#100DaysofPeopleandTexts

Roughly 34 weeks ago I started #100DaysofPeopleandTexts. It’s an Instagram project where I would take a portrait of someone and overlay it with the last message that they sent me.

How It All Started

Usually when I’m infected with the plague, I’m that asshole that continues to go to work, to make sure I don’t get behind. After seeing my patheticness, my boss sent me home for a couple days to rest up. While going through tissue box after tissue box, making tea and napping, I felt anxious and trapped.

Whining to Patricia and Alex, they volunteered to take me out to lunch and go for a hike. Even though most of the time I made snot wontons out of their travel tissue packs, it was fun. They saved me that weekend with their care, combined with a side of burgers and laughs.

This lead me to thinking about what gets me out of a funk. Not to say that this will help all people, because getting out of a funk is unique to each individual, but for me it’s the small and yet wonderful conversations that you get to share with strangers, acquaintances, coworkers and friends on a daily basis where you learn something new and that makes every bad day seem better. I read some self help article recently that said that you shouldn’t bottle up happy moments for rainy days, but after completing this project I think that opinion is stupid. Right around this time I saw the idea for this on Amanda Crew’s Instagram and I thought that this would be the perfect project to capture this feeling.

Going Through The Motions

100 Days of People and Texts is my bottle of joy for this period of time. When I look back on all the moments I relive all the incredible conversations I’ve had, and I’m thrilled to have captured them, because even now it saddens me that without the project I’m already forgetting all the details.

This project wasn’t easy. Sometimes felt like a huge drag to complete since 100 days is a long time and I really don’t like taking photos of people, because they move, and you have to constantly ask people to participate. It’s far easier to do a project that only involves the effort you put in. 100 Days of People and Texts is teamwork, kindness and conversations at it’s best.

While doing this project I also realized how many of our text conversations are just about coordination and meeting up, so later on I tried to exclude those kind of texts from the project, as it would get quite monotonous and boring to have everything be “See you soon,” or “Meet you there.”

No, You’re The Best

Thanks to everyone who partook in my endeavor, for allowing me share a slice of our conversations, how you’ve impacted my life, and letting me take a portrait even when some where vehemently against having their picture taken. Here are my 100 photos of people and texts.

I actually take a lot of photos of my friends but never do anything with them. So as learned from @amandaccrew’s Instagram here goes trying to do #100DaysOfPeopleAndTexts A combo of a portrait plus the last text they sent me. “Like maybe no scarf lol” #100dayproject Starting with Patricia 1/100

Went for a walk in the park with @itshenry shortly before that he texted “We need to go to the tech shop in redwood city.” 2/100

This is Alex. Here he’s teaching me how to properly shoot a portrait and still refusing to use Instagram in favor of Flickr. The last text he sent before I took this was “Should we come over?” 3/100

Long before we became friends, I knew of Kay because she would make my team healthy snacks whenever we’d have to pull all-nighters at work. The last text I got from her before I took this was “No worries. Feel better soon!” 4/100

This is Ted’s face of disgust for eating less than 4-star food. He kept me company because I had an odd craving for IKEA Swedish meatballs. What a trooper. The last text he sent me before I took this was “i’m hanging out on the first floor sofa”. 5/100

Finally got to try Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin paired with truffle fries and the lovely company of Cindy. The last text she sent before we met up was “Eeee!!!!! Gotta gab over cocktails for sure” 6/100

Kismet. Was stood up for a coffee break, but instead managed to bump into Jake and catch up. Oddly enough only 10 mins after talking to Patricia about him. The last text he sent me was “You’re the best (and best of luck)”. 7/100

Pre-gaming on scotch with looks of disapproval from Darren before going to the club. Thanks for getting us rally, I really missed being out on the dance floor. Also apparently there were tacos… Fun times. The last message he sent before this photo was “yuen? No. I win.” 8/100

🎶 Music is my hot hot sex 🎶, as is this bae, Carol, on the dance floor. Thanks for planning love. The last text she sent before I took this photo was “Lol us leeches 😛 dunno where to actually buy hahaha”. 9/100

This is Lisa who kicks my ass into shape every week, has made me stronger and knows how to get me motivated even when I’m tired. 10/100 The last text she sent before this photo was “Yes see you then!” 10/100

Messed up the shot of B at lunch, so I am cheating by pulling this from the archives. We became friends over an all-nighter at the roulette table in Vegas circa 2001. The last text she sent before I took a picture of her was “Well guess it has been 10 yrs; sigh”. 11/100

Another one from the archives. There are those people that even though you don’t see them very often, always “get” you. Hel is one of those people for me, which is ironic that her last text before I botched her photo was “Uh oh, lol! What’s otays? I am so behind!” 12/100

This is Chris, my current officemate. He laughs at my DIY fail stories and shares both stock tips and an OCD affinity for cable management. The last text he sent before I took this photo was “Just grabbed nachos :-(” 13/100

Have you ever walked out of an interview feeling like you just had the best conversation? And the subsequent thought was, even if you didn’t get the job, would it be appropriate to ask your interviewer if they wanted to be friends? That was Renee for me. Luckily I got the job. The last text she sent me before I took this photo was, “ohmygosh i can’t stop laughing brilliant!!!” 14/100

Dan has great personal style. I love that he has a meticulous eye for detail and design, as well as being able to tell when I was wearing cashmere. Maybe it’s all because he’s a superhero since the last text he sent before I took this photo was “Ive got spidey sense”. 15/100

Had brunch with Annie and she made me a promise that was so unexpected, sweet, and kind of magical. The last message she sent before I took this photo was “I hate everybody!” 16/100

Hoarding. Caught red handed! J/K we put them back after the photo. This is Wayne. He always listens and laughs at my crazy personal stories. The last text that he sent before I took this was “Ah. That was today” 17/100

This is Jean. She’s a sweetie that leaves me organic snacks at my desk, without a note, whenever I help her with something. That’s how I ended up using the hashtag #randomsnacksofkindness. The last text she sent before I took this photo was “I’ll ping you”. 18/100

This is my birthday twin Farman. Once he agreed to participate, he went through a series of poses at rapid succession. This is the ‘Abercrombie’ pose (I don’t know what that means… lol). But the last text he sent me before I took this sums up this look very well “Yeah”. 19/100

It’s Ivan! The tallest friend I have. He has unique stories about the road less traveled. And has taught me about sailing, motorcycles and amongst other things, that there are love notes (where whoever buys gets friend-zoned) in Bacio chocolates. The last text he sent before I took this photo was “Thank you sooo much!!!! I love the spelling”. 20/100

It’s Arvind, my Girl Friday! Don’t worry, he totally knows I call him this. He’s my work bestie/fav enginerd/cheerleader that knows where the bodies are buried… I mean, um yeah… Anyhoo, the last text he sent before I took this photo was “go jessica go!” 21/100

It’s Ryan! We’ve been friends so long that my phone knows to autocorrect every time I start to type in Mears to his manly nickname of Mearsypoo. 😁 His last text to me before I took this summarizes how he feels about this nickname even thought it’s unrelated, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 22/100

Yay my lunch buddy Van moved back from NYC. Let there be more lunches! Back when we sat next to each other at work, along with Emily, we’d take turns bringing in Korean seaweed to share everyday. He’d also text me photos of the huge pile of packages that would stack up at my desk when I was on vaca. The last text he sent before I took this photo was “53rd and 6th. On the southwest corner” 23/100

Ironically enough about a year ago Payam got me this book on how to take portraits which is coming in handy now. He was also the first to tell me about Marie Kondo and is always encouraging me to ‘Don’t hold back’. The last text he sent me before I took this photo was “Absolutely” 24/100

Can we say High School Musical? I have known Joshua forever. He’s the one who likened my love for shopping to an addiction occupation 💖. The last text he sent before I took this was “Ok take ur time. I’m here”. 25/100

Masaya is visiting from Japan and as usual he brought the cats Marcom & Telesales. Hadn’t seen him since 2009. How time flies, but some things stay the same. Asking him how he tells the cats apart, he said Marcom is softer =^^=. Also learned that okonomiyaki is from his hometown, Osaka. The last message he sent before I took this was “Hello!” 26/100

Because this guy kept wondering when his photo would show up in the feed 😉 Voilà it’s Dave! Dave used to think I was really quiet until someone told him he didn’t know me very well. Now at coffee runs I’m chatty and a huge jerk to him. J/K. The last text he sent before I took this photo was “had to grab coffee, thirsty?” 27/100

Went to dim sum with the lovely Tara this week and every time I tried to take her photo an old person was walking through the frame. But I ended up loving how her eyes smiled when trying to look for all the unsuspecting photobombers. The last text that she sent before I took this photo was “I never got back to you” 28/100

It’s funny how people say they don’t like being in photos and then as soon as you take out the camera they turn into the light and ham it up. This is Alex doing exactly that. The last text he sent me before I took this photo was “Omfg I actually like a tswift song…” 29/100

You never realize at the time when you meet someone that they will completely change your life. Natascha was one of those people for me. I had been unemployed for a year after college and all my friends/family told me not to get my hopes up about this interview. We met. Talked about movies and I had a good feeling. She became my first manager, mentor, and friend. My work style is almost completely modeled after this overachiever. The last text she sent before I took this photo was “Otherwise… Hangen!!!” 30/100

This guy has lectured me for years about wearing the right shoes for tennis so I won’t roll my ankle. And I have never listened, as running shoes are more comfy. Others call him Chris, but I’m my head I call him Coach. If only they made running shoes with toe drag protection, that’d rock my world. The last msg he sent before I took this is “no hate is good”. 31/100

It’s Christina! If anything she’s most akin to having a big sister. Oh you know the one where you’re just dying to hang out with them, but she’s always ignoring you and going out with her own friends. But then secretly watching over you on Swarm. Lol j/k I love you. Or am I j/k? The last text she sent before I took this photo was “But don’t quote me on that.” 32/100

I don’t know why I ever watch scary movies with Albert. What always happens is I’m not afraid of fiction, but he does this thing when he’s scared where he leaps out of the seat and grips your arm, and that freaks me out. The last text he sent before I took this picture is “I don’tind waiting. We can grab a drink? Just parjed”. 33/100

This is a candid I snuck of Scott in action. Thought it would be fun to do a cross-over post between my #100DaysOfPeopleAndTexts and his #thequestforcoffee. Fun fact: He was the first to introduce me to Minard’s visualization of Napoleon’s 1812 March and thereby Tufte. The last text he sent before I joined him on his quest was “Wonder Twin powers activate!” 34/100

How do I know one of Forbes’ 2015 30 Under 30? We met at a party where I was raving about her product the #Nomiku. She laughed along with me at the hijinks that ensued when I blogged about giving up shopping for 40 days in #Shopstinance. It’s well known that Lisa is a super savvy smart CEO and start up entrepreneur, but more than that she’s sweet, supportive, hilarious and a hustler. The last message I received from her before taking this photo was “It’s just a busy season”. 35/100

It’s Chandru! He used to sit two offices down from mine at work and I could hear the entirety of all the convos he had in his office 😂. J/K just most of them. He always swings by to say hi and grabs a Snickers or something from my candy dish. The last text he sent before I took this photo was “This place rocks!!” 36/100

It’s Erizabeth! She’s always doing really nice things for me, like suggesting books to read or bringing me back snacks from her trips. And when we had drinks she gave me a huge compliment, that I don’t think she realized. Fun Fact: She’s fluent in Japanese. The last text she sent before I took this photo was “We’re drinking tonight right?” 37/100

All the way from Singapore is Wei Ling! Here she is posing with Masa’s cats. A couple years ago she along with Linda were great host when I visited their motherland. She taught me all the unique characteristics of Singlish. The last message she sent before I took this photo was “ok!” 38/100

Guess who I run into at 7am in the Hall H line and become waiting buddies with? Stephen of course of course. It’s no secret this guy is a huge Dr. Who fan and cosplayer and always encouraging my nerdtastic tendencies. Perfectly fitting for #SDCC edition of #100DaysOfPeopleAndTexts The last message he sent before I took this photo was “I think so too. The distribution is slow going” 39/100

I’m always drawn to people who are geeky, smart, kind-hearted, generous, no-nonsense and make me laugh- intentionally or not. Meeting Ems was that feeling exactly and more. She’s one of those friends I love bouncing creative ideas off of, or learning where she gets her inspiration and energy from. She taught me how to do SDCC and satisfy my inner geeky self. The last text she sent before I took this photo was “I’m going to the Star Wars booth 3000”. 40/100

This is Joe and he’s an everyday superhero. He came out of retirement to be a tow truck driver 10 years ago because he loves driving and helping people. It’s his dream job. Also his daughter loves the Hunger Games ^_^. The last msg he sent me before I took this picture was “I’m outside your garage”. 41/100

The interesting thing that you can’t tell by this photo about Ben is that he has a British accent, just like almost all the Walking Dead main cast. I actually didn’t run into him at #SDCC, but he spotted me failing miserably at Preview Night and agreed to help me get the Orphan Black Helena exclusive that I wanted. Hooray! The last text he sent before I took this photo was “I got your funko”. 42/100

I really like when you haven’t seen someone in a long time and you can just pick up where you left off. I threw this women in the valley dinner in 2010 because I thought it would be fun. That’s the only time I met Kaoru, till we had lunch yesterday and it was just as fun as the night we met. The last message she sent before I took this photo was “see you soon :)” 43/100

I basically almost got us murdered trying to take this photo as we crossed paths on the most dangerous intersection there is in Cupertino. Luckily like all Canucks, @cyrusdanielirani smiled and was totally good humored aboot it. The last text he sent before I took this photo was “Never again:)” 44/100

his is my old officemate. Let’s be completely honest here, James almost always has fabulous hair. It’s also a barometer of his stress levels. He is into photography and delicious foods. The last text he sent me before I took this photo was “*major snack alert*”. 45/100

Managed to drop in on Drew’s last hurrah get together as my second party stop yesterday to wish him well. He and his family will be taking a year off to sail around the world. I’m pretty envious. The last text he sent me before I took this photo was “Any other irons in the fire?” 46/100

Fortunate to run into these two at a party this past weekend. Hadn’t seen Yuka since maybe 2008? Mostly because she lives in Japan, but she is now temporary living here. The last message she sent me long ago was “sure”. 47/100

Sometimes you ask old friends who you haven’t seen in a long time to take a portrait and they want to eat flowers instead. Met Tomoo 10 years ago at work, wow how time flies. The last msg he sent before I took this photo was “for photoshop study group”. 48/100

This young lady used to call me ‘work mom’ about 6 years ago *sigh*. It’s ok though, as my affectionate name for her is Jadeypoo, which I yell down the hallways whenever I see her. The last text that she sent me before I took this picture was “Thanks for being my friend anyway. 😁”. 49/100

For someone with the precious gem of a last text message as “once the sweats are on its over.” I was surprised that he was embarrassed when I wanted to take this photo. Ben used to live a block away from me in elementary school, and now works a block away, but apparently I always ignore him in the Caffe. We ended up reconnecting in 2013 in Singapore of all places, and bonded over having 3 dinners or something. 50/100

Ok so I took a break posting at 50, but here we go again with the incredibly witty Dana. She almost always wears black. Mocking poorly written emails together was how I ended up with the character trait where I falsely pluralize all the words. Feedbacks! The last message she sent before I took this photo was “i feel bad for bread everyone hates it i’ll eat it for you”. 51/100

When I’m craving pie at 5:45am who can I count on to already be awake and down to drive to San Mateo? This guy! Jason is a great listener and doesn’t talk about himself much, he’ll always flip the conversation back to something about you. Knowing this I always try to mess with him by flipping it back to asking him a question. ^_^. The last text he sent before I took this picture was “You taught me well Free upgrade to large Lol” 52/100

This is my spontaneous travel partner in crime. 8 hour weekend drive to a ghost town around 3 snowed in roads. No problem. Hostels in Greece with a cockroaches as big as a toy car. Dah. But we survived. Not only that, when Laurie and I eat together we always want the same top two dishes so we can share. 💖 The last text she sent me before I took this photo was “Poor nerd who is now famous and handsome 💕”. 53/100

Dude! It’s this guy. There are too many stories to tell. Our super awkward bull balls lunch with engineering. Never again! But the best Eric story is about his super power. When he talks to people he can somehow getting them to confess super emo personal stories. Then we had to listen to sadface music for a whole week. Good times. The last message he sent me before I took this photo was “Crazy”. 54/100

Back in my mid twenties I thought it was fun to play matchmaker between different sets of my friends (since apparently I’m a social b-fly or something 😜). Yay for Kumi always humoring me in my so-called bright ideas. Years later she has a little one that calls me Auntie Jess. Great success! The last text that she sent me before we took this photo was “Lolololol ha ha you are friends with a yo gabba character”. Yes. That too. 55/100

She’s one of the besties, who I happened to introduce to her husband and told them not to date. Despite that, Yvo had me as her bridesmaid anyway, where I told the story and we all had a good awkward laugh. Also she goes with me on random adventures and laughs along with my ‘stupid laugh’ when I’m doing something ridiculous. The last text she sent me before I took this photo was “still meh though lots of awk people sitting around”. 56/100

Lunch with Eric and @vsindra today. We used to play poker at Eric’s house on his legit homemade poker table. If I had anything to drink, I’d lose all my money immediately and get the value back by sitting around drinking all his fancy whisky. The last text he sent me before I took this photo of him posing as a postman was “Yes! All blocked for you!” 57/100

Cheating again with this photo that I took last year because I didn’t like the one I took. Jen and I met in Vegas on the very first oggirls trip, where we spent a solid hour or two cackling at [REDACTED]. We’ve been friends ever since. The last text she sent me before I took this photo was “Yessss, I need to drown my sorrows in a steak…” 58/100

This guy is really good with electronics, he made a car charger for his phone before they existed on the market and in his hands is a mini drone. My fondest memory of Francis was one time in Mexico where we were sharing a jet ski and had a need for speed. Not only were we flung 10 yards from it, I lost my sunglasses and the jet ski overturned. Being that I couldn’t swim it was panic times. *sigh* The last msg he sent me before I took this photo was “you can look at them when you are not at work”. 59/100

Ok so my nighttime photos are super grainy, but I met Jenny at the Taylor Swift concert. And doesn’t she look like Kristin Kreuk from Smallville fame? So pretty. Anyhoo when we weren’t coming up with strategies for blocking people from cutting through the lines, she was making me laugh with brutally honest people watching descriptions. The last text she sent before I took this picture was “These little girls in front of us are breaking it down…with their moms”. 60/100

It kind of takes a manly man to rock a Hello Kitty Supercute Friendship Festival tshirt. That’s Nick for you. Here he’s doing his nonchalant pose. Ok seriously, he is one of two of my go to experts for all man knowledge which spans: car repair, whisky drinking, tools, electronics, big data, software engineering, sarcasm, photography, home DIY, marathon running and biking ridiculous distances. The last text he sent me was “yeah living things”. 61/100

It’s my old cube neighbor Erik. This could be completely wrong, but I swear at some point we had a conversation about skateboarding, which I felt like he was really good at. Also he also has an awesome eye at photography. The last msg he sent before I took this photo was “(This is Erik). Am I too late? Can I meet up w/ you all later?” 62/100

In honor of adventuring, this guy lives life on the edge, literally. He has hiking stories where he almost fell off a cliff and taught himself how to swim via YouTube videos alone in a pool at night. Ca is a risk taker and the last text he sent before I took this photo was “How was eddie’s meat?” 63/100

Bucket list check. Interrupt a drummer of a band taking a gopro selfie on a skytower. Yes my life goals are this specific. J/K. Met Jamie today and was completely envious of his travel plenty lifestyle. The last thing he said before I interrupted him and took this photo was “Here I am in Auckland drinking a beer.” 64/100

When I go on trips I love visiting friends who live there, glad to have someone to visit in NZ. Met Russell I think in 2008 at work, bonded over long hours, and have kept in contact via social media for 7 years. Wow, time has flown by. The last msg he sent before I took this photo is “Yeah, we’d be up for doing something, we’ll have just ended our winter hibernation about then!” 65/100

Met this adorable travel sprite in a glowworm cave in New Zealand. Isn’t that fabulous to say? TJ lead the way for much of our journey into the caves with a cheery adventurous spirit. The last thing she said before I took this photo was “Oh no I look like poop!” And she let me take it anyway 😜. 66/100

Going in for a shot I did the week before I left on vaca, and you’ll see why. It’s the real frontman of the Beatles! Scottie was the imagineer of some of our web tools back in the day, and when we’d pull all nighters I’d always ping him with ‘yt?’ at all hours. He would always be available to help with issues with an extremely positive attitude, even at 4am. Thus I nicknamed him 24/7. The last text he sent me before I took this photo was “24/7! Reporting for 67/100!” 67/100

This is Danny. He’s a cable car driver in Wellington. We struck up a conversation while I was taking his car up to the botanical gardens. The only time he visited the U.S. was a trip to Long Beach, where he and his friends took a wrong turn and the police offered him a ride back to their cruise and they turned on the sirens. Hence the last thing he said before I took this photo was, “Have you heard of C.H.I.P.S.?” 68/100

Meet Laura on my tour bus up to Paihia and bonded over playing the Amazing Race game, Texas Hold’em and sharing a hostel. She’s a nurse based out of Perth, AU who specializes in terminally ill cancer patients and chemotherapy. Her view on the work she does was a really nice perspective and showed a lot of strength. One of the last things she said to me, “everybody has a story”. 69/100

I had been following her good taste on Pinterest for years, so it was so nice to finally meet Fleur in person. She’s a native New Zealander who moved back from London several years ago. It was so nice to find that you can meet people from around the world and feel like they are cut from the same cloth. One of the last things she said to me before I took this photo was “Why would we ever go anywhere else in Auckland for dessert?” 70/100

This is Sonja from Germany. She and her sister are traveling for around the world for a whole year. I was lucky enough to be roomies with them throughout my trip. She’s doing the Gollum eating fish pose at the same waterfall they filmed it at. Something she said to me before we parted ways was “you can share with us”. 71/100

These gorgeous auburn locks belong to none other than the lovely Cindy. She shares a love of noms, photography and Japanese whisky with me, and is constantly impressing me with her undeniable spirit and tenacity to always achieve her goals. The last thing she texted me before I took this photo was “Oh I’m happy for you JC.” 72/100

This lovely lady, Ana Maria, taught me that convertibles can be fun, so long as you have a special hat. She also throws the most spooktacular and fun Halloween parties whereby a psychic told some insane predictions that came true. The last thing she said to me before I took this photo was “See you later”. 73/100

Who do I run into at the @sjquakes game? None other than Huggy Bear! Er… I mean Joe, only I call him Huggy Bear because he gives the best hugs. He also happens to be a speedy race car driver and the official photographer for the Quakes 📷. The last thing he texted me before I took this photo was “Here!” 74/100

This lady with a huge heart is Stephanie, who I met at the Quakes game while waiting for someone. I was super surprised that she was a grandmother of 4. She mentioned that she wanted to adopt 5 more foster children because when she was growing up in the foster system she aged out of the system and wanted to help make sure kids don’t have to go through that feeling of not being loved. The last thing she said to me before we parted ways was “It was so nice meeting you.” I could say exactly the same 💖. 75/100

It’s HT! 10 years ago when I started at the fruit this guy was so patient in teaching me how to do my job. He then wrote me a testimonial on Friendster! Yes Friendster! about how I always came into the office cheery. A couple weeks ago he was kind enough to plan my 10 year work-iversary lunch. 😁 The last text he sent before I took this photo was “Haha we’ll see :).” 76/100

Cheating again since I didn’t like the photo I took of Brian today. Met Brian via my bestie’s husband and have laughed at his ridiculousness ever since. Here he is getting T-bagged by the bull in NYC on the trip he invited himself to, after seeing me post that I was going on Facebook. He’s super easy going and fun to be around despite always yelling out “boobies” randomly in public *sigh*. The last thing he texted before I took this photo was “Ty! Stalking time”. 77/100

Here’s a really tired photo of Adam from lunch today, where I was trying to make him laugh. The scar along his arm is from playing in a world class ultimate frisbee league. Yeah who knew there were such things? We met and bonded over being wallflowers at a party that Natascha brought us to. I always laugh at his rants, because really I think it’s funny what people rant about, and how passionately they feel about certain things. The last thing he texted me before I took this photo is “Hey, I had fun doing it.” 78/100

You know when you work at a big company sometimes your parents will say something like, ‘Oh my friends’ son also works in your group, see if you know him.’ and the company is usually so big that you won’t know them. Oddly enough I already knew Chris via his frequent visits to get candy, chats about video gaming and fashion, and the real discovery was finding out that our parents are friends. He has great personal style and knew that Twitch.tv was a hot startup before it was acquired. The last thing he texted me before I took this photo was, “Should I wear a suit?” 79/100

Whenever I talk to Diane I laugh, so much. I might even chortle at her candid characterizations of people and situations 😜. I’m not going to give away those precious soundbites, but the last thing she texted me before I took this photo was “cuz he’s so handsome”. 80/100

This is one of the nicest and most organized people I’ve had the pleasure of working with. He lives in the town I grew up with, so it’s fun to talk to him about all the great biking trails in that area and reminisce… I also love how Ofer plans his meals one week in advance with his wifey and purchases what they need on the weekend. I need to get back in the habit of doing that. The last thing he texted before I took this photo was “Cool. All set.” 81/100

It’s Eva! We became friends over a year of weekend and late night work dinners. Then she moved to Sweden, which now has an official 6 hr work day policy. Yay for her, maybe I’ll follow suit. The last thing she texted me before she took this photo was “awwwww wan

It’s funny, I’ve known Lorrie from Yelp events for years and via social media as well, but we’ve never actually had full blown conversation till now. Lorrie is so interesting, thoughtful and kind. Loved getting to know her better. The last thing she said to me before I took this photo was “You have to keep trying and be open, knowing that things are going to suck.” 83/100

Had the pleasure of lunching with this British import yesterday. Worked with Chris a few years ago and it was fun catching up and learning his Instagramming methodology. He inspired me to cull down my follower list. I really like that he dreaded having lunch with me because he knew I was going to ask him to be part of this project. So thank you anyway! The last thing he chatted me after I took this photo was, “Just keep doing what you’re doing :)” 84/100

I’ve been lazy about posting these lately, been busy planning other things. Anyhoo, this is my lovely coworker Tammy. We basically bonded over late night demo prep mixed in with dating horror stories. However, I feel like I still win in the horror department with my first date ER story. Is winning a good thing here? I’m not even sure. The last thing she messaged me before I took this photo was “omg it’s crazy”. 85/100

This is my last officemate Megan. We were roommates briefly before I got my own office a couple months ago. She’s a foodie that has these great ginger candies in her candy bowl that I got addicted to. The last thing she said before I took this photo was, “I don’t use Facebook.” And then she flashed this warm triumphant smile. 86/100

This lovely young professional reminds me of me in my twenties. Super hard working, diligent and organized, but also really fun to talk to and I think Mallory might have hustled us in a round of ping pong the other week. The last thing she texted before I took this photo was “Farting glitter 🎉” 87/100

Going back to my time in Paihia, NZ for this photo. Mariad ran the front desk at the Base hostel that we stayed at, along with the most fun Amazing Race game where we ran around the island for 2-3 hours trying to gather clues the fastest for free 50NZD worth of beer from their bar. Sadly my American partner and I came in second of the 5 teams. Here’s the photo of her tallying the points, and the last thing she said before I took this was “I’ve never laughed so hard.” 88/100

Another one from Paihia. This is Bria, she’s a super sweet physio from Arkansas and my partner in the Amazing Race game where she motivated me to run through a forest up 466ft and all around town just to get free beer. Then she hustled in hold’em with some help from a local she befriended. Here she is playing the piano as I sang Mary Had A Little Lamb, the last thing she messaged me before I posted this photo was “I thought of you today.” 89/100

Ok I’m cheating again and using this photo I took from her bach eyeing noms, instead of the one I took more recently. This is fellow foodie and general badass Texas chick Latika. When she sings it’s such a beautiful thing that can bring tears to your eyes. Not only that, but she’s a MacGyver in the kitchen whipping pastries out of random stuff I had. The last thing she messaged me before I posted this photo was “wait why did line dancing get cancelled?!” 90/100

Have now known Orr for something like 7 years now. He gives great advice and always has all these really insane stories including but not limited to living next to a rapper, gold mining and Paris Hilton. Also if you preface anything you say to him with ‘Hey Siri…’ then he’ll do your bidding, try it, it’s super fun. The last thing he texted before I posted this photo was “I dance like a boss.” 91/100

This is Juan, he sits in the office next to mine at work. He just moved to California from Kansas. We mini bonded over me suggesting to him where to get an oil change for his BMW. He likes to rant in my chat window occasionally and is surprised when I go solve the issue he was complaining about. The last thing he messaged before I took this photo was “*you have earned a drink of your choice at the caffe this week*” 92/100

This is the what happened when I told Scott to act natural/casual. Prior to this, the last conversation I recall having with him in person was years ago when we sat near each other at work. I had Yelp pins that decorated my cube wall, and Scott said they were neat. He takes amazing photos, hosts a podcast with friends and wrote a cocoa book. One of the last things he texted before I took this photo was “I’m good to go” 93/100

This is Ken-san who was our sushi chef for a fantastic omakase dinner @ Kusakabe. He was super chatty and in tune with the best ways to promote social media sharing of the noms at the restaurant. The last thing he said, aside from slow torching the fish for this photo, “Slow mo with the fire is really cool”. Also cameo in this shot from Hoiling at the far end of the bar. Good seeing you lady! 94/100

Another Canadian import from Toronto, this is Kenley. Not sure if he remembers the first real conversation we had. I had just started a new role in advertising and I couldn’t figure out how to get my ad bundle to work correctly, it was 9pm and he walked by and fixed it in a minute so I could go home. Ha. The last thing he messaged before I took this photo was “I’ve been surviving on cliff bars and energy drinks the past week…” Related and yet unrelated I’ve been having a lot of coffee this week. 95/100

Some people sure know how to flatter a friend with honesty and concern. Wandered by Ashok’s office today to shoot the shit, and catch up with what he’s up to. Now that I don’t support his team anymore, I hardly get to see him, let alone chat, so today was a nice break. The last thing he said before I took this photo was “You lost a lot of weight. Everything ok?” And yes, it is ok, just been working out a bunch. 💪🏼 96/100

Ain’t no thing but a chicken wing, unless you’re the multitalented Monica, then chicken wings are a thing, to fashion a sweatshirt with. Met Mon via @eatnomiku, for which she’s the creative director as well as culinary extraordinaire. She’s not only that, but a cannabis activist, co-founder of Asian Americans for Cannabis Education and blogger for sousweed.com. Most importantly, she is a super sweetheart and her laugh is fantastic. The last thing she messaged before agreeing to let me use this photo I took a while back was, “Still very exciting!” 97/100

It’s funny how you make friends as an adult. Dave and I started being friends over having an argument in front of the coffee bar. I was getting heated when Sally walked by and said hi. I paused from being a grump to cheer up to say hi, then back to grump mode. That’s when he laughed at how ridiculous it was that in one moment I could be so angry and yet still be kind. That was the first real conversation/interaction we had, and after that we understood each other a lot better. One of the last texts that he sent me, and he sent it twice to make sure it was the text was “Then we’d be outlaws”. So gangsta. 98/100

I didn’t like the photo of Sam I took the other week, so this is from one of our old boarding trips. We became friends about 9 years ago. I don’t think anyone has taught me more about being a functioning adult than this guy, or that it’s always ok to ask friends for help. Things I’ve learned: how and where to buy my first house, changing break pads and doing an oil change, planning for retirement. But also fun things like: bombing down a black diamond, how to appreciate craft beer and whisky (I used hate both), and learning to really hear music and richness of sound as an audiophile. He’s one of my life experts, who internalizes both how I think and the reality of my habits before giving advice. The last thing he texted before I posted this photo was “Should be easy to make.” 99/100

This is well, me. Cheering about “TACOS!!!” last night. I’m kind of silly sometimes, but mostly serious 😜. A fitting way to end my #100daysofpeopleandtexts. Started this project 34 weeks ago after having the worst cold I’ve had in a long time. Feeling awful and being trapped at home really got me thinking about what gets me out of a funk. It was then realized it’s the small and yet wonderful conversations that you get to share with strangers, acquaintances, coworkers and friends on a daily basis which makes every bad day seem better. Whoever said you shouldn’t bottle up happy moments for a rainy day is a moron. This project is my bottle for this period of time and when I look back on all the moments I’m happy to have captured them, as I tend to forget the details as time goes by. Thanks to everyone who partook in my endeavor and allowed me share a slice of our conversations, how you’ve impacted my life, along with letting me take a portrait even when some where vehemently against having their picture taken. 100/100