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.
Wonder Peak Picks – Interface is user-friendly and finding products is easy.
заказать курсовой проект заказать курсовой проект .
курсовая работа купить курсовая работа купить .
shop horizon boutique – Smooth scrolling and fast pages made finding items simple.
заказать курсовую работу спб kupit-kursovuyu-5.ru .
курсовая заказ купить http://kupit-kursovuyu-7.ru/ .
написать курсовую на заказ http://kupit-kursovuyu-2.ru .
курсовые под заказ курсовые под заказ .
курсовая заказ купить kupit-kursovuyu-7.ru .
перейдите на этот сайт кракен зеркало
заказать курсовую [url=http://kupit-kursovuyu-7.ru/]заказать курсовую[/url] .
crestartemporium – Very clean interface, browsing and selecting items was effortless.
другие кракен переходник
где можно купить курсовую работу где можно купить курсовую работу .
Спасибо Магазину)вы лучшие))))))))!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :monetka: Качество на 100% https://sauna-tverici.ru Жаль туси в наличии нет. хотелось именно тут взять. а как скоро появится не известноИз 6 операторов именно оператор этого магазина отвечал быстрее и понятнее всех остальных. Я увидел здесь хорошее,грамотное отношение к клиентам, сразу видно человек знает свою работу.
Dmu Cialis: DmuCialis – Buy Tadalafil 5mg
Great insights, thanks for sharing! https://3nz9f.icu/arsenal-missed-a-trick-on-raphinha/
Great insights, thanks for sharing! https://3nz9f.icu/everton-could-soon-unleash-james-garner/
заказать курсовую работу заказать курсовую работу .
I found this post very helpful. https://3nz9f.icu/chelsea-desperate-for-andrey-santos-playing-time/
Excellent weblog here! Also your web site lots up fast! What web host are you the usage of? Can I am getting your affiliate hyperlink to your host? I desire my web site loaded up as fast as yours lol
Appreciate the content you put out! https://3nz9f.icu/arsenal-transfer-news-on-folarin-balogun/
Asking questions are actually fastidious thing if you are not understanding something entirely, except this article offers nice understanding yet.
стоимость написания курсовой работы на заказ стоимость написания курсовой работы на заказ .
покупка курсовых работ покупка курсовых работ .
где можно купить курсовую работу где можно купить курсовую работу .
It’s awesome for me to have a web page, which is useful in support of my experience. thanks admin
купить курсовую сайт https://www.kupit-kursovuyu-7.ru .
написание курсовой на заказ цена написание курсовой на заказ цена .
курсовой проект купить цена курсовой проект купить цена .
Nice read, keep it up! https://3nz9f.icu/everton-could-soon-unleash-james-garner/
написать курсовую на заказ http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-7.ru/ .
https://medicaltranslate.ru/medicinskij-perevodchik
Loved the points you made here. https://3nz9f.icu/
https://medicaltranslate.ru/
заказать курсовую [url=https://www.kupit-kursovuyu-4.ru]заказать курсовую[/url] .
For most up-to-date news you have to visit world-wide-web and on world-wide-web I found this web page as a finest site for most recent updates.
написать курсовую на заказ kupit-kursovuyu-1.ru .
https://www.quora.com/profile/MD-HOSEEN-5
заказать курсовую работу спб http://kupit-kursovuyu-6.ru/ .
Hi I am so delighted I found your web site, I really found you by accident, while I was searching on Google for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thanks for a tremendous post and a all round thrilling blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read it all at the moment but I have bookmarked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a lot more, Please do keep up the excellent work.
Запой — это не «несколько лишних бокалов», а острое состояние с системной нагрузкой на сердце, мозг и печень. В клинике «РязМедСервис» мы рассматриваем вывод из запоя как управляемый медицинский процесс: быстрый выезд, экспресс-диагностика, индивидуальные капельницы через инфузомат, круглосуточная связь и строгая конфиденциальность. Мы приезжаем без опознавательных знаков, оформляем документы в нейтральных формулировках и оставляем пациенту и близким понятный план на 72 часа — чтобы первая трезвая ночь прошла спокойно, а эффект лечения стал предсказуемым и устойчивым.
Получить дополнительные сведения – наркология вывод из запоя
Состав капельницы никогда не «копируется»; он выбирается по доминирующему симптому и соматическому фону. Ниже — клинические профили, которые помогают понять нашу логику. Итоговая схема формируется на месте, а скорость и объём зависят от текущих показателей.
Выяснить больше – https://narcolog-na-dom-krasnodar14.ru/narkolog-krasnodar-anonimno
shopzonehub – Smooth browsing, products are well organized and easy to locate.
куплю курсовую работу kupit-kursovuyu-2.ru .
где можно заказать курсовую работу где можно заказать курсовую работу .
Thanks for the tips! https://3nz9f.icu/chelsea-desperate-for-andrey-santos-playing-time/
I’ve been looking for something like this. https://3nz9f.icu/
написать курсовую работу на заказ в москве https://kupit-kursovuyu-1.ru/ .
каталог блэк спрут