The image above was shot August 21, 2005 at a day lily farm outside Clayton, Ga.  It was one of the first shots with my digital SLR. We just happened to stop by the farm, and so I got out my camera and snapped a few shots.

This image was shot roughly a year later on July 1, 2006. My mother-in-law purchased some of the day lily’s from the farm, and planted them in her garden. I was actually struck by the quality of light in the late evening sun, and went out to find something to shoot, when I saw these and decided this one would look great in that light.

This is actually the same image as the second one above and was published on August 2, 2008. The only difference between the second and third image is the amount of post processing I’ve applied to it. To me this image really captures what it was that I saw in the flowers originally, and the artisitc touches convey what it was I saw in the flowers initially.

I hope that as another year passes, I’ll find some other way to express what I see through my photography. Maybe I’ve mastered what I can do with red day lily’s or maybe I’ll revisit them again, with a fresh perspective. Either way, I think this series of images illustrates my growth as a photogrpaher, and I hope that this growth continues for a long time.

One of the benefits of working for a large university is that they will waive tuition if I take classes on campus, or they will cover tuition for classes that I take at another school. I have to be employed with the university for a year, a full year before this benefit kicks in, but January is one year, so I really need to start planning now, if I’m going to take advantage of this. The problem, and it seems to be the same problem I always have trouble with, is having too many good choices. At the moment, I’m really not sure which one is right for me.

As noted in the post on the graduate schools, I haven’t given up on my dream of becoming a clinical psychologist. The idea of getting back into a lab and doing psychology research that could ultimately improve people’s lives is very exciting to me. To that end, the most viable options would be taking post-bach courses in psychology on campus during my lunch hour, and/or finding a professor on campus who needs research assistants. The next option, in terms of feasibility, would be to find an online graduate program in psychology. These are generally not well regarded, but if I mixed that in with some research with a professor at Emory, that might go a long way on an eventual Ph.D. application. The third option that I am considering is a masters program at Georgia Tech in Human Computer Interaction. The program is an interdisciplinary program in computer science, psychology, literature, communication, and culture. While not a traditional feeder program into Clinical Ph.D, it actually ties rather strongly with one of the areas of psychology ressearch that I would like to pursue.

So those are my psychology options. The other option that really appeals to me would be to study photography. I’ve really fallen in love with this art, and could see myself leading a very happy life working as a professional photographer. I don’t necessarily need a degree to do this, but with Emory paying for it, there doesn’t seem to be any reason not to get some formal training before going pro. (It also lets me work towards a BFA or MFA to add to my collection). I’ve found several online programs in photography, and I shoot all the time for fun anyway, so this option would be quite convenient. With the prevalence of digital cameras, though, photography as a profession is on the decline, so this could be one of the least beneficial options financially.

Something else that I’ve considered is getting some course work in web development. These classes are usually run through business schools, and there are plenty of programs around Atlanta and online for degrees at both the Bachelors and Masters levels. This is the least exciting option, but certainly the most practical and most profittable.

When I ask myself these days, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” those are the things that I’m considering. So, does anyone see anything that I might have missed, or anything that just looks so completely obvious, but I’m clearly overlooking. Don’t be shy, tell me what you think.

Just after three o’clock this morning my dogs started going crazy, barking and banging against their crates. Normally, they only do this when someone is at the front door. I get out of bed to see what’s going on and notice a light moving across my lawn. Cracking the blinds, I see someone with a flashlight crouched over the green utility box at the edge of my yard. There’s not a vehicle in sight. This, to me, seems a little suspicious. Thinking it would be better to be safe than sorry, I pick up the phone to call 911. There’s no dial tone. Needless to say, I’m more than a little nervous at this point.

I leave the lights off and walk to the room where we keep the dogs, letting them out of their crates. They run downstairs and stand at the front door barking like mad. I follow then and check the phone downstairs it now has a dialtone, so I dial 911. The operator answers, “911 Can I help you?” I explain what’s going on, he confirms my name, address, and telephone number then says they’ll be sending someone to check it out. The whole conversation seems oddly informal. I look out the window again and now see the guy with the flashlight walking quickly down the street away from the utility pole.

I pick up my cell phone and call 911 again, the operator answers, “Gwinnett County 911 Dispatch.” I explain that I had just placed a call and wanted to confirm that a police officer was on the way. “What did you report?” I explained what I had told the other operator.

“When did you report it?”

“Just a few minutes ago.”

“Is there a vehicle around?”

“No, there’s just some guy in my yard with a flashlight.”

“It’s probably just Comcast, they’ve been doing work in your area for the last couple of months.”

“There’s not a Comcast truck”, (or any other vehicles around), “would you mind sending someone to confirm this?”

After confirming all of my information, she tells me “An officer has been dispatched.” I thank her and hang up.

While I was on the phone the second time, the mysterious man walked down the street and wasn’t visible from any of the windows in the house. We put the dogs back up thinking that maybe he’d disappeared for good. A while later, however, he walks back up the street and starts messing with the utility box in my neighbor’s yard across the street. My wife and I are both watching to see what’s going on, and a station wagon, with its trunk open, pulls up. It stops briefly next to the guy we’ve been watching, then heads down into the cul-de-sac.

The first guy walks back down to the box in our yard. Still not sure what he is up to, we let the dogs back out. They run downstairs and start barking like crazy again. The man with the flashlight quickly starts to gather some stuff from the sidewalk. The station wagon swings back around and stops in front of our house. The first guy throws his stuff in the back and gets in the car. Driving away without bothering to close the trunk.

It all seemed quite suspicious to me, but with the guy and his getaway driver gone, my level of concern dropped, and I was able to go back to bed. If the police ever showed up they didn’t bother to let us know.

My wife called Comcast this morning, and they gave us plenty of reasons why they might have people out working at that hour. However, none of the reasons they gave were backed by records of technicians performing maintenance in our neighborhood.

If this was Comcast, then they ought to take precautions to protect their contractors. Having them working at 3:00 am, without any outward indication that they were anything other than prowlers is an invitation for disaster. If I had let my rottweilers loose or one of my neighbors had confronted this guy with a gun, somebody could have been seriously hurt. If they aren’t going to let us know about maintenance in advance, then at the very least, they need to make sure they are working in very close proximity to a well lighted vehicle with the company name clearly displayed.

The puppies (as we affectionately refer to our 100+ lb. dogs) got some extra treats and head scratches.

I hope everyone has a Happy April Fool’s day.

Edit: I’ve been Rick Rolled by Google.

Yes, it’s a personality flaw that I feel the need to point out things like this. No, I don’t believe anyone actually cares that today isn’t St. Patrick’s Day. I also know how many people actually read my blog, so this was almost entirely for my own edification anyway.

Eight years ago today, a major winter storm hit Georgia, leaving much of Atlanta and North Georgia without power and covered in ice for several days. It also happens that on the same day, though a little earlier in the afternoon, I married the love of my life. We had a beautiful wedding ceremony in the Glenn Memorial Chapel at Emory University. Our wedding reception was just across the campus in the Carlos Museum. It had started raining during the ceremony, and as the rain fell, the temperatures dropped, and by the time we made our exit from the reception, the rain had turned to ice. The ice would cancel our honeymoon and ultimately shut down the city.

Two weeks ago I was laid off by the builder I had been working for. I wasn’t prepared for it to happen when it did, but given the state of things in the housing market, I can’t say I was surprised at the news. I immediately began looking for a new job, searching career websites, networking, and contacting a recruiter. While searching job boards, I came across a posting for a web development position at Emory University. I applied for the job and before the end of the week I had been contacted for an interview.

The interview, I was told, would consist of an hour long meeting with the search committee, a 45 minute meeting with the technology committee, and then an hour long presentation (given by me) to the technology committee and anyone in the school who wanted to attend. Apparently, I did well, because the very next day I was made an incredible offer.

My recruiter had setup three interviews for me the next day. I went to the first one, but as I was driving home, it occurred to me that the date Emory had asked me to start was January 22: my wedding day and the day of one memorable ice storm. The offer had come on the same day that snow began falling metro Atlanta for the first time in three years. That pretty much sealed the deal for me. I called the recruiter and canceled the other two interviews and accepted the offer from Emory.

I don’t generally read to much into coincidences. I know that if I analyze it logically there are perfectly reasonable explanations for the seemingly strange coincidental things that happen in the world. However, part of me still sees a little bit of magic in these happy cosmic intersections.

So, today, I start a new job on the campus of Emory University. Eight years to the day after I was married here, and sitting at a desk with an unimpeded view of the Carlos Museum and traces of Georgia’s last winter storm still visible in the shade.

*Click the image for the full xkcd experience.