sure enough…

i am spending the last night of my vacation watching Star Trek: The Next Generation.  

it’s like seeing good friends i haven’t seen in a while.  

It’s currently too late in the series for Lt. Yar, (did you know that if Yar hadn’t been killed off, we wouldn’t have Worf?) my very first celebrity crush, but i’m really happy to see these guys again.  

AND, i had dinner with Dad & Carol, which was really nice.  It’s always so good to see them and catch up when we can.  :)  All’s well.

“To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before”… Patrick Stewart should be proud of that voiceover. 

WNPR IS PAYING ME!!!!  FOR MY VOICE WORK!!!!!!  ON A REGULAR BASIS!!!!!!!

My News Director, John, wrote me an email to let me know.  It’s a decent amount an hour, for two hours a week.  It’s not MUCH, but i was never expecting much.  Just something respectable that shows that they value my work and my time.  This is perfect!  They still randomly pay me for photo work, so we’re making progress, here!  I am thrilled.

Also, a funny thing happened… There’s this guy i’ve met maybe twice at this local bar, he used to watch me when i sang in said bar.  Anyway, he wrote me a message asking if i could photograph his art opening next month.  He says he’s a “poor artist” and won’t be able to pay me, but. he promises, it will be fun.  I’m glad that my first reaction to such a request from someone that i barely know was, “thefuckyouCRAZY?”  

Would i ask him to paint a mural on my living room wall and shrug at the moment of payment?  It’s always art that gets stuck this dumb-looking net.  Art is always negotiable.  Services, too.  When you combine arts and services, it’s just a big mess.  The bottom line is, and i THINK we can all agree is this: if you volunteer your arts/services, then it’s free.  If you barter with your arts/services, that works too.  if you are approached by someone who wants you to spend your time with all the gear/schooling/gas you work so hard for to work for nothing, then that’s just bad business, and you inevitably devalue the work of people who use the same craft, and first and foremost, yourself and YOUR work.

Phew!  

Oh, and i’ve got middleschoolbullshit news, which i think is ADORABLE because it’s been about since middle school that i’ve enjoyed drama… anyway, to be nice and vague and to the point, i’d caught up on the blog of an old friend/momentary romantic interest, and read some awful, almost-funny declarations about “what kind of person” i am, and it was NOT a glowing review.  So she basically is trashing me and saying that she was totally over being interested in keeping contact with me.  That was a few months ago.  I didn’t say anything to her because i was glad she hated me, even if it was for delusional reasons.  I’d rather be the asshole that she never talks to again, because it sort of ties things up nicely for me.  If i remained even civil to her, she’d NEVER let go.

Anyway, she sent a text yesterday, “just wanted to say hi, and i hope life is great!” – something simple to that effect.  my heart didn’t even skip a beat and i erased it, and then laughed when i realized that her craziness lives on, even deprived of oxygen and reason.  Some people just never learn.

Here’s to learning!  (and VIVA ESPANA!)

Hooray!

I’m driving to the Poconos in Pennsylvania to have lunch with Mercedes!  She was my boss when i was working in Washington, D.C., and she was as close as i would ever get to a Mom away from Mom. Which, if you know my relationship with my mom, is a pretty high standard.  Anyway, i haven’t seen Mercedes since 2002, so we made plans for lunch.  I can’t wait.  Gonna cruise down 84 for about 2.5 hours, go down 209 south for a bit, and i’m there.

Gotta love vacations!

AND, Carol came back A-OK after surgery.  They got everything, and she’ll be doing some chemo just to make super-sure of it.  We’re all very relieved.  Thanks to everyone for the warm thoughts! 

Just got off the phone with my dad, and it turns out that Carol, my stepmother, has discovered that she’s in the very early stages of breast cancer.  Thankfully, she caught it pretty much as early as you can catch something like this, by going to her yearly mammogram.  let that be a lesson to all of us.  she’s going in tomorrow morning for a lumpectomy, and i’m positive that she’ll do great.  She’s got so much on her side, and she’s always been a tough cookie with a warm heart.  She’ll get through this, and while she does, she’s in my heart and thoughts.

On a little lighter note, i am flying to L.A. this weekend to see Michael!  I’ve never been to L.A., so i have NO idea what to expect (besides a lot of plastic).  I’m not sure what to do with my camera.  It will of course be with me, but when i meet his friends and his cast mates, i do NOT want to be Michael’s paparazzi sister.  I’ll be tactful with this thing, for sure.

After i get back, i’ll still be on vacation from the cell phone gig, so i’m currently filling up my days off with photo assignments with Anna Marie, my friend Sarah and her babies, my friend Amy and her baby, and photographing the house for the Susan B Anthony foundation’s website.  Also, i’m going to try to spend a day driving 3 hours west into Pennsylvania to see my old boss from Washington, DC, Mercedes.  She was a second mother to me while i was in DC, and if you know about my relationship with my mother, you know what a huge statement it is to have the honor of finding another woman who could mother me when my own ma couldn’t be there every day.  So it’ll be a vacation from retail, but for sure i’ll be working at what i love the most.  :)

Here’s to everyone’s health.  Get checked up regularly – even see your dentist, dammit!

i just got home from seeing “The Happening”, the new M. Night Shyamalan movie.  

Wow.  It didn’t totally blow my mind, and i 100% lost my appetite pretty quickly, and… basically, i think his objective was so you’d be driving home after the movie, stop at a red light, look at a shrub, and shudder.  I appreciate that.  I’ve turned into such a movie snob over the last few years, and i appreciate feeling like my money got me somewhere else, even after the movie was over.  

Still totally creeped out. I’m glad i saw it with some people who have an overly-healthy sense of humor.  Gotta keep those types around (…….if you CAN!!!).  Dun-dun-DUN!

okay, so i did it.

I upgraded beyond what i intended to, technically it’s a motorcycle.  But it’s a Buddy 150.  I promise to have a photo up asap, but you can check it out here: 

http://www.genuinescooters.com/scooters/buddy/intl.html#fragment-4

(please don’t look at the price.  i paid off all my credit cards years ago and figured what the hell.  With $50,000 in available credit, why not invest in something i’ll have for a long time that goes even faster than i need it to, and it gets almost ONE HUNDRED MILES TO THE GALLON, which, after being “broken in” will go up to almost 140 miles to the gallon.  Fuck yeah.)

So i’m smitten with the bike (i chose the green one – FROGGY^3!), i feel really good about the decision, i’m getting my learner’s permit tomorrow morning, and then getting my license sometime after that.  Maybe it’s because i’m a new driver, but i know i’m super cautious while driving – while i understand that sometimes it’s not under my control if there’s an accident, like with ANYthing, i know i’ll be as safe as possible.

And by the way, Ryan, i had NO IDEA that your father works for Harley Davidson!!!  Tell him that i’ll probably be needing his assistance in a few years… The slippery slope has slipped.  ;)  Thanks!

OH and the guys at the dealership were effing amazing.  Really took me under their wing, and even invited me to their Wednesday night riding club!!!  Sweeeeet!!!

OH OH OH and the horn on this thing is the best horn for any bike ever made.  I wish i could get an audio file up here, because it’s just violently precious.

That’s all for now.  I’m going to dream of this bike all night.

(and hooray for the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup!)