
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.
take a look at the site here [url=https://jaxxwallet-web.org/]jaxx liberty wallet[/url]
Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Safari. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The design look great though! Hope you get the problem resolved soon. Cheers
Hi there! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My site looks weird when viewing from my iphone4. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem. If you have any recommendations, please share. Thanks!
Thanks to my father who shared with me about this weblog, this website is really amazing.
Read Full Article
russian traditional clothing
my blog
russian traditional clothing
Can I just say what a comfort to find somebody who actually knows what they’re talking about on the web. You actually realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More and more people have to look at this and understand this side of your story. I can’t believe you aren’t more popular because you certainly have the gift.
Resources
https://russian-traditional-clothes.com/
I was recommended this blog by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my trouble. You are wonderful! Thanks!
dig this
russian traditional clothing
Ищете каталог образования в России? Посетите https://kedu.ru/ – у нас – все учебные заведения, рейтинги и отзывы об образовательных центрах и курсах. Наша информация позволит вам выбрать лучшее обучение по различным направлениям, а также узнать обо всех действующих акциях. В одном месте собраны учебные программы, курсы, семинары и вебинары от лучших учебных заведений и частных преподавателей в России.
seo базовый курc kursy-seo-4.ru .
netmosaic.click – Mobile version looks perfect; no glitches, fast scrolling, crisp text.
технология усиления проема usilenie-proemov10.ru .
Такой подход позволяет добиться устойчивого эффекта и минимизировать риск возврата к зависимому поведению.
Получить больше информации – наркологическая клиника нарколог в волгограде
гидроизоляция цена москва гидроизоляция цена москва .
this website
russian traditional clothing
For an unforgettable experience, downloadlion king appand plunge into the world of adventure!
Continuous updates keep the app engaging and up to date.
more info here
russian traditional clothing
oddschecker – https://oddschecker-mx.com
Howdy! This blog post couldn’t be written any better! Looking through this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept preaching about this. I will send this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a great read. I appreciate you for sharing!
У меня в городе например СПСР – это самая безпалевная курьерка, а с ЕМС постоянно принимают.Так что кому как https://woomen-moda.ru всё ровно бро делаетпроверенный магазин
курсы по seo курсы по seo .
Asking questions are genuinely pleasant thing if you are not understanding anything fully, however this piece of writing provides pleasant understanding even.
усиление проема дверного усиление проема дверного .
https://wordpress.lehigh.edu/coc222/2020/12/03/blog-post-12_fall-2020/comment-page-53/#comment-142871
webpage
https://russian-traditional-clothes.com/
After going over a handful of the blog posts on your web site, I truly like your technique of blogging. I saved it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back in the near future. Please visit my website too and tell me how you feel.
обучение продвижению сайтов обучение продвижению сайтов .
奇思妙探高清完整官方版,海外华人可免费观看最新热播剧集。
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 – vyvod-iz-zapoya-na-domu-v-ramenskom
spin bet – https://spin-bet-mx.com
Thank you a bunch for sharing this with all people you actually realize what you’re speaking approximately! Bookmarked. Kindly additionally discuss with my web site =). We could have a link change agreement among us
seo курсы kursy-seo-2.ru .
Hello everyone, it’s my first visit at this web site, and post is genuinely fruitful for me, keep up posting such posts.
Prune potato talk tooth. At home dental bleaching. Joshua tree national park. Movies now streaming. Angela chao. Forbes health tdee calculator. Biggest companies united states.
Trump news crypto. Goop kitchen. Top richest man in the world. Beyonce net worth. High speed internet plans. Mushroom complex benefits. Agenda 47. Visa infinite card. https://telegra.ph/Citata-o-lyubvi—258-citat-Citaty-v-tg—6-citat-Citaty-pro-zhizn—636-citat-01-20
Terminal list season 2 release date. Connections 9/23/25. The man taylor swift article. Scott borchetta. Fortnite live event. Late night show vip nyt. Mysticeti whale. Jamie dimon net worth. Price ripple. Benefits of email marketing. Pixel 9 pro fold. Sinners.
Боже мой! Ну и ну!
1win официальный сайт, https://1win-9bmx3.buzz предлагает пользователям обширный выбор игр. Платформа примечательна простым интерфейсом, что обеспечивает приятный опыт. Служба поддержки работает недавно, готовая помочь на любые вопросы.
https://camp-fire.jp/profile/1xbet2best2026
webnexus.click – Content reads clearly, helpful examples made concepts easy to grasp.
When someone writes an article he/she maintains the plan of a user in his/her mind that how a user can be aware of it. Thus that’s why this piece of writing is outstdanding. Thanks!
My partner and I stumbled over here from a different web page and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you. Look forward to looking over your web page again.
Trailer hitch installation near me. Jane austen books. Burgos spain. Mini hints today. Online workout programs.
Car transport agencies. Cisco share price. Facebook login issue. River libertadores. How much is aoc worth. https://telegra.ph/Krasivyj-status—648-citat-Citaty-pro-schaste—5935-citat-Krutye-frazy—8-citat-01-21
Whac a mole croquet xylophone. Agentic browser news. Ai software companies. Nowadays drink. Be quiet nyt. Trump organization. Zimbabwe currency to usd. Best business universities in the united states. Frase. Today’s wordle. What channel is bet awards on. Digital family calendar. Best home warranty company. Paul tudor jones.
Weighted heated blanket. Ticket knicks new york. John pritzker. Paul newman rolex daytona. Strong women. How to lose 10 pounds in a month.
Peter thiel. Biggest companies united states. Today’s wordle forbes. Richest country worldwide. Top universities forbes. Bring me to evanescence. https://telegra.ph/Krasivye-citaty-pro-zhizn—114-citat-Silnye-citaty—984-citat-01-21
Blaze star. Highest net worth in the world. Cailee spaeny. Nyt connections hints march 11. Charles ergen. Celica 2025. Donald newhouse. DueГ±o de amazon. When does tracker season 3 start. Stray kids tour 2025. House if david.
ремонт гидроизоляции фундаментов и стен подвалов gidroizolyacziya-czena9.ru .
I personally find that i’ve been active for half a year, mostly for checking analytics, and it’s always low fees.
The swapping tokens tools are quick deposits and fast transactions. I moved funds across chains without a problem.
I’ve been exploring for a little for any high quality articles or weblog posts in this sort of house . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this site. Reading this info So i’m satisfied to express that I’ve an incredibly excellent uncanny feeling I found out just what I needed. I such a lot unquestionably will make sure to do not forget this site and give it a look on a continuing basis.
внутренняя гидроизоляция подвала внутренняя гидроизоляция подвала .
вода в подвале gidroizolyacziya-podvala-iznutri-czena9.ru .
Hi there excellent blog! Does running a blog like this take a great deal of work? I have no understanding of computer programming but I had been hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyway, if you have any ideas or tips for new blog owners please share. I understand this is off topic however I simply needed to ask. Many thanks!