So, I've been up to a lot over here in off-line world. Engaging in other hobbies outside of just the bricks. Making new life decisions for my post-graduate years. Etc.

I don't know how many of you know this, but I've been into photography for awhile. I took a few years off from serious photography after I graduated high school, and my MOC photography definitely showed it, haha. But ironically, my desire to have better photographs for my MOCs brought me back into the photographic world. It's a crazy hobby (and expensive, my newest camera [a low-end Nikon d40] cost me ~$600, and that includes only one extra lens besides the kit lens), and most of you won't believe how much time and effort goes into taking even okay looking photos. I've learned more about photoshop and the actual photographic process in the last six months than I ever did during my high school black and white film photography classes.

Anyway, a few examples of what I've been doing (there is important life information after the pictures, read it too):

(That one is my current desktop image)

And some color:

(That is my former roommate who transferred universities last year)

Etcetera and so on. My Flickr account is full of this, so go look at it.

Anyway. I have also made some new life decisions for when I find myself no longer in college in the fast-coming future. No, I will not be graduating in May, though that was my original graduation date (I am high school class of '05, and a college senior. But I changed my major earlier this year, giving me another year). Regardless, May of oh-ten will be here far sooner than anyone realizes, so I am making preparations.

I've long felt that my goal in life is to help people. I have never really been able to figure out exactly how I plan on helping people, but still. It goes along with my theological and religious convictions as well. Love people, after all, is Christianity's second most important rule. I have a tremendous empathy and compassion for others, and my desire has, as I said, long gone out to those who have less, are treated as less, etc. I decided this year that my long-term life goal was to pursue humanitarian work with some non-profit organizations sometime after I graduate. With that in mind, I decided that the best way to go about that was to get some international experience for a short-term-long-term period after I am done here at Oklahoma State University. I have contacted several "Teach English abroad" organizations, and have decided that when I graduate, I will more than likely be moving to Japan or China to teach English for a few years, being immersed in another culture, another language, meeting people, making friends, contacts, and gaining that overseas experience before I move on to international humanitarian work in some way or form. So, two years from now I should be living in another country, living a different life.

(With this realization of my life plans, I now wish I hadn't changed my major so I would be graduating in May, so this would happen in the next year-span, and not the next two. Oh well.)