On June 19, 2009, I was sitting on a celebrity’s porch at their house in Los Angeles.

The celebrity, who shall remain nameless, was out of town.

My friend — who was dating this celebrity at the time — and I were just…there. Watching the sunset. Smoking a J. Talking about everything, and nothing.

A few things were bouncing around in my head that night.

I had just seen a short Japanese film about a regular guy living a boring life with a boring job.

In the film, he hung a camera around his neck that automatically snapped a photo every hour.

After a week, he laid the photos out — and realized he hadn’t really lived any of it.

Sunset over a LA.

He was in the same place, at the same time, doing the same thing, every day.

So he quit his job, and starting living for real.

Round about the same time, the world’s most important Hot New Thing had just dropped.

The first iPhone.

We’d all suddenly started walking around with a pretty decent camera in our pockets at all times.

As my friend and I watched the sun slip lower over LA, those two ideas collided in my head:

“What if I took a picture every day at 8pm?” I blurted out.

11-25-09 Looking out the window of our hotel in Hong Kong

“Nah,” my friend replied, “8pm is lame. Do 7:59.”

The first photo at 7:59pm. Stacy coins the time.

So I did.

Right then and there, I pulled out my iPhone, aimed it at my friend sitting on that balcony overlooking LA, and captured my first moment at 7:59.

Then I set a timer on my phone to go off every day at 7:59pm.

I haven’t missed a day since.

After a month, I posted some of the photos on Facebook.

I’ll never forget the feeling I had when I clicked “Post.”

I suddenly realized that if I was going to be doing something like this publicly, I had better be doing some cool stuff at 7:59pm.

I didn’t want to be stuck in the same chair, in the same room, staring at the same wall night after night.

Two grown men in a music studio.

So, I quit my 9-to-5.

I joined a rock band.

And I started living — really living — at 7:59pm every day.

Watching Sarah and Tegan at the Orpheum with Lusya. They played their entire new album the day before it was to be released.


Well over 15 years later, I’m still at it.

Still chasing that sunset.

Still remembering that we’re meant to experience life, not just exist.

One moment. Every day.

At 7:59pm.

~ TristanHendy ~
SevenFiftyNine