Real Rock Star

Hey guys! Remember that time I said I would be changing the rules for my blog and I'd let you know about it tomorrow? Then I didn't say anything for over a year. Yeah, that's the one. Pretty funny, huh?

In a nutshell, here is why I think I didn't succeed in my New Year's Resolution:

(1)I was too ambitious. A creative work each day? That's a bit much. Sure I was able to learn a lot, but I was never able to put out a “quality product” as it were. Eventually I became frustrated artistically.
(2)It took too much time. I don't mean this in the usual “Look at me I'm a super-busy American” sort of way, but more in the “I can't juggle this with my academic career, friends, family and, most importantly, my wife” way. That is to say, it was a daily priority when it shouldn't have been.
(3)I had a hard time coming up with reasonable things I could do given my daily deadline. In a way, this complaint is a combination of the previous two – I couldn't come up with quick and easy projects that I wouldn't be embarrassed by (I mean, just look at the posts leading up to this one...wretched).
(4)Once I skipped that first week the rest was all downhill. It's easy to admit defeat when you no longer believe in the cause you're fighting for.

So there you have it. I'm sorry dear friends. I hope you soldiered on without me.

But alas! I have remained dormant from shame for far too long! The time if nigh for me, and this blog, to rise like a phoenix from the ashes and, once again, dominate the interwebs with awesomeisity! Or something. So I will again breathe life into my blog, but the only promise I offer is that it will be updated again. Please note that there are no promises as to WHEN this updating may occur. It's imperative that you grasp this. That is all!

Actually, that's not all. But that seemed like a good place to say “That is all” in an exclamatory tone (hence the punctuation). I have crafted a picture for your web-consumption today. It isn't terribly original. I've seen this type of effect all over the place but never really had a picture that I thought would work for it. Well, that all changed the other day when I was taking pictures at a church event.

The person in this picture is none other than the wife of our youth pastor. She's pretty awesome. In fact, she's pretty much a rock star. Unfortunately, her husband, who happens to play a lot of rock type music rather well, is usually assigned this appellation. I mean, he's awesome and all, but I'm pretty certain that she is the REAL rock star. After all, the old saying goes, “Behind every great rocker is an even greater rocker wife.” In any case, this picture makes an effort to capture the sheer awesomeness that is Jen (Last name not revealed to protect the innocent … and that might not even be her real name … or is it?!):



Cheers for now.

BONUS: A few things to note if you like trivial details: (1) I still like old paper backgrounds. (2) This was my first attempt at this sort of effect, I wound up with something very different from what I expected, but I am happy with it. (3) That is my reflection in the sunglasses. I was a little sloppy. Not to mention too lazy to edit myself out... (4) The GIMP rules! Go download it now! (Although I made this in photoshop to keep my skills up, the Gimp is perfectly capable of the same effects.)