Pimp My Ride
- April 9, 2008 -
Back in the day, I spoke about how my dad was MacGyver-esque in the way that he was fixing up our van…a 1991 Chevy Astro. And (this post is slightly over do), I’m here to announce that he is truly amazing in his skill. Screw West Coast Customs or GAS, my dad’s got mad skill. Who else can take a vehicle that looks like this:
And turn it into this:
OK, all joking aside, it’s finally happened. The Big Red Van had been through alot…logging many, many miles. I remember trips to Canada…and Detroit…and Philadelphia…and New York (…yeah, we never flew places…). It was the ultimate caravan. And the best transporter whenever someone needed help.
But earlier this year, it took it’s final breath. Well, technically it still worked, but the brakes were shot. So you could drive it, you just couldn’t stop it. So, after a little look into fixing it by my dad (he seriously wanted to keep it), he finally decided to give up and buy a new car. So he’s gone from the ‘vintage’ Van to a pimp Accord. We donated the van to the American Lung Association (I wonder what they plan on doing with it), so at least someone will put it to use.
It’s been a good…17 years (my goodness…I’ve had this van longer than some of you blog readers have been in alive!). Fun times…rest in peace.
natemathai |
filed under: announcement, humor, personal
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Hello Madelyn!
- March 19, 2008 -
I know I said I probably wouldn’t blog again this week, but I just need to get this announcement out. I’m an uncle again! On Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 12:02pm, my sister gave birth to her second daughter, Madelyn Joy. A little bit after I started work I got a phone call saying they were at the hospital, but my sister was walking around and such so no real hurry (I thought). A few hours later, I get a call saying I have another niece! I mean, seriously?! Who said this pregnancy thing was tough? [Totally kidding...]
Well, just wanted to post a few pics of the newest one to whet your palette. I’m excited to have a new model…you’ll be seeing plenty of pictures of her in the near future!
- About a week and a half left in the photo challenge! Get your images in to challenge@nmathaiphotography.com.
- Last time to create your NCAA brackets is noon on Thursday, so go to ESPN, fill out a bracket, and join the nmathai photography group! HURRY!
Happy (early) Easter everyone!
natemathai |
filed under: announcement, family, personal
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I’m Thinking of a Challenge…
- February 29, 2008 -
Pretty much everyone and their mother has a camera nowadays, by it a D3, an XT, a simple P&S, or even a camera phone. At a wedding, about 75% of the people there will have some sort of camera (no factual evidence for that statistic). And I think it’s a great thing. I feel like so many people, though, are not letting themselves really use this tool to get a deeper glimpse in the world around them, which is one of the things that I love about photography. As I walk down the street, I immediately see a massive picture with great details, be it signpost, a colored door, or a distant statue. And many times, as we walk through the day consumed with the concerns of ourselves, we walk right past the beauty that’s around us.
So I was thinking of possibly doing some sort of “Monthly Challenge” thing, basically in an effort for people to take more pictures and get creative; to experience the beauty and ‘reality’ of the world they live in and share it with the rest of us. There would be a simple topic/theme to cover, and then for the month you would go and ’search’ for it., take LOADS of pictures, and e-mail them to me. I’ll combine them all and post the different perspective that we all have on the same idea. What do you think? Here’s an example scenario to show you want I mean…
Theme: Color
And people would submit (these images are from a free stock photo site):
It’d be very interesting to see how different people perceive the same direction. Even though we’re all looking at the ’same thing’, we will all have different aspects of it that jump out at us. And recognizing the differences in people’s perceptions will inevitably open up our eyes. So…do you want to play?
This will only work if we have a decent number of people participating, so let me know (leave comments!) and if we get a good response I’ll post the first theme. Maybe I’ll even pick my favorite one (totally subjective 
) and that person can win a special prize. So…let me know! Happy shooting people, open your eyes and keep it real…
natemathai |
filed under: announcement, art, insightThe Beauty Within - 01
- February 6, 2008 -
Earlier, I stated that I was going to start on a personal project outside of the project100’s (100 different images of the same type of subject). And this one is called “The Beauty Within”. What I love about photography is it captures the essence of life. It looks deeper than we did at a single moment, and allows a clearer reflection of our lives. With that in mind, I realize that there’s so much around us that we overlook so quickly. We might ‘experience’ it everyday, but from our general point of view, it looks very bland and doesn’t catch our attention. But from a different angle, everything can look simply stunning. This project is for me to capture 50 different objects within my house from an angle that I just might not totally look at it. Here’s image number 1:
Sometimes, you need to look at things from a different angle to see the beauty in it. A change in perspective can open up your eyes and your mind to new ideas and a greater vision. Do not let yourself be limited my consistency…work outside of the box, step a few feet back, and open yourself to a greater potential. Much love.
natemathai |
filed under: announcement, insight, personal, tbw
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#7 (1 of 12)
- January 27, 2008 -
In my 28 in 2008, I’m 1/12th of the way of completing #7. The first book I bought/read was “Egonomics” by David Marcum and Steven Smith. And let me tell you, I really recommend this to anyone who is in a leadership position…be it in a company, ministry, relationship, whatever. It creates an opportunity for important self-reflection…understanding the limiting factors in our own lives (as well as understanding the internal issues that others could be limited by). And by knowing these things and acting wisely upon it, it will lead to more efficient progress in life.
Here are a handful of texts that jumped out at me for various reasons throughout the month:
- Curiosity is the active ingredient that drives exploration of ideas. Curiosity gives us permission and courage to test what we think, feel, and believe is true, reminding us we don’t know everything about anything.
- When competitive challenges consume us, combined with the general inaccuracy of our comparisons, we get sidetracked in three ways: we set goals we shouldn’t set to begin with, we set the bar higher than is reachable or realistic, or we get comfortable where we are at.
- The logic behind defensiveness doesn’t stack up. If we’re wrong, do we really want to defend a bad idea or position? If we’re right, will being defensive increase or decrease the strength of our position?
- When people move from sharing to showcasing, the smartest people are ignored - even when they’re needed the most.
- For most people, tradition holds that the opposite of excessive ego is humility, when in fact having too little ego is just as dangerous and unproductive as having too much.
- The closer we move to the extremes on humility’s equilibrium, the harder it is to make our way back to the center. The longer we stay off-center, the more comfortable we become off-center. If we don’t quickly recover, we’re more likely to develop an egotistical reflex in the way we work.
- Regardless of what others say or how they act, a genuine exchange of ideas isn’t possible until people are sure what’s being questioned is ideas, not identity.
- Veracity doesn’t differ from truth in its destination, but in action. Veracity implies the habitual pursuit of, and adherence to, truth. Both pursuit and adherence matter immensely, pursuit in arriving at truth, and adherence in making a change once truth is discovered.
Just recap a small glimpse of it was exciting again for me. Who would have thought this reading thing would be so informative and beneficial? Next on my reading list is unChristian…I’m excited!
Alright…3:15am…time to sleep! (I wasn’t up this late to blog, but making the 2007 NavJeevan Missions Team video for tomorrow [today's] service. If I get time, I’ll try to shrink and post and it on youTube or something)
natemathai |
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