Photo © 2012 Markus Spiering
Click here for original image.
A hundred geeks with cameras. Yup, and I was buried smack-dab in the middle of ’em. Didn’t want to be there. Didn’t mean to be there.
I remember in a high-school science class, we saw a film of an amoeba eating a paramecium. The amoeba’s body flowed around its prey, and after it had the poor bug surrounded, it just, kinda… digested it, right there, just like that. The paramecium squiggled and squirmed, tried valiantly to escape, but too little, too late. And then—poof!—it shimmered and was absorbed into the predator. It was gone.
That was me, that poor, little paramecium. My goofy boyfriend pulled me in before I knew what was going on. And by the time I realized what was going on, I was surrounded, and being digested by an amoeba, and unable to escape.
Chet had begged me to come along. He said I’d enjoy it. For the record, I didn’t. But I was glad he was finally enjoying something. He’s been so bent out of shape since he lost his job last April. Laid off on April the first, if you can get that joke.
We scaled back on our standard of living. That didn’t bug me so much. But what really surprised me was how much it got him down. He stopped doing anything constructive, spent all day watching TV, wasn’t looking for work, said we’d do fine on his unemployment check.
We’ve been surviving on peanut butter and ramen noodles and pasta and frozen burritos. I don’t remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal.
I started by bugging him about his lack of work. He said he wanted a little vacation. I gave him a little vacation, then asked again. He said he was trying, but that nothing was available. I didn’t believe him, not that much. I asked him what job ads he had responded to each day. Most days, he just ignored me. Some days, yelled at me. I told him we could no longer afford cable TV. He convinced his parents to pay the bill.
I thought of getting ahold of a sledgehammer and having an “accident” with the TV set, but then I thought twice: we might need to sell it someday.
He was partially right, of course. There were no jobs in his field. But what bugged me most was that he was letting it get to him. His mind began wasting away to nothing, nothing at all, all day everyday. And as each day continued, he sank lower into the couch, and further into pity party.
I didn’t know how to snap him out of it. But his birthday gift did. One of his old office buddies sent him a digital camera, along with a really cool-looking book about how to take fun pictures about anything at all.
So when he threw himself into the hobby, and the hobby became an obsession, and a obsession became an endeavor, and when he began studying photography and framing and composition and lighting, and posted photo after photo to Flickr, and when he began hanging out with other camera-heads, and started talking about pursuing it professionally… I wanted to object. But not for the reason you might think. I wanted to object, because I was beginning to feel ignored.
But at least he was smiling again, and I had missed his smile. And the TV remained powered-off, except for the weekly exhibitions of his latest photos, which he would force me to watch, no matter how many hours I had worked that day.
Then, when he begged me to come to this big gathering of camera-heads, I gave in. I didn’t want to at first, but he pushed me and pressed me, and then he cuddled up next to me and told me about how much fun it was going to be to get away and that we hadn’t had a vacation in forever and that I needed a break—which was true. And he kissed me, and I melted and said yes. Sigh.
I hated it, didn’t enjoy it at all. There were no other camera-head-significant-others there. The food was okay, but the guest speaker spoke only camera-ese, and told only stupid camera jokes and camera stories. Then those assembled talked all afternoon about gadgets and techniques and awards, and showed each other the contents of their camera cases. Chet even got some business advice, which may or may not have been good advice, but he was enjoying himself, even though I had no idea what anyone was talking about.
“This is my girlfriend, Katy.”
And I smiled and faded into the background, maybe fondled a drink and tried to look interested in what they were saying while pondering the intricacies of the room’s potted flora. Too much, too far, too long. I was out of it. I so wanted to go home.
We started toward the door, walked out into the afternoon sun. I made a move toward the car, but Chet grabbed my hand and pulled me in the opposite direction. I looked up and saw that we were surrounded by a growing crowd, which was closing in around us on all sides. I was trapped, and one of the geeks with a camera was pointing it right at me. The other targets pointed their cameras back at him, but I was defenseless, hair akimbo, probably with a piece of spinach stuck between my teeth… not that it mattered, as no one could see my teeth.
The geek said, “Alright! Ready everybody?! Cheeeezzze!”
And everyone said, “Cheeeezzze!”
“Hold on!” He interrupted them, futzing with his camera. “Okay…”
“Quick!” said Chet. “Somebody fire before he reloads!” And raised his camera and took aim.
And that’s when the geek pulled the trigger.
melbet app melbet app
бронепленка в москве Карбон Москва: Легкость и Прочность в Каждой Детали Карбон – материал будущего, который уже сегодня преображает автомобили. В Москве карбоновые элементы не только улучшают внешний вид, привнося спортивный акцент, но и значительно снижают вес автомобиля, повышая его динамические характеристики. Капоты, спойлеры, зеркала – карбон преображает автомобиль, делая его легче, быстрее и эффектнее.
birxbet birxbet .
Bright Fashion Hub – Attractive styles everywhere, and browsing through categories felt seamless.
узнать больше https://kra48at.at
сюда https://kra46att.at
подробнее здесь https://kra47at.at/
1xbet giri? 1xbet giri? .
Keep on writing, great job!
Читать далее https://kra46att.at/
тонировка в москве Оклейка Москва: Защита и Персонализация в Одном Оклейка автомобиля пленкой в Москве – это современный способ защиты кузова от повреждений и придания ему уникального внешнего вида. Широкий выбор цветов и фактур позволяет реализовать любые дизайнерские идеи.
clickace.click – Content reads clearly, helpful examples made concepts easy to grasp.
1xbet giri? linki 1xbet giri? linki .
1xbet t?rkiye 1xbet t?rkiye .
скачать melbet на ios melbet5003.ru
What’s up, for all time i used to check website posts here early in the morning, because i love to find out more and more.
1xbet giri? 2025 [url=www.1xbet-16.com/]1xbet giri? 2025[/url] .
Bright Fashion Room – A smooth shopping flow with plenty of good-looking pieces to check out.
веб-сайте https://kra48at.at
kiss918 apk kiss918 apk .
пояснения https://kra46att.at
kiss918 lama kiss918 lama .
Подробнее https://kra46att.at
Bright Clothing Outlet – Clothing previews looked clean, and moving around the site was simple.
как удалить аккаунт melbet http://www.melbet5003.ru
I want to highlight the material about Insights on Real-Time Crypto Trends and News.
Смотрите сами:
https://pulsewander.com
stage москва Тонировка Авто в Москве: Стиль и Комфорт Тонировка авто в Москве – это популярный способ улучшить внешний вид автомобиля и обеспечить комфорт вождения. Тонировка защищает салон от солнечных лучей и перегрева, а также обеспечивает приватность.
Между прочим, если вас интересует Лучшие советы для культурных и бюджетных путешествий, посмотрите сюда.
Ссылка ниже:
https://tourismstore.ru
918kiss original terbaru 918kiss original terbaru .
918kiss company 918kiss company .
страница https://kra46att.at/
По теме “Как уверенно планировать будущее с ‘Моя Пенсия'”, нашел много полезного.
Вот, можете почитать:
https://mypensiya.ru
Компания https://www.antech.ru/ специализируется на производстве и поставках гофрокартонной упаковки для промышленных и торговых предприятий, транспортных и курьерских служб, логистических центров по всей России. Каталог включает тару разнообразных габаритов и типов, упаковочную продукцию, листы гофрокартона и персонализированные варианты, произведенные на базе собственных цехов с применением передовых технологий и высококачественных материалов. Прямые поставки от производителя обеспечивают конкурентные цены, оперативное выполнение заказов любого объема и гибкую систему скидок для постоянных клиентов, что делает сотрудничество максимально выгодным для бизнеса любого масштаба.
торрент скачать Фильмы торрентом – это способ распространения кинофильмов через торрент-сети. Торрент-трекеры предлагают огромный выбор фильмов различных жанров и годов выпуска, доступных для скачивания. Скачивание фильмов торрентом позволяет пользователям смотреть фильмы дома, не посещая кинотеатры или не покупая DVD-диски. Однако важно помнить о рисках, связанных с пиратством, включая возможность заражения компьютера вредоносным программным обеспечением и нарушение авторских прав.
918kiss download android [url=http://918kisslama.com]918kiss download android[/url] .
продолжить https://kra48at.at/
Следующая страница https://kra47at.at
With havin so much content aand articles do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? My blog has
a lot of exclusive content I’ve either created myself or outsourced
but it looks like a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my agreement.
Do you know any solutions to help reduce content from being ripped off?
I’d truly appreciate it.
можно проверить ЗДЕСЬ https://kra48at.at/
1xbet mobil giri? 1xbet mobil giri? .
xbet giri? xbet giri? .
melbet best game http://melbet5003.ru
Сегодня увидел селера в скайпе,как и обещано в его сообщении работать начал вовремя …:hello:Отписался ему по интересующим меня вопросам:sos:,сразу получил четкий ясный ответ,развеявший мои опасения.Работа с клиентом-1 класс:superman:.Подтверждает свою репутацию не первый раз,я доволен что веду свои дела именно с ним:bravo:.Ребята,в его честности ,профессионализме,и других качествах можете быть уверены…(для тех кто обдумывает заказ).:speak: купить Мефедрон, Бошки, Марихуану Отличный магазин Chemical-mix
посмотреть в этом разделе https://kra46att.at/
веб-сайте https://kra47at.at
зайти на сайт https://kra47at.at/
Домашний формат подойдёт, если нет признаков угрозы жизни и есть возможность обеспечить тишину и наблюдение ночью. Стационар предпочтителен при тяжёлой абстиненции, эпизодах судорог, выраженных скачках давления, неукротимой рвоте, риске делирия, а также когда дома нет условий для безопасного наблюдения. В стационаре под рукой лаборатория, ЭКГ по показаниям, круглосуточный пост — это снижает вероятность осложнений и ускоряет восстановление сна и аппетита.
Углубиться в тему – gde-nahoditsya-narkologicheskaya-klinika
clickace.click – Content reads clearly, helpful examples made concepts easy to grasp.
Смотреть здесь https://kra46att.at/
kemas kini 918kiss kemas kini 918kiss .