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.
Юнитал-М в области охраны труда услуги предоставляет. Работаем с людьми и разными предприятиями. Нам доверяют, поскольку мы с серьезностью подходим к выбранной нами деятельности и регулярно улучшаемся. https://www.unitalm.ru – тут более детальная о компании информация предложена. Здесь у вас скачать прайс-лист есть возможность. Компетентные преподаватели к процессу обучения с большой ответственностью подходят. Нашими клиентами индивидуальные предприниматели и руководители больших государственных предприятий являются. Смелее обращайтесь к нам!
Exceptional post but I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Appreciate it!
Limousine service near me
Критерий
Подробнее тут – вызов врача нарколога на дом
Quality articles or reviews is the important to invite the
viewers to pay a visit the web page, that’s what this site is providing.
Первое, что необходимо уточнить перед вызовом — наличие у врача лицензии и профильного медицинского образования. Только сертифицированный нарколог может назначить препараты, поставить капельницу и провести детоксикацию без ущерба для здоровья пациента.
Получить дополнительную информацию – выезд нарколога на дом в нижнем тагиле
диплом в москве купить диплом в москве купить .
crema emla precio: pastillas cariban – Farmacia Asequible
карниз для штор купить в пятигорске Магазин Штор Пятигорск: Все для Вашего Дома Магазины штор в Пятигорске предлагают широкий ассортимент тканей, карнизов, жалюзи и других аксессуаров для оформления окон. Здесь можно найти все необходимое для создания уютного и стильного интерьера. Профессиональные консультанты помогут подобрать оптимальное решение для каждого клиента.
На сайте https://a-npo.ru/ обозначьте в специальной форме свой номер телефона для того, чтобы записаться на профессиональную переподготовку либо на курсы по повышению квалификации. В учебном центре получится выучиться любой рабочей специальности. Каждого ожидают содержательные и информативные программы, которые помогут получить необходимые знания. Вы можете оставить онлайн-заявку. На это уйдет всего минута. Записаться на курсы вы сможете с большой скидкой. Прямо сейчас ознакомьтесь с тарифами, чтобы выбрать наиболее подходящий.
диплом спо купить диплом спо купить .
сколько стоит купить диплом о высшем образовании arus-diplom4.ru .
Вывод из запоя в Рязани — это комплексная медицинская услуга, направленная на устранение интоксикации, стабилизацию состояния пациента и предотвращение рецидива алкогольной зависимости. Методики подбираются индивидуально с учётом анамнеза, длительности запойного состояния, наличия сопутствующих заболеваний и психоэмоционального фона. Процедура осуществляется под контролем опытных врачей-наркологов с применением сертифицированных препаратов и оборудования.
Изучить вопрос глубже – вывод из запоя рязанская область
стильные напольные горшки для цветов http://kashpo-napolnoe-rnd.ru/ – стильные напольные горшки для цветов .
kra34cc
вывод из запоя краснодар
vivod-iz-zapoya-krasnodar003.ru
вывод из запоя круглосуточно
https://farmaciaasequible.shop/# soolantra precio farmacia espaГ±a
Respect for putting this together!
https://rxfreemeds.shop/# erythromycin pharmacy
kra34.cc
цветочные горшки на пол https://www.kashpo-napolnoe-rnd.ru – цветочные горшки на пол .
What’s up to every , because I am truly eager of reading this blog’s post to be updated daily. It carries good material.
Private car near me
Приобрести диплом о высшем образовании. Приобретение документа о высшем образовании через надежную фирму дарит ряд преимуществ. Данное решение дает возможность сэкономить время и значительные финансовые средства. orikdok-5v-gorode-tolyatti-63.ru
аттестат 9 класс купить аттестат 9 класс купить .
Купить диплом об образовании. Приобретение диплома ВУЗа через надежную компанию дарит много плюсов. Данное решение помогает сберечь как дорогое время, так и существенные финансовые средства. orikdok-3v-gorode-novokuznetsk-42.online
Приобрести диплом ВУЗа. Покупка документа о высшем образовании через проверенную и надежную фирму дарит много плюсов. Такое решение позволяет сберечь время и существенные финансовые средства. orikdok-1v-gorode-ufa-2.online
лечение запоя калуга
vivod-iz-zapoya-kaluga004.ru
вывод из запоя калуга
купить диплом среднее образование купить диплом среднее образование .
visit the site https://www.hlsports.de
купить диплом в барнауле купить диплом в барнауле .
go to the site https://ibecensino.org.br
bs2best
Amazing! Its genuinely awesome post, I have got much clear idea about from this article.
Private car near me
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a
comment is added I get four emails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove people from that service?
Thank you!
Farmacia Asequible farmacias getafe parafamacia
Pills information for patients. Drug Class.
como comprar flibanserina sin receta
Some trends of pills. Get here.
where to buy generic medex without prescription
интернет тарифы ростов
domashij-internet-rostov005.ru
подключить интернет
bs2bestat
I am really impressed with your writing talents as smartly as with the format to
your weblog. Is that this a paid subject or did you customize it your self?
Either way stay up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to look a nice
weblog like this one these days..
Excellent post. I used to be checking constantly this weblog and I am impressed!
Extremely helpful info specially the last section :) I maintain such info much.
I used to be looking for this certain information for a very
lengthy time. Thanks and best of luck.
visit the site https://lmc896.org
go to the site https://astra-hotel.ch
visit the site https://puntera.com
go to the site https://petitedanse.com.br
Hey this is kind of of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding experience so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!
Private car near me
Attractive portion of content. I just stumbled
upon your web site and in accession capital to assert that I get in fact enjoyed account
your weblog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing on your augment and even I
success you get entry to consistently quickly.
visit the site https://g-r-s.fr
go to the site https://www.europneus.es
1win sports 1win3026.com
На сайте https://rubikonexpert.ru почитайте содержательную и нужную информацию, которая касается центра судебной экспертизы «РУБИКОН». В компании работают лучшие специалисты с большим опытом. Они отлично знакомы со всеми нюансами работы. Предприятие давно и плодотворно сотрудничает с государственными органами. Экспертизы проводятся в ограниченные сроки, но интервал зависит от различных факторов, в том числе, нужно ли выезжать на объект, а также количества специалистов, которые будут участвовать в процессе.