10 Hours of Shooting

Today I played video games for over 10 hours. I think that's enough to last me a while. I started at noon, going over to Cory's house for "nerd olympics," as Stephanie calls them. It's more commonly known as a LAN party. We usually play older games, since not everyone has a newer computer that can run all the latest and greatest. Today we played Team Fortress Classic, which is one of my favorite multiplayer games. It was a lot of fun! We didn't have a great turn out, but we always had 5 or 6 people, and that's a pretty good number.

I got home around 7:30, Steph went to bed at t 10, then I played Xbox for a little while before completely burning out. I usually play the Xbox every day, but after today's marathon session, I may have to take tomorrow off. Yeah, right.

Campfire Without the Camping

Well, I didn't make it out to McQueen today. I've been running all week, so I decided just to stay home and relax today. I've got all next week off too, so I plan on taking a trip out there then. With all the trimming I did a while back top prep for the new sidewalk, I had a pretty significant pile of stuff to burn. I did a little of that tonight, then just ended up throwing some logs on and staring into the fire for about an hour or so. I think it's really therapeutic to just relax and turn your brain off for a while. A good campfire's great for that.

I still haven't heard anything about the contract or my future employment at Chrysler, and I probably won't until sometime next week. The local leaders are going to Detroit on Monday to get all the details, then I'm assuming there will be a meeting some time next week for us to be filled in. I have to be honest, I'm not feeling too good about my chances. Maybe that's just my slightly cynical nature speaking, but I just have a bad feeling. I just have to keep reminding myself that if I don't get hired in at Chrysler, it's certainly not the end of the world.

Favortie Shots #18: Bridge at McQueen

As I said in a previous post, there's an amazing forest preserve about 10 miles from us called McQueen Forest Preserve that I really love. We've gone camping there a few times, and it's really great just to go for a walk through the woods or along the river. This shot was taken there a few years back, and this was actually taken with black & white film around the time I was taking photography classes. B&W prints don't often scan very well, and this one is no exception. I'm showing this today because I plan on taking a trip out there tomorrow afternoon. With all the stress surrounding my uncertain contract status at Chrysler, I really need to go and clear my mind.

Fall's Opening

I know that technically the first day of fall was sometime last month, but today really felt like that first day. I went out today into a windy, cold autumn day, and I was loving every minute of it. This is by far my favorite time of year. I can comfortably wear jeans and a warm flannel, but it's not so cold that I don't want to be outside. Today was the first day I experienced that "fall smell." You know what I'm talking about, the smell of dry leaves, cold air, and dark earth. It's my favorite smell. I welcome the fall with open arms.

Tag-Along

I've vowed to myself that over the next two weeks, this bag, and the camera that is usually in it, will be with me everywhere I go. Most of the time I don't carry it. I know that I'm potentially missing some big shots, but it's just so big and bulky that I'm loath to drag it around. Eventually I'll invest in something much more portable, but never mind that. We were talking about these two weeks. I will have it with me on my time off, and I will make a point to go out and actively look for things to shoot. With the exception of Sunday, it really hasn't happened yet.

Today I had the joy of spending nearly 2 hours in line, waiting to apply for unemployment benefits. What a joy! Now with all the talk of potential strikes, I'm concerned that it may have been for nothing. I'm not convinced that if we strike, and it's looking like we may, I'll still be eligible for benefits. The woman who helped me said that it was still possible, but that the decision would be made "at the state level." Guess I'll just have to wait and see. I should know by tomorrow if we're striking or not.

First of Fourteen

Today was officially the first day of the shutdown. Somehow, without entirely meaning it, I've gone from a third shift sleep schedule to a first shift schedule in a matter of 2 days. I had originally intended on staying up every night until 2 or 3, then getting up around 9 or 10, but instead I went to bed at 11 and got up this morning at 7am. I'm a little screwed up at the moment. If I'm to be getting up at this time every day, it's certainly going to make for some long ones. Today I ran errands, getting groceries and picking up a few things at Target. Tomorrow I have to do something I've never done my entire life, file for unemployment.

As I'm sure most of you are aware, Chrysler, in its infinite wisdom, shut our plant down for two weeks. All the full time employees will collect 95% of their normal pay, but since I'm not yet full time, I'm S.O.L. I can still collect standard unemployment, but I have a waiting week that needs to be fulfilled before I can collect. There may be a bit of a hitch in that, but I'll save that for tomorrow.

Exercising the Eye

I went for a drive today. Before I started 3rd shift, this was something I did fairly often. I'd grab my camera, jump in my truck, and just drive. I'd just let my instinct guide me, look at everything, and when my eye would see something, I'd shoot it. I haven't done this in ages, but since today was such a beautiful day, I really couldn't resist. I also stopped at one of these little rural cemeteries I used to be so fascinated with to shoot the photos below. It such a quiet, solitary place, I always find myself whispering my thoughts aloud instead of speaking them. It feels like a crime to violate the stillness of the place.

It's so tragic to me somehow that these people once lived, but now they're all but forgotten. Some of these headstones are completely illegible, some have been knocked over by callous vandals, but some are in shockingly good condition, considering their age. There are a lot of places like this in my area, and it's one of things I really love about rural communities.

Oh, and one more thing. Do me a favor. Save these shots to your desktop, then open them with your photo viewer. They look soooo much prettier that way. See yesterday's post for an explanation.