
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.
Мне понравилась глубина исследования, представленная в статье.
промокод отелло отели промокод отелло отели .
viralshift.click – Bookmarked this immediately, planning to revisit for updates and inspiration.
leadcircuit.click – Content reads clearly, helpful examples made concepts easy to grasp.
купить кокаин, мефедрон, бошки, марихуану Магаз ровный, сам лично несколько раз здесь заказывал и все доходило вовремя и целостно!:) Наврятли он решится на такое..второй раз заказываю, класнный продукт пришел что 250 что 307 , качество отменное , доставка буквально 3 суток брал 500 в регион, ранее с этим магазином не работал.. поэтому крайне волновался. Как оказалось зря. Все в лучшем виде ! спасибо !
Because the admin of this site is working, no uncertainty very quickly it will be famous, due to its quality contents.
1win apk 1win apk
Appreciate this post. Let me try it out.
Hi there i am kavin, its my first time to commenting anyplace, when i read this article i thought i could also create comment due to this brilliant piece of writing.
Hello, i think that i saw you visited my weblog so i came to “return the favor”.I am attempting to find things to enhance my web site!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!
leadcircuit.click – Navigation felt smooth, found everything quickly without any confusing steps.
мостбет сомонаи расмӣ мостбет сомонаи расмӣ
viralshift.click – Mobile version looks perfect; no glitches, fast scrolling, crisp text.
Hi there just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different web browsers and both show the same outcome.
https://share.google/dboZEGJtqlcO9fTF4
http://saratovturizm.ru/interesting/pages/mostbet_promokod.html
Цветочный салон в Санкт-Петербурге работает с профессиональными флористами и гарантирует свежесть каждого букета. В ассортименте розы, пионы, хризантемы, экзотические растения и авторские композиции для свадеб, юбилеев, деловых встреч. Оформить заказ можно на https://flowersspb.com/ — доставка осуществляется в течение 2-3 часов по указанному адресу. Заказчикам предлагается оплата через карту или кэш, комплимент в виде открытки и экспертная консультация флориста.
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I have truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!
seobeacon.click – Appreciate the typography choices; comfortable spacing improved my reading experience.
статьи об авто статьи об авто .
leadcircuit.click – Found practical insights today; sharing this article with colleagues later.
viralshift.click – Content reads clearly, helpful examples made concepts easy to grasp.
Crypto Real Money Online Casino Australia Quiet Big Wins
viralshift.click – Found practical insights today; sharing this article with colleagues later.
My coder is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP.
I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.
But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on a number of websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform.
I have heard good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress content into it?
Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated!
seobeacon.click – Pages loaded fast, images appeared sharp, and formatting stayed consistent.
pop over to this site https://binunlock.com/tuning-files/categories/hino.21/
закрытые школы в россии shkola-onlajn-21.ru .
leadcircuit.click – Navigation felt smooth, found everything quickly without any confusing steps.
leadcircuit.click – Pages loaded fast, images appeared sharp, and formatting stayed consistent.
viralshift.click – Bookmarked this immediately, planning to revisit for updates and inspiration.
xNudes is an AI tool that changes the clothes in a photo to show a nude or altered version of the body. You just need to upload an image, and the tool will create a realistic, edited version within seconds. The tool works by letting you pick details like age, body type, and skin tone to match your preferences. It gives you control over the image look, making the experience more personal.
You can also adjust the editing area by highlighting the part of the image you want to change. If the first result doesn’t look right, you can try again and improve it until you get the look you want. The site is fast, easy to use, and doesn’t need any special editing skills.
https://xnudes.app/
viralshift.click – Color palette felt calming, nothing distracting, just focused, thoughtful design.
viralshift.click – Content reads clearly, helpful examples made concepts easy to grasp.
you could try these out Nansen
скидки на круизы [url=https://tury-i-puteshestviya-promokody-i-skidki-3.ru/]tury-i-puteshestviya-promokody-i-skidki-3.ru[/url] .
This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger.
I have joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your magnificent post.
Also, I’ve shared your website in my social networks!
leadcircuit.click – Bookmarked this immediately, planning to revisit for updates and inspiration.
leadcircuit.click – Color palette felt calming, nothing distracting, just focused, thoughtful design.
leadcircuit.click – Navigation felt smooth, found everything quickly without any confusing steps.
seobeacon.click – Pages loaded fast, images appeared sharp, and formatting stayed consistent.
find here https://hlp0.cloud/
Hi there! I simply wish to give you a huge thumbs up for the
great info you have got right here on this post.
I will be returning to your website for more soon.
discover this info here https://cakepad.digital
viralshift.click – Bookmarked this immediately, planning to revisit for updates and inspiration.
see here now https://hyperliquid-wiki.cv
leadcircuit.click – Loved the layout today; clean, simple, and genuinely user-friendly overall.
This is the right web site for everyone who wishes to understand this topic. You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I really would want to…HaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a topic which has been discussed for ages. Great stuff, just great!
https://share.google/EWbdLHeST0KlToYmX
click this link now https://daodao.cfd/
netamplify.click – Overall, professional vibe here; trustworthy, polished, and pleasantly minimal throughout.
seobeacon.click – Loved the layout today; clean, simple, and genuinely user-friendly overall.