Reality Check

I am honestly happier than I ever have been in my entire life. I am glad for everything that has happened in my life to make me who I am today.

Currently Listening To: Ben Folds - The Luckiest - Ben Folds Live - 2002

Not Sure Why

I really don't have any idea why, but today is an awesome day. It's not like I got an extra bit of sleep, or took any weird medicine that perks me up. I'm just in a crazy good mood this morning. Of course, it probably helps that I have an awesome girlfriend.. ;-) . I doubt work will change my good mood. I've gone through some pretty rough days at work, but as long as I'm in a good mood when I start, I'm usually fine the whole day.

Went to the last night of revival at dad's church last night. Wow it was good! Bro. Bill is one energetic and amazing man for being 71 years old. Must have something to do with him being a full-bird colonel too. Hehe.. but yeah, it was great. I got so tired afterwards though.

Alicia and I played scrabble, which was fun for a little bit. She got "crazy" on a triple word score and pwned me... that's a 66 point word! Gah.. I was pretty happy though, I got some good words. Like.. "fag" and "pox" . I also put another word that I didn't know was actually a word.. hahaha

quice

Queest \Queest\, n. [Cf. Icel. kvisa a kind of bird, kvistr a branch of a tree, and E. cushat.] (Zo["o]l.) The European ringdove (Columba palumbus); the cushat. [Written also quist, queeze, quice, queece.]

Yeah, take that Alicia. You and your words. Pfffft... Okay yeah, I'm going to work now.

Currently Listening To: Rammstein - Engel (Extended Version)- Engel Fan Edition - 1997

I'll Be Fine

Yeah, so nothing much new today. An emotionally... well.. rough day considering some personal things going on. But getting better by the minute. Work was slow.. uh.. yeah, okay, nothing much to say here. Going to get Alicia sometime soon, then proooobably going to see Amber since it's her 20th birthday. But if not, probably go to the last night of revival at the church.

Currently Listening To: Institute - Boom Box - Distort Yourself - 2005

I'm Allergic

Got off work early today thanks to some allergies. I was no good to the kitchen at all.. Ugh, I hate that feeling. My face felt swollen, my jaw and sinuses felt swollen, my nose was stuffed completely (and yet still running non-stop), my eyes were swelling, my eyes were bloodshot, and I was miserable. My face even started itching! I have no idea what caused it, but it's better now that I've loaded-up on some meds. It sucks that I'm lacking a full hour of work.. argh.

Well, my lens cap, Kodak UC100 film, and polarizing filter will be coming in soon! Sahweeet! I wanted to spend some quality time with the Yashica today, but my allergies will probably stomp me again.. sigh. I want to do more people shots, but I'm pretty shy about going around and getting some! Afraid of getting this awesome camera stolen and also afraid of coming across some redneck douche that finds it offensive and hitting me. In the face. Not to mention (especially around here) that it's very unusual for someone to be walking around with a camera taking serious photos. By serious I mean that they aren't snapshots, they're thought out. Anyway, I'm thinking too much into this and not making it any better. I need to take a day to drive down back roads with the digital, the Yashica, and a bunch of film. Get some good farm, landscape, and natures shots. I just don't feel brave enough to go to Fulton and take shots, even though there are plenty of excellent people shots to take.

PP out.
(nevermind the silly snapshots in this post, not in a serious mood.. heheh)

Currently Listening To: Talking Heads - The Overload - Remain In Light - 1980

Scary

1. Alicia, thanks for posting, you rule! Hehe.. the ducks were great and I still have no idea what kind of fish that was. Creepy. We'll definately go there and do that again though. Maybe this time we should bring some food for those ducks before they decide to cripple us.

2. Silent Hill was fricking amazing. As someone that has played the games, I absolutely loved it. Even if I hadn't played the games before, I'd still love it. A truly creepy movie. Though the writing could've been better, it still got the atmosphere across perfectly. That darn siren still gives me chills...

Okay everyone, this is Alicia. Patrick said I could put some stuff on here whenever I wanted. Just to warn you though, I'm not really into the whole blog thing, but I'll do my best. The fact that I figured out how to write a new post says a lot (I'm kinda computer stupid).

So... what to write about...

Well, yesterday Patrick and I went to the park after dinner and before he had to leave. The weather was finally cooperating and we sat and watched the ducks. First of all, there was what I called a miniature red shark in the pond. What he was doing in the pond I have no idea. Patrick said it was just a fish. (But that is nowhere near as exciting as a shark, so we'll go with mine.) Second of all, there were lots and lots of ducks. I know that doesn't sound crazy, but here is where the crazy part comes in. Prepare yourself...all of the ducks we saw were guy ducks; there were no girl ducks anywhere. That is something to think about. Third of all, (yes, there is a third of all, it was a very eventful trip to the park) there was a crippled duck there. His right leg was all twisted and he couldn't walk on it. Poor little guy.

Okay, that's all I've got for right now. If I was as amazing as Patrick with the whole blogging thing, I would "totally" put a picture of a "jacked up" duck on here. Oh well, maybe next time.

Drill Weekend

Taken last summer on a hot afternoon.

All packed and ready to go! Lucky for me, I get to see my sweetheart before I head out. That just rules. My CD choices for the trip? DragonForce - Valley of the Damned, Snow Patrol - Eyes Open, Our Lady Peace - Clumsy, and Tool - 10,000 Days (because I can't get enough of it, especially Wings For Marie and 10,000 Days (Wings Pt. 2)). So yeah, the DragonForce album is definately
my "wake-up" music. Hehehe.. awesome album.


I was greeted this morning to a newsletter that mentioned the dreaded PT test is actually tomorrow at 7:30. Ugh.. Not only that, but there are "special admin duties" this weekend. That means a stack of paperwork on my desk. Probably due to be done by Saturday evening. On top of that, I still have Alert Roster, pay book (making sure everyone signs the proper line.. grr), and whatever else comes up. This includes 93's and SGLV's for some soldiers returning from the sandbox. It's always good to talk to them though. Especially ones that left a family at home and are still fine. I've got to say, I'm still pretty upset about Edwards no longer being with us. She's still missed, but sadly not talked about.

So yeah, off to get my haircut soon and spend even more time with Alicia. Yeah, I'm pretty crazy about her.

(Radio tower photo taken with Yashica TL-Electro, Kodak BW400CN film)
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Currently Listening To: Skillet - Under My Skin - Collide - 2003

All Is Well

Taken summer of last year at Grand Rivers.

Things are going good again. Hehe.. Wish I had more to put here, but I really don't. It's better I do that then ramble on and on about what I did today. Which was work on cleaning my deviantart account, talk to Alicia (which was awesome!), watch a movie with my brother (Hostel.. one nasty movie), and retouch-up some old pictures of mine. That is it. Oh, and I talked to Amber. Pray for her.. Her mom is doing much better, but now she's pretty sick and it could be serious. I am really worried. That is all.. I think.. oh yeah, and I screwed up an entire batch of hush puppy mix. I didn't think I put much salt at all, but apparently it was "like a salt block" . Sorry Gerry! It was my first time making it, so hopefully that's a "get out of jail free" card.

Taken summer of last year down the road somewhere. Adjustments made in Photoshop CS2.

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Currently Listening To: Third Day - Innocent - Wire - 2004

10,000 Days

I feel like crap. I feel healthy, but mentally and emotionally I feel horrible. I'm confused and stressed. I made a huge mistake.

In other news.. I'm listening to a leaked copy of 10,000 Days by Tool. It is excellent, but I'm too distracted to analyze it at all.

Currently Listening To: Tool - Wings For Marie (Part 1) - 10,000 Days - 2006

Day of Rest?

Panoramic stitched from six shots in Photoshop CS2. Taken with Canon PowerShot A520.

Gah! I am so tired! My fault completely though. I couldn't sleep at all, so I stayed up till three tooling around with the panoramics I took. I think I'll take a nap over at Alicia's later since she has to study. Blarrrrrgh, I would take a nap now, but then I'll be up all night again. Which I guess I could say the same for taking a nap over there.. but the other reason for not taking a nap is so I can see when she comes online. Anyhow, all that stuff is just.. uh.. stuff. Or something

Taken with the Canon A520. It's too bad I didn't catch this little guy in the middle of some aphid devouring action.

Nope, nothing really interesting to type here today. I should've brought my Yashica to church today. I thought about it, but I got too scared. The furthest I took it from home was when I went to Martin with it. I'm scared to really do much with it and that's bad. That's why I'm so interested in getting a Canon Rebel K2. And again, that's not the point. I saw a lot of great portraits there at church, and with this film, I can actually take a good photo without flash indoors (no blurring!). But I don't know.. it may just be considered too "weird" to bring a camera to church. Which shouldn't bother me really. If I really want to do photography, I'm definately going to have to do things outside of my "comfort zone" .

Canon A520 again. I couldn't get a good shot of this hoverfly's face without disturbing him.

In related "news" , my DeviantArt page has hit 3,125 pageviews! I just hit 3,000 a day ago. So I've gained 1125 views since March, 11th ! That's pretty awesome. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I have so far added 105 deviations just this month. More to come, no doubt. Pageviews is one thing.. what really matters is total deviation views. Hehehe.. the total number of views my gallery submissions have received: 5,324 .

Canon A520 again. Full shutter and full aperture makes for great sunset detail.
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Currently Listening To: David Bowie - Breaking Glass - Low - 1977

Good Day

Happy Easter, let's not forget why we celebrate it.
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Currently Listening To: Rammstein - Wilder Wein - Live Aus Berlin CD1 - 1999

ZOMG LEAKED TOOL

I am currently listening to the first new Tool single that was leaked tonight. WOW. This song friggin' rocks. If this is any indication to what the album will sound like, it'll totally pwn Lateralus. Here is the file if you want it.

Currently Listening To: Tool - Vicarious - 10,000 Days - 2006

Hooray For The Weekend

'nuff said.

Currently Listening To: Nobou Uematsu - Jenova - Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children - 2005

Friday!

I would have loved to use a telephoto lens to "stack" this photo, but I think it still works like it is.

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Oh my goodness it's Friday. This week has flown by so fast. Next week is drill.. sigh.. that just plain sucks. Especially since it's the PT test. I'm sick of stupid PT tests, but whatever. I'm in the army for some stupid reason (no bonus.. stupid recruiter. No GI Bill.. stupid recruiter. And possibly no tuition assitance.. I'm going to beat the living crap out of my recruiter). Seriously, the more I think about it the more angry I get. I get paid next to crap to be "on call" to go to war! It wouldn't be so bad if I had at least got all of the stuff my recruiter said I would. I signed a false contract more or less. Now really, if I was told all this stuff and then told to sign the contract that is supposed to include all this stuff but doesn't, don't you think that's more than a little misleading? It's friggin' ridiculous and I'm going to see what I can do about it. If it means getting my contract revoked, then fine, I'd rather not be in the army than be lied to around every corner. I say "sure, I'll volunteer to go to war for this country" and this is what I get. Anyway, here's some more shots from the 3rd roll of BW400CN. It didn't turn out as well as the second, though they're getting more favs on deviantArt.

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Rest in peace.
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All photos made using 1972 Yashica TL-Electro 35mm, 50mm Yashinon-DS lens, Kodak BW400CN film, and are copyright of Patrick Potts. Do not reproduce or use without my permission. Thank you.

I Hate Night Naps

Where's Domo-kun?

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Fell asleep, and now I'm up too late again. But I'm about to go to bed. Yaaaay... Anyhow, I have a linear polarizing filter coming in, as well as a 36exp roll of Kodak Pro UC100. This is some highly rated film, so I probably won't load it until I know I'll be getting some good shots. Maybe when the nurseries are filled with blooming flowers? Or I might chicken out completely and wait until a trip to Memphis.. which I might chicken out again. Do I really want to bring my classic SLR to Memphrica? I'd much rather have my digital stolen than my SLR. Not just because of the camera body (which is rare), but the lens (which is very rare). Sigh.. but I'll be stuck with so many poopy photos with the digital. I'll be stuck with macro shots since the little 6mm lens sucks at mid-distance. Perhaps I should go ahead and work some extra and purchase a Canon EOS or similar. I mean sure, $200 worth of camera body and lens would suck to get stolen, but at least I could replace it all without searching ebay and auctions for weeks.

Exciting stuff. It seems crazy to get into film, but it's my best option currently. I can do amatuer stuff without looking ridiculous with a point & shoot camera (which no one ever takes seriously). Besdies, these high end films look awesome! Comparing digital noise to film grain is an eye opening experience. Film grain can get ugly, yes, but not all the time. Digital noise is ugly all the time, every time, no questions asked. Just plain ugly. Add JPEG compression and it gets worse. Right now, even with the cost of film and developing, film is still the most cost effective option. Mainly because I don't have $700 to spend on a Canon Digital Rebel or a Nikon D70. At least this way I can have an SLR and still be able to purchase other lenses, filters, lighting equipment, and learn a whole lot more about exposures and timings.

So film it is.

This was (of course) taken with the A520. Four shots stitched, cropped, levels and curves adjusted in Photoshop CS2. Digital isn't completely useless... ;-)
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Currently Listening To: Tori Amos - 1,000 Oceans - To Venus And Back - 1999

Second Fixed

And this is the OTHER one I screwed up...

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Another day, another roll of Kodak BW400CN. I disregarded the dizzy diode meter in the viewfinder and shot completely on instinct of what I felt would be the proper shutter speed. I'm happy (and a little proud) to say that out of 24 shots, I only ditched about 4 or 5. I took notes on all of them, I believe I'll do that for all my shots from now on.. as long as I have the time to write down the speed/F number.

My right front tire will more than likely be flat in the morning.. so that sucks. I should go to bed now, but I had to post this for.. um.. whoever reads this. PLEASE. Give me some friggin' feedback if you read this! So yeah, it's just good to know that someone cares and that this isn't a complete waste of time. If anything, I do enjoy typing what's on my mind and posting photos, imagining that someone out there is looking at it and saying "wow, that's really good." For those that have commented, or told me in person or through MSN that you like my stuff or whatever, thank you! It means a lot. So, with that said, here are my favorites from today's film roll.

Alicia, 1/15 sec, F2.8
---Alicia, 1/1000 sec, F1.9
---Scotty, 1/250 sec, F2.8
---1/125 sec, F1.9
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And because I actually worked for these photos, I feel I should put this...

All pictures copyright of Patrick Potts, do NOT reproduce in ANY form without my permission.

And if for any reason you think that it's not work to try and find the exact shutter speed/F number combination to achieve the desired photo, then YOU try lugging around this heavy camera and find some good shots. I love photography, but there is a LOT more that shooting around a getting lucky. Goodnight.

Currently Listening To: Muse - Megalomania - Hullabaloo (CD 2) - 2002

A Huge Fixed Post

Okay.. here is the huge post that fixes the lame mistake I made. You'd think when a site says "Upload from URL" it means that it's going to upload to the blog's archive, not link directly to the DeviantArt image link (something dA doesn't allow). n00bs... So now I have to copy & paste the previous posts and upload the pics from my hard drive. Good thing I don't have anything to do. Grr..

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Shot through the mirror in the living room.


Well, the diode light meter system on the Yashica is off by about 2 stops. That means I can't trust it at ALL. Hahaha.. Out of 25 photos, only a few turned out decent. But I am extremely happy with this camera. I can already tell, even by the messed up shots, that this camera is all I've thought it would be. I can't wait to see my results now that I know not to go by the diode meter. Anyhow, some of the overexposed shots I salvaged and used as "old" shots. They look like they were taken a century ago and I love it. Anyway, enjoy these shots, they were resized and cropped off the wal-mart CD.



Some trees I got walking down the road. Not as overexposed, but still overexposed.
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"Old" shot. It would've looked pretty cool had it not screwed up.
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Now I think this looks cool. Even if it was a goof up. I absolutely love the 1.9 f/stop aperture on this lens! It creates such a dramatic depth of field.
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Currently Listening To: Ben Folds - Sentimental Guy - Songs For Silverman - 2005

1972

Obviously, 1972 was a good year. I got a 6v battery (PX28L) and some black and white film from wal-mart. Nothing fancy, just a cheap 400 ISO test roll. At first I was a bit worried. See, the camera is supposed to take two small 3v "fat" batteries. However, it can accept a 6v PX28 battery... with a little force. The site didn't mention that the battery would be so difficult to put in. After about 10 painful minutes of pushing as hard as I could on the screw cap, and attempting to twist it down, the battery was in and I was ready to load the film. You know how long it's been since I loaded a roll of 35mm film? Years. You know how many times I've loaded 35mm film into a manual camera? Never. I looked more than a little perplexed at first, but I soon got it loaded.

I discovered two things: First, the aperture only adjusts when the camera is on. I was worried earlier when I was adjusting the aperture ring and it wasn't moving at all. However, no worries now! Second, I know nothing of light meters. The LEDs do not light up on the knob or even near it (the knob for adjusting shutter/ASA). It's simply two arrows when looking through the viewfinder. I set the ASA (400 in this case) and then I simply adjust the shutter speed and aperture until but arrows light up. If I need a faster shutter, the top arrow will light. Pretty awesome to a kid like me that thought this stuff was impossible in the 70's.

So now I've got a whole lot to learn. I'm loving it. Anyway, goodnight.

Currently Listening To: Muse - Dead Star - Hullabaloo (CD 2) - 2002

Film

I have finally decided on two things. The first is very important and was really difficult to decide on. I've decided to go ahead and at least give college a try. It's going to be difficult, no doubt. Especially since I've been out of school so long and I was never all that good in school anyway. I'm worried about math more than anything, but okay, maybe I can do it. So yeah, I'll be putting in my app again real soon so there are no mistakes. I have to pass the PT test for the Army to pay for it, something I've been having a huge issue with. I'm not sure what the deal is with my breathing, but I've got to keep trying.


The second decision is something completely awesome. I followed online information and did a full look over of my camera (the Yashica film camera) and all it needs is a PX-28 (6v alk battery) and a roll of standard 35mm film. The shutter took several 1/1000 sec "dry" shots to release the "sticky" feeling (due to oxidation, it is 34 years old afterall), but now it runs every shutter speed just fine! Even the 1 sec, which is the most common shutter speed to fail on this model. So after being baby-fed on digital for so long, I'm taking the film plunge. I'm really excited as this will take a lot of trial and error to get right. No instant results. I'm going to try and keep a note pad on hand so I can keep track of my shutter & ASA (ISO) speeds. This way I'll know what went right or wrong in each shot. Now, if the LED's still function, the shutter/ASA knob will have lights to assist in finding the proper setting for the scene. But if not, I'll have to go by what I already know.


The camera really is quite amazing for its time. First, it's a clone of an old Pentax camera of the same era. The M42 screw lens mount is the same, therefore I'll have access to the wide variety of M42 lenses. And I mean WIDE variety. I'm looking at a page full of them, ranging from $60-400, not bad for some awesome lenses. Not to mention that this camera has up to 1600 ASA (ISO), 1/1000 shutter speed, and even a custom shutter mode. On custom, it stays open as long as I keep the shutter pressed. That could take some getting used to for it to actually be of use, but a cool feature. I'm excited.. definately. Film, here I come!

I Need New Shoes

What a great day! Alicia came with me to Life Church (formerly Love & Truth Church). She enjoyed it and liked how friendly everyone was. The coffee was good and strong, and the donut was exactly what I was craving.. haha. Anyhow, I'm drifting all over the place on subjects. I'd like to thank Heather for giving my blog a good look through and the kind compliments on my art! It's definately appreciated.

Nothing too interesting to put here right now. But I figured it would be better to stay updated. Alicia heard a Dragonforce song in my car today... and liked it! Gasp! That's just.. awesome! So yeah, these pics are (obviously) macros I took the other day. The point is to admire the tiny details in life. Simple, but accomplished what I was thinking in my head.

Currently Listening To: Nine Inch Nails - Where is Everybody - The Fragile (Right) - 1999

Updates

I've uploaded a TON of work to my DeviantArt. I'd appreciate it if everyone (anyone) takes a look. Here's a few of what I added...

Other than that.. um.. Alicia, I love you!!


Just saying...

Currently Listening To: Third Day - King of Glory - Offerings: A Worship Album - 2001

One More

One more slow day. I don't mind it, I'm quite relaxed. But I'm also super tired for some reason. Oh! Before I go any further, pray for Joel, he's having stomach pains that he says are like the ones he had before the pancreatitis. I'm pretty daggum worried about him, that was some serious business.

Um.. where was I. Oh yeah! I have a total of 81 deviations to look through in my dA message box. That's going to take a while. But I really don't have anything to do tonight, so no problem really. I have several macro shots I made today from a box/paper/light bulb setup. I tried to balance the incandescent light temp as much as possible, but it's fairly difficult to get right. Some of the shots are interesting but most are simply macro shots, nothing special.

Last night I had an awesome time with Steven, Joel, Hunter, Kevin, Alicia, Erica, and two other girls I already forgot the names of. We went to a Hibachi grill in Jackson and it was quite good. I had red snapper, quite possibly my favorite kind of fish. It was the Friday before passover, so Alicia couldn't eat any meat. So bad timing on that. ;-) "Oops." And Starbucks afterwards was great! Mmmm.. Nothing like supporting my investment and enjoying it at the same time. Hahaha.. hahahahahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!! HA!

Yeah okay, I'm bored. Adios. Back to dA and Photoshop. Here's a panoramic I made today.. I don't like it. I find it very uninteresting. The focus is bad (distance is difficult for this litte lens) and the sky didn't accent the flowers very well. But it's a stitch of 11 shots (the final resolution was well over 5000 pixels across), which is the most I've ever stitched without tearing. Enjoy it or hate it.

Currently Listening To: Yngwie Malmsteen - Preludium - War To End All Wars

Wow, what a suprise! I come home to 30 messages on deviantart, all of them favs from people. This photo was featured in a Deviant's journal (the deviant is a photo club exposing artists with less than 10,000 pageviews). It brought quite a bit of attention. Even better, the journal was a late post, so when the busy hours hit tomorrow, I'll get even more views. This is really awesome. By the way, thanks Steven for the comment. I'm sorry your camera is broken.. :-P I think I'd cry if mine broke. Hehehe.. Anyway, this really makes me happy. Especially since I've favorited close to 2,000 deviations. That's a lot of browsing. I'm also about to hit 2,600 pageviews! Yaaaay, for once I'm getting noticed. Now I've just got to keep it up and continue improving. Canon Digital Rebel XT... droool. If I can do well with a little A520, an SLR would be quite the asset.

In other news, I had an experience with a large, rabid dog today. I was about to leave to go to the (gay) rodeo, when I see this huge red dog standing next to Nathan's car. He's staring straight at me, tail straight back. I ask the dog "are you friendly?" and he growls at me. At this point I think "Oh, CRAP." I calmly look over at Nathan and say "do something." He says "hey!" and the dog looks. I make a mad dash for the door and get inside. Mind you, this dog had mad amounts of foam coming out of its mouth.

Well, I go back to my room and grab my .22 out of the closet. I grab a small handful of bullets and load one shot. As I'm walking back to the door I'm shaking, realizing I was a few feet away from this obviously insane and unhealthy dog. This dog was huge. I was pretty scared. So I get to the door and there it is, walking around anxiously, like it didn't know where to go or what to do, randomly growling. I open the door and scream at the top of my lungs in the most horrible voice I can. It runs to the road only to turn around, ears up and barking. I just needed the distance. I walk out and walk towards it a safe distance so that a stray bullet would go harmlessly into the treetops if it were to ricochet.

As I take aim, I yell at the dog to keep it confused and (hopefully) in the road. I click the safety and it immediately gets the low growl and look of "I'm going to charge you into the dirt and rip you apart." The dog takes two steps forward and I fire right next to its paws. The dog jumps and runs towards me! But only for a split second, enough to send me bouncing backwards, planning my route to the door. But then the dog runs full speed down the road. Talk about a sigh of relief, there was no way I would be able to load a shot fast enough and my last resort would have been a buttstroke. Not something I want to try against a huge, angry dog.

The rodeo was interesting I guess. It wasn't boring, but I really can't understand why it's such a big deal. Or why some people think it's a big deal. Oh, you big man you, you sure showed that calf who was strong. I mean come on! No wonder rednecks are made fun of so much. So ridiculous. And oh, bullriding? Yeah, that's cool. Hey, I'm going to go run my car into a tree! YEEHAAAWWW! LOLOL OMG WTF! It was fun spending time with friends, but the rodeo itself was an exercise in human stupidity. All in all I had fun though, honestly. What was very interesting, to say the least, was eating far too much ice cream with Alicia and Brit. WOW that was too much. Hahaha... Ahhh, it was a very good night.

Had a nice 10 minutes (I think) of off and on sleep on Alicia's bed while we recovered from the sugar overload. Then we hung out in the car until 1:00, talking about stuff. I did most of the talking, about fears and career choices and life in general. It was sooo good to get it all out and to hear her words concerning the subject. She is being very helpful in making my decision. There is a lot going on in my life right now, and I can't discuss all of it here yet. But I will as soon as I can. Oh, and pray for mom and dad while they are out of town. Goodnight!





Currently Listening To: Incubus - Here In My Room - A Crow Left of the Murder - 2004

My window is fixed! Huzzah! I know I said I would post a picture of the damage.. but then I realized that the damage was simply the lack of a window. Very uninteresting. Nothing much new. I smell bad and I'm going to the rodeo tonight with Alicia and the others. Should be fun.. or something. Hehehe...

Yesterday I took 75 photos. Lots of panoramics, only a few didn't stitch. They're in my DeviantArt page if anyone wishes to view them. I'll post a few here though, just a teaser. ;-) I really enjoy taking pictures. Very few of my friends around here take an actual interest in my photography, and that doesn't really bother me, but it's nice to get real feedback now and then. I know it seems like I'm just snapping shots and tossing them on the web, but this is something I love. This is my passion. I think through most of my shots, and I carefully post them through photoshop. I'm not asking for much. I'm not asking anyone to subscribe to DeviantArt. I'm not trying to impress anyone. Just give a crap about what I love to do.

Currently Listening To: Ill Nino - Predisposed - Revolution Revolucion - 2001

Lack of Sleep

Gah I'm tired. I'm still relaxed from my day off yesterday, but tired from staying up way to long with Alicia. Well, not only that, but I wasn't able to sleep when I got back home, so I went ahead and worked out the panoramics I stitched together (yes, more).

This morning is sort of an angry morning. Mom is rushing around all over the house trying to get "everything" done (there's really not that much to do). It's one thing to rush around, and it's another to run into the room every two minutes to remind me about something that she's already told me three times before. Not only that, but I'm probably going to have to walk from work to K&N Body Shop this afternoon. And finally, I'm still upset about something I'd rather not mention. All I'm going to say is that I have an unspoken prayer request.

So yeah, on the upside, I'm not completely down. I'm happy about spending time with friends Friday night (planning on it) and tonight. I'm also happy about all the time Alicia and I got to spend together yesterday. Not only that, but I'm happy with how I've been doing lately with photography. Winter is my least favorite season for photography, and spring is my most favorite, so expect much more. This photo is one I took yesterday with Alicia. It's three shots stitched and some heavy level adjusting. So no, unfourtunately the sunset did not look like that. Anyway, I'm off to work!

Currently Listening To: Smile Empty Soul - Fight of a Suburban Couple - Anxiety - 2005

Lazy Wednesday

No, my name is not leap sherbert. (S)omeone (H)ad (B)etter (R)ead (T)his. Hahah.. but I did think "sherbert" when I did that, so I guess. It's fairly easy to remember. Oh yeah, notice I added my recent tracks to the top of my page. This is a live updating feed from my Last.fm, from my iTunes. So whatever I'm listening to at the time, you'll see. Anyway, I'm off to continue my lazy day off work. And Joel, that sucks big time. Booo IRS!

Currently Listening To: Pink Floyd - Cluster One - The Division Bell - 1994

Isolate

Duplicated the layer, desaturated the dup, applied a reveal all mask, then I spent a full hour painting in the flower. Would've taken about 40 minutes had I not been browsing and faving on dA. I'll probably do more photos like this, I really like the effect (even if it is a big cliche).

Currently Listening To: Ill Nino - Nothing's Clear - Revolution Revolucion - 2001