Category: BlahBlahBabble

This week has been the week for people being put on notice for me. I don’t know what it is – maybe it is the panic of knowing that school starts back up on Monday? Post-traumatic stress disorder over the craziness of last semester? I don’t know. All I know is that I actually posted “Notice” signs in my house on Wednesday. Alerting my family that we are in a period of mandatory housework, and everyone MUST help. (Everyone. There are three of us. Everyone is a little overkill, but it is what I used.) It has worked some, but there is still a lot left to do. We won’t be done by Sunday, but at least we’ve made progress.

Now, thanks to a nudge from Julia, I’m putting those Mason-Dixon gals on notice. Ann? Kay? Women with three letter names? (Three must be today’s number!) We NEED the Perfect Sweater. Unlike Julia, I haven’t bought the yarn for it yet. Back when the details of the Perfect Sweater was being hashed out, I wasn’t a loyal M-D Groupie like I am now. But I have heard tales of the Perfect Sweater. And even though I haven’t actually knit a sweater yet, I am ready. Nervous, but ready. Knowing that it is the Perfect Sweater takes some of the pressure off of me, because how can I go wrong if it is Perfect?

Let’s finish the Perfect Sweater Pattern and celebrate democracy by the November election! How is that for a deadline? November 2nd. Hurry and I can wear my perfect sweater to cast my vote for the next governor of Texas.

If you would like, I can make a fancy sign using highlighters, a pen (because green highlighter doesn’t show up well on its own) and a torn half sheet of paper. That is what my family got for their notice sign. Whatever it takes. We need the Perfect Sweater!

Now I’m off to see if the podcast file is ready to be uploaded. Yes, yes, it is coming today! More Pointy Sticks!

I can tell a new semester is about to begin as I start to have my usual debate with myself where I question everything I am doing. Last year, when I registered for school just weeks before the semester started, I didn’t have too much time to worry about it, but over Christmas break and the summer break, I think about it all the time.

What am I doing with my life?

See, this is how the debate goes:

I want to get a degree so that if anything ever happens – if Mike should go through a layoff as we have seen before here in Houston, or he should get sick and I have to work, or whatever – I can make more than the crappy salary I used to make. We could not survive on the huge pay cut we would have to take if I was the sole provider. Ok, I guess we could survive, because I did it before, but it would not be easy. I want the security of a degree and the option of a decent income that goes with it. Another type of security that I want is one of the best medical alert systems, just in case one of us gets very sick while the other is out.

I want to be a professional photographer. The money isn’t super, but if I am honest – I have had a passion for it for 20+ years. I love to take photographs. I am happiest when I am taking pictures.

I want to get a degree. I want to finish college since I never did 17 years ago.

I want to take pictures for a living. That is a lot more fun than “working for the man.”

To make money taking photos, you almost have to take people photographs. At least that is what it seems like – that is where the good steady money is. I’ve never taken a lot of people pictures, other than being a “party pic!” person for part of a semester in college and being at a wedding or two where I have taken shots. Those shots came out so well, the brides framed them instead of the ones that the “pro” photographer took. Shooting a wedding was fun, although I can see it would be stressful and I know nothing about using a fancypants flash. Plus I would need more equipment. But I could do it. And I think it would be fun.

I could take baby, child, or family photos – but I would want to try my hand at it first, because really? Photographing a rose or a sign is a lot easier than a toddler. The things I shoot most often don’t move.

I love science. I really enjoy being back in school. While it terrifies me, I am looking forward to the challenge of Organic Chemistry this fall. Based on the book I bought yesterday, I think my psych class will be interesting. I want to finish my degree.

I want to focus on photography full time. I want to take baby photos. I want to share my photography passion. I wish I wasn’t taking Organic Chemistry, because it conflicts with Photo II and I can’t take that this semester. I really wish I could – at the Tomball campus – because it would be so great to learn more.

I really hate having this debate every semester. I am torn between my logical and my creative side. Sometimes it really sucks being a Libra. My scales are not balancing this week.

I am planning on seeing Katie and baby Henry next week. I’m going to talk with some of the moms of babies that I know to get together to photograph them. I’m going to see if some of the moms are willing to do pumpkin patch photos with me to help me build a portfolio. That will help give me a feel for what I want to do, and it might help me balance the scales. Or it may make everything tip back and forth even more.

Mike asked me today if I could do both – go to school and be a photographer. I’m afraid I would feel pulled in two different directions and it would be too much. I don’t know, we’ll see.

I am trying to simplify my life. I am trying to focus, and not put too many irons in the fire all at once. I am trying to follow my passion while being logical. I am trying to not do too much.

Anyone getting married in Houston in the near future? I would really like to shoot a wedding. You know, if it works with my class schedule. Can’t do it if I have a test on Monday.

*sigh*

Scene: Jason is sitting in the kitchen, working on his homework. He starts singing the “Poke you in the Eye” song (by the fabulous Flying Fish Sailors) that I use as the Pointy Sticks theme song. I comment that I need to finish the podcast tonight.

Me: Dude, your Mom podcasts…
Jason: *laughs*
Me: You know, there are all these mommy bloggers out there that blog about what their kids do. Like what they ate and if they pooped today. Can I do that? You know, like blog about whether or not you poop? (FYI, he is 14, not 2. So I wasn’t seriously going to blog about his bowel habits. I’m not that mean.)
Jason: *snorting laughter* No. That is just crazy. Those moms are nuts. Who wants to read about whether or not their kid poops? I bet if you look closely at their photographs, the background is a room with soft padding pillows on the walls. That is just insane!

I guess their will be no mommy blogging for me. Although he did say I can blog about his dates when he starts dating. I asked if I could post photos too, with the black bar across their eyes to protect their identity. He said I have to use more than just a black bar. I can give them nicknames though – like “trampy dressing girl” and “geek girl.” Sweet!

Speaking of geek girls, Ann? Jason’s ears perked up when I mentioned that your daughter is in an Anime club at school. He said to get her IM and to give you his IM and they can chat.

Signs of the future – fixing your kid up via IM. Ah, the joys of the teenage years.

(Update: Uh, ok. I fixed all the typos. Dr. Phil was on in the background when I typed this originally, and the Dr. Phil? He makes me a little crazy. Obviously, he was messing with my typing skills. Oops.)

Taken in Austin, Texas on July 3, 2006 while visiting Tara. Click here to see the photograph larger and in its full glory, or click the photo to go to Flickr and read the rest of the story behind the shot.

We went to the Gee’s Bend exhibit today, which was quite cool. It was really interesting to see the quilts in person, and you could immediately see the influence that they had on the women at Mason-Dixon Knitting and how the log cabin blankets featured in their book came to be. (I’m sorry, I can never keep Kay and Ann straight. I blame it on the three letter names. I think it was Ann that went to see the exhibit in New York in 2003, but there is a 50% chance that I am wrong.) If you love quilts for their perfection and fancy fabrics, these may not be your thing. The beauty of these quilts is more in the story that they tell, the hardships of their life and the “make do” attitude that they had. It was a really interesting taste of American history.

After we toured the exhibit and the gift shop (whee!), we went to the restaurant downstairs. The manager, who had been working in another area, came over to take our orders. As we ordered our drinks, he scooped the glass through the ice to fill the glass.

This is like nails on a chalkboard to me, but about a million times worse.

So then he did it again to Katy Blogless’ drink. Then he did it to mine.

I seriously couldn’t take it anymore. I said, “You shouldn’t do that.”

He gave me a rather puzzled look. I said, “You shouldn’t scoop the ice with the glass. You’re handling money, and it is dirty, and then you are dragging the glass through the ice and that isn’t good.”

As he admitted it was wrong, poor Katy was getting grossed out just thinking about it. Katy is a relatively calm person. She is not the type to make waves over this. Plus her glass was one of the ones he just did this to – so it was totally grossing her out. She kept telling me to stop. Just stop. Don’t talk about it. Poor Katy, I didn’t mean to upset her.

But really – did you see the Dateline special? (Or 48 Hours, or whoever.) It was all about how ice is the “non-food” to most people working in the food industry, and so many cases of food poisoning are actually from the ice. They tested the ice that they collected from restaurants, and it was almost enough to make me never order a drink with ice again. It was nasty. I won’t bother quoting specifics (mainly because I don’t remember them), but a lot of times when you get sick after eating out, it wasn’t the food. It was the ice. The food no one thinks about.

So just think about that the next time you see someone doing that to your drink. Ewwww…

(In case you wondered – they are supposed to use a scoop that is then stored outside of the ice bin. Never use the glass or leave the scoop in the bin, because then the germs from people’s hands get in the ice thanks to cross-contamination. And don’t even get me started on how people don’t wash their hands in public bathrooms because I could go on about that all day. Sing the ABCs as you lather up the soap to make sure you wash them long enough, and always wash your hands!)

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Originally uploaded by bpc.