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.
This had me hooked from the very first sentence — incredible work!
This hit me with pure positivity — THANK YOU!
This is content worth celebrating — phenomenal job!
Greate post. Keep writing such kind of information on your blog. Im really impressed by your site.
Ребята, не верьте громким обещаниям! Настоящее онлайн казино должно иметь прозрачную политику выплат. Я отсеял все подозрительные площадки и оставил только платящие варианты — смотрите здесь: Bollywood. Кто уже выводил оттуда?
There’s certainly a lot to learn about this issue. I really like all of the points you made.
Ребята, а вы знаете, где сейчас дают бонусы за регистрацию? Я проверил десятки платформ, оставил только те, где реально можно вывести. Ссылка на подборку: Мелстрой казино. Обсуждаем!
1win aviator играть https://1win12047.ru/
скачать бк осталось всего только выбрать подходящее 1win12047.ru
Привет, форумчане! Решил поделиться лайфхаком: как найти онлайн казино, где реально платят без задержек. Главное — не верить рекламе, а смотреть на статус регулятора и реальные отзывы. Я собрал проверенные варианты с выводом на МИР — ссылка тут: Килограмм зеркало. Кто уже пробовал?
Обслуживание с. Кыргауылды. Ремонт электроники холодильников.Ремонт холодильников Райымбек Обслуживание дизайнерских холодильников Smeg, включая ретро-серии FAB. Ремонт фурнитуры, замена уплотнителей, восстановление системы No Frost. Мы бережно относимся к эксклюзивному дизайну и используем специальные инструменты. Ваш стильный холодильник снова будет работать безупречно.
Ремонт холодильников Gaggenau Алматы
Приветствую! Только что вывел 15 тысяч с одного из игровых сайтов — и решил поделиться списком тех, кто реально не блокирует аккаунты. Смотрите на лицензию. Все проверенные варианты — тут: Mellstroy game. Кто уже играл? Какие суммы выводили?
zahraniДЌnГ casina, http://verify.ag-edu.uk/2026/01/01/nejlepi-kasino-objevte-svt-zabavy-a-vyher/ poskytujГ ЕЎirokГ© moЕѕnosti pro hrГЎДЌe. KaЕѕdГЅ si je schopnГЅ vybrat z mnoЕѕstvГ her. AЕѕ hledГЎte novГ© zГЎЕѕitky, globГЎlnГ platformy jsou nezapomenutelnou volbou.
ignition СЃasino, ignition сasino – Ignition casino offers a thrilling experience for players. By using an exciting array of games, it attracts numerous gamblers. Unearth the world of premium gaming and enjoy fantastic promotions that enhance your gameplay.
Excellent article. Keep writing such kind of info on your blog. Im really impressed by it.
Прошу прощения, что я Вас прерываю, мне тоже хотелось бы высказать своё мнение.
BetonRed Kasyno, BetonRed to miejsce, gdzie można zapoznać się z niesamowite rozrywki. Presents rozmaity zakres slotów, w dodatku ciekawie inne dla entuzjastów. Przystąp dzisiaj i sprawdź wszystko w BetonRed Kasyno.
дайсон выпрямитель как отличить оригинал vypryamitel-dsn-kupit.ru .
выпрямитель дайсон купить в екатеринбурге выпрямитель дайсон купить в екатеринбурге .
буду заказывать второй раз тут) товар понравился) https://gto-avto.ru мда а в итоге болт водичкаСегодня получил свою родненькую
Great post. I used to be checking constantly this weblog and I’m impressed!
Extremely helpful info particularly the ultimate phase :) I
deal with such information a lot. I was seeking this
particular info for a long time. Thank you and good luck.
Outstanding writing, as always.
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to assert
that I get in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way
I will be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement
you access consistently fast.
dyson airstrait купить выпрямитель dyson airstrait купить выпрямитель .
выпрямитель дайсон купить в спб выпрямитель дайсон купить в спб .
Друзья, подскажите, куда лучше играть в 2025? Сам недавно протестировал кучу игровых сайтов — большинство тянут с выплатами. Остановился на тех, где есть лицензия и на карту МИР. Полный список с RTP и бонусами — по ссылке: Мелстрой казино. Кто с чем сталкивался?
Здравствуйте! Хочу предложить проверенный способ выбора казино: обращайте внимание на скорость вывода, а не только на бонусы. Я составил список платформ 2025 года, где есть игры от NetEnt и Pragmatic. Всё по ссылке: онлайн казино. Делитесь впечатлениями!
выпрямитель дайсон airstrait купить vypryamitel-dsn-kupit-1.ru .
Привет! Решил собрать только те казино, где лично получил выплату. Критерии: вывод до 10 минут. Все рабочие ссылки — по адресу: Ретро зеркало. Кто уже тестировал эти площадки?
Всем привет! Уже третий год играю в онлайн казино, и за это время понял главное: выбирайте площадки с быстрыми выплатами. Избегайте тех, где требуют паспорт или тормозят с выводом. Лучшие платформы 2025 с поддержкой ЮMoney собрал здесь: Eldorado Рльдорадо Eldorado Рльдорадо. Кто что может добавить?
Анонимность и конфиденциальность гарантированы в клинике «Частный Медик 24». Мы обеспечиваем полную анонимность и конфиденциальность на всех этапах лечения.
Подробнее – центр наркологической помощи
купить диплом колледжа в магнитогорске купить диплом колледжа в магнитогорске .
I don’t know whether it’s just me or if perhaps everyone else encountering problems with your site. It looks like some of the written text within your content are running off the screen. Can someone else please provide feedback and let me know if this is happening to them too? This could be a issue with my internet browser because I’ve had this happen previously. Many thanks
Hello! I know this is kinda off topic however , I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa? My blog goes over a lot of the same topics as yours and I think we could greatly benefit from each other. If you might be interested feel free to send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Superb blog by the way!
купить выпрямитель dyson оптом vypryamitel-dn-kupit-4.ru .
Выездная наркологическая помощь в Нижнем Новгороде — капельница от запоя с выездом на дом. Мы обеспечиваем быстрое и качественное лечение без необходимости посещения клиники.
Подробнее тут – вывод из запоя на дому цена нижний новгород
I all the time emailed this web site post page to all my associates, since if like to read it afterward my contacts will too.
Анонимность и конфиденциальность гарантированы в клинике «Частный Медик 24». Мы обеспечиваем полную анонимность и конфиденциальность на всех этапах лечения.
Разобраться лучше – наркологическая клиника клиника помощь москва
Всем здравствуйте! Хочу поделиться подборкой онлайн казино, где можно играть с телефона. Важно: прозрачность. Актуальный рейтинг 2025 — здесь: jvspin казино официальный сайт. Пишите, кто с чем сталкивался!
Друзья, подскажите, куда лучше играть в 2025? Сам недавно протестировал кучу платформ — большинство тянут с выплатами. Остановился на тех, где есть прозрачная отдача и вывод за 5 минут. Полный список с RTP и бонусами — по ссылке: clubnika casino. Кто с чем сталкивался?
gw casino login – https://gw-casino-australia.com/gw-casino-login/
Great blog you have here but I was curious if you knew of any user discussion forums that cover the same topics discussed in this article? I’d really love to be a part of group where I can get responses from other experienced individuals that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Kudos!
Ребята, а вы знаете, где сейчас реально получить кэш в онлайн-казино? После десятков проверок остановился на честных клубах. Важно: вывод без комиссии. Актуальный рейтинг с джекпотами и кэшбэком — по ссылке: Мелстрой. Обсуждаем!
Nicely structured article — recommend reading https://bricklaneportal.com/agents/ashlioliva3082/
Всем здравствуйте! Хочу поделиться подборкой игровых площадок, где можно играть с телефона. Важно: высокая отдача. Актуальный рейтинг 2025 — здесь: mellstroy game. Пишите, кто с чем сталкивался!
I’m seriously impressed — this post is next-level!
You always bring clarity to confusing subjects.
Hey! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
Excellent article. Keep writing such kind of info on your site. Im really impressed by your site.
https://video.onbrand.me/creativity-is-looking-for-a-home
Если запой стал серьёзной проблемой, стационар клиники «Детокс» в Сочи поможет выйти из кризиса. Врачи проводят детоксикацию и наблюдают за состоянием пациента.
Углубиться в тему – срочный вывод из запоя сочи