New Year's Resolutions -- 2011 Edition

It's been a long, arduous year, filled with many trials for almost everyone I know. Many of my friends and family have had to contend with employment issues, romantic problems, or the deaths of loved ones -- some at the same time -- and I was not immune to these. But sometimes I let myself get so involved in the bad, that it envelops me, which is why the latter part of this most-horrendous year was dedicated to finding the hope and brighter side of everything that happened.

I think (read: hope) that it worked, because I have been generally happier lately, all things considered. And through it all, I found out a lot about who my real friends were, how amazing my family really is, and just how far you can push a nice guy before he stops caring. That last one is especially true when it comes to my list, because I made too many concessions for people in 2010, which consistently backfired. So, as I begin to piece this list together, I'll start it off right:

In 2011, I resolve to...


1) ...stop letting people who aren't my friends -- or who aren't being good friends -- dictate who I can or cannot spend time with. Avoiding a party full of great people just because my ex didn't want to see me and got my former best friend to tell me off is the last favor I do for someone who so clearly hates me. No more, 2011. We decide who our friends really are!

2) ...stop putting off going to the doctor. Starting January 1, I will finally have great health insurance for the first time in almost four years! I keep toughing through things, hoping I'll get better naturally, but let's face it: I'm not wolverine. So in 2011, "If it's broke, fix it."

3) ...cover my ass on the little things. When times got tough, and I had to tighten my belt, I thought renter's insurance was a simple corner to cut! But even in one of the safest neighborhoods I've ever lived in, things went awry, and I lose a lot of stuff. So this year, I will err on the side of caution once I start rebuilding my temple of technology.

4) ...Run! A lot! In a little while, I'm going to go buy some new running shoes, and soon enough I will break them in. Maybe, by the end of 2011, I will even try a half-marathon. I might have used to run track in early college, but I never willingly ran past seven miles. I was too scared of my asthma, but finding a fix for that goes along with No. 2 on my list!

5) ...be less liberal about my use of the words/phrases "awesome," "legendary," "mind = blown," "snap," and an iterations of "best. thing. ever.," when they're not applicable. I know it annoys some people, entertains others, and the majority of you have probably written it off as normal (albeit weird) for me! So it's not stopping completely, just becoming more frugal. Because even I recognize that things like finding a lost guitar pick do not merit note, much less a, "Best. Day. Ever!" Not all the time, at least.*

6) ...keep telling people I care about the truth, or what's on my mind, or when I think they're doing something amazing, because people deserve to hear that. Good people deserve honesty, and to be reminded that they are appreciated or admired! In the same respect, people need to be told when they're out of line, or wrong, because letting someone continue on in ignorance will only beget more issues later. But don't worry, I know how to pull my punches.

7) ...start eating breakfast, and eating healthier. I say this every year, and it goes well until about March. I will try again, because my amazing older brother -- Daniel, who is a vegan -- has been showing me more and more that I can enjoy many (not all) completely natural, healthy foods. Just, you know, no more vegan-friendly gravy for Thanksgiving.

8) ...continue doing what I love for a living! I am constantly grateful that I get to do web-development, and that I am using my degree to its fullest, because I enjoy it. It's not a luxury many people get, and though I may gripe about work now and then (really, who doesn't?) I am always careful to remind people that I love my job. I wish this kind of luck to anyone else who is looking for a position: love what you do. It makes getting paid for it so much sweeter.

9) ...build myself a website. I might as well make good on what I wanted to do last year now that I have some money. I don't know what I'll do with the site, but odds are I'll just move my blog there, or start trying my hand at amateur photography/videography. I mean, really, I should put my entire skill-set to use for myself once in a while.

10) ...buy a girl flowers! No, I don't have anyone in mind. And no, it doesn't necessarily have to be romantic. I have bought single roses plenty of times before, but it has been several years since I bought a girl a whole bouquet of flowers (and I remember exactly when too). So, along with caring for my new Peace Lily, I will also shell out for what I used to believe was a pointless, and very fragile token of affection. It's on the road to change.


-- That's it for now. I'll add more as I think of them, but I'm tapped out. Have a wonderful, safe, and Happy New Year!




*Addendum: My use of the phrases "crazy-random-happenstance" and "bam, said the lady" are infrequent enough that I will continue using them. Plus, they really are kind of awesome.

Moderately Misogynistic Rant

I still don't get it: girls are allowed to like manicures & pedicures, romantic comedies, planning their ideal wedding since they were kids, scented candles, and a bunch of other stereotypical hullabaloo...and we -- as gentlemen -- generally keep quiet about it, and go along with it.

But yet, women have no qualms pointing out to us when they think we're stupid (or "lame" in this case) for liking sports, action flicks, videogames, firearms, or other awesomeness? Why the double-standard, ladies?

Thank goodness for the common ground. And even more so for both sides of the argument that genuinely enjoy the other gender's stereotypical tendencies. I'll admit that I enjoy a good concert -- not just a rock show, but a symphony -- or an art gallery once in a while. More often than not, I enjoy a good romantic comedy because I find them charming and hilarious. I literally have scented candles in my fireplace because sometimes I just want my damn apartment to smell like cinnamon rolls without having to bake! AND YES, I CAN BAKE!

But please, for fuck's sake, stop making me feel like I did back in high school -- alienated and degraded -- just because I make one little comment about the fact that I want to play the new World of Warcraft expansion that releases at midnight!

I can't even get it until after work tomorrow, ok? I'm an adult, who puts his adult responsibilities first, and I just wanted to add my little bit of manly (albeit nerdy) desire into what millions of other people are treating like a holiday. So seriously, ladies, if you have a problem with the fact that I love videogames: piss off.

That goes for you too, guys. Don't act like most of you weren't gung-ho for Black Ops, Madden, or Red Dead Redemption earlier this year. To each their own.


-- David


I admittedly refuse to bring either Harry Potter or Twilight into this argument, because frankly those speak for themselves in both fandom and ridicule. I respect both in at least that degree...Justin Bieber is another story, He just needs to die.

Did I give up on my blog?

No.

If you take note of the date that I took hiatus (around May 9) then you can see where I started to drifting off into the next month and a half of being busy.

At first it was being busy with clients, trying to finish some freelance projects. During that time, I was also apartment hunting. I found an amazing one in Euless, and my move-in date just happened to be the day after I finished my biggest project of the springtime: Stephanie Williams Photography

I began packing and moving over the next week, and drove my father home so that we could take care of some family business in the Rio Grande Valley. I never relish going back there, but I did get to see a lot of family. In those three+ weeks, I drove a collective 3500 miles or so.

Once I got back, the first order of business had become "unpacking" and "getting a job." I attacked both with as professional a frenzy as I could muster. The unpacking came easy -- aside from moving the heavy furniture donated to me by my best friend, Jessica.

The job hunt -- which had approached about 6 months already -- proved a continually insufferable. I rewrote my resume, updated all of my online job-listings, and scoured through a number of different search sites looking for adequate (read: not-at-all-shady) job listings.

On Thursday, June 10, I updated my Monster.com resume and profile; I mean, I really ironed that sucker out with ambitions and goals for my future in web design, etc. Within two hours of finishing, I received two calls -- approximately 20 minutes apart -- requesting phone interviews. I obliged both right then and there, respectively; one went extremely well and the other I felt went terribly.

The one that went well asked if I would be able to come in for an interview the next morning, at their offices in Dallas. I canceled any plans I had for the rest of the week (including plans for the very night), went on a hunt to find a printer so I could have fresh copies of my new resume, and made sure my suit was ready to go.

The story of my interview is tremendously long, but basically it went well. So well, in fact, that by noon of June 11 I was offered a position with NowLegal.com as one of their new web developers! I made it through my first week there last week, and am happy to say I am doing extremely well there! I love my new job, the people I work with, and my cozy little office.

Now, that brings me to today and this blog post: All this time, I have knowingly been neglecting this site for hopes that I would focus on much larger objectives. I have still, however, taken a picture every day (I keep track of them via an application on my phone) to contribute to the 365 project!

I promise that once things settle down with the new job, new city, and trying to fix my personal life, I will be back to post them all...I really will. In fact, by the year's end, I plan to buy that web-space I've been gawking at and finally build my own site from the ground up. At that point, I'll even put in a separate section JUST for my Chronicle Project. Sound like a deal?

Good. Then it's settled. I still love you all and such, but I must continue ignoring this space for the time being. I'll let you know when things clear up.


Sincerely,

David Lucio

Entry 129 - Mothers' Day

My mom lives in another time zone, almost a day's drive away, so I don't get to see her often. Instead, this year, my brothers and I conspired to put together a web page for her Mothers' Day Gift. I hid it within the website she asked me to start making for her high school reunion, and let her in on it today. She loved it.


Happy Mothers' Day, all of you maternal-types out there! Keep up the great work.

Entry 128

My favorite exceptional couple, Kyle and Ashleigh, invited me to come out and shoot some pool. More so, they wanted to see how I've been the last month or so. We did some talking, catching up, planning for the next couple of weeks, and the Kyle proceeded to clean the floor with me at billiards. Good times.

Entry 127

Got to spend some time with an old friend, Kelly. It had been a few years since I'd seen her, so we had a lot of catching up to do. The entire thing was very spur of the moment, and turned out to be a nice surprise.

Entry 126

I was working on some server-side organization for Steph's website, and then all of the sudden my power went out. It wasn't out for very long, and the work was saved anyway, so I decided to wait out the outage by the pool. Can't really program without power...

Entry 125 - Cinco de Mayo!

Can't you tell?

I went out to celebrate with a few of my friends. My friend Bri is Australian, but here in Texas we all appreciate the value of our Mexican friends. She donned a sombrero, gave me her best war face, and I walked away with a priceless photo. Then I proceeded to celebrate my ancestry, and the minor victory over the French at the battle of Puebla...also, tequila.

Entry 124

Had that meeting with Stephanie over at her place. She had art everywhere -- go figure an artist would have a place full of her art -- and her desk had a familiar 'cluttered' feeling. We spent a good, solid hour discussing plans for her website over the course of the next two weeks. I hope to finish this one quickly.

Entry 123

Spent most of the day hanging out with a friend and watching. I haven't had the chance to visit very many houses up in the DFW. The ones I have seen tend to have elaborate walls, feel kind of tiny, and tend to have a good deal of leather furniture.

None of those are ways I would use to describe my family's house back home.

Entry 122

When your apartment's dishwasher suddenly stops working with less than a month's time left on the lease, sometimes you panic. Thankfully, I was able to fix it. It wasn't anything major -- just a jammed piece at the bottom -- but it gave us a good scare.

Entry 121

When you see a few of these surrounding a nearby Whataburger during a late-night run, you start to wonder if a late-night fast-food run was a good idea or not. Or, perhaps they were hungry too? Entirely possible.

Entry 120

It seems like no matter what we're doing, if Duran notices me taking a picture, he poses somehow as quickly and casually as he can. Can't catch that kid off guard.

Entry 119

It was the last printing of the semester at the NT Daily, so a few of them went out to celebrate. Sophia and Justin asked me to come by and have a drink with them at Lucky Lou's for old times' sake.

Entry 118

Had lunch at Dickey's with a good friend of mine. She knows I try to keep up with this project, and kindly asked me not to put her name or photo on here. I laughed, and obliged. It was a simple enough request.

Entry 117

I worked on Stephanie's website all day. Made some solid progress. We were supposed to have a meeting this week, but things got kind of crazy.

Entry 116

Derek went grocery shopping today. I think it's safe to say that he likes salsa and cheese. I suppose it's not unexpected from a Hispanic family, but still...it's a bit much.

Entry 115

We ran out of milk, so I walked to Big D's in my pajamas to get a quart. I am realizing that soon I will have to leave the apartment I am in. I will miss this little store, right across the parking lot, because it really embodies the 'convenience' concept.

Difficulties in Self Motivation

Taking a picture every day is not difficult. Convincing myself to post it on here just seems like such a taxing task after a long day. In this respect, I am lazy and unmotivated. However, the amount of work I've completed the last couple of weeks might beg to differ.

At some point this week, I need to go apartment hunting. I think I would prefer to stay in the DFW area, but we will see how that pans out. I haven't been able to find work, and it's disheartening. For now, bear with me while I update this blog somewhere around 15 times.


- David

Entry 114

I went to Medieval Times to celebrate my friend Kaylei's birthday. It was my first time being there, and it hadn't quite occurred to me that it was more of a kids' place. The food was good, and the company was nice, but the show was kind of bland.

I thought most of the knights were kind of small, but I did think the king did a great job. He was one of the most believable characters in the entire thing.

Entry 113

My renewed driver's license finally came in. It had been mailed to my family's house by mistake, so I had to have them mail it to me.

As for covering it with my thumb, see Entry 104 about not putting pertinent personal information in a public forum such as this. I just covered the majority of the crucial numbers, but you get the idea of what it looks like.

Entry 112

The rainy weather was at it again, so we worked out inside again. It was a double-workout day (about an hour and a half of Insanity) so I got quite exhausted. Afterward, I just laid there for fifteen minutes, staring at the still ceiling fan...

Entry 111

Bipolar Texas weather decided we should have a bright, sunny, warm spring day. So I went with a friend of mine to the dog park. It was quite relaxing.

Entry 110

Went out with a bunch of my fellow UNT Computer Science graduate friends to catch up on the past four months. It seems I'm the only one struggling. I say this, because some of them have jobs they absolutely hate and told me explicitly never to apply for, a couple of them are in grad school or about to go back because the job market sucks, and one of them...well, actually he has a great job and is getting married soon. Congrats, Trey!

Anyway, we went to the new El Fenix in Denton, and talked it over. They were very reassuring that they think I'd be a damn good web designer, and that any firm would be idiotic not to hire me. Then again, they're biased because I helped some of them pass our web design class by knowing how to wireframe and draw up professional documents.

On a side note, the fajitas were pretty good.

Entry 109

It seems as quickly as he got back, Duran came down with something. We didn't have any medicine in the apartment, so I went on a 4:00 a.m. run to Walmart to get him some basics (which may or may not have turned into me getting breakfast).

Poor kid couldn't fall asleep, so I stayed up with him to make sure he was ok. I think it's safe to say he'll be missing a lot of class this week.

Entry 108

Back to the airport to pick up Duran. This time I had help from Derek, but it was ill-spent since several flights came in at the same time. It took us about an hour to get in and out of Love Field...

Entry 107

The rain continued heavily, so -- since it was just Derek and I this time -- we decided to bring our workout indoors. I think it turned out nicely, though it was quite intimidating having Shaun T looking directly at you throughout the workout; much different than a lawn chair and a laptop.

Entry 106

April showers, I suppose.

Entry 105

Taking Duran to the airport today, because he has a dentist appointment back home this weekend.

Incidentally, you gotta love that DFW rush-hour traffic. Just saying.

Entry 104

My license plates for my new car came in today! I took some time to put them on, and wanted to take a picture. However, the careful person in me decided it would be pointless to take the picture and then blur out the actual plates. So instead, I took this shot after the work was done.

The plastic plate frames had to be removed because they're technically illegal in Texas.

Entry 103

I often find it amusing that my brothers and I have similar mannerisms; we stand alike, make the same gestures with our hands, and tend to participate in similar activities. Duran and Derek were having a conversation before we started working out, and I think these pictures capture my point quite well...

Entry 102

Went to go see Paul Slavens again with Jessica. This time, she was doing an article for Pegasus News about them, so we weren't there for very long. Still, it's always nice to hang out with her and get a few laughs in while we're at it.

Slacking off and the flood of posts to come

That pretty much sums it up in a nutshell. I have been neglecting the blog for a bit, but I have been taking my pictures. Today I plan to catch up.

My apologies if the one, two, three...like 13 posts are a bit much!

Entry 101

Laundry day! One of the machines ate my quarters. I went to the corner-store to exchange the loose change I had in my car. Also, some cute girl in our complex was puppy-sitting and the puppy adorably attacked me while I was carrying my laundry...too bad I don't have a pair enough to strike up a conversation while in my laundry clothes.

Oh well, at least my regular clothes are clean.

Entry 100

I would say that making it 100 days is a major staple, and that I should take a special picture to celebrate, but Saturday all I did was workout and play videogames with my brothers. Oh well, here's your picture...

Entry 99

Hard at work again on two websites at once. My workplace isn't as cluttered as it usually is, but it'll get there soon enough. Anyway, back to work...

Entry 98

Spring is in full bloom. The down side? When this tree outside our apartment blossoms, the flowers smell a little like fish. I don't think anyone intended for it to be that way, but it is an unfortunate placement for us.

Entry 97

Big interview today with {algo+rhythm} again in Fort Worth. I love their office, especially since it's in this amazing building in the center of downtown called "The Tower." I hear back in two weeks as to whether or not I will get the position...another two-week waiting period makes me nervous.

Entry 96

Playing catch up on the blog. Tuesday, I got a good shot of my brothers after our workout. We were all tired, but once they realized I was going to take a picture, they decided to pose. Since we can't workout in our apartment, we go to a little, grassy lot by the front office of our apartment complex, and use my laptop on a chair to run the DVD. Not a bad setup.

Entry 95

Along with a long day of work on my websites and shuffling through emails and phone calls left over from Spring Hiatus last week, today my brothers and I started the "Insanity" workout. We had our fitness exam, and I was BEAT afterward. The look on my face is most definitely not scripted (even though the picture is) as I really was that tired. In 59 more days, I hope to be fit as an Italian Stallion!

Entry 94

Happy Easter to all the observers out there. Happy Zombie Jesus Day to all others. My router died (Rest in piece, "S.O.S. Brigade") so we bought a new one. More specifically, Derek bought himself one -- a Netgear RangeMax. It's pretty...

Entry 93

Rent was due, so I went by the front office to drop off my second-to-last rent check for this complex, checked the mail at our box, and then came back. At least it was another gorgeous spring day outside.

Entry 92

My friends Ashleigh and Kyle invited me to hang out at Lou's. I love spending time with them, because they are extremely goofy, we have a lot of overlapping interests to talk about, and they give me hope for finding someone perfect for me...eventually.

The funny things is, I found out that they met for the first time in a bar. We had a good laugh, because it just doesn't happen these days. They have been together for about 13 months now.

Entry 91 - APRIL FOOLS DAY

My family is a huge advocate of using April Fools for humor. Over the years, we have created some small and some elaborate jokes to play on each other, our friends, and sometimes total strangers. This year, I used my skills in Photoshop to render an image of my new car with a vulgar keying in the hood.

The joke count by the end of the day was well over 30 people. I had some help from close friends to make it seem legitimate, and then came clean later that night.

Jessica and I also went to a local battle of the bands to decide the opening band for EdgeFest 2010 -- an annual show hosted by 102.1 The Edge. The winner was a band called Ishi, and they were phenomenal. All-in-all, a great way to start Epic April!

Entry 90

Derek got a haircut, and then we went grocery shopping. Like I said, it's been an uneventful week. At the very least, it's the first haircut he's had in a while. His hair doesn't grow very fast, and he doesn't like to bother with it.

Entry 89

Jess started a new job at the Apple store in Northpark Mall, so her time is limited. She had Tuesday night off, so her friend Bob and I got to hang out with her. We talked for a bit, then took a walk down to Crooked Crust Pizza, a new restaurant on Fry Street. Not a bad evening.

Entry 88

I'll be labeling these differently, since I'll be posting each day individually.

In this case it was a standard Monday night: Me and whomever I'm with -- my brothers usually -- watching How I Met Your Mother, and some other shows.

Entry 87

Day 87 - The weather was beautiful all weekend, so before going on a short jog, I decided to take as good a picture as I could to demonstrate just how gorgeous conditions are outside.

The contrast is really high on account of all the sunlight, but isn't that sky just amazing shade of azure?

Entry 86

Day 86 - My third and final date with Jessika. We had an awesome picnic in the park near the Denton library, took a nice walk in the spring weather, and talked over most of the issues we had set out to address in the first place.

The whole time, we both knew they weren't real dates. I still treated them like real ones in practice, because I have been where she is now -- the post-relationship limbo -- many more times than she has. I know that sometimes it's just nice to experience things with other people, and realize they aren't exclusive to your former paramour.

Now that she's finally decided she can give the idea of finding someone new again, my work is pretty much done. So, Jessika and I have decided we can stop now, and continue just being friends.

It was good practice for me, and it gave me time to decide that I do, in fact, still want to be a nice guy and not revert to old habits. It's more fulfilling to pointlessly go on dates with someone you have no intention of being with, than it is to just fish for someone to keep you company for a night...

Entry 85

Day 85 - I went out with some of my nerdier friends to celebrate our friend Stephen's birthday. It meant I got to see Kaylei again -- I had hung out with her on my birthday earlier this month -- as well as a few other friends that I hadn't seen in a while.

The party included people from the normal group of friends I'm used to -- Craig and Bill on the left -- and some of Stephen's coworkers whom I had never met -- Logan and Aaron on the right. It was good in theory, by Kaylei and I were both kind of peeved that Stephen cared more about his coworkers than his normal friends.

Entry 84

Day 84 - My brothers and I went to get dinner at TJ's, a small pizza place right across the parking lot from our apartment. They noticed I was taking a picture, and decided to do goofy random stuff...most of it came out blurry, so I chose the least blurry picture from the group.