Browse Author: beakatude

gettin’ stuff done

The worst part of taking time off of work is all the preparation I have to do before I leave.  As a “responsible” therapist, I need to make sure that all my ducks are in a row before taking off.  So, I had a “make-up” meeting on Tuesday for the Thursday meeting that I’m going to miss.  And now, I’ll have to use the next two mornings to see as many kids as I can to make up for all the Friday kids.  Otherwise those kids will get screwed out of their weekly treatment. 

Last night I also took care of ground transportation from and to the airport.  That’s another load off.  Since we’re arriving and leaving at such weird times, asking for a ride is just messed up.  Luckily SuperShuttle is cheap and they do door-to-door.  No subway rides at 3:00 am for us! 

I should really do some laundry tonight but we have our family dinner tonight!  Yum Yum…I can’t wait for all that Thai food! 

Make a wish!

IMG_4587.jpgLast night, we drove up to Brentwood to celebrate Holly’s Birthday. I also got to finally see Holly and Roy’s apartment! It’s a spacious 2-bedroom condo that made me miss living in West LA.

This week, the Brother and I will be celebrating our birthday with a family dinner on Wednesday and then a quick trip to New York City for the weekend. I already got some restaurant recommendations from Holly and Roy. Thanks guys! I can’t wait to try them!

NYC

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The Brother and I wanted to take a trip to New York City for our birthdays next weekend but I had to back out since I had meetings already scheduled and Jes couldn’t get time off. Well…things have changed and NYC is back on! Johnny bought two tickets already and his buddy couldn’t go anymore so I did some magic at work and got out of my meetings. Soooo…I get to go! Woohoo! It’ll just be me and the Brother out in the Big Apple with cameras in hand. We’ll be staying at our cousin’s apartment that will be empty since she will be on her way to Spain. It’ll be my second trip there but it was dumping snow last time. I’ve always wanted to visit in the fall. Fun fun fun!

In other news, it’s Holly’s birthday today!  Happy Birthday, Hols!

I have goals.

I went to my first photography class today. It’s called “Beginning Photography” and taught by a professional photographer. He’s be taking photos for 50 years and primarily shoots weddings now. We went over the basics of photography and how to use our cameras. It was a nice review and I feel pretty good about my basic knowledge of f-stops and shutter speed. I suppose reading all those photography books really did me some good.

So, my first assignment is to take 3 different photos with the subject with back lighting, front lighting, and side lighting. I’m also supposed to manually overexpose and underexpose each photo 2 f-stops…so I guess that makes 9 photos. Anyway, it’s really exciting to have assignments and to be working with 35 mm film again.

My goals:

  • to become a stronger, faster “manual” photographer
  • get a better understanding of darkroom techniques (so Photoshop makes more sense)
  • learn how to use a gray card
  • understand what makes a good black and white photo
  • learn new tricks for problem lighting conditions
  • gain new ideas on composition

OK. I have a lot of goals and none of them are measurable. I suppose their objectives then. I’m done rambling now.

I have just one word…

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…awesome. My brother sent me a link to a set of photos posted by BBC and the best one is this one. I swear he could be a cousin of mine. If my brother and I were there we’d be posing for the same photo. I’m just amazed at how peaceful this take down has been so far. I suppose there’s something to be said for the “buffer state” or “land of smiles”. What’s funny is the the U.S. is “disappointed” in the coup. I’m sure some Americans would love to do the same for our dear president.

thai_coup.jpgIf you don’t know what happened, here’s the low down: The Thai Prime Minister, notorious for using a buzzer to shut down “unproductive” questions during press conferences, has been forced out of office. This guy has pretty much squandered the Thai people’s money and did some pretty shady things. Well, under the “approval” the King (who the people LOVE), the Thai army went in and pretty much kicked the PM out.

Tanks and dudes dressed in military gear filled the streets and the Thais decided to come out and celebrate by decorating the tanks with flowers and ribbons and offering food to the soldiers on duty. It’s too bad this didn’t happen last January when we were there…that could have been me in one of these photos.

Yar…

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Ahoy mateys! It be “Talk Like a Pirate Day!” So git yer scurvy arses up an’ steal some booty!

OK…that’s enough pirate talk for me. I just gotta say that I feel like a new woman. I woke up without a headache – not even a tingle. Thank heavens cuz I had an 8:15 client this morning that sucked all the energey out of me.