Level up!
QOTD: "I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later."
I'm pleased to report that I've advanced out of the oral exams for the UN's YPP selection process and into the final stage of evaluation. Only three candidates remain, including myself. I'm to be flown back out to New York for a day to photograph the events surrounding the schedule of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. So that's nice. I was asked to bring some specific camera gear, and while they said if I didn't have it to let them know, I decided since it was all gear I already wanted, this was a really good excuse to go ahead and get it. So, $3000 later, I have two new lenses (Tamron 24-70mm and 70-200mm), a SB-800 flash unit, a new (used) bag, and sundry memory cards and fancy filters. The bag is very slightly too small for my new hulking lenses, but I think it will work out for what I need it for. I'm pleased with the gear but nervous about the assessment. It's been two years since I shot daily. I really need to get out and practice some on the weekend, but I have no idea what to shoot. Though, I will say, I got a new polarizer and I really need to take advantage of that while the weather is agreeable. Maybe I'll come up with something. I go to New York in April.
Our shift bids came through and I got my first pick. That would be deeply unusual if I hadn't selected the 3:15pm-12:15am shift. Apparently my new supervisor is really great (according to my coaches and the strangers that have intercepted me trying to swap schedules with me) and I've talked to her a few times already simply because I have to walk by her desk eight times a day or so. The new shift goes into effect in mid-April, which is good because the UN trip is about a week after that and because I won't be in transition anymore, I can use my proper leave time without the restrictions of training. I'll also be able to return to my regular workout schedule. Unfortunately, for the UN trip, I'll need to be awake and alert during normal business hours. In addition to my schedule being completely wrong for that alignment, NYC is two hours ahead of ABQ, compounding my trouble. Apart from the Friday I'll be shooting, I took off one day ahead for travel. But after further consideration, I cleared an additional day ahead to start getting my sleep rotated back around.
My progress at work is proceeding apace. I'm still having to ask for a lot of help, but I'm getting generally better at the work and coaches are complimenting me. My call times are still too long, so I'm not very much of a rockstar so far, but once I'm able to cinch things up, I'll be doing really well. When I leave work I don't feel terrible, which is not only really nice, but also a relief from my concerns about the job going in. We'll still have to see how things go after transition, but so far things are going okay.
I ultimately did get my car window fixed. Much better now.
I'm pleased to report that I've advanced out of the oral exams for the UN's YPP selection process and into the final stage of evaluation. Only three candidates remain, including myself. I'm to be flown back out to New York for a day to photograph the events surrounding the schedule of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. So that's nice. I was asked to bring some specific camera gear, and while they said if I didn't have it to let them know, I decided since it was all gear I already wanted, this was a really good excuse to go ahead and get it. So, $3000 later, I have two new lenses (Tamron 24-70mm and 70-200mm), a SB-800 flash unit, a new (used) bag, and sundry memory cards and fancy filters. The bag is very slightly too small for my new hulking lenses, but I think it will work out for what I need it for. I'm pleased with the gear but nervous about the assessment. It's been two years since I shot daily. I really need to get out and practice some on the weekend, but I have no idea what to shoot. Though, I will say, I got a new polarizer and I really need to take advantage of that while the weather is agreeable. Maybe I'll come up with something. I go to New York in April.
Our shift bids came through and I got my first pick. That would be deeply unusual if I hadn't selected the 3:15pm-12:15am shift. Apparently my new supervisor is really great (according to my coaches and the strangers that have intercepted me trying to swap schedules with me) and I've talked to her a few times already simply because I have to walk by her desk eight times a day or so. The new shift goes into effect in mid-April, which is good because the UN trip is about a week after that and because I won't be in transition anymore, I can use my proper leave time without the restrictions of training. I'll also be able to return to my regular workout schedule. Unfortunately, for the UN trip, I'll need to be awake and alert during normal business hours. In addition to my schedule being completely wrong for that alignment, NYC is two hours ahead of ABQ, compounding my trouble. Apart from the Friday I'll be shooting, I took off one day ahead for travel. But after further consideration, I cleared an additional day ahead to start getting my sleep rotated back around.
My progress at work is proceeding apace. I'm still having to ask for a lot of help, but I'm getting generally better at the work and coaches are complimenting me. My call times are still too long, so I'm not very much of a rockstar so far, but once I'm able to cinch things up, I'll be doing really well. When I leave work I don't feel terrible, which is not only really nice, but also a relief from my concerns about the job going in. We'll still have to see how things go after transition, but so far things are going okay.
I ultimately did get my car window fixed. Much better now.