Yep, you read that right. It feels like my brain is melting. Today was orientation for the new job, and it went well, but I took in so much information, that I need to decompress for a few days, but I have to go back tomorrow, and get a whole new metric ton of information crammed into my head.
The information from the orientation, and then in the early stages of training, is all videos and little quizzes. It isn't difficult stuff, but it is just a matter of getting 10 lbs of information in a 5 lbs bag. Yeah, I cleaned that old saying up quite a bit for this comparison. The practical training doesn't start until Monday, and then it should be a little more smooth. I can take quizzes and simulations for days, but that will never beat practical training, any day for me. The simulations tell you everything that you are doing, so you really can't see what is going on. You just follow the prompts and do what it tells you, but I'm more of a hands on person. I can get an understanding, but it really won't sink in until I actually have to do it.
That's the whole reason that I have done so many test pieces for the book case wand stand. I have to figure out how to do it. I know the theory behind all of it, but until I actually do it, it doesn't sink in as to what I really need to do, to pull it off. That reminds me. I have a picture for you, of the two little pieces that I'm making for whatever. One of course is going to Elie, and I'm keeping the other. They aren't done yet. I need to do one last pass with touchups, and then I'm going to clear coat them, to give them a little shine, but this will give you and idea of what the finished product will look like on the bookcase wand stand.
Not bad for just messing around with wood. I did think about getting in there and smoothing out the interior portions of it, but I like the rough distressed look of the wood in there. It gives it a little more texture. Anyway, I went with white for mine, and an ochre for Elie. I'm still not sure if that is the way I'm going to go. I may try another color on the final test piece. I did get it stained yesterday, but I did no work on it today, because of the melting brain thing. I'll get to painting it on Saturday. I have two ideas for colors to try out, but only one can go on at a time. I'll just have to get one on there, take a photo of it, and then try the other color, then send the photos off to Elie for her final approval of color.
Oh, I haven't heard back about the photography job, so I'm almost assured that I didn't get it. The person that did the interviews, mentioned that training was planned to start on Monday for that job, and since I haven't had that follow up phone interview, I'm out of the picture. You never know though, I could get the call tomorrow, and all that could change.
I know this one is brief, but I refer you back to the title again. I need to go get some nice, deep, recovery type of sleep. Peace in and goodnight.
I got a lot to discuss, so I may as well, just jump right in. I had that interview yesterday for the photographers job. It went well, but there are only two openings, and there were 5 of us there. Myself and 4 young women. I do believe that I am at a disadvantage for this job, so my hopes aren't very high for getting it at this point. I'm waiting for a follow up phone interview, which is supposed to happen some time this week. I will have a little more information on my chances after that, if it happens.
I'm supposed to have my orientation for the other job on Thursday, but I haven't gotten the information on where and when it is going to be. Since this is a large company store, they like to combine all their orientations on one location, and that location changes from week to week. I thought I would know where it is by now, but if I don't hear anything by noon tomorrow, I'm going to call and see if they know where I'm supposed to go.
The interview yesterday wasn't the only excitement that I had. I woke up to this weird hissing sound, so I wandered around the house until I found where it was coming from. As I walked into the kitchen where I thought it was, I found that it was in the utility room. I opened the door, and stepped into a pool of water. My first thought was that the hot water heater blew, because it was incredibly humid and steamy from hot water. A quick investigation found that it was the hot water line on the washing machine. It had blew right through the line and was spilling water all over the place. I got the valves turned off and began laying down towels to collect the water. I walked into the garage, and it was partially flooded as well. This was all before the interview, by the way. I still need to air out the garage, but I replaced the lines with much better steel braided and insulated ones, so they should be good for the next 100 years. I bought them from my new employer. It's too bad that I didn't have my new employee discount card. I could have used it.
Yesterday and today, I was also working on the wand stand, which I don't remember if I told you, I am now making it into a box case wand stand. It just came to me, that this could serve two purposes, and house all the Harry Potter books, and display the two wands that Elie is going to get. I measured everything out, for the right dimensions to fit the books, and I can make this look really cool. It's not going to be a traditional book case, that's a box with an open side. It will be open on both front and back, and it will of course have the wands on top as a display. I cut the final test shape out today, and got it sanded down and shaped the way I want it. It's a bit rough because the wood had some bad spots that made the cutting and engraving difficult, but the basic shape is there, and I am going to finish it as if it is the final piece, even though it won't be. It will give Elie and I an example of what it could look like.
Since I was done with the original test pieces, I decided to cut them up and make some fun shapes out of them. I stained both of them, and I painted the one I'm keeping. I wanted to see how it would take acrylic paint, and it took it really well. I'm giving one of them, (the one that Elie liked the engraving on) to Elie. It is about the size of a coaster, so she could use it for that, or, she could just display it on her desk near her HP books, until she gets the book case wand stand. I did get a picture of mine. It's not finished, but it is pretty much complete. I still need to do a few touchups to it, and then see if I can edge or distress it somehow. The paint I used is just too bright, and I want to tone it down through some kind of aging process. I just need to research ways to do that. I'm thinking tea, to naturally stain it, but I don't know if that will work.
Remember that Elie's will be the negative of that one. All the engraved areas will be raised and vice versa. I did a test with painting a small patch of the wood, and then staining over that, but it just turned the white paint a little pinkish. I think it is coming out ok so far, but I want the final piece that will go to Elie, to be perfect, so that is why I'm doing all these tests. I have to teach myself how to do this with the tools that I have, and I think I finally have the right way to get it done right. I'm also going to be upgrading the wood that I use for the finished piece as well. This has all been with pine plywood, and I'm going to get red oak for the final piece. It should be less grainy, and a lot less knots in it. The knots cause a lot of my problems with the grinding down for the engraving and the cutting itself.
I'm going to have to cut the side pieces out, and then put them side by side, to draw the Deathly Hallows symbol on them, so that they will match up properly. I'm going to measure everything out, and make sure they are positioned, and placed in the right place. The good news is, that since this is becoming a book case now, it is going to be larger than originally planned, which means the Deathly Hallow symbol is going to be larger as well. That makes it a little easier to do, so that is a bonus.
I will of course keep you up to date on how it is progressing, and I will take pictures when I think of it to share the progress visually to you.
I can say, that readership for The Patchwork Knight has gotten really weird. I'm getting the normal numbers on here for the rough draft, but the polished story on Medium is hitting an all time low. The last chapter I posted before this week had no readers at all. This weeks has had 3 views and 1 read. The oddest part of it, was that someone clapped for it, that didn't even read it. I know that claps are part of how the decide if you get paid or not, but I don't want claps when it wasn't read, that just sucks. Anyway, I'm nearing the end of the story. I think I have only 4 more chapters to write. I could draw it out, but that is exactly what it would be. Me drawing it out, and I don't want to do that to the people that have been reading it this entire time. I want it to end as powerfully as it began, and not whimper into an ending. I plan on writing those 4 chapters in the coming days, and it is a little depressing and exciting at the same time. I get to see this story come all the way to it's ending, but I get to see this story come all the way to it's ending. No, that wasn't a misprint, I wrote that sentence twice. The reason, is that that sentence is both good and bad to me. I'm happy to see it end, but I'm sad to see those characters finally leave my brain and reside in that story. I will no longer have full ownership of them. That is also a good and bad thing. I lose ownership of them, but everyone that is reading gains ownership of them and that is a fulfilling thought.
If you are up to date on reading The Patchwork Knight on here, then you will only have 6 more chapters to go. I have two ready and waiting, and then those final 4 chapters, that I need to write. If you are only reading it on Medium, you will have a couple of months to go, since I'm posting a new chapter every week. I really do hope that you are enjoying it. Once It has been up on Medium for a few months after it has finished, I will take it down. In that time, I will get the manuscript together, and try to submit it to a publisher and get it printed. I have to have cover art for it though. I asked one person to do it, but they are far too busy to get it done. Although I really think there style would be perfect for the cover of the book. I'm going to have to find someone else to do it.
I know what you are thinking. Why don't you do it? I could, but I want to share this with someone else, so that they can get recognition for what they do artistically. Maybe it could open a door for them into doing more cover art for other people. I can hope that any success I might get from this story could be passed on to someone else. I will be looking around for an artist to do this piece for that reason. Just throwing this out there. If you are an artist and would like to do some cover art for The Patchwork Knight, email me, and I will tell you what I see as the cover and then it is up to your creativity and free idea to see what you come up with.
It's time for Favorite Song of the Week, and I'm going back for this one. Back in the 80's the coolest avant-garde goth, even before goth was a thing, was Siouxsie Sioux. Her look always consisted of dark as night hair and her trademark black over abundant eyeshadow. She was and still is incredible. Siouxsie and the Banshees had a ton of hits like "Peek-A-Boo", which was their break through hit in the U.S. and "Kiss Them For Me", but they also did a lot of great covers, like: "Strange Fruit", "Dear Prudence", and the song I'm sharing with you tonight. This is a remake of an old Iggy Pop song from the 1977 "Lust for Life" album. Siouxsie and the Banshees took their shot at it in 1987, and it is more than likely the version of this song that you have heard. I give you Siouxsie and the Banshees doing the Iggy Pop classic "The Passenger".
How great are they? I really wish they would get back together and at least tour again, although I would love to hear new music. You can't always get what you want, so just listen to that song above, and all their other great songs, and remember the good ol' days.
I have an interview tomorrow, which is for that photography job, and then I should have my orientation this Thursday for the new job that I actually have. After that, I have about 5 days or so of trainman, and hopefully officially start in my new position the following weekend. This is going to be a blast.
Speaking of photography. Like how I made that segue into this whole thing. I have been working on photos all week from the skateboard shoot, and I'm still not fully done with them, but I'm getting close. I did one today, that I'm pretty proud of, and I'm going to post that on CSP on Wednesday, but I'm going to give you the free preview right here, and right now.
A little bit about this photo. When I started making adjustments to it, I began to see certain little details going wrong, but the overall effect was looking good. The main problem was in the details of her face. When I toned the luminance of the orange in the picture, it created dark blotches on her face, and that was a definite no go, but as I said before, the overall effect was really good. Once I was done adjusting color, tint, detail, and all that good stuff, I broke out the paintbrush. I only masked out areas on her face that were only skin tone. The eyes, features of the nose, and mouth were all left out, then I simply adjusted the dehaze and clarity. Bringing them both done, and got the effect that is above. It smoothed out the blotches and brought the proper color back into her face. I'm really happy that it all came together, because I really wanted to get this picture right.
I completed my other test piece on the, let's call it, The Deathly Hallows wand stand. I do believe that I will do one more test piece before I call it a go. If the next test piece comes out right, then I'm going to make that one side of the stand and start on the other one. Then I only will have 8 more pieces of that puzzle to put together. Yeah, this is going to be a complicated piece, but when it is done, it is going to look great. Anyway, here are the side by side comparison of the different ways I can go with the piece.
Ok, you have to ignore the shape of the piece on the left. That is only a piece of wood that I could carve out the symbol on. the next piece will be the final test piece on shape and design. The one on the right is a great deal easier to do, and I truly believe I can recreate that again and again. the piece on the left, is super complicated, and I'm not quite as sure about recreating that one as readily. Guess which one Elie chose to do on the piece. If you were going with insanely complicated one on the left, then you are correct. I will have to refine it a little more. I did still make some mistakes on it, with width of certain border lines and what not, but I do like the overall look of it.
We are going to stain it the same color red as my wand stand, and then I'm going to hand paint the inlay. We haven't settled on a color for that yet, but it is all about making the symbol pop. This is going to take a long time to complete, so don't expect to see the finished product anytime soon. Especially if I get the photography job. I will only be able to work on this in the evenings and light will be an issue. Even though the lounge is extremely well lit, when the door is open, it blocks a lot of the light, and I like doing all the carving and sanding by the entrance to the lounge. It's kind of like I'm that old man whittling wood on the front porch. It's really fun and relaxing working with you hands in this way. A little dangerous too. I get really intimate with the Dremel and have my bare fingers really close to where it is taking material away from the area of the symbol. A sane person would clamp it to a table and move around it, but what is the fun and sense of adventure in that. Before you ask, yes, I have ground down parts of my fingers on a few occasions. None on the last piece though. So, I'm getting much better at it.
One last note, before I call it a night (or day, which is what it is). I got to have lunch with one of the best people I know yesterday. She is one of the three. If you have been reading this for any length of time, you know of the three women that saved my life when I was at my lowest point, and hours from calling it on this thing called life. She has a new baby that is absolutely precious. It is always great to catch up with here. She is one of those friends where there is no beginning or end to a conversation, it simply picks up where it left off when we see each other. She is currently having some health concerns right now, that doctors don't quite have a grasp on. It is affecting her diet and how she has to eat. As of right now, she is in no danger, but as long as they don't know what is going on, she still has to watch very closely what she eats. It would mean a great deal to me, if you just simply send some positive vibes her way, so that she can get clear off all this, and live the stress free and happy life she so deserves.
That's it for me. I need to wash some clothes, and then sit back and watch some tv. I got an interview tomorrow, and I want to be fully relaxed and ready for it. Peace in and goodnight.
I began my slow march towards the Kingdom. I wouldn't be sneaking in or trying to make my way inside under cover. I would march loudly through the Realm destroying any Raider I would come across.
I had cleared every village within the vicinity of where I made my camp for the last few years. It was a long journey before I came across a single person let alone a Raider. A lone wanderer was traveling the trail in tatters that could barely be called clothing. He was too tired to even raise his head or run off the trail to avoid me. He was broken.
"Where is it you are coming from?"
"Please Sir, do you have any food or water you can spare?"
"I do, but I need you to answer my question first."
"I was a captive of the Mudwood. I managed to escape when they were allowing us to relieve ourselves. I ran as far and fast as I could."
"How far away are they now?" I threw the man a water skin as I asked the question.
"I don't know. I have been walking for days. They must have decided that I would simply die and left me to my own demise."
"Have you altered your direction since leaving them? Have you stayed on this trail the whole time?"
"No, I turned off the trail I was on a day ago. It was leading towards the Kingdom."
"Where were you heading towards?" I tossed him some dried berries and vegetables to eat. "Make sure you eat that slowly otherwise you will get yourself sick and have to start all over again."
"I am from a village near the desert lands. I was hoping I could find my way back there."
"You are heading in the right direction, but there is little there for you. The Raiders destroyed everything, before I could destroy them. There is one small area that you could go. If you follow this trail, you will run into the area I was camped. I lived there for several years as I rid this area of the Mudwood. There is a small hut and a garden, with some horses roaming free. There is no live stock but there is a steam of clear water. It offers little in protection of the Raiders return, but I'm going to do my best to see that they don't do that."
"Thank you, I promise I will keep it in good order until you return."
"I will not be returning, but maybe someday, the people will return to their homes. Consider that your home for as long as you want it."
"Thank you again. Did you say that you rid this area of Raiders?"
"I did."
"Are you...are you The Patchwork Knight?"
"That is a name I have been called."
"You are a hero to the people. Your name is spoken in quiet by us, but we have shared your tales. The Raiders speak your name loudly, and with pure hatred. You have made a mess of the Mudwood's plans."
"How do you hear these tales?"
"The villagers that you have saved, not all of them have made it to the Palace. The ones who have been captured along the trail have told of how you saved them and defeated entire armies with your twin blades."
"They aren't twins?"
"What?"
"The blades, they aren't twins."
"Oh. The Raiders get reports from their scouts of areas that were supposed to be occupied but have been empty of everyone and everything. May I ride at your side? I can handle myself with a weapon, not as well as Knight, but well enough to keep myself alive. I would be honored to help you rid the Realm of the Mudwood."
"I believe every word you say, but I do not ride with others anymore. I would much rather you rest in that small hut and regain all of your strength. Live your life as free as you can without having to fight. Be there to help the people reclaim their lives when they return. If you can handle a weapon, you can handle tools, and you can build s new village. There are several villages within a few miles of that hut, you can explore them for tools and supplies."
"But, you can't take on the whole of the Mudwood by yourself."
"I don't plan on it. It is my hope that by the time I reach the Kingdom, that they rest of the Targen Knights will meet me there as well, and we will all rid the Realm of the Mudwood once and for all."
"We have heard no word of the Knights or the King. It is only tales of what you have done to save the Realm. I think the King is happy living in his hidden Palace."
"Watch your mouth. I know the King, and it pains him every day that he is there and not in The Kingdom. It pains him every day that his people are in peril and not all safe. I have been to the Crystal Palace, and have seen how it is overcrowded with the people of the Realm that the King has given sanctuary to. The King wants nothing more than to ride from that hidden palace and drive his blade through the ruler of the Raiders. He would fight through every one of them if his men didn't stop him on a daily basis from trying to do just that. It may seem like he is sitting pretty, but believe me, he is in turmoil over the loss of life in the Realm, not the loss of his Kingdom."
"I'm sorry. I never heard it told like that. The people ask constantly what has the King done for us, but since we don't see the action we don't, well we don't know what actions are being taken. The people know what you have done, and since they don't hear of the Knights anymore, they believe that the King has given up on us."
"He hasn't. He is desperately trying to build his army larger, and training the Knights better, and adding to their number as well. The Mudwood greatly outnumber the King and all his men, but they aren't trained as well as the King's army and his Targen Knights. This will end by the King's hand, it will just take time. The King is on his way, and I will meet him at the walls of the Kingdom to help take back all that is ours."
"I hope that is so. I would still ask you if I could ride along with you?"
"I would still deny you that death sentence. Take care of that hut, and those horses. They were not wild from the start, so they will need care from time to time."
"Here, take this extra water skin and small bag of food. I can find more along the trial as I ride. You only have a day maybe two of a walk ahead of you to get to the hut. It is at the end of this trail."
"Thank you Sir Patchwork Knight. I will do as you ask, and I will tell the tale of how I met The Patchwork Knight when he was on his way to free the Realm of the Mudwood."
"See you well sir. I will tell the tale of the lost wanderer who told me the way to go, so that I could fight for the Realm."
"I turned on my horse and rode off at a gallop. I had some Raiders that I just needed to meet, and they were a few days away.
I am officially employed. I filled out all the online stuff like setting up my direct deposit, and tax information. Unfortunately they can't get me into an orientation until next Thursday, so that is my official start day. They like to do orientation with all new employees in the area, so the orientation location roams from store to store. They have to get back to me once they know where I'll be going.
I'm really happy and excited about this. I'm going to be learning a whole new set of skills, and a new area. I'll be working in retail, but on a different end than sales. It's going to be a great deal different than what I was doing before, but the skills I learned there are going to help me out at the new place.
I also got a response back from a photography job that I applied for. I have an interview with them on Monday. This is also going to be fun, if I get it. It will be with a difficult subject though. I'll basically be a school photographer. Remember when you had class picture. Something like that, but with much younger kids. There in lies the challenge. This is going to help me out a lot with my portrait photography. I think I'm pretty decent with portraits, but I need, and want to get a lot better. They do offer some training, since I will be using their equipment, which may be better than what I'm using, so the chance to use better cameras, is a definitely plus. It won't pay very much, and the schedules goes along with the school year, but it is a chance to do something I really love and get paid for it, so I'm all for the adventure.
I'll have to keep my belt tightened down, but I've been doing that for 6 months now, and have gotten quite used to it, so that shouldn't be a problem at all. I'll work my way up the ladder, the way I know I can. People always seem to always want to start at the top of things, but I want to start at the start. I want to learn everything about what I'll be doing, and then apply that knowledge to help me succeed and prosper. Things are worth working for. You don't always have to get it all at once. It isn't rewarding when you get things like that. At least not for me. This is about peace of mind and doing something that I really like doing. I think both jobs are going to be fun new adventures that are in a much better work environment than I was in before. That alone is worth the cut in pay.
Enough of the job talk, let's talk about something creative. I did get a photo of that piece that I was working on as a test for the new wand stand I plan on making for a friend. You can see what I did, and where I went wrong. I haven't had a chance to work anymore on it, but this is the basis for the whole design.
I may play around a little with the overall shape, but where I went wrong was at the top of the Deathly Hallows symbol. I got a little to grind happy and cut through where it was supposed to be solid. I leaned form that mistake, to slow it down, and take more time. I'm still going to try another option where the areas that are raised in that will be the cut out, just so I can see if it looks better than that. I do think that looks pretty cool, and would look great if done right and completed. Oh, back to that overall shape. What I'm talking about, is adding more roundness to that back side, or I may just take that extra concave bend out of it there, and take it all the way up to the arch in the area that looks like a handle. I'm not sure, when I sketch it out on the wood. I'll put lines for both ways, and see what looks best and then begin cutting. I'm going to try to work on that other test with the symbol tomorrow. If it looks decent, I'll put a picture up and you can tell me which version of the symbol you like best. It will still come down to the final opinion of my friend on what she wants, but I'll take all opinions and criticism about it, so I can do a better job with each piece that I make.
Today was the launch of a new TPR review, so you know I have a video for you. This was a place that did a Napoli style of pizza. If you don't know what that style is, you definitely need to watch the video and maybe check out the blog. This is the style that started all pizza, and this one was really good. One of my favorite pizzas that we have tried, so far.
Yes, we are a couple of nitwits, that don't speak Italian, and it is evident in this video. We screwed up the name of the restaurant more times then I could count. It is Mangia and Bevi Pizzeria Napoletana. Mangia is pronounced like manja. For some reason that was nearly impossible for us, but we got the video down, and I thought it came off pretty good. Let me know what you think.
I'm off to bed, so that I can wake up and start working on that Deathly Hallows symbol. I hope to have a picture of it for you on Sunday, but no promises. Peace in and goodnight.
I took the drug test yesterday, and it was a whole new experience. They had an oral test, where you had to place a swab in your mouth for ten minutes for it to soak up moisture or something like that. They want me to begin work right away, but the test has to clear first. The absolute earliest possible could be Wednesday night, but it is more than likely Thursday or Friday. I will have to go through orientation and then some online training as well as practical training before I officially start, but it is pretty much a done deal. Since yesterday was also the 2nd anniversary of the last time I had a drink, the only thing I take, is a low doze aspirin every morning, and that's not going to trip a drug test. I'm looking forward to this new adventure in life, and see where it takes me. Now I just have to find another job to make up the difference. I can't live off a weekend part time job, but at least it's something.
I have been going through photos like a mad man, and playing around with them until they look like something that I want to really see, and I have a new favorite, and I can't explain why. I think because it has a sense of vulnerability to it, but I'm not even sure about that. I got this in a moment when Snow was putting her hair up for a different look, and it was just the nature of the movements and how they were just so candid. I have a series of three shots in all of this, but this one, is just so perfect to me. I'm going to once again share it here first, but don't expect this to be a normal thing. I got to have some exclusivity to the CSP.
I just like how the whole thing came together, and it just seems to perfect to me. I'm sure I'm alone in this, but that is part of being a photographer. You do your best to capture the images that are given to you, and hope that people feel the same way about what you have done as you.
I just finished the video and the write up for the latest TPR and we are doing another one tomorrow. This is going to be our first chain. It is a local chain and it's origins are in Orlando, but a chain none the less. Technically the last one we ddid could be considered a chain, but all their locations are owned by the same ownership, so not a franchise. I believe this next one is a franchise, with independent owners, buying the name and rights to sell the product of the parent company. We have stayed away from National chains despite people asking us to do some of the lesser known ones. That is most likely because they don't realize that they are chains. I do my research, and have turned down a couple of them so far. Yes, I know my partner is supposed to be on top of that stuff, but well, you know how that goes. Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes on Thursday, and you will definitely see how it goes when it comes out in February.
It's time for Favorite Song of the Week. This is a cover of a great Queen song, and it is by someone that I actually know. I haven't spoken to him in years, because he is busy doing the music thing, and I don't like to bother people, but you may know this person from the band he used to front. They were pretty big in the 90's and early 2000's. The band still tours under the name but with a new singer now, but really, his voice was the band and when he left, they are simply a cover band of themselves at this point. Oh, did I mention that he was also the main song writer of the band? Anyway, here is J.R. Richards with the Queen classic "I Want to be Free".
If you want to here the rest of the songs, they are on the album Under The Cover. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention his original band. J.R. used to sing for the band Dishwalla. You know them, "Counting Blue Cars"? I knew you did, J.R. is a quality person. I got the chance to get to know him when he was living here in the area. He built a studio to record, and did and album here while he was learning Kung Fu at the school I was an instructor at. He was humble and genuine, so I got along with him rather well. We pretty much fell out of touch when Myspace imploded, but I still keep loose tabs on how things are going with him. Check out his stuff. He really is a talented singer and songwriter.
That's it for me. I'm off to bed so I will bright eyed and bushy tailed to eat pizza tomorrow. Peace in and goodnight,
The title says it all. That interview I went on earlier this week, was a success. I was called back on Wednesday, but when I returned the call, the HR person had already left for the day. I called back the next morning and got the word. They gave me an offer for pay, and I jumped on it. It isn't what I was making, and it won't pay the bills, but it is something coming in, instead of everything going out. It's only part-time and on the weekends, so I still have to find either another part-time job or a full-time for during the week, in order to truly survive, but I'm happy in the direction things are going.
It turns out that my experience with a fork lift and in shipping and receiving that I did at my last job, gave me the edge. It's going to be a whole new experience, and I'm going to have a lot to learn, but I'm ready for a new adventure. I do have to pass a drug screening tomorrow, which should be no problem at all, since the only thing I do, is take a low dose aspirin every morning with breakfast. Tomorrow of course will be the anniversary of my last drink as well, so they wouldn't even be able to find trace amounts of alcohol in my system.
I have already received the preliminary background check, and I'm approved through that part, there are two other parts that take a little longer to get the checks, but I'm not worried about those in the least. The only thing in my past, is an expired tag when I was in my early twenties and I took care of that the very same week.
That is a small weight lifted off my shoulders, but there is still more weighing heavy on me, but I'm going to just brush it off for now, and focus on the training that is about to come. Once that is over, I can focus back on getting another job to make up for the financial difference, or at least come close. I had no expectations of making as much as I was, so I'm truly coming in with an empty cup to anything that comes at me. This is going to all work out.
I got some other good news, I had my skateboard photoshoot yesterday, and it was a lot of fun. I still have a ton of pictures to go through, but I'm going to share two of them with you here, since the CSP still doesn't see all that much traffic. These are my two current favorites form the shoot, and I'm sure that may change as I continue going through there rest of the pictures.
I was given 244 pictures that day, and I pulled 128. I may put the SD card back in and pull others later, but for now, those are the ones I'm working with. I have about 8 finished and saved to the computer, and these next two are my favorites right now.
I'm torn on which of those I like the best. The top one took a lot of work to get it to look like that, which is the same with the bottom, one, but I like how the bottom one has a soft focus, and some motion blur. It reminds me a little of those Francesca Woodman photos. This is of course in color and not black & white or sepia, but it has a similar effect to it, and I love it. The top, I love because it is just bold and powerful, and I like taking photos that have that type of representation, especially if it's a woman. People tend to focus on beauty and daintiness, but I like that I can get a shot that has both beauty and power. The misconception that all woman are soft is just that, a misconception, and one of the things I hope my photography does, it shows that power that women have.
Ok, I'm stepping down from my soap box now. I'm posting this early, because I really have nothing to do today, except make something to eat, and then watch TV. I'll leave you to the rest of your day, and finish this like I normally do, even though it's the middle of the day. Peace in and goodnight.
