Behold! Entry of awkward formatting!
QOTD: "It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it."
I'm running behind in my updates. I have to do this one pronto though, or I'll never catch up. I've got this thing about if I want to update about something badly enough, I'll deny myself from updating with anything else until I get it done. And now my events are threatening to stack, reach critical mass, and implode my journal. That would be bad. So: entry.
Last week I spent a whole bunch of money on clothes. I'm not sure what go into me, but I just started buying. I didn't really buy all that much, but I spent a lot more than I usually do. Banana Republic and Gap had their way with me, seriously. If I could find a place that does good alterations around here, I bet I'd buy three times as much. Anyhow, I spent so much last week that it has probably blocked me from buying a permanent LJ account. Though my posting has slacked off somewhat over the last year, I still love LJ dearly.
Friday, Eric1,2 came down from Jackson to visit and do photostuffs. I was expecting him Saturday, but he decided Friday night was better for him, so I got wind of that via voicemail upon my return from down Friday gallivanting... which is fine, but it put me into a cleaning frenzy (though you wouldn't know it from looking at the apartment). Anyhow, we socialized for a good while and then headed to Keesler to pick up Dress to Kill, which Kirk had returned to me and as a result was sitting in my desk. We also picked up a spare flash unit, which Eric used to strobe a Biloxi PD cruiser with after we left base. We went in search of a Waffle House, and couldn't find one. We ended up at the Biloxi Wal-Mart looking for food (not the place to find food) and Eric asked some of the workers about the closest Waffle House. Apparently, we'd somehow missed one. We thought this to be unthinkable, so we set out again. It was true. About 200 feet from where we turned off the beach, there was a beacon of yellow. Not only that, but Monday Kirk reminded me that there was a brand new Waffle House by the Beau that I forgot about. So we drove the beach between the new Waffle Houses. "We didn't go far enough" became the weekend theme.
Half the Waffle House staff were half amiable and the other half were living dead. We were certainly the loudest customers at the hour of four. Eric picked up my tab and upon leaving I discovered the top of my car was covered with flying ants. After returning to my apartment, we became engaged with the computer, exchanged linkages, and went through every single lolcats image posted up to that point. Sleep attacked shortly thereafter.
Saturday was shooting day. Cameras out in full force, lots of photos were had. I shot mostly photos of Eric since he was decidedly the most engaging subject about - and a good choice on any given day.
Okay, this wasn't pre-launch, but it was my favorite, so it's first. This is actually immediately outside my apartment door. Nice light. Nice subject.
Blinded by the light!
And the image's cyan cast...
Okay, now this may sound a little strange, but I've got this thing for guys flipping off cameras.
And I know it's not just me because I've found entire galleries dedicated to it.
No, I did not request this pose.
The light gives him android eyes! Not Soong-type, though.
This photo is so small because I really, really like it, but it's out of focus.
When we lose focus, we all lose.
We ventured from my apartment and stopped at Mr. Greek and Jak's before going to Gulf Islands National Seashore. We woke up late and got started late, so we were already beginning to lose our light by the time we hit I-10 headed east. We stopped at the busted pier by the busted visitor's center, then we tried to do the nature trail bit (much like when Erik and Gabe were down), but the insectoid assault forced us into retreat. The deerflies seemed particularly aggressive toward Eric. We walked across the road to the alligator observation area. I hadn't seen the alligator there for quite a while and was expecting to have to walk down the boardwalk to spot one. We both stood and looked out across the water (we're at water level in case you're not familiar with the location) and I looked down to the grasses and such in front of us. "Whoa," I said. Eric had simultaneously spotted a turtle a short distance out into the water. "No," I said, and motioned down in front of him. Immediately in front of him (less that three feet) on the other side of the wooden rail was an alligator facing him squarely.
I was not at all amused, though Eric was very, very excited. We managed to get several shots off and I got a decent one, though I haven't seen any of his final edits and he got a lot closer than I did. Our flashes ultimately annoyed the alligator, and it withdrew, but not before moving forward ominously.
Not sure what to think about this photo just yet.
What's your vote?
Poll This photo...
That's with a 70mm lens, baby. That's fucking stupid. But I got it.
We walked down the boardwalk and took some pictures of the hermit crabs. I'm always amazed at how skittish they are. We saw some blue crabs and a few fish. Eric spotted a hermit crab in the road as we were headed back to check on the alligator, and there was a brief chase. Brief because guys hunched over with cameras to their faces don't move terribly fast as well as the fact that hermit crabs do move very fast. He did get a nice shot before it bolted. I was in a great interception point, but my shot was blurry. The alligator hadn't moved from its new position further out in the water and after Eric threw a few rocks at it (much to my chagrin), he decided it wasn't going to move. He seemed much more concerned about the toads croaking in the woods than the alligator, which really kind of amused me given the threat levels involved. I must admit, however, some of those frogs and toads sound truly terrifying. We left from there, stopped for gas, then went back to my place and uploaded photos. I showed him how to load film onto a developing reel (which he did exceptionally well for given that I didn't have a practice strip for him to try in the light) and then we hit the Taco Bell drive-thru for foods. When we got back, we put in Dress to Kill and didn't make it too far in before sleep defeated us.
Sunday was devoted to a girl on Eric's network who wanted to see him while he was down. I got lassoed into going to see a movie. We tried to find where she lived and ended up crossing the Bay St. Louis bridge (the half that's there... no people in the water that day...), which was much too far. We set up an alternate meeting place and then immediately found all of the roads we'd missed on our first lap.
Could've really used that 12mm lens from work here. Should never have let PA borrow it.
Eating with this girl he knows and the father of her unborn child was very educational. It's been a while since I've had any durational exposure to people outside my circles and it's important to get that every once in a while. We went to Cinemark (Gulfport) and saw Ocean's 13, which was pretty decent. Back at my place, Eric collected his things for departure and in the delay for burning all the Eurovision 2007 songs to two CDs, we got trapped in internet video swapping and then again at his car for damaged CD extraction from player and testing of new CDs. He left so late he had to stop in Hattiesburg rather than make the trip back in one go. He seems to have made it back though, so all is well. I really enjoyed getting to spend some more time with him. I was actually pretty surprised at how many interests we have in common. And while his Trek canon couldn't possibly ever equal mine [buffs nails], his Eddie Izzard quotation is dead on and his anime repertoire stomps mine without much of a challenge. Good for conversation. Good times.
So tomorrow I'm headed to Starkville to meet up with Alicia and Daniel for a shopping trip to Birmingham. Lot's o' driving. Will be out of touch all weekend, I suspect, until Sunday night.
1 You may remember him from CTF.
2 lordkraven, not yishnir
I'm running behind in my updates. I have to do this one pronto though, or I'll never catch up. I've got this thing about if I want to update about something badly enough, I'll deny myself from updating with anything else until I get it done. And now my events are threatening to stack, reach critical mass, and implode my journal. That would be bad. So: entry.
Last week I spent a whole bunch of money on clothes. I'm not sure what go into me, but I just started buying. I didn't really buy all that much, but I spent a lot more than I usually do. Banana Republic and Gap had their way with me, seriously. If I could find a place that does good alterations around here, I bet I'd buy three times as much. Anyhow, I spent so much last week that it has probably blocked me from buying a permanent LJ account. Though my posting has slacked off somewhat over the last year, I still love LJ dearly.
Friday, Eric1,2 came down from Jackson to visit and do photostuffs. I was expecting him Saturday, but he decided Friday night was better for him, so I got wind of that via voicemail upon my return from down Friday gallivanting... which is fine, but it put me into a cleaning frenzy (though you wouldn't know it from looking at the apartment). Anyhow, we socialized for a good while and then headed to Keesler to pick up Dress to Kill, which Kirk had returned to me and as a result was sitting in my desk. We also picked up a spare flash unit, which Eric used to strobe a Biloxi PD cruiser with after we left base. We went in search of a Waffle House, and couldn't find one. We ended up at the Biloxi Wal-Mart looking for food (not the place to find food) and Eric asked some of the workers about the closest Waffle House. Apparently, we'd somehow missed one. We thought this to be unthinkable, so we set out again. It was true. About 200 feet from where we turned off the beach, there was a beacon of yellow. Not only that, but Monday Kirk reminded me that there was a brand new Waffle House by the Beau that I forgot about. So we drove the beach between the new Waffle Houses. "We didn't go far enough" became the weekend theme.
Half the Waffle House staff were half amiable and the other half were living dead. We were certainly the loudest customers at the hour of four. Eric picked up my tab and upon leaving I discovered the top of my car was covered with flying ants. After returning to my apartment, we became engaged with the computer, exchanged linkages, and went through every single lolcats image posted up to that point. Sleep attacked shortly thereafter.
Saturday was shooting day. Cameras out in full force, lots of photos were had. I shot mostly photos of Eric since he was decidedly the most engaging subject about - and a good choice on any given day.
Okay, this wasn't pre-launch, but it was my favorite, so it's first. This is actually immediately outside my apartment door. Nice light. Nice subject.
Blinded by the light!
And the image's cyan cast...
Okay, now this may sound a little strange, but I've got this thing for guys flipping off cameras.
And I know it's not just me because I've found entire galleries dedicated to it.
No, I did not request this pose.
The light gives him android eyes! Not Soong-type, though.
This photo is so small because I really, really like it, but it's out of focus.
When we lose focus, we all lose.
We ventured from my apartment and stopped at Mr. Greek and Jak's before going to Gulf Islands National Seashore. We woke up late and got started late, so we were already beginning to lose our light by the time we hit I-10 headed east. We stopped at the busted pier by the busted visitor's center, then we tried to do the nature trail bit (much like when Erik and Gabe were down), but the insectoid assault forced us into retreat. The deerflies seemed particularly aggressive toward Eric. We walked across the road to the alligator observation area. I hadn't seen the alligator there for quite a while and was expecting to have to walk down the boardwalk to spot one. We both stood and looked out across the water (we're at water level in case you're not familiar with the location) and I looked down to the grasses and such in front of us. "Whoa," I said. Eric had simultaneously spotted a turtle a short distance out into the water. "No," I said, and motioned down in front of him. Immediately in front of him (less that three feet) on the other side of the wooden rail was an alligator facing him squarely.
I was not at all amused, though Eric was very, very excited. We managed to get several shots off and I got a decent one, though I haven't seen any of his final edits and he got a lot closer than I did. Our flashes ultimately annoyed the alligator, and it withdrew, but not before moving forward ominously.
Not sure what to think about this photo just yet.
What's your vote?
Poll This photo...
That's with a 70mm lens, baby. That's fucking stupid. But I got it.
We walked down the boardwalk and took some pictures of the hermit crabs. I'm always amazed at how skittish they are. We saw some blue crabs and a few fish. Eric spotted a hermit crab in the road as we were headed back to check on the alligator, and there was a brief chase. Brief because guys hunched over with cameras to their faces don't move terribly fast as well as the fact that hermit crabs do move very fast. He did get a nice shot before it bolted. I was in a great interception point, but my shot was blurry. The alligator hadn't moved from its new position further out in the water and after Eric threw a few rocks at it (much to my chagrin), he decided it wasn't going to move. He seemed much more concerned about the toads croaking in the woods than the alligator, which really kind of amused me given the threat levels involved. I must admit, however, some of those frogs and toads sound truly terrifying. We left from there, stopped for gas, then went back to my place and uploaded photos. I showed him how to load film onto a developing reel (which he did exceptionally well for given that I didn't have a practice strip for him to try in the light) and then we hit the Taco Bell drive-thru for foods. When we got back, we put in Dress to Kill and didn't make it too far in before sleep defeated us.
Sunday was devoted to a girl on Eric's network who wanted to see him while he was down. I got lassoed into going to see a movie. We tried to find where she lived and ended up crossing the Bay St. Louis bridge (the half that's there... no people in the water that day...), which was much too far. We set up an alternate meeting place and then immediately found all of the roads we'd missed on our first lap.
Could've really used that 12mm lens from work here. Should never have let PA borrow it.
Eating with this girl he knows and the father of her unborn child was very educational. It's been a while since I've had any durational exposure to people outside my circles and it's important to get that every once in a while. We went to Cinemark (Gulfport) and saw Ocean's 13, which was pretty decent. Back at my place, Eric collected his things for departure and in the delay for burning all the Eurovision 2007 songs to two CDs, we got trapped in internet video swapping and then again at his car for damaged CD extraction from player and testing of new CDs. He left so late he had to stop in Hattiesburg rather than make the trip back in one go. He seems to have made it back though, so all is well. I really enjoyed getting to spend some more time with him. I was actually pretty surprised at how many interests we have in common. And while his Trek canon couldn't possibly ever equal mine [buffs nails], his Eddie Izzard quotation is dead on and his anime repertoire stomps mine without much of a challenge. Good for conversation. Good times.
So tomorrow I'm headed to Starkville to meet up with Alicia and Daniel for a shopping trip to Birmingham. Lot's o' driving. Will be out of touch all weekend, I suspect, until Sunday night.
1 You may remember him from CTF.
2 lordkraven, not yishnir