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.
It’s great that you are getting ideas from this piece of writing as well as from our argument made here.
trafficbuilderpro.click – Overall, professional vibe here; trustworthy, polished, and pleasantly minimal throughout.
Dream Harbor Hub – Products are easy to locate, and browsing feels pleasant.
Just want to say your article is as astounding. The clearness in your
post is simply nice and i can assume you are an expert on this subject.
Well with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep updated with forthcoming post.
Thanks a million and please keep up the gratifying work.
Dream Harbor Picks Online – Everything is neatly organized, and products are easy to spot.
clicktrailboost.click – Found practical insights today; sharing this article with colleagues later.
ranktactics.click – Color palette felt calming, nothing distracting, just focused, thoughtful design.
стоимость экспертизы залива http://www.ekspertiza-zaliva-kvartiry-2.ru .
«Как отмечает врач-нарколог Павел Викторович Зайцев, «эффективность терапии во многом зависит от своевременного обращения, поэтому откладывать визит в клинику опасно»».
Подробнее – платная наркологическая клиника в санкт-петербурге
стоимость восстановительного ремонта после залива https://www.ekspertiza-zaliva-kvartiry-2.ru .
I’ve been exploring for a bit for any high-quality articles
or blog posts on this kind of house . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually
stumbled upon this web site. Reading this information So i’m glad
to exhibit that I’ve a very just right uncanny feeling I discovered exactly what I needed.
I such a lot undoubtedly will make sure to do
not fail to remember this website and provides it a look regularly.
В первые часы важно не «залить» пациента растворами, а корректно подобрать темп и состав с учётом возраста, массы тела, артериального давления, лекарственного фона (антигипертензивные, сахароснижающие, антиаритмические препараты) и переносимости. Именно поэтому мы не отдаём лечение на откуп шаблонам — каждая схема конструируется врачом на месте, а эффективность оценивается по понятным метрикам.
Ознакомиться с деталями – вывод из запоя цена в рязани
trafficbuilderpro.click – Mobile version looks perfect; no glitches, fast scrolling, crisp text.
marketexpander.click – Mobile version looks perfect; no glitches, fast scrolling, crisp text.
Свет — это архитектура эмоций. Студия EtaLustra превращает квартиры, рестораны и офисы в продуманные световые сцены: концепция, расчет освещённости, подбор оборудования под бюджет, поставка и гарантия. Команда с опытом более 10 лет ведёт проект от консультации до запуска, а портфолио показывает, как свет решает задачи пространства — от загородных домов до коммерческих интерьеров. Узнать детали и обсудить проект можно на https://etalustra.ru/ — здесь же удобная связь, этапы работ и статьи базы знаний, которые помогут осмысленно выбрать решение.
clickchampion.click – Color palette felt calming, nothing distracting, just focused, thoughtful design.
читать [url=https://kra4l.at]kra39 at[/url]
clicktrailboost.click – Content reads clearly, helpful examples made concepts easy to grasp.
Undeniably imagine that that you stated. Your favorite justification appeared to be at the net the simplest factor to take note of. I say to you, I certainly get annoyed whilst other folks consider issues that they just don’t recognize about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the top and outlined out the entire thing without having side effect , other people can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thank you
Dream Harbor Selection – Navigation is easy and products are visually appealing.
Neo Kamagra buy kamagra online usa Neo Kamagra
Dream Harbor Essentials – Items are simple to explore, and the interface is neat.
ranktactics.click – Content reads clearly, helpful examples made concepts easy to grasp.
Great article.
юридическая консультация по банкротству В непростых финансовых обстоятельствах, когда бремя долгов становится непосильным, процедура банкротства физических лиц может стать спасительным кругом. Однако, прежде чем решиться на этот шаг, необходимо тщательно изучить все аспекты и нюансы, связанные с данной процедурой. Важным вопросом является определение сроков процедуры банкротства физических лиц, которые могут варьироваться в зависимости от сложности дела и загруженности судебной системы.
conversionmatrix.click – Mobile version looks perfect; no glitches, fast scrolling, crisp text.
интернет [url=https://kru42.at/]kra41 cc[/url]
I am really enjoying the theme/design of your blog.
Do you ever run into any browser compatibility problems?
A number of my blog audience have complained about my site
not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Chrome.
Do you have any tips to help fix this problem?
BlueGrain Picks – Shopping was straightforward, and I found everything I wanted without delay.
marketexpander.click – Mobile version looks perfect; no glitches, fast scrolling, crisp text.
clickchampion.click – Mobile version looks perfect; no glitches, fast scrolling, crisp text.
Very well written, thanks! https://3nz9f.icu/category/uncategorized/
metatrader 5 mac http://metatrader-5-sync.com/ .
freshgiftoutlet – Very easy to shop, found exactly what I wanted.
giftvaluehub – Quick and smooth browsing, ordering was effortless.
залили соседи оценка ущерба https://ekspertiza-zaliva-kvartiry-3.ru/ .
Bookmarking this for later. https://3nz9f.icu/
Appreciate the content you put out! https://3nz9f.icu/category/uncategorized/
metatrader 5 download mac http://www.metatrader-5-sync.com .
mt5 trading platform https://metatrader-5-sync.com .
mt5 download mt5 download .
залив с крыши оценка ущерба https://www.ekspertiza-zaliva-kvartiry-3.ru .
Loved the points you made here. https://3nz9f.icu/category/uncategorized/
независимая экспертиза залива квартиры независимая экспертиза залива квартиры .
BlueGrain Finds – Spotting great products was fast, and shopping online was pleasant.
Blue Grain Online – Found high-quality goods effortlessly with simple browsing.
I found this post very helpful. https://3nz9f.icu/leeds-handed-potential-viktor-gyokeres-transfer-blow/
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I’ve really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again very soon!
mt5 download mt5 download .
mt5 mt5 .