EngelFish.Net

This has been quite a week.   There has been lots of work on the consulting front, and a couple of challenges/projects I’ve been working on have either been solved or are moving into the final phase.  I always like that.  I also had two gigs assisting a commercial shooter here in town.  There was a third gig lined up (it involved helicopters) but it was posponed due to the weather that day.

I’ve been walking/jogging, plus doing the situp and pushup stuff as well. Two of our friends had birthdays this week, so I had a drink with Gennie at Helios one day, and then dinner with Kendall at Lucky32 another.  Kendall’s boyfriend, Tommy, gave her an amazingly awesome gift, which brought tears to her eyes.  We were all impressed.

We have had a bit of automobile drama as one of our cars needs about $600 in repairs, and another failed the state inspection and needs one engine repair and a set of new tires.  I’m working quite hard to keeping my mind calm and thinking clearly about the various projects I have and need to complete quickly.  I’m having a bit of success in that area, which bodes well for the future.  I’m also, as always, on the lookout for a realistic and implementable task/project management system to help me keep all these things under control and on focus.

Taryn & I had a nice bit of downtime last weekend too.   We drove up to Virginia Beach last weekend and visited with friends on Saturday and Sunday.  It was great to be away from home, although the dogs came with us, and not have to worry about all the stuff we normally do on the weekends.  We did a bit of visiting, spent some time on the beach, and were taken parasailing!  We both had a blast, and we’re looking forward to doing it again (with a waterproof camera next time too!).

Looking forward to this weekend, we’re going to be quite busy.  I’ve got buckets of work to do, as well as plans for yardwork, compost bin building, blog-twitter-flickr training for a friend, and hitting a few yardsales with T.  I don’t see much relaxing going on, but we *are* going to see DARK KNIGHT at the IMAX theatre Saturday night.  It is *so* going to rock.

Speaking of movies, go to the apple website and check out the HD trailer for THE WATCHMEN movie.  I cannot wait for it.

Bookswise, I just finished listening to the audiobook version of David Sedaris‘ “When You Are Engulfed in Flames” and I’m currently listening to Orson Scott Card’s “Shadow of the Hegemon”.  Sedaris had me laughing out loud in my car, and getting strange looks from other drivers at intersections.  OSC, as always, is brilliant.  I’m working my way through his ENDER’S GAME series.  Excellent stuff.

IMAGE: This is Ian, a friend who works at my favorite coffeeshop, Helios.  He’s also a pretty talented photographer.  I was setting up my laptop so that I could shoot photos while tethered to it, which would allow me to see the images on my laptop screen (which is way larger and clearer than the camera’s LCD).  Ian swung by to visit with friends at the next table, and I shot him as he was checking out the test images coming up on my computer.

The other day Beebo_Wallace announced that he was doing the One Hundred Pushup Challenge. I thought that was a great idea, and since I’m already working on getting back into shape with running and situps, I jumped on that bandwagon as well. I don’t expect it to be easy, and I fully expect to annoy my wife to death with my bitching and moaning… but it’ll be worth it in the end. I’m going to post my progress here each day. This will do two things: 1) help me keep focused on my goal and staying on track, and 2) help my friends shame me into sticking with it. I promise to do my best on the former, and I’m sure my friends will do their part on the latter!

Simply click on the challenge logo on the right to see my Challenge Progress Report.

Like most weeks, this past week consisted mostly of working.  The really nice exception, is that we were able to A) go to a really fun 4th of July part at Jenn & Baron’s place, and B) we had a party at our place on the 5th to celebrate Taryn’s 29th birthday!  A good time was had by everybody at both events, in spite of the summer rains which dumped both nights.  Friday night they even lost power and we had to resort to ghost stories by candlelight.  Saturday we kept our power, but I personally got soaked while grilling… but it was totally worth it.  Lots of food was eaten, lots of mojitos/margaritas were drank, and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves.  Taryn’s phone rang off the hook on Saturday, with calls from all over the world to sing to her. :)  I’ve already started thinking of what we can do next year….

IMAGE: While working this morning at Third Place, I talked Hide into stepping out front for second to enjoy the beautiful weather.

I only just realized that it’s been almost a month since my last post.  Slap my hand and send me to the “time out” chair.  Is there such a think as Blogomucil?  Because I am *far* from regular about my posting.  Regardless, let’s see if I can update on most of the things which happened this June.

I spent quite a few days working with Scott Dingman.  He’s a terrific commercial photographer, with 20+ years behind the camera.  I’ve been trying to keep my mouth shut and my eyes/ears open, and hopefully learn a thing or two about how to be a professional.  I know one thing for sure, I’ve learned that making a living with a camera is even more complex than I’d thought… which is saying something.  I’m indebted to Scott for so frequently hiring me for assisting jobs.  Without those opportunities, I would be making far slower progress than I am.

Speaking of slow progress, this year’s NYC Marathon is not going to include me.  Our annual running club was snubbed this year, with only 1 person, Dan, getting accepted.  We’re still going, of course, but most of us will be play the “support crew” role.  Not having the marathon to motivate me, I’m not doing as well with running as I should be.  Although Kim, David, & I make a spit-pact to work on our goals (one of the many reasons they’re laughing so hard in the photo), I have yet to really start working on my running.  There’s always tomorrow.

Another thing that is best done regularly, is cutting the grass.  That, unfortuneately, is proving a bit difficult for me.  When the inherited-with-the-house lawnmower came out of the crawlspace this spring, it was on strike.  After disassembling it and trying to reverse engineer the problem, I realized I had no clue what I was doing.  Luckily a friend of ours, Stan, is a whiz with small engines and came to my birthday party.  It took him under 60 seconds to diagnose the problem, which turned out to be a $0.75 part.  It arrived in the mail the other day, and I’m planning on rebuilding the mower before this weekend.  I hate to take away the employment of the neighborhood lawnmowing kid, but some things just gotta’ get done.

Two weekends ago was the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure here in Raleigh.  Too keep our streak up, Taryn and I both participated.  I’d like to say we ran it, but that would be stretching the truth like cheap spandex.  We enjoyed a brisk walking pace, and finished feeling pretty good.  As every year, I was amazed by the turnout.  About 28,000 participants turned out.  My first year running the NYC Marathon (2000) had 35,000 runners, and Raleigh is a damn sight smaller than NYC.

Additional June events included  seeing a few movies (The Happening, Iron Man, and The Incredible Hulk).  I thought all three were were great, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer movie season.  I’ve also caught up on a few films via Netflix (The Signal, Cast Away, The Gangs of New York, and City of God).  This past Saturday we helped Mary & Cristina move, which was fun since most of the Flickr Raleigh Social Group showed up to help.  We also attended a gallery night at Rebus where our friends Abby, Rob, and Tom had work showing.  All things considered, it was a pretty good month… if a bit on the hot side.

For the first time that I can remember, my birthday wasn’t on the Memorial Day holiday. I don’t know exactly why, but I missed having a three day weekend to celebrate my 40th birthday. We turned it all into a festival of sorts anyway, with at least three different functions (two dinners out, and a cookout at our place) over four days, which were all great! I don’t feel any different than I did last year or the year before, but it’s always good to take the time to appreciate all the great things happening in your life, and the great people around with whom you share it. I’m blessed with terrific friends and family, and I want you guys to know that I realize that. Thanks for being there!

IMAGE: My friend, and a damn fine photographer, Ethan Hyman at the Memorial Day Cookout Kleinstack held.