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.
зайти на сайт kra48.cc
на этом сайте vodkabet онлайн казино
Главная https://kra48a.at
в этом разделе vodka bet casino
http://apokalypsed.org/users.php?m=details&id=32326
CorPharmacy super saver pharmacy CorPharmacy
Подробнее vodkabet онлайн казино
страница https://kra48a.at
вход в 1win http://www.1win12042.ru
Good read. Hi88 keeps attracting players because slot payouts are steady and fish shooting bonuses drop fast enough to stay engaging.
hillcornerlane – Products are neatly categorized, making shopping effortless.
Читать далее https://kra48a.at/
электрокарниз недорого [url=prokarniz36.ru]prokarniz36.ru[/url] .
Moor Picks – I could easily navigate and explore all product options.
страница зеркало водка бет
Whitestone Boutique Picks – Items are well displayed and navigation is simple.
Каждый пациент проходит несколько последовательных этапов, направленных на очищение организма, стабилизацию эмоционального состояния и формирование стойкой мотивации к трезвой жизни. Такой подход позволяет не только устранить физическую зависимость, но и укрепить психическую устойчивость.
Изучить вопрос глубже – http://narkologicheskaya-klinika-v-samare16.ru
смотреть здесь зеркало водка бет
подробнее водкабет
BM Corner – User-friendly interface made the experience enjoyable.
содержание водкабет играть сейчас
на этом сайте https://kra48a.at
веб-сайт https://kra48a.at
Whitestone Hub Picks – Fast and natural browsing with a neat design.
hillcornercollective – Pleasant layout, items are easy to find and explore.
sunrisecollectivehub – Items are displayed clearly, shopping feels smooth and natural.
Mid River Collection – The clean design and organized categories made browsing efficient.
Для жителей Краснодара и ближайших районов организованы два параллельных маршрута: немаркированный выезд врача-нарколога на дом и «тихий вход» в амбулаторный кабинет с отдельной дверью и согласованным слотом. На первичном звонке диспетчер фиксирует только факторы безопасности — частоту рвоты, наличие мочеиспусканий, базовые значения ЧСС/АД, эпизоды спутанности, список текущих препаратов и аллергии. Личные и социальные детали не запрашиваются: мы придерживаемся принципа минимально необходимой информации. На месте врач и медсестра собирают базовую линию (сознание, дыхание, SpO?, температура), оценивают шкалы симптомов (тошнота/тремор/тревога по шкале 0–10), проверяют переносимость небольших глотков воды и описывают ближайшие «окна» принятия решений. Вечером и ночью команда остаётся на связи: мы заранее согласовываем пороги, при которых нужно позвонить дежурному врачу, чтобы не терять критические минуты.
Углубиться в тему – нарколог на дом цены
Смотреть здесь водка бет
MidRiverDesigns Portal – Crisp images and clean layout made browsing effortless.
читать водка бет
карнизы с электроприводом купить https://prokarniz36.ru/ .
naturally like your web site however you have to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very troublesome to tell the reality however I’ll surely come back again.
Gold Leaf Picks Online – Items are neatly arranged and easy to locate — browsing felt effortless.
пояснения vodkabet водка бет казино
Hey there! I know this is kinda off topic however I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest writing a blog post or vice-versa? My site discusses a lot of the same subjects as yours and I feel we could greatly benefit from each other. If you happen to be interested feel free to shoot me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you! Excellent blog by the way!
Следующая страница vodkabet прямо сейчас
такой водка бет
узнать больше https://kra48a.at/
автоматический карниз для штор https://prokarniz36.ru .
нажмите вотка бет
посетить веб-сайт vodkabet водкабет казино
продолжить vodkabet онлайн казино
shopworld – Smooth interface, fast loading, and items are visually appealing.
BrightMoor Shop – Pleasant browsing thanks to clear menus and categories.
valuepick – Clean interface, products are easy to locate, and navigating categories was simple.
Hey! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing months of hard work due to no back up. Do you have any solutions to stop hackers?
прокарниз prokarniz36.ru .
кликните сюда vodkabet
продолжить водка казино