Hello ya'll! September is getting chillier faster than when the summer heat kicked in on Seattle. That means sweater season is back! This particular week is unique. I say so because the person you see here is a close friend name Jason Troy. He is the feature for week 33 between August 13th to August 19th. Prior to this blog, everyone in my project have social media account which people can connect on the internet. However, Jason has no social media account online. All of my communication with him are done through texting, phone calls, email exchange, or in person. He has kept an eye on my project though here. I couldn't wait to finally ask him to be feature in my project. We set up to spend an entire day hiking and catching up through photography. You will read a short bio about Jason, how we know each other, and what played out our day. Let's go for a walk and get lost with us in the forest.

Jason is a man of mystery. He has a career with the consumer electronic industry and experiences tremendous technological growth deeply as our world continues to seek advancement. Outside of the tech world, he is an artist. He has passion for the art world within all mediums such as photography, graphic design, cinematography, and etc. On top of that, he is a vegan. His well being through healthy eating and exercising is astonishing because he knows what are healthy and unhealthy to eat and unique exercises he partake. Beyond the scope, he is super resourceful in travel hack because he constantly travel for a living. He is incredible.

I have known about Jason for eight years. There are three occurrences we met. The first occurrence we met indirectly when I worked at a camera shop called Ritz Camera and Images. He actually slightly recalls meeting me because he was there for a visit to educate my coworkers on upcoming products. I only watched their interactions from the photo lab from where I worked at the time. I was more interested on film, prints, archives, and art, and gears more so than selling cameras and accessories. The second occurrence I met while shopping at Tall's Camera two years later. At that point, I was obsessed about cameras and loved visiting camera stores. Shucks, I was just a customer and this was a strange coincidence. My friend, who worked with me at Ritz with me, worked there and I went to visit her and check out their products. Once again, he was there educating the staff about upcoming products and events like Consumer Electronic Show (CES). Our third occurrence was in 2015. I worked for a third party as a brand specialist with Best Buy. His name did not click to me. Once we met in person, I felt this was a miracle! To meet Jason three times in my life, life has pulled me to the people that will matter to me and who I am becoming for them. We worked together, learned where we came to be, and shared our hardest time all the while creating a meaningful friendship and growing into a wonderful future. It's like that saying, "third times the charm".

Monday morning of August 14th, we planned for a full day of hanging out, hiking, and enjoying our company. Started our day at 9:00 AM, we picked up healthy alternative breakfast of smoothie, One of a Kind granola bars, and Bang! Energy drink near my house in Federal Way. Then, we drove toward Issaquah for Squak mountain. Squak mountain is a hiking trail within the Tiger Mountain area next to Poo Poo Point. We pulled up to the parking lot, stretched to warm up, and laced up to start the hike. I usually carry a large pack for my items, however, Jason challenged us to carry only my camera, my tripod, and my cell phone. I'm like, "Okay, let's do this!" I was thrilled to see the weather was cool and not blazing hot. The smoke had just cleared up from Canada's forest fire. The forest was breath taking, chilly, and quiet. We started on the larger trail which horses can walk and sure enough, I saw plenty of their drops on the trail. We hiked for 11 miles round trip. In the beginning, it was a bit hilly, but once past that point, it was simple. Perhaps it was us carrying light and taking our time. We stopped and photographed all throughout the trail which resulted spending five hours in the forest. Squak mountain leads into different pathway you can take and get lost. We almost got lost coming back. Luckily, there were unique landmarks within the trail that we recalled and photographed specifically to trace back our steps.

For our last shot, I set up the tripod to mount my camera and framed the composition of us. I wanted to add sticks as the props to have some nature flare with our self portrait. We had numerous attempts like having our back against the trees, but I hated the look. After a few more attempts with me being on my knees, this is the one shot that was purely capture perfectly yet accidentally. I was getting frustrated with my phone being delayed with transmitting its signal back and forth with my camera. I had pressed the shutter button with the timer going off laughing at the slow technology while looking away. In the end, this was the best self portrait photo.

Having Jason in my life is a blessing. The best fact is our birthday is three days apart. Cancer for the win! I do believe in astrology to an extend and see how similar we are. We are both artists, tech savvy, young looking, and adventurous. There were points which I was at my lowest, knowing how busy he can be, I have called him just to talk about my breakdowns. He is there for his people. Any gift he gives me, I will always use it to the fullest.

Last, but not least, thank you Jason for being in my life and being in my project. You are an amazing friend where I can say you are like my brother. You always check up on me, love to hear what I'm up to, and even make the time to see each other despite your hectic work schedule combined with traveling many distances. Truly, you work hard in your endeavors, hustle, and driven in any areas of your life to ensure success and peace is along your journey.

Thanks to those who stuck around and read through the entire blog. I am working on releasing my other weekly blog and catch up to the current date. Writing is a skill I am improving. It is the time I need to get them out hastily! I cannot wait to reveal them soon!

- Sally

Week 33/52 - Third Times The Charm