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I went to see Episode III last night with Ted. *sigh* It was ok. The special effects were fantabulous but in this day and age they almost have to be. If you look at the three prequels as a whole, the don't hold a candle to the shining entertainment embodied in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. EL made enchiladas last night... awesome as always. I introduced Ted to Blue Dot. If you don't know what it is, you're missing out. My dear friend Rob, who consequently sells Ford automobiles for a living, sold the only GT-40 in south Texas day before yesterday. There is something inherently wrong with paying $210k for a Ford, but if you got the money... why not? Mom and Bob are coming in for the weekend. I am having surgery on my eye this afternoon. I'll post some photos from the new studio once I get settled in. In case I forget to mention it, have a great weekend!

I've discovered that the Co-op didn't close... they just moved to here. Yay!

I just can't wake up this morning. I've consumed a colossus volume of highly caffeinated coffee this morning and just can't shake that bed headedness. I am eager to get back in the studio now that it's so readily available to me. I took a few shots of Ted and Jennifer last night, but haven't done anything really challenging yet. Maybe I can talk EL into being my model this weekend. I am going to become an OMP member as well... anything to get back into practice. Changing careers is a time consuming evolution. I have a ton of white papers to read this morning and it's already lunch time... almost. I feel like just when I start to wake up, I'll be faced with post-lunch nap syndrome. I'm taking Friday off. I have a million things on my plate that just slip through my fingers because I forget them when time presents itself. I need to work harder on becoming PDA dependant. Take time to stick everything in the calendar and set up alarms and reminders and fireworks.

Dave Chappelle is a pillar of hilarity and bagel sandwiches are foe teh win. Last night I carpel tunneled my thumb switching between Chappelle, Chris Rock, and SNL. I finished painting the studio with the help of Mrs. me and got things set up. First shoot in the new digs is tonight at 6:00. I can't wait.

With hopes of finishing the studio move this afternoon, I set out this morning to Houston Camera Co-op for some new gels and perhaps some hardware. Much to my dismay, the Co-op was vacant and it's former retail storefront seemed to be under some major renovation. I'm not that savvy on retail competitors in the area since B&H gets most of my business and I didn't feel like exploring, so I headed to Houston Camera Exchange. I have historically avoided that place like the plague due to their non-competitive pricing and piss poor customer service, but I felt it was a logical second for this directed journey. Guess what? Those elitist fucks are just as snooty and unhelpful as always and I would almost say their prices are even further inflated. For example, a 42" 5-in-1 collapsible reflector kit you can buy for $49.00 anywhere else on earth is about $85.00 at HCE. They pride themselves on 18,000 sq feet of inventoried shelf space to cater to the professional photographer, yet all they had in the line of light gels is a single, generic, 6-pack of quasi-questionable quality gels. What a freakin' joke! Ugg! The only seamless paper roll stands they had were cheap-o flimsy and started around $140.00... they didn't even carry background material. I wouldn't say the trip was a complete flop because I did sit and enjoy a delectable turkey and avocado sandwich from Café Brasil accompanied by a most scrumptious latte. I had planned on stopping and shopping for motorcycles on the way home, but I know I won't buy one now, so why bother? I'm off to finish painting.

El Palenque put the smackdown on me and my bud last night. We closed the restaurant and were the last peops ushered out of the dark establishment as they had cleaned up and turned off the lights while we continued to imbibe. My new strobes were delivered yesterday. As soon as the studio move is complete, I'll be back open for business. w00t!

I can't say I concretely understand how I make it over half way through another week and forget this blogournal thing is here all together. I went out to Brazos Bend Saturday morning last with Tedholio to observe American Alligator activity. We counted 37 over the span of an hour or so, but heard many more advertising their prowess with their distinctive low, vibrating mating call. Sunday morning was all about the fishing. I only caught a couple of bass, but while we were bluegill bank fishing, our trotline managed to snare an 8 pound blue catfish. I usually prefer to drink myself silly while fishing, but since we were taking youngsters out to the pond(s), we had to find excess in something a little more tame. It just so happened to be in cheap taqueria viddles and neopolitan ice cream sandwiches... not simultaneously, but in sequence. If anyone out there understands EQ2-ness, I dinged 50/50 this week, am raiding all time now, and am on my way to Prismatics. EL made a fantabulous dinner last night for our house guest. Tonight is going to be serious margaritas from El Palenque. I haven't eaten yet today, so they should be especially devastating. It's not that I'm not hungry... I've just been busy. I will probably have to snack soon. My new studio additions are scheduled to come today and I'm moving into a larger studio space. It's so exciting. I need to invest in some gels for background lighting variation, a new seamless background, and a dual color chromakey background. I pre-ordered a Lensbaby v2.0, so the stork should be dropping that off sometime in June. Anyhoo, I need to get back to my daily grind. Cheers!

an alligator smile from Saturday morning

I really don't know where my weekend went. EL and I loaded up Henry and Éclair and headed south for the weekend for Mother's Day. It was great seeing everyone again. My grandmother seems to be doing much better and it was nice to see my sister with direction. Ever since my mom retired, her and her man have been zipping around from place to place like playing connect the dots on a map. They travel and camp and generally have a fun and relaxing time of it. I think that's great. It's so quiet in the office this morning. I'm the only one here. I have a pile of work to do that includes a large presentation from an important client on Thursday. I am really looking forward to it, but don't know where to start. So, I'm sipping my coffee and brainstorming. The audience is quite the high-tech group of folks. They manage one of the fastest supercomputers in the nation dedicated to geological seismic data analysis. I'm just there to make their packets go really fast. Considering the torrential rain storm we had last evening, the day is surprisingly sunny. I may eat lunch outside. Once, that is, I make it to lunch. Tee hee.

I was in San Antonio all day yesterday servicing an account, so it was easy to keep my mind busy. Yesterday was the 6th anniversary of my grandfather's death. I was in Northern Ionian/Southern Adriatic when I received the Red Cross message. I have the worst headache this morning... a combination on too much wine and too little sleep. I felt miserable when I arrived at the house after a 15 hour day. I wasn't even good company for my wonderful wife. A leak developed in a small section of copper piping about the kitchen ceiling. It wasn't more than a pinhole, but due to insulation absorption, had become quite messy by the time EL discovered the visible moisture. With no attic access that far outboard, it required cutting into the sheetrock to isolate. Our plumber was a piece of work. I wouldn't even know where to begin describing this man. Anyhoo, $140 later, the pipe is healthy, but the gaping hole remains. Mother's Day is right around the corner. I was hoping my mother and grandmother would come visit us this weekend, but it looks like we're probably going there instead. Getting my grandmother out of her comfort zone is more difficult that herding cats. I have a lot of work to do... don't forget to eat some refried beans with your margaritas. It's Cinco de Mayo!

The weather was fabulous this weekend despite a sprinkle here or there in the evenings. EL crafted a spectacular meal for our dinner guests on Saturday. She made a crab and lobster salad presented on fresh endive in chilled martini glasses. We also had a baked brie with a homemade sauce made from some sort of Grand Marnier and pear concoction. She also made a red wine and apricot/cherry remoulade for fresh cold cheese wedges. She made creamed spinach and a backed pepper encrusted pork tenderloin on a bed of various squash. We also had scalloped potatoes that were nummy. Desert was a Perry's in The Woodlands. It was utterly decadent. Sunday was a relaxing day at home for the most part. Ted and I met for lunch and a trip to Fry's little slice of heaven. Erin wasn't feeling well last night, so I put my pampering shoes on. Work came way too early. I was so focused on a customer meeting at an off-site campus this afternoon, that I forgot about an internal conference call this morning. I don't think it was crucial that I attend, but I should have been participating. I'm really not a morning person. My brain needs a caffeine ramp.