The birthday festivals have come and gone. I had my "party" on Saturday, but the week and a half leading up to that was filled with birthdays of people in Val's program here, so there's been no shortage of things to do.

I was trying to do yoga everyday of the past month, since Val has a book called "Richard Hittleman's Yoga 28 Day Exercise Plan". I figured February would be perfect. I've done pretty good, but I fell off the wagon, or whatever, the last few days. I'm gonna get back on track though, as I have received within the last two weeks a new yoga book and a yoga DVD. Val's book was a little old, so there was quite a bit of "The Beautiful Woman" and "Yoga and the Housewife". The new book and the DVD are more balanced as yoga for anyone and everyone. Either way, I have noticed a difference in how I feel, and I really enjoy the stress reduction aspect of the poses/stretches.

Only 11 days 'til CA. Can't wait.

SPRING BREAK!

Well, not just yet, but the plans are in motion for a trip to the East Bay (and SF) for mid-March. One of the best deals I've ever seen in airfare. 2 adult round-trip flights for $330.60. Not each, TOTAL. And we're not flying red-eyes or anything like that. We have one connection going and just a layover coming back. I can't get over it.

I'll probably get over it as soon as we return, as I will be working at SEC that Saturday, and starting my full-time hours at BCE on Monday. This will be good, since I could use benefits, regular hours, and my evenings freed up. I'll work from home in the evenings and on weekends, but my schedule will be a little more dictated and, strange as it sounds, that sounds good to me.

I have accumulated 3 rolls of medium format (120, 6cm x 6cm) film ready to be processed. I'll let you know if anything there is worth letting you know about.

No, not another ice storm like we had in Raleigh, just a coating that melted off the same day. That was January 30. Since then we've had snow, rain, and 70° days. Today is in the 50s, but a little blustery wind-wise. Just another typical winter in NC.

I'm giving up my job search, as there is a full-time opening at BCE and I can at least get off the second shift. There will be more, steady, hours, a perfect 10am to 6pm shift, and eventually benefits. Self-unemployment had to end sometime.

I am definitely going to keep working at Southeastern Camera for as long as they will have me. It's great access to information and equipment, and it's so easy to get to work, even on a Saturday morning. I'm getting intersted again in medium format film and cameras, so we'll see how much trouble that gets me into.

My my my, where DOES the time go? A week into February already?

I've been Working at Southeastern Camera the last 3 Saturdays in a row. It's fun to be around all those cameras, and to talk with everyone who comes in. There was a guy last week who brought in a Russian 16mm movie camera. He bought his used off of eBay, but we found a US dealer online for the exact same model, still being produced today, and still with the same industrial design.

All the new digital and high-end film stuff is cool, but I still have a special interest in the older, clunkier optics, and there are still plenty of them around. The shop isn't very big, but it is well established in the area. They get a fair amount of medium format equipment from time ot time as well, so I might be able to get more involved with that.

In other news, I might go full-time at BCE. One of the regular typesetters is leaving in March, and I may be able to shift my shift to an earlier time, as well as picking up hours. The talk is about a 10am-6pm shift, which has been my dream shift for a long time. It would change the job enough to keep things interesting, give me a more stable and predictable work schedule, and I would end up having benefits again. We're also in the process of getting an HP Indigo digital press for the shop, which could be very interesting. Something beyond thermographed business cards, that's for sure.