Springing into action (or, you know, not)
So there was a definite uptick in the “keeping it together” index, but for some reason it didn’t translate into more productivity at work. I’m still becalmed on a sea of distractions. For the record, yes I’m aware that illustrative phrase doesn’t hold together well.
Since last we spoke I’ve managed to make no measurable progress on the internal project I’ve been working on. But I have taken a few pictures and that’s something. I’m also managing to keep myself fed and clothed (in clean clothes, even). This is what passes for “keeping it together” for me 
.
On the photography front I’ve built myself a light box (a cardboard box with the sides and top cut out and an old white sheet thrown over it, with a piece of posterboard as a seamless backdrop). So now I put everything in the box and it’s new and interesting. I briefly entertained thoughts of astrophotography (well, just between you and I I’m still contemplating) but there are a couple good points to consider:
- It requires you to wait for moonless, clear skies and then drive to a dark sky location at ridiculously early hours, possibly in the cold, and then hang out taking a series of long exposures.
- Not much changes up there.
I’m also contemplating off-camera flash/studio photography – the issue here is that this involves taking pictures of people, and I don’t really do that. But, you know, it’s a learning opportunity. If I have fancy equipment maybe I’d feel more confident taking pictures of people. Not sure.
No progress at all on the deepwrap or SEI certification front. So, yeah, becalmed.
I’ve been sticking with the yoga thing, though – which makes me happy. Though I’ve still been feeling somewhat crappy – and now I don’t know if the odd muscle/joint pain is me getting used to stretching regularly or something to worry about. Still happy that I’m sticking with it.
I went to a seminar: http://www.theflashbus.com/ (with David Hobby and Joe McNally) and it was all kinds of good. I got in free thanks to my friend Charlie, and got to hang out and learn stuff. Now I’m all revved up to take amazingly-lit photos.
As soon as I can buy a flash. And a stand. And an umbrella. And more gear.
Maybe I have a finite amount of motivation and the excitement of the photography stuff has siphoned off excitement for software stuff…
Ok, so, real-time update – I just ordered a beginning off-camera light kit. So, yay me.
Oh, last weekend I ended up rear-ending the car in front of me. Not hard, but hard enough to do about $560.43 (ish) of damage. I have a bad habit of hitting parked cars. This is a result of the way I drive. I make a model in my head and whatever part of the world I’m not looking at I react to anyway because it’s modeled in my head. And in my head, this car should have already been going down the entrance ramp. But in the real world, it had stopped. So I hit it. Because it wasn’t supposed to be there.
Now, like I said, this isn’t the first time this has happened. And my first reaction is to wonder, somewhat incredulously, why this person stopped in the middle of the road. But my second reaction is to shut the hell right up, because I hit a parked car. And the driver’s model of the world was likely different from mine. In his world he didn’t have time to merge.
So, yeah. That’s a bummer – but I’ve come to think of this as life’s way of informing me that I really need to keep my eyes pointed in the direction of my motion. This is a good lesson, I hope I’ve learned it. This time.
