Night view of residential entrance in Hyde Park.

Gated entrance of Hyde Park residence

Hyde Park gated residence

View through the gates of a Hyde Park residential complex.

Waiting at the Bus stop in Hyde Park 55th and Hyde Park Blvd.

Waiting for the morning bus in Hyde Park.

Bikes parked in a Hyde Park building’s walkway.

Harper’s Court Sign. Hyde Park, Chicago.

Harper’s Court Sign. Hyde Park, Chicago.

Harper’s Court Sign. Hyde Park, Chicago.

Harper’s Court Street Sign. Hyde Park, Chicago.

Harper’s Court Statue. Hyde Park, Chicago.

Hyde Park Statue covered in snow.

Harper Court’s Starbucks. Hyde Park, Chicago

Harper Court’s Dixie Kitchen

Harper Court’s Checkboard Lounge. Hyde Park, Chicago

Harper Court on March 29th, 2009

Harper’s Court Hyde Park, Chicago

Harper’s Court worker salting sidewalk

Shoveling snow in Harper’s Court

Torn real estate sign in Harper’s Court alley

Dr. Wax’s old retail store sits empty in Harper’s Court

Empty store front in Harper’s Court

I Love Hyde Park closed storefront in Harper’s Court

I Love Hyde Park Storefront Window in Harper’s Court

Inside the I Love Hyde Park store in Harper’s Court

Single bottle of Pine Sol sits in I Love Hyde Park closed store.

55th and Everett. Hyde Park, Chicago. Earth Hour

Hotel Windermere East, Hyde Park, Chicago. Earth Hour

1700 E. 56th Street, Hyde Park, Chicago. Earth Hour

Hyde Park has quite a few hideaway secrets. I was able to find one of them tonight on day 6 of my project; Free Jazz on Friday’s at Mellow Yellow Restaurant, located at 1508 E. 53rd St. Tonight, Tyler Jazz Quartet performed in the restaurant’s second dining area.

Mellow Yellow Restaraunt in Hyde Park, Chicago.

Tyler Jazz Quartet performing at Mellow Yellow.

Tyler Jazz Quartet at Mellow Yellow.

Tyler Jazz Quartet performing at Mellow Yellow Restaraunt in Hyde Park.

Bassist, Jephet Lanthia performing with the Tyler Jazz Quartet.

Vocalist Saalik Ahmad Ziyad performing with the Tyler Jazz Quartet.

Saalik Ahmad Ziyad, Winston Tyler, and Jephet Lanthia performing at Mellow Yellow in Hyde Park.

Drummer, Cornell Tyler of the Tyler Jazz Quartet.

Cornell Tyler of the Tyler Jazz Quartet performing at Mellow Yellow Restarant.

Keyboardist, Winston Tyler of the Tyler Jazz Quartet.

Winston Tyler of the Tyler Jazz Quartet performing at Mellow Yellow in Hyde Park.

Saxaphonist, Ed House performing with the Tyler Jazz Quartet.

53rd and Hyde Park Blvd Street Lamp

Bus Stop sign on 53rd and Hyde Park Blvd.

Looking West on 55th and Cornell at 9:30 p.m.

Walking down alley at night. Cornell and Hyde Park Blvd

Thai Cuisine Restaruant at night in Hyde Park.

Looking West on 55th Street at Night

House on 56th and Hyde Park Blvd.

Looking through trees at the Hotel Windermere East on 57th and Hyde Park Blvd.

Looking East on 56th and Hyde Park Blvd.

Museum of Science and Industry.

Apartment Complex on 56th and Hyde Park Blvd.

In an effort to expand my photography skills, and inspired by reading Annie Dillard’s “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,” I’ve decided to start a new photography project called “Hyde Park 365.” For one year, I’m going to re-discover the neighborhood I’ve grown to love, Hyde Park. I’ve often said to myself that there isn’t any interesting photographs to take. Well, I’m going to challenge myself by taking photographs of Hyde Park for the next 365 days.

Cornell Park – Hyde Park, Chicago

Street View of Cornell Park. Hyde Park, Chicago.

Staircase – Hyde Park, Chicago.

Jackson Park – Hyde Park, Chicago

Bret Hart Elementary School – Hyde Park, Chicago

Meta Mural on 56th and Lake Park – Hyde Park, Chicago

Treasure Island – Hyde Park, Chicago.

Hyde Park Shopping Center – Hyde Park, Chicago

Hyde Park Bank – Hyde Park, Chicago

Five weeks has past since I written anything personal. I miss writing my personal thoughts here. I felt that an early Saturday morning would be a good time to release them.

The last nine weeks have been filled with more reading than I was able to handle. In addition, one of my instructors accused me of plagiarism, but quickly apologized five minutes later in an email, an instructor pulling me out of class to talk about how my sacrasm insulted him, and lastly, a challenging instructor who doesn’t want to answer my questions during the classroom because it slows down the progress of the entire class.

Even with a part-time job, it’s been very difficult to keep up with my classes. After four full days of activity, I have only three days (Friday through Sunday) to complete all of my homework. During that same time period, I have to some how manage my personal affairs too. Laundry, grocery shopping, part-time job, and house cleaning I try to squeeze in somehow. However, for the last several weeks, I’ve been unsuccessful in doing everything in three days.

This experience has made me rethink my life purpose, the requirements that college puts on students, and my next selection of college courses. I’ve decided that I will choose only one required class for degree requirements. The rest of the classes that I choose will be interest to me. They will be focused on strengthening my creativeness as an artist.