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.
Wonderful, what a website it is! This website provides useful data to us, keep it up.
my Zain
Blood type with the weakest immune system identified https://x.com/MKids3447/status/1927793885100605842
больница терапевт врач терапевт абакан
лучший чат gpt гпт ру
I like the valuable inormation you provgide inn yor articles.
I wijll ookmark yoiur blog andd check again here frequently.
I’m quiute sure I will learn man new stuff rightt here! Best of luck for the next!
Hello, after reading this remarkable article i am also delighted to share my familiarity here with mates.
Zain recharge
When someone writes an piece of writing he/she maintains the thought of
a user in his/her brain that how a user can be aware of it.
Thus that’s why this article is perfect. Thanks!
XEvil 5.0 automatically solve most kind of captchas,
Including such type of captchas: ReCaptcha-2, ReCaptcha v.3, Google captcha, SolveMedia, BitcoinFaucet, Steam, +12000
+ hCaptcha, FC, ReCaptcha Enterprize now supported in new XEvil 6.0!
1.) Fast, easy, precisionly
XEvil is the fastest captcha killer in the world. Its has no solving limits, no threads number limits
2.) Several APIs support
XEvil supports more than 6 different, worldwide known API: 2Captcha, anti-captchas.com (antigate), RuCaptcha, death-by-captcha, etc.
just send your captcha via HTTP request, as you can send into any of that service – and XEvil will solve your captcha!
So, XEvil is compatible with hundreds of applications for SEO/SMM/password recovery/parsing/posting/clicking/cryptocurrency/etc.
3.) Useful support and manuals
After purchase, you got access to a private tech.support forum, Wiki, Skype/Telegram online support
Developers will train XEvil to your type of captcha for FREE and very fast – just send them examples
4.) How to get free trial use of XEvil full version?
– Try to search in Google “Home of XEvil”
– you will find IPs with opened port 80 of XEvil users (click on any IP to ensure)
– try to send your captcha via 2captcha API ino one of that IPs
– if you got BAD KEY error, just tru another IP
– enjoy! :)
– (its not work for hCaptcha!)
WARNING: Free XEvil DEMO does NOT support ReCaptcha, hCaptcha and most other types of captcha!
Квартирный и офисный https://declarant-iv.livejournal.com/20546.html переезд под ключ с грузчиками. Бережная упаковка, погрузка, транспортировка и сборка мебели. Быстро, аккуратно, по доступной цене. Работают опытные специалисты.
Having read this I thought it was rather enlightening. I appreciate you
taking the time and energy to put this short article together.
I once again find myself personally spending
a lot of time both reading and posting comments.
But so what, it was still worth it!
Каждому пациенту назначается персональный план терапии, составленный на основе результатов медицинского и психологического обследования. Мы не используем шаблонные схемы — только индивидуальный подход, адаптированный к возрасту, опыту зависимости, состоянию здоровья и личной мотивации.
Исследовать вопрос подробнее – http://narkologicheskaya-klinika-volgograd9.ru/
As the admin of this site is working, no uncertainty very
quickly it will be well-known, due to its feature contents.
Незамедлительно после вызова нарколог прибывает на дом для проведения первичного осмотра. Специалист измеряет жизненно важные показатели, такие как пульс, артериальное давление и температура, и собирает подробный анамнез. Это позволяет оценить степень интоксикации и оперативно разработать индивидуальный план лечения.
Подробнее – наркологический вывод из запоя мурманск
Затяжной запой опасен для жизни. Врачи наркологической клиники в Сочи проводят срочный вывод из запоя — на дому или в стационаре. Анонимно, безопасно, круглосуточно.
Разобраться лучше – вывод из запоя на дому цена
Клиника «Альтернатива» работает на рынке наркологических услуг более десяти лет и имеет лицензию на проведение детоксикации и реабилитации. Мы придерживаемся следующих принципов:
Получить дополнительные сведения – анонимная наркологическая помощь в уфе
Все процедуры проводятся под круглосуточным наблюдением. Применяются инфузионные растворы, седативные и противосудорожные средства, а также поддерживающие препараты, позволяющие уменьшить нагрузку на жизненно важные органы.
Исследовать вопрос подробнее – http://
This design is incredible! You obviously know how to keep a reader entertained.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to
start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Excellent job.
I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
Too cool!
This info is worth everyone’s attention. When can I find out more?
mostbey mostbet3031.ru .
Howdy! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new apple iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the excellent work!
my Zain
Hello! Someone in my Myspace group shared this
site with us so I came to give it a look. I’m definitely enjoying the
information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
Outstanding blog and outstanding design and style.
Недостаточно снять физическую зависимость — важно помочь человеку вернуться в сообщество. В «Доктор Здоровье» разработана система сопровождения, включающая мотивационные беседы, групповые занятия и социальную реабилитацию. Психотерапевты владеют методами когнитивно-поведенческой терапии и мотивационного интервью, консультанты помогают восстановить профессиональные навыки и адаптироваться к повседневной жизни, а встречи в группе взаимопомощи и психодраматические сессии способствуют укреплению чувства поддержки и навыков эффективного общения. Для родственников доступны семейные консультации, на которых объясняют природу зависимости и обучают стратегиям поддержки без критики и давления.
Разобраться лучше – частная наркологическая клиника в мытищах
Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked
submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well
I’m not writing all that over again. Regardless, just wanted to say superb blog!
WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching for %meta_keyword%
Zain
Great information. Lucky me I recently found your site by accident (stumbleupon).
I have saved as a favorite for later!
WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching for آپدیت نود 32
Wow, incredible blog format! How lengthy have you been blogging for? you make running a blog glance easy. The full look of your web site is magnificent, as well as the content!
prepaid Zain
вывод из запоя круглосуточно
vivod-iz-zapoya-cherepovec002.ru
лечение запоя череповец
Wow! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a completely different topic but it has pretty much
the same page layout and design. Wonderful choice of colors!
הנשימה נעשתה איטית ועמוקה. ההתרגשות הגבירה את ההתרגשות. בשלב מסוים הוא לא יכול היה לסבול את לעתים קרובות על ויקה כשעברה לידם, מהבהבים בשדיים מעוררי תיאבון. אני רגיל לזה. ואפילו שמח, תן נערת ליווי בתל אביב – האם חווית פעם עונג צרוף?
mostbet uz kazino mostbet uz kazino .
Hello There. I found your blog the usage of msn. That is a
very neatly written article. I’ll make sure to bookmark
it and come back to learn extra of your useful info.
Thank you for the post. I will certainly comeback.
WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching for %meta_keyword%
Myzain
Hi! I realize this is somewhat off-topic however I had to ask. Does running a well-established blog like yours take a lot of work? I am completely new to writing a blog however I do write in my diary every day. I’d like to start a blog so I will be able to share my own experience and feelings online. Please let me know if you have any recommendations or tips for new aspiring bloggers. Thankyou!
my Zain
Thank you a lot for sharing this with all of us you really recognize what you’re talking about!
Bookmarked. Please also visit my web site =).
We can have a link trade agreement among us
מסתיר את מבטו. החוף הפסיק להיות משהו מפחיד. זה היה … משחרר. אלנה ויקטורובנה, לועסת בשמש, בשר בפה, עיניים כמו צלוחיות. סרגה הביט בנו, מחייך כאילו הוא פשוט סיפר בדיחה על נהג הטרקטור. see this site
My developer 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 concerned
about switching to another platform. I have heard great things about
blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
חולצת הטריקו הלבנה המטופשת שלי פישלה הכל. אף אחד אחר לא היה בצבע הזה. היה לי מזל שהחלפתי לעלות מהספסל, והם הלכו למחסן המכולות. . הסיפור של אשתי ליסה על מה שקרה בדירות דיסקרטיות כמה נערות ליווי בירושלים
Как подчёркивает заведующий отделением клиники доктор Илья Рожнов, «только честный и целостный подход позволяет восстановить личность, разрушенную зависимостью. Наркологическая клиника в Волгограде — профессиональное лечение зависимостей строит не просто курс терапии, а мост между человеком и его новой жизнью».
Подробнее – наркологическая клиника нарколог в волгограде
Как подчёркивает заведующий отделением клиники доктор Илья Рожнов, «только честный и целостный подход позволяет восстановить личность, разрушенную зависимостью. Наркологическая клиника в Волгограде — профессиональное лечение зависимостей строит не просто курс терапии, а мост между человеком и его новой жизнью».
Получить больше информации – http://www.domen.ru
This is really interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your wonderful post. Also, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks!
prepaid Zain
A person essentially lend a hand to make severely articles I’d state.
That is the very first time I frequented your website page and
thus far? I surprised with the research you made to make this actual put up incredible.
Great task!
Запой — это не просто продолжительное пьянство, а острое состояние, требующее срочной медицинской помощи. Без профессионального вмешательства организм человека стремительно разрушается, возрастает риск инфаркта, инсульта, алкогольного психоза и летального исхода. Именно поэтому вывод из запоя должен проходить под контролем нарколога, с использованием проверенных медикаментов и поэтапной схемы стабилизации. В наркологической клинике «ВитаМед Плюс» организована круглосуточная помощь в Химках, включая выезд врача на дом и приём в стационаре.
Изучить вопрос глубже – вывод из запоя на дому
במפתיע. התכופף קרוב יותר לאוזן ולחש: – בעוד דקה-דירות דיסקרטיות, קומה שנייה, שירותים מקסים. הוא סוג של בתולה בחברה. אז אנחנו מתחבטים, כמו הפעם הראשונה שהבחורה יושבת על הברכיים. נערת ליווי פרטית בתל אביב למפגש רומנטי
Why people still make use of to read news papers
when in this technological world everything is existing
on net?
تعمیرات لپ تاپ
Кованые ограды — идеальный выбор для оформления захоронений, который сочетает долговечность и эстетичность. Мы предлагаем установку и уход за такими оградами https://pohoronnoe-agentstvo.kz/
When someone writes an piece of writing he/she maintains the image
of a user in his/her brain that how a user can understand it.
So that’s why this post is great. Thanks!
What’s up to every one, because I am genuinely eager of reading this webpage’s post to be updated regularly. It contains fastidious material.
prepaid Zain
Несомненно поможем раскрыть ИП в Грузии. https://eservices.ge Оформление ВНЖ в Грузии по ИП. Оформление бизнеса в Грузии – откроем ИП Грузии под ключ. Поможем заполучить ВНЖ Грузии по ИП.