In Seattle

I made it to Seattle just fine, aside from white-knuckle driving conditions the first two days of my trip. High winds + towing a trailer = nervous driver. We had gusts up to 40-50mph, and consequently, I couldn't go over 55 most of the drive, until I hit midstate Idaho, where calmer weather prevailed.

I haven't seen much of Seattle region yet. Today is really the first day I've had nothing to do. Almost every day in the past week since I've arrived, I had maintenance coming in to fix random things around the apartment (I'm sure they're really loving me right now), and I felt like I had to stick around because otherwise Apollo would make a nuisance out of himself trying to get them to play with him. On the upside, I have a brand new dishwasher and stove now. And my tub no longer floods every time I shower. And the toilet doesn't take 5 minutes to flush.

My apartment is...fine. It was a bit of an adjustment, actually - my initial impression was, "it's so small!" (that's what she said!). My place in Denver was a 1200 sq ft, 2 br unit. This is about 600. But amazingly enough, my stuff doesn't even come close to filling it. So. No big, right? I'm just used to gadding around in more space, I guess. Spoiled chit. I decided that this year, I would make a better effort at making it homier, and have plans for decorating it. I want to feel a little more grown up, I suppose.

The apartment overlooks a very small park, in which Apollo and I have been enjoying. It's very convenient to have a place for him to go run right out my door. But I have to say, I hate walking on the grass. It feels like it's just floating, as if, any second the grass will give way to this watery cesspool of mud that will trap my feet. I have a thing about getting dirty/muddy, so that's not a pleasant sensation for me.

I'm also adjusting to the rain. In Denver, and even back east, in D.C., PA and NY, if it rained, Apollo and I would make up for the lack of exercise the following day. Here, rain daily. Can't just wait for a nice day; if we do, Apollo and I will go batshit crazy from lack of exercise. It also feels damp allll the time indoors. A dehumidifier is high on my list for fall, but for now, I'm told it will stop raining so much in a couple weeks. I keep complaining to my poor friends that I feel hot from the humidity, even though it hasn't topped 65 since my arrival.

My internet should be up and running tomorrow, I hope. Comcast tech is supposed to come set me up. In the meantime, I've been using my nifty little android phone, which will be returned later today, for internet on my little netbook. It's a very slick phone, I'm impressed by it. But right now, I don't really have much use for it.

The only other piece of news is: I've decided to take a break from blogging here. I might return to it eventually, but I feel it will be a permanent break. I will however pick up the Thirty Days blog again, probably restarting in May or June, so keep an eye out for pictures of Apollo over there.

The End.

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Thirty Days blog

For the past 30 days, I've been taking a picture each day. Some are good; some, bad. Most were done at last minute, an hour or two before midnight when I go "Oh crap! I forgot!" My goal in doing this is to force myself to photograph regularly, and to explore new techniques. Some were successful, some weren't.

Enjoy. Click on "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" and let me know, or if you want to know what the hell I was trying to do, use the comment feature.

I plan to do it again for February, but this time, there will be a noticeable theme to the next batch.

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Depressing Economy

Har har punny.

Take a look at this.
The Decline: The Geography of a Recession

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Wanted: Website Beta testers

I've been working hard in the past two weeks to make the new Web site, and while it still needs fine-tuning, I'd like for my readers to take a look and let me know what think.

Link: http://jenniferannphotographer.com/

I tried to get JenniferannPhotography.com, but the person who owns the domain has it locked in for the next two years. Boo. The current domain is a suitable alternative, though.

The site is flash-heavy, so your first time viewing the site will have a load time when you view various features on the page. I'm going to be talking to a Web-geek buddy soon to see what can be done to lighten it up. This was the only template I found that was completely coded, entirely free and looked slick. So I'm not changing it - for the time being.

Other issues that will be remedied in the coming days - there are a number of thumbnail images that need to swapped out. And the "About" section needs a bit fleshing out. I dislike writing about myself and pretty much brainfarted on that section. And a few sections need a bit fleshing out as well, but the meat and bones of the site is there. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

I have received a few feedbacks from a few people who felt that the font was too small; however, different set of people said it was fine/readable. I'll be fiddling with that as well.

If anything breaks for you, please let me know. You can either post here or use the contact form on the site. Please let me know what you think and whether you notice any problems.

Also, if you check the contact form, there is a telephone number for people to use. If you have minutes left on your plan and don't mind making a quick call, give it a ring. I'm testing the new Google Voice service to see how well it works. Basically, what it does is it transcribes a VM message and sends the text version in an email to me. Pretty neat. It's not super accurate, but it'll work for now, until I can hire an assistant (someday!).

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Recent doings - plus some tips

I've been car-hunting. Fun fun. I recently came to the decision to look for a SUV or a wagon for a few reasons. Apollo really does need the extra space. Last time we went on a short road trip, he was so grumpy afterward that he snapped at another dog that tried to mount him (domination thing, not sexual). He normally just runs away. And because I'd like the extra space for the next few times I move. And because my poor civic coupe has a hard time on dirt roads that I often have to take to get to hiking trails. Blah blah. To sum it up...time for an used SUV.

My experience so far has been pretty interesting and I want to share my experience with ya'all. The first was a couple weeks ago: a dealer had an '07 Jeep Liberty with 35k miles that had hail damage. Sticker price after taxes - just under 18k. After some negotiations, they offered it to me for 10k - tax included. At the time I wanted to look around some more, but now I wish I had taken it!

The key to getting a good deal is getting a sales guy to say this magic phrase, "We'll work with you/your budget."

Saturday, I went to a few more dealers before I found one that said the magic phrase. My first choice was a Honda Element they had on the lot, but I very quickly found out they wouldn't negotiate below 12k (priced at 14k). They did their damnedest to get me to buy an old Durango - '98, 80k miles. The sticker price was 14k. Laughable. I made them kelly-blue-book it and we discovered that the sticker should've been 7k at most. They finally offered it to me for about $6200. But when I asked for more time to think about it, the guy got a little snippy with me. So at that point, I demanded my keys back (I had given it to them for appraisal) and walked out.

Arm-twisting and pressuring is a common sales tactic. I despise it and won't tolerate it. The key, I think, is to be very patient at beginning of the negotiations and keep insisting that, no, you can't afford that. Dealers and car salesmen usually have a bottom line in mind when they negotiate. Sometimes there's not as much room - usually if the car is a popular one like Subaru Forrester or Honda Element, for example.

With the cars that aren't as highly demanded, they will usually come down little by little. Be prepared to walk, especially if they get overly aggressive. Avoid signing anything, especially a piece of paper that says you'll buy the car if you and the "boss" agree to X terms, in case you decide you want to negotiate some more or to walk. It can be considered legally-binding in court, no matter how informal the paper looks.

It was a smart move for me to walk - after I got home and logged online, I found an '05 Durango for 7k at a nearby dealer! (No I didn't buy it.) If a sales person says their offer is off once you leave the premises...leave anyway. You are likely to find a similar car for similar price somewhere. You can ask if the offer will still be good the next day, they sometimes will "reluctantly" agree. Go home after negotiations, do your research. And after you're armed with information, either go look elsewhere or come back to the table.

Remember, it is YOUR money, you have the right to be happy with the car that you buy. If you want to shop around, it's your right to do so. Don't let car salesmen intimidate you into buying it right that minute.

Right now, I have my eye on a few '03/'04/'05 Jeep and Ford SUVs. They're not fabulous cars, the gas mileage sucks, but for a couple years (at least), it will work for Apollo and me.
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Oh, and - yesterday, I shot a rifle for first time ever. And hit a tin can on second shot! It flew into the air! I can see why so many people enjoy it.

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By land, sea or air

I've come to the conclusions that I will love living out in the country, by sea or in the mountains (air). Suburban and urban life isn't for me.

On Saturday, I went out to a friend's ranch and while I'm not cut out to be a farm girl - I held eggs that just shot out of a chicken's poop cute! Eeww - I did enjoy the experience immensely. It's quiet. Serene. The closest neighbor, at my friend's ranch, was about half a mile away. Relaxing.

True, there are downsides to having some land. Like figuring out how to maintain it. But not having neighbors right in my face seems like heaven. I've lived in apartments for just over 10 years, counting dorms in college, and I'm pretty tired of it. I can't imagine living in one for another fifty years. I know a couple people who have.

I'm not going to rush out and buy a property right now. Need money, for one, but it's a goal to keep in back of my mind. If I can make a decent living doing work online, certainly attainable.

And for your amusement: dancing dude
Warning - may need bleach for your eyes after viewing.

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At 14,000 feet, M&Ms...

explode!

Went up to Mt. Evans today. There's a road that goes nearly all the way to the top of the mountain. You have to hoof it up the last 200 feet though. When I was close to the top, I heard weird, loud popping sounds and thought there was something wrong with my car!

Wasn't until we parked and I got the bag of M&M out for snack that I discovered what happened.

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Hilarious Monday

I haven't really blogged much lately. That's mainly because I've been occupied with boring stuff. You know...looking for freelance work.

I reassessed my finance over the weekend, and I don't have enough moolah to last the rest of the year. Which I expected, but had hoped wouldn't be the case. So after my folks visit this week, I'll be rejoining the workforce, at least part-time to help stretch out the bucks. Disclaimer for the family that read this: I'm fine, really. Just being smart.

Bah!

I'll probably look for something really local (read: walking distance) so that I don't have to drive. Greener, easier on my car, etc, etc. Also am going to look for a weekend job as a photographer assistant or second shooter. All the while still continuing to work on freelance writing. So I'll basically have three jobs. Or four, if you count the etsy gig. I'm so looking forward to the taxes next spring...not. By my count, I'll have had 4 taxable jobs this year (etsy is excluded for the time being because it hasn't generated enough income to trigger the tax factor).

Speaking of. My Etsy shop is open, although all it has currently is about 10 different cards. If anyone hears a friend or acquaintance wants a custom card, pass the link on! jenniferannphotos.etsy.com If you have an etsy account and like what you see, please "heart" the account. I'm told that it helps give a shop a little extra credibility. I am going to advertise this and my writing service on a few sites, hopefully that'll drum up some business too.

That's about all the news on this end.

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If a hiking trail guide book says to

bring stuff for mosquitoes...Do it!

Tip: If you don't have any repellant on hand, a sheet of dryer sheet is said to be helpful. Just stick it in a pocket.

Of course, I didn't even think to grab one this morning before heading out to a hike. I'm very itchy now. ITCHY!

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The horrifying terrible...

housefly.

Apollo is scared to death of it. Facepalm

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DC Metro Crash

Report covering the crash: body count as of this post is now at 9.

A lot of people have contacted me asking about this. Some answers:
No, that train line isn't the one I took for work. I rode the orange line.
Yes, I had ridden red before.

As awful as it sounds, I am very surprised this hasn't happened sooner. These trains were supposed to have been retrofitted or replaced a long time ago, but the Metro Transist people kept crying that they were broke and couldn't do it.

I was in DC only two years and encountered events like:
Doors that didn't close all the way while we were in motion.
Being stuck on a train for two hours due to mechanical failure
Trains losing power intermittently, on one occasion, for an half hour. No lights, no AC, no radio, nothing. That really sucked because we were underground and I couldn't even talk to the other passengers.
Being stuck in the train station waiting for a train for 2-3 hours - and the metro folks on duty refused to tell anyone anything other than "it'll be here soon." They are supposed to bring in shuttle bus when this happen.

I also heard about an incident where the radio system failed on one particular line and the drivers had to use walkie talkies to communicate with each others. Walkie talkies...in underground tunnels - real safe.

Even though I'm no longer a DC resident, this pisses me off. Metro Transit system gets a considerable chunk of stipend from the gov't, gets $$ from various funds and grants, tax breaks from donations to charities (to the tune of several million) all in addition to the fares from millions of people who use the trains. It recently got a fare increase that was supposed to help pay for retrofitting of the trains and maintenance AND I believe, it also got a chunk of change from Obama's stimulus bill. The fact that all of the money is (supposedly) funneled into maintenance and paying workers tells me that it is costing more to maintain than to upgrade the transit system. That's assuming the money is going where it's supposed to.

This should never have happened. EVER. If any form of public transit system is failing or in act of failing, to the point where human lives are at risk, fix it instead of just slapping a bandaid on it. I realize the logistics of maintaining trains and tracks while simultaneously acquiring the new trains is problematic, but no human life is worth this. Borrow, beg, whatever you have to do. Fix the damn problem, stop making excuses and get the new trains.

That's my two cents.

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Dirt - Just a picture or a metaphor?

You tell me.

Apollo and I went back to that trail for the third time (first time, we couldn't find it at all. Second...see Hail, Rain and Lightning) and actually completed it. I can check it off in my book of Colorado's dog-friendly trails. It wasn't particularly scenic, and we got there a bit too late to see the wildlife - around 10 AM. By then, I think, other hikers had scared them off already. In short, no pictures.

Apollo was a real trooper. He half-dragged me up some slopes when the asthma was kicking my ass. I think he enjoyed it in general - especially wading in the creeks to cool off. The trail we went on is rated as difficult (though I'm sure seasoned hikers wouldn't think it was difficult), and average trek time is 4 hours. We did it in about 3 or 3 1/2 hours. The highest point we got to was 9k ft. We started at around 7600 ft.
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And for the record, everyone is nude under their clothes.

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Breakthrough today!

Ever have days where you struggle and struggle on a task or a project with no progress, but a lightbulb goes off and you finally figure out the solution? That happened today. Ah, it's such a big load off my shoulders. I've been trying to set up a gallery to display my work for my Website and was having trouble getting it working.

The walls in the apartments here are thin, and in the past three or four days I've uttered a steady stream of a specific choice word at a low mutter. There's something satisfying about swearing, but I worry that the kids downstairs will hear me.

I'm definitely not cut out for coding. I still have nightmares, believe it or not, about my first quarter classes. We had to learn a wholly new language that was going to (sarcasm) "take the world by storm" (end sarcasm), and we were pretty much forbidden to learn anything useful like C++ or html coding for fear that it would confuse us. I spent 10-12 hours in the computer labs figuring it out and helping other classmates. Looking back on it now, I think the steady hum of computers I heard was actually a steady stream of mutterings by the other computer majors.

I will sleep well tonight. And buy a gun so that I can shoot anyone who asks me to code a Website for them.

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The weather is really cramping my style

The normal early-summer weather usually consists of sunny days and late afternoon thunderstorms. In the past couple weeks, these storms have been rolling in early, around noon. How's a girl going to get out after work and enjoy the bountiful mountains?

It's global warming, I tell ya...

The foothill park that Apollo and I go to after work is only 10 minutes away, very convenient. But a lot of people know about it, and by the time we get there, wildlife have been spooked. There's supposedly a mountain cat living there somewhere - which I doubt, there's not much ground cover.

Anyway, I'm running low on interesting pictures to post. Hey, there's a mountain! Hey, there's a bug! Hey, there's a bird! Hey, there's yet another biker!

Roughly 300 degree view of Denver from the peak of the foothill.

My goal this week, after I get the work Website up and running - it's proving to be far more problematic than I anticipated - I'm going to advertise in free Classifieds - free model in exchange for TFP - Trade For Prints. It'll give me more people pics for the photog portfolio, and hopefully they'll be interesting.

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Huff n' puff

Taken about a week and half ago. This is one of my latest favorites.

Last weekend, I picked up an excellent book of dog-OK hiking trails and picked what looked like an easy trail to go on. I made copies of the instructions from the book, packed Apollo in the car and went to the park - Golden Gate Canyon Park - and what should've been a 20-minute drive to the trail head turned into an hour and half of swearing.

I gave up and briefly considered going on a different trail that I spotted. But I didn't have the topo map for the other trails in the park, I didn't know how difficult the trail was, it was really windy and I wasn't dressed for that, AND there were storms rolling in and out of the area. I didn't want to chance getting caught in a downpour.

After I got home, I looked online; there was a fork on the way, and the book's directions said nothing about taking either one. So I had assumed it was the straighter route, when I should've taken the sharp-turning route. Major amateur mistake: I didn't doublecheck the directions. Lesson learned.

Weather has generally been foul for the past few days, both Apollo and I are getting antsy from lack of exercise.

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A local roadster show

We had rain most of the weekend which pretty much ruined my outdoorsy plans. I got a little shopping done Saturday. Sunday, the morning was dry so Apollo and I went for a two-hour hike. About 15 minutes after we got back home, it started to pour. Good timing. Monday, it drizzled on and off all day. I noticed that there was a small car show near me, at a biker bar and decided to go. Apollo and I walked down to it and while I snapped some photos, he got tons of attention. Heaven for him! Little did I know that I had forgotten to put the memory card in the camera!

Well after I got back to my apt, I realized and went back down to reshoot, but alas, they were winding up for the day.

Most of the cars at the show were vintage roadsters, some cars had upgrades, some were true to the original design. One very old, rusted car, I noticed was sitting in a different lot across the street. I asked someone who seemed to know his stuff why it wasn't here with the other cars, and the gist of it was: The owner of that car gutted it and replaced it with anachronistic parts. Like plastic skull for the shift knob. So they effectively banned him/the car from being a part of the show. Haha! I like these guys.

Which version do you like better?

I like both, but considering this car is, I think from 1920 or 1930s 1940s period - I'm just guessing based on Hollywood flicks - I think the black and white one is more fitting.

P.S. Does anyone know what car this is? Or what time period it's from?

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Meeting the neighbors

I'm slowly starting to meet my neighbors. A pair, across the hall, plays music constantly and seem like fun guys to hang out with. What really takes the cake, though, is the guy upstairs above me.

I'd seen him a couple times since I moved in, but didn't introduce myself until today. Let me just preface this by saying, this is one interesting man.

I ran outside to grab a desk that someone was tossing out, and a man in army uniform stops me. I didn't recognize him at first because I hadn't seen him in uniform before. He smiles, asks me if that *points* is my car, did I just move here. And I answer affirmative and introduce myself.

"I'm James..." and then he started chattering at me at 90 mph. About then, I notice his gorgeous hazel-green eyes. That was distracting too. I had to stop him and ask him to slow down a bit, explaining, "I'm deaf."

Next thing I catch, he's offering to pray for me. I'm not into that, but I'm not about to tell someone about my religious beliefs (or lack of), and tell him that's okay, that I appreciate it. "Now," he adds.

"Now?"

"Yes." And still talking very fast, I manage to figure figure out that he wants me to hold his hands out, and curious, I do so. First he put his hands a couple inches above mine, and starts murmuring - praying - then he reaches out with his hands near my ears. Then (I swear, I'm not making this up) he walks around me, still praying.

When he finishes, he asks, "Can you hear any better?"

"No..."

"Well, give it 24 hours. You'll be able to hear better by tomorrow."

"OK, I'll let you know."

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Found a place!

Originally planned on Colorado Springs, but my sister convinced me to look at Denver. I told her it must be close and easy to get to the mountains. So we looked around, and found an apartment in outskirts of Golden. Verrry cute town. And right near the highway that you'd take to get to skiing. And near tons of parks in the foothills where we can get used to hiking up here.

The apartment manager screwed up twice, so they're out. First they told me a certain apartment was available - turns out it wasn't. Then an alternative option that was due to be available April 15th...Oops, it's actually May 15. Hell if I'm waiting a month. Hell if I'm putting up with that shit.

So I looked around a bit more today after work, and settled on an apartment that's right on border of Golden and Lakewood. And right near an outlet mall. Ohhh boy I'm in trouble. I've already been approved and will sign the lease tomorrow. The application process out here is very fast and easy compared to my previous experience in VA and PA.

Hopefully can get Internet up and running asap. Then I will inundate ya'all with pictures.

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Another photo and some news

Old photo. I took this, I believe, last spring. I didn't have photoshop at the time. The original was pretty interesting but I wanted to see how it'd look with faux HDR. It came out darker than I expected, but I like it. It's pretty soothing, which isn't an image normally associated with metro or train stations.

On personal note...Shit. In just three days, I'll be on the road, on my way to Colorado. I'm very excited, but at the same time, a bit nervous. For the first time in a long long time, my job future isn't certain. I plan to freelance - working a 9-to-5 gig isn't for me. Of course, freelancing brings several uncertainties with it. It's dependent on how well I network and being a salesperson, selling my service and myself. Which is my big weakness. But I'm determined to make it work. And if it doesn't, at least I can say I tried. I'd rather try and fail than not try at all and wonder for the rest of my life if I could've done it.

Sentimentalism aside. I must say I really...hate...packing. I'm going to try remember that so I don't fill my next home with clutter.

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Reruns

I'm actually moving to Colorado in about two weeks. I have to be out of the door on 31st, and will be officially on road on April 1st. No joking. That means I won't have a whole lot of time to blog between now and whenever I get settled in. So I'm going to post some reruns and postdate them so that new posts will continue in the next couple weeks.

Some of these photos might seem familiar if you're a long-time reader, but I'll try to tweak them, at very minimum, so they're a little different.

Here's the original shot of Apollo that I took before moving to this house. I'd say about a year ago, roughly. If memory serves, when I posted it here, I made it look like an old pointillism comic photo.
This time around, I decided to play with a fake HDR look. A HDR photo is a fairly new rage in photography although it's been around a long time. The advent of digital cameras just made this technique a lot easier to do. The "correct" way to take a HDR photo is to shoot a preferrably static image on a tripod (as to get identical images and not have any weird ghost issues in postproduction), then shoot it again at two or three stops in both negative and positive exposures. Then after you upload the photo, you can merge them to create either very horrible pictures or absolutely jaw-dropping photos.

I don't have the time to go out and do that right now, so I decided to fake it using photoshop.
After moving - or perhaps while moving, I'll work up some bad examples to show you an example of the ghostly overlaps and hopefully a good one or two, too. I'm taking my tripod, who knows, maybe I'll see something interesting.

Oh and...what's in photo #1 that's not in #2? Hint - I did not crop anything out.

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