2011/11/23

PROMPTuesday #172: Laundry List

Da Goddess @ 09:08

Tis PrompTuesday over at San Diego Momma’s place. Been a long time since I’ve played along, but heck, my post was written in her comments section. I’m just spreading the love.

You know how such complicated things are really quite simple? Like, you want to work out? WORK OUT (San Diego Momma). Or, you want to write a book? WRITE A BOOK (San Diego Momma). Or maybe you’ve been meaning to reclaim your soul from social media saturation. STOP TWEETING SO MUCH AND WRITE YOUR BOOK (San Diego Momma). So for today’s writing prompt, I’d love you to laundry list something that sounds complicated, such as…

go read her entry. It’s good.

“As for YOU, laundry list something. And…Please post your submission in the comments OR post in your blog and leave a link to your blog in the comments.”

I’m a great lister, so here’s mine:

How to survive in Las Vegas:

  1. Find a sugardaddy.
    1a.  Be under 25
    1b.  Be HOT
  2. Work at any of the big casinos as a service “model”
    2a.  Again, be under 25
    2b.  And, naturally, be hot
  3. Failing the first two suggestions, try gambling. Because there’s no RISK OF LOSING EVERYTHING. Ever. Not at all.
  4. Take a job in an industry that’s oversaturated by people who don’t know what they’re doing and charge too little, thus fucking it up for those of us who are good and charge for being educated and competent.
  5. Hope you have enough friends with empty sofas so you can couch surf your way through life as you wait for meaningful work.
  6. Be prepared to piss off at least two of those friends (over something small, but still piss-off-able).
  7. Be prepared to beg and plead for forgiveness endlessly if they are the kind of friends you like having in your life.
  8. When all else fails, become a live-in nanny for first time parents who are sweet as can be and make you life as comfortable and happy as possible. No lie. They’re that good.
And that’s my laundry list, which will also include doing plenty of laundry in the days to come.

2011/11/21

Scorpions, A Very Bad Blogger, and The Job

Da Goddess @ 10:03

I was punished for my blog absence but good. Walked into my friend’s house last night and stumbled upon my first live and not encaged scorpion (and tiny baby scorpion to boot).

Actually, I wasn’t really punished as much as I was surprised and angry because she can NOT have scorpions running about in her home. So I stuck a glass on top of it until she got home. It then took two of us to get it scooped up into an airtight container.

Look, I’ll rescue and relocate rattlers. I will kiss tarantulas. But I draw the line at scorpions. Especially ones dropping babies as we’re trying to avoid getting stung.

Blah blah blah.

The really BIG news of the moment is that I have a new job as a full-time, live-in nanny for a sweet family and their beautiful little boy. I am very excited about this. Over the moon, in fact.

Also, happily, a lump at the edge of my breast/armpit area has decided to go away after ten days. I’m considering that VERY GOOD NEWS.

Oh, then there’s the upcoming PBS special for the group Human Nature next month. Please watch it. I am in the audience (yes, I am…was there both nights). Better still, it’s going to be amazing! You will love these guys as much as I do.

And with that, I should tell you that DaGoddess.com is back, what with being rescued by Jay and Pam. (Thank you, mi amigos!)

 This post marks my return here and, hopefully, better blogging habits.

Other special thanks go out to people whose names I cannot mention for things I cannot mention. They know who and why and how deep my gratitude pool is.

2011/07/28

Photos for Teeth Donations

DaGoddess @ 01:13

Wow, been attempting this for a while and my phone keeps erasing stuff. Yep, doing this from the phone. Typoes and odd letter combos be damned.

Currently lying in bed with ice pack to jaw, vicodin on board.

Okay, so here’s how photos for donations works;

You choose image from anything you’ve seen on the blog (please include link to post and brief description if more than one image is posted) or from and you’ll include the file number from flickr (usually with “img” in there on the description section, as well as a description of image in the note section on PayPal.

$10 gets you 5×7 digi file

$20 gets you 8×10 file

$50 gets you 11×14 (or two 8×10) and 5×7

100-up will get you 16×20 (or two 11×14, or four 8×10) and two 5×7

all files do not have to be of same image. mix and match. also, because your are receiving digital files, you’ll need to hang on to the email that gives permission for you to print, along with printing recommendations for the best color and overall results.

When you get to Paypal, simply enter dagoddess (at) gmail dot com (as you would a normal email address), make your donation, and don’t forget file numbers and sizes for each image.










Thanks for your support! My teeth and I thank you.

Once Upon a Monday

DaGoddess @ 00:24

I started explaining how my teeth began crumbling in my mouth in the comments of the last post and figured I’d share the whole insane story here, where more of you could join in the uneasy laughter and occasional cringing.

So, here we go. It all started on Monday. I was before dawn to go shoot with my friend MOBT. We do the nude shoots together. He decided he needed more breast work with me and I agreed. It’s been a year since we’ve worked together and I thought it would be good to catch up with him.

Off to the arroyo we went. We were going to shoot, then he was going to buy me breakfast, and then we were going to hit a second location.

The arroyo is a cool place. I took LD there last year and we wandered around, exploring. I was fascinated by the way the light bounced between the fine powdered pale walls that had been etched by water and wind. T and I figured the ligh would be good for our early morning shoot. The time of day meant we wouldn’t be risking heat exhaustion since it was low 80s at 6am. We arrived just as the sun started to hit the tips of the highest walls. Perfection.

I got undressed (leaving my shoes on – such a lovely look) and we walked back into one niche that looked promising. I sat down and posed, know exactly what T wanted until he was inspired to try something else (one of the benefits of working with the same person repeatedly). Click click turn lift your head let your hair hang over your face click click head up go back to eyes closed click click. And the I changed position. I had my feet up on a ledge and was leaning back, comfy in my little nest when T said he wanted me sittingup more. I checked the area, as I always do before place my bare feet or bare anything anywhere and started getting into position OH HOLY SHIT OUCH MOTHER FUCKER OUCH! Invisible prickly thingies appeared from under the powdery dirt, firmly attache to the sole of my left foot. I tried to extract one but couldn’t get the right angle.

T to the rescue! I rolled onto my side and extended my foot to him, where he began the lengthy, delicate removal process. “I don’t want to accidentally leave something in your foot.” Nice having a detail-oriented former Army Ranger on hand for such things. He got every last little sucker out of my foot and we returned to our shoot, none the worse for wear.

We move to a couple other locations and got some more shots in, but then he and I both started feeling dizzy and kind of out of it. We packed up and I got dressed, and off we went, hiking back to the car.

Now, all the walking I’ve been doing has paid off. I no longer lag behind, huffing and puffing. Except for some reason, I kept having to stop to take a drink of my water. And to deal with dizziness. And some nausea that was creeping up on me. T was kind of in the same boat, minus the nausea. I kept smelling paint
fumes, like heavy duty, industrial kind of paint fumes. T doesn’t smell it at first, but then he does. He’s ready to get the hell outta Dodge just as much as I am.

We get to the car, settle in, and are off to breakfast. As we get almost to our exit, I beg him to pull over – quickly – and barely make it out of the car before I start heaving my guts out. All that’s there is water and bile (I’ve really really not been eating much lately – like something small every two days, thanks to Cymbalta). I repeat ths a few times and feel better. So we’re off to Denny’s. Bacon awaits me! Except itdoesn’t. Tried some cranberry juice, doesn’t taste good. Bring on the ice water. I suck that up like a camel refilling its tank. End up not ordering food since I’vehad to go vomit again. I do, however, say I’ll try some of T’s toast. I never get around to it as there is more barfng to be done.
After he finishes, I wrap the toast up, planning to nibble at it later. We stop at a store and I load up on gatorade (wrong flavor) and a bottle of lemon lime soda…all $1 each. Finally get home, shower off all the dirt, notice my foot (of the prickly attack) is swollen and discolored, get dressed, make ice pack, elevate foot, settle down to rest after some wrong-flavored gatorade, doze off for a few hours.

I awaken parched, achey, a little dizzy, slightly woozy, but my foot looks much better and I feel like eating something. I got after the toast. Manage to eat all of it. A good sign. I work on more gatorade and water, letting my stomach adjust. Finally, I decide something soft and bland might go down well. I make mashed potatoes and throw in the lastlittl bit of cheddar I had. They’re good!

And then it happened: crunch. WTF? I kinda spit out what’s in my mouth, think maybe it was some pepper or something until the next bite: crunch. Now it hits me. Just like last time, except this is three teeth! FUCK! I don’t need this now. Can’t afford it now. I don’t have the time or patienc or money or even the mental strength to deal with it. But one cannot live with crumbling teeth that will only lead to bigger, costlier problems.

Thus I spent yesterday looking for a dentist, even hit up the dental school. The least expensive option was $2800 and that includes the antibiotics I have to take becauseof a little heart murmur. Now I just gotta raise it.

I got $100 coming in on Saturday and God only knows where the rest will come from. If you want to help, I’d appreciate every penny. Paypal work – dagoddess (at) gmail dot com is all you need to make a donation. I’m willing to offer digital downloads of any of my images to donors. details to follow

2011/07/08

Blessed

DaGoddess @ 01:33

Just a few hours ago I met the Motown legend Mary Wilson. Yep, that’s right. My friends got photos with her, but I didn’t. Currently in a “no photos, please” phase after seeing all the images from Portland.

How blessed am I to have such wonderful friends that they put me in places where I meet people I’ve long admired? I really have been lucky in the friend department. Started long ago with my blog buddies and has snowballed from there.

Excuse me while I have a moment.

2011/07/02

Just Another Preplanned Post

DaGoddess @ 05:12

Yes, I know. It’s stupid to write up a bunch of posts to publish while I’m gone. I mean, I could just leave the place unattended and it’d be like when I didn’t have Internet. But see, I DO have a connection, so I’m posting. Because you deserve to be as bored as you were before you got here.

What shall we talk about today? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

I know! I’ll post a couple photos and we won’t have to talk at all! Genius, I tell ya. Pure genius.

Did you see these? Some of my friends were playing over a club one night and, of course, I took my camera. I was glad I did, too. Great music. And I think I got a few good shots. These are three of my faves.

Stoney in Black and White

Love that shot! But more importantly, I love what the editing program did. I usually don’t let the program decide what’s best for my images. I fuss and fine tune, making all the adjustments myself. Except this time, I hit “suggest settings” and loved what happened. It looks a little grainy and retro and I like that. It fits the vibe of the guitarist. As well, it made him look kinda buff, which is funny because he’s tall and really thin. He loved this image, too, by the way. Yay! Everyone was happy!

TomiRae and Zito

This one, well, they were jammin’ to the Stones’ “Can’t Always Get What You Want” and having a woman on stage for a change meant that there was a cool energy going on. She was fantastic! I don’t know why she doesn’t have her own damn band. Really. She’s that good.

Count and TomiRae

Here we have the owner of the club, with Tomi in the backround. I kinda dig it. Hard.

And this concludes today’s stroll down memory lane and our show and tell portion of our schedule. I hope you’ve enjoyed yourselves. Please tip the waitress and bartenders and tell your friends to come visit.

2011/07/01

Happy Not To Be There

DaGoddess @ 05:00

Writing this before I left for Portland. Couldn’t sleep, so here’s where I ended up. Big surprise, eh?

So, I was finishing up with some emails and a few other tasks in the wee hours, when I should have been sleeping. (I’ve logged about 3 hours in the last 36. I always get this way before a trip, and also when I’m stressed, pissed off, etc.) I’m sitting on the sofa minding my own business when I feel a tickle on my toes. I looked down to see a big ass damn cockroach and I shook my foot as hard as I could to get the fucking thing away from me.

Here’s the thing no one tells you about Vegas: it’s cockroach heaven! They thrive in the desert. They grow the size of Volkswagens. They chuckle openly as you chase after them with bug spray or a baseball bat. Everyone here has a fumigator that comes by regularly. I think we’re overdue for a heavy ass spray because this is not the first roach I’ve seen in the house. Could be the newspapers that are brought in without being shaken first, but I don’t care. I don’t like roaches and I don’t want to see one, feel one, or even think about one. Ever.

The ones that have made it into the house are in various states of dying, so I guess that’s good news. The thing is, I’d really rather have them die outside and never make it inside in the first place. That’s not too much to ask, right?

The worst part of this whole thing? Because I don’t have a regular bed and sleep on an air mattress (6 inch thick air mattress to boot), this puts me basically on the floor. Right where there might be something horrible and creepy and crawly. Any wonder my sleep cycles suck so much?

Ewwwww! *shudder*

Anyhow, by the time this gets published, I’ll be happily ensconced in Portland, sleeping in a real bed, without bugs, and without 24/7 vigilance against them. Sometimes the saying should be, “there’s no place like home…thank God!”

(And I could be saying that for a few reasons these days. Ugh.)

2011/06/17

Nikka Costa at the Cosmo

DaGoddess @ 05:00

Nikka Costa

Nikka Costa

Nikka Costa Band

Nikka Costa

Nikka's Band

Nikka Costa

Nikka Costa

2011/05/23

Felicitations and Solicitations

DaGoddess @ 05:02

I started yesterday afternoon with a call from a dear friend announcing her engagement. I whooped it up on the phone with her for a while and couldn’t have been happier for her! Both she and her beloved are deserving of all the happiness they’ve worked so hard to bring into their lives.

Later, I watched a friend perform in a play. Wonderful performance and the audience was quite receptive. Both kids and adults alike were sufficiently awed by the costumes and songs and the story (about a girl, a witch, a dog, a tornado, and some ragtag friends the girl meets along the way). It was truly delightful. And I realized as I watched, I miss the theater. I miss plays.

Later later, I sat and waited for my favorite show on the Strip to begin and noticed a security guard walk past me, turn to look at me (I smiled at him and went back to reading my news on my cellphone), and then walk away. He came back about ten or fifteen minutes later and struck up a conversation with me. At first he complimented me on my smile and how it had brightened his day, to which I replied his kind words had brightened mine. Then we began talking about his job, etc. He asked what I did for a living. I said photography. He asked where I live. I replied, “Las Vegas”. Blah blah blah…he finally left. I thought it was a bit odd, but figured it was just one of those random things that happen in life: someone just saying something nice to you and that being that. Only later later later, as I was talking with my friend the guitarist, was it posed that perhaps the security guy was doing a soft interrogation to see if I was a hooker.

Hello? WHAT? Who? ME? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Damn, that cracked me up. At most, I thought I was being mildly flirted with. Never even dawned on me that it could be something like that. I mean, I was sitting there, not exactly dressed up, looking slightly disheveled from being out in the wind at the play and kind of sweaty. A hooker? ME? That’s too much.

But it’s Vegas and anyone can be anything here. That still makes me laugh, though.

Oy vey. What a silly day.

Here’s something that isn’t silly. Okay, it’s kind of silly in that someone has their all chapped over something that is a positive thing and has turned it into a major news story. I don’t understand how anyone can take doing something good for others and turn it into something bad, but there’s always one in every bunch, it seems.

Go forth and read. And no comments unless you’re really just flirting with me and not trying to see if I have any ulterior motives for sitting here all by my lonesome, tip tapping my keys at you.

2011/05/20

Big Love To You

DaGoddess @ 01:45

Thank you all for the sweet comments and birthday wishes. Obviously, I’ve been a bit busy celebrating. I’ve been making the most of my birthday week, er, month, um…however long this lasts.

Highlights:

1) Comments from all of you!
2) Calls from family and friends
3) High school friends showing up in town
4) Smokey Freakin’ Robinson. You read that right. Oh yeah. Mama’s happy.
5) Being tired. Means I’m alive and havin’ some fun.
6) Dancing with friends who let me lead (because I’m a horrible follower without practice)
7) Getting groped by a stranger in a bar…at age 45, that’s kind of a cool thing, even if the woman was drunk as hell. For whatever reason, she decided she liked me. I just kept trying to eat my cake, nodding, and pleading silently for one of my friends to help me out. Men. So predictable. They did nothing.

Off to bed early for a change.

Big hugs all around!

2011/04/05

It’s Like Home Again

DaGoddess @ 19:11

Got LD here with me. He flew in Friday, with his flight delayed 40 minutes. Didn’t understand why until after he landed and I saw the news about the Southwest flight in Arizona that had the roof rip open. I’ll take a delayed flight anyday if it means they’re checking the planes thoroughly.

After he got in, we headed to Denny’s for a late night breakfast and silliness. Saturday we took our time getting started and then headed out to see a show. Sunday, it was horses and then a show (same one…we’re so predictable). Yesterday was nothing but a lazy day, which was just what the doctor ordered. We were wiped out from a few late nights.

Today we headed up to Mt. Charleston and Lee Canyon. OMG! Gorgeous! Stunning scenery. Mt. Charleston area still has plenty of snow on the ground, so LD went and played. Crazy kid. It was a joy to watch.

It’s been good having him here. I’ve missed the kids. And even if I only have one here with me for a few days, it makes everything seem a little more like home.

2011/03/29

Cuteness OD

DaGoddess @ 18:57

The horses were too adorable today and I think I overdosed a bit on precious. Seems almost silly that I get so much joy from seeing horses roaming about freely, but it’s special to me. Went with delightful, clever people and that made the day even more special. I think we all walked away wishing we could take a couple of these cuties home with us.

TA with horse closeup

D with new friend

E with happy horse

Sweet little one

Wild horses in Nevada

Totally cute wild horse

2011/03/24

Red Rock Canyon

DaGoddess @ 22:02

Just some pics from a couple weeks ago. Yes, I actually went somewhere! It was a gorgeous day and my photographer friend and I had fun as the sunshine beat down upon our skin and warmed us to the core. The sun was a bit too bright for good landscapes, but that gave me an excuse to look closer at some of the things around me. I was pleasantly surprised.

What the images lack in quality, I’ve made up for in quantity.

2011/02/28

Protected: The Other Shoe

DaGoddess @ 00:48

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2011/02/21

Am I Dead Yet?

DaGoddess @ 23:12

WPPI has been a whirlwind of activity. I’ve learned so much in just two days and there’s still more to come.

Yesterday’s first class with Doug Gordon was incredible! His flow posing is brilliant and so fluid, fast, lovely…I walked out of there feeling confident that I could apply all I learned at my next session and be very successful.

Today’s best class was with Jesh de Rox. He reduced a room of almost 1,000 people to tears. A few times. It was beyond amazing. He’s one person I’d want to pay to spend time with to learn everything I could. Unfortunately those sessions, one-on-one, are a cool $20k ($16.5K if you use the conference discount.) Um. Okay. The other option is just under $500 for his online workshop, support system, and then $1,000 scholarship to future gathering. I’m seriously eyeing the penny jar. If you could only see what he’s done with photography, what he’s capable of doing with his clients, you’d understand why I wish I had a house to mortgage for that one-on-one training. Seriously, grown men were crying when they saw what he was doing! I didn’t know he’d done a here just before WPPI. For around $2k. I’d have sold a leg or a lung for that.

Tomorrow is full of more classes and more excitement. I’ve been up since 05:30. Folks, you know I go to bed at that hour, not wake up at that time. But I’m all over this. I’m making the most of every opportunity. There are photographers (like Doug and Jesh) who have been on my radar for a long time, inspiring me to achieve more. To see them in person is simply beyond compare. I’ve also met a lot of lovely people from all over the place, including one woman from just down the street from where I lived in SD before I moved here.

I’m going to finish laundry (can’t wear sweats…I mean, I could, but I won’t) so I have clean clothes for tomorrow and then I’m curling up like a little a armadillo. Have to be up again at oh-my-God-it’s-way-too-early.