Venting

I guess this is like the opposite of a Thankful Thursday post.

1. Google Reader. They changed their whole look, and that’s fine I guess, but in the process they changed where the “previous/next post” button is. I’m STILL bringing my cursor down to the bottom of the screen and then getting all angry when I remember it’s up at the top right now. Why, Google? WHY??

2. Google+. Speaking of Google, I haven’t been able to use Google+ (Google Plus?) in months. They suspended my account because my name wasn’t the format they wanted. I changed it, but it’s still just suspended indefinitely. It says it’s “under review” like it’ll get fixed soon, but nothing has changed in almost three months. I can’t post anything there. I wasn’t hooked on it anyway, and I’m tempted to deactivate, but it just makes me annoyed that it happened at all and that they don’t provide any way to clarify or fix the situation.

3. Target. Yes, I’m about to complain about Target, even though I love it. Two things really annoyed me the other day. One was the fact that a woman was boldly walking her dog around on a leash, and at least three employees saw her but said nothing. I’m not talking about a seeing eye dog, it was a small terrier or something. Is it suddenly okay to walk your dog around inside stores?

4. Target 2. This is something that has bothered me many times, but I was reminded the other day. When you see that yellow “low price” (or some other wording) tag hanging off the shelf like there’s a sale, often you can scoot it over to reveal the original price underneath. And often that original price is EXACTLY THE SAME as the “low price.” I know what they’re doing–they’re trying to draw attention like there is some deal and you should stock up, but in reality they have done nothing but spend time and money hanging tags on the shelves in order to trick you. Other times you might see it say “Price Cut,” and if you look at the original price, it might be literally 2 or 4 cents more. I have a photo to prove it (but can’t find it right now, sorry). I don’t like it when businesses try to trick you. Target is also known for their fluorescent red-orange clearance stickers. They draw the eye, but often you’ll see the “clearance” price is less than a dollar off the original price. That’s not clearance, Target. Don’t insult me.

5. Putting a long-sleeved sweater over a long-sleeved shirt. It gets all twisted on the arms. As my coworker would say, it whomps.

6. The holiday season. Yes, I know this is going to sound totally grinchy, but every year I have less and less patience for the extended festivities and obligations that come with the holidays. I have nothing against the holidays themselves (of course not!), but the pressure we have to deal with is ridiculous. The stores start carrying Christmas decor before Halloween, but by November 1 they are in full-blown Christmas mode. There are constant messages around us to buy presents for everyone, spend lots of money, attend (and host) many parties when things are already hectic, listen to Christmas music 24/7, and go to great lengths to get together with relatives when flying is expensive and road conditions are iffy. I guess I just wish everyone would calm down. We should remember and celebrate Jesus’s birth, for sure. But the other stuff should be for enhancing the season, not burning us out.

7. My pride. It’s out of control sometimes. I can be less-than-loving in how I talk to people when I am looking out for myself.

Okay, I think that’s enough grouchiness for today.

In good news, it’s been sunny (even if cold) and I’m just so thankful (again) for free evenings. With work being stressful at times, they are my happy section of the day that I can look forward to. Also, there should be a new episode of Ringer ready for me to watch online! Yes, I’ve been watching Ringer. My taste in TV shows is impeccable.

(Those photos were taken with my phone and edited in Picplz. That’s why they’re kind of odd.)

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Project 52 (9)

There’s nothing super special about this photo at first glance. It’s just a leaf in the grass after the sprinklers did their thing. But if you look closer…

…there are lots of cool patterns that I was able to focus in on (thanks, in part, to a coworker showing me a feature on my camera I didn’t know about :P).

Have a great weekend!

Project 52 (8)

Since moving to Oregon, seeing deer is a much more everyday occurrence, but I still enjoy it and want to take pictures as often as possible. These two were at my workplace (and this was actually only the third time I’ve seen them there, though others do more regularly). My coworker called me upstairs and I followed them with the camera to try and get a variety of backgrounds. I think the closest I got to them was about 15 feet.

[PS I LOVE that my coworkers think of me when they see animals that I might like to see/photograph. I’ve had people call me about deer, nutria, a coyote, and the other day one of my coworkers came to my desk specifically to tell me about a duck and her baby ducklings nearby. It was so sweet of him! I practically want to send people cards for thinking of me in those situations.]

It was hard to pick an official project photo, so I’ll show you a few others that I liked.

Project 52 (7)

I can hear bullfrogs by my place almost every day, though I got this photo at the nearby refuge. I don’t know if you can tell in this photo, but he’s just a teenager – about half the size of a full grown bullfrog.

I have more to say and more photos to post later, but I hope everyone’s having a great weekend!

Project 52 (6)

I’m sorry for another flowers-in-vase photo, but I’m pretty sure this is the only picture I took this week! I’ve been spending free time on other things, like labeling thousands of faces with the face recognition software I’m trying out. Only like 6,000 more to go, though, so I’m on the home stretch. 😉

Project 52 (5)

You get a little break from my trip journal for my everyday life photo of the week. I took it at my friend’s house when I was there for a gathering.

Jennifer’s kitchen has lots of fun little features, like the black and white floor, toile wallpaper, and cute little table. It’s unique and very photogenic. I imagine Jennifer eating breakfast there each morning, but I have no idea if she actually does. 🙂

Here are a couple of other photos from her place that I think should be included in this post, because they feel like a set to me. I’d actually love to take more pictures at her house sometime.

This one (above) was an alternate in case I changed my mind about the kitchen table photo, but I didn’t!

No, Jennifer, the photo you asked me to take of the dead frog is NOT part of the set!

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Project 52 (4)

These were some flowers my coworker received and brought to work. They’re so perfect and happy that I had to take their picture out on the cute deck furniture we have out front.

I’m having a nice weekend with my friend Dania, and I hope to tell you about it in the next days/weeks. I hope that’s okay–I might get a little texty with fewer photos than usual.

If you’d like to see my other Project 52 photos or learn more about the theme, please click on the Project 52 label.

Project 52 (3)

I debated using another food-related photo this week, but I can’t bring myself to do it. 🙂 I might post it later with a recipe. This is the building next to my office building. I pass it regularly when running errands at other offices. It has lots of pretty little sections, and I’ve used it a couple of times for portraits I take at work (like this one). I’d like to use it some more.

By the way, Project 52 is technically supposed to have poetry accompanying each photo, but I opted out of that part. (You can thank me in Target gift cards. You don’t want to read my poems!) However, there was a time when I was into poetry and wrote several poems. That poetry-writing Jessica seems like another person to me, though. Those crazy 20s! I really don’t have the desire to write poetry anymore, though I wouldn’t mind writing song lyrics again. (Are they the same or different? They feel different.) Sometimes I go back and read my old stuff, though, and feel really dorky. It’s fun.

Project 52 (2)

I read something about how good lemons are for you, and it inspired me to make some lemonade. I still don’t really have a handle on making good homemade lemonade, but maybe someday. Oh and the irony of using this photo, after quitting my food photography project, is not lost on me.

Two of my friends are also doing Project 52. Go check out their first posts if you’re curious:

Danielle
Samantha

Project 52 (1)

Well, since I only just decided I was going to do this, I’m struggling with second-guessing myself and feeling all self-conscious. Hey, I’m just warming up. So my theme is Everyday Life, and what I mean is just that I want to photograph some of the simpler things that happen that I might normally overlook as photo opportunities. But it can also be simple pleasures or scenes that have a story or whatever. Basically, it’s whatever I want. 😛 I don’t want to be too strict or I’ll never keep up.

Just please bear with me as I feel this out and probably post some lame photos. It’s just an exercise in creativity, observation and photography.

Maybe I should post some of the other attempts that weren’t chosen for whatever reason. We’ll see!