Drive-by Posting: Snapfish Silliness
I have my digital photos backed up in multiple ways, on multiple systems and formats, including DVD and flash-drive backups in a fire-resistant case and off-site hard and digital copies. But I also make it a habit to periodically physically print my favorite photos, and sort them into physical photo albums. There's just something nice about holding a physical album -- or sharing a physical album -- filled with pictures of happy memories.
Of course, then I started residency, and things got busy, and all of a sudden three years had passed since my last printing. After many months of gradual effort, I finally finished uploading original photos to Snapfish and printed nearly two-hundred of them over the last three years. (Incidentally, I'm quite pleased with the results). Basically, family photos from the past three years, as well as selections from this album and this album and 2007-forward on this album and so on. A lot of happy memories, with family and friends. The photos arrived in a packaged box and I've been gradually sorting them into albums.
Which is where the amusing dilemma has arisen. :-)
Originally, I had two large volumes of photos; one for family, and one for friends from school. Which, until 2000, were *all* the friends I had -- the only friends I had were folks I had gone to school with or worked with. From high school, college, medical and graduate school, medical activist service, church. I didn't have any friends from beyond those realms because I didn't have a *life* outside of those realms. That, of course, all changed for the better in 2000, as told before.
Since then, I've maintained *three* large photo albums. The first for family. The second for friends from school, work and worship. The third, from the constellation of many friends that all began one January evening nearly ten years ago. And recently, that third album budded off a fourth volume, dedicated entirely to the world of adventures in historical recreation, of Ren Faires and SCA revels.
And in sorting this newest batch of ~200 photographs, I'm finding more and more places where it's not quite obvious where to sort the photo. :-)
Family is obvious. SCA/RenFaire photos are obvious. It's that once-distinct border between friends from school and service, and friends from beyond the world of scholarship and duty. Between "work friends" and "not work friends", that has more and more blended together, as represented by photos that don't cleanly sort.
For example, photos of now-husband and wife hoya99 and texas_tiger. Does that sort to "Work friends", because of hoya99 and our friendship's origin at the American School in Japan? Or under "not work friends", because of Usenet, where I first met texas_tiger?
Photos with resonance42 and silmaril at the Inaugural. Does that file under "Work friends" because of resonance42 and our beginnings together in the American Medical Association's House of Delegates? Or with silmaril, my fellow gaidar/gaidin from Usenet?
Photo in San Francisco with dawntreader42 -- from college geek house days; with dscotton and scifantasy, from Usenet; and Jesse, whom I met indirectly through rasfwr-j (via silmaril), but also technically attended the same University with?
Photo with my Sedai missysedai from Usenet, and culfinriel, from the AMA House of Delegates. Non-work album, or work album?
The real answer, of course, is that the distinction is rapidly becoming meaningless. Which is itself a very happy development, one a small part of my own making. resonance42 has made appearances admist my SCAdian friends and rasfwr-j friends. culfinriel has become a part of the rasfwr-j community. My oldest friend from high school and a close friend from rasfwr-j are now raising a daughter together in Texas. And so on and beyond. These are all happy developments admist a very happy journey, of a happy life once composed of separate threads, now weaving together.
The distinction between my friends from the world of work, and my friends from beyond it, is becoming more and more meaningless. And that is a very happy thing. :-)