Inspiration

For the last several months, and even more since I invested in my Nikon D80, I've been thinking about starting my own photography business. I still have a long way to go with honing my skills and improving technique, but I think that it could definitely become my full time gig some day. I love capturing life, laughter, and quiet moments that are important to an individual. I think that I need to invest in some other lenses, but with time and a lot of practice, I'm determined to make something of my hobby.


Today I found out about the Love Affair Workshop. At first I didn't know what it could be. I quickly learned that it's a workshop for women photographers in North Carolina. It's a gathering of four photographers from around the country, helping other women photographers improve their skills and technique. I was stoked! While I won't be able to attend their workshop in February, I would definitely like to keep tabs on them and go to one of their workshops in the future. It would be a fantastic opportunity to network with other photographers as well as learn from the experiences of others. The things you find when just searching around! Thanks Style Me Pretty! Eventually, I would also like to attend the WPPA Convention, usually held in Las Vegas.

Keep reaching for it!!!

Speaking of Stress...

So it's been a pretty lousy 48 hours. Originally, it was only 24 hours, until I had to meet this morning's mishap on top of everything else I have been dealing with at work.

Let's begin with yesterday, Wednesday, August 22. I've been battling this one author for almost a month about the contents of his book. The issue at hand is his dubious opinion of the accuracy checker we hired to review his book. Granted, I will admit that perhaps his book was a little too high level for her to check; however, that does not give him the right to call her incompetent, send her irate e-mails, or throw temper tantrums. In essence, he does not trust the work completed, and wants it rechecked. What I don't understand is why he has been so resistant to helping and working with the solutions manual author as well as the accuracy checker. Instead, he decides to point his fat fingers at everyone else. Fast-forward to me trying to compare two manuscripts on a topic that I don't understand at all! Until midnight. ::sigh:: The book is supposed to go to press next week. Actually, it was supposed to go to press originally last week. I went to bed dreaming of the foreign language of mathematical statistics.

Enter this morning. I head to work a little later than usual since I had worked so late. I was approaching my exit on the freeway and I started to hear a vibrating noise. I didn't think much of it because I thought that it was the large big rig behind me. I merged right. The sound didn't dissipate and I noticed that my car was also starting to shake. Luckily, I was very close to my exit. I turned left, and I also noticed that the lady in the car next to me was looking at my car with a funny look. I pulled into the gas station to discover just what I needed (not really): a flat tire. I remembered I had a spare, so I called AAA, and ordered a repair truck. Within 30 minutes the truck arrived, and the driver then discovered that my spare had a nail through it. Fantastic! My only option was to get towed to the tire store and get my tire replaced. After I got everything straightened out between the tow truck and tire store guy, I was set. It just felt so "perfect" that after all the stress of the night before, it carried over to this morning.

I am taking tomorrow off, except for a short phone meeting with my boss. I need it. I need to not hear from that author ever again. His book needs to be printed. I am not responsible for it's accuracy. It's only a job and I don't get paid enough to worry about everything.

Good night.

Hello Stress

I started this week thinking that it would be an easy week. I caught up on most of my projects last week and everything seemed to be running smoothly. Then I opened my email.

I found multiple irate emails from an author who was upset about the process of his book. He ranted about how there were all kinds of incorrect answers, that the accuracy checker was a joke, and that he couldn't understand how everything had gone wrong when everyone had assured him that all was right. I wanted to write back "Calm down drama queen" but of course that is neither professional nor cordial.

This is not the first irate email I've received from this author. It's probably the fourth or fifth, but I was able to deflect those emails and forward them to my manager. Unfortunately, she's out of state until Tuesday, and the last few days, his ranting has become my burden to bear. That's always great. Some quick thinking and effective problem solving? No problem.

Luckily, the problem has been resolved, for the moment. I definitely felt like the lion in the comic and wanted to choke the living daylights out of him, or a quick, hard smack across the face. I think what stressed me out the most was the fact that if conscious steps were taken from the get-go, a lot of these headaches could have been avoided. But alas, such is life, and as my manager tells me, "What's happened, happened. Let's figure out a solution." It's hard not to dwell on things gone awry, but issues need to be solved regardless of personal feelings towards the situation. I'm glad that I have such a good and much improved support system at work.

No more bellyaching for me.


*Comic courtesy of jwolfe.clara.net/humour/favorites.htm

Adventures in Air Travel

I arrived at the airport on Wednesday afternoon to have my makeup remover thrown away, simply because it was 0.6 ounces over the limit, then have two of my bags x-rayed twice, and my suitcase searched through and rummaging through my underwear. Fantastic my private items out in public in Salt Lake City.

When I finally made it to the gate, I sit down, open up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows only to cringe at the latest announcement: my flight is delayed "indefinitely". What does that mean?! Apparently there were thunderstorms looming in Dallas, wreaking a bit of havoc at the airport. Best-Case scenario: flight leaves a little late. Worst-Case scenario: flight gets canceled. Having already experienced a canceled flight to Dallas because of the weather, I didn't want it to happen again. But what can you do when you are left at the mercy of the ticket agent behind the desk? Not much, but hope that he or she is in a good mood. Thankfully, our ticket agent (never got his name) was in an excellent disposition considering the circumstances of grumbling passengers.

Luckily, at the next update time of 4:30 (the flight was scheduled for 4:10), the ticket agent reported that the FAA had scheduled our plane with a departure time of 5:56, meaning that if all went well we would board the plane between 5:00 and 5:15, push back, and wait for our designated departure time. I was crossing my fingers, while thoroughly engrossed in the final adventures of Harry Potter.

We boarded the plane around 5:20, and for the first time, I had seen a flight that was nearly 1/2 empty. Each row had at least one open seat, so I don't really understand why they charged me $100! for a flight change with so many open seats. Oh well, I digress. I had heard on the way on the plane that they would be feeding all the passengers due to the delay, however, I had already purchased a sub from Quizno's. I was a little miffed. As I sat and we took off into the sky, and held on for dear life through the bits of turbulence, I felt like anything but hungry. Thankfully, as we crossed through the clouds, the ride evened out, and I regained my appetite. Turns out they never meant to feed those left in coach; I must have misunderstood. I was glad I bought the sandwich.

I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and tried to sleep the rest of the flight. Good news from the cockpit: we would be landing early! Yay. However, once we actually did hit the ground, we taxied for about 15 minutes, and then sat. The captain announced that due to the numerous flights that were delayed because of the weather, we'd have to wait for the gate we were assigned to be vacated. It would be another 15 minutes or so. Great. I tried my hardest to read the content in the American Way magazine, but that was hardly engaging. Cent and I texted back and forth, wondering if I was on or off the plane or what. Nearly 20 minutes later we finally budged towards the gate. Sheesh. Then, to my utter dismay, we sat about 30 feet from the gate. After another ten minutes, the captain told us there was "no reason we should be waiting" but that the ramp staff wasn't there to help park the plane! What?! We finally pulled into gate A24, and I was finally liberated!

Gotta love travel.