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Excuse my absence for I have lived. It has been 4 days since my last confession.

h2. Last Wednesday

The rest of Last Wednesday went mostly as planned. I found out that Jess got the new job she interviewed for so I started planning a surprise party for Friday night. Work lasted much later than it should have. When it was over I got to work edited photographs and managed to finish several from our trip to the Bayou. Jess and I had the Chili she prepared that morning for dinner, cleaned the house a bit, watched some TV and then hit the gym. We never managed to get to the weeds. However, I had a good sweaty time on the treadmill while watching Deal or No Deal. We skipped the hot tub, came home, watched some TV and went to bed.

h2. Thursday

I went to work. I’m having a particularly stressful time at work these days and this day was no exception. I got off as early as I could and stopped by Costco to pick up party supplies. After getting home I edited a few pictures, then started making dinner. When Jess got home we ate dinner and then cleaned house. At 8:30pm I started setting up lights for my 9:00pm photo session. They arrived at 9:30pm and we got started. It was a fun session and we finished just before 10:30, talked for a bit and then they went home and Jess and I went to bed.

h2. Friday

Work was even more stressful than usual. I was putting the finishing touches on the party, had too many meetings and deadlines that day, and was dealing with ALL of the rest of my team being either travelling or on vacation. Even my boss was working from home that day. I spent my lunch break going to 5 different places looking for Sushi dishes. No one had what I wanted. I left work way too late. I stopped at one last place on the way home and found just what I was looking for. Then I stopped at the grocery store to get last minute supplies for the party. Jess got off early on her last day of work, so she actually beat me home, which was not good. I convinced her that the food I had bought was simply because I was really hungry when I went to the grocery store and that I should stop shopping on an empty stomach.

We cleaned up for a bit and then left at 7pm for our fake reservation at a Sushi place. My sister and my parents opened our house and let people in and set up the party while we drove for a bit and then I pretended I forgot my camera bag and just HAD to have it and turned around to get it. We got to out house again around 7:40pm. Jess was SURPRISED to see everyone there.

Everything went better than I expected. There were quite a few people that couldn’t make it on such short notice, and, of course I entirely understand those that have other plans. But I really appreciate those that recognized how important it was to me and how special it would be for Jess for them to be at the party and went out of their way to show up, even on such short notice. An extra special thanks goes to Emily, who had people in town and early morning plans the next day and still managed to make it for a few hours, and Daisy and Tim, who had to pay a baby sitter last minute just to come. Each and every one of you that came really mean a lot to me and really helped me to see what friends will do for you when you need them.

A few people left through out the night, with the party officially ending around 1am. Jess and I cleaned up a bit and went to bed.

h2. Yesterday (Saturday)

We slept in late (8am, WOO HOO). Then we cleaned up from the party and bummed around the house quite a bit. After enough relaxing, we got dressed and headed out to the Johnson Branch of Ray Roberts State Park for a nice hike. It was hot. REALLY hot. 2.5 miles was about all we could do before we found ourselves heading home. When we got home I helped the lady next door fix her outdoor faucet. Then we pulled some weeds (still about one more days worth of pulling to go) and mowed the lawn. After that, we had dinner and watched TV. Then, we headed out to the pool for a nice night swim. After we got home I edited some more photographs, and then we went to sleep.

I worked out a new way to carry my camera and lenses while using them that I think I really like. I have to buy a few more parts to make it even more accomdating, but, I’m much happier with this setup than I’ve been with anything before, even if I do look a bit silly.

h2. Today (Sunday)

I got up around 6am and made coffee. As I write this (7:06am) Jess is still in bed but she’ll be getting up soon. We’re heading out to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens to meet a friend and her daughters at 9am. When we finish there we’re going to go visit my parents for a few hours. Then we’re meeting up with the DFW Flickr group at Sundance square at 5pm. After that, we’ll be heading home.

h2. Tomorrow (Monday)

Work. Weed pulling. Edging. House cleaning. Swimming. Sleep.

h2. Beyond

Want to do a photo session one evening this week? Email me! Friday night we have a birthday dinner to attend with a friend. Saturday we’re having a few people over for dinner and drinks. If you’re interested, speak up. We’re not sure how big of a deal we’re doing yet but let me know so I can let you know.

h3. Yesterday

Yesterday I was pretty swamped at work. As usual, I spent most of my day convincing people that others have found almost impossible to work with to do things that they previously felt were impossible to do. If I’ve learned anything at my current position it’s that a little bit of charity can go a long way toward establishing trust.

After work I headed over to “Justin’s”:http:/gentlenews.com/ place for dinner and to prepare for “the show”:http://gentlenews.com/theshow/. The show had a few glorious moments but, for the most part, it bombed. Technical difficulties really frustrated us and made it hard to concentrate on much else.

After the show, we went home and made it there just before 10:30pm. I went upstairs to try catch up on “business”:http://djamesphoto.com/ mail, finances, and other commitments. By the time 11:30pm rolled around, I was tired. I went down stairs assuming Jess would be sound asleep and instead found that she had cleaned the laundry room and cleaned the kitchen and was awake in bed reading a book.

h3. Today Until Now

This morning, the alarm went off at 5am. Jess asked me to get her up when my alarm went off so I did, and then promptly fell back asleep. At 6am, I got out of bed to find that Jess had already gotten up, showered, and preprepped a pot of chili for dinner tonight. Do I have the best wife in the world or what?

I jumped in the shower, got dressed, kissed my wife goodbye, and sat on our front steps eating a piece of fruit for breakfast. Then I made a pot of coffee and settled into my office for a day of work at home. However, before getting started I had another small business commitment to attend to.

Just before we left for vacation, a patron inquired about purchasing a digital version of “Golden Field with Low Hanging Moon”:http://revjim.net/2005/11/20/golden-field-with-low-hanging-moon-seashell-folded/. His intent was to put it through the “Rasterbator”:http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/, print it, and then hang it on his wall. I haven’t really attempted to sell digital versions of any of my photographs before but, the idea was so cool I couldn’t say “no”. I didn’t have time to send it before we left so, before digging into my day job this morning, I cleaned up the image he ordered, prepared it for digital use, and sent it to him. He’s promised to send me a photograph when it’s done. When he does, I’ll show you.

Around 8:00am the appliance people showed up. Our dryer first broke a few months ago. At that time we called an independent repair man who came out and looked at it for “two $20 bills I can rub together”. He said the motor was bad and that we could still use it until it went. Well it went, which is why we called these appliance people this time. After looking at it, it turns out it wasn’t the motor at all. There was just a bolt loose and one part was rubbing on another part. They tightened the bolt, the noise stopped, and the dryer was fixed. Hooray!

About an hour ago I got a phone call from an old friend that I haven’t seen in a while. She wanted to meet me for lunch, but, my not being at the office meant meeting me for lunch would entail quite a long drive. We talked for a bit. I really miss hanging out with her and the friendship we used to have. But, things change and I’ve accepted that.

Aside from a few non-work related interruptions, my morning has been busy yet mind numbingly boring. At times, my job seems so simple and utterly mundane that any unskilled person could be trained to do it. Then I consider the fact that people who are far more trained than I am consult me on these matters on a daily basis and I realize that either the job is harder than I’m giving it credit, or people are a lot less trainable than I think they are. Regardless, the majority of my work is boring and mundane and I wish I could find something more interesting, more creative, and more important. At this point, I’d even consider a pay cut.

h3. The Rest of Today

The rest of today’s work day should prove to be just as busy and boring as the first half.

As soon as I “clock out” for the day, I’m hoping to either go take some photographs in the pastures behind our house or get a large chunk of photo editing done. I have quite a few images waiting to be edited: three clothed sessions, two nude sessions, seven or eight various outdoors sessions, photographs from my backyard, and all of the bayou photographs. Yeah… that’s a lot. Given all of that, I’ll probably stay inside and edit even though I’d much rather be outside photographing. I’m open for suggestions on where to start.

Once Jess gets home, we’ll have dinner, pull some weeds, do some housework, and then walk to the gym. After the gym, we’ll sit in the hot tub for a bit and then walk home. Then I’ll catch up on a bit more photography stuff and head off to bed. Friends are welcome to join us for any or all of the above, as long as you remember that I get the right side of the bed so I can be closest to the alarm clock and the last one in bed has to turn out the light.

h3. Tomorrow

Tomorrow two friends are paying a late visit to my studio for some maternity portraits. I’m quite honored that they’ve asked me to do the work. Aside from that, the rest of the day is much the same as today: Day job, housework, and photo editing.

h3. Beyond

This Friday there has been some talk about a photo session, but nothing is really set it stone. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll see what social activities I can get myself into.

Saturday morning Jess and I are meeting a friend of ours (that we don’t get to see nearly enough) and her two children at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens around 9am. We’ll goof off, I’ll take pictures (of course), and have a general good time. Afterwards, though they don’t know it yet, we’d like to spend some time with my parents, my brother, and his family.

Sunday morning will be designated for yard work, followed by garage cleaning, followed by car washing. Sunday evening Jess and I are meeting up with the “DFW Area Flickr Group”:http://www.flickr.com/groups/dallasareameetup/ at Sundance square for photographs and social stimulation. It should be a pretty big crowd of photographers and spectators alike. I keep trying to meet up with these folks but am always so busy. I’m glad it’s finally going to happen.

We’ve made some preliminary plans for a social gathering at our place next Saturday. Nothing’s entirely certain yet, but, if you’re interested in attending, let me know and I’ll include you in further details.