WELCOME! - August 1, 2008 -

Hey everyone! Welcome to my new and improved blog/site! I have merged both my website and blog into one place so it can serve as an easy-to-remember, one-stop shop for the most up-to-date happenings in my work and, basically, my life. There will be no more posts to the old blog, so make sure you update your bookmarks and RSS feeds to keep up! I have imported all the old posts here as well, so no there’s no need to keep yourself linked over there.

Below you will see the most recent information with what’s going on with me through my blog. And for those who are looking for a bit more information about Nate Mathai Photography (formerly NMathai Photography), you can use the navigation above. I hope you all enjoy the new look, and I look forward to connecting with you all in some way, shape, or form. Oh, and leave me some comments! It makes me happy God bless…

[site] | www.natemathai.com
[mail] | info@natemathai.com

natemathai | filed under: Uncategorized

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Indo-Pak National Basketball Tournament - August 27, 2008 -

I remember going to my God-parents place, and folding and stapling the programs together.  I remember going to the tournaments watching the bigger guys play some highly competitive games, and shooting around during time outs and halftimes.  I remember doing a toned down play-by-play for a couple games and keeping stats.  Oh, and I remember getting free t-shirts for a couple years too!

In 1989 my cousin Matt Alex started the Indo-Pak Basketball Tournament in Chicago, as a response to the need for a quality, competitive and respectable basketball tournament catering to the Indian and Pakistani demographic.  Over the years, it had grown much larger than some might have expected, with people traveling from all over the US and Canada to play in the Chicago Invitational, as well as satellite tournaments being held in other cities.

This past July, celebrated its 20th year hosting the tournament, and I was able to capture a bit of the action throughout the weekend.

Along with celebrations, it was a bittersweet moment at the end when Matt announced that, after 20 years, he was stepping back from the overall logistical responsibilities of running these tournaments and handing over the reigns to a new set of leaders.  There were many heartfelt words of thanks and tears shed during these final ceremonies.

Much respect to the Maryland 5 Pillars who (true to form) took home the title yet again.

It was my joy to take part in the 20th anniversary of this tournament, and I look forward to another 20 years of quality basketball in the future!

natemathai | filed under: Uncategorized

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[08.08.25] Monday Night Recap - August 25, 2008 -

• [Photo Challenge] August is coming to a close, so be sure to start sending your images in this week!
• [Cubbies] 5 games up in the NL Central with 31 games to play.  It’s exciting times around here!
• [Fantasy] With the NFL Season right around the corner, that means that start of updates from my fantasy football happenings.  I’m in a league with a few friends, with the winner getting an NFL jersey of their choice!  Wish me luck (I missed the draft and even though I pre-ranked my players, it didn’t work out that great).  If you guys have suggestions of which jersey to get when I win, let me know!
• [ABDC] SoReal Cru had never been up for elimination at all this season, yet SuperCrew wins the whole thing.  Do you think it was simply the novelty of b-boy that got it for them, or were they truly better dancers?
• [Phuc and Sherry] On Saturday, I had a chance to second shoot with Kenny Nakai again for the wedding of Phuc and Sherry.  It was tons of fun and very cultural with two tea ceremonies!  Here’s the teaser for now…



• [Sudha and Stinson] I had the honor of doing a family shoot with Sudha, Stinson and their two beautiful daughters on Sunday out at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.  I’ll get the full story up later, but for now enjoy the teasers:




• [Equinox] For those who have followed my blog for awhile, you know that I’ve had a great membership at Equinox in the Loop.  The only problem with the membership is that I really haven’t gone…I think I’ve been there about 4-5 times this year!  But now it’s time for a change!  They’ve upgraded their membership cards and I just got mine in the mail, which has renewed my energy already (I feel very prestigious with it).  So keep me accountable in at least improving my regularity with working out through this next year (…my current rate is a little under once a month, I think).  Any suggestions on how to stay motivated/disciplined in this area?  I think I’ll start this Thursday or Friday.



• [The Tipping Point] OK, I’ve fallen very far behind in my reading goal of 12 books in 2008.  But I finished The Tipping Point a little bit ago for book #4, and am almost done with The E-Myth Revisited.  The Tipping Point is a really interesting read that makes me look a lot deeper in the details of outcomes and effects rather than accepting the obvious or norm.

natemathai | filed under: Uncategorized

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Free to Succeed? - August 19, 2008 -

DJ and Jasmine* came to Chicago today for the Free to Succeed Tour…and I didn’t go.  I’m semi-kicking myself for not registering and going, because I feel like I just missed a great opportunity.  So for anyone who did go, any glimpses?  I’m assuming DJ spoke, Jasmine spoke…Bob Davis?  Did Kenny do any talking?  Any surprise visitors?  I seriously should have just gone…

On my way home from my day job, I did grab this pic of the Tour bus on my iPhone (I was going to get closer but every lot of the hotel was gated!):

Alright…enough of that.  I’m over it…

natemathai | filed under: Uncategorized

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[08.18.08] Monday Night Recap - August 18, 2008 -

• [Cubbies] Yep…still going strong.  5 games up on Milwaukee, and 8-2 in the last 10.  I’m a happy, happy person.  White Sox aren’t doing too shabby either right now, which means Chicago is buzzin’, and it’s only going to get better.
• [iPhone] I announced it yesterday, but I did get the new iPhone.  I love it because it keeps me connected a lot better.  I don’t like the battery life though.  I haven’t had any signal/service issues, though, so that’s always a good thing.  Now I need to figure out what to do with my {branded} iPod Touch.  Anyone interested?  Make me an offer!  You can’t even see the branding if you put a case on it!
• [Olympics] I really haven’t blogged about it, but I’ve gotten more and more hooked as the games went on.  I used to be hardcore about it in the past, staying up into the wee hours of the morning following it.  This year, I guess I was just old…but I’m starting to do it again.  My highlights?  Phelps- a beast!  That man is amazing.  Then there’s the Indian who made the US gymnastics team as an alternate and got the bronze medal…gotta represent!
• [Tropic Thunder] Has anyone seen this yet?  It’s starring Ben Stiller.  I’ve wanted to watch this ever since I saw it in the movie previews a couple months back, but I don’t think I’ll be able to convince my fiance to go see it.  Anyone want to watch it with me?
• [Engaged] Culturally, even though I already proposed to my fiance, we had a formal engagement ceremony/party.  it was just for our close family/friends, and pretty much a formal announcement of our desires to get married and things like that.  It wasn’t a huge thing for me, but thinking about it I really do like how formal it is.  Marriage is not something to be taken lightly…and it’s not just a covenant/contract between two people, but also two families, and the church body.  So in that sense, I liked it.  Here’s a pic of us taken by my soon-to-be brother in law:



• [Save The Date] Our awesome photographer Kenny Kim hooked me up with a couple early previews of our e-session we did even with his busy schedule, so that I could get some save the dates made for our upcoming wedding.  What do you guys think of these that I designed?  I like a concept of having multiple save-the-dates of similar styles with different pictures from the esession…if I offer this service, would people be interested?




• [Wedding Website] Also, I got our wedding website up and running!  It’ll still be a work in progress (because that’s just how I roll), so if you have any ideas of things to add, let me know by dropping some comments!  Oh, and leave us some love/encouragement in the guestbook area of the site especially as we get closer to the wedding date…we’ll need all the help we can get!
• [Twitter] I’ve become a bit more ‘addicted’ ever since I got TweetDeck and my iPhone (and yes, I did twitter from my engagement party).  Again, you can follow me with my username natemathai.  But now I have a question:  I know in many places its become illegal to talk on a phone while driving without having a hands free system.  But now, is it illegal to Twitter while driving, or just dangerous?  I guess the same question is for texting, too…what do you think?

natemathai | filed under: [MNR]

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