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.
Для тех, кто в теме, будет очень актуально:
Особенно понравился материал про obender.ru.
Ссылка ниже:
https://obender.ru
Какие еще есть варианты?
ร้านแลกเงินคริปโต กรุงเทพ
https://bio.site/nudmohiiduh
The fast confirmation times make Frax Swap stand out.
Після дрочки на різних платформ для перегляду порно я зрозумів, що sex-shop.ua — це улюбленець багатьох дрочерів.
Відвідай офіційний порно сайт sex-shop.ua за наступним лінком i наяривай шершавого:
порно мама девушки
в барнауле купить диплом http://www.arus-diplom7.ru/ .
ремонт кофемашин delonghi в москве ремонт кофемашин саеко
https://hub.docker.com/u/janieiklime
Simply wish to say your article is as surprising. The clearness in your post is simply spectacular and i can assume you’re an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please carry on the gratifying work.
Форум о покере
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement
account it. Look advanced to far added agreeable from you!
However, how could we communicate?
ремонт швейных машин brother ремонт швейных машин чайка
https://www.brownbook.net/business/54154003/сен-тропе-амфетамин-кокаин-экстази/
Hello i am kavin, its my first time to commenting anyplace, when i read this piece of writing i thought i could also create comment due to this brilliant piece of writing.
Форум о покере для новичков, любителей и профессионалов
купить аттестат в ярославле купить аттестат в ярославле .
저희는 사이트 기술 진단부터 키워드 분석, 콘텐츠 최적화, 내부 링크 구조 개선 및 백링크 구축까지 종합적인 SEO 솔루션을 제공합니다.
диплом медицинский купить https://arus-diplom7.ru/ .
volnovaxave.ru
maorou_k8m maorou_k8m
Hi there i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anyplace, when i read this post i thought i could also make comment due to this brilliant article.
Покер онлайн
crypto exchange lisbon with low fees
Hey there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading your posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same topics? Thanks for your time!
Форум о покере
E2bet là nhà cái uy tín hàng đầu Châu Á với nhiều sản phẩm hấp dẫn như: Cá
cược thể thao, đá gà, casino,… Bạn có thể đăng ký tài khoản dễ dàng
và nhanh chóng,
Stream live Cricket and Football events online. Stay updated with upcoming
matches, highlights, and schedules. Join the excitement with E2BET today!
gorlovkarel.ru
How to avoid crypto scams in Norway
gorlovkaler.ru
официальный сайт конторы 1win официальный сайт конторы 1win
1с бухгалтерия в облаке база 1с в облаке
ремонт швейных машин haier ремонт швейных машин dexp
Can you do a follow-up on how you handle taxes on these earnings? That’s the part I’m worried about.
Sell crypto for cash Rome
Hi! I know this is kinda off topic however I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa? My website covers a lot of the same subjects as yours and I feel we could greatly benefit from each other. If you happen to be interested feel free to send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Awesome blog by the way!
https://telegra.ph/Sklo-fari-%D1%96-stil%D1%96zac%D1%96ya-p%D1%96d-retro-praktichn%D1%96st-chi-%D1%96m%D1%96dzh-08-12
mariupolol.ru
I ran into this page accidentally, surprisingly, this is a amazing
blog :-). The site owner has carried out a superb job of putting it together, the
info here is really insightful. You just secured yourself
a guarenteed reader.
How to avoid crypto scams in Sweden
экстренный вывод из запоя
vivod-iz-zapoya-krasnodar008.ru
вывод из запоя
Sell USDT in Oslo
enakievoler.ru
https://t.me/s/Official_1win_kanal?before=5817
Sell Tether Belgrade
https://t.me/s/Official_1win_kanal?before=5856
This paragraph provides clear idea designed for the new visitors of
blogging, that truly how to do blogging and site-building.
https://t.me/s/Official_1win_kanal?before=626
https://t.me/s/Official_1win_kanal?before=6501
https://t.me/s/Official_1win_kanal?before=3085
Після дрочки на різних сайтов с парнушкой я зрозумів, що sex-shop.ua — це кращий вибір для перегляду гейського порно.
Оціни сам головну порно сторінку sex-shop.ua за посиланням нижче для дрочки i смачно подрочи:
порно в жопу
https://t.me/s/Official_1win_kanal?before=5643
makeevkatop.ru
https://t.me/s/Official_1win_kanal?before=2689
doxycycline boots pharmacy: MediDirect USA – caremark specialty pharmacy