Not feeling it Today

Meh.  I think i'll be taking a break today.  In the meantime,

I was feeling some old Slipknot earlier.  I think i'm going to be anti-social today.  Thank you.

And thanks to whoever posted "i'd hit that", earlier.

Strange News from the UK..

I like to read strange news from overseas... this one caught my eye...

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/874187-guatemala-pig-alien-born-after-ufos-seen-in-the-sky

Interview with Brooke Pt 1

Earlier, I had the opportunity to ask some general questions of my business partner and friend, Brooke Winegardner, about photography, the business of, and some other stuff to give those interested in the background and short history of Freedom Sunshine Images.  This will be presented in 2 parts, and I really look forward to getting all this out there for our fans of our page and each of our individual side projects!!

Part 1

JonC : Let's start with the most obvious of questions: What made you want to get into photography?


BrookeW: When I was little my grandmother purchased a yellow plastic camera with matching sunglasses for me one day. I pretending to take pictures of bugs, flowers & my grandparents. As I got older I was allowed to use the family camera & I loved it. While growing up, I preferred magazines over school books focusing more on the talent coming from the photographer. I was interested in a style more like national geographic, traveling to exotic locations to capture everything to wildlife, landscape, & everyday life. 
That's how it all began when I got my first camera, excluding the traveling to exotic locations. With the help of Myspace, people seen my work and began to ask me to weddings and portrait work. I do more portrait work now with little time to focus on my nature snapshots. 

JC: Yea, since we teamed up a few years back , I have definitely noticed the huge increase of business since the MySpace days... I used to try to do custom profile pics for people and that didn't really pan out well, but it did at least point me in the direction that I wanted to go.  I would be a liar if I said your success has been a major influence and motivation for me on my own artistic path.  What was another career direction you were interested in before photography?

BW: My grandmother always told me I was going to be a nurse. She wanted me to be in the healthcare field so badly. I kind of just rolled with that idea and worked inhealthcare for about 6 years. I loved taking care of people but it just became stressful. People you worked with become a part of your family. Seeing death has never been something I can handle and in that field, that is an extremely common thing. There were other factors that made me search for other paths in life though. 

Mainly because I have always been an artistic person & I knew I would rather be broke using my creativity than be rich & be miserable not doing what makes me happy. So really...I knew anything I could express my talents through would be the only thing I wanted to do in life. 

JC: And it's looking like you are doing pretty good for yourself.  Unlike a lot of people, you are willing to make something basically using whats around you and turning it into a lucrative outlet for a career.  With jobs being hard to come by and so many people out there just willing to give it all up and live off of welfare and everyone else working their ass off in the general workplace, you really stand out. What are some of your future plans in regards to the studio?  Any Improvements? 

BW: This month I am getting my own studio rolling again. The paint is ready to be slapped on and the set up is out of my home. I cant see paying $150.00 a month for a room I already have and lights I already own. By December...It should all be up and running.
I also have a wonderful landlord who has agreed to allow me to use a lot of his antique items as props

JC: That is awesome.  I cant wait to see the finished results.  Don't ask me to help paint, because I suck at painting. Absolutely terrible.  Alright last question for this part: How well do you think Social Media plays an integral part in your day-to-day?

BW:Social media is a huge factor in my day to day. without it...I wouldn't have as many costumers as I do. 

OK, I will have Pt 2 sometime tomorrow.  In the meantime, thank you for reading.

Oh, it's Monday now , isn't it?  Ah.

At least it's a 4 day week for me this week.  In your face.

I'm taking Friday off (and leaving work early-ish Thursday night) to get a game that's coming out.  Oh yes, I am a 30-year-old man who likes to play video games still.  I'll give you a minute to make fun..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Anyhow, yea a video game.  I'm picking up Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and plan to game my face off til at least 6AM-7AM Friday morning beginning at midnight after I have to go to Gamestop and pick up my copy that's been pre-ordered since I think early May.  Most people who know me I'm not that type of gamer who puts in work like some of the most experienced WOW players.  But when it comes to Elder Scrolls, I'm kind of a big deal.

Perhaps the best game ever.

I looked up my play time for my character on the last EScrolls (Oblivion) I named Listerfiend after the mentioned villain in Clerks 2 that hides in your mouth or whatever, and I am clocked in at 147:36:15, which translates, to those who don't know how to read that format, roughly 147.5 hours.  On one character.  I even logged in that much time without even beating the main storyline.  I just went dungeon diving.

That particular amount of time was probably wasted so easily mainly because 1) I was single and I lived with 2 other guys in a big 1 bedroom apartment.  The living room was large enough to have plenty of furniture in it, so I rented out my couches. 2) I didn't have a GF at the time, so I was free to do whatever without fear of reprisal ("Oh well if you love your Xbox that much, why don't you sleep with it?!")  and 3) I worked 3rd shift, which if anyone has ever worked that shift before, it really fucks your whole day up if you like to plan stuff.  I think I may even had went through a bout of narcolepsy.  I would randomly fall asleep at various times of the day, but after 1 AM, I was ready to rock.  I would have already been through half a pot of Columbian coffee, and maybe an energy drink or two. Hell, there were times on the weekends when I was off, that some friends and I would be getting ready to go out to the bar, and I would just...take a nap.

Yes, you can walk on water.

"WTF dude, were leaving in like 5 minutes."

"Oh no, i'll catch up to you here in a few.  I just need a nap."

This would happen time and again.  I mean occasionally I would wake up in time to walk over to the bar and get a drink or two, but by this time most of my friends would have been either gone already, smashed, or getting a ride with someone else to somewhere else.  So, I would walk home hoping no one would be there and if they were not using my TV to play my Xbox so I could bury my loneliness in the great world of Elder Scrolls.  And I would.  I think my longest bout of playing lasted one time from 1 AM to 3 in the f'ing afternoon the next day.   Yeah.  Don't worry, I got up and moved around from time to time.

Back then, I didn't care.  I was fresh off of a debilitating injury, and struggling through college.  And trying to keep myself out of ex-GF drama, which for some reason hounded me until I moved to Columbus for a short time. After the move, I didn't play that many games.  A lot of things changed in that 2-year period.  With not just me, but with everyone I knew.  I was making my transition out of my 20's, I saw friends go down paths I never would have thought they would undertake; I lost a lot of friends to the ever changing dance of life.  Maybe I didn't notice then because I was so engrossed in what I was doing, which really wasn't anything.

However, regardless of that half-assed theory of time loss through gaming, I will continue my hobby.  It brings me enjoyment, and to me it's like reading an interactive book.

I wont be doing that again, the marathon thing though.  With the advent of age, you don't get to play for marathon sessions at a time.  When you support other people, you know damn well your'e not going to get away with it.  I'm at least getting to play the game for a good while Friday night/morning.  But I know this weekend there are plans that have already been made, and I know work would not be happy if I took an additional day (or 3) off.  It's bad enough trying to get one day off!

...So, I met a guy from Joisey last night....

..Never met anyone from the East coast before.  Well, that far east.  This guy...wow.  I'm still trying to figure out if it was all an elaborate act, throwing money around like it was nothing; proclaiming the 1's in his stack was "garbage" , and telling me I'm the one with a funny accent, and he was the one talking normal.  This guy was like a tornado of arrogance, whirling around the bar making jokes with everyone about anything.    But...

I think it was an act.  I think the guy was a bored Ohio guy who's watched too many episodes of Jersey shore, Bar Rescue, and Ghostbuster's.  I am a skeptical person as it is when it comes to people.  Especially people who throw money around at Italian restaurants in south-eastern Ohio at a Maguffey Lane show no less.  Just to clarify, I was not there to watch Maguffey Lane, though I did engage in some conversation with a band member in the restroom that kind of went like this:

"Goddammit, I cannot wait to get back to Columbus.  This 2 hour drive BS to play to a bunch of hilljacks just east of the West Virginia border is not as fun as it used to be." The gentleman exclaimed to me.  I personally don't like talking to strangers in restrooms after midnight, especially people using the urinal next to me when there are perfectly good ,empty stalls (isn't there a Man rule about that?) .  Nothing good can come out of those types of situations. But I didn't want to be rude.

"Oh, I know what you mean.  I drive there everyday for work."

"You're from Columbus?  What the hell are you doing all the way down here?  At least were getting paid to be down here."

I gave him a quick explanation of why I was down there, what I did for a living, wished him a safe journey home, and exited the restroom.  I wanted to hurry back to Jersey boy, because I was curious to see what he was up to now.

Maybe a little back story.  I had went to Athens last night to go see one of my best friends who is a chef at a very nice, up and coming Italian restaurant in Athen's, Ohio.  The place is called Abrio's, and though I have never had any of the food there, I've heard it's great, the service is great, and the selection of beer is amazing, and they really try to put more of a focus on micro brews, which is something that I have taken a keen interest in lately.  Support your local eateries and local breweries people.
Anyway, my buddy wasn't closing so he had invited me down to have a few drinks, so I did.  Upon entering the establishment, I greeted my friend then sat down to have a drink.  I chose an IPA that was suggested to me and stuck with that all night.  I can't recall what it's name was, but it was delicious.  So, I had been there for like 20 minutes or so, and then the "Jersey Native" started coming around.

"Ah there's my people! I tell you, yous guys, yous guys do it like we do it back east, you know? hahaha, that's right , you guys calamari don't taste like fish, your sauce actually tastes like it has real tomato's in it, I'm buying the whole bar a drink!!"  At this point the gentleman, who we'll call Tommy because I cant remember what his real name was, pulled out a huge wad of 20's, and proceeded to buy everyone drinks and shots.  I declined a shot but accepted the beer.  Now, at this point most of the serving staff were getting off and hanging at the bar with my friend and I (because that's what they do there apparently, they have a very tight-knit crew it looks like) and Tommy was making the size of his bankroll known to all the ladies there.  He gave both bartenders probably what equaled to a $30 tip each, then gave one of the servers $20 to guess my age in three tries ( I apparently don't look it, but she had guessed it on the last try, but I think she heard me whisper it to him and she was just playing along, whatever wasn't my money, and I sure as hell wouldn't give some chick $20 for something like that).  I mean, this guy was really trying to let everyone know there he had money to burn and did not have a care in the world.

But, like I said, I think this guy was putting on an act.  He was really laying on the whole East coast this, east coast that stuff.  Almost everything he would say was somehow in connection to something back East.  Apparently, or at least this is what he told me after getting him to calm down the money rainstorm and engaging him in some conversation, he is the largest private owner of tractor-trailer's on this side of the country.  He said he owns 1100 trucks, and provides extra assistance to large shipping companies.  So, being I work in that industry, I grilled him a little to see if he really knew what he was talking about.  It turned out he did, but I still thought that the whole Jersey thing was an act.  During our conversation it seemed like his accent turned a little, like certain words that should have been pronounced a little more ignorantly given his exclaimed status, but weren't.  After our conversation, he went back to hitting on all the girls, pronouncing to one of the guys who was with us, " Ey, I tell yous what, I'll buy all the drinks you want, but I get to take all the bunnies home with me , eh?"  The guy looked at me , and just started laughing kind of nervously.  One of the ladies talking to my best friend heard that, and started shaking her head like wtf.  Another girl mouthed the words "help me" to me and my friend.

Finally, after about a half-hour of this nonsense, Tommy decided to make his exit.  But not before buying everyone drinks again.  He came over to me, tapped my beer with his, and said , " You know I really like you.  You seem like a stand up guy.  You don't say nothing, you just stand there with your hat on drinking your drink, and just take everything in."  Yep, that's me Mr. Observant, like I've been observing you all night because I'm curious to see if your not from Middletown or Cincinnati or something.

"Thank you," I said. "I'll take that as a compliment."  He shook my hand, proclaimed to everyone how much of a stand up guy I was, and promptly left.  As soon as he was out the door the bartender, a lady who looked closer to the latter end of her 30's, came over to Jamey and I .

"Jesus, I may have made over $200 tonight because of that guy, but I thought he would never leave."

Several of the employees there (most of whom were off their shift by now) agreed, then all the different snippets of the evening came out from the various ladies:

"He put his arm around me and called me his princess, then I felt his arm going down my back, and that's when I went to the other  side of the bar."

"Did he really call us bunnies?  What is this, 1963?"

"I think he was outside in his car smoking crack."

Whatever.  I got like 3 beers off that guy.  If it was an act, he did a great job.  But I felt bad for the girls there because you could tell they were a bit uncomfortable around him.  So, is that what happens when you got a little change and you got nothing else to buy in life?  You spend it all at some bar, hoping to pick up some college chicks?  Thankfully, most of those girls there I believe are a little smarter than that.

Again, whatever.  I got free drinks last night.

..oh, and here's a video of a Jersey guy.  If the one I met last night had done this then, maybe I would have been more inclined to believe that he was in fact from New Jersey.

I love Saturday's.  I don't have to get up at any given time, don't have any pressing matters to attend to, and football's on.

Well, actually i'm not watching any football right now.  The TV has been shanghaied by Cartoon Network.  That's OK because I haven't been really following any teams this year.  I'm kind of slightly apathetic to sports lately.

Anyway, I didn't get up until 2PM today.  Don't know why I slept so late, maybe because I was awake til 4AM watching TV after work.  Whatever I feel great.  Don't really have much to comment about today.  I will say in regards to my comments the other day on FB about my love for 90's "grunge" (I really hate that term), I would love to find out if Pearl Jam will be going on tour 2012.  I think that will be my concert goal for the year. I've seen their live shows on TV, and I think I would love to go see them.  Now, a lot of people make fun because it is a bit uncharacteristic of me to want to see a band like that ( I love metal, but all of my metal friends have made fun in the past and currently about my eccentric musical tastes; I tend to like other stuff too like Massive Attack, alexisonfire, NIN, etc. besides).  But I don't care about what other people think about what my music interests are.  I listen to what I like, and if you were to look at my phone's music library, you would be surprised at the amount of variety I have on there.  However though if Pearl Jam comes anywhere in the tri-state area, I'm going.  You can call me a poser for liking such a "commercialized" band (though they really aren't considering that most of their latter albums were produced privately and they lead the charge against making videos for every single on their albums post- "VS" ; in actuality they made themselves anti-commercial in regards to all of their more recent albums, and even though I really like their first two albums a great deal, I believe that most of their latter albums, "Binaural", "Yield", and some of the live albums are the best material they have ever produced, but thats just my opinion..) all you want.  Everyone's a poser to a certain extent aren't they?  

I'll leave you with this video.  This was actually the first video I saw of these guys when I was a kid when they actually used to play real music on MTV..... that's enough for nostalgia today you posers.

OK, That's Much Better

Ahhhh, the wonders a hot shower, some food, and STRONGER coffee can do for you.  I think I might be able to produce something viable now.  I mentioned earlier that I would probably end up doing some pics this weekend.  I would like to continue to take some of live subjects, but I think I might just end up taking a drive somewhere and get some new landscapes done.  I haven't done any in a while, so I might take the opportunity of having a clear schedule to do so.

That or finally get the Honda running.

Yes, my beloved Honda Civic is still not running.  All it needs is a new alternator belt so its an easy enough fix, its just I haven't had time or money to do so (usually the end and the first of the month is when money's tight around here, as I'm sure it is with a lot of people).  It would be nice to get that car running again; I love driving my truck to work and all, but it gets kind of expensive sometimes.  I miss having only to put $30 a week in my 4-banger to drive to Columbus and back M-F.  Now it's anywhere from $80-100.  But I guess that's what you get when you upsize.  If I do get the car running, its definitely getting cleaned.  That bitch is hit.

Whatever happens this weekend, I am hoping to get some pics done at some point.  That is for sure.  That, and to maybe fool around with this new blogger thing.  There's a lot of stuff that I have no idea how to use, and i'm trying to figure out more detail with the AdSense stuff.  Basically if you come to this page, visit the ads (which are provided by Google, not sketchy stuff) and I get like 15 cents for you looking.  Something like that anyway.  I'm not really doing this because it's a way to make a little extra on the side, but Christmas is coming up, and for me that's the poorest time of the year for me.  Like everyone else :)

For all you unemployed out there, this is for you..

At Least it's Friday

It is too early for me to be up.  This cup of coffee in front of me is barely doing its job.  Got an eye appointment today, going to get some new glasses/contacts.

Have not really had a chance to read much news yet; don't think I really care.  It'll be 'Occupy' this or something about Bieber, or maybe something about some of these crappy excuses of GOP presidential candidates.

Whatever.  Don't care.  It's Friday.

I don't really have anything going on this weekend, so if anyone's interested in getting some pictures done, hit me up on FB.  I'm looking to expand my portfolio a bit, if you will.  Kind of want to do some more senior pics because I really like the way those turned out with my sister last weekend....

Hmm.  Thought maybe if I had refilled my cup of coffee, I'd wake up a bit.  I feel even more tired.  Meh.

So, yeah, after the eye appointment, I have to work.  Yay.

Ha.  The one thing I hate early in the morning is when you get repeated phone calls from automated phone numbers wanting to sell you insurance..........Whatever. I'm being too random right now..... I think I need to go back to sleep.

The comedy of picking up kid's from school

I don't know if anyone has ever ran across this when they go pick their young kids from school, but some of the conversation between parents sometimes are just too much.

I pick up my girlfriend's son from kindergarten most days, and I always take the opportunity while waiting on the kids to be dismissed to people-watch and observe some of the hilarity that ensues.  The other day I had walked up and took my normal place in the back of the parent pick-up area at the elementary school.  I don't talk to anyone usually because I don't know these people and on top of that they all look like meth heads (which is why he's going to a different school next year).  Next to me, there was a young lady with two smaller children plus a baby in a stroller.  She was engaged with another young lady about the trials and tribulations in regards to fathers who don't pay their child support. I can sympathize because my girlfriend's son's father doesn't pay any of his support, but we are OK otherwise.  Anyhow, so these two are talking about how much their individual ex's pay a week ($93 for the one with the three kids, and $26 for the other), and this guy who had been standing outside of the area kind of obviously eavesdropping sidles over and exclaims that he pays like $500 a week for his kids, which must have impressed these ladies because I noticed that their body language turned favorably towards this guy and they all started joking about child support and the whatnot.  Then it dawned on me:  this guy was hitting on these moms.  

I mean, I guess if you're a single guy and you like the mothers, then I suppose trying to pick them up at an elementary school is a good idea.  As I observed, I overheard the exchange of phone numbers, where they frequent on the weekends, etc.   What was even more comical about this was I couldn't remember whether I had seen this guy before.  I had to bite my lip at this thought because I would have started laughing out loud.  Imagine, someone actually going to pick up women at an elementary school.  

Also, I love it when the kid's one friend's parents show up wearing their matching pikachu hats, classic.

Hmm, this is definitely different than before.  I remember the last time I created a blog, it was an epic disaster. Nothing looked right, I couldn't figure out how to post half the time and worst of all, the myspace drama that would ensue was simply unbearable; so much so it led to the demise of my account.

Boo hoo.

Anyhow, much has changed in the last few years since that tumultuous time in my life.  I have worked for the same employer for a few years now (which has it's ups and downs like everything else), and i assist in running a semi-successful  photo studio out of Zanesville, Ohio.  Things are for sure a bit less chaotic than it was a few years back.  I'm not constantly worrying about whether I'll make it to work on time or if at all due to a number of silly reasons (i.e., hangover's, dead batteries, not enough gas in the car, and people I hated working with just to  name a few.) and I don't have nearly half the BS I used to have to put up with back in the day.

What changed?  What set my life on a course of , dare I say it, normalcy?  Was it the death of my myspace account? Or was it the elimination of all the negative aspects in my day to day?  I don't know honestly.  One of the things that I have been told about myself is that when I focus on something, I typically come out on top of whatever situation.  So, I guess now i'm adjusting my focus onto the one thing that has always escaped me : the written word.  Yes, I have always loved to write.  I believe that is from all those years I had my nose stuck in some book, reveling in the various stories and adventures of my youth.  I wanted to emulate all of that I think, and for years I have struggled on various projects.  I've began I think six separate fiction novels, two non; a biography on small-town rock and roll/mentality and countless others.  I have a hard time finishing things and I really don't know why.  I guess you could say I am averse to commitment.

But I woke up this morning (well, noon.  I don't have to work til 5:00 PM), and for some reason the urge to write came back to me.  This is something that comes and goes, and if you're any kind of writer or someone knowledgeable about the practice, you know what i'm talking about.  It's something akin to writer's block, but this was something so much more.  See, I lost the will to do so a while back.  I gave up simply put.  However, today just seems different.  I don't think I'm going to waste it while it's around.

I don't really know what this blog is going to focus on; a variety of subject matter more than likely related to what's going on around me I suppose.  You'll probably read everything from thoughts on politics to cookie recipes on here.

One of the things that has been nagging at me lately is why is a huge chunk of our population so interested in the silliness of reality t.v. ?    You know it's still scripted to an extent, right?  I laugh inside when someone tells me about Jersey Shore or the Kardashians.  I'm not giggling inwardly due to what they are telling me; I'm in hysterics because I cannot believe that anyone really sits and watches that shit.  The last thing I want to  do is sit around and watch shows for hours showcasing people who have more money than me get emotional over problems that aren't even problems.  I mean, call me a liar, but that's all it is, right?  I find it funny yet sad that if you go to Yahoo! News right now there are 4 separate stories about or related to the Kardashians.  It makes my heart hurt.  One's about Kim's mom crying about her divorce from a marriage that honestly everyone knew wouldn't last, the other is...wait, why I am regurgitating that on here?

No wonder so many people consider our society f**ked.  I can't really without a doubt prove that reality television is the reason our country is in the crapper (we actually have a lot of other equally-ridiculous reasons for that), but I really think it has not helped no one but the people ("stars" and networks in Hollyweird) who produce it.

Not to dwell on the negative in my first shot, but that is something that has irked me for a while now, and now that it's said I can move on to other things.....

Next time, i'm going to discuss the business of photography, why I wake up at weird hours, and who know what else.