
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.
Главная капча
https://www.upload.ee/files/18996228/1xBet_Promo_Code_Somalia__1X200KING___Bonus__130.pdf.html
Ищу Кракен зеркало, которое реально работает, поделитесь, пожалуйста.
кракен маркет
нажмите здесь войти
Статья содержит анализ преимуществ и недостатков разных решений проблемы, помогая читателю принять информированное решение.
This is a topic that’s near to my heart… Best wishes! Where are your contact details though?
Link exchange is nothing else but it is only placing the other person’s blog link on your
page at proper place and other person will also do same in favor
of you.
Hi there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.
Hi there it’s me, I am also visiting this web page on a regular basis, this website is truly good and the users are in fact sharing pleasant thoughts.
how effectively you communicate your ideas, and this piece genuinely
I think this is one of the most vital info for me. And i’m glad reading your article. But should remark on some general things, The web site style is ideal, the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers
веб-сайте krab4.at
Формат
Выяснить больше – chastnaya-narkologicheskaya-klinika
Как распознать легальный центр:
Ознакомиться с деталями – лечение наркомании наркология
Потеряли годы на ненужные проекты? Расчет покажет ваш путь.
https://bit.ly/generator-human-design-live
-дизайн человека генератор;
-дизайн человека генератор описание;
-тип личности генератор это;
-тип личности генератор;
-человек генератор дизайн человека;
-дизайн человека генератор кто это;
-тип генератор в дизайне человека;
С человеком приятно иметь дело. Склонен на компромиссы ;) купить кокаин, мефедрон, бошки, марихуану слов нет.Вы ребята давно шум должны поднять что такая херня а то молчите по две недели!!!!я бы так хрен зарядил.А я почитал типа все ровно пишут и отдал кровные 22т.рзабьется, такое бывает у них.
Hi my friend! I wish to say that this post is awesome, great written and include almost all important infos. I’d like to peer more posts like this .
здесь войти
hello!,I really like your writing very a lot! percentage we be in contact extra about your post on AOL? I require an expert in this space to solve my problem. May be that is you! Looking forward to look you.
1. Приём звонка и уточнение состояния пациента. 2. Передача данных врачу и подготовка набора лекарств. 3. Выезд с уведомлением пациента о времени прибытия. 4. Оказание первой медицинской помощи и начало инфузионной терапии.
Разобраться лучше – наркологическая клиника цены архангельск
Comment 181: This blog post is truly outstanding and provides such a
Хватит инвестировать свой ресурс в мусор. Ваш мотор заведен для чужой поездки.
https://bit.ly/generator-human-design-live
-генератор по дизайну человека;
-дизайн человека генератор описание;
-тип генератор в дизайне человека;
-тип личности генератор это;
-человек генератор кто это;
Herkese selam, bu site kullanıcıları adına önemli bir duyuru paylaşıyorum. Malum site giriş linkini yine değiştirdi. Erişim sorunu varsa panik yapmayın. Güncel Vaycasino giriş linki artık aşağıdadır: Giriş Yap Bu link üzerinden vpn kullanmadan hesabınıza girebilirsiniz. Lisanslı bahis keyfi sürdürmek için Vaycasino tercih edebilirsiniz. Tüm forum üyelerine bol kazançlar dilerim.
Can you tell us more about this? I’d love to find
out more details.
ремонт бетонных конструкций железобетонных remont-betonnykh-konstrukczij-usilenie4.ru .
страница сайт vodka bet
Hello! I simply would like to offer you a huge thumbs up for the excellent information you have got right here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.
такой капча
https://dp5.boards.net/thread/1352/promo-1xbet-canada-1xlux777-bonus
Кракен даркнет маркет опять лежит, может у кого есть свежее зеркало?
kraken login
Кто знает, как зайти на Кракен даркнет маркет без риска нарваться на мошенников?
kraken ссылка
Как набрать подписчиков в ТГ канал – Залог успеха кроется в использовании 20 лучших сервисов 2026 года https://vc.ru/2280828
It’s enormous that you are getting ideas from this piece of writing as well as from our argument made here.
Тело болит от чужих задач? Выжаты как лимон ради чужих идей. Вы — батарейка для чужих амбиций.
https://dzen.ru/a/aXHyZKIqwmcfjrhy
-человек генератор кто это;
-генератор тип личности дизайн человека;
-тип личности генератор;
-дизайн человека генератор;
-хьюман дизайн генератор;
-тип генератор в дизайне человека;
страница капча
гидроизоляция инъектированием гидроизоляция инъектированием .
how effectively you communicate your ideas, and this piece genuinely
веб-сайте vodka bet
Что включает на практике
Выяснить больше – https://narkologicheskaya-klinika-korolyov0.ru/narkologicheskaya-klinika-na-dom-v-korolyove
You need to be a part of a contest for one of the finest blogs on the net.
I’m going to highly recommend this blog!
содержание зеркало водкабет
I know this web page provides quality depending posts and other information, is there any other site which offers such data in quality?
подробнее капча
инъекционная гидроизоляция промышленный объект inekczionnaya-gidroizolyacziya-fundamenta.ru .
Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is important and everything. But think about if you added some great pictures or videos to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and videos, this site could definitely be one of the best in its niche. Excellent blog!
Hey there! Quick question that’s completely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My blog looks weird when viewing from my iphone. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to resolve this issue. If you have any recommendations, please share. Cheers!
Awesome blog! Do you have any tips and hints for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any tips? Appreciate it!
Хватит инвестировать свой ресурс в мусор. Ваш мотор заведен для чужой поездки.
https://dzen.ru/a/aXHyZKIqwmcfjrhy
-генератор тип личности дизайн;
-тип личности генератор дизайн;
-тип личности генератор дизайн человека;
-генератор это дизайн человека;
-генераторы дизайн человека;
Прежде чем показывать варианты, зафиксируем логику: интенсивность наблюдения должна соответствовать рискам и переносимости терапии. Таблица ниже помогает быстро сопоставить ситуацию и формат; окончательное решение принимает врач после очного осмотра и оценки реакции на первые вмешательства.
Подробнее – narkologicheskaya-klinika-narkolog
Hey there! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with us so I came to give it a look. I’m definitely loving the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Terrific blog and amazing design and style.