Week Forty-Two: Idea Flight

Hard to come up with an intro for this week. So hard I didn't even do it when I first posted this thing. But as I am being overrun at the moment by a cat who talks in his sleep (who knew cats were dreamers?) and who thinks I am his personal bean bag, I figured I'd go back and do it right. Or at least as right as one can with subject matter that so defies categorisation. So consider this week introduced.

Day 1 (288): 22nd of September
Have you ever waited for a thing for a long time, and wanted that thing, and then one day realised that thing had long gone out of reach? You build it up in your mind for what seems like ages, then find that Life did whatever it had always intended to do. What is that about Life happening whilst we make plans? I think it prefers to just ram through those plans, squealing with laughter. Or so I think. My plans usually consist of "if I had my druthers..." and little else. Big scary fence. At night. Kind of slanty.

Scary wavy weed trees. At night. Not too bad an execution on this one. Didn't even use the tripod. Just my thick skull propped against the wall. It's almost October, so I guess the Dark and Stormy thing works.

Day 2 (289): 23rd of September
Today was angry music Tuesday. Just needed to hear a little shouting on the music box, so out came Halestorm radio. While it occasionally hits the odd christian metal song, there's only a rare need to hit the down thumb. Have you ever noticed that the only time things get really clear is when we are dreaming? Makes sense, then, that we can never really clearly remember our dreams; the only thing that is easy to grasp is that maybe things made sense for a minute. Jabba the Hutt makes no sense. Neither does this photo that was poorly captured and more poorly edited. Not terribly clear at all. Too dark.

Day 3 (290): 24th of September
An old friend of mine recently suffered one of the worst tragedies that a person can experience. His 23-year-old son was killed in an accident. As someone who has no kids and likely never will, I was left speechless (rare for this gobby, opinionated, somethingorother). Now it is taking up rather a lot of real estate in my brain. Wish I could do more for them. Really, knowing what to say to people who've been clobbered like that has never been my strength. All I know to do is to be there and hope I keep my foot out of my mouth long enough to be of a tiny bit of help. I only kind of knew the boy, but he was such a good kid, and had just gotten into the groove of following in his old man's naval footsteps. Golly. Any rate, following the theme from yesterday, got a better pic of a conversation no one ever thought happened.

And then got this sunset. Didn't even tweak more than the exposure a little bit. All but the sun itself came out alright.

Day 4 (291): 25th of September
What's the cure for a brain out of whack? I really wish I knew. Knowing the things need done, but finding it nearly impossible to dig in and bloody well do them. Stayed far too late at the office today because I stuck around to get homework done and forgot to put the "CLOSED" sign out on the door (and was dumb enough to answer my phone when it rang). Real highlight though was getting home to find the internet finally functioning. Thank the Wee Man. Realising as I post this that the following picture is a bit serial killer-esque. But no matter. Playing around with an old lens for this one.

Another killer sunset that needed no editing at all. Makes my work easier.

Another rose. What can I say. They are not my favourite flower (not my least, either), but they are everywhere, so I photograph them. If there were lilies out here, they'd be featured far more. Who doesn't love lilies?

Day 5 (292): 26th of September
End to a dragging on week. Brain still feels like someone is jangling keys somewhere just out of sight, which is incessantly distracting. Temporary ADD, I think. brought on by madness in the surrounds and an uncertain future. By the time one is thirty, these things ought not be issues any longer. The ubiquitous "they" say directionlessness is a thing for twentysomethings. Liars.

Day 6 (293): 27th of September
One can be in a strange mood all day (week?) and never know the cause. There are a great many Things Needing Done, but only a rather small number will see the light of completion. Not because there's no time, but rather because there is no inclination. I watched a cat get in an epic battle with a blue Beanie penguin wearing a santa hat (the penguin wore the hat). Then later, to get out of my funk, I threw Under the Table and Dreaming into the car CD player and got so lost in the perfect that I drove nearly three miles past my exit before I realised I was going in completely the wrong direction. Came home to find that it is the 20th anniversary of that very album. In honour of spending far too much time with a fool feline, here he is in classic repose. Gosh I need a dog.

Pretty scenery, though. If you squint, you can just see the islands.

Day 7 (294): 28th of September
Got to do the school. The midterm, any rate. Gave myself a few hours for fannying about this morning, but now it's time for Important Things. To do with this. There is currently a ginger feline form lolling about on it, decidedly not helping. Gosh I need a dog.

Crazy. But that's how it goes...

Week Eighteen: Bye the Sky

Let's just get into it, shall we? The sky's the thing this week, but there are a few other shots to keep it interesting.

Day 1 (120): 7th of April
Racking the old brain for a nice unifying theme for the week, and coming up with zilch. Was v distracted upon returning to the villa, and nearly forgot to get out the camera. This seemed like a good filler, and really not a bad way to start the week. Took many versions on many settings, but finally got this one. Not often that I can see the Mediterranean from my bedroom balcony, but tonight was nice and clear.

So clear I took another with a different set of settings, and got this.

Day 2 (121): 8th of April
Another brain suck of a day. This time nearly let the evening get away to the point that I forgot to shower, but blissfully (on behalf of my co-workers) remembered. Waking up between 0400 and 0430 means I rarely want to deal with showering before work. Probably an over-share, that, but so be it. All I really wanted to accomplish this evening (sadly) was to watch the new Game of Thrones. My Italian internet had other plans, and decided to force repeated pauses for buffering. Thus, an hour long show took nearly two hours to watch. First world problems?? Yup. Here's another sunset. Earlier in the evening, but same shooting location. Cannot really see the Mediterranean in this one, but the clouds are fun.

Day 3 (122): 9th of April
Brilliant Wednesday. Really, truly brilliant. Was slightly out of it this morning thanks to another night of the best insomnia a girl could get. At the end of a 10-ish hour day that felt like ten days, I was at a loss to locate my car keys. It was at that point I realised what may have happened, and sure enough, I was correct. This happened. Not everyone can be so brilliant as this. Yes, that is my car door. Yes, those are my keys.

And here is another cool sky. With a bird.

Day 4 (123): 10th of April
After yesterday took a week to finish, today was a blur of getting things done and looking great doing it. It is these days that make me love what I do. And the guys who work for me are truly unique and terrific. Please don't tell them I said that. It will go to their heads and go against my daily routine of insults and sarcasm. But truly, am lucky to run the group that I do. Now, enough sentimentality; people keep asking for more views of my surroundings, so here is a photo of my 'hood. Pretty rough area, no? That shiny strip between the land and sky is the Med again. 

Got a fancy new flash in the mail, and although I promptly dropped the fool thing, I got to play with it a bit (don't much use flash) doing some studio-y stuff. My favourite was this number. Snarf's new pet has Lion-O rather unamused.

And because it would seem the sky is the thing of the week, there is this. Really loved this one. Partly because it took many shots to get it right. The layers came out really nice.

Day 5 (124): 11th of April
Another slug of a day. Largely due to a conference call at 1400 in which I really did not want to take part. Nothing quite like a dreaded thing at the end of a day to make it drag on like nobody's business. This is the vineyard next to my house. I've tried many times to get a decent shot of the thing, and today finally got a photo that doesn't look like total crap, but evening light certainly helped. Focus is still not quite what I wanted, but it is much closer to my goal.

Sunset tonight was a bit boring, so I thought I'd go out later an get another of these. Really need a better zoom to make moon photos look better. 

Day 6 (125): 12th of April
Insanely lazy Saturdays are a lovely thing. Have a lot to do tomorrow, so am taking full advantage of today, including lolling about in the hammock. Lolling is not an easy task with a gammy back, but determination to maximise sloth time won the day. Had Robin for company in the garden as well. His mum has buggered off (presumably with the kitten, but who knows?) so he and his brother are back in full residence. Must be an exhausting life, being of the feline persuasion. 

Again, the sky has become a bit of a theme, so here is another gratuitous but lovely sunset shot. Same balcony, same angle. Same power lines...

Day 7 (126): 13th of April
Lots of crap to do today, and of course that happens on a day I've been invited to go see another lovely show at the Teatro San Carlo. Bugger. And have had v strange dreams involving dead people, foreign castles, explosions, and the USS Mount Whitney. All with rather mild soundtracks. Ah my brain. Such a fun place to be sometimes. Any rate, the photos today are somewhat excessively modified (contrast, monochrome, exposure, temperature, etc). But that is just because I haven't modified any of the other shots this week worth the mention and my poor editing software was feeling unloved. Thus sepia-ish lock...

And boring sky made to look like Armageddon Cometh, thanks to temperature adjustments and exposure changes. Too much stuff to do to wait and catch the sunset. Want to get this thing out and published.

Not much to say in closing slash summary. Lots of sunsets. Symbolic? No, not really. Just have a soft spot for a good sunset. Not thinking much about the fool broodcat and her wee kit. Stupid animals. Time will tell, I suppose, whether the thing made it or Poor Motherly Decisions led to another sad story. Stupid animals.