My life or something like it

my new bed

2009-01-03T18:16:00.001-08:00

Huh....

2008-06-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

Paula Dean is/was agoraphobic. Go figure.

I wonder...

2008-06-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

How many people have seen me naked? I've tried to add it up and I just can't figure it out.

New single from a great band

2008-05-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

So, Sigur Ròs just released a new single on their website called Gobbledigook. My auto spellchecker wants to fix it to the American spelling with a 'y'. To hell with that. But ya, back to the music. If you've never listened to Sigur Ròs, hit up YouTube and listen to some. It's very...original. They don't sound like anyone else that I know of. So, listen to some on YouTube, go to http://sigurros.com and watch the new video (boobies included), and then download the single! Oh, and if you hear of them coming to the US, let me know. I want to see them!

The addiction continues.

2008-04-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

So, I dropped another couple hundred bucks on some lighting gear. Sure, I have a $250 flash. But how much can you play around with it when it's stuck right on top of my camera. I've been reading Strobist a lot lately. I've gotten a lot of ideas and dreams of what I can do with my lonely little flash. If you're photographically minded at all, I recommend you sit down and spend a few hours reading it. I picked up a Strobist kit from mpex.com. It's supposed to come today. Of course, it will come after I go to work. For now, I'm going to be tethered to my flash. Eventually, I think I'm going to get a set of RadioPopper Jr.'s. They're expected to be around $25 a piece, where as the Pocket Wizard MultiMax is around $300. I'd rather put that money towards a second flash setup.

Valpo Half Marathon

2008-04-19T03:54:00.000-07:00

This morning is the Valparaiso Half Marathon. One of my best friends is running in it. Unfortunately, I can't witness the whole thing cause I have to work for someone who needed the day off. But, I do get to go see the start of the race. I'm even going to take pictures of the people in the rain. hehe. Well, I need to go get in the shower. I've got an hour to get ready for work and get to the race!

Finally...

2008-04-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

I'm getting my camera back today! It's been a long two weeks. But it will be fixed, or I send it back to Precision. I need to get some shots of our magnolia tree in the back yard.

So, I'm considering getting another lens for my arsenal. I think I might get it for a wedding I'm shooting. I already have a fairly fast Canon lens (EF 50mm f/1.8), but it's a little on the long end. I'm looking at another prime lens. I can get the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 for about $325. It's about half a stop faster, and a fair amount wider than my other one. Maybe after I pay off my Best Buy card. I'll stop in to Calumet Photo next time I'm in Chicago to see if they have one I can try out.

2008-04-09T09:09:00.001-07:00

It's been a while. I've been really busy working and such. I'm down to one job now. Best Buy is treating me good. The one bad thing about working there is I spend too much money there. I got myself a new camera about a month or so ago. I'm thinking about getting myself set up with some lighting gear sometime soonish. I've been reading Strobist too much lately. Maybe I'm trying to fill a void while my camera is out for service. (Qualified repair #1....check) So, I figure I'll let the world know what kind of camera gear I have....so far.

Canon EOS 40d Body
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.5 IS USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Sigma EF-530 DG Super flash
Sunpak Circular Polarizers (58mm and 72mm)
SanDisk Extreme III 8.0GB CF Cards x2
SanDisk USB ImageMate CF Reader
Two Extra Batteries for 40d
Cullman Tripod (I'll go with something different eventually)
Apple MacBook Pro w/ 3G memory
Assortment of external HDD's
Epson Stylus Photo 1400 Printer (Max print size 13x19 borderless)
Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanter
Wacom 6x8 BT Tablet

All in all, I've determined that this is a habit healthier than smoking, yet probably more expensive. I need a bigger desk too. Hopefully, that will come when I move out.

Tired...

2008-01-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

I'm exhausted. I need to quit one of my jobs. The bad part is, I like the one I want to quit. I like the people there. I like the customers. And I don't mind the work. But the pay is less, and I get fewer hours there. Last week at BB I worked 47 hours. I'm pretty sure I'll get yelled at for it, but oh well My pay for that week alone is almost 4 times what the other job is for 2 weeks. So, needless to say which one I would almost have to choose. It would be so nice to have days off again.

Huh.

2008-01-04T06:55:00.000-08:00

It's 4 days into the new year and I haven't posted yet. Oops. I'm officially seeing someone now. I can't wait till she moves to chicago. I took some pictures while I was over there. Although, I haven't gotten around to getting them onto my computer yet. Maybe, I'll get them today after work. Well, It's time to get ready for the day once again!

DA!

2007-12-31T05:12:00.001-08:00

So, coming up sometime soon, I'm going to be a double agent for a day. I've gotta do a ride along for a service call. No one at my precinct knows much about Macs, so I'm the resident Genius. I get to roll in the bug! Well...It's time for me to get ready for work!!!

A whole new me...

2007-12-29T21:21:00.000-08:00

I upgraded my Mac again. This time I popped in a new HDD I picked up at work. It's so much nicer not to have to worry about what programs I'm going to install. But I've only got a couple more programs to install before I'm finished. But I need to get them again!

Now though, it's time for bed!

Her again...

2007-12-28T10:58:00.001-08:00

I had a dream about her again. I hate dreams about her. This one was really weird. She was living in my grandparents old mobile home. I was staying there while she was gone. Going through my stuff, her stuff, our stuff. She came back while after I woke up one morning. The TV was on. I heard a car pull up. She got out, some other guy named Mike got out with her. She came up and kissed me. It was a very lucid, surreal dream. I knew I was dreaming at this point. I wanted to wake up. I hated this. I tried waking up. Finally clawing myself awake, clutching my pillow, I let out a long held breath.

Working....WOOOO!!!

2007-12-27T21:17:00.001-08:00

So, I got called in to BB after getting off of Chocolate. I got a call from Dave. He told me that everyone, except Alex, was leaving at 6. Alex is pretty useless, and he was out on the floor tonight. So, I came in. I like working with Dave, he's probably my favorite of the GS CIA's. But now, I'm gonna hit the sack. Another wonderful day at work tomorrow!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T17:05:00.001-08:00

It's a pretty good xmas so far. I haven't accomplished too terribly much. But that's ok in my book. I got some cool stuff for xmas. I got a wireless keyboard. It takes a bit to get used to. The key spacing is a little different from my computer. It's the same size as the one in my laptop, but not in my laptop, but on my lap top. I got a chair for my desk. My mom says it will look good in my apartment. I also got a Sigma EF-530 DG Super flash. It's pretty nifty. I gotta figure out how to work everything on it! And a subscription to American Photographer! WOOOOO! And to go with my flash, a brand new lens. This lens is a very high quality one. EF 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 IS USM! It has image stabilization built into the lens. It's awesome. It's got great optics, and the IS is pretty cool too. I'm looking forward to going to Yosemite and Yellowstone again. This will be a great wildlife lens. I guess I have to go somewhere to see the wildlife! WEEEE! But, the best present of all...my girlfriend is out of the hospital. She had surgery Sunday night, and then I surprised her yesterday on my day off. I hate hospitals, but I didn't mind this time. It's always nice to spend time with her. I'm just glad she got to spend Christmas with her family!

Boo...

2007-12-22T19:28:00.001-08:00

This sucks. My girlfriend is in the hospital today. So, looks like I'm going to go see her again sooner than planned. I have monday off, so I guess I'll be part of the holiday rush of traffic. Let's hope her surgery in the morning goes well. But now, I'm going to bed. I've been awake far too long.

So far...

2007-12-21T12:34:00.001-08:00

I have a page and a half of places I want to visit. Mostly national parks throughout the west and some state parks in Utah. I'm probably also going to head down most of California. Redwood NP, maybe Lassen Volcanic NP, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and maybe even Death Valley. I figure I'm going to need one, if not two oil changes on my trip. I want to hit up Canyon de Chelly. I was there about 10 years ago. Maybe I'll even stay at the campground that we stayed at the last time. I'm probably going to need another external hard drive because of all the pictures I'll take. I'll need more batteries for my camera, more memory cards because, regretfully, a lot of campgrounds out that way don't have any electric! Well, it's time for me, once again, to work for my money.

I want a new printer...

2007-12-20T21:02:00.001-08:00

I don't know if it's the off-brand ink or just the printer, but the color is off. The black comes out slightly green. It kinda sucks. I would buy that new printer, but I'm gonna try and save up some money to go on a trip instead. So, come on people, SUGGESTIONS!!! Well, it's time to go crawl in bed and keep warm. Tschüs!

Hooray

2007-12-19T21:36:00.001-08:00

For AJU. He/she/it works while I'm not at work!

Things to never ask about at work...

2007-12-18T21:48:00.001-08:00

A glass bottom boat.

Reverse Tug-of-War.

Don't ask why, just don't ask

So....

2007-12-17T21:54:00.001-08:00

My boss thinks I'm Jewish. A couple of weeks ago we were talking about how we hate the holidays, and Christmas music and such. And the question of what I was doing for Christmas comes up, and jokingly, I say that I'm Jewish. He asked, "really?" I said, "no." But, I guess he didn't hear that. So, now, most people in my department think I'm a Jew. Does anyone have a kippah I can borrow?

One of my favorite pictures.

2007-12-17T11:51:00.001-08:00

With all the snow that's been falling, I thought I'd share a picture I took about 2 years ago. I think. I was walking around campus while it was snowing, figuring maybe I could get some cool snow shots. This girl walks past. She was beautiful. Snowflakes were clinging to to her eyelashes. I stopped her and asked if I could take her picture.

One shot.

One exposure.

One moment of our lives, recorded on film.

I never got her name. Or any way to get in touch with her. I wish I could, because the picture came out beautifully.

Two years pass. Her eyes, her face, still take my breath away.

Road trip!

2007-12-16T22:29:00.000-08:00

I'm going to go on another road trip in the spring/early summer. I want you all to suggest where to go. I think I'll try to limit distance to 3-4k miles from Chicago. What I want to do/see:

National Parks, State Parks, anything pretty. Mountains are good, waterfalls, hiking, things that I could take pictures of.

Art galleries; preferrably ceramics or photography.

Beautiful drives

People I can crash with, visit, go out to dinner with,

Camping

Places to go Mountain Biking, ie. Slickrock

Or just anything cool

Let me know, leave some comments with suggestions.

Coolness...

2007-12-16T22:00:00.000-08:00

I have lots of people stopping by this thing now. Leave comments! Make me feel loved. Where you're from, what you do, etc. Like that person from South Bend. Who are you? Do I know you?

I'll probably be making people happy. I got all the red computers that I possibly could done tonight at work. All but the one's that we're waiting on the people to bring us CD's on. The last two computers, I finished up about 30 seconds before I had to clock out. Damn lunch compliance.

Today will be another long day...

2007-12-16T13:14:00.001-08:00

I have another day at Best Buy. People get stupider as Christmas gets nearer. But hey, After Christmas, I might have more free time. But now, it's time to get ready. Wahoo.

Still playing.

2007-12-15T09:30:00.001-08:00

I'm still trying to get Blogger to look the way I want. Seeing as how I've never really used Blogger much, this is all fairly new to me. Since I'm not using the Blogger page to post things, it's all very weird. I'm not even posting very many pictures here either. I guess all this extra time at work is sucking my artistic motivation. The dust of everyday life is building. Oh, and this picture, can anyone think of some words to put in the left half of the picture? I was thinking something artistic like that could be nice.

I had a dream last night. No, not the MLK Jr. kind. If anyone has seen the show 'Expedition Borneo' on NGC, or Science channel, it was kind of like that. I was a photographer, on some expedition looking for this primate. I woke up in the middle of the night, at our base, and the monkey thing was sitting on my computer. How it got inside, and why the hell it was in pseudo-civilization is beyond me. But, I got some photos of it. They were underexposed, grainy, etc. But at least I got proof that they still existed. I remember I felt very happy and relieved. I kind of want to go to art school.

The next time I have a day off, I'm going to get bundled up and go somewhere and fill up my memory card. Go somewhere and take pictures of absolutely nothing. Or maybe Thursday. I get off work at 3, but that only gives me like an hour of light. BOOOO. :( Oh well. I'll try to figure something out.

Shit! First thing I'll have to figure out is the bundling up part. I still don't have a coat. I feel like a poor kid on Christmas. Maybe I'll go shopping on one of my days off.....Oh wait. I don't have any days off. Hehe.

Too early.

2007-12-15T07:09:00.001-08:00

I was awoken to the sounds of, what I believe was, Mannheim Steamroller. Christmas music only has appeal to those who do not work retail during this season. On top of that, I'm sick of The Eagles' Hotel California. I think it's on the demo disc over in home theater, and it gets played far too much.

I called Sarah last night before going to sleep. She's so nice, and smart. I like her! I never thought I'd date a librarian. But it's kinda cool. But now, I have to go get ready for the day. This is day three of no-day-off-a-thon.

This kinda sucks.

2007-12-14T20:19:00.001-08:00

I don't have a day off in the foreseeable future. I guess I'll just take a bunch of days off sometime when I move. Now, when and where I move, I still have no idea. I am leaning more towards Chicago now. I have friends there. And the girl I'm seeing is moving there soon! That will be fun too. But, it's time to go crash. I'm exhausted once again.

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. -Pablo Picasso

Herbert!

2007-12-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

So, if anyone didn't know. I'm going to be on Matthew Herbert's next album. I'm also going to get a signed copy and an item he uses to make the sounds too. I think it will be so cool. I really like his most recent album, Score. I think I might do my recording in a state of dishabille.

Another good day

2007-12-12T20:57:00.000-08:00

I went up to Grand Rapids today. It was a lot of fun!

Shitty People day...

2007-12-09T21:13:00.001-08:00

Customers just plain sucked today. They were just in a really bitchy mood. I think I only had one really nice customer. Well, I'm off to bed. I've got to drive up to Grand Rapids tomorrow morning. YAY!

I'm moving...

2007-12-08T11:42:00.001-08:00

I thing I have this ecto thing figured out. My .mac subscription runs out in a week and a half or so. So, I'm starting up my Blogger account again for another go. Maybe I'll even figure out a way to get the past 2 months worth of posts over here. Or, I could just care less and just let them fade into oblivion.