
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.
перейти на сайт водка бет
BMW electric vehicles focus on luxury, sporty handling, and premium interiors. Models like the i4, iX, and i7 combine performance with cutting-edge digital features https://ev.motorwatt.com/ev-manufacturers/
Приветствую всех на этом форуме!
Мы рады вам представить площадку Бласкспрут.
https://bs-best.art
bs2best, bs2site2, black sprut pw, black sprut darknet, blacksprut com black sprut
I have been surfing online more than 3 hours lately, but I by no means discovered any attention-grabbing article like yours. It’s beautiful worth sufficient for me. In my opinion, if all website owners and bloggers made excellent content material as you probably did, the internet will probably be much more helpful than ever before.
This is really interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post. Also, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks!
I like the valuable information you provide in your articles. I’ll bookmark your weblog and check again here regularly. I’m quite certain I will learn lots of new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!
Wow! Finally I got a blog from where I know how to in fact obtain helpful information concerning my study and knowledge.
What’s Going down i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I have found It absolutely helpful and it has
aided me out loads. I am hoping to contribute & help different users like its helped me.
Good job.
boostsignal.click – Pages loaded fast, images appeared sharp, and formatting stayed consistent.
boostsignal.click – Color palette felt calming, nothing distracting, just focused, thoughtful design.
https://myteana.ru/forums/index.php?autocom=gallery&req=si&img=8352
Matbet giris linki laz?msa dogru yerdesiniz. H?zl? icin t?kla: https://matbet.jp.net/# Canl? maclar bu sitede. Gencler, Matbet son linki belli oldu.
Производим торговую мебель https://woodmarket-for-business.ru для розничного бизнеса и сетевых магазинов. Функциональные конструкции, современный дизайн, точные размеры и полный цикл работ — от проекта до готового решения.
https://whiplash-reflex.online/promo-code-for-1xbet-registration-2026-1xbig2026-bonus-e130/
hello there and thank you for your information – I have certainly picked up anything new from right here. I did however expertise a few technical points using this website, since I experienced to reload the website many times previous to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your web host is OK? Not that I am complaining, but slow loading instances times will sometimes affect your placement in google and can damage your high quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and can look out for a lot more of your respective interesting content. Make sure you update this again soon.
http://gzew.phorum.pl/viewtopic.php?p=597898#597898
Казанскому бизнесу будет интересен этот материал о профессиональном SEO-продвижении от компании Zilanty: https://www.tehno-bum.ru/stati/zilanty-seo-prodvizhenie-sajtov-v-kazani/
trafficdock.click – Bookmarked this immediately, planning to revisit for updates and inspiration.
After looking over a number of the articles on your blog, I truly like your technique of writing a blog. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back in the near future. Please check out my website as well and let me know what you think.
奥美迦奥特曼高清完整版,海外华人可免费观看最新热播剧集。
ремонт подвала в частном доме ремонт подвала в частном доме .
boostsignal.click – Appreciate the typography choices; comfortable spacing improved my reading experience.
trafficdock.click – Overall, professional vibe here; trustworthy, polished, and pleasantly minimal throughout.
boostsignal.click – Pages loaded fast, images appeared sharp, and formatting stayed consistent.
boostsignal.click – Bookmarked this immediately, planning to revisit for updates and inspiration.
I always emailed this webpage post page to all my associates, since if like to read it afterward my contacts will too.
Ребята, а вы знаете, где сейчас реально заработать в онлайн-казино? После десятков проверок остановился на лицензированных площадках. Важно: возможность игры с телефона. Актуальный рейтинг с джекпотами и кэшбэком — по ссылке: болливуд казино. Обсуждаем!
Компания «Техносвязь» — профильное производство печатных плат в Екатеринбурге, работающее свыше двух десятилетий. Компания предлагает полный цикл услуг: от проектирования до серийного выпуска электронных устройств, включая автоматический и ручной монтаж, изготовление многослойных плат на различных материалах. Подробнее на https://www.techno-svyaz.ru/ Современное оборудование, использование качественных материалов от мировых лидеров и квалифицированный персонал гарантируют минимальные сроки изготовления при высоком качестве продукции для любых объемов заказов.
Heya just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren’t loading properly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different browsers and both show the same results.
Заказать диплом университета по выгодной стоимости возможно, обращаясь к надежной специализированной компании: http://laver.listbb.ru/posting.php?mode=post&f=3&sid=f92e63cded80ea5c43bff409458690f2/ – laver.listbb.ru/posting.php?mode=post&f=3&sid=f92e63cded80ea5c43bff409458690f2
Thanks for another wonderful article. Where else may just anyone get that type of info in such an ideal manner of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I’m at the look for such info.
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz respond as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. appreciate it
Привет! Если вы ищете клуб с частыми выплатами — не гонитесь за громкими названиями. Лучше смотрите лицензию. Мой проверенный список — тут: Sykaaa. Кто что добавит?
так что бро не стоит беспокоиться по поводу порядочности этого магазина, они отправляют достаточно быстро и конспирация хорошая и качество на высоте!))) купить кокаин, мефедрон, бошки, марихуану Вы очень давно работаете,стабильная деятельность.Я брал норм не один раз,но в последнее время было пару недовесов,а 35 прислали какого то качества слабого,25ый был куда лучше,после этого перестал заказывать.
seo курсы seo курсы .
boostsignal.click – Appreciate the typography choices; comfortable spacing improved my reading experience.
Оборудование для отопления https://thermostock.ru и водоснабжения: котлы, циркуляционные насосы, радиаторы, мембранные баки и комплектующие от ведущих производителей. Что вы получаете: сертифицированные товары, прозрачные цены, оперативную обработку заказа. Создайте комфортный микроклимат в доме — выбирайте профессионалов!
pixelroute.click – Content reads clearly, helpful examples made concepts easy to grasp.
This website was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me. Thanks!
https://kuban.forum24.ru/?1-13-0-00004918-000-0-0-1767611868
Всем здравия! Недавно искал, где реально можно вывести деньги в онлайн казино. Оказалось, что многое зависит от политики платформы. Проверяйте статистику выплат, читайте комментарии. Составил актуальный рейтинг на 2025 год с прямыми ссылками: JVSpin. Интересно, кто из вас уже играл здесь?
pixelroute.click – Navigation felt smooth, found everything quickly without any confusing steps.
Hello, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Firefox, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, wonderful blog!
https://www.40billion.com/profile/221667180
инъекционная гидроизоляция цена инъекционная гидроизоляция цена .
Профоборудование для общепита недорого, переходите по ссылке <a href=
https://msk.yp.ru/detail/id/kobor_2925554/
Hello! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!
rankpulse.click – Loved the layout today; clean, simple, and genuinely user-friendly overall.
Нужен памятник? заказать памятник в уфе — гранитные и мраморные изделия. Индивидуальные проекты, точная обработка камня, оформление и монтаж. Надёжное качество и внимательное отношение к деталям.
Вы сгораете, пока другие богатеют. Ваша жизнь — ресурс в чужих руках. Вы — массовка в собственном сценарии.
https://generator-human-design-tut.g-u.su
-человек генератор дизайн человека;
-тип личности генератор это;
-тип генератор в дизайне человека;
-генератор тип личности;
-тип личности генератор;
-хьюман дизайн генератор;