life as a dog…

Just added three new sets of photos – The Basilica, the Arboretum, and Los Angeles. I think I’m going to condense the photos online so far – at least the older ones. I think I may have mentioned that before. …shrug…

Many people think my job is one of those “cool” jobs. Sadly, because of those nitwits, the salaries stay relatively low. But it’s not that glamorous or cool. Sometimes it’s plain old hard work. Let’s see how many people would last carrying around 70 pounds all day. But there are benefits… you get to meet people that you never thought you’d meet. And you can’t be starstruck in the least…bad form.

Some people I’ve met that 10 years ago I never would have thought I would…Stevie Wonder, Bono, Christy Brinkley, Dick Van Dyke…and too many politicians to even mention. It’s definitely a benefit. Some turn out to be pretty cool, some turn out nothing like you’d imagined. Today I was pleasantly surprised. I met an individual who seemed very genuine and nice…William H. Macy.

Getting ready to head out tomorrow morning. The weather outlook is improving for LA. Originally, I thought it was going to be raining on my last day there – Saturday. But then it changed to only rain on my first day – Tuesday. Now it looks like there will be rain on Tuesday, but it should be finished (or finishing) when I get there. That’s good. Hopefully it won’t be foggy every day like one time I was there. I still am in danger of having a middle seat on the flights…gotta work on that.

I have a pretty good ability to bite my tongue. There have been numerous times where I’ve wanted to really vent on here. But I have not. Today was one of those days. I have the smarts to not post some things out in the open…we’ve all seen what happens to some people who do. Luckily, I have never posted on the subject. And I’ll keep it that way.

Now…the reward. I get to go to L.A. next week. I’ll be there from Monday through Sunday morning. I’ll be working most of the daylight hours, so my only free time is going to be after dark (obviously). I want to find new stuff to shoot out there. I’ve been to the Getty, I’ve been to Santa Monica, I’ve been to Hollywood too many times to mention. I wish I had time to get up to Pasadena, but it’s just a bit too far for what time I have. Saturday I may have pretty much free after noon. So I’m working on a list right now. I think I have it narrowed down. I want to get to the Pacific Design Center, the Disney Concert Hall and maybe the Crystal Cathedral. It’s an ostentatious thing, I know…but there’s SO much glass! I’ll probably try and get to them at night, as well…hopefully they’ll be lit well.

The last time I was in L.A., it ended up that I may have had enough time to drive out to Joshua Tree National Park. But I didn’t. That will have to wait until I have several days free. I don’t want to risk it.

So I spent pretty much the entire weekend with L. Friday night we went to Hudson Trail Outfitters. They were having a huge closeout sale. But what they said they had in their flyer…they had next to nothing. It was a bit of a disappointment.

Saturday, we went driving. Ended up in Winchester. The weather was beautiful. I just wish the colors had been out already. No big deal.

Today, we went to AFI to see another film. I *finally* have been able to see Some Like It Hot on the big screen. And while I think it’s the funniest movie ever, it was even funnier when watching with a bunch of people.

It was a great weekend. And far too short.