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.
написать курсовую на заказ написать курсовую на заказ .
решение курсовых работ на заказ kupit-kursovuyu-10.ru .
Wild Shore Finds – Clean layout and intuitive navigation made browsing effortless.
Wild Shore Collection Online – Fast loading and clean interface made browsing effortless.
This is easily the most enthusiastic post I’ve read today!
А вот в верхних и особенно джекпоте делёжка в суперэкспрессе решает. Фриспины казино эльдорадо 2021 официальный сайт Eldorado
Данного выбора матчей будет достаточно для большинства бетторов.
Об этих платформах мы и поговорим.
https://bookmarkinglife.com/story6296396/jonathan-little-poker
https://www.tat-london.co.uk/members-area/raselseoexpart29257/profile
melbet клуб баллы melbet клуб баллы
Hi! Do you know if they make any plugins to protect against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any suggestions?
топ сео компаний [url=http://reiting-seo-kompanii.ru]топ сео компаний[/url] .
shop mountain hub – Items were easy to view and navigation felt intuitive.
Смотреть здесь tripscan top
производство ворот для полуприцепа Ремонт фургонов-рефрижераторов – это поддержание оптимального температурного режима для перевозки скоропортящихся продуктов. Мы ремонтируем холодильные установки, восстанавливаем теплоизоляцию и обеспечиваем надежную работу вашего рефрижератора.
melbet bonus rules melbet bonus rules
топ seo компаний топ seo компаний .
написать курсовую на заказ написать курсовую на заказ .
рейтинг seo агентств рейтинг seo агентств .
BlueStone Store – Simple design made shopping a breeze.
курсовая работа купить москва курсовая работа купить москва .
рейтинг лучших seo агентств https://reiting-seo-kompanii.ru/ .
написать курсовую работу на заказ в москве [url=http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-9.ru]http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-9.ru[/url] .
seo рейтинг seo рейтинг .
рейтинг digital seo агентств [url=http://reiting-seo-kompanii.ru/]http://reiting-seo-kompanii.ru/[/url] .
These are in fact enormous ideas in concerning blogging. You have touched some good factors here. Any way keep up wrinting.
Bright Timber Corner – User-friendly design and a range of products made picking items smooth.
Bright Timber Studio Shop – The well-organized site and good product range made browsing comfortable.
Бесплатный промокод на мелбет при регистрации ищет каждый потенциальный клиент компании. Почему? Мало кто откажется от щедрой приветственной награды, позволяющей увеличить сумму первого депозита, заработав до ?9100 бонуса (с 24 апреля бонус увеличился до 50 000). Промокоды – это маркетинговый инструмент, с помощью которого рекламные партнеры букмекера привлекают новых бетторов. Поэтому в современной практике сам букмекер редко распространяет коды, за исключением флагманских акций или раздачи купонов в рамках специальных ивентов. Не все бонусы предполагают наличие рекламного кода. Для активации большинства из них достаточно просто пополнить счет или делать ставки на спорт, получая за это баллы активности. В последующем есть возможность в рамках программы лояльности БК «Мелбет» обменивать баллы на коды для бесплатных ставок (фрибеты) или на реальные денежные средства. Раздобыть промокод Melbet Вы всегда сможете на нашем сайте. При этом Вы можете быть уверенными в том, что это именно актуальное предложение. Также рекомендуем подписаться на информационную рассылку БК, где компания при помощи SMS и почтовых уведомлений держит в курсе событий любителей ставок.
алюминиевые электрожалюзи elektricheskie-zhalyuzi5.ru .
заказать курсовой проект заказать курсовой проект .
жалюзи с электроприводом купить [url=http://www.elektricheskie-zhalyuzi5.ru]жалюзи с электроприводом купить[/url] .
Corner Ridge Boutique – The layout makes it easy to find what you need without confusion.
Ridge Corner Finds – A smooth experience thanks to organized pages and clear product displays.
перенаправляется сюда tripscan
написать курсовую работу на заказ в москве http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-10.ru/ .
Shop MountainMistStudio – The design felt polished and browsing felt very comfortable.
купить курсовую сайт купить курсовую сайт .
Mountain Mist Online Picks – Fast-loading sections and easy browsing made the site convenient.
заказать курсовую работу качественно https://kupit-kursovuyu-9.ru .
список seo агентств reiting-seo-kompanii.ru .
курсовой проект цена курсовой проект цена .
BlueStone Storefront – Clean layout made exploring products enjoyable.
купить курсовая работа купить курсовая работа .
BlueStone Selects – Finding items was fast thanks to the simple design.
рекламное агентство seo рекламное агентство seo .
курсовая заказ купить курсовая заказ купить .
курсовые под заказ курсовые под заказ .
курсовая работа недорого курсовая работа недорого .
сколько стоит заказать курсовую работу https://www.kupit-kursovuyu-9.ru .
курсовая работа купить курсовая работа купить .