More education, more knowledge...

My new mentor sent me an email this afternoon. She told me about a digital photography class being held on Sunday in Troy, about an hour or so north of here. It is being held at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, from 1 to 5pm. I am looking forward to this experience for a couple of different reasons. The primary reason revolves around my Fine Arts CBE for college. If I can learn to use my digital camera using the manual settings, I know I can make a better project, plus it may open other artistic and academic doors as well.

Another aspect is that I will probably meet a few people who might just think like and enjoy some of the same activities as I do.

Let's face it, even though I truly admire, like, and respect the current folks in my social scene, not many of them get the same thrill out of life that I do. My likes and dislikes are just different, that's all, not better or worse. Plus, many of them are much younger than I am, which sounds age-ist on my part, but it narrows our common experiences to the rooms of AA and the coffee shop down the street.

It's just reality, once again, making itself known. It will do me good to be around people who do not know me. I can practice being myself--as in my newer, sober self.

I have been rummaging through some old photos recently that I have taken over the years. Most are just snapshot thingies, but there are a few where I did try to capture a sense of art and place. The most striking were the pictures from the fish stalls in Venice, Italy, that I took back in 1993. I was using an old Canon AE-3 with a 28mm lens, and managed to squeeze out a few good ones. I'll try to post one or two for this entry.

My old VW is due to be gone, and soon. Things are starting to go wrong. On the drive back from school Monday night the driver's side window decided to not roll back up. I had lowered it to take a ticket at a tollbooth, and when I hit the button to send it back up, well...

This would not have been too bad, had it been summer and 70 degrees. However it was 0* and I had no choice but to bundle up and drive the remaining hour back home with the damn thing open. Thank the powers for Gore-Tex, fleece, and more fleece. I checked with a wind-chill calculator and the readings were based on external temperature (0 degrees) and a 65mph wind.

That's -41*, if anyone is wondering. My mechanic managed to get the damn thing to stay up and there it will stay until I lose the vehicle. It's the kind of repair that only VW can do and is estimated at $500-$600...Too much for me to spend on a car I'll only own for another month.

So that's the news. I am working on homework, hitting the gym, going to meetings, helping out mom, and getting plenty of rest. What else is there, at least for now?


Johnnyboy