Da Goddess

I’ve earned my “day off” today. Yesterday was long and hot and pretty damn wonderful, but it was exhausting. Tomorrow, while another homecoming, won’t be nearly so complicated nor as long. Of course, there’s the added pressure of shooting another photographer’s family during homecoming, but I think I’ll be okay. She’s seen my work. She knows what I’m about.

Got up a little earlier than I normally would have today, but for a good reason. My friend TSgt and his family were in town. We’d missed getting together yesterday since homecoming ran long and they had another engagement last evening. We made up for it this morning with breakfast and a quick shoot in the park. They weren’t expecting that, but there was no way I was going to let them get away with photos. The kids have grown so much and they all look so good, I just had to!

And now it’s time to unwind. I’ll take a little nap. Follow that with a nosh of leftover spaghetti or Top Ramen or something. Then I’ll spend my evening with the Bad Boys of the Bering Sea while I edit photos. After that, I’ll curl up and enjoy a good night’s sleep before I start the insanity all over again.

I’m kinda lovin’ it. I just wish this were the money-making part. That’ll come soon enough though, right?

Guess what Little Dude wants to do this week? Aside from making the next two days of school disappear.

He wants to the guys from Deadliest Catch.

LD got caught up on the show tonight. He’d missed last week’s episode. And tonight, we both sat on the edge of our seats as we waited to see what happened with the Wizard crew. Can I just say “ouch!” and leave it at that? Yeah. Um. No. Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll stick with back surgery and child birth, thank you very much. I’ve done the broken rib thing, so I feel for Monte. (Mine? Get this: I was recovering from my hysterectomy when my dog and the neighbor’s kitten decided to play tag. Kitten ran between my legs and then up a tree. The dog followed suit and I didn’t move quickly enough. I went face first toward the driveway, which was a good five inches higher than the yard in that section. Thankfully my ribs took the hit. I had ample time to recover. Not like being out in the middle of the Bering Sea.) Oh, and the other two and their injuries? OUCH! Especially the eye. I don’t do eye anything. Nope. No. Just…noooooo.

Anyhow, LD was thrilled to see Captain Phil on the Cornelia Marie again. That’s his #1 captain. Major hero worship going on. Kinda sweet, if you ask me.

Also, we both liked getting our first look at the Incentive and her crew. Captain Harry Lewis sports the best moustache on TV, easily beating Paul Teutul, Sr., by a mile.

There’s a lot going on with DC and if you’re not watching, I just don’t know what to say to you. I could offer you a hotline to call for help (it’s called “your local cable company”) or perhaps I should be more prolific in my blogging the show. But, frankly, I’m not prolific in much at the moment. It’s the last week of school, there’s physical therapy, an appointment with the Very Cute Doctor, and a million other things. I can’t help you if you aren’t willing to help yourself. Deadliest Catch, folks. Seriously. It’s the best show on television.

I’ll be here waiting if you decide to play along. Dave, I know you’re watching. P2, I know you were trying to keep your eyes open long enough tonight. Kaknockers and Deb, well, that goes without saying.

Oh, and a little P.S. here: A lot of people have come here looking for info on why Murray Gamrath left the Cornelia Marie after king crab season. From what I’ve read, he’s not gone gone. That’s all I know, folks.

Deadliest Catch is on tonight!

Just sayin’.

Final run for king crab tonight. Gotta find out who hits big and who hits a snag.

LD and I are ready. I think we’re going to make some snacks and settle in for a good evening of TV. Gotta get myself in an Alaska state of mind.

Lost grappling hooks, no crab, walruses, and flaring tempers ruled this last episode of Deadliest Catch.

What the hell was happening on the Time Bandit? Grappling hooks overboard? For a seasoned crew, that just seemed so unlikely. Was it a case of men showboating? Was it fatigue? No real answers, but once a hook was recovered, the point was moot. There was also some fancy footwork on deck as near disaster was averted, not once, but twice. With all the cuts to Russell one has to wonder how this is all going to work out with him. In the realm of “competition” reality shows, this would be called the loser edit. I’m still uncertain if the rumors are true, but based on editing, I’m beginning to see a pattern developing and I don’t think I like were it’s headed.

Aboard the Northwestern, things weren’t exactly peachy keen as Edgar and Jake were at odds. Bait not hung to Edgar’s liking. Grumbling to the camera when given a chance, this was a different Jake than what we’ve seen previously. But that’s to be expected. A little more experience under his belt, fatigue, and small return for a lot of hard work makes a greenhorn a mouthy boy.

Over on the Cornelia Marie, Murray’s not on the crab. Calling a meeting, he says he’s going to head north where he’s heard the fishing’s good. Will the move pay off? Only time will tell. In the meantime, the Harris brothers are getting on each other’s nerves.

With the Lisa Marie, the crew seems to be tripping over each other and when push comes to shove, well, it literally comes down to pushing and shoving. These guys are no slouch when it comes to tempers and I’m pretty sure this little boat will keep providing us with plenty to talk about.

The only boat with a steady run of good luck the last couple weeks is the Wizard. Despite their rocky start (Cap’n Keith sustaining a big ol’ knock to the noggin from his boat), they’ve consistently been hauling in red gold. However, running short on bait could cut this luck short. Or will it? A call to the Northwestern yields nothing, nothing but a tale about past assistance and unrepaid favors. Keith decides to fish for bait, pulls in enough, and then he’s off for some sleep. While Monte’s at the wheel, the boat comes upon a herd of walruses. Upon waking, Keith lights into Monte when he hears about the walrus; “they’re good luck!” With his typical fiery outburst and an abrupt “I hate you!”, he storms off to guide the boat into what he hopes is blessed waters. Note to self: if ever looking for crab, follow the walrus because, sure enough, the Wizard is so on the crab! Giant king crab is photographed by one and all. For this crew, they don’t see pinchers and shells, they see dollar signs.

Next week, a storm hits as the boats race back for their final offloads.

* Because a nutshell just won’t do.

Yep, I’m reminding you to watch Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel tonight. Just one of my many services to humankind.

You may thank me with cash, food, and/or cars. I’m easy.

Discovery Channel loves us mommies. They love us so much they’re giving us a full day of crab fishermen on the (vast) Bering Sea!

The Deadliest Catch marathon starts at 1pm Eastern.

Watch promo and then watch five billion hours of awesomeness.

What a weird place.

The computer became dimensional, the words I typed floated on the skins of animals as they crossed the screen in front of me, and then the dance began. Letters jitterbugged and did the hand jive. I think I saw some doing the Charleston, too. My only frustration came when trying to round them all up and put them back in order. Naughty little letters and words they were.

I finally closed the laptop, put my head to the cool pillow, drifting off into a deep, but equally strange sleep. It was a place where a giant had taken over my son’s old room, where my old boyfriend Mike was winking at me, mouthing that he loved me while getting ready for spy duty with a woman I distrusted and disliked, and for whatever reason, I was living next to a Denny’s where their sign included the word “daily’, but it was misspelled as “daliy”. It all made sense to some extent, except when it came to watching fireworks over Las Vegas from my new room, talking with my new giant friend, making coffee for everyone, and there was a crab boat in my backyard.

When I awoke, the first time, I got up to go to the bathroom, wobbly, but feeling rested. I returned to the coolness of my pillow and promptly fell asleep again. My dream picked up right where it left off, sort of. Suddenly the giant was shrinking, as he cried about being teased by some thoughtless jerk. He turned into my former boyfriend’s nephew, a little boy I truly loved and adored and who is now (in real life) probably graduating from high school if my math is correct.

I can draw some parallels between people and situations, but I won’t because 1) there’s no real good that could come of it, and 2) I’m chalking this dream up to some psychedelic cartoon featuring people I have known and loved and leave it at that.

I slept. I really, really slept. It took a full day to do it, but I did it. And I managed to wake up in time to watch Deadliest Catch, eat a late dinner, and slip off into Ambienland again.

I’ll be visiting there again. Anything to avoid days of wakefulness and unease.

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep… ~ Psalms, 107:23-30, KJV

Did you? Between last week’s Deadliest Catch episode ending and this episode, I’m deeply, deeply affected. The lives of these people, the sensitivity of the production crew, the dangers fishing vessels and their crews face are all very powerful storytelling. But it’s the reality of it that takes it to a whole different level. Serious stuff. Not a time for moment by moment commentary.

I will say no more. Except, God bless each and every soul who ventures out to sea.

God grant that I may live to fish until my dying day. And when it comes to my last cast, I then most humbly pray: When in the Lord’s great landing net, and peacefully asleep, that in His mercy I be judged “good enough to keep”.

So much going on right now and not everything is bueno. I can deal with that. I guess. I mean, I have to, don’t I? Yes, I do. We all do.

It’s annoying when things go haywire, but that’s all part of life. I try very hard, though, to keep my life at a relatively low level of chaos whenever possible. When things do go nutso, I just don’t like it. But I deal. That’s what I do.

There are others who know what I mean. I’m praying for friends both near and far as they struggle with situations that will require all their strength. They’ll pull through. I know they will. I have Faith. (And if they’re reading, they should know: I believe in you!)

I’ve received an inordinate amount of email asking why I didn’t recap Deadliest Catch this week. As I mentioned during last week’s recap, don’t expect a full play by play every week. This week was particularly crazy around here and the episode was too involved for me to do right by it. Perhaps next week… I just don’t know at this point. I do know that had everything gone right the last couple weeks, I’d currently be in Seattle at CatchCon in seven hours. It didn’t. I’m not. And that’s life.

It appears that what I thought was a bladder/kidney infection was part of my back surgery recovery process. I did feel a little “pop” in my back on Monday while I was drying off after pool therapy. That was very likely the cause. This shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. It was simply panic time because of the fact that I’ve been without insurance for so long. Add to that the pressure of suddenly have NO money coming in again, and I escalated to full modified stationary panic. I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with the attorney’s office (no luck), Interfaith Emergency Services (no luck), and the Social Security people (no luck). Needless to say, I’m out of luck and out of ideas. I did consider selling off some body parts, but that’s a rather hard sell and the market, well, it takes more time than I have. Besides, what do I have that anyone would really want if it’s not attached to me? And turning tricks? That’s freakin’ laughable. Not much call for this body.

Trying to wrap my head around everything resulted in me being rather cranky off and on all week.

To top it all off, it’s calendar time. I wasn’t given a deadline, but it turned out to be the day before the deadline I’d issued to artists to have everything in. Now I’m working like crazy to get this damn thing done.

If you hear an extremely loud explosion, it’s my head.

Don’t forget to check local listings for the Deadliest Catch start time!

Tonight: “Red Skies in the Morning” — foreshadowed by Phil last week.

It’s week 2 of the season, and boats are hunting down the elusive King crab. A vicious storm kicks up and a Mayday goes out. The Skippers are glued to their radios — waiting to hear the fate of 11 brother fishermen in distress…

Be prepared to sit on the edge of your seat for the full hour.

Before the show tonight, you can “catch” up with the crews by checking out some of the on Discovery Channel’s website. Go on. You know you want to.

You watched, right? C’mon! You promised!

Okay, so the baby was crying and little Johnny had a fever. I’ve been there. I’ll give you a pass this time.

Here’s what you missed (and by no means do I really think I’ll be doing this every week, so get it while the getting’s good):

Capt. Keith on the Wizard dodged the cancer bullet. Mild epithelial dysplasia. I could offer you a long explanation about what this is, but let’s just cut to the chase, shall we? These are not changes you see in a healthy mouth for the most part. Smokers, tobacco chewers, and those who drink heavily are more prone to having lesions appear. While they may not start off cancerous, you simply can’t keep up the same lifestyle without risking your health. As Keith told his wife, he’ll need to make some changes. No more chewing tobacco. Keith also had news on his finances. It was a rough year and there’s no way to maintain a healthy boat without pouring money into it. It’s not great starting the season out with a zero balance, but what’re you gonna do? His first pot yielded poor returns, but with good reason. There’s sharp metal cutting the lines while the pots are being hauled on board. Not good. Not good at all.

Capt. Phil on the Cornelia Marie didn’t fare so well. Doctors said he wasn’t well enough yet to take the captain’s wheel. YET. Just remember that. Things can change quickly if you follow anticoagulant therapy to the T. Murray was given the job of captaining the C.M. again. The Harris boys were sad, but they understood. Phil needs to get healthy and return to his rightful place. No worries. Murray Gamrath will do a good job and give Phil that time he needs.

Capt. Sig had to bite the head off a herring after losing the straw poll. Unlike Edgar, Sig spit the head out. Or maybe they’ve just never shown Edgar spitting the fish head out. Either way, it’s my least favorite part of the start of crab season. Looks like the Northwestern isn’t going to get oodles of screen time this episode and that’s okay. We’ll have plenty of Sig in the months to come. We always do.

Capt. Johnathan on the Time Bandit started off this season with a bang. Literally. He dumped fireworks into a barrell where the captains had gathered to tell stories pre-sail. He then dumped cold, cold water on a deckhand. There are hints of personnel changes coming. I’ve already heard about it and to see it being played out on the screen is rather uncomfortable. Ah, well, that’s all part of the show, right?

Bets were made prior to the boats heading out for their first strings of pots. Winner of the Captains’ Wager will get a cool $4000 (according to Mike Rowe) or something like that. You know the winner will give the money to the fishermen’s fund as they always do, which is probably one of the reasons I like this bunch so much.

At one point, cameras cut to Phil standing onshore, noting the morning sky was red. Not the sort of thing a seafaring man wants to see. Keith isn’t liking it either. Sure enough, that red sky leads to more problems for the skipper of the Wizard. He’d decided to make a dive under the boat (in cold five foot swells) to check out the situation and while under the boat, takes a mean slam to the head.

We’re left wondering what will happen.

And with that, it was time to say goodbye to our skippers and their crews for the week.

Next week can’t come too soon around these parts.

I was fully hoping I’d find a way to get my buns up to Seattle for CatchCon, but it’s just not happening this year. Yep, I’ve thrown in the towel and am no longer looking to go. Winning the passes was great, but I have to take care of business here at home. Since I made that decision, I’ve booked two shoots. Will either bring in money? Not enough to pay the bills, but it’s work. Will I be sorry I’m missing out on CatchCon? Hell yeah! All I can say is this: if any of the skippers and/or crew end up down in San Diego, they should let me know. I happen to have two local papers awaiting photos and interviews. (How’s that for working every angle?)

At 9pm, I want you all to go to your televisions and turn on the Discovery Channel (unless it’s on at 8pm for you Mountain folks). Watch the Season 5 premiere of Deadliest Catch and then come discuss it here. Or live blog it. Whichever. Just go do it! You won’t be disappointed. It’s one of the best shows on TV.

Then set a reminder for every Tuesday night at the same time. Let’s make a new habit of it, shall we?

Also, make a note on your calendars that next Tuesday, some of the captains and crew from Deadliest Catch be appearing on Cash Cab (another guilty pleasure).

This one should be a hoot! The ‘Cash Cab’ episode with the ‘Deadliest Catch’ skippers is slated to air on April 21st at 6:30 pm eastern. Not too many details are available however, we should be seeing the Hansens of the Northwestern up against Andy Hillstrand of the Time Bandit and Josh Harris of the Cornelia Marie. We’ll see which group of fishermen can ‘reel in’ the most correct answers!

There. I’ve made it very easy for you newcomers to get up to speed. I’ll see you around these parts later.

Tuesday night, 9pm. Discovery Channel.

Don’t miss the premiere of Season 5. We’ll finally find out what happens with Capt. Phil Harris and the rest of the crab fishing daredevils.

You definitely need to see this.

Also, I was recently awarded two passes for the first annual Catchcon in Seattle on April 25. If you have flight vouchers or tons of frequent flyer miles to spare, I could use a ticket and you could join me in this adventure! I need a response quickly, though. If I don’t book this in the next two days, I will have to forfeit the passes and let someone else go.

Yes, you read that correctly: in exchange for a plane ticket, you get to attend Catchcon with me.

You have to respond by no later than Thursday, though.

Now, remember, watch Deadliest Catch Tuesday night at 9pm!

I don’t know how she does it, but Deb so frequently knows what I’m about to write and she makes it into a assignment that I’m beginning to wonder if she can guess what I’m thinking…right now. Or now. (Oh, I hope she didn’t catch the following thought…) It’d be spooky if it weren’t so great. Sometimes I’m not sure whether I should be flattered or if I should file a restraining order.

First, let me explain a bit. See, I’ve written a few posts for while I’m away, right? Don’t want the blog to languish or anything in my absence. And, while I was writing one entry, I started thinking of a “what’s in your wallet” post as well. (You’ll totally get this when you read that post.) Then Debbie comes along and makes it a PROMPT! That lady is just too into my brain. Either that or she completely possesses what little I have left. Either way, here we are.

Now the second thing you must understand about why this particular PROMPT is special to me is because…I graduated to big girl purses recently. Yes, indeedy. I sure as shit went ahead and got myself a real purse. (For those of you who haven’t heard me go on and on about micro purses and the lack thereof, well, consider yourselves lucky.)

About a month ago, I was out with Little Dude and some friends of ours. I had to return my spare camera battery (because I totally found the one I thought I’d lost, but which was hiding in plain sight, of course. Which reminds me, in addition to Deadliest Catch coming back [is Phil back? Who’s captain if he’s not? Will the boys spend money foolishly while he’s not around? Who are the new captains? What’s with the new boats? Will I ever visit Alaska?] on April 14 on Discovery, In Plain Sight will be returning on April 19 on USA [Is Mary going to chill out? Will her sister stop being such a wild child? Will their mother ever grow up?]. Just sayin’.). Anyhow, I found my extra battery and was returning the other one, right? Okay. As I was getting the receipt out of my ratty smallish black purse, I had a revelation. If I’m going to look successful, I should have a purse that reflects that attitude and goal. Thankfully my girlfriends were also in the market for purses and that’s where we headed. (Poor LD, you’d think he’d have learned to call in sick on days like this.)

We began discussing the merits of size in relation to handbags, purses, pocketbooks, or whatever other term you choose. I jumped in and said, “Stacy and Clinton say that a small purse makes a heavier woman look even bigger. I’m going to get a freakin’ HUGE purse so I look tiny.” I’m not sure that’s exactly what they meant, but I was running with it anyway. I did not go for the largest purse in the world, thankyouverymuch. However, I did manage to find one of reasonable size and yet it still feels smaller. It has, get this, a cute giraffe print to it. What? Shhh! Let me finish the story, okay?

Where was I? Oh yeah, giraffe print. Laughing Rhino…wild theme…giraffe print purse…that makes sense. A cute giraffe print with red trim. It’s much cuter than it sounds. Seriously. (Ask Cheri! She’s seen it. It’s cute, isn’t it?) Of course, this meant that I’d have to do something about all the loose stuff I’d normally just tuck into a pocket in my smaller purse. So I started looking for a wallet. I had my hand on a zebra patterned wallet and LD protested. “Get the giraffe print wallet, Mom. Trust me on this.” Yeah, I know, I’m taking accessory advice from a 12 year old boy. What can I say? He’s never steered me wrong! And yes, he’s very much all boy. He just knows what goes together. Anyhow, I then had to decide whether I should get the giraffe print wallet with the red trim (like my purse) or the one with the brown trim. LD pointed out that the red on the wallet was different from the red on the purse and to make a long story only slightly shorter, I got the brown trimmed giraffe print wallet.

Whew.

Now, what’s in my wallet? My driver’s license, photos of the kids (they finally have a real home!), my ATM card, a couple of business cards, discount cards for Von’s, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Staples, and my Kinko’s card. Oh, and $1.28. And two receipts.

In my purse, I have my pain meds. I never go anywhere without them. Sure, I sound like a walking pharmacy, but whatever. I also have (in a single small pocket within the purse) house keys on a little rhino keychain, lipstick, lip gloss (so girly, isn’t it? I know!), ChapStick, a box of wooden matches (have to take those out before I fly), and back to the main part of the purse, I have a pair of sunglasses, an envelope I really must throw away, two pens, and a business card holder that sports a leopard print (in keeping with my wild theme).

For once in my life, I have a big girl purse with lots of room and it’s kind of fun, too. It’s not some boring granny pocketbook. It’s totally…me! And somehow, I feel so much better walking around with this thing than I ever thought possible. Go figure.

Hey Deb, are you sorry you asked? Now, shh…I’m casting my votes for Fug Madness 2009.

You know it’s bad when you look through photos — thousands of them — and can’t remember if you’ve posted them, or worse, if you even took them. I know I took this one. But I was having a moment. Must’ve been the restorative color I applied to my head last night and all the editing I was doing. Thankfully, I can cross those items off my pre-trip list. As well, I can cross off packing. Yeppers. I’m done. I was a good girl and did it yesterday afternoon. I managed to squeeze my tripod into the suitcase by removing the head. We’ll see how heavy it is, though. If it’s too heavy, it stays home. I have enough other gear to haul and a back to protect, you know?

Now, time to get in a quick nap.

By the way, in case I forget to tell you when I get home, mark April 14 on your calendars. Deadliest Catch returns! Woo hoo!