Week Seven: Love Letters

Was on the fence about whether to pick a theme this week or just photograph things in general. Then decided to just try another theme, as it forces me to challenge my Eye. Have been a child of the written word all my years. Learned to read young, thanks to my wonderful mother reading wonderful poems and stories of all kinds to my brother and I every night from the Begining (Best Beloved). And have loved both reading and writing with a passion. Still blast through books at the speed of thought. Thus the theme of letters. Either letters on things or things in life that look like letters. Quite the array. And do us both a favour by skipping day five. I'm not proud of that.

Day 1 (43): 20th of January
Still in Romania. And last night, the Battery in my Olympus died. I brought a second one, but it holds a charge like a big baby. Fitting that the day we are to go see the second largest government building in the world, I will be rolling the dice with Baby Wimpy McNocharge and then relying on the iPhone. Ah well. Serves me right for not having three batteries. Or just remembering the charger. If any of you out in Blogverse feel the urge to see Romania / Bulgaria (which I highly recommend), you simply must use this guy Valentin who showed us around. Went way above and beyond the call of duty, taking us places we'd not normally see, paying for food and beverages (even one meal that he just thought was not up to standards). Today he was not on the bill to take us anywhere, but took his own vehicle and time to show us around Bucharest a bit and go to lunch and then to the airport. Genuinely nice fellow. Whilst enjoying this stroll about Bucharest, got these piccies of cool letters. First some Cyrillic on a grave marker.

Then this graffiti. Not sure what it says. Besides "NECRO ->"

Day 2 (44): 21st of January
Every week should start on Tuesdays. Got stuck in training all day. And as usual, much was repeat from previous classes I've attended. They never tell you these things before the training starts. That said, I suppose there have been useful tidbits of information that I'd not have gotten otherwise. Remembering again that I themed myself in to letters, I've gone all abstract or something, and found things shaped like the letter X. Like the letters that sponsored Sesame Street. Granted, this is a bit of a cheat and was motivated partly by poor timing and lack of creativity. That said, I think the ones I've chosen are decent. Amazing how much one can get out of so little. I have a ceiling fan or two, so here is one. Love the shadow that light makes.

And here is my floor. I have tiles. They are square.

Day 3 (45): 22nd of January
More training, and when one is in a foul disposition, the prospect of same becomes a bit daunting. Have reached the point in the month where all things dribbling slowly from day to day have finally accumulated and threaten to make like a Naples pothole and swallow me whole. A bit melodramatic, I know, but that is just that. Not really helped by the fact that the day started poorly, with the hot water on the fritz, then forgetting the thing I was going to bring to work, then forgetting to bring gas coupons so I can fuel up on the way home, then getting bitten in the heel by the metal turnstyle through which I pass to enter work. All that before 0530. Thank the Green Man for short weeks. This day can suck it / stuff it up its jumper / etc. Any hoo. Photos. Right. Letters. these are v dark, but they are letter-ish. Tried to make an L out of a thing on my wall, but it was silly. Too much so even for me. So there is this. It is my stair railings. Like a T.

And another. It is a bit of a table. Also a T... and dusty... hmmm must find duster thing...

Day 4 (46): 23rd of January
Spending more time away from my office than in it gives me a new perspective. That perspective allows me to understand that I like my office and dislike meetings that take me all over Christendom (and up and down the same zillion stairs). Such a revelation. Like realising that some people are rather absurd. Or that crime indeed does not pay. Or even that it was all JUST A DREAM?!?!?! So sorry. It has been that sort of day. Thus the motivation / inspiration for the below shots. Oh, the things we can do with seemingly innocuous storage baskets (conveniently marked so as to not lose sight of their purpose in life - if only all things were suchly marked)...such as focus on one's years...

Or indeed one's emotions. Bottled or no. And this is not an admission of a violent personality. Just a photo. Hold off calling the nice young men in their clean white suits.

Day 5 (47): 24th of January
I'll not detail the details of my day, for plausible deniability reasons. Suffice it to say I learned a lot about myself and my minio-, no... those under my comm-, er, orde-, hmm...direction. And really none of it was awkward or embarrassing. Which takes a bit of the fun out of it, but I suppose that cannot be helped. Have had the theme music from Full House stuck in my head. And demonstrated that I have far too much trivial knowledge from that particular show. Ah well. As an adult I can look back and see it for what it was. Really not bad family TV, and with plenty of Saget humour surreptitiously inserted for parental enjoyment. Might want to skip to tomorrow's photo. I'll not make this seem cooler than it is. Was fully lacking in ideas. But had a scarf. Took many versions, and none were any better than this one... Lovely HD camera takes a lovely look at my hairs that do seem to be everywhere...

Day 6 (48): 25th of January
Many things need doing on the w/ends. Especially when one spends other w/ends galavanting about the continent. That being so, a Naughty Nellie will still find time for doing not v much for a bit. Can be therapeutic for us Introverts to spend time in an introverted fashion. Even if that involves running errands without speaking a word to another human. Which is how it ought be, really. Errands are to be finished, not interrupted by or shared with random strangers. My, how perfectly antisocial of her! Yes. But it is better than having terrifyingly awkward conversations. The following was seen whilst I erranded. Am oddly attached to it for an unknowable reason. It ticks the "letters" block by having both an I and a V in it, but really I cannot say why I like it. I just do.

Here it is again in greyscale. Because I like it, that's why.

And this lovely ancient ladder up against a tree in the nearby field also speaks volumes. Whether I've captured them is up for a short debate, but it does look like an H. And has great texture.

Day 7 (49): 26th of January
I've invented a new hairstyle. I call it the Wu Man Chu. It came about as I was enjoying the latest episode of Call the Midwife and had my rather long hair hanging equally on both sides of my head. The next obvious step was to braid the two sections under my chin, creating a sort of necktie down my front. Looks a bit like something worn for ceremonial purposes on an Amazonian-esque planet far away. Or like the product of idle hands and a strange mind. Would be less bad if I'd not left it in, but I braided it like that about four hours ago. Good thing I've neither roommates nor visitors. The letter sponsoring today is A. Because it is First. And was the first letter of my nickname as a wee thing (and still today). Played with the tripod in front of the wall, then hung the good old sheer green shower curtain as a backdrop. The below was the result of a 200 ISO and a 15 second exposure. Thus the strange light and colour. All washed out is neat and required no post-production to achieve. And there are three As going on in the picture. Ta da.

And a more close up version. Tried to make it unique, as A is an important letter.

Realising I've gone a bit border-heavy this week, as well as heavy on post-editing. Not that I've any problem with that. Am not a snob about "pure" photos. There are many out there who are just bloody brilliant enough to get the perfect light and colour balance etc etc at the time. Am not one of them. And am OK with that. Besides, I like making things look different than the way they normally do. It is part of what I see in my head before hitting the pickle button. Besides, I've been called contrary my whole life. My photos really ought reflect that. 

Week Six: Parts Part Known

Knowing that the tail end of this week, and the first bit of next, will be in another country, I've had to change the theme from light-related stuff to no theme at all whatsoever. This gives me the chance to just shoot from the hip for a few days, though if I'm honest, it'll more likely be from the normal position, or possibly from a tripod. At the end there will be a couple days of "oooh, foreign stuff... and neat places!" So please stick around till the end. Promise there'll be something different.

Day 1 (36): 13th of January
Strange how knowing my Niners won their game yesterday and getting to bed at a semi-reasonable hour makes the effects of my insomnia rather lessened. Not demolished, but the five hours I was sleeping were relatively restful (and all in a row!). Am a fan of making certain a couple of times each week we learn things unrelated to work in the shop. Sometimes it is grammatically based (once explained to my guys the difference between i.e. and e.g.), and other times culturally based (another time was useless film trivia). Learned today about the phrase "Son of a gun." I'd no idea where it came from, but apparently the women of questionable morals were most often found on the gun deck (figures). When an illegitimate child came of such insalubrious behaviour, any questionable paternity was by default attributed to the chief gunner. Gives whole new meaning to the term "gundecking" (usually means to slag off some task or another, or only do it half-assed, but now...well I never!) Took gratuitous outside photos today. They are neat. Outside is pretty.

And gratuitous moon shot... oooh the moon!

Day 2 (37): 14th of January
If ADD were a radio station, it would be most stations in Italy, at least those broadcasting in the Naples area. This morning I was serenaded by Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" followed by some bizarre song about dancing, then by Daft Punk, James Blunt, and Madonna's "Vogue" (all with the typical Italian commentary and occasional singing over the last bars of the song). Is enough to put a gal in a more bizarre mood than usual for a v early Tuesday. Even more bizarre is the fact that I just realised today that in my head, Nicolas Cage and Denzel Washington are basically the same person. I know. I know. Not the same person. Cage is much taller. And a bit funnier. But for some ungodly reason, my previously thought to be flawless mental movie trivia database has been mixing up their films for years. Totally rocked my foundation. I need a moment. And it is raining.

And rather chilly. Needed these. Almost always wear same in winter months, but really needed them today.

Day 3 (38): 15th of January
Someone (I'll not say who) told me today that I'll never be happy till I "get out there" and "find someone." By which I presume was meant "hunt for a man." Who says I'm not happy now? OK, maybe not every waking second, but I'd hardly categorise myself as miserable. What is it that makes some people feel the need to "fix" other people? Leave bloody well enough alone, eh? Too short - cannot be helped; too ginger - not dying my hair; too blonde - which is it?; too nerdy - oh well; too smart - assed?; too stubborn - am not; too 'low maintenance' - still not sure about that one. Some humans - i.e. this one - are just set in their ways and happy to live life as it plays out. Twenties, thirties, forties; alone, attached, dazed or confused... who cares? Let others take all the Life Stress that comes with following The Plan. I don't even tend to plan my w/ends until they are well under way. As for the rest - it'll get sorted as it gets sorted. No need to fuss about it. Have a good laugh and move on. And don't forget to take pictures. Always take pictures - or else who'll believe you were there?

Day 4 (39): 16th of January
Thursdays are odd days. They rarely have the spotlight, except for the much-loved "Thirsty Thursday" tradition that I miss (and many of you out there still enjoy). Not really a feasible pastime here, where no one lives close to one another, and Italian bars are not anything like American ones. Thursdays also have a history of some decent TV programming (looking at you, 1980s/1990s NBC; ignoring you, current US prime time). Beyond that, they are kind of the Jan Brady of weekdays. Easily forgotten and envious of the other days. Got stuck twice before I could leave work today, after spending the vast majority of the day in meetings, trying to not kill someone or drool on myself. Adds to the mleh factor of Thursdays. But for the sake of making a rather repetitive thing a little less uninteresting, I took my life in my own hands and took a number of iPhontos whilst driving at great speed. All for you, Dear Reader. But they are poor pixel quality, and there were many, so I've collaged four, so it is less ugly. Follow them left to right and top down, to take a drive home with me... See the theme that is sneaking into the week? Sky porn of a sort...

Day 5 (40): 17th of January
Leaving for Bucharest tonite. First trip to someplace in Europe that is not Italy or a German airport or the UK. Did go to Malta last year, but that didn't really feel like Europe (don't suppose it really is, as it is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean). Seems most everyone around here has already been, but I just figure that means they'll not be there to crowd the place up. I'd like to keep the riffraff out of the quaint small town (only a couple million). Rather incredibly foggy when we arrived, which apparently happens, but typically there is a mass of snow this time of year. Did some silly photos of my harmonicas before I left for the airport, and then took a photo of my foot in said airport. Tried for some photos of fog, but they were really truly abysmal.

Uh oh, she's going black and white again. Still just your foot, Rodeo...

Day 6 (41): 18th of January
Still frogiferous outside. I imagine it is a lovely city, but will have to wait until our tour guide shows us the sights. Also visiting Transylvania, which has been on the old list of buckets (I just didn't know it until I heard that was the plan). Have always wanted to see where all those poor people got impaled...But turns out that happened somewhere else entirely. Leave it to tourist traps and authors to build one up to a disappointment. However, I had a blast. We blasted through a gobsmacking palace (wish we'd gotten a bit more time, but was still lovely) where the king lived, then feasted on delicious meat goodness whilst overlooking Bran Castle (fake vampire castle). Our tour guide apparently gave Bourdain the same tour (I think B was underwhelmed with the whole experience). Ah well. Got good (and not good) piccies, so you shall not be too disappointed. Still only giving you a couple, as this is not a "what I saw in Romania" blog. First is a chandelier from Bran Castle. Looking v eerie. With a litle help from my friend the photo software...

Second, a window from same.

And thirdly (thirdly, you say?) a cool lion guard from the king's palace. Not sure what facial expression he is going for, but I dig it.

OK. One more (ravy, no?) This is Transylvania. Of course it is. Seen from the window of a speeding Merc van. So ignore the blurry field and ooooh at the mountainy cloudy goodness.

Day 7 (42): 19th of January
Today is Bulgaria Day. Not a real thing. Or maybe it is. I'm not Bulgarian, so I'd not know, would I? Should probably say it is Rodeo Goes to Bulgaria Day. Border crossing done, we saw some really brilliant country and some really interesting people. First, there was the other tour guide in an old church, who passive aggressively shut the door on us in another space, and got all huffy when we wanted to see the same space... "we cannot possibly both speak in the same area. Did you even tell them about the wheel?" Then she responded to our "thank you" at leaving, with "It's OK." How brilliant. Then at lunch (which took a million years and they clearly never caught the rabbit for the one dish we never saw) we were witness to Bulgarian Iron Man. This chap was the patriarch of a family dining at the place. What made him great was that he was head to toe seafoam green track suit / leisure suit. And at one point he strolled past the window carrying an iron. A classy man never lets his track suit get a wrinkle... Here be photos. I am typing this in a haze of migraine, so my screen is v dim. hopefully the edits (and comments) worked anyhow. iPhonto first. The morning of frog and awesome.

Then this. The reflection is almost cooler than the real houses, but it was a neat effect.

And this. The inside of this church was v eerie 1980s frescoes of rather disturbing scenes. Even for biblical scenes...

Maybe this. So many photos. Another Church, rising up above the town. In really neat light.

Finally this. Another lion. Or rather another lion and its ass. Guarding the castle and creepy church.

Once again at a loss for how to close. For a themeless week, I've had a decent amount of luck finding inspiration (or something). Took loads of photos on the trip (and there's still tomorrow to go!) Starting to get a feel for this whole "composition" thing, so there may be hope for her, yet. The natural landscape of Bulgaria and Romania is breathtaking, but in a stark and curious way. This is the first trip I've taken where the place I go reminds me of nowhere else. Even Africa reminded me of the US. If I squint I can see aspects of the PNW or Midwest, but all the foliage and mountains are really quite different. I could not stop staring at it and wondering all sorts of crazy things. Now all head wurzzie, that is all I have. Back to the sofa.