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.
отели анапы с бассейном с подогревом
I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest
but your blogs really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark
your site to come back later. All the best
напольные горшки для цветов купить интернет магазин напольные горшки для цветов купить интернет магазин .
https://github.com/msrds/Microsoft-Remote-Desktop
Приобрести кокаин, мефедрон, гашиш, бошки, альфа-пвп
аттестат купить 11 кл аттестат купить 11 кл .
Green Glucose sounds like an interesting natural option for supporting healthy
blood sugar levels. I like that it uses plant-based ingredients, which
makes it feel like a cleaner and safer choice. If you’re trying to maintain steady energy and better glucose balance, Green Glucose seems
like something worth looking into.
диплом купить реестр диплом купить реестр .
Планируете ремонт https://remontkomand.kz в Алматы и боитесь скрытых платежей? Опубликовали полный и честный прайс-лист! Узнайте точные расценки на все виды работ — от демонтажа до чистовой отделки. Посчитайте стоимость своего ремонта заранее и убедитесь в нашей прозрачности. Никаких «сюрпризов» в итоговой смете!
Планируете ремонт https://remontkomand.kz в Алматы и боитесь скрытых платежей? Опубликовали полный и честный прайс-лист! Узнайте точные расценки на все виды работ — от демонтажа до чистовой отделки. Посчитайте стоимость своего ремонта заранее и убедитесь в нашей прозрачности. Никаких «сюрпризов» в итоговой смете!
Магазин тут! Отзывы, Качество. kokain gash mefedron alfa-pvp
Прокапывание на дому — это комфортное и результативное лечение, которое позволяет пациентам проходить инфузионную терапию в уютной обстановке своего дома. Услуги медсестры обеспечивают профессиональное введение внутривенных инъекций, что способствует восстановлению после болезни и поддержанию здоровья на дому. narkolog-tula015.ru Домашний уход включает в себя не лишь саму процедуру, но и мониторинг здоровья пациента. Это особенно важно для людей с хроническими заболеваниями или тем, кто нуждается в профилактике заболеваний. При организации домашнего лечения можно быть уверенным в качественной медицинской помощи, что существенно облегчает процесс реабилитации.
отели в анапе с бассейном с подогревом
Планируете ремонт https://remontkomand.kz в Алматы и боитесь скрытых платежей? Опубликовали полный и честный прайс-лист! Узнайте точные расценки на все виды работ — от демонтажа до чистовой отделки. Посчитайте стоимость своего ремонта заранее и убедитесь в нашей прозрачности. Никаких «сюрпризов» в итоговой смете!
https://biotop-nn.ru/
Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after browsing through some of the posts I realized it’s new to me.
Anyways, I’m definitely happy I discovered it and I’ll be book-marking
it and checking back often!
Планируете ремонт https://remontkomand.kz в Алматы и боитесь скрытых платежей? Опубликовали полный и честный прайс-лист! Узнайте точные расценки на все виды работ — от демонтажа до чистовой отделки. Посчитайте стоимость своего ремонта заранее и убедитесь в нашей прозрачности. Никаких «сюрпризов» в итоговой смете!
Казино 1xbet
Приобрести MEF MEFEDRON GASH ALFA KOKAIN
cocaine
https://github.com/msrds/Microsoft-Remote-Desktop/releases
bonaslot login: bonaslot kasino online terpercaya – bonaslot
отели в анапе ультра все включено
https://biotop-nn.ru/
ТОП ПРОДАЖИ 24/7 – ПРИОБРЕСТИ MEFEDRON (MEF) GASHISH BOSHK1
Looking for a sports betting site in Nigeria? Visit https://nairabet-play.com/ and check out NairaBet – where you will find reliable betting services and exciting offers. Find out more on the site – how to play, how to deposit and withdraw money and other useful information.
https://uztm-ural.ru/
youtube 2317
7 Gold Fruits сравнение с другими онлайн слотами
ТОП ПРОДАЖИ 24/7 – ПРИОБРЕСТИ MEFEDRON (MEF) GASHISH BOSHK1
кашпо для комнатных растений напольные http://www.kashpo-napolnoe-moskva.ru/ .
Выездной нарколог в Красноярске — это оптимальное решение для людей‚ которые испытывают необходимость в наркологической помощи‚ но не могут посещать медицинское учреждение. Квалифицированная поддержка в лечении зависимости доступна прямо на дому‚ что гарантирует комфорт и конфиденциальность.Консультация нарколога позволяет проанализировать текущее состояние и выбрать оптимальную программу реабилитации‚ включая лечение в стационаре или домашнюю терапию. Наши эксперты предлагают психологическую помощь при зависимостях и медицинское вмешательство‚ что способствует успешному лечению зависимостей. Семейная поддержка играет важную роль в процессе‚ помогая пациентам справиться с трудностями. Свяжитесь с vivod-iz-zapoya-krasnoyarsk010.ru для получения подробной информации о наших услугах.
Магазин тут! Отзывы, Качество. kokain gash mefedron alfa-pvp
bonaslot login bonaslot bonaslot kasino online terpercaya
кашпо под цветы напольные кашпо под цветы напольные .
kra ссылка
I am no longer positive the place you are getting
your info, however great topic. I must spend
some time learning much more or working out more. Thanks
for great information I used to be looking for this information for my mission.
Купить кокаин, мефедрон, гашиш, бошки, альфа-пвп
More peace pieces like this would insinuate the web better. http://mi.minfish.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=1420968
https://github.com/awsadm/AWS-CLI
ТОП ПРОДАЖИ 24/7 – ПРИОБРЕСТИ MEFEDRON (MEF) GASHISH BOSHK1
Планируете ремонт https://remontkomand.kz в Алматы и боитесь скрытых платежей? Опубликовали полный и честный прайс-лист! Узнайте точные расценки на все виды работ — от демонтажа до чистовой отделки. Посчитайте стоимость своего ремонта заранее и убедитесь в нашей прозрачности. Никаких «сюрпризов» в итоговой смете!
Приобрести MEF MEFEDRON GASH ALFA KOKAIN
Планируете ремонт https://remontkomand.kz в Алматы и боитесь скрытых платежей? Опубликовали полный и честный прайс-лист! Узнайте точные расценки на все виды работ — от демонтажа до чистовой отделки. Посчитайте стоимость своего ремонта заранее и убедитесь в нашей прозрачности. Никаких «сюрпризов» в итоговой смете!
купить диплом об окончании техникума купить диплом об окончании техникума .
https://www.patreon.com/posts/unlock-new-with-137375411?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link
I am actually thankful to the holder of this web page who has
shared this enormous post at at this place.
Магазин тут! Отзывы, Качество. kokain gash mefedron alfa-pvp
I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely
loved every bit of it. I’ve got you book marked to look at new stuff you post…
Планируете ремонт https://remontkomand.kz в Алматы и боитесь скрытых платежей? Опубликовали полный и честный прайс-лист! Узнайте точные расценки на все виды работ — от демонтажа до чистовой отделки. Посчитайте стоимость своего ремонта заранее и убедитесь в нашей прозрачности. Никаких «сюрпризов» в итоговой смете!