I have enjoyed my journey so far. Looking back, there was never any real plan, as much as I like to pretend there was. Strangely, or maybe not, that’s what’s exciting about life. That’s where the adventures lies. Helen Keller put it ever so eloquently in my all time favorite:
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature nor do the children of men experience it as a whole. Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
To simply pursue one’s interests is one of life’s true adventures, and I’ve been lucky. Lucky to have had parents who supported and encouraged me to follow my interests – interests that keep me engaged and excited about life. However, as a thoughtful, often calculated introvert, I tend to keep this excitement bundled up inside. DownSplash is my attempt at sharing that excitement. It is my personally tailored portal to the rest of the world. A world that already enriches my daily life, and a world that I can, in turn, hopefully inspire through sharing my own passions. The culture of blogging, and the web in general, is completely intriguing to me, and I’ve been an eager spectator for long enough. Time to join the ranks and contribute to this remarkable worldwide conversation. Special thanks to Nate Gay for his coding and WordPress mastery.
So…a little about my interests:
TECHNOLOGY.
I have always been obsessed with technology. My dad straddled the cutting edge as I was growing up, and I was the eager benefactor of some serious hand-me-downs like the original Palm Pilot and one of the first digital cameras, the Logitech Fotoman. I never did learned how to change the oil in my truck, but I did make a few bucks as my neighborhood’s PC repairman. Technology is a huge part of my life, and I love to get lost in it.
TRAVEL.
I became a world traveler at age 6 when my parents took me to see my grandparents in Saigon. I warmly remember the experience to this day, especially taking showers in the torrential rains, and have since then explored many parts of SE Asia. I can’t image life without travel, and while I don’t always succeed, I try to get out of the country for at least two weeks every year. For me, travel and adventure are synonymous, and I spend a lot of time on Google Maps (see photoMap) digitally exploring the world and dreaming up new adventures.
SPANISH.
College at ECU brought a new-found interest in Spanish, and, for the first time, I found myself traveling internationally without my family. After returning from a month long immersion experience in Guadalajara in ‘08, I knew I had been bitten by the Hispanic travel bug. Professional school hasn’t afforded much leisure time to improve my Spanish, though I do have a few Central/South America adventures swirling around my head.
PHOTOGRAPHY.
I really fell into photography in high school when I learned that I could creatively tell stories with a shudder release. I love the immediate results and the on-the-fly trial and error learning style of digital photography. I could never do film photography and have tremedous respect for those who do. At one point, I had concocted a plan to travel the world as a nature photographer under the guise of an entomologist. Eventually, I realized that being a research scientist was less travel and more hard work than I wanted, though I’ve never really given up the idea.
FILM.
Last year, I impulsively bought a Canon 5D mark ii on Craigslist. I had no idea that it could shoot video but was excited about the prospects. When I discovered the rapidly growing online community of DSLR filmmakers, especially on Vimeo, I knew I had found my film school. So, I bought a Mac, gobbled up zillions of online tutorials, and started making movies. It has been a wondrous journey, and I am excited about what comes next.
