I've been busy. How about you?

The start of the week was nice. I had Memorial Day off and that was the end to a lovely three day weekend. To start off the weekend, I was done with work Friday morning at 9:30 am. I couldn't have planned that any better.

The weekend was dedicated to work at home. I finished editing a wedding and photographed a engaged couple. I did take some time off to enjoy the outdoors by running, biking and walking the dogs with my husband. I also watched a lot of sports, Indianapolis 500, Coca-Cola 600, the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Pistons. I also finished a book and started to read another.

Tuesday was a long and busy day for me. I worked 13 hours. I did my normal morning office shift in the morning and then photographed a track invitational that my newspaper hosts with a co-worker later that afternoon. It was a hot day for a track invitational and the runners did well, four records were tied or broken. If you would like to see all 195 photos that are posted from the meet, go here. I photographed the girls if you're interested.

Today I was supposed to photograph a baseball and softball game. This morning my sports editor told me that I didn't need to cover them because they were turned into scrimmages. That made me very happy. I was glad because I really didn't want to stand outside in the 90 degree heat.

Excited that I didn't have to work this afternoon, I finished some work at my home and later I will be running on my treadmill in my basement.

Books read in 2007

A Man of Faith, David Aikman
Hannibal Rising, Thomas Harris
All of the President's Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubus III
Jack: A Life Like No Other, Geoffrey Perret
Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate, Bob Woodward
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, James L. Swanson
The Manchurian Candidate, Richard Condon
Leni Riefenstahl, Rainer Rother
From Here to Eternity, James Jones
Cultural Warrior, Bill O'Reilly
Ava Gardner: Love is Nothing, Lee Server
The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, Marvin Kitman
Clint Eastwood, Richard Schickel
Notorious, Donald Spoto
Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Leaming

Currently Reading: Empire: The Life, Legend and Madness of Howard Hughes, Donald L. Barlett
Up Next: Library trip after I finish Empire. Who knows how long that will be. The book is over 650 pages and I have a busy week ahead of me.

Random things

Every morning while driving to work I pass a hair salon. The place usually doesn't open until 8 or 9 am. On Fridays its different. This morning around 4:50 am, I passed the hair salon. Today the hairstylist inside prepping her station. Other times I have seen her working with a client at 5 am. My question is why would you want to have your hair done at 5 am? Is it because they have a hot breakfast date?

Overheard this morning: Person A: "My eyesight is so bad. I have to squint to read. I do have reading glasses, but I don't wear them." Person B: "Why?" "Because I don't like to read." OK

Happy Birthday Sean!

Recital photos

This past Sunday, I photographed Encore Dance Studio's 10th Anniversary Celebration Recital in Tecumseh, MI. Over the next week or two, I will be posting my favorite photos from the day on my photo blog, DCO's Photo Gallery. You can check them out over there or if you want to see all of the photos go to my instaproofs site.

Weekend update

I've been very busy this past weekend. It has non-stop since Friday afternoon. Today, I get a bit of a break, I don't have to photograph any sports. But I do have a lot of editing to do.

- Friday afternoon: I drove up to Grass Lake to photograph the Division 4 Track Regional. The field events were supposed to start at 3:30 pm. Needless to say, they didn't. The officials didn't stop the athletes from warming up, they let them continue. The field events started about 20 minutes later. While the field events were still going on, the preliminary heats were run in the 100, 200 & hurdles. Those were close to schedule, but still off. After the 3200 meter relay and the semifinal heats were run there was a mandatory break. The break lasted an hour. According to the program, the finals were to start at 6:05 pm. The finals didn't actually start until 6:45 pm. That made me mad because that meant that I couldn't see more of the events and I needed to leave by 8 pm to drive back to the office.

- Saturday: Around 2:30 am, my awesome neighbors were out on their porch screaming, yelling and talking loud. I needed sleep because I had a long day ahead of me. After they woke me up, I realized I felt horrible. I couldn't breathe and my nose was stuffy. I realized that I caught my husband's cold. I stacked my pillows against the headboard and tried to get to sleep with my head propped up. I probably tossed, turned and blew my nose for the next half hour or so until going to sleep. I woke up around 7 am and got ready for the day.

I photographed a friend's wedding Saturday. My day started early at 9 am at the salon. I was tired and couldn't breathe, but I was happy for the couple. Most of the time I was on my feet going from here to there, directing the bridal party, family and the couple. I had a good time and it was fun photographing a wedding of people I knew. After about 11 hours and nearly 1000 photos, my day was done.

- Sunday: In the afternoon, I had another photography shoot. This time it was a ballet recital in Tecumseh. I was not feeling too well, but I promised the dance instructors that I would be there. When I arrived, I walked backstage and said hello to all of the dance instructors. I sat in chair backstage waiting for the show to start. The show went well. I always enjoy shooting the recital because I get great photos. I think if I wasn't sick, I could have gotten more. But what I shot was good. This year I took pictures of dancers that I haven't got before. I think they will be excited when the see them soon.

Locking problems

I took my car to a dealership Monday to get it serviced. I noticed a couple weeks ago during a storm that water was leaking into my car. Enough water leaked in to soak the carpet on the floor on the drivers and passengers side of the front seat. I was going to wait to get it fixed when I got my next oil change but something else went wrong.

Last week, I didn't hear the locks go down when I pressed the lock button on my key less remote. The horn sounded but my car was still unlocked. I had to walk around to all four door and lock the car by hand. I didn't like the fact that my key less remote wasn't working. I thought if the lock button isn't working would the unlock? Just to be safe I tried the unlock button with my driver's side window rolled down. I was thankful it still worked. But just to be safe I wanted to start using my key to open the door. I put my key into the lock and turned. It didn't work. This was practically the first time I ever used the key to open the door. When I bought my car two years ago I have always used the key less remote for everything. When the key didn't open my door, I tried opening/locking the trunk and glove box. Magically my key worked on those locks. The entire two years I had my car I never knew that the keys didn't unlock the door.

When I took my car in, I showed the service worker where the water was leaking in. He told me that the water was probably coming in from the deflector and it wouldn't cost that much to fix. Before leaving I told him that my key didn't unlock my door. I said that the key starts the car, opens the trunk and locks the glove box. He went over to my car and tried every lock. He was surprised that the key didn't work in the door. The service worker said that the lock would have to be replaced.

Later in the afternoon, the dealership called to say my car was ready. All the parts were replaced. I could now open my door with my key and no more water should be leaking into my car. He said that a lot of water and moisture is under the carpet in the front. He said they could take out my seats and carpet and dry up all of the water for about $350. If I let it go, my car could start to smell. I said that I thought the water had been leaking in since the fall and hadn't smelled anything. So I passed on it. I really didn't want to spend that much money to clean up water. I'm sure the carpet will dry out sooner or later. It is spring and we should have some warm sunny days soon*, I hope.

*Yesterday, I wore my winter coat and hat to a softball game! Today I will be wearing my winter coat and hat to a baseball game. The temperature outside is only 46 degrees. Its spring isn't it?

Pain and bikes

Last Saturday, I photographed my first wedding of the year. After standing for most of the day and night, my legs and feet were sore and tired. Instead of resting on Sunday, I decided to go on a bike ride.

It was my first bike ride of the year. It was also a short one, only 3 miles or so. But it was not the thing to do. My legs were probably asking me what I did to them to put them through so much pain, but I needed to exercise. I knew I wouldn't be able to run very far, so biking solved my problem. Besides my legs being in pain, I thought it was a nice ride.

Monday afternoon I headed out on a run. I told my husband it would be a short run since my legs hurt. Only a 1.5 mile into my run, I stopped in my tracks. I developed massive cramps and couldn't run anymore. I cut my run short and walked home. While walking home the cramps started to go away. Once I got home I felt better. I talked to my husband for a bit then I decided that I wanted to run at least 2 miles for the day. I walked back down my driveway and ran around the block. I finished with 2.1 miles for the day.

About an hour after running, my husband and I went on a bike ride. I used the same route that I did on Sunday. Once I sat down on my seat, I knew I didn't escape the pain from the first bike ride of the year. It hurt. Riding over uneven pavement and bumps didn't help much either. Later in the ride, when I saw bumps or dips up ahead, I stood up on my bike to avoid the pain. It helped out alot.

I like to ride my bike, but I always forget how much discomfort goes along with the first couple of rides.

Junior

My favorite NASCAR driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of this year. This morning at a press conference at JR Motorsports, Junior announced he is leaving DEI to pursue other options. He also stated that he wants to continue to drive a Chevrolet. His sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, has handled Juniors contract negotiations wants to have a deal at the end of the month.

Could Junior drive the number 3 for Richard Childress? Will he go to Joe Gibbs and be teammates with his friends Tony and Denny? We will all find out soon.

Books read in 2007

A Man of Faith, David Aikman
Hannibal Rising, Thomas Harris
All of the President's Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubus III
Jack: A Life Like No Other, Geoffrey Perret
Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate, Bob Woodward
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, James L. Swanson
The Manchurian Candidate, Richard Condon
Leni Riefenstahl, Rainer Rother
From Here to Eternity, James Jones
Cultural Warrior, Bill O'Reilly
Ava Gardner: Love is Nothing, Lee Server
The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, Marvin Kitman
Clint Eastwood, Richard Schickel
Notorious, Donald Spoto

Currently Reading: Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Leaming
Up Next: Empire: The Life, Legend and Madness of Howard Hughes, Donald L. Barlett

Random things

Last Thursday, my husband's present arrived in the mail! I was so excited to see it in the mail, I tore it open to show my husband. Yesterday I asked him if he has watched Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Season One yet? He hasn't. My husband has been outside doing yard work and putting up a new fence in our backyard. But not to worry, I have already watched all 13 episodes.

An hour after I blogged about the library not finding my book, they called me. The book was found and was placed on hold for me. I picked up the book after my softball game turned into a scrimmage.

My soccer game on Friday didn't start on time. The visiting team was late due to construction and I waited over an hour for the game to start. After the visiting team was finally on the field warming up I asked the assistant coach for a roster of the team. She only had a phone number list with the players name on it. I asked if she could write the players jersey numbers next to the names. She agreed and I waited for 5 minutes. When she finished, she handed me the list. I thanked her and put it in my pocket. I turned and walked away and reporter from another paper said I needed to give the list to his photographer. While he was talking I just kept walking because the game already started. I waited patiently for the list, couldn't he do the same? Since I didn't stop, he chased me down to the other side of the field behind the goalie. Once he got to me, he told me to give him the roster. Um, no. I told him that I would let the photographer see it. Before leaving the game, I showed the list to the photographer. She was very nice and thanked me. I guess she has all of the manners in the group.

That's the way the ball bounces

My sports assignments haven't been going my way this week. There has been some problem that has occurred the last three days I have been scheduled to photograph a game.

Tuesday, I drove to a high school outside of town for a track meet. I arrived at the school and no one is on the track. A storm system that was producing lightening was passing by. If lightening strikes during a sporting event, Michigan High School Athletic Association has a rule to stop the game and wait a half-hour. The visiting school was sitting on their buses, while the home school was chillin' in the gym.

After an hour and a half of sitting in my car waiting, I walked into the school to use the restroom. While leaving the restroom I saw the home school track coaches watching the weather on TV to decide if the meet was still going to go on. The head coach wanted to wait for the next storm cell to roll by before they decided to call the meet. The storm cell that was in the neighboring county was capable of producing tornado's. The home team's athletic director went outside to the visiting school buses to talk it over with the coaches. Five or ten minutes later, the buses start moving. I thought they were going to drop the athletes off at the school to wait out the storm. Nope. They kept driving by. The meet was called due to the weather.

An hour after the meet was postponed, the sky turned blue and it didn't rain or storm the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, I drove across the county for a softball game. I arrived at the game about a half hour before it was supposed to start to copy down rosters from both teams. After the teams finished their warm ups, the game started. The home team had a quick top half of the first inning. The pitcher had two strikeouts and an easy out at first base. When it was the home team's turn to bat the head coach stood in the box near me on the third base line. She asked me what I was doing at the game. I asked why. She said that earlier in the week, she told a co-worker of mine that the game was being changed to a scrimmage. I told her that it wasn't mentioned to me. Since it was a scrimmage there was no point in staying. I called my sports editor and told him the bad news. The entire time I was in either dugout, nobody told me it was a scrimmage. Seems like they would wonder why the paper would be there covering it.

Today, I checked a website with local sports schedules to see when my tennis match started. The website read that the home tennis game was now away. I called the school's athletic department and the tennis game was moved Wednesday afternoon to another school. I thanked the athletic secretary for the information, called my sports editor and left a message. He called me back and he decided to send me to a soccer game in town.

Tomorrow I would like my schedule to be back to normal. Please let my soccer game be played without any problems. No more weather cancellations, scrimmages and schedule mix-ups, I've had enough for one week.

Still missing

It has been a couple of weeks since I've been to the library. Last time on my books read list, I mentioned that I wanted to check out a book. The library computer had the book listed available. Unfortunately it was not on the shelve where it was supposed to be. I looked around the biography section and couldn't find it. When I checked out the other two books, I mentioned to the library worker that the book was missing from the shelve. The worker went back to take a look for herself. She came back empty handed. I provided the library with my name and phone number, so they could call me when they found the book. Before I left, I was told that they were really good about finding missing books.

Fast forward, two weeks later and no call from the library. Granted I haven't had much time to read, but they still haven't found that book? Are they even still looking for it? GRRRRRR!

On a different note:
Tuesday mail check - Still no Harvey Birdman DVD in the mail.

Where is it?

Way back on April 14, I ordered a birthday present for my husband. I ordered a DVD online for his birthday that was last Friday, the 27th. Two days after I ordered the DVD, I received an email saying the DVD was mailed and it should arrive in 5-10 business days. Plenty of time to arrive for his big day.

On my husband's birthday, I gave him one of his presents that I already had. It was a red Boston University t-shirt. He received his Master of Criminal Justice from BU in 2005 and he wanted a shirt. I ordered the shirt the same day as the DVD and the shirt came within 3 days. When the mailman didn't bring the DVD in the mail on his birthday, I let him know what his other present was. I told him to expect Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Season One soon.

The mailman came by earlier today and brought the mail. No Harvey Birdman. The email that the company sent said to expect delievery between 4/25-4/30. Well today is the last day of April. I called the 800 number to see what was going on. The customer service lady said that it was the 10th business day and if I don't get it by Thursday call them back. If I should happen to call them back, the company will ship out another DVD. The lady was nice on the phone, but I just wanted to yell because this DVD was supposed to be a birthday present. My husband's birthday was last Friday not this coming Thursday. GRRRRRRRRRRR!

I hope Harvey arrives before Thursday, I don't want to wait another week or two to watch the first season. Err, I mean my husband doesn't.

Last name fun

At a high school baseball game that I was photographing today, the players were having fun with a teammate's last name. The player's last name is Hooker.

Examples of what was being said in the dugout:

"Way to find the hole Hooker"

"We need you on the corner Hooker"


Silly boys.

Random things

The soccer game was played as scheduled Wednesday. The heavy rain passed and when the game started it was sprinkling and cold, in the low 40s. I wore boots, pants, a sweater, jacket and a long raincoat, and I was still cold. I left my gloves in the car because I didn't think it was that cold out. Wrong! After the game, I had a mental note: Always bring gloves.

When I arrived at the soccer field, I got my camera ready. Before even taking any photos, I counted how many people were in attendance. Other then the players, officials, coaches and scorekeepers, there were about 15 people on or near the stands. Not a huge turnout. What's wrong with people? They don't like standing outside in the cold and rain?

Everyday I read USA Today on the web. While reading Pop Candy the other day, she had a link to a woman who blogs about The Baby-Sitters Club book series. Growing up, I also read that series and loved it. I thought it was cool that these 13 year-old girls were in a club and had jobs. I so wanted to be them. I spent about a half-hour on her blog and laughed the entire time. It is a great blog and I'm glad that it was brought to Whitney's attention at PC.

Happy early birthday honey.

Rain, cameras and outdoor sporting events don't mix

Later today, I will be photographing a soccer game in the rain. I know there is no chance that the game will be canceled. Soccer games are played no matter what. I'm not looking forward to covering my camera/lens in plastic, wearing boots/raincoat and standing outside in rainy 45 degree weather.

Do you think besides the players, officials, and me that parents would want to stand on the side of the field to watch their daughters play in the heavy downpour? If it was me, I would say "Honey, I'll watch from the car."

Sunday 5K

Sunday, I ran in a local 5K. I was a perfect day to run. It was nice, sunny and the temperature was in the 50s.

The first mile I ran pretty well. I kept a good, steady pace on the mixture of hills and flat surfaces. I passed the first mile marker, a full minute faster then what I usually run. I thought I could keep that pace for the entire race. Then it happened, severe stomach cramps. The pain was terrible, my pace slowed but I kept running. The stomach cramps stopped near the end of the second mile. With the pain gone, I started picking up my pace.

While I was running slower with the worst stomach cramps ever, two women passed me. My hope was to catch back up with them, but they were both so far ahead I knew the chances would be slim. Since I couldn't catch the two ahead of me, my motivation was to keep a group of women behind me. After crossing the second mile mark, I could hear them talking. I really didn't know how close they were, but they were close enough that I could hear bits and pieces of their conversation.

Around the 2.5 mile mark, the course took a left hand turn. It was at this time I could turn around and see where they were. While going around the corner, I turned to look back. I didn't see them. It was a relief. I knew that I had some distance on them. With not much more of the race left, I wanted to finish with a good time.

I continued to pick up my pace on the flat surface. The course didn't stay flat for long. The flat course dipped down then up a giant hill. I ran strong up the hill and was excited that I was close to the end. When I made the final turn towards the finish line, I tried so hard to sprint to the finish. My legs had nothing left. I spent all of my energy making up time from the horrible second mile. I crossed the finish line at 32:01.57. I finished sixth in my age group. I thought I beat last year's time, but I was just shy: 31:57.

I didn't beat last year's time but this run made me happy. I was happy because I wasn't last in my age group and I wasn't the last runner on the course. There have been many 5 and 10K races where I was last in both categories. When I do finish last, it doesn't bother me. I'm just happy that I finish every race that I start, no matter where I finish.

Books

I returned my books to the library this morning and picked out two different books. I would have borrowed a third book, but it was missing from the shelve. The library computer indicated that the book was in the library and supposed to be on the shelve. I went back, looked around most of the biography section and still couldn't find it.

When I was checking out my other books, I told the librarian that the book I was looking for was missing from the shelve. I gave her the authors name and the title and she went see if she could find it. A couple of minutes later, she came back empty handed. She said she would have workers look for the book later today. I wrote down my name and phone number and was told when the book is found, they will call me. BOO!


A Man of Faith, David Aikman
Hannibal Rising, Thomas Harris
All of the President's Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubus III
Jack: A Life Like No Other, Geoffrey Perret
Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate, Bob Woodward
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, James L. Swanson
The Manchurian Candidate, Richard Condon
Leni Riefenstahl, Rainer Rother
From Here to Eternity, James Jones
Cultural Warrior, Bill O'Reilly
Ava Gardner: Love is Nothing, Lee Server
The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, Marvin Kitman
Clint Eastwood, Richard Schickel

Currently Reading: Notorious, Donald Spoto
Up Next: Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Leaming

Miles run in 2007

Today I ran a easy 2.6 miles outside. Sunday is my first 5K of the year and I wanted to run on the road to get my legs used to the hard surface. The 5K will start and finish in downtown Adrian and will be run on city streets. For the past three years I've run this race, the weather has been bad. This year it is supposed to be sunny and warm. That will definitely make it fun to run.

Miles run through April 18:
2004: 90.1
2005: 120.2
2006: 151.8
2007: 150.1

Books read in 2007

A Man of Faith, David Aikman
Hannibal Rising, Thomas Harris
All of the President's Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubus III
Jack: A Life Like No Other, Geoffrey Perret
Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate, Bob Woodward
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, James L. Swanson
The Manchurian Candidate, Richard Condon
Leni Riefenstahl, Rainer Rother
From Here to Eternity, James Jones
Cultural Warrior, Bill O'Reilly
Ava Gardner: Love is Nothing, Lee Server
The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, Marvin Kitman
Clint Eastwood, Richard Schickel

Currently Reading: Library trip coming soon
Up Next: