themselves, and the ability they have within themselves to positively affect their lives and the world around them.
Somehow lately, I stopped actively believing this for myself. I forgot that my happiness and joy was a choice I make. I forgot that I have a reason to be happy—many reasons.
A few months ago I came face to face with a realization that shocked and hurt me. And it wasn’t so much that I had never thought of it before. The shocking part was that I didn’t realize the depth of the matter or understand how deeply it would affect me.
If I had to pick a moment when the joy began to leave my life, I would say it was that moment. From then on, this realization began its strangle hold on my life. As I allowed it to strangle me, I did my best to hide it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hide it—not from everyone. Some very close friends had to deal with the affects too.
Instead of learning the lesson and moving on, I let the wound fester. I focused on it. I tried to make it go away by constantly dwelling on it. I started to blame my circumstances and those around me for my unhappiness. I also started to expect that the people around me would give me the happiness I couldn’t find myself.
Along this journey, I negatively affected one of the best friendships I have ever had. I became a drag. I lost the life in me, and I expected this friend to follow me through my despair and pull me out.
I realize now how wrong I was. And how unfair. I wish I could go back and undo these last months to keep the wounds I caused from being inflicted. Unfortunately, all I can do now is learn and grow.
I am very sorry to any of you that have had to carry me these last few months. I am so indebted to you for your patience and love, and I am so sorry for any pain, frustration, or annoyance I have caused you.
To my friends who put up with me despite my recent depression, I am very sorry. I am working now to revive the life and joy that you used to associate with me.
I may be down, but I am far from done. If there’s one thing I have always believed, it’s that I can do anything I put my mind to. And so can you.
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Well looks like I’m way behind on my holidays…
I hope you all had a great time on New Year’s Eve, and I hope you all have a great year. I will continue to work on my goals, and I hope you continue to work on yours as well.
I am still working on my new album. I have finished six songs and have been working on many others as well. I will hopefully have this second album completed this year.
Even though my six pack abs didn’t completely emerge by January 1st, I have continued to work towards them as well. Since I started my journey, I’ve gained a lot of muscle and dropped from 189 to 175 pounds.
Anyway, I hope you guys remember that life is to be lived and enjoyed. If you’re not enjoying life, then figure out why not and fix it. Have a nice day
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I know this is coming a little late, but I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I hope you had a great time and got to see your loved ones. I hope we all can remember why we celebrate Christmas and take that message to heart.
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How I Felt This Week
Wow these last few months have been rather excruciating for me… and I mean that in the most positive way imaginable.
Does your life ever sometimes just feel like too much to handle? Mine does. And recently it’s been overwhelming me a lot. Luckily this week I think I hit rock bottom and have begun to claw my way out. Thursday night I got a blessing and yesterday I had a few realizations, as well as some needed conversations, status checks, and heart to hearts. Sorry to anyone my blueness has affected.
I felt devoid of life… like I was slipping away into blackness. So, to commemorate the occasion, I got creative. This is what I came up with: a visual representation of how I’ve been feeling lately, especially this last week. I hope you enjoy, and I hope you don’t feel this way. If you do, listen to some good music and make a decision to knock it off, turn around, and start clawing your way out.
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Happy Halloween!!!
I know it’s a few days late for Halloween well-wishing, but I wanted to show you all of my costumes. Yes, I had more than one. This year I dressed up three times in two days.
At work on Friday the 30th, my sister (who also works with me) wanted to dress up like cheerleaders. So, I was the stunt partner and she was the cheerleader I dropped. As you can see from the following pictures, I dropped her multiple times…
Halloween 2009: How to dress like a cheerleader
Halloween 2009: Dressed in a cheerleader costume
And in case you were wondering, those were both of our original high school cheerleading uniforms. (Hers from her freshman year and mine from my sophomore year–yes we still both fit into them ). This is not something I normally broadcast, but I was a stunt guy for three months that year (until I dropped the same girl three times and decided it wasn’t for me).
On Friday night I went to a huge dance called Midnightmare. It was pretty awesome and a ton of fun. This time I decided to dress up like a skater. It wasn’t that glamorous but it was fun. I wore a friends clothes; he is a skater and helped me dress exactly the way a skater would.
I didn’t realize all that went into dressing like a skater. I had to do the following: the shoes had to be tied exactly right, not all the way to the top so the tongue of the shoe is exposed; the pants have to be behind the tongue of the shoe (so it can be seen) but can’t drag on the floor; you have to be able to see the back of the shoe, and if the pants are too long you can roll them up one small time; you have to sag your pants so your boxers can be seen; you have to tie a shoelace around your waste for a belt and let the two loose ends hang so they can be seen beneath your x-large shirt with the tall tee underneath it. On my head I wore a Dirty Ghetto Kids hat with cool new white headphones that had to cross the hat perfectly above the button on the top. Here is what I looked like as a skater:
Halloween 2009: Ty is the INnOut guy, Aaron is the Injun, I am the Skater
How to dress like a skater
And of course I have to include a picture of me tearing up the dance floor at Midnightmare…
Halloween 2009: How to dress and dance like a skater
On Saturday the 31st I dressed up as a goth. For this one my friend Jenny helped me out. I basically just did what she told me: I wore all black with a black studded belt, painted my fingernails black, and put on light foundation on my face, some type of powder, and then eyeliner around my eyes… Boy was the eyeliner hard to remove at the end of the night. Anyway, here are the pictures…
Halloween 2009: Me as a goth
with the trenchcoat
At the Pandemonium Circus Barn Party I went to Halloween
So these were my three costumes this year. Pretty exciting…
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This is what happened yesterday when I was working. I was in the middle of showing one of my employees what to do on a project we were working on when my computer started thinking really slow and I got the first notification of a security risk to my computer. Then I got another one. That’s when I called one of my tech guys to come and look at it. While he was trying to fix it my computer just freaked out and started going crazy. Luckily my quick reflexes allowed me to grab my cell phone and capture the pandemonium This is what my computer screen looked like. This would be hilarious if it hadn’t been my computer and if it hadn’t kept me from working the entire day…
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I recently went to New York City to help my sister move apartments. While not my first time there, it definitely had some of my most memorable New York City moments. Carrying mattresses, desks, and other random household items through the financial district (by Wall Street and Broadway) was definitely one of them. The others however all had to do with the historic sites I was able to visit.
First things first, I visited my sister at work. She’s an Associate Producer with National Geographic. Here we are in her office:
Me and My Sis at her Work (National Geographic TV)
The first historic place I visited was the World Trade Center plaza. The big empty space behind me is where the twin towers used to stand. It’s crazy to think that only two buildings took up that entire space, and that they fell…
Where the Twin Towers used to stand
The following morning my sister and I went to Liberty Island. While on the way, I came across this monument titled “The Sphere.” I cried.
The Sphere Monument in NYC Battery Park
It was originally a monument to World Peace at the World Trade Center plaza. The remains of this monument were salvaged and placed in Battery Park. Below is the plaque that describes the monument. There was also a flame in front of the monument that isn’t pictured.
The Sphere Monument Description in New York City Battery Park
When we arrived to buy tickets to Liberty Island, there was no one in line. It was 8 am on a Friday morning–the perfect time to buy tickets to and visit the Statue of Liberty. We were early enough to avoid the huge line, but not too early to stand in line with the early birds (who were all already waiting inside to get on the ferry). We got on the first ferry out to the island. I took a lot of pictures.
My Sister and me in front of the Statue of Liberty
As we got closer to the Statue of Liberty, my sis took a picture of me and Lady Liberty.
Me and the Statue of Liberty
She is such a beautiful statue. I seriously took about 100 pictures of her. Here are some of my favorites…
Lady Liberty
The Statue of Liberty
My Favorite Picture of The Statue of Liberty
After climbing up into the Statue of Liberty and all around the base and taking a bazillion photos, we hopped back onto the ferry and headed back to NYC. I can see why the idea of The Statue of Liberty had such an amazing effect on the people coming to America. Below is one of the quotes I saw in the museum of someone who had recently arrived in New York early last century.
Quote Inside the Statue Of Liberty Museum
Overall this trip was a lot of fun. I was really glad to be able to see my sister and also many of the historic sites in New York City. As a final picture, this was one I took somewhere on 6th Avenue (I think). I put the camera on a mailbox and had it take the picture of us. My sister kept telling me the camera would get stolen, but I had faith in the good people of New York City that they wouldn’t take it. Plus I figured I could run as fast as any of them.
My Sis, Me, and Lyle somewhere in NYC
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Blogging is fun but also very time consuming.
Lately I’ve decided that if I’m going to continue blogging I need to change it up a little. I’m going to focus on music. I’ll still write about my life and other stuff that’s going on, but it will be less frequent.
I’ve announced a new album, and I’ve begun writing a lot of new music. I think I’m going to blog about the songs I’m writing and show you bits and pieces of them as I bring them along. I will also put up videos and even have downloads at times.
Music is one of my favorite forms of expression, and I feel like I’ve got a lot to express. Hopefully this change will be one you enjoy.
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This evening I decided to take a walk through the city. I think it’s supposed to rain again tomorrow so I figured this would be my best opportunity. I brought my camera with me and decided it would be fun to document my walk.
Here I am at the beginning of my walk, still in the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown. I’m about to get on the elevator.
Here I am about to enter the elevator
From right outside the hotel I had a beautiful view of the Chicago River, Michigan Avenue Bridge, and these two historic buildings. The one on the left is the Wrigley Building. The one on the right is the Tribune Tower.
The Wrigley Building (on the left) and the Chicago Tribune Tower (on the right)
When I reached the side of the bridge, I noticed some stairs that went down. As I descended I found my first spot for a self-portrait. You’ll notice I found lots of these spots…
My First Chicago Self Portrait
Right around the corner from here (directly under the bridge) I found my second spot for a self-portrait. Keep in mind that I’m here in this city by myself. I wanted to be in pictures to remind me of where I was (plus pictures are much more exciting with people in them).
Under the Michigan Avenue Bridge
After I crossed under the bridge and tried a few more self-portraits, I went back up top and crossed over the bridge. On my way I took a blurry picture of the Chicago River and the buildings on each side of it (it was really pretty but the picture didn’t turn out). Then there was a guy playing a drum and singing. Another guy was taking a picture, so I took a picture of him taking a picture (not shown here). Then I walked down Michigan Avenue, also known as “The Magnificent Mile” at this point because of all the shopping etc. Here is a picture of me and the Magnificent Mile
Me on the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue)
You may have noticed by now that I haven’t been smiling. It’s funny how you don’t often think of smiling when you’re taking a picture of yourself. I didn’t really notice till after that all of the pictures were so serious. I actually had a great time and lots of fun.
While looking for more cool spots for self-portraits, I ran into Mike. He was from somewhere near the slums and wanted to share some Positive Poetry with me. It was pretty cool. After I asked if I could take a picture with him. I liked his glasses.
Me and Mike after he shared his Positive Poetry
After wandering for another 15 minutes or so, I eventually found myself at a bus stop. Here I am waiting…
Here I am waiting for the bus
While there I noticed the advertisement at the bus stop echoed the sentiments I was feeling for my friends and family.
Join me out here
After waiting for the bus (which never showed up), I decided to continue my walk. I found myself in a beautiful garden with a bunch of yellow lights. It was really cool. The lights were very dim and created a surreal ambience. It was very calming, so of course I decided to take a picture…
Me in the Garden of Light
When in such as a place as the Garden of Light, you can’t help but begin to think of the mysteries of the universe… I got so caught up in one those mysteries that I had to take a moment to contemplate. So I parked myself on this bench and began to consider: why are these the only lights that are out?
Me contemplating the lights
At this point, I’m getting tired of my walk through town. I’ve taken a bunch of pictures, and am satisfied with what I’ve seen. Chicago is a beautiful city, and I have enjoyed visiting her each time I’ve had the opportunity. Luckily, my path took me in a big circle and I was nearing my hotel. As I was about to arrive, I found a final self-portrait location. It was another Garden of Lights, though this time it was hanging After waiting for tons of people to clear out (so I could get a good shot), I finally took my favorite photo of the evening.
My final Chicago self-portrait under the Hanging Garden of Lights
After this I was home free and only about 100 feet from my final destination… my hotel. I hope you have enjoyed My Photographic Walk Through Chicago. I know I did As a final goodbye, I leave you with a bonus photo. Enjoy!
Photographic Art by Jon Pinney
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