News Flash: Apollo is not happy.

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Practice pictures

One of my goals is to practice taking picture with my new camera, a spiffy pentax dslr. And eventually, to sell my pictures. Yesterday, I went into DC to the usual sightseeing spots, the capitol, monuments, etc, and walked around shooting the sights. It was so bright out that most of my pictures were overexposed (note to self -- read up on how to avoid that). However, I did get a few shots that were pretty stunning, if I might say so, despite the overexposure.

And I got some pleasure out of telling my friends I was "out shooting" and eliciting responses like, "Huh? Are you serious?" It probably didn't help that I kept stringing them along with comments like, "The cops don't seem to care that I'm shooting at the crowds."

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Possible idea

I talked with a friend last night, and she suggested editing/tutoring for college students. I'll have to think on this. I know students are notoriously difficult to work with, and do I want to spend my free time dealing with them? And doing even more editing? The payoff, however, could potentially be pretty good. If I decide to go down this route, I'll probably wait until December/January to officially launch a website -- it's too late for me to start helping (read: billing) with term papers this semester. Besides, it'll take me at least that long to crank out a working website.


Other possible part time jobs...
Teaching sign language -- tends to pay well, but jobs are few and far in between.
Working at a nearby bookstore -- minimum wages in Va, it's about $5.15 to start. Yech.
Other ideas?

I'm doing fine, financially (just to reassure family or friends who read this) -- I'd just like a little extra money in my pocket. And think it'd be challenging/fun to start a business. For me, when things start feeling too safe/predictable/boring, I lose motivation. And that's not what life's about. It's important to me that I live my life to its fullest, so that I can, in 60 0r 70 years, say "I lived a good life. I played hard."

I don't understand how some people can play games or just sit at home every night and watch crappy shows. What will they say about their life when they're facing St. Peter at the Pearly Gates? "I sat there and did nothing."

And...D.C. is just fucking expensive.

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Goals for this fall...

I said last week I was thinking of starting an e-business. I've been reading some articles and columns about starting your own business, and I'm confident that I can do it. The hard part is, for me, figuring out what kind of business I can do. And making sure it's interesting enough for me to continue for several months or years.

I get bored easily, especially if it loses its challenge after awhile. It'd suck if I put money into this, then blew it off because I wasn't interested enough to keep going.

Ideas for an e-biz:
1. Rare used-book sales middleman (woman?).

• Pros: Shouldn't be too difficult to set up, and wouldn't require me to have an inventory...in theory.
• Cons: I know very little about used books, don't have any contacts/networks in this area, which is important.

2. ????

I'm just full of ideas.

Also, I thought about trying to freelance again. I'll have to think hard on this, because the market for freelance writing is primarily nonfiction, which isn't in my area of interest. I'd much rather write fiction. Hmm. But extra money is good.

Another possibility I didn't consider last week is freelance editing. Now that I have some more experience under my belt, I could theorectically contract to do newsletters and other short-term jobs. This requires less time for research/interviews/whathaveyou that I'd have to do for writing nonfic, and it can pay fairly well. The hard part is breaking into the field. Most reputable companies don't advertise a need for contract editor.

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Lists

I better watch out or I'll turn into my mom.

Things to do this fall:

1. See PA friends at least 1x (miss you guys!)
2. Shoot people
3. Practice shooting tons. The new camera is wild.
4. Take new shots of Apollo
5. Write
6. and actually finish them.
7. Write some non-fiction to sell (freelance work)
8. Start an e-Business. Maybe. At least research it.
9. Go up the Old Rag trail again.
10. Go hiking more in other regions (my new book of trails is awesome).
11. Shoot while hiking.
12. Read
13. Read more.
14. Shop. Everyone knows I hate shopping, but my clothes are so old...I'm still wearing some items from highschool.

What I noticed on my train car this morning:

1. Two cute guys.
2. Eight people sleeping (or trying to).
3. One not-so-cute guy who apparently forgot deoderant. And rode holding the overhead rail.
4. Three people reading sci-fi/fantasy books.
5. "I hope they serve Beer in Hell" is an intriguing title to a book.
6. A manly man reading what looked like a romance book. Hmm.
7. About a dozen people reading the newspapers.

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The Many Aspects of Apollo

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Better Butter

Yesterday, I ran to Safeway to get butter. Yep, that's all I got. Butter. I needed butter for my morning toasts. Safeway doesn't have a great selection, and I encountered three different brands. "I can't believe it's not butter!", Parkay, and Land o' Lakes.

Being the cheapass I am, I zeroed in on the cheapest. Land o' Lake came in first, with 2 packs of 2 tubs for $3. I can't believe it's not butter was on sale, 2 packs of 2 tubs for 5 bucks. I don't remember what Parkay was, but needless to say it came in last.

On a whim, I decided to compare the caloric and fat calories. Land o' Lake, if memory serves, had 80 calories, and calories from fat - 80 (egad!). I can't believe it's not butter came in at 90 calories, and fat calories 90.

Isn't the whole point of eating fake butter so you could have less calories and fat? At least, that's what their commercials say. Lies! Who would've thunk it?! Commercials lied to us? (Yes, that's sarcasm.)

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What? Me dance?

I discovered recently that you can get exercise dvds through netflix, and found one I really like. Wait for it..."Yoga Booty Ballet". It has everything its title suggests. Yoga, ballet and dance segments. Knowing that I have absolutely no talent dancing, I've avoided doing the latter for a couple weeks.

Last night, I decided to try it for a change of routine. "Since I can do everything else, maybe it isn't so bad." Famous last words.

When I cued the dvd to that segment, I expected a step-by-step tutorial. "Put your foot here, and your knee should be like this, then you can do ..."

No. Gina, Tina, Mina - or whatever the hell her name was - launched into a full dance sequence. I tried in vain to follow along, and pretended that my body was really doing what the barbie yoga dance instructor was doing, twisting limbs in directions they don't normally go. After about five minutes (yes, only five minutes), I gave up after trying to figure out how to step to the right while leaning to left, and immediately step to left and reverse my tilt. The result? Crash! I banged into my armchair, which has surprisingly hard wooden arms. Apollo ran into the kitchen to avoid me. I'm not sure if he did that to avoid watching me butcher the dance routine, or to avoid having his clumsy food-lady falling on him.

And people wonder why I never dance when I go to nightclubs.

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Peeping Tom

I remember when I was young, it bothered me that I couldn't easily be part of a group. I couldn't follow the quick-paced jabbering well and be an integral part of activities like the other kids would. All I can really say about my school experiences is that I was there. I saw it, but it was like watching a movie or reading a book - I always an outsider...a witness, a spectator, but never one of the characters.

Lipreading is notoriously unreliable, and while some deaf people can lipread beautifully, I can't. So, unless it's imperative that I know what's being said, I've taken to the backseat. Instead of struggling to follow a conversation, I focus on the overall picture. Body language. Snippets of conversations. Tone. Expressions. It's not that I don't want to be a part, but rather, it's become a habit. I've grown to like being an outsider looking on in the window. It's become a comfortable mantle, and provides me an unusual perspective most people don't have.

As result, I've run into some unusual people and situations over the years. A friend of mine, KR (using just initials to maintain anonymity) can attest to this.

A poor example comes to mind. I had just moved to D.C., and was on my way home from my (then) new job. As I approached my metro station, a woman drew my attention -- along with several other passerbys. In her 40s, she wasn't well dressed which isn't unusual for D.C. What caught our attention was she was standing at top of the escalators, screaming, wailing and sobbing. I wish I had a digital camera then, it made for a lonely image -- people walking past, either staring at or ignoring this poor woman. Were people coldhearted, uncomfortable, or blind? Probably all of above.

For your viewing pleasure, one of my favorite photos from Long Island Beach (May).

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Testing to see how the layout look.

la dee dah..

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