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.
Modern Fable Shop – Navigation is easy and everything loads quickly.
смотреть здесь казино водка
Modern Fable Selection – The layout is clear and items are well organized.
посетить сайт казино водка
мелбет официальный сайт скачать бесплатно мелбет официальный сайт скачать бесплатно
посмотреть на этом сайте казино водка бет
сайт для заказа курсовых работ сайт для заказа курсовых работ .
купить курсовую сайт купить курсовую сайт .
Специфика разработки рекламных стратегий для эффективного продвижения в Астрахани: https://autokovrik-atele.ru/prodvizhenie-sajtov-v-astrahani-osobennosti-i-jeffektivnye-strategii/
курсовые под заказ курсовые под заказ .
build hub – The interface is simple and browsing different sections is seamless.
melbet avis melbet avis
где можно купить курсовую работу http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-9.ru/ .
GoldenBranchMart Hub – The organized pages helped me browse efficiently and comfortably.
курсовые заказ курсовые заказ .
купить курсовая работа купить курсовая работа .
https://bookmarksurl.com/story6268081/jonathan-little-poker
сколько стоит заказать курсовую работу http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-9.ru/ .
https://duster-clubs.ru/forum/album.php?albumid=1319&pictureid=11052&commentid=8406#picturecomment8406
success link – The structure is neat and finding items is convenient.
achiever’s hub – Browsing flows naturally and the site is well organized.
заказать курсовую работу заказать курсовую работу .
сайт для заказа курсовых работ сайт для заказа курсовых работ .
Банковские вклады: надёжная гавань для ваших средств или прошлый век?
По теме “Простые и безопасные валютные обмены”, там просто кладезь информации.
Вот, делюсь ссылкой:
https://exchangetrade.ru
Надеемся, наша информация поможет вам сделать обоснованный выбор.
melbet bonus rules http://melbet5004.ru/
как удалить аккаунт в мелбет https://melbet5004.ru
BoldCrest Goods – Browsing was enjoyable thanks to simple menus and fast search.
веб-сайте vodka bet casino
Finds by BoldCrest – Quick access to products made this a very convenient shopping experience.
https://pad.hacc.space/s/7YxoySytq
melbet deposit http://melbet5004.ru/
melbet kz скачать http://melbet5009.ru/
нажмите водка бет
Компания https://woodshop.group/ специализируется на изготовлении деревянных лестниц, ступеней, столешниц и подоконников по индивидуальным проектам из дуба, ясеня, лиственницы, сосны и ели. Производство ведётся на собственных мощностях с использованием цельноламельных и сращённых мебельных щитов, что гарантирует прочность и долговечность изделий. Мастерская работает с 2000 года и предлагает выгодные цены, профессиональный замер, качественную обработку древесины и монтаж готовых конструкций.
Перед началом лечения пациент проходит первичную диагностику, которая включает оценку физических показателей, сбор информации о длительности употребления, выявление сопутствующих заболеваний и оценку рисков. Наркологическая клиника в клинике в Астрахани использует стандартизированные методы обследования, что позволяет точно определить степень интоксикации и подобрать адекватный лечебный план.
Получить больше информации – https://narkologicheskaya-klinika-astrakhan18.ru/
как получить бонус в мелбет https://www.melbet5009.ru
интернет водка казино
Urban Seed Select – Effortless shopping with a well-organized interface.
Wonderful post however , I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Many thanks!
этот контент casino vodka
I have been surfing online more than 2 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will be a lot more useful than ever before.
Перейти на сайт водка бет
I can tell you put a lot of heart into this — it shows.
казино в котором есть бездепозитный бонус
shop golden hub – Clear categories and responsive interface made browsing simple.
root studio – Items loaded quickly and navigating sections felt effortless.
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something informative to read?
Coastline Picks – Well-arranged products and intuitive browsing — very user-friendly experience.
купить диплом и сертификат купить диплом и сертификат .
Coastline Market – The layout is tidy and finding items is quick — very convenient experience.