summah

Well, here we finally are: summer.

So far, its been incredibly busy, despite the fact that summer has officially been 6 days long. On day 1, I ran errands, did laundry, and got ready for day 2, which was our hs graduation.

The graduation went well. My friend and I were employed as the official photographers. Our pictures will shortly be posted HERE. The experience was really good and I learned a lot from it. The biggest thing I learned is that I really need to learn more about my camera (Nikon d80). I know that its powerful, but like any piece of equipment, you cannot maximize it's use without some know-how. I need to take a class and read my manual. I actually really enjoy photography, but something else I learned is that my preference is composed portrait shots (which I have a basic eye for, but need to learn about lighting) and macro shots. I also prefer as much natural light as humanly possible - I hate using the flash. I found the auditorium to be an extremely difficult lighting situation for me. I had a really hard time making it so that my student's faces were not day-glo white. So it was a little rough for me and I was nervous that I would not live up to the amount of money they were paying me to do this thing.

Yesterday, I went to KC's and we reviewed the photos we took, and I feel much better about the whole ordeal. We are going to watermark the degree conferral pictures as well as the seated portraits I took and they will be for sale. The candids and group shots will be available for download. I do not expect too many orders, to be honest, but we will see. I did get some really cute portraits, so I feel like those will be purchased, if anything. Who really wants their picture with our ceo getting their degree holder passed to them? Not I.

Taking the pictures was really fun, and I also realized that it helps to have a personality to go with it. What I mean is, I often had to get people together for group shots or cajole them into smiling genuinely, so it was beneficial to have a personality that encouraged that. So I feel like if I got the technical knowledge, that I have the eye and personality that would make me into a reasonable photographer. At least, I hope so.

Anyway, the ceremony was nice... they always do a really nice job with it. The food and decorations for the reception afterward was very classy and I was impressed with the floral arrangements. The day was exhausting. I got there at 9 and did not stop moving until I got home at 6. I flopped on the bed for 15 minutes and then we left and were off to Jon's church for a silent auction for the organ pipes. I also had not seen my in laws in about 6 weeks, so it was good to catch up with them and hear about their 3 week long trip to Scotland and the UK. All said and done though, we did not get home until 11:30 and I wanted to DIE.

Sunday was father's day so we headed over to my parent's house around noon and spent the day with them lounging by the pool and relaxing. Rehearsal that night was at PALCS, so at least we did not have to drive far. Despite the laid back day, I was still really wiped and my body was feeling it in a number of ways.

Monday started out with a $200 dentist appointment in the morning. I love the office and people, but they are ridiculously expensive. No cavities. :) I went to the bank to try to turn in our change jar, but naturally the machine broke literally as I walked in the door. Grumble. I know I did some other things this day, running errands, etc... and Monday night was aikido. Both Jon and I are testing on Friday, so we have to learn everything we need for the test. HERE is an example of one of the moves we need to do. I like kotegaishi, which is the part where the wrist is bent in an awkward way, forcing someone to the ground. I like it because it seems to fit naturally with my body - I do not have trouble doing it on even the tallest or biggest of people... and when it is done to me, its not too terribly painful because I am flexible.

Aikido has been really fun for Jon and I, despite bawling a few weeks ago during practice. It is hard for me, but I appreciate the challenge, and I do see some improvements in myself. Summer is brutal though. They leave the door open and I promise you I have never sweat that much in my LIFE. I have thought numerous times that if I was still on Lupron (and getting hot flashes) that I would not be able to continue aikido because I would probably pass out.

Tuesday was another early day as I got up to get my car inspected and oil changed. I then went to the nutritionist, and then over to school to finish a "needs" list for my new Microbiology course that I will be teaching in the spring. I am EXTREMELY excited for this course, though a little less-than-enthusiastic that they upped the student limit from 50 to 80 because so many kids were interested. I am hoping that I can scare them off a little bit by telling them in the beginning that just because it is a half credit does not mean its going to be a cake walk. I have a practical planned in lieu of a final that is going to knock their socks off if they are slacking. I met Jon at his bank, and we managed to turn in our change jar. $326!!!!!!!!! GO US! We splurged and.... put it right in the bank. :/ Stupid practicality. I went home, did some plumbing while being coached by Jon, which apparently has fixed our little water pressure issue. I then went to KCs for 2 hours to work on the pictures, so that was fun. I drove home in a lightening storm where lightening was literally hitting the ground within a mile of my car,so that was cool. Dinner was lobster bisque (mmm) and then I went back out to go to the doctors to appease my mother, who has been angry that my stomach has been more sensitive lately. Sigh. An hour sitting in a 65 degree doctors office and $30 for her to tell me that "if I am feeling better, then there is no reason to be here", I went home. Chris was over and hanging out, and he stayed til maybe 10:45ish. After THAT, Jon and I practice aikido til about 11:15, and then we crashed.

Today I got up around 8:45 (thanks for that text message waking me up, mom) and I have been cleaning and tidying and doing laundry since. We have rehearsal here tonight, so I want to make sure its actually presentable. Honestly, I need this kind of motivation to clean anyway, so even if I am going a bit overboard on cleaning the whole house, without the stimulation, I probably would not do it at all.

Here is what I have going on for the future...

Thursday ~ nothing during the day, but I get to take pregnancy pictures in the afternoon/evening of our friends! YAY! I am nervous about the shoot, but I am thinking a lot of black and white will be fun, so we will see what happens
Friday ~ nothing in the am, but that night is the 6th kyu test (eek!) and then out to Dave and Busters to celebrate our friends birthday. :)
Sat ~ Jon has several options for the day: seeing his sister, going to the dojo party, or going to Dorney Park. I suspect he will do Dorney and see his sister. I, however, will be going to work in the evening, so I will probably not do too much during the morning.
Sun ~ out to York for our friend's baby's baptism! Then driving back and heading to work.
Monday ~ nothing but aikido at night.
Tuesday ~ packing! That night, I leave for Goddard Space Center to return on Friday.
Wed-Fri ~ being a nerd
Sat ~ our hs friends are in town so they will be over for a little reunion. bbqing, fireworks, the like.
Sun ~ recovery?!

THEN it is finally summer where I really have no other plans but aikido, Project rehearsal, and working every other weekend. YAY!


So that is the update... things are good. We are starting to look into Australia and decide if we really want to be in New Zealand when its 45 degrees. Shrug. I am sure its still gorgeous, but I am not a big fan of freezing weather. We will see....