New #48: Record a Video Diary

My job as a reporter is about recording today's news before it's tomorrow's history. I wanted to do the same thing at home, and thought a video diary would be a fun, easy and entertaining way to do it -- as well as a simple tradition to continue annually into the future.

The idea was to capture a snapshot of life as we know it. "We" as in me and Ben, and "life" as in our basic day-to-day happenings. I know from experience (but don't always remember) that given 5 years or even just 6 months, these ordinary aspects of life will inevitably change. So this video diary is about me bottling up a little taste of today so I can always remember what it was like.

This week seemed like a perfect time to start, too. My birthday is just a few days away (27 big ones!), so I figured I might as well wrap up the year before the numbers start changing. Plus, this time frame between Thanksgiving and my b-day will be easy to remember in years to come.

Before recording the video diary, I was torn between technologies of the past and future. Do I record it through my tape and camcorder? Or do I use my digital camera? Decisions are hard, so I just set up both side-by-side on a TV tray overlooking the couch. With Ben and myself propped in front of the lenses, we began answering questions I had written ahead of time -- the same ones I hope to use every year.

To start, we said the day, month, year and our address. Easy enough. Then we had to describe a basic day. Again, this may seem obvious or boring now, but the little details that are such a big part of our life now are the ones we'll be most likely to forget in the future. So I was very detailed, mapping out my day from the time my alarm goes off (7:30 a.m.) to the time I wake up (8:30 a.m.) to how soon I put on my pajamas again (5:30 p.m. So what if I like to be comfy?) And of course I filled in all the labors I do at work each day. I'm not totally lazy!

Next Ben and I talked about our favorite clothes. This may seem uninspired, but actually fashion is not only a big part of a person's personality, but also a huge sign of the times. Who knows how outdated skinny jeans will be in 10 years -- not to mention what we'll be wearing then.

Listing our favorite bands and songs of the year were also recorded (Neon Trees for me), as well as the best movies we've seen (We both agreed "The Other Guys" was fabulous). We talked about what we do for fun on the weekend, and described all the vacations we've had this year. Our health and highlights of the year were also included.

Finally, we turned our eyes toward the future and answered where we see ourselves in one year, then in five years. I know this part will be fun to look back on, especially in 2011 and 2015, to see if we stuck to the plan or went a totally new direction. We ended the video by waving goodbye to our future selves and giving well-wishes for the future that we'll be looking back on next year.