Odd Ball

Yes, I am Different!!!

I don't deny it, I am different from every one else.

I always have been, and always will be.

As a little girl I never wanted to play with dolls,

I wanted to be outdoors, playing with my

brother or riding horses.

When I would pretend, I was Bob

and my brother was Bill.

We were in the Calvary!

Or we were sailing a ship.

I would take my shirt off in the summer time

till my momma caught me and told me NO!!

I was not very old thank you very much

and I certainly didn't have anything to show.

I just wanted to be like my brother and be able

to run around with my shirt off.

Life was so unfair.

I started my period in 3rd grade!

I hated being a girl.

I didn't understand it,

I hurt, it smelled bad, and I hated it.

Life was so unfair.

Then I grew quickly for my age in school.

I was the only girl in 1st grade that got to play

basketball with the team.

So did Gary Joe Lester. He was my bud.

He was left handed.

I always sat by him

He and I were friends.

I grew tall very fast.

Then I stopped

and never grew UP any more.

When growing has to take place

and up is not happening

I guess you know where it is going to go...

OUT.

I started menopause early in life too.

This sucks.

I hate it.

But I don't have monthly issues to deal with!!!

I have never been heavy till this time in my life.

I hate it!

Growing up I always hung out with the guys.

I was never boy crazy, they were just my friends.

I worked in a man's world.

Nearly 22 years worked with men.

Men are a lot easier to work with ...

how would I know, I have never worked with a bunch of women.

Men just don't seem to have the drama,

they don't care,

And I have just always been more comfortable around men.

So I am an ODD BALL.

Oh well

I don't care.

Different is good.

That is what Arby's slogan was for years.

And I like Arby's.

All of this to simply tell you.

I use an Olympus camera!

Everyone else uses Nikon, or Cannon.

Yes they are good cameras.

So why did I get an Olympus?

Because that is what Megan talked me into buying

at my little camera shop in Enid.

She knows her stuff.

I really like her.

I trust her.

And besides...

I like being the odd ball.

Olympus Camera

check it out!

I have the E-volt 500.

Of course it is not made any more!

I told you, I am the odd ball.

Well....there you have it.

My post for the day,

More than you needed to know.

And you now know I like Arby's

and I use an Olympus Camera.

Gee, you mean I could have done all of this

in just two sentences?

Good grief.

Odd Ball!

More is Enough

Third Times Charm!!!

I have been trying to get the "just right" pictures for my class tonight.

I try to follow instructions, and sometimes it just does not come together.

So I try and try again to get it "just right".

And I am very pleased with this set of pictures.

1. Horizontal, head and shoulder with flash

to put "catch light" in the eyes.

Subject off center.

Check!

2. Subject in reclining position.

Did not specify anything else

Be creative

Have fun.

For the most part....Check

3. 3/4 pose with subject viewing off,

But still able to see both eyes.

Check!!

4. Full length seated....does this count?

I think so.

Check.

So Sarah, how do you like your daddy now?

I think you might need some of these pictures printed off

to frame.

You have quite a few to choose from.

He Can Smile

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow-- Today

We Have Sun

Since we had a little sunshine I made (asked!) Scott to let me do a few more pictures. This time I did what I needed to do, but you can't tell it. The pictures are too small. But I am pleased with the results and will use these and my others to present in class on Tuesday night. I don't know what all ones I will use but these are among them. I still have to go out to my parents tomorrow and take some more. We have to also take some pictures using nothing but window light. This I am not good at. But I will need to practice. And practice I will. I am going to try and talk my mom into being my model. Won't that be cool? Having a grey haired older....er I mean a more mature woman being my model. I am really hoping I can do this. So see you soon.

Caught Some Rays

Quick...the sun came out!

Grab the camera!!

My class assignment for Tuesday night is to take some outdoor portraits. We have had nothing but cloudy weather, and was predicted to have nothing but cloudy, wet, rainy weather. So Friday when the sun came out for a little while and I grabbed the camera and said..."let's go"!!! Scott didn't have much choice but to be my model. Now don't get the wrong impression when you see his pictures and he is not smiling. I didn't want him to. I wanted some serious looking pictures, I like serious, I like looks that are not staged or forced smiles. Just the natural look.

This is my Head and Shoulders Only shot.

Vertical position.

Here is the Head and Shoulders Shot in the horizontal position.

Oops, I forgot the pop-up flash or reflector light!

Darn it!

This is the Reclining position, with my "interesting" angle,

What do you think?

Typical man if you ask me!

should have had the lawn mower beside him!

3/4 length pose looking "off camera"

Might be pushing this one--Full Length "seated"??

Do you think I will get away with him being on the ground seated?

The next three are the three I need to chose from:

I am to do a pose of my own choice...be creative she said.

So which one do you like the most?

Of course I have my favorite.

(Pose #1)

(Pose #2)

(Pose #3)

Well, what do you think, do you think they are good enough to turn in for my assignment? Give me some ideas or suggestions (especially Amy, Kim and Cara!!! my photographer friends) on things I need to be looking for and doing different. Of course I probably wont get any sun light between now and Tuesday night, but I might. So suggestions are welcomed!!!!

Oh by the way, did I mention it was nearly 90 degrees and humidity 110%. I was not in the mood to be outside very long, shot during the wrong time of the day, and I noticed I needed to be up higher on the shot where he is looking off (3/4 pose). How do I get the glare off the magazine? Just re shoot it in the cloud cover maybe? and notice his feet are not as "sharp" as the rest of the picture? What's up with that? Advice, advice I am asking for it from anyone.

Also...these are raw pictures, we are not suppose to edit them...we are suppose to get it "right" the first time. We will edit later. Ok, I will wait for you to tell me what to look for.

Update to the Other Day

****update to the story*****

Ok, I am having a hard time remembering what day of the week it is. This medicine has caused me to lose track of Wednesday. So I think today is Thursday. TJ called me on Tues night with his incident .....right? Ok, I got to thinking about this, after I saw the damage to his police car on that link I gave you on the other posting I started laughing. The back quarter panel suffered some pretty good denting. This is a brand new police car, has suffered damage twice now, both times the rear quarter panel. First was the passenger side, now the driver side....and both times...have been due to TJ, not even a car wreck....I find that really funny. Maybe it's the drugs. But I keep laughing at it. Twice the car is damaged, twice rear quarter panels, twice pretty good damage to it, and twice done by my son...I think instead of his name TJ maybe it should be TANK.

I'm going to bed!

Middle of the Night Phone Call

Another Close Call

Tuesday I went to the doctor to have my back worked on from that stupid accident about six weeks ago. I had been doing fine but this past week was hurting very badly and decided it was stupid to live in pain when it is a very simple fix. (I said simple, not cheap!) Scott had found a doctor that does spinal manipulations and it takes a very special person to be able to give me any relief. So after Scott used him (I'm not STUPID!) and was pleased with him, I decided to give him a try. After seeing the doctor AND getting a shot in the butt I walked out feeling better than when I walked in. And he had given me a few samples of medicine I could take to ease my pain and relax the muscles later on.

I went to my photography class, Photography II, and oh it is going to be awesome. It is Portraiture's which I love and the very first assignment is some outdoor ones and then some window lighting. I am going to enjoy learning this. Restrictions lifted (except it has to be a person, no pets, darn it!) and we are to use our creativeness. This should be fun. By the time I got through with class my back was starting to stiffen up and hurt. so when I got home I got out my medicine to look it over. It is a time release sample and he believe it will not make me sleepy like Flexerile does. That's good for a 10mg will knock me out for a whole day. But I look at this great medicine and notice it is 15 mg of Cyclo something or other and that is generic for Flexerile. hum????? Well he said it should not make me sleepy since it is time release and I am willing to try it. So I do. HE WAS WRONG. By about midnight I am feeling the effects....that is where this story takes a turn for the worse.

About midnight my cell phone rings. And it is a ring that I have set for a certain number but I can't place whose ring it is. So I get up, if someone is calling me at midnight it better be important. I see it is my dil, that's odd. She never calls me. Maybe her and TJ had a disagreement, or maybe she just wants to chat and knows I often stay up late, oh I would love that. I love any time my kids or in laws or what ever want to chat with me, I don't care if it is midnight or later. I love when my kids WANT to talk to me. So I call her back and the first thing out of her mouth is....

"TJ's ok!", WHAT? She says, TJ wanted me to call you and tell you that he is ok, but he was involved in an incident. Someone tried to run over him. I started asking questions, but she said that is all she knew. I asked her how she was, was she ok? She said long as TJ's ok, then I am ok. I told her thank you, hung up and decided to try and call him. I know, that was stupid, but I am his mom and I needed to know. I called him and we spoke for a very brief moment and he said he would call me later, he was going to the hospital. Click. THE HOSPITAL??!!!!, you tell me you are going to the hospital and then hang up the phone, you have got to be kidding me. Oh I hate living so far away right now. I take the phone to bed with me. I get a couple calls in the night but for the life of me right now, I can't remember who or what was said. Other than he was ok, he was deep tissue bruised and that is about all I knew.

So later yesterday that dag gum medicine is still keeping me sleeping, I can NOT WAKE up. TJ calls me off and on, and I know he is ok, he is going to the lawyers office to work on his statement. Oh by the way, did I tell you he shot AT THE DRIVER? Ok, that is an important part here. Here is the story...... There was a burglary taking place at a drug store. The officers thought the guy went south, TJ thought he would go north. TJ was right. He got in pursuit of the guy and when he went to a dead end TJ felt he had him blocked in. He jumped out of his unit, pulled his weapon and was going to take the guy down in a felony stop. But the guy had other ideas. He decided he was going to try and get past TJ and his unit. When he did, TJ had to jump out of the way and the guy pinned TJ between the two cars. As the suspect drove on by it more or less rolled TJ or twisted TJ in the process. It ripped the keys from his pants pocket and they were found later. TJ said he it hurt his knee more than anything. Well the suspect got away, was pursue by other officers at very high rate of speed and then he jumped out and fled on foot. Not to be found by the officers. Later that day he turned himself in to the police department. In looking at the car, the officers told TJ his shot should have hit the guy right in the face, but they don't know if the guy was slouched down in the seat (I think I would have been!) or what. The shot from behind should have also gotten him, so I am telling you, God was with this kid. It was not his day to die. And it wasn't TJ's either. The kid is an 18 year old kid that used to work at the drug store.

Now TJ has to be off work for a bit, he will have paper work by the tons to fill out, he has to give statements, go before an accident review board, a use of deadly force review board, and one other that I can't think of right now. He has to go see a shrink, and then another one from the department, and has to get a doctors released before he can go back to work. I have talked to him off and on since this has happened, he sounds very clear minded. He sounds very ok, very ......trusting that he did the right thing, ok with his decision. He says he hates it that he missed the guy and that bothered me. He said mom, I endangered so many other people because he got away from me, If I had gotten him stopped then no one else would have been in any danger. That is a might big responsibility to put on his shoulders. I told him I am GLAD he didn't hit the kid. I am glad that the kid turned himself in and I am glad that it all turned out this way. He said, yeah, really me too.

If you want to read the news link I posted it here: TJ Goodpasture Tyler PD Officer

And let me tell you, that darn medicine is just NOW wearing off, nearly two days later. I am not taking that stuff again.