Cuddles

Poor Stephanie. Every time she uses the computer, whether it's upstairs at the desk, in the recliner, or on the couch, her cat Chloe climbs all over her. After she's finished, I always find Chloe hairs all over the keyboard. If she's using the mouse at the desk, Chloe will head-butt her hand, pushing the pointer all over the screen. It may be annoying for Steph, but it sure is damn cute.

Black

I've been wanting to buy a second controller for my Xbox 360 since I got the system. I don't have people over to play often, but it's nice to have that option. I've been putting it off for a while, and I glad I did. They've recently released a newer version of the system called "Elite", and the system is black. Now, to tie in with that release, they're providing us with black peripherals. The controller looks really good in black, and now I have two!

Drained

I've learned something about my camera. After uploading my pictures to my computer yesterday, I left the camera plugged in to the USB on my laptop. Picking up my camera today, the batteries were completely drained. I guess leaving the camera docked and communicating with the computer drains the batteries quicker than you can believe. Unfortunately, this forced me to use my crappy point and shoot, which gives me shots barely any better than my cell phone.

Well, I started taking antibiotics today for my bronchitis, and I was also prescribed an inhaler for the mild asthma that's made considerably worse from the bronchitis. I leaned a nasty truth today. Having piss-poor health insurance is not a good thing. Being considered "temporary" at Chrysler, we're given a bare bones insurance plan that doesn't cover dental, vision, or prescription drugs. The antibiotic and inhaler I got today came to a grand total of $85. Under the insurance from my previous employer, that would have cost me roughly $10. Ugh. I have to remember to not get sick in the future.

Wildlife

The previous resident of our home really had a green thumb. We have a diverse garden of perennials growing in various locations throughout our yard. Some of the flowers, like the one above, are really odd, but really beautiful. We also have lilies, tulips, hostas, and some other things I can't identify. It's really great to have some of these plants, but sometimes our yard can look a bit wild.

Favorite Shots #7 / Sick AGAIN

This is getting out of hand. I've been having tightness and discomfort in my chest when I breathe, so I decided to go to the doctor today. I was given a laundry list of things she thinks may be wrong with me, including bronchitis, asthma, and acid reflux. What a great day, huh? Add to that only getting 4 hours of sleep today, and as you can see, I had a pretty crappy day.

Since I'm feeling poorly, I decided to take the easy route today and post this shot I took a couple summers ago at my brother Justin's baseball game. I thought it was pretty good at the time, but it's interesting to go back and look at some of my old stuff and see how amateur it really is. All those shots I thought were terrific at the time seem pretty average now, and in fact some are pretty bad.

The Drawbacks of Digital

I love my digital camera. It's convenient, it's easy to use, and it makes this blog possible by giving me immediate access to digital copies of the pictures I shoot. There is one aspect of digital, however, that I really don't like. When I was shooting film, there was always a certain excitement to getting prints made. You have these 5 or 6 rolls of film, and you have generally no idea of what you're going to get. You may get a masterpiece, you may get a bunch of garbage, but regardless, when you open that envelope and look at those photos, it's always an exciting moment. With digital, the closest you get to that moment is uploading your shots to your computer and looking at them. It's just not the same. You don't get that tactile sensation of holding the prints in your hand. I really miss that at times. I can't remember the last time I had prints made.

For Sale Sold!

It was announced early this morning plant wide, and all over the news today that DaimlerBenz, the parent company to Chrysler, has sold 80% of the stock to a company called Cerberus Capital Management LP, effectively selling the company. It's been rumored for some time that this was coming, but frankly, being a contract year, I thought most of it was B.S. Guess not! I don't know what this means for me in the long term, but short term, it doesn't change a whole lot. I'll keep you posted on any major news.

Complete coverage of the Chrysler deal, from Detroit Free Press

Green Days

Every year in the spring, I really try to pay attention to the trees. It's always a refreshing thing to watch the new leaves sprout out, but sometimes, with life's rapid pace, I tend to miss it. I wake up one day to discover all the trees completely full of leaves, and I find myself trying to figure out when it happened. I have the same problem in the fall when the leaves are changing. I try to make a point to observe it, but oftentimes I miss out.

Quality Time

I got to spend some time with my brothers, my dad, and my sister Amanda tonight. My brothers are both home on leave, and we decided to go to dinner and see Spiderman 3. Dinner was great, but Dad wasn't feeling well, so he and Mandy went home, and my brothers and I decided to play some poker. It was fun, but I didn't do quite as well this week as I did last week. It was a good time and it was great to spend time with my brothers.

Favorite Shots #6: Infrared

Today was another of those days, so I decided to share this shot. Infrared photography is something I dabbled in while taking photography classes at RVC. Infrared photography is done with a special type of film and with a black filter over the lens. The filter only allows the infrared radiation to get to the film, so you get these very surreal images. Plant life really reflects infrared radiation, so everything you see in the images as white is reflceting a lot. Things like water, tree bark, and the sky that reflect little to no infrared, come out as black. Infrared prints really don't scan too well, so this doesn't really do the print much justice. I also have another awesome shot of Punkin sitting in the grass, but the scan is pretty bad.

Whine

My ISP sucks. Once again, my internet was out last night so I was unable to post. I had this idea of talking about different wines that I enjoy, and how working 3rd shift has severely limited the times I'm able to enjoy a glass of wine, but now that it's 7:30 in the morning the following day, all that has slipped my mind. Meh. Guess I'll have to save that for another day. In the mentime, here's a bottle that I enjoy. One of the few White Zinfandels I actually like, it has a crisp, sweet flavor without being overwhelmingly sweet. The sweetness isn't a sugary sweetness, but instead is fruity, which I really enjoy.

Third Shift Annoyance #7: Day Sleeper

I sleep with a fan on. I always have, and it's likely I always will. As a result, I'm a pretty light sleeper. The slightest odd noise, or even a change in modulation of the white noise the fan produces will wake me up. This creates an unfortunate situation for my day sleeping. In the winter it's not an issue because all the windows are closed. In the summer, however, even with the fan running, having windows open in the bedroom just isn't an option. The last couple days the temps have climbed into the 80's, and believe me, it's been hot in there. I can only imagine what it will be like in the dog days of August when we're nearing the 100° mark.

Noisy

This is Punk's favorite time of year. He finally gets to go outside after a long winter being shut up indoors. Unfortunately for us, he lets us know continuously that he should be outside. He sits by that door nearly every night howling to be let out. Then, if we don't get the hint, he'll often run into the living room and attempt to dig a massive hole in the middle of the carpet. Either that, or he'll begin chasing the other cats all over the house. Basically he tries to cause as much trouble as he can so we'll want to put him out. We love him, but he's a pain in the ass sometimes.

Unfinished Business

I have a problem. I have about 40 to 50 games for my various game systems, and of these games, I've finished about 15 of them. I know I'm not alone, if any of you are gamers like I am, I'm sure this is a common problem. I've moved the bulk of my games to a small shelf next to our entertainment center, and hopefully seeing all these titles sitting unfinished will motivate me to go back to some of them.

Warmer Days

With the warmer days here, I finally able to knock the dust off my favorite shoes and wear them again. I have about 4 different pairs of Chucks, and if you've ever worn them before, you'll know that wearing them in the winter is all but asking for frostbitten toes. No matter how thick you socks are, or how many pairs you're wearing, these thing will not keep your feet warm. It's too bad really, because next to flip-flops, these are the closest you can be to not wearing shoes. They're so comfortable and light weight that it feels like you're wearing nothing on your feet.

I found this awesome picture on Wikipedia, and thought I'd put it on here as well. This is just a sampling of the may different varieties of Chuck Taylors out there.

Poker Night Made Me Late!

It's all Cory's fault. He made me go play poker tonight, so I missed my deadline once again. It was worth it though, I left his house $80 ahead....

We played a tournament style Texas Hold 'Em game with 14 people attending. It was a good group of people, with everyone there just to have a good time. We started at around 7, and finished roughly at midnight with myself holding all the chips. I really have to rein in my competitive nature for most of the night and try to remember that most of these people are just trying to have a good time. It's difficult, but I manage. Overall I had a great time playing poker with good people, and that's all that really matters.

Poor Timing

We were driving by the local mall tonight when we passed this shabby looking carnival in the parking lot. There was virtually no one there. I think three things really conspired to kill this carnival. A fairly cool night and a gentle rain is enough for anyone to pass this up. Add to this the opening of Spiderman 3, and the local teen population is a no-show. I'm pretty bummed I'm not going to have the time to go see it this weekend, but I'll surely go see it at some point in the theater. I saw the first Spiderman movie about 6 times on the big screen, it'd be criminal to not go see this one there.

Lilacs

I love Lilacs. When I was young we had a couple of lilac bushes next to our driveway. I used to love how they smell. We planted this lilac bush the first year we bought the house. When we planted it, it was about knee high. Now, nearly 5 years later, it's well over my head. Nearly every other year, we get a ton of blooms all over the bush. This year, however, we have only this one solitary group of flowers. I think because of the late frost, most of the blooms were killed. It's too bad really, there's nothing quite like the smell of lilacs filling our living room on a spring afternoon.

Oh, and I'm feeling much better today!

Favorite Shots#5: Feeling Ill

This is a little project I did for a local photography contest a couple years ago. It's something I really enjoy doing with Photoshop. You take a color image, desaturate it, then add bits of color to give an ordinarily simple shot a little something extra. The end result is usually pretty good.

Now, as for the title of todays post, it has little to do with the photo. I went to bed as I normally do about 10:30 this morning. I awoke around 3:00, which is about 3 hours earlier than I usually do, with some pretty bad abdominal pain. I thought I had to use the restroom, but when I got there, I started feeling really ill. I broke out in a cold sweat, was feeling quite nauseous, and I thought for sure I was going to get sick. Well, I didn't. I went back to bed eventually and got some more sleep. I woke up at my normal time, and I'm still feeling quite bad. I'm staying home tonight, since my job is pretty physically demanding, and I'm still feeling ill and tired. This weekend is looking like it's going to be a good one, so I hope I'm better by then!

Patterns

There's so many patterns in our lives that sometimes we fail to notice them. In the literal sense, patterns, such as in today's pictures, are so commonplace that we tend to overlook them without a moment's notice. We also have patterns in our behaviors that can really make your life fly by. We get up, we go to work, we come home, we go to bed. Rinse and repeat. I think it's so important to sometimes "buck the trend" and try to break free of the patterns we all live in. Sometimes it can be difficult because it's comfortable and easy just to go with the flow. Man, I need a vacation....

Here's a couple more:

April: In Review

April is over, and spring is here. Yard work has begun, Baseball is in full swing, and I finally made the switch. It's been a good four months. I really appreciate all the kind words and the continued interest everyone has in the blog. 8 more months to go! Here's my favorites from the month:

Geeky Happiness

I'm a gamer. Most of you who know me, know that to be true. I've always been a big fan of Nintendo. I love their games, their hardware, and their overall take on the market. One of my favorite franchises from Nintendo is the Legend of Zelda series, so when I saw this case for their DS Lite, I couldn't pass it up. The embroidered symbol on the front is the Royal Crest of Hyrule from the Zelda games. SO COOL! If I ever decided to get a geeky gamer tattoo, that would probably be it.

Deployment

Got some bad news tonight, and got some good news tonight. My brother Jon, one of my three brothers, was been told he will be deployed in September. All three of my brothers have been or are currently enlisted in the armed forces. My brother David was in the Army and spent over a year in Iraq, and my brothers Justin and Jon are both currently enlisted in the Air Force. The good news is that Jon will be deployed in a small country on the eastern side of the Saudi peninsula called Qatar. According to Jon, this is a good thing, as these people have friendly sentiments toward the American troops stationed there. Regardless, another brother is entering a hostile foreign country, with another potentially going there as well. I really hope that any of my family reading this has already heard, but if not, I'm sure Jon will be calling you soon. Everyone please remember our brothers and sisters, daughters and sons who are risking their lives daily fighting this senseless war.

Childhood Toys

We were helping Steph's mom and dad move some cabinets into her Grandma's garage tonight. I was looking around, trying to find something interesting to shoot, when I saw this horse off to one side. I immediately remembered having one of these as a kid. I can't really remember much beyond that, only that my siblings and I used to beat the heck out of it. It was a plastic horse mounted to a steel frame by springs, and you would sit on it and bounce. Yeah, that's about it. Tech wasn't quite then what it is today. This one is far more styalized and expressive in the face than mine was, but it still was a lot of fun.

Pizza Time

I did really bad at groceries last week. It's never good when you wake up and you have absolutely no idea what you're cooking for dinner that night. It's an odd situation, since Steph and I eat at completely different times and we eat completely different food (Steph's a vegetarian). I guess this week I'll have to actually make a list....

I found out last night at work that Chrysler again is taking applications for jobs at our plant. If anyone's interested, the address is www.dcchourlyjobs.com. They're hiring for part time, which is Friday and Mondays (and Saturdays when we work them), and they're also hiring "full time temporary", which is similar to what I am right now. It seems this may just be summer help, but with all the buyouts and retirement packages coming, who knows what can happen.

The Challenges of a Daily Blog

One of the things I've found challenging about this project is consistently finding new and interesting to shoot and write about. When it comes to this kind of thing, I can be a bit of a perfectionist, so it's difficult for me on days like today when nothing particularly interesting happens. While this can be frustrating at times, I think that days like today are especially important. I think that days like today can really help me to expand my vision photographically. It really forces me look at things in very different ways. By trying to figure out how I can make these everyday, objects look different, interesting, and relevant, I'm really exercising my creative muscles. I've also been spending much more time in Photoshop, so getting practice in that is also very good for me. The "One a Day" aspect of this blog is challenging, but hopefully in the long run I know it will be worth it.

Reading Habits

I don't read as much as I used to. I used to read a lot. The last couple of years, I really only read things online, such as blogs, news sites, or message boards. I went through a period where I was reading a large amount of history books, based mostly on World War II, and now the majority of my reading is in the realm of non-fiction. I really don't know why that is, but I think that my changing tastes in literature stem from reaching a certain point in my life where my interests are migrating to more practical things. I've gone back and tried to read again some of the books I really enjoyed as a younger man, and find that, for the most part, some of the books I loved then are really quite bad. I just orderer this book last week, Fast Food Nation, and I also ordered another entitled The Omnivore's Dilemma. Both books focus on the American diet, and both were critically acclaimed. I'm looking forward to reading them, but I'm concerned I'll never want to eat again!

Tea Time

Our local grocery store, Woodmans, had a new display in the coffee isle. You know the displays of all the different whole bean coffees, all different blends that you can choose and grind in the store? Now they have a similar display for tea. I was really captivated by the display for a good 5 minutes. All the different blends were really interesting, visually speaking. Some had dried fruit, some were just leaves, and some had things I couldn't even identify. It was very interesting to me. I decided to try a couple different blends. This one is called Chinese Gunpowder, and holy cow is it strong. I'm typically a coffee guy, but it's nice to try something different.

Cutting the Grass

Well, it's that time of year again. I was able to get outside today and do some yard work. I have to admit, the first time I have to mow I really don't mind doing it. It's not too hot, the air smells sweet, and after being cooped up inside all winter, I welcome any chance to spend some time outside. All too soon, however, it becomes another chore that I put off as long as I can get away with it.

It was such a beautiful day today. I got out of bed relatively early, around 3:30, so I didn't miss as much of the day as I usually do. Right now it's about 82° outside, but it's really windy. I was going to do some burning, but I'm not really keen on burning down my garage. I guess it will have to wait.

Denny's: Grand Slam Service

Well, we can add another "restaurant" to the do-not-go-to list. Steph and I decided it would be a good idea to get breakfast for dinner tonight. The bad idea was going to Denny's. We entered the place, and were immediately assaulted with the odor of stale cigarette smoke. Apparently Denny's didn't get the memo that smoking in restaurants is not cool. We were seated at our table, brought our drinks by the greeter, then told "one of the girls" would be with us shortly. I guess by shortly, he meant never. At one point I was craning my head around, looking for someone actually interested in working, when I caught the eye of a waitress. I guess since I made eye contact she felt obligated to come to our aid, but she made it clear that she wasn't our server. We gave her our order, and she told us she would give it to our server to put it in. This should have set off the warning bells, but I guess I was just delirious with hunger. So we waited... and waited.......and waited. A group of men, who came in 5 minutes after us, were brought their food. We waited. My coffee was empty. We waited. Another man who came in 10 minutes after us was brought his food. At this point, we had waited about 25 minutes. In this entire time, no one even bothered approaching our table! I couldn't stand it anymore. I approached the manager, and began telling her the situation. I was halfway through my sentence when she began repeatedly asking me what table I was at. First of all, I have no freakin idea how their tables are numbered, so how am I supposed to answer that? Second, she could've at least let me finish ranting before she asked that question. I was angry to begin with, but being interrupted by this sloppily dressed McDonalds reject was enough to set me off. I turned to look at Steph, and aparently immediately after I began complaining to the manager, our "server" refilled my coffee and began actually doing his job. I sat down, our food came about 5 minutes later (on the house, yippie-freakin-doo), we ate, then left. Now I understand why the parking lot was virtually empty at 7 pm on a Saturday night. Never again.

Oh, and if you're not from the area, there's a bit of a joke in the sign pictured above. Not only are these people completely inept at their JOBS, they're also incapable of correct spelling. The street on which the other restaurant is located is Sandy Hollow.

Too. Much. Furniture.

My house is full of furniture, with no end in sight. A doll store frequented by Steph and her doll collecting Grandma Johnson is going out of business and also had some furniture items for sale. Steph picked up a couple things. Unfortunately, our space here is limited, so things are a bit crowded right now. The two cabinets she bought are nice pieces, we just need to find someplace to put them. It's a nice change to be buying furniture that isn't made from pressed wood and laminate.

Creepy, Right?

Dolls creep me out. Completely. Stephanie's Grandma Johnson has a doll collection that has no rival. An entire room in the upper level of her home is full from ceiling to floor. They've recently decided to convert her garage, which isn't really seeing any use, into a "doll museum" of sorts. Maybe eventually, if I can muster the courage, I'll shoot some pictures to share with you on this blog. This one's Stephs, and right now it's staring at me.

Favorite Shots #4: At the Game

There's a couple reasons I decided to go this route today. First, I woke up really late today after going to the dentist this morning and not getting to bed until around 11. Second, I'm sitting here watching the White Sox, and waiting to see if their pitcher, Mark Buehrle throws a no-hitter. He's currently pitched 8 innings, only walking one guy, and he picked him off first! If you're a baseball fan, I don't have to tell you how rare a no-hitter is. Hopefully I'll be able to update this post tonight with the results.

This photo was taken at Comiskey Park in Chicago. I had bought these seats on eBay, and they're probably some of the best seats I've ever had. We were in the uper deck, but we were right behind home plate in the first row. They really were great seats. I really love the reflection in the glasses showing the field.

Back to the game!

*Edit
HE DID IT!!! The first time in a Sox pitcher has thrown a no-no in 16 years!

Third Shift Annoyance #6: Never Enough Time

Having such an odd sleep schedule really puts a strain on your life. I never really know when I should do things. Should I do them when I get home in the morning or after I get up? I've been on 3rd for about 6 months now, and I still struggle with it at times. It's really rough on the weekends. It's such an unnatural situation to be sleeping during the day when every fiber of your being wants to be up and doing things. I only expect it to get worse when I'm coming home and it's 65° and sunny....

Canceled

I was recently reading a really good story linked from Digg.com about television shows that should never have been canceled. I was a little disappointed that one of my favorite canceled shows, Carnivale, was not on the list. This was a really great show that was on HBO for two seasons, then was summarily canceled because of high production costs and low ratings. It's really unfortunate, as this was one of the most creative and interesting shows I'd seen in a very long time. If you have a Netflix account or some extra cash floating around, I seriously recommend checking it out.

R2-D2 Ate My Letter!

In case you're absolutely Star Wars ignorant, this is a mailbox painted up to look like R2-D2 from the movies. I've seen photos of these mailboxes all over the web in the last couple months, but I had yet to see one of these in person. Steph and I took a trip to the local mall yesterday, and when we got out of the car, this thing was sitting outside the Sears entrance. Of course, I forgot my camera, so I actually made the 25 mile round trip back to the mall to shoot it today. It also gave me a reason to go to Chipotle for dinner.... I guess there are even Star Wars geeks working at the higher levels of the USPS. We're EVERYWHERE!

Hypocrisy

hy·poc·ri·sy [hi-pok-ruh-see]

1.	a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.

2.	a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.

3.	an act or instance of hypocrisy.

Okay, you can call me a hypocrite. After decrying the overabundance of High Fructose Corn Syrup in the average American diet, tonight I went against everything I complain about and bought a case of Vault soda from Woodmans. This is probably the only pop I actually like, and apparently I'm one of the few. They were selling this stuff for 4 for $1.00!! I got 24 bottles of this stuff for 6 bucks! I occasionally buy a bottle at work, and it's a $1.25 there. I couldn't pass it up. Not only did I get the 24 bottles for $6.00, every cap has a code on it. If you enter the code from 8 bottles, you get another bottle FREE! So in reality I got 27 bottles for the price of five. Could you pass that up? Didn't think so.

Night Light

This is one of those little features that I really dig about this computer. the keyboard lights up! I didn't know about this until I was using it in poor lighting conditions, and it just popped on. I was totally geeking out. I'm sure there's a lot more things I have yet to discover that I'll completely love, but for now, this is making me smile. Oh, and it makes a pretty cool picture too....

The Behemoth

This thing is massive. We have this huge desk in my office that at one time was an appropriate size. Since I now have this small, portable computer, a desk this size is no longer necessary. I really like this desk, but all it has really been was a place for me to accumulate junk. I can be a bit disorganized, sometimes even messy! I think Stephanie will attest to that.... Anyone need a desk?

Winter Weather... In April?!?

Wow, what a crappy, nasty day. We're getting absolutely hammered by a winter storm. Snow, sleet, rain, and a above zero ground temperature all adds up to a horribly slushy mess. The only bright side was the amazing greenness of the grass. We've had some moderate temps, coupled with plenty of moisture, and the lawn had begun to grow again. Now, with the white snow on top of that green grass, this is the result. I thought it looked photo worthy....

Arrival

The Mac is here! I actually prepared this entire post on the Mac. Edited the photo, uploaded it, and typed this entry entirely on the Mac. Fedex stopped by around 9 this morning, and I've spent the majority of my time installing software and transferring files. If you've ever done this, you know how long that can take. I have all my music transferred, but I still have to transfer all my photos over. This really is a nice machine. I'm a little lost in the operating system, but I'm writing this sitting in my living room in a recliner, so that's nice! The next picture I took with something called Photo Booth. The computer has a built in camera, and this app takes a picture and distorts it in all different ways. It's fun to play with.

Stretch!

We had to buy a new bathroom rug, and Punkin immediately claimed it as his own. He slept on it for about 4 hours this morning, and when I went to use the facilities, he started rolling and flopping around. It was so damn cute, I had to take a picture. I know, "another cat shot?!?"

We had a nice dinner last night at Steph's mom and dad's place. It was really nice to get a little social interaction. It's so tough to get out and do anything when you're working six days a week, so you really value the time you're able to do things like that. Our niece and nephew Jules and Joey are awesome. Dad came over for a visit today too, and that's always great to see him.

I get my Mac tomorrow! Woo Hoo!!

Favorite Shots #3

Modern Architecture

This is a shot I took a couple of years ago in Rockford of a new apartment development. the bleakness and complete lack of originality of the design really struck me. It can be really depressing to see these cheap, boring buildings being erected at a breakneck pace. This is typical in this area right now, and shows no signs of stopping.

Making the Switch / Late Again!

I'm late on my post again!! Two days in a row! This is getting out of hand....

Yes, I'm making the switch. On Thursday Morning, I placed an order for a brand spankin new MacBook Pro. I'm officially a Mac guy. I've thought about buying one for a long time, and since I rarely play games on PC anymore, and Macs can now run Windows anyway, I couldn't see any reason not to make the switch. I bought this book tonight to try to ease my transition into the Mac world. I'm also selling my PC if anyone's interested. Here's the specs:

Dell Dimension 8400
Intel Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz dual core processor
1 Gb RAM
280 Gb hard drive space, in two drives
1 @ 160 gb
1 @ 120 gb
Gforce 6800 graphics card w/ 256 mb ram
Dual DVD Drives, top is a Dual Layer DVD burner/CD burner
Belkin Wireless G Network Card
Also Included:
17" Dell Flat Panel Display
Dell System Restore Discs
Dell Mouse & Keyboard

The system will be like it was just from the factory with Windows re-installed and all the original software included. I'm asking $800. If you or anyone you know are interested, contact me via email, or leave a comment with your email so I can contact you. I'm looking to sell it after I get all the data uploaded to my new system, so late next week. Thanks! Wish me luck!