Nathan Gilmer

You know what I really miss these days? Punk Rock

Not because the music was great or that the lyrics were that creative. The reason I miss it is because I could completely relate with it. The lyrics were so dead-on accurate for that time of life that the songs became way more than just songs, they became a soundtrack, a musical outlet for everything that I was feeling at the time. They were loud and were so passionate that they just completely resonated with me.

I can’t find music that does that for me right now. I am trying, I am looking everywhere but its all just too polished and perfected and emotionless. I long for that connection with music again.

I don’t want punk anymore. I am beyond that. But I want something that speaks to me the way punk did.

Does anyone else feel that way?

I know I should have done this at the end of last year like everyone else does, but I am going to give you an update on my life right now. You have probably heard quite a bit from my mom (she is pretty good at that) but it never hurts to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.

Let’s start with what hasn’t changed in the past year:

I am still working in the Registrar’s Office at Liberty University and am taking classes online. I am working towards my degree slowly but surely.

I am still a man.

I still follow Jesus.

…That’s about it.

What has changed:

I moved into a huge house in downtown Lynchburg with some friends. It was built in 1906 and it is really cool. The problem is it is crazy cold and the power bill was way too high. So we currently have the heat set at 50 and use space heaters in our rooms. So basically we never leave our rooms except to use the bathroom and make food. In the fall and spring and summer it is beautiful though. It has a great porch that we spend many a night sitting, talking, and smoking our pipes on.

I started dating this amazing girl named Courtney last September. I have never met anyone like her and we are so happy together. She is a pre-med student and is going to become a chiropractor. We have such similar passions for justice, family, missions, and life. And we also have a blast with each other doing things like swing dancing, Geocaching, hiking, and many other things. She is by far the coolest person I know.

We weren’t anxious to rush things, but since she is graduating in May and leaving for Florida soon after to go to chiropractic school, we had to talk about our future pretty quickly. We are both crazy about each other and are so perfect for each other in so many ways, that we decided we should get married and go down to Florida together. This still isn’t completely finalized, but that is the direction we are leaning right now. I will start working full-time and start moving towards a career in photography and video production while I finish my degree through LU Online.

I have been growing out my beard since November 1^st for a thing called Whiskerino. It’s an online community of men growing out their beards and posting creative pictures of them. Its purpose is just for men to have fun growing and showing their beards with some fun pictures. I have had a blast with it and you can see all of my Whiskerino shots here. There is only 2 weeks left. I am happy to get rid of it because it itches and is annoying, but I am going to miss the fun and community of Whiskerino. Courtney is sooo excited for me to get rid of it because “it hurts my face when you hug me”.

Other than that I have just been taking a lot of pictures, flying remote control planes, and having a lot of fun hanging out with my friends. You guys can keep track of me on Twitter and my Blog, both of which I update almost daily.

I miss you all and pray you are doing well. Please feel free to send an update to us if you haven’t in awhile. Hope to hear from you soon.

Whiskerino officially ended two days ago. I really feel like a new mini-chapter in my life has just ended. I know that probably sounds a little over-dramatic to those of you not directly involved with it, but Whiskerino took a great deal of my time and creative energy. It was a ton of fun and incredibly rewarding. A lot is different now that it is over.

Other than the fact that I look completely different without a beard, I am also not sure what to do creatively now.  With Whiskerino I always had a project to be working on. There was always a theme day to shoot or a different way to shoot my beard. Now that it is over I am trying to figure out what I want my next “project” to be. I have considered doing a 365 project, or maybe 52 weeks project, but I want something with more of a theme. Maybe Ill shoot only B/W or something like that.

I definitely want to start taking my friends out to practice my portrait photography. I also want to start shooting couples to start practicing for engagement shoots and stuff.

Anyways, I am rambling. This was just my attempt at saying that I am working on another creative project, I am just not sure what it is yet.

If you have an idea, let me know.