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PU

I have trouble sleeping here at the seminary.  It isn't because people say it's haunted, it isn't because there is no air conditioning, and it isn't even because it's uncomfortable, I got one of the new beds.  

Tonight I was downstairs with a classmate when I got a whiff of skunk through the open window.  Then we came up to our rooms.  Oh yeah, we had turned our window fans on earlier to cool off the rooms.   I'm pretty sure my arsenal of essential oils isn't going to do me any good now.  At least I will know what is about to keep me awake all night tonight.  

at it agin

Day one (at the least the first FULL day) of my fourth session of school is over.  I was way less nervous than last year, still sad about this session taking two weeks from my favorite time of year, but after the insane summer I've had, a change was a welcome thing.  I had a little heart to heart (hahaha) with my BIL law before I left and he said that if they green lighted the heart transplant photo journey, that he would be true to his word and cooperate with me.  

I won't know how the photos go over until next week when we have our critiques.  This week will be all classroom time.  

I really hope the utopian portrait project goes over well too.  Last night I showed the photos to a classmate and she pulled out the photos of the people who hang out on the street and said they were stronger. She was right.  I might have to only show one side of my favorite place in the world.  Let's see what the majority votes on this one.

I didn't sleep at all the first night here, so I am going to crash.  I hope I can get some good sleep in tonight.  

 

 

i hope

In a world where my personal philosophy of "It pays to be nice, so just be nice"  may or may not pay off , I am thrilled to say that it may have paid off!!  Last weekend when we had our annual cocktail party with the neighbors, I showed one older guy (who some people don't like, but I think is a sweetie) my portrait project on Utopia.  I always try to talk photo with him becaus eit is an interest of his.  He was full of praise, and very earnest about being sincere about it.  I was flattered and thrilled with his praise , because I could tell it was genuine, but tried to keep my ego in check until I hear it from my advisors at school (3 1/2 day saway).  I'm happy with what I've done, and I hope they are too!  Well.  The guy from the party just called to tell me that he was raving to his son THE PHOTOBOOK DESIGNER about my stuff and the big time PHOTOBOOK DESIGNER said that he'd love to see my work and give me any advice I might need.  I didn't even know about the son!!!  I am stoked!!

We are having the best storm of the summer so far.  Over 40 minutes of crackling thunder and shots of lightning.  I wish pal was here, because with him Storm Party meant cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.  With Evan it means lounging on a coach with him on another couch, each one of us with a lap top perched on our lap and a news channel babbling on in the background.  Welcome to the 21st century.

We had a huge weekend last weekend.  I mean huge in insane, busy, wonderful and terrible.  First on Friday afternoon my BIL came to stay with us for the weekend.  I had made an appointment to photograph a new utopian friend and when I went down to her house I not only photographed her, but her dashing son with his adorable daughter.  The dad and daughter had such a great thing going on, that if they were a cartoon there would have been floaty hearts surrounding them.  It went both ways and was just abou tthe sweetest thing ever.  My new friend and I could have chatted forever, so I convinced ehr to come join us for dinner since Evan had fled for new town and my BIL brought some food with him after I had shopped for the whole weekend. 

So we had a very nice dinner.  Then Saturday we had our annual cocktail party where we invite all the enighbors.  It was a great time too.  One guest stayed almost 6 hours!  

Then things went from fabulous to fucked up.  We were all sound asleep except my BIL and he was walking through the house at 2:15AM when he slipped and fell down a few stairs breaking his wrist and getting stuck on the floor, being too weak in the legs to get up without using his arm.  There were calls to the transplant doctors, his wife, an ambulance ride, Emergency Room, misdiagnosis, pain killers and cast,  and for me, GUILT, and then guilt indiced sandwich making, driving home, and apologizing to his wife.  I said "I broke your husband."  Then we found out that his wrist wasn't merely cracked, as the ER doctor said, but was broken in half and needed to be "reduced" which essentially means a procedure in which the misalligned bones are pulled apart and then placed back end to end so that they can heal properly.  I hope they laid in enough pain killers for him! 

I was so upset after hearing this extra bad news that within hours I could feel the burning sting of a cold sore emerging on my lip.  Great, because you know, I want to look like a herpes ridden nut case in 3 1/2 days when I show up at school! At least I think I am showing up with decent photos.

I hope.

woo hoo friday

So, I missed my uncle's funeral today. I just couldn't get down to Florida.  My BIL is here because his wife goes on a religious retreat every summer and he isn't ready to be alone yet.  He has been referring to himself in the third person and The Grill Master.

Since I am the top chef of this house there may be a power struggle.

Looks like it might be a long weekend.

thank you prints

13 days but who is counting?  Yup, that is 13 days until my next school session.  You know how much shooting I will need to do in the next 13 days?!?!  As much as I can, and naturally since I have the day free tomorrow it decided to freaking rain!! As a mater of fact, it also decided to rain on my photo time today,  I did manage to hop out of my car and approach a couple of people, who were all friendly and let me take their photos, and now I am about to download them.  What I had no idea when I thought of this projecxt was how much scmoozing I would be doing in order to get people to relax before I even mention my intertion of photographing them.  The most interesting people I photograhed today were a couple of guys named Pete and Walt who were sitting, hanging out and smoking on the step of a closed restaurnt under the awning during the rain.  They told me they had been friends since kindergarten and that they called themselves brothers.  They remarked how valuable my camera looked and how I better be careful or someone might steal it.  I figured it wouldn't be hard to out run the two of them.  I have high hopes for their photo.  They said they hung out at the gas station for hours every day until the owner chases them away.  I'll look for them there to give them Thank You prints. 

i should get to work

School is rapidly approaching for me and in a discussion with a classmate where I wondered if there was a tactful way to request a room which did not house a 30 year old mattress, she mentioned not getting assigned the HAUNTED room.  There's a haunted room??  I WANT IT!!  If I had the haunted room, I would probably sit up all night with a ouija board trying to contact the dead.  Do you think they all know each other?  Maybe they could get a message to grandma for me?  Do you think that those who have not crossed over might have some insight to lottery ticket future high stake drawing numbers?  Are there even numbers on a ouija board??  

Now I am looking forward to school even more than I was before.  Hopefully at least someone I like will get the haunted room, so I can hang out with the ghosts even if I can't sleep with them! Speaking of people I like, one friend already quit the program and another is contemplating not coming back.  I'm a bit worried.  Our numbers are dwindling fast!  But I am thinking that anyone who makes it to this summer session will probably end up finishing, but you never know.  We started with 15 and are down to 12, possibly 11.  Also, there are guys I don't keep in touch with who might be fleeing the program, at this point, I feel like it is anything goes.  There is no way I would quit.  I have a thing about quitting.  It would have to be an extremely dire situation for me to quit.  

I am torn between photographing and relaxing.  I'm going to get very little relaxing in this summer and possibly even next summer too.  I wish this program finished in June instead of August!