What I Did On My Summer Vacation

If I could accomplish even half of what I set out to do, I think I'd be quite pleased with myself. Unfortunately life tends to get in my way - work takes out a significant portion of my time during the week: I leave my apartment at 6:30 every morning, and get home between 6 and 7 at night (depending on traffic and when I can pry my ass out of my office chair). So by the time I settle in and eat, it's usually close to 8pm which leaves me about 2 hours or so of free time. I think I may be slightly manic as I tend to have short intense bursts of inspiration and desire to work on my aspirations. Unfortunately, those bursts tend to happen at inappropriate times - like when I'm at work, or at 10:30pm on a weeknight when I really need to go to bed. On the weekends I tend to try to squeeze in all the errands I was too lazy/didn't have time for in the week (i.e. laundry, grocery shopping, naps) which leaves me only sporadic blocks of time of which to work with. Add what I think is a slight case of ADD (I swear I would have been medicated as a kid had I been born twenty years later) which I'm noticing is getting worse as I get older, and I'm shocked I can finish any kind of artistic endeavor.

AnyWAY, the point of this post was not to bitch about how I don't have time to do the things I want, but to tell you what those things are. Like the essay you'd always be stuck writing that first week back to grammar school in the fall ("This summer I wrote my bike to White Hen for Slush Puppies every day and bought baseball cards from Roadway Pharmacy" [this is seriously what I did]), here's a list of what I hope I can accomplish this summer. Please note I am a realist and know there's no way I can get all of this done. I will put these in order of what I feel is doable, and also because ordering lists soothes me. Hey, I can't help that - I'm anal retentive.

1. Document Where I've Lived in Photos: I have lived in Chicagoland my entire life (those two years in the dorms in Urbana don't count). At last count I have lived in four residences in the city (Edgebrook, O'Hare, Portage Park and currently West Ridge), Hoffman Estates (my first apartment and the last time I'm living in a suburb farther than 3 miles from the city limit) and Harwood Heights (my parents' house). I'd like to go to all six neighborhoods and not only document the actual places I've lived but also the surrounding neighborhood. I'm especially eager to do this where I grew up as I know things have changed and it'll give me a chance to recollect those memories and wax poetic about the way things were.
2. Doing That Film Thing: For those who don't really know me, I have a degree in film. When I say film I mean *film.* Digital video cameras and editing was just starting to gain traction when I was in college, so my medium for the most part was 16mm film. I love it and miss it so - especially editing on an old flatbed Steenbeck, syncing it with old magnetic audio tape and using grease pencils to mark and tape and splice and tape pieces of film. I honestly haven't worked with since it graduating but dabbling in photography the last couple of years (thank god for digital - my darkroom technique sucked), has brought back the visual eye I thought I'd lost. To that end, over the weekend I bought an old Bell & Howell Super 8 camera for $3 at an antique mall. I'd love to get a 16mm Bolex like I used in school, but those things are fucking expensive. Sure I could just use my old video camera (or get a cheap replacement), but there is nothing like film - the additional cost and time is worth it to me. So my hope is I can get this filming thing started again - or at the very least borrow Amy's parents' 8mm projector and take a look at important films from my parents - like my entire childhood and my parents' honeymoon.
3. Update something, everyday. I rarely give myself praise (it's one of my most endearing qualities), but I would like to say that seven months on, I'm still updating this blog. I've never kept a diary updated that long. That being said, I want to update either this, my Flickr feed or my new Tumblr account at least once a day. I'm able to use these mediums as an outlet for myself, and I always have something to say, yet lack the energy to do so at times. Add my Twitter feed and my Facebook account, and I'm always busy with something. Shameless plug, if you'd like to be my Facebook friend, just shoot me an email. I'm always happy to accept Friend Requests (as long as you're not Spam) yet I'm not one of those folks who friends every single person I ever met in my entire life. Which would be why I currently only have 78 friends. Anyway, I have all these tools at my disposal, and it'll be a shame if I don't take advantage of it. 
4. Document Chicago Movie Houses. This is another photo project I'd love to work on. Film has been such an important part of my life. Some my favorite childhood memories involve going to the movies, I worked at a movie theatre for 6 years in high school and college, and I still aspire to be a filmmaker at some point. Some of the theatres I went to growing up no longer are standing or in use (Will Rogers, Golf Mill, Esquire, Fine Arts) and others have changed radically (Gateway, Norridge, Pickwick). I'd love to be able to document all of the movie houses that stood in Chicago and the nearby suburbs, either by photographing what they look like now, or what is currently in its place. It would be a huge undertaking for sure and probably a never ending project. But I already have documented some old movie houses with a set on Flickr, so it's a start. 
5. Photographing the Length of Western Avenue. It's a project I know a lot of people have done, but since I only live two buildings down from the longest street in Chicago, it's something that is convenient. Again, this is another project I know I can't finish this summer. But it's something I've been wanting to do ever since I moved to my current neighborhood four years ago.

So as you can read, my ambition knows no bounds. If you know me in real life, please take every opportunity to encourage me or simply give me a well needed kick in the ass (figuratively, not literally please). Even if you don't, please poke me every once in awhile somewhere on the internets and ask me how I'm doing with my goals. I think if I know folks are interested, I may miraculously find the time and energy to accomplish things.