Engagement photos are up

Quick update....

I went and played golf yesterday, which was a lot of fun. I shot OK for not playing in almost 9 months. I'm going to play with my dad, brother, and soon-to-be father-in-law (welcome to the hypheNATION!). I need to practice a bit more so I can school these guys.

While I was playing golf several years ago (and more regularly), my friend Patrick and I came across a newly poured concrete cart path. Rather than stepping around this, we decided to make our mark. Sadly, this will probably be the longest-lasting and greatest impact I will ever make on Texas A&M University. I took a picture with my phone:


Becky and I went to a shower last night for our friends Denise and Chase. It was a lot of fun (the fajitas were fantastic). I made some new friends and saw a lot of people I hadn't seen in a while.

We drove back to Houston after that and did Relay for Life, which was just amazing. It was really neat to see everybody working hard for one common goal. I always like events that bring out the best in people. I took a few good pictures, which I'll upload in a bit.

I have (some of) the black and white engagement photos up. I only uploaded the ones I like. There in my picasa or you can just view them below.

airplanes + freebirds + friends = cool midweek dinner

Last night I went to Freebirds (which has recently sold out to the man. gahhh). I know, you're thinking, we've all been to Freebirds. However, I picked my friends Andrew and Brandon up from the airport. They flew into College Station from Houston to eat dinner with Jonathan and me. It was a blast. I miss seeing those guys during the week. Dinner was good. We swapped funny stories.

My earlier classes got canceled today. This means I have had almost 24 hours between classes. That's awesome! I talked to Becky last night and slept in this morning. College - classes = awesome. Now I'm doing laundry and hanging out.

I wanted to take some pictures last night (plane, runway all lit up), but they just didn't turn out. First, I waited until I took them back to take pictures, so I took pictures in the dark, which had as much success as a screen door on a submarine. Second, it was ridiculously windy, which made it hard to get a good picture. This wasn't a problem for the plane, but it was for the lights. I really needed to be still to get the lights. Next time, I'll take a tripod.

Earlier this month, my cousin Chase had a tennis teammate killed in a car accident. Chase is the number one player at his high school. Here is a link to a good writeup on him and his team. You should absolutely read it, it will probably make you cry. It made my eyes water a bit. I'm very proud of him. He's a class-act kid with a great work ethic.

Becky and I are down to 99 days until our wedding. She sent me an e-mail this morning that said "Happy double digits". I really am excited to get to marry her. She is my best friend and I love spending time with her.

I get my Aggie Ring in 7 days! If you don't know, the Aggie Ring is kind of a big deal. Getting my Ring is more important to me than getting my degree. Graduation is kind of a bonus. The Ring is pretty identifiable. It has opened up many conversations over the years and there are some really, really neat stories about Aggie Rings. When I was worked at the car wash, I noticed a man wearing an Aggie Ring and I told him I was an Aggie. He gave me a $5 tip for hosing down his car! When Becky and I registered at Crate and Barrel, a man (Frank) asked if he could tell me about the knives. After noticing his ring, I obliged, told him I was an Aggie, and he spent about 30 minutes detailing the knives for me and giving me his life story. It was a pretty sweet time.

My groomsman Brent and I are camping out to get our Ring tickets on Thursday night. This is merely for the fun of camping out for something. It will just be a fun way to celebrate getting my ring with a great friend.

After I get my Ring, I have to dunk it (follow the link to read more about that). Brent's wife Candice said she was going to make Brent an apple pie to dunk his in. She also said that she always makes her pies from scratch and in batches of two, so she would have an extra one, and she offered it to me. I have never, ever turned a pie down in my life. So if everything goes through as planned, I will dunk my ring in an apple pie.

TAMU campus pictures

Update: Under Armour underwear use ultra utilitarian. I tried to use alliteration. I wish I could have used a palindrome. That would have been really cool.

As planned, I took some pictures around campus today. After I got over my nerves I really enjoyed myself. It was pretty relaxing and I was able to get some good shots. They are on my picasa, which is a really, really sweet product (if you're not already using it). There are also embeded at the bottom, but if for some strange reason, you want them, you can get a copy at picasa.

I really enjoyed the fountain and the statue pictures. I got the fountain pictures with a faster shutter speed (1/600, I think). I tried to go over that, but there was just too much light coming in. I worked hard to get good composition, but I still use the "camera tilt" as my crutch. I enjoy this technique and I think it makes things look good, but I don't want to overuse it. Besides, I think people have a tendency to turn their head to see it, and I don't want to be the "Chiropractic Photographer". The statue made a good model, both he and the dog were able to stand perfectly still. Of course, if you'll notice, he had to gie the dog a biscuit to get him to pose for me. I was very flattered.

I really want to get some pictures of Sullie and Bonfire Memorial, but I ran out of battery juice and there was a street preacher at Sullie (that's a different post).

Anyways, here are the pictures that I liked most:

quick update: let's add pictures

random pictures from everywhere

blackberry test

I stayed up way too late last night working on my research paper. I
spent all day on that thing yesterday, I barely went outside, I didn't
go to class, and didn't really leave my computer chair. To make it all
worse, it was beautiful outside and had an offer from Andrew for a
lunch date, but alas IT Asset Management won out and I slaved on the
paper all day long.

Today, after turning in my paper, I plan on taking some photographs
around campus. I must admit that I have secretly wanted to do this as
long as I have been on campus. I figured since today was going to be
beautiful and I didn't get enough rest for extreme physical activity
(read: cycling or climbing) I would relax and take pics.

Now, the real reason I wanted to blog today was to test
mobile blogging (I am on my blackberry pearl).

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

phoblography...explained

I got a new camera. and Phoblography sounds kind of cool.

The camera is a panasonic dmc-fz8 and it's a pretty good camera. there are several reasons I got the camera:

1. My dad has it and I liked his.
2. It has SLR-like features.
3. SLR-features did not include an SLR-like price tag.
4. Re-emphasize #3.
5. SLR cameras are expensive. Accessories to make them work are even more expensive.

I've really enjoyed using it. It takes good pictures and has been a fun hobby. I have enjoyed learning about the F-stop, shutter speed, lighting, composition, etc. Plus, it has been really nice to have some (more) good pictures of Becky.

Becky has been a good "model" for my pictures. She's beautiful and puts up with my desire to "experiment" with photos, effects, angles, etc (disclaimer: This is starting to sound dirty. I can assure you I am only referring to photos, as we have maintained our purity).

I got a lowepro case, which are supposed to be the gold standard (and my dad already had one), a 2gb SD card, and "borrowed" the family tripod. So far, the setup has proven to be enough, and am well on my way to becoming the next Ansel Adams.

I must admit, I'm not the best. I have tried to get "fresh" compositions and capture things in a new light, but that mostly means I've turned the camera sideways or tried to blur something out. However, it has been a blast.

My favorite things to photograph: Becky, Jax, flowers, and outdoor water faucets (I have no explanation for this).

hi, i'm patrick

Why yes, I would like that blog to go.

This is my first blog post in a while. I used to xanga, until that got mega lame, and now that I am determined to let google infiltrate every area of my life, I got a blogger (which is google). Becky and I have talked about starting a blog when we get married to keep everyone in the loop...and guess what... we eloped!! (Just kidding, that would have been uber-sweet though!) I figured a blog isn't the wafflemaker she won't let me use until we get married, so I began the journey.

First, let me explain that google is the best non-female thing ever. Although, every once in a while google will give you an unexpected error for no justifiable reason, and while this is female-like, I prefer to think of google as not having human parts, particularly female parts. But that's a whole different blog.

google is a noun, a verb, a miracle, a time saver, a time waster, a search engine, an email app, and all things wonderful. google can do many things, but google will not wait (stolen from a hallmark card Becky bought for someone not me). google does amazing things and they all seem to work. and they're mostly all mobile, which is awesome, thus me ordering this blog to go.

Well, I just wanted to start this thing off right. It did not have the blessing of Queen Elizabeth, but I think we'll be fine. If she had given us a blessing, it may have read: May God bless this blog and all those who read it.