revjim.net

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut up. It's been a couple of weeks since I've provided you with any juicy information revealing the intimate details of the mundane events in my life. I understand many of you suffer severe withdrawal in this condition, so I'll attempt to give you the drug you need now.

First of all, the photoshoot with Erica went great. No, I don't have any of the images ready yet. Yes, I'll show you them as soon as I can. No, you can't have a sneak preview (except you, John). This shoot was especially fun because a vastly different approach was taken than what I normally use. Instead of trying to preplan shots and ideas… Erica and I worked together before-hand to select, basically, props, and nothing more. Then, when she showed up, we put those props in to use in as many ways as we could come up with. Some of the ideas were down right silly and not really of any use. But, they led to more creative and interesting ideas. Some of the shots just turned out poorly. Entirely my fault. Others look absolutely fantastic. I believe I'm going to use this same approach to my next couple of shoots and see if I see similar results.

Secondly, *KIM WILL BE HERE TOMORROW*. Weeeee! I know, I know, Kim is Jess' friend a whole lot more than she is mine and, in truth, I don't really know her all that well at all. But, what I do know about Kim suggests that the more I know her, the more I will like her. How can you *not* like someone who would be willing to spend hours pacing the parking lot in a figure-eight with some strange man she doesn't know (… me …) just to help him calm his nervousness. On top of that, Jess loves her very much, which means a lot in my book. Finally, I love playing "tour guide" and "host". So, all in all, I'm quite excited and am sure we'll have a great time.

There's been a bit of a commotion at work. I can't really say much more than that I am more afraid that I will lose my job now than I ever have been before. I'm always willing to entertain new job prospects. So, if any of you know of a company, or represent a company, needing a web programmer, web designer, systems administrator, application designer, photographer or janitor in the Dallas/Denton/Fort Worth area, please, let me know.

I've been offered the opportunity to author a few chapters in a book about the Smarty templating language. I've accepted that offer. Now, I just have to actually write them. Having never had anything published (aside from this ego-ridden self-publication we call a "blog") I'm a bit intimidated but am looking forward to the experience. I'll give you more information when I have it.

I had a great time Friday night at the Mardi Gras party thrown by a few friends. Justin and I took the Karaoke stage and sang "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls as we usually do. I think I'm getting better at tuning out Justin's higher part so that I can hold my lower part without drifting into his. Normally, Justin would be a good person to ask that very question to but I can't think of a time that we've sung that song together in which we were both entirely sober. Jess partook (partook… is that a word?) in the Mardi Gras madness and flashed John several times for a few strands of beads. I'm still a bit upset that she was only willing to flash them to me one at a time in a secluded corner, but John gets a full on view in front of lots of people. I'm her husband, I get priority, damn it! Of course, since I saw a few other girls offering the same tokens of appreciation at various times during the evening, I can't complain too much. Ashley agreed to a photoshoot in the next couple of weeks. Then again, she was drunk. So, we'll see if that holds up now that she's sober.

I think that about sums it up, so far.

You happy now?