I almost immediately regret completing this task, but I think that's the point. To do something we dread in the interest of moving forward. I don't know that it's supposed to be immediately therapeutic. I am not a person who parts easily with his past. I hold on to meaningless artifacts for longer than is emotionally or physically healthy. The sleeping bag filled with my childhood stuffed animals gathering deadly mold spores in my closet is a testament to that.

But I don't want to escape my childhood just yet, and this isn't about that sleeping bag of stuffed animals. Instead, I decided to destroy something I've always been ashamed of. The first date I ever went on.

I was not relationship guy in high school, and it took me a long time to come out of my shell with the ladies. As a result, this picture was taken at my Senior Sweetheart - for the uninitiated, it's my school's equivalent of the Sadie Hawkins dance. Anyway, I had a really good friend who will remain nameless, who had quietly loved this girl for a long time. He used to talk all about her, and for some reason, our paths never crossed. When I finally did meet her, eager to impress the girl who I had hoped would be my friend's future girlfriend, I was nice and charming and engaging.

Apparently, I was TOO nice and charming and engaging, because we struck up a friendship and, shortly thereafter, she asked me to Sweetheart. My stomach turns at the kind of person who would say yes to such a request, when I know it was my friend's only wish in the world. But I was young and inexperienced with ladies and, frankly, just excited to have one taking interest in me. Selfish idiot that I was, I said yes and kickstarted a dysfunctional, nine-month relationship that did long-lasting damage to a friendship with someone I considered a brother.

The worst part is, that also kickstarted a series of relationships started by swiping friends' women, a skill I have honed over the years into a shameful art form. It's not even intentional, it's just a habit that I've picked up and can't seem to beat. It's time for the healing to start. That man must die, and so must this picture.

It was a simple task, and more than anything, it's preparation for a future task. I calculated the number of squares I would need for a piece I will be working on shortly, measured twice and cut once. Well, cut many times. The results are in the attached picture set. As you can see, I have saved the pieces in a zip-lock bag. Tomorrow, I go to the store for supplies, and the real tasking begins.

I apologize in advance for being a lousy photographer.

UPDATE: The follow-up to this task can be viewed here.