
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.
Основу выездного лечения составляют капельницы, которые позволяют быстро ввести препараты в кровоток, минуя желудочно-кишечный тракт. Это обеспечивает моментальное действие и исключает раздражение слизистой. Капельницы подбираются индивидуально в зависимости от состояния пациента. Основные направления инфузионной терапии включают детоксикацию, восстановление водно-солевого баланса и поддержку работы нервной системы. Для усиления эффекта применяются витамины, антиоксиданты и препараты для защиты печени.
Получить дополнительные сведения – помощь нарколога на дому воронеж
содержание vodkabet водкабет казино
Главная vbet casino
интернет vodka премиум онлайн казино
Мы предлагаем дипломы любых профессий по приятным ценам.– myfollicles.com/read-blog/14789_kupit-diplom-o-vysshem-obrazovanii.html
пояснения vodka bet casino
посмотреть на этом сайте водка бет
смотреть здесь vbet casino
п»їTo be honest, I found an interesting article concerning Mexican Pharmacy standards. It details FDA equivalents for generic meds. If you are looking for affordable options, read this: п»їpolkcity.us.com. It helped me.
rollxo casino app – https://rollxo-casino-77.com/rollxo-casino-app/
кухни спб на заказ http://kuhni-na-zakaz-4.ru .
Admiring the time and energy you put into your site and in depth information you offer.
It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same old rehashed
material. Great read! I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
my web page خرید بک لینک
https://www.kuwaitshopping.com/index.php?route=journal3/blog/post&journal_blog_post_id=4
It’s going to be end of mine day, except before finish I am reading this wonderful paragraph to improve my knowledge.
I do not even know the way I finished up here, but I thought this submit was good. I do not recognise who you are however definitely you’re going to a famous blogger for those who aren’t already. Cheers!
Перейти на сайт vodkabet водкабет казино
узнать больше Здесь vodkabet водка бет казино
взгляните на сайте здесь зеркало vodka bet
перенаправляется сюда vodkabet прямо сейчас
Когда человек в запое, близким кажется, что всё ещё можно решить «по-тихому»: выспаться, отпаять водой, дать обезболивающее или «успокоительное» и дождаться, пока станет легче. На практике это часто приводит к обратному результату. Алкогольная интоксикация нарушает водно-электролитный баланс, сгущает кровь, повышает нагрузку на сердце, провоцирует скачки давления, ухудшает работу печени и нервной системы. Неконтролируемый приём снотворных, анальгетиков, транквилизаторов, особенно вместе с алкоголем, способен вызвать угнетение дыхания, аритмии, судороги или делирий. Домашняя обстановка не даёт возможности следить за всеми показателями и вовремя отреагировать. «РаменМед Трезвость» предлагает клинически выверенный вывод из запоя в Раменском с учётом возраста, длительности употребления, хронических заболеваний, перенесённых ранее осложнений. Здесь не применяют сомнительные схемы «усыпить, чтобы не мешал», а ставят задачу: безопасно пройти острую фазу, снять интоксикацию, стабилизировать давление и пульс, защитить сердце и мозг, снизить риск психозов и, при желании пациента, сразу наметить маршрут реального лечения зависимости. Такой подход снимает с родственников опасную «роль врача» и возвращает ситуацию туда, где ей место — под контроль профессионалов.
Детальнее – https://vyvod-iz-zapoya-ramenskoe10.ru/vyvod-iz-zapoya-ryadom-v-ramenskom
ice36 – https://ice36-br.com
сайт зеркало водка бет
зайти на сайт водкабет
этот контент водка бет
содержание зеркало водка бет
интернет vodka bet casino
найти это vodkabet прямо сейчас
посетить веб-сайт vodkabet
Die Brüder Grimm waren Patrioten, die das deutsche Erbe bewahren wollten. Helfen Sie ihnen dabei. Indem Sie eine Grimms Märchen PDF lesen, tragen Sie dazu bei, dass dieses Erbe lebendig bleibt und weitergegeben wird. https://grimmsmarchenpdf.site/ Grimms Märchen Wer A Sagt
На практике чаще всего применяются следующие компоненты:
Подробнее тут – https://kapelnicza-ot-zapoya-v-voronezhe17.ru/kapelnicza-ot-alkogolya-voronezh/
проверить сайт vodkabet водкабет казино
такой водкабет
другие водка бет
Смотреть здесь водка бет
этот сайт vbet poker онлайн
сайт водка бет казино
в этом разделе vodka bet
Смотреть здесь vodka bet
Not sure how to register at betwinner? The full process is explained step-by-step at https://bet-promo-codes.com/sportsbook-reviews/betwinner-registration/ — easy and beginner-friendly.
Читать далее водкабет
1xbet промокод на сегодня 2026. Чтобы удовлетворить ставочников, букмекеры постоянно добавляют новые функции и предложения. Одним из лидеров является 1хБет. Ввод промокода при регистрации позволяет получить увеличенную сумму бонуса. После создания аккаунта внеси первый депозит (до 32 500 рублей) — и получи вознаграждение. Абсолютно бесплатный 1xBet промокод при регистрации на сегодня доступен всем новичкам, чтобы активировать дополнительные преимущества. Игнорировать поле «Введите промокод» — значит потерять выгоду. Оно присутствует при трёх из четырёх способов регистрации (по телефону).
Greetings! I’ve been following your blog for a long time
now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you
a shout out from Kingwood Tx! Just wanted to say keep up the
great job!
As the admin of this web page is working, no doubt very rapidly
it will be well-known, due to its feature contents.
в этом разделе vodka bet
В данной обзорной статье представлены интригующие факты, которые не оставят вас равнодушными. Мы критикуем и анализируем события, которые изменили наше восприятие мира. Узнайте, что стоит за новыми открытиями и как они могут изменить ваше восприятие реальности.
Открой скрытое – https://gisplayschool.com/hang-out-in-the-national-park
gw casino – https://gw-casino-australia.com
здесь водка бет
This article is well-structured and focuses a lot on real gameplay value. I especially like how it mentions classic card games that players actually enjoy. Hi88 follows a similar direction with Tien Len, Phom, and fast-paced card rooms combined with casino games.
узнать больше Здесь vodkabet
mostbet skachat https://mostbet2029.help