All the news that’s fit to print (and some that might be questionable).

I’m praying to the Monster gods this morning, but so far they don’t seem to be listening. When will I learn that three hours of sleep just does NOT cut it? Apparently never. Ok, so maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. Maybe I should just go with I might learn once Tim and I are no longer maintaining two households, I’m not fitting in my photography around a full-time job/school/family, I’m worrying about my health, I’m not worrying about Tim’s health, Tim’s out of school, I’m out of school, THE KIDS are out of school… Yeah, I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more I could add to that list, so perhaps it’s not that much of an exaggeration after all.

Ash passed on Schnoz Plague 2014 to me, because apparently she is all about giving to others right now. And this would, of course, be AFTER she killed our tissue reserves. So, I may be telling the therapist tonight that we need to rethink this whole “sharing” thing she has Ash working on. Sometimes you really can share too much, IMHO.

Graduation is next week for both Z-boy and Tim, which reminds me that I haven’t accomplished anywhere near what I wanted to this past month. I had an awesome list of all the things I wanted to get done before the arrival of Hurricane Tim’s Mom, like remove a layer (or two) of dust in my apartment, uncover the source of the eau de Marley that still plagues me (after what, a year now?), clear out the forest floor that is my balcony, and hit the gym. HARD. Sadly, none of those things have been done, especially that last one. I had a grand goal of being down at least ten pounds by now. Unfortunately, with everything we had going on this month, and my recent diverticulitis diagnosis, the gym has been one of the last things on my mind. So, last night, as I was figuring out my wardrobe for next week (bcuz even though I feel like crap, I am still going to look damn good for both events), I realized I have to become reacquainted with my old “friend” Spanx. And to be honest, I had hoped we cut our ties for good after the last time. *sigh*

My first senior session is nearly put to bed. YAY ME. I admit that I was thoroughly freaked out when I first started this project, even though it was 100% my idea (and my grad gift to the senior). After the first round of images was finished, I felt fairly positive about the session. But I also felt it needed more, like a new outfit, a new location, etc, so we scheduled a second round. Those images are nearly finished now, and my outlook on the session has gone from fairly positive to DAMN I’M GOOD. I had a blast working with this senior, and I honestly think I captured his personality. I also found areas of my work that could use some improvement, but I am taking them for what they are – learning tools. Some of you know what a perfectionist I am when it comes to my photography, so for me to accept a self-critique like that is HUGE.

Ok, I guess it’s time to get back to work. Short work weeks have their pros and cons, that’s for sure. As I wrap up this latest edition of This is My Life – It Could Always be Worse*, I’ll leave you with this parting thought:

Lately, I wonder what shower sex looks like with a height difference.

For a friend.

 

*Not a real thing. Or a real thought. I actually think my life is pretty great right now.

An Interesting Night

I went out for a while tonight for one reason and one reason only… to shoot the moon. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way I wanted. In more ways than one.

I’ll admit last night would have been a better night to do this. The moon rose an hour earlier, well before sunset. The sky was clear and a beautiful blue. With snow still on the tops of the Wasatch it would have been a great image! But nooooo! I just had to be not paying attention until it was too late and the moon was too high in the sky to get anything I would have wanted. Craaaaap.

After driving a bit without a clear destination, I decided to give the downtown public library a shot. Since I was arriving after they closed, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I wanted to use their amazing sweeping stairs attached to the building for my setup. Well, that didn’t happen, as that area was already closed off for the night. Not to be deterred, I wandered around for a few seconds, choose a “meh, it will do” spot, set up the tripod, changed lenses on my camera, figured out where the moon would rise over the mountains, and waited for the “money shot.”

I was still in the same clothes I wore to work, because up until the minute I walked out the door I was still trying to convince myself to not go. My outfit wasn’t anything big, though. Jeans, a shirt, and cowboy boots. WOW. And on top of that I had my tripod and camera bags all over me to keep them close. But apparently, I might as well have been wearing hooker heels and spandex, because guys starting coming up to me! Da fuq?

What exactly about me screamed, “Yeah, I’m out, at night, with a camera and tripod, working away, not talking to anyone, wanting to get my shots and get the hell outta Dodge, but please PLEASE come up to me and try to start a conversation”? They are just lucky the only thing that happened was me yelling at them to leave me alone. They have no idea I was ready to swing my tripod on them. WITH my camera still attached. Idiots.

Some may think I overreacted to the situation. However, given the time of night, where I was, and what I was doing, I don’t think so. I think I handled it just right. Regardless, Tim is not going to be happy with me when he finds out what I did.

To top it all off, I didn’t get anything remotely good out my camera.

Yeah, last night definitely would have been a better night.