2 posts tagged “change”
Well, now that I've gotten my feet wet again by posting, I'll update a bit more. The past two weeks at my job have been hard because my co-worker has moved on to another office, and I'm having to take up some of the slack, even though my boss has been putting in a good bit of time and effort there too. I'm having to stretch myself to do things I'm unfamiliar with, which can be frustrating because I'm learning by trial and error (mostly error) and this can be slow and often seemingly unproductive. I'm also having to get to work an hour early, so I'm putting in extra time every week. Honestly, I'm often exhausted and frustrated, but won't be much longer.
The GREAT thing is that help is on its way! They have hired a replacement and my new co-worker will be a very good friend who has known me for ten years or so and who helped me when I did this career change to insurance. We are both looking forward to her starting at the first of February. I will be so happy to have someone to work with all day, and in all the years we've known each other, we've been very much kindred spirits, and mostly because we often have the same interests outside of work. This is EXCITING.
Even more exciting, I'm starting to take steps to develop my skills in people photography, something I have neglected. I've been saying I wanted to do more of it for months, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I was motivated to do something more than just give it lip service.
Recently I've gotten acquainted with a wonderful guy (who unfortunately lives in another state) whose feedback has helped me remember my goal, made over a year ago, to do more people photography, both for the pleasure of doing it, and to also get paid as well. (Steven, I appreciate you so much for that!) With that in mind, I did two things to make this goal a reality...
First of all, I contacted a friend of mine and asked her to let me use her as a model, and we're planning to meet next weekend. I'm excited and am searching through Flickr for inspiration. Do you have a favorite people photographer? Please let me know who they are and where I can see their work online.
The other thing is that I've gotten involved in a local Meetup.com group of photographers, and have learned there is another one a few minutes away from where I live with access to a studio, and opportunities to meet and learn studio craft with other more experienced photographers. This has thrilled me to the tips of my toes! At last! This reminds me of the Learning to See workshop from over a year ago and how great that was to learn and experiment with studio photography.
I'm excited when change is on the horizon, especially when it is in a creative direction. More to come.
Thanks Jordan (aka Digital Explorer) for recommending Vox to me. (go check out his blog and website. He's a great photographer and I love to see what he's shooting. I know you will too.) It's a lovely interface and I'm trying it out. Now if I can import my old Livejournal entries. If I'd not taken the trip to UK and Germany I really wouldn't care otherwise.
A couple of weeks ago my favourite coffee place, Greenberry's, closed, either to eventually move to a new location, or very possibly for good. For three years it had struggled, surrounded by at least four Starbucks within 5 to 10 minutes. It was much more upscale than Starbucks with its classic wood floors and counters, and its coffee was much better as well. Add to that free wi-fi, and you'd think it was a no brainer alternative, but its location and poor visibility proved to be too much apparently. As much as I miss the atmosphere and coffee, what I find I truly mourn is the people I met there. Each of us quite different, but we spent much time sharing a table, heads buried in our laptops, talking, gossiping and getting to know each other better.
Today I went to my "up north" (i.e. Port St. Lucie, as opposed to Wellington - just over an hour apart) coffee place, Port City Java, to read and think a bit in the cool October air. This week has brought lovely cool days and delightful evenings to put the top down and clear my head. As I savoured a cup of coffee while finishing a novel, I overheard a conversation where a customer was saying how he missed his coffee place in Wellington. Being the shy creature I am, I piped up, "Greenberry's?" and he exclaimed in great surprise, "How'd you know??" and for the next few minutes we bemoaned the fact it was not there. It made me smile as well as sad.
I can't say I like the change, but I guess it's something we adapt to, and try to find the good in. Port City Java is nice in its own way. I'm thankful it's there. I'll post pics of both for anyone who's not seen them.
