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.
купить фен дайсон официальный сайт купить фен дайсон официальный сайт .
Дружище, если ты не понял, нам магазин в пятницу и здесь и везде перестал отвечать. Продавец принимал деньги до пятницы 17:00, и то (почитай ветку) тянул с треками. А потом пропал. Форум этот тоже больше не имеет той волшебной силы, что была раньше. Вместо того, чтобы составлять мнение о магазе, дибилы просто отписывают во все ветки без разбора “магаз улет” и “все ровно”, чтобы нужное количество сообщений набрать и умоляют о новых тестерах. https://ar123m.ru первую посылочку получил от селера ))) сервис на вышем уровне не то что у некоторых!!!!!
Hi, I log on to your blogs on a regular basis. Your writing style is witty, keep up the good work!
have a peek here xrp wallet
Continue Reading jaxx wallet
https://t.me/s/minimalnii_deposit/144
Great overview — recommend reading https://sysclicks.com/christian1508
you could try these out download jaxx wallet
What’s up, I log on to your blogs daily. Your story-telling style is witty, keep doing what you’re doing!
have a peek at this web-site toast wallet passphrase
https://shhhnewcastleswingers.club/forums/users/1xbetfreebetnp/
Bonuses jaxx wallet
Когда запой затягивается, организм быстро входит в режим перегрузки: нарушается сон, скачет давление, усиливается тревога, появляется дрожь, тошнота, потливость и резкая слабость. В такой ситуации «перетерпеть» или лечиться домашними средствами — рискованная стратегия: состояние может ухудшаться волнами, а осложнения иногда развиваются резко, без долгой подготовки. Выезд нарколога на дом в Красногорске нужен для того, чтобы снять острую интоксикацию и абстиненцию безопасно, под контролем показателей, без лишней суеты и без поездок по стационарам в разгар плохого самочувствия.
Подробнее можно узнать тут – вызвать нарколога на дом красногорск
why not try this out jaxx liberty
В Сочи стационар клиники «Детокс» предлагает комплексный вывод из запоя. Пациентам обеспечивают комфорт, безопасность и круглосуточный контроль.
Получить дополнительные сведения – скорая вывод из запоя сочи
Hey! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I came to give it a look. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Outstanding blog and brilliant design.
мостбет кг mostbet2033.help
phlove – https://phlove-8.com
mostbet skachat http://www.mostbet2033.help
Very good information. Lucky me I ran across your blog by accident (stumbleupon). I’ve saved as a favorite for later!
why not try these out jaxx wallet
стайлер дайсон купить официальный сайт stajler-dsn-1.ru .
What’s up, I check your new stuff like every week. Your writing style is witty, keep doing what you’re doing!
I do not know if it’s just me or if everyone else experiencing problems with your website. It appears as though some of the written text on your content are running off the screen. Can somebody else please provide feedback and let me know if this is happening to them as well? This might be a issue with my internet browser because I’ve had this happen previously. Many thanks
Hi, I check your new stuff on a regular basis. Your story-telling style is witty, keep doing what you’re doing!
Hello, I check your new stuff like every week. Your writing style is witty, keep up the good work!
mostbet com login mostbet com login
Hi there, I check your new stuff like every week. Your humoristic style is awesome, keep it up!
https://www.grundschule-trebbin.de/profile/1xbetfreebete/profile
discover this info here jaxx liberty
Hello, I log on to your blogs like every week. Your writing style is witty, keep it up!
I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the page layout of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?
https://t.me/s/minimalnii_deposit/74
Hi there, I check your blogs regularly. Your writing style is witty, keep up the good work!
find more information xrp wallet
https://bettaso.com/profile.php?user=kai.drago-495862&do=profile&name=Your_Account&op=userinfo&com=profile
https://constico.com/userinfo.php?from=space&username=bridgett.melvin_495862&do=profile&op=userinfo&mod=space
Hi, I log on to your blog regularly. Your humoristic style is witty, keep doing what you’re doing!
news [url=https://jaxxwallet-web.org]jaxx liberty wallet[/url]
Wonderful post however , I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Many thanks!
В процессе поиска смотреть русские сериалы на пк актуальные серии в HD и Full HD. На удивление узнал про комфортный – киношный ресурс Оптимисты / Оптимисты сериал 2017 1-2 сезон 1-6,7,8 серия скачать через торрент в котором сериалы российского производства представлены в максимальном качестве. Отдельно отмечу, что ничего лишнего не мешает, оформил выбор и удобный формат удобен для использования для всех форматов HD если хочется без рекламы не хочется заморочек смотреть только онлайн. Прямо сейчас скачивать полностью для вечернего просмотра без ожидания.
website link jaxx liberty wallet
Good read if you’re exploring this topic http://tsnlp.5nx.ru/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2329
Сегодня ответственная игра превращается важным критерием поиска казино, и в этом сегменте get x поддерживает инструменты самоконтроля, способствуя игрокам сохранять стабильность
Формат
Выяснить больше – наркологическая клиника на дом
read this post here jaxx wallet
My partner and I stumbled over here coming from a different
page and thought I should check things out. I like
what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to exploring your web
page yet again.
pulsz – https://pulsz-us.com
Hi, I check your new stuff daily. Your humoristic style is awesome, keep it up!
https://t.me/s/minimalnii_deposit/44