Da Goddess

First class was wonderful! Funny, energetic, exciting, informational, inspiring, and just what I needed. Doug Gordon is brilliant. Like a diamond. Princess cut. (His beautiful wife and children were also in attendance, proving what I have long held to be true: a solid support system at home is your greatest tool as an artist and business person.)

I got my “free hug” when I went up to the stage and I’ll go see him at the trade show tomorrow…er…later today (I gotta go to bed if I’m going to be up and in the car by 0630 for my 0800 class). Can’t wait to talk with him more. I truly believe this man has magic fairy dust that he can sprinkle on me and make me a better photographer. Oh how I wish I could take one of his New York 4-day workshops! OMG! Really. If I can walk away after two hours and not shoot but still feel like I learned some very valuable lessons, imagine what I could do spending 4 days working/shooting with him! (On the wishlist, of course.)

Next up was a class that was labelled Motivational. A couple, whose work I like and who come across quite well in print, were to be talking about marketing and pricing and branding and all that stuff. MOBD left after 20 minutes. I wanted to leave. But my greed kept me there. They were giving away a lighting kit that I really wanted. So I wasted two hours of my life to gain the super secret code to where they have their pricing guide on their website. Listened to a woman who was neither interesting nor organized nor pleasant unto the ear. The husband said little. Unfortunately. And when he did speak, she’d cut him off. HE’S the photog. HE’S the one who interests me most. But marketing is her thing. Wah. I didn’t win the lighting kit. Suffered unnecessarily. But it should be noted that someone from whom I have taken a paid class from in the past was also there and he walked out. Half the attendees walked out. When they were calling names for the drawing of prizes, there were endless amounts of “oh, did they leave?” or “Must have left” and “well, they’re gone”. She wanted to turn up the lights to see the crowd. He told her no. He knew better. Anyhow, I high tailed it out of there as soon as I could and off I went to find MOBD and head toward dinner (no one poisoned me this year!).

The two hours of wasted time were salvaged by the only possible cure: Super hot and sexy…model, philanthropist, phtoographer, and judge on America’s Next to Last Top Modeling Chef. The lovely and talented…Mr. Nigel Barker!

Hotness was in the building! For real. I ♥ him even more now. I ♥♥♥ him. He has this adorable little overbite thing becomes noticeable as he’s smiling and talking with models, getting to know them. It’s charming, really. And he inspired me photographically. The way he treats people. His overall kindness and openness. I was going to get a photo with him after the fashion show, but I missed out whilst talking with a lovely lady from…San Diego. Of course!

Anyhow, without further ado, Mr. Niiigeelll Baaarrrrrrkkkkkerrr!

Hello, Hotness, my old friend. Roooowwwr! I’d be a cougar for that. The man is sex on a stick. I wanna lick his face. And the hair? I like it. I like him bald, too. Roooowwwr! Please mind the drool puddle. Can’t afford a slip ‘n’ fall here.

And with that, I’m outta here. Gotta be up in 4 1/2 hours for a full day of classes and schmoozing. I’m lovin’ it! Hoping I can get the missed hug/photo with Mr. Nigel Barker at the Sony booth. (Say a prayer, please!)

My doctor’s visit went exceedingly well. For me, that is. We aren’t scheduling the next epi just yet, as he wants to see how long this lasts. He did, however, get very upset when he discovered which patch had been used on me after my trigger points last week. There is now a BIG BOLD NOTE on the front of my chart and he made sure everyone knew that no NSAIDs were to ever be brought anyone near me. He also announced to the entire office that the patch was never to be used on anyone again (especially me). It was a huge, loud moment. Also, he’s going to argue with the insurance company that it’s worth us doing the upper back epi even though it didn’t work pre-operatively all those years ago. The fact that the lower back epi did work POST-OPERATIVELY…well, that’s a good sign and it’s worth exploring using the same treatment to provide me with effective relief. So he’ll fight them as much as necessary to get me the treatment that I need. I like this office.

The real joy of the visit always comes with the waiting room adventures. I tend to update my facebook account frequently whilst I’m waiting and this was a particularly interesting day. Figured I’d copy and paste the whole thing over here for you to enjoy, too.

scenes from the waiting room:

Scene 1: “yo BITCH, who yo mothah fuckah?” some woman’s ringtone…full volume.

said woman’s companion has been going on for a good 20mins on how he just wants a decent bitch he can kick it with. and then the two are having separate LOUD convos on their phones

would it be foolish of me to suggest 1) going to silent… mode for ringtione? and 2) taking their calls outside?

scene 2: civil war cap with awesome civil war beard.

scene 3: everyone near loud rude couple in back becoming increasingly disgruntled over something. attitudes are contagious. me? I have a phone and fb.

scene 4: today my name is “John” (usually they call me “Jo ANN”)

scene 5: one cute tween sitting in waiting room is becoming super uncomfortable with the conversation at the back of the room. her mom isn’t exactly pleased with the language used. since I’m now back with the nurse, I narc’d. no need for anyone to endure that behavior…anywhere

scene 6: rude couple ejected and they were not happy. had a choice to turn down their volume, go outside, or leave…they got mean so decision made for them. they’re standing outside yelling now. by my car. no good deed goes unpunished

scene 7: the miracles

miracle #1 – doc happy with progress and my level of pain relief. he’s going to fight ins. co. to let him inject my neck, too.

miracle #2 – doc ran out of room and announced to evryone that the flector patch is a no-no…especially for me. and he scrawled big note on front of my chart

miracle #3 – rude couple apologizes

And there you have it.

Only thing I really need to make it all perfect is a personal masseur at my beck and call, a personal trainer to help me work my core, and a good bed. I’ll take any one of the three, any combination of the three, and I’ll even take all three. Please note these as they appear as items #1-3 on my early birthday list.

Tonight, I went to dinner with long time blog friend Sapper Mike, who is in town for a couple days. BBQ for dinner. Lots of talking (sorry…I can’t seem to shut up sometimes) after dinner. And tomorrow we’ll attempt to see the horses if the weather isn’t horrible. After that, he has kindly consented to be my escort when it’s time to check out some “Soul with a capital ‘S'”:

Someone…SOMEONE…in the Pacific Northwest…SOMEONE gave me tickets for Christmas. SOMEONE who happens to have a blog and who comments here. Uh huh. I’m not mentioning any names. HE knows who HE is. He’s a very generous soul and he’s been wonderfully kind to me. Plus, we have great conversations. Anyhow, someone know what he did and I will be forever grateful.

Before I forget, if anyone is interested in very VERY inexpensive CDs from a great music collection, I know someone who is selling many of those CDs on eBay. it out.

I’m such a brat, aren’t I?

He wasn’t. I did this. Last summer. In a very Richardson-esque manner.

Really enjoying my time here in San Diego. I’ve seen Mad Mikey and the whole MM Family, a photographer or two, our dear, dear friends C&R…and have plans to catch up with others before I have to hit the road again.

Got a freaky story to tell, but that’s for later when I have a better internet connection.

Taken the day we had snow.

It’s been a crazy weekend here. Saturday we had a pipe burst and there’s been no water since. Repairman is due in twenty minutes. In order to get LD and me ready for the airport, we high tailed it down to my friend’s house. Thank God for him! And thankfully he allowed me to spend the night there Saturday night so I could get in one more shower and real bathroom time before I headed home.

Hated putting the boy on the plane. We had a good time while he was here. I think his favorite moments were snow flurries (short-lived) at the house and then going out to dinner with a rock star in the same day. (No, I was not invited…it was a guy thing.) Then New Year’s Eve with the best bunch of rockin’ friends ever, including LD’s besty, the rocker. Yep, found a venue that was all ages. Everyone made him feel like a star himself. But then…it was over all too quickly.

And to top it all off, we’re getting real snow now. Wish he could have been here to see it. Wish both kids could be here to see it right this very second. Sigh. Oh well, sent him and Mojo a photo of the snow. Can’t wait to get out to SD to see the whole family.

Okay, enough of the maudlin stuff. Here’s the snow!

And New Year’s Eve:

We’ve been busy! Here are a few quick shots of some of the things we’ve done the last couple days.

Here’s a photo of that circumhorizontal arc I mentioned yesterday. This photo does not do the brilliant colors justice. It was spectacular! All the various arcs we saw were magnificent. This one, in particular, we really liked as it looked a bit like a bird to us.

There’s snow in them thar hills!

Dude was schoolin’ me on labyrinth protocol! He’s only been to one other (but he remembered the “rules”). He took it upon himself to walk the path.

Where we normally see mountains, all we could see was clouds. Clouds clouds clouds! It was a little surreal. As we got closer, it was apparent that the clouds weren’t just there for their good looks; lots of wind and cold air awaited us. And snow. LD liked that. He’s never been snowed upon. Until yesterday.

The horses were down low because of the cold and snow. For some reason, they were really liking the road and there were a couple times when horses wouldn’t move and we just had to sit and wait. We weren’t the only ones. Other drivers were just as stuck. My favorite horses of the day were “the twins”. Here’s one of them.

The twins. They were so funny! Crowded around the front of the car with two other horses. Guess they were trying to keep warm.

Finally, last night we went to see Human Nature. LD loved the show (said it was better than Blue Man Group) and was actually bold enough to stop Phil and ask for a photo.

Yesterday, as Little Dude and I were driving out toward the goddess temple (his choice of destinations), we spotted multiple rainbow clouds. Wisps of clouds lit with brilliant prismatic colors. Some would appear on both sides of the sun, some would be close to the sun, some would just form a column. No matter what shape they took or where they were, they were spectacular and we pulled over to the side of the road more than once to just marvel.

We also spent plenty of time gauging how low the snow was in the nearby hills and mountains. One thing was certain, it was much lower than I’d thought. Today, we go find out for sure.

It’s been sort of magical here. All the things we’ve seen, all the conversations, it’s magic. I wish Mojo were here, too, but since she’s not, I’m making the most of having LD in the house again.

As I was driving down the freeway last night, I came upon what I thought was a huge traffic accident. It wasn’t. It was a crime scene. A body had been dumped on the freeway. Covered only by a bit of blue cloth of some sort, it was obvious that it was a violent death. Reality check! No one in my family will be getting that call…”We’re sorry, but so-n-so was found dead on the freeway last night. murdered.” That, my dear, reminded me of how blessed I am and that all my caterwauling was for naught. I was humbled and rightfully so. My heart was full knowing my family was safe.

Today, I photographed a wedding and saw the joy of Christmases future shining in their eyes. They were envisioning the babies they’d have and the presents those kids would open….My heart was full.

At the gas station, I spent the only $7 I had on for gas. A homeless man came over and opened the door to the market for me, wishing me Merry Christmas, and then he waited by my car, insisting he’d pump the gas for me. I told him I had just spent the very last $7 and didn’t even have change to give him. He insisted I let him pump anyway. And he cleaned my windows. We talked while he did so. He’s the son of Lily Pearl and Redmond down there in Mississippi. (Wouldn’t tell me HIS name, but made sure I knew his parents’ names. His dad? 97 this year.) We continued to talk and I felt so bad having nothing to give him. He said my smile and conversation were all he needed. When he was done, I walked over and hugged him. His eyes watered a bit and his crooked, partially toothless smile got even bigger. “That’s the best Christmas gift ever! I got a chance to talk with a wonderful person and then she hugged me. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been hugged?” I wanted to cry. But he was happy and that was our moment. As I drove off, waving to my new nameless friend, my heart was full.

Another mile down the road, I saw Santa on his Harley. Waving to everyone as he drove by. Mrs Claus was having fun, too. My heart, yep, full.

God always sends us the lessons we need when we need them most.

Merry Christmas, my dear friends! May all your wishes come true and my the Heavenly Father continue to bless you!

Thanks to my friend who does sound at my favorite venue, here’s a shot of me doin’ my thang last week.

Don’t know what the deal was. But I finally got some photos post from 10-09-10.

Human Nature at Imperial Palace

I’ve been without reliable internet for far too many days as you may have noticed. Damn neighbor hasn’t paid his cable bill lately, I guess. Sheesh. He has little consideration for freeloaders! But seriously, we had some connectivity issues that have now been resolved as I have a killer portable modem from my friend who is (the bastard) going to Australia for a month. Not fair. Except he will be working the majority of the time. With a band! Man, if only I’d kept up with my music lessons all those years ago…that coulda been me!

/whinge

Anyhow, so I’m back online with consistency and that’s a good thing. As I said, I’m losing my favorite act for a month, my roommate’s gone for at least six weeks, and I’d be totally bored without the internet. And lonely. Sigh.

/really ending whinge now

Went to see the doc today for pain clinic and my BP was 152/95. Lack of sleep and pain much? Yeah. I drove all the way down there, sat there waiting, only to be told that we’ll schedule my injections for the future. Sometime. He did tell, however, that there were areas on my last scan that were worse than what I’d been led to believe. He pointed out the one section in my lower back that’s out of whack and then the area in my upper back…and showed me where he’d go for the injections. They’re not quite steroid epis I’ll have, but they’re something and that’s good enough for me. He’ll also do some trigger point injections. Now those I like a lot. The relief is always incredible. And according to the doc, because he’s going to do them while I’m under (5 minute sedation), he’ll be able to get the spots while I’m a bit more relaxed and that helps the absorption of meds or something, providing extended relief. I was all, “I’m in! Let’s do this!” and then he said, “no, we have to wait for the insurance company to approve it.” At that point, I do believe I was feeling…oh, shall we say…crestfallen. I went off to check out and get scheduled and the doc calls out after me, “wanna Toradol injection today?” I had to laugh. That was pretty funny. (My chart has big red letters with allergies all over it now.)

I posted something about my visit on FB and my dear friend sends me this email: “I simply demand you get well and not die on me before this site [we’re working on a new website] gets going. Have some consideration. I’m counting on you and your writing output will be decidedly less if you’re dead. Think of me. Think of the children! Get well, friend. This chronic pain/no sleep thing sounds completely dreadful. Let me know if there is anything I can do.” My response was thus: “For one thing, you can send me a hot Australian man [though I asked my friend to bring one back with him, I’m not holding out any hope]. Eye color, hair color are unimportant. I prefer him to be at least 5’10” though. However, if an Aussie is unavailable, I will gladly accept a Scotsman or even an American. Indeed, any of the above would be fine. An Englishman with good teeth works, too.” I don’t really need a man, but heck, it never hurts to share your wishlist, right?

But mostly, “Writing output decidedly less if I’m dead…lol! Best get well I’ve ever heard!”

Okay, no. I’ll take the guy.

Since I had a lot to get done today, I’ve been having myself a little tea party. Four kinds of tea, baby! Organic Earl Gray was a little peppery and good. Lipton tea? Classic. Never goes out of style. Jasmine green tea? An absolute delight! And then there was this lovely little organic oolong… I’m switching to decaf shortly. Gotta sleep tonight. I’ve been absolute toast of late.

What else is going on? Hmm, we have snow up on Mt. Charleston. That’s not too far from the ol’ homestead. It’s been chilly here, too. I have the heat on, I’m wearing sweats and a sweatshirt, and I’m considering dumping the next cup of tea directly down my shirt to see if that helps warm me.

Not going home for Thanksgiving. Talked with both kids about it and they understand. Talked with my sister today, too.

Other than that, it’s been relatively quiet around here.

From a project I’d worked on a month and a half ago and just now got around to posting.

Excellent guitarist. Great friend. Awesome model. We laughed a lot.

Other than being so far away from my kids, you know what? I love my life (most of the time). It’s beautifully surprising and rewarding in many different ways. Over the past few days, I have laughed and smiled more than should be allowed by law. I’ve laughed so hard I cried a few times. It’s been a whirlwind of activity, all of which was perfect after spending a week in the house.

My friends played a great show on Saturday (replete with drunk, pink yoga bunny…better if you don’t know more than that) and then came over Sunday. After they rested up, we went out to see Human Nature at Imperial Palace. Sixth time for me. First time for the guys. My favorite part of the show is everyone getting up and dancing, and the band did their fair share. There’s something wonderfully powerful when you’re part of a group moving to music and participating just for the sheer fun of it. It’s stepping out of yourself and out of your self-aware bubble and giving in to the moment. Letting the music take you away. ( help me out here…maybe you can explain it better than I.)

Anyhow, once again, I got to watch manly men get up and dance and goof around. It was precious.

After the show, we headed out for dinner to one of my favorite places. You have to come visit for me to tell you where it is though. Don’t get upset. I like to surprise my friends! Thus far, everyone loves it. I will say this: awesome sangria.

Following too many yummy tapas and just the right amount of wine, it was time to explore the Strip. Crazy people in costumes…all sorts of ridiculous things happening…pretty much like any night on the Strip, but with a few more accessories and the occasional display of odd behavior. Of course, there were a ton of guys dressed like Alan (Zach Galifianakis) from The Hangover. (Guys, none of you got it right. Yeah, I’m a Galifianakis snob, so I expect a lot from anyone trying to emulate him.) At some point, we ended up down at the Bellagio, hoping to catch the water show. Missed it. It was 2:30 in the morning and…whatever. Moving on… As we were walking along, we found Jesus. Yep, he walked right by us. And then a split second later we saw another. Except he was in a wheelchair. Double take time. It was a friend of mine. Crown of thorns. Scratched forehead. The robe. Awesome. Rollin’ Jesus. So the group of us turn and head back the other direction with Jesus in the lead. Yes, we walked with Jesus. Damn right! My friend would launch himself out into the intersection quite assertively and everyone would just stop. Nobody wants to be the one to run over the guy in the wheelchair, let alone the one to run over Jesus in a chair. Am I right?

A stop at Diablo’s proved to be not really our thing. Off we went again. We ended up down at the Irish pub at New York New York, listening to a great band and I encountered the stickiest floor ever. As we were leaving, my pant leg brushed the top of my foot and I was so grossed out. It was soaked with beer and horribly…ewww…it was just disgusting. All in the name of fun. All in the name of fun. Said goodnight to Rollin’ Jesus and headed home.

Got the guys safely back to the house and settled in on their sofas and fell into a deep sleep. Up by 10-ish. The band packed up the van and we went for breakfast. But first, a stop at Retro Bakery. Can you say YUM? Ooooh yeeeeeeeeaaahhh. Photos with the owners were in order and then really, truly on to breakfast at Mimi’s. Again, much laughter.

I hated saying goodbye. You just don’t many weekends like that. Not with a group like this. Fabulous people who are amazingly talented and genuinely kind. Check ’em out and let me know what you think.

Since then, I’ve been working on a big project. Close to being done (fingers crossed). Exhausted, but pleasantly so and glad to be back at the computer with fresh eyes and a new perspective. Not to mention good news in that I got two extra pages to work with! That’s suddenly made everything infinitely more aesthetically pleasing. I’ll share when it’s done and I have the okay to do so.

If I’m lucky, I get a full day’s rest before another friend hits town with another amazing band. I can’t wait!

Oh, and the best news: we’ll be done with electioneering in just a few hours. Anyone else happy about that?

By the way, here are a couple photos from the weekend. I’ll be adding more as I get things edited (a slow but sure process since I took surprisingly few photos (36 in all for the whole weekend?? How did that happen?).

MOBD and I are about to be invaded.

The accommodations are sparse and uncomfortable, but if they’re willing to put up with it, who are we to say no? Couch surfing has its privileges, I guess. Anyhow, we are quite happy to have the guys crash here. Wish we had more to offer, but again, they’re willing to endure the bare bones conditions.

Guess there’s even more motivation to get that spare room organized and turned into a guest room for future visitors.

MOBD and I have been working on a few things lately. Some of the projects are still under wraps. However, we did finish this shoot and are working with the family on their selection for prints. We gave them a great deal on their photo package, have a couple little surprises for them, and even came up with a super surprise for reprints. Boy, if I were to tell you what we were able to do in the way of reprints, you’d just about fall over! (It pays to work with various labs just before the holidays!)

Enjoy the slideshow and if you have any comments, please leave them here (NOT in the flickr gallery). Also, keep in mind that the images online are low-res and there are a couple I would have preferred we not include because of sharpness or lack thereof. But mom and dad were adamant about a couple shots “it’s a fake smile, but that’s HER fake smile and we like it!” Fair enough. So, what do you think? And can you tell which photos I shot and which ones MOBD shot?