Last week I was working with of my client’s to record an audio presentation over a teleconference. Audio presentations can be difficult because you don’t have an audience in front of you to help with timing, and without a crowd’s reactions you also can’t adjust your tone or content on the fly. It is what it is. He wound up speaking incredibly fast, and about a third of the way through it was apparent we were going to have to interrupt him. We hate to do that, but as good as we are, we can’t slow a person down in post-production.

Sure enough the speaker had no idea, and was glad we stopped him. He took a deep breath and carried on at a more moderate pace. But now he was incredibly conscious we were listening. He started to sound nervous and his spring was gone. He’d lost his mojo. What we hoped would make him better, was making him worse. He eventually righted himself, but it took time (and a few practice slides).

In a completely unrelated, not even close sort of way, that happened to me today. I was going along fine, completely unawares in life, and then got some feedback that caught me off guard. It probably shouldn’t have surprised me, but I just didn’t see it coming. My mojo carpet was pulled out from underneath me and now I’m raw with awareness. This feedback involved the feelings of people who I care a great deal about, and that makes the situation all the more fragile. I know this was meant to make me better, but I think that’s going to take awhile to right myself. Longer than a few practice slides anyway.

Categories: All About Me · R-R-Rambling

I had a great day at Happiness on Saturday. Having NO idea what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised. The owner, Elena, is incredibly supportive and had plenty of tables and goodies for us to decorate with. We had some lulls between crowds, so I was able to take some pictures. Honestly, I could wander around and take pictures there for days and still not capture it all. Every inch of Happiness is covered with something - plants, mirrors, tiles, baubles. It’s classic South Austin.

Here is what my table looked like (or at least one rendition, I changed it a few times throughout the day). Despite the glorious shade trees at Happiness, some sun peaked thru and at one point the table got so hot it actually started to melt and warp the glue on my photo cards photos. Hellooooo, Texas summers.

Overall, it was a great experience and I will definitely go back. It’s the first weekend of every month, I probably won’t do both days, so I’ll be sure to post here and/or email when I’ll be there.

Categories: Austin-ish · Crafty · Nature-ish · Shutterbuggin'

These are links from my del.icio.us feed for June 1st through June 2nd:

• DESIGN - Bird Hooks by Salendro Design - I love these little hooks. Saving for a rainy day.
• TECH - Polaroid PoGo™ - The PoGo will print small, 2" x 3" prints with sticker backs. It is wireless and inkless, and weighs only 8 oz. Using Bluetooth, you can print directly from your cell phone. The Pogo will retail for $149, and will be available in July at Target and Best B
• HOME: Painted Dresser - I have two 'vintage' dressers that I adore, but have seen better days and could use a coat of paint. This is a pretty cool idea. (from simply stated by RealSimple.com)

Categories: delicious

Is a warm… puppy….

And also a shop on South First Street in Austin, Texas.

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, consider checking out Happiness - it’s a cool little shop that sells jewelry, plants, clothes, gifts, all kinds of South Austin goodness. This weekend is one of their ‘Market Days’ events - it’s a collaborative event, in addition to showcasing their awesome goods, they invite local artists setup tables and sell their work. Thanks to the crafty HR Manager at Bulldog, I’ll be there Saturday selling photo cards and 5×7 matted prints. Wooooo!

Happiness’ website is somewhat under construction, but the co-host, PippingTooth Studio has some great info about the event.

Hope to see you out there! If you can’t make it, no worries, just send send happy weather vibes instead.

Happiness 3rd Anniversary Market Days
when: june 7 & 8th - sat & sun
from: 12ish to 6ish
where: happiness - garden & gift
2214 b. south 1st st. austin (behind amelia’s retro-vogue & relics in the blue house)

Categories: Austin-ish · Crafty · Shutterbuggin'

Jef and I went back to his family’s cottage on Skaneateles Lake in NY for the Memorial Day weekend. The weather was nearly perfect - 70 and sunny until the last day, when we had a little rain. There were lots of visitors on Saturday, friends and cousins, so we grilled and visited, and finished the day with a campfire and s’mores. We visited a new local vineyard on Sunday, which is just a few minutes away from the cottage and had some surprisingly good wine for being so young. I can’t wait to try them again in a few years.

I left on Tuesday, but Jef stayed on for the rest of the week for the fishing trip with his dad up at Black Lake. I know nearly nothing about fishing and boating. My dad hunts, so I’m comfortable with a firearm, but wouldn’t know what to do with a fish if it jumped out of the boat and slapped me in the face, let alone try to catch one with a hook and a pole. Jef, on the other hand, is a water baby having grown up spending summers out at the lake. He setup a Flickr account to share pictures with the guys who couldn’t make it - the application on his iPhone let him upload them right from the boat. Looks like they stayed true to tradition and cracked the Guinness a little earlier every day.

My photos are below, and Jef’s Black Lake pictures are over here.

Categories: East Coast · Friend-ish · Jef · The Fam

These are links from my del.icio.us feed for May 28th:

• Quick ways to beautify your yard - DIY Life - Except for the "put a decorative flag in your flower bed" part …. don't do that.
• xkcd - Starwatching -
• twhirl’s blog » Limit exceeded - what does it mean? - Finally - an answer! If you use Twitter and this is happening to you, very helpful blog post.

Categories: delicious

A few weeks ago my friend, Ryan, sent me an instant message and asked if I would be interested in taking photos at an upcoming gig. I’ve taken photos of Ryan for a few years with various bands, but not since I got serious about it. He’s been playing with a new band, a talented young violinist named Omar Lopez. Of course I agreed to shoot the gig, even before they told me the details. Once I got the details, I think I asked if I could pay THEM to shoot it. (I kid, but only a little). The show was the night before my birthday at the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio - they would be opening for Pat Benatar.

It was an awesome opportunity. The venue was beautiful and Omar and the band were really wonderful to work with. It was a short show, only 40 minutes, so I also took pictures at the rehearsal the day before, the hotel (where Omar and Chris, on the lobby piano, did an impromptu concert for the guests), the sound check (we got to see Pat do hers too!) and back stage. I’m glad I did, it really helped us remember the day as whole, not just the time on stage.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to take any photos of Pat Benatar. She is apparently very sensitive about video and photography, so her people were very specific. A few people got photos from their cell phones or small cameras, but I didn’t want to get the Omar folks in trouble since I had been pointedly warned. Ah well.

Here are my pictures from the show.

Categories: Daily Photo · Friend-ish · Giggin' · Music to My Ears · Shutterbuggin'

My co-workers gave me some beautiful white tulips on my birthday last week, these were part of the bouquet. The tulips have faded, but these little gems are going strong. I know they are just filler, but they are too pretty to throw out.

(BTW - Does anyone know what they are?)

Categories: Daily Photo · Friend-ish · Giggin' · Nature-ish