Here’s what happened:
I went out and bought another camera. A Sony RX100 Mach 7 to be exact and well, it isn’t exactly a cheap camera. It’s a small compact camera, but the thing is a beast. I bought it a couple of weeks ago. I’ve taken some good photos, not great, but okay.
I bought the camera for one main reason: to take really cool photos of Marcos’ games.
See, during football season, we sit in the stands, and the field is a ways from us. Lucy is always taking pics with her iPhone and so when she wants closer shots, and she zooms in. These pictures aren’t that great. In fact, they’re unusable and pixelated. It’s not like you can print these out. The Sony RX100 has a 200mm zoom lens, so I can get in closer. Not it’s not that great, but a helluva lot better than the iPhone.
Last weekend, there was a Rugby tournament. We drove down to Laredo to a park just across the river from the Mexican border. During the tournament, I got up from my seat and started running down the sidelines, taking some shots. I had a lot of fun. A lot of fun. I took some good photos. The parents in the Rugby group really responded well to the photos. I even shared some with the other teams. I don’t know if they used ‘em, but it was still cool to send them.
My secret, I watched YouTube and looked at some Rugby photos online. Also, I got up off my chair and went looking for the shots. I actually felt like a real photographer. Granted, I didn’t have some mac daddy camera with a 400mm lens or whatever, but the pictures came out nonetheless.
Still, there are parts of the camera I don’t understand, hell, there’s a lot of photography I don’t understand. So, I’m basically starting from scratch. I’ve got an eye. This I know, but there’s still a lot of work to do. Add to that, I really miss writing.
So there’s that: I miss writing. I miss a lot of things I’m no longer doing, so maybe this is my chance to get it back.
Truth be told, I don’t know what this is, a journal or a diary? I’m not sure yet. I’d like to find out. I’ve paid for this damn blog for well over a year but really haven’t done anything with it.
I’ve always fantasied about keeping a proper daily blog.
So here’s the challenge: I’m going to write for thirty minutes a day. Maybe post some pictures. I don’t know yet. All I know is that I need to do something and maybe getting into the habit of writing will spur some juices. I still want to tell stories in some fashion, but I’m still trying to find my voice and my niche.
But it’s the year 2020, blogs are so last millennium. Everybody now has a YouTube channel or podcast. Thing is those take a while to produce. I think there’s something to be said about opening a blank page and pouring your thoughts out. Sure, people don’t read like they use too, but I think some people do. And like I said, blogs are a little bit more imperfect and don’t take “too much” work. I say this not to disparage some blog writers. There are some talented writers out there. I know I’m not one of them, but it's about high time I try.
It’s funny, because Marcos asked me, “did anything interesting happen today?” Usually, I have a story, but I couldn’t think of one today. Until I did think of one.
I was supposed to take Marcos to school this morning. It had been arranged last night, but there was a miscommunication, and Lucy ended up taking him. So when I woke up, Scout, the newest addition to our family, was already out. I got ready for work and put the dogs up. I specifically remember putting him in the crate (that’s in Marcos's room) and locking the crate. I also re-filled his water bowl and a fresh bowl of food. I went to work.
I got home before Lucy and Marcos. Jeezabel, our cat, was waiting at the door. The second I let her in, she darts inside, and as I open the door, I see a glimpse of Scout.
Scout loves to chase the cat. But for a split second, I think, ‘that can’t be Scout, maybe I’m imagining things.’ Now what’s weird is that I don’t see him while I let out Sophie and Ava. In fact, I don’t see the cat. Approaching Marcos’ room, Scout comes bounding out of the room. *What the hell?*
Well, when I go into Marcos’ room, Scout’s cage is still closed, except I didn’t lock the bottom latch. Sometime during the day, Scout moved his water bowl and squeezed through the gate. Now, he was on the bed, eating from a zip lock bag of food I’d left on the bed. The dog is Houdini. This is the second time, I’ve locked him up, and he’s escaped. The dog is smart. Too smart if you ask me.
Still, I felt a little bad when Marcos asked me if anything had happened. I almost felt like I had nothing to say. No story. No happenstance. It almost feels like my days are running together. I don’t know if I’ve mellowed out in my old age. I used to have a story for everything. Not anymore. And it's not that my storytelling days are over, but perhaps I’m not taking as many chances as I used to. I forget the actor's name that said, “comedy is conflict.” Well, so is a story. Like I said, maybe its because I’ve mellowed out.
Don’t know.
Maybe I need to take more chances.
There’s one thing I’ve loved to start doing and that’s taking a lot more pictures. I’d like to do a Photo A Day challenge. I’d love to lose weight as well.
So, that’s what’ll I’ll be doing for a while: writing and taking pictures and well, living.
We’ll see what happens.