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.
ai sex chat ai sex chat .
сколько стоит сделать курсовую работу на заказ http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-27.ru .
выполнение учебных работ выполнение учебных работ .
VarietyChoiceStore – Great assortment, very helpful for a smooth shopping experience.
курсовая работа купить москва https://kupit-kursovuyu-25.ru/ .
купить задание для студентов купить задание для студентов .
курсовая заказать недорого http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-21.ru/ .
написание студенческих работ на заказ kupit-kursovuyu-29.ru .
курсовая заказать курсовая заказать .
заказать дипломную работу онлайн http://kupit-kursovuyu-30.ru .
где можно купить курсовую работу http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-27.ru .
срочно курсовая работа kupit-kursovuyu-25.ru .
заказать дипломную работу онлайн http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-30.ru/ .
курсовая заказ купить курсовая заказ купить .
сколько стоит курсовая работа по юриспруденции https://www.kupit-kursovuyu-21.ru .
помощь в написании курсовой http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-22.ru .
курсовые заказ курсовые заказ .
Информационный сервис «Железнодорожная логистика» собирает на одной площадке компании со всей страны и превращает поиск партнёров по ж/д-перевозкам в понятный и структурированный процесс. На портале https://gdlog.ru/ пользователи найдут базу из сотен организаций и более тысячи профильных материалов, сгруппированных по регионам и городам — от Москвы и Санкт-Петербурга до дальневосточных и сибирских центров. Удобная навигация, тарифные планы для компаний и возможность добавить свой профиль делают ресурс рабочим инструментом для бизнеса, который стремится выстроить эффективные цепочки поставок по железной дороге.
заказать студенческую работу http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-23.ru/ .
Why users still make use of to read news papers when in this technological world everything is accessible on web?
directory of female escorts in Rio
заказать студенческую работу заказать студенческую работу .
цена курсовой работы цена курсовой работы .
курсовая заказать http://kupit-kursovuyu-21.ru/ .
1xBet бонус код Воспользуйтесь бонусом при регистрации на http://hammill.ru/pages/pgs/besplatnuy_promokod_pri_registracii.html и заберите 32 500? + 100% к депозиту, чтобы получить дополнительное преимущество.
заказать курсовой проект заказать курсовой проект .
онлайн сервис помощи студентам http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-22.ru .
написание курсовых работ на заказ цена http://kupit-kursovuyu-23.ru .
https://onlinegameblog.blogofoto.com/70035758/code-bonus-premier-d%C3%A9p%C3%B4t-melbet-2026-zevs777-bonus-d-inscription-de-100
FreshCorner Market – Good variety of daily offerings with smooth page transitions throughout.
курсовые под заказ курсовые под заказ .
помощь в написании курсовой http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-22.ru .
написание курсовой на заказ цена https://kupit-kursovuyu-22.ru/ .
внутренняя гидроизоляция подвала внутренняя гидроизоляция подвала .
заказать дипломную работу онлайн http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-28.ru .
заказать дипломную работу онлайн http://kupit-kursovuyu-30.ru/ .
курсовая заказать недорого https://kupit-kursovuyu-27.ru/ .
выполнение курсовых выполнение курсовых .
Растаможка товаров москва прошла без единого штрафа, профессионалы
https://git.aparoksha.dev/bobbybrownlow
цена курсовой работы цена курсовой работы .
FreshDailyFinds – Clear interface, enjoyable browsing, and well-organized product pages.
курсовая заказ купить курсовая заказ купить .
написание курсовой на заказ цена написание курсовой на заказ цена .
гидроизоляция подвала под ключ гидроизоляция подвала под ключ .
курсовые работы заказать курсовые работы заказать .
https://aminoapps.com/c/homeworkbase/page/blog/code-promo-melbet-pour-pari-gratuit-zevs777/b0Zn_xpuoum4kDEgD5KdY1Xwe0LY8Zlz2R
отделка подвала gidroizolyacziya-podvala-iznutri-czena1.ru .
онлайн сервис помощи студентам онлайн сервис помощи студентам .
написание курсовых на заказ написание курсовых на заказ .
курсовая работа недорого курсовая работа недорого .
Usually I don’t learn article on blogs, but I would like to say that this write-up very pressured me to check out and do so! Your writing style has been amazed me. Thank you, very nice article.