Odd tips from work.

I get a lot of tips at work. Most come in money form, but here are a few that I have recieved that stand alone.

A guest got back from China and gave me these Panda Cigarettes. I thought they were cool so I was not bummed. I did go home and googled them and found out that it is a very popular brand over in China that stores can’t keep in stock. In US Dollers they cost $30 a pack. Can I sell tobacco on eBay?

I have gotten 8 bottles of wine to date. Not all at once mind you, but a healthy time span in between. This is great because we don’t have to buy our own and also they are usually kind of pricey bottles meaning they are good.

Ah Coffee. Can’t ever go wrong with that. Not that I am a black coffee drinker, but my wife is and when she is happy, everyone is happy. j/k. I have gotten a few pounds of coffee that goes to Elissa, but also have received 2 starbucks cards, one containing $5 and one for $10.

Yes I am for real. Puma running shoes that are not even out on the market yet as of March 14th 2009. Have some wonderful dinner guests that I have gotten to know and last week they asked me what shoe size I was. The next time they came in they had these shoes for me. I have enjoyed getting to know them and I hope some day to be able to pay them back in some way, shape, or form. I pray they will be blessed as they have blessed me.

Last, but not least, I have made my fair share of tips over this past year, but here is some numbers of a few good nights.

Highest single tip ever received at one time $50.

Highest tips made in one 8 hour shift $377.

I love my job and am so greatful for it.

Progression of a drummer.

The Set.

The Practice.

The Dedication.

The Passion.

The Fuel.

The Heat.

The Fire.

The Obsession.

The Rage.

The Victory.

Not again………

Woke up this morning losing an hour sleep due to spring forward and here on the ground is a March dusting. Good thing we are moving to Australia in 5 years. I don’t know how much more cold I can take.

The Picture Says it all………

…….I’m a jackass.

In total humility I write this post this morning. Most times when I do something wrong or just plain out stupid I want to hide the truth to a degree of what really took place to save face and get the notorious “Oh you should have done………” speech that others are so quick to deliver. So I am ready for such reply’s as I have done an incredibly stupid thing. I was in the process of selling my camera to upgrade to the new 5D mkII when I was dooped out of it. Long story short we went through PayPal because it’s “safe”. Well, I am not that familiar with PayPal and how they exactly operate. So when I got a few emails from PayPal stating the money has been transferred and is in “pending” mode until I ship it I followed it blindly. Before hand I checked out all the fraud and scam page PayPal has out there and nothing was raising a red flag except do not ship. Anywho, after shipping it I got an email from “PayPal” stating it can take about 48 hours to transfer the money due to the large transaction making sure it’s all not fraudulent. So after 2 days I call PayPal to ask why it’s taking so long and they said they never sent me emails. It went a little like this…….

PP- no we never sent you any emails.

Jackass- What?

PP- you have been scammed.

Jackass- WHAT?

PP- where did you ship it to?

Jackass- Nigeria.

PP- yes, it’s fraudulent

Jackass- WHAT WHAT????

PP- Nigeria has so many scams coming out of the country that 98% of all transactions through there are fraudulent.

Jackass- What? How? Why? #^*$#^@^@%@^!!!!!

Jackass- you were sending me emails stating the money is there.

PP- what email address was it?

Jackass- service@paypal.com  is that yours?

PP- yes, but that was not us.

Jackass- WHAT? and HOW?

PP- I don’t know, they are getting good.

Jackass- WHAT?

So you can see how intelligent the conversation got with me with my jaw on the floor and my heart ripped out of my chest. Long story short my camera is gone and I have no money for it.

Ok, so now I am ready. Ready for the “nice move,” “ that was dumb,” or “why did you not do……” speech.

I did end up replacing my camera, but not with the one I want. At least I can start over and work my way up again. I did have a photo shoot 2 days ago where I had to borrow a camera I did not know. Half the pictures did not turn out like I wanted them to, but they understand and thankfully the pictures are only going to be used internally so it does not matter they are a little off. Here is an example:It was not what I wanted, but a great learning tool.

 

 

Oh well, hope better days are ahead. In response I have been pretty calm considering. I am not really mad, but again just feel dumb and “had”. I have been praying for this person and even Nigeria every day. Not sure if that is payer for justice, but it’s mostly that they will find the Lord.

Goodbye camera…hope your life is long and used to create beauty.

 

 

I got published……….

Or, well, I got my pictures put on a wall in a public place. Does that still count? Whatever you want to call it I decided to share some of it with you.

This was for The Nines Hotel in the employment center. The grand idea behind it is to capture the different functions of the hotel that keeps it running. My idea was to shoot the doings, you know, people doing there jobs, but instead of shooting heads and all, instead shoot the hands. People come and go in the positions so with shooting hands it focuses on the job itself and not a certain person that has since left the job and who knows where or even who they are. So here you go, enjoy:

So there you have em. I have another gig photographing sushi on Tuesday that I will share soon. It’s for a new restaurant called Departure. Will be around 35 plates. Should be fun, never shot food before so I have been studying and practicing before hand.

Our fourth Anniversary Ruled!

So here we are at 4 years of marriage. Love it! These past four years have been tough, but we have learned a lot. In fact most of our learning has happened throughout the 2008 year and let me tell you, it was #^@%*&^ to say the least. This year for our anniversary I wanted to take Elissa away to relax and spoil her a little. We decided to go to Canon Beach up here in Oregon. Not a long drive and an awesome town. There are a lot of art galleries, boutique shops, antique shops, surf shops, and coffee shops to pass the time away. We stayed at this cool little B&B Friday night through Sunday, very relaxing with a fireplace inside and cable to boot. Leaving town and on the way over to Grandpa Tim’s house (Where Cole spent the weekend) I realized this was our first real vacation since we got married. Sure we have been many places, but they were all with an agenda like see my family, see Elissa’s family, do this, do that, but never do nothing, relax and hang out with each other.  It was phenomenal. Weather was alright, a little brisk so I could not wear my Speedo, but no rain until a light shower Saturday night and snow in the foothills Sunday morning. We ended up getting some good shots in. I used my camera and Elissa borrowed Gary’s Rebel (thanks Gary) So here they are. Thanks again for your prayers those of you who were praying for good weather and good times.

Ta-da:

And this is what we come home to………………

Signs of Manhood

There are few milestones in a guys life when they pass over from boy, to guy and then  truly “arrive” into Manhood. A short list of examples:

1) You get your Drivers License
2) You ask a girl out and she says “YES”
3) You kill something with your bare hands (as long as it disserved to die)
and
4) You get a leather couch.

Of the top 4 I had only 2, but now I have 3. NO I did not kill something with my bare hands, I got a leather couch. It is a throne actually. It’s good to be king.

Here it is:

New Pics

I entered a local contest for pictures in the Gorge and thought I would share them with you. I wont win, but I had fun taking them.

Bridge of the gods

 

Portland Steamboat

Perfect timing, day, and season.

Parting Shot

I told him “if you don’t want a bath, then don’t get dirty!”

The rinsing cycle.

So Cole

basically hates getting baths. We tried the whole bathtub with warm water thing, but he freaked out too many times and I had to physically lift all 85lbs of him into the tub with him whining like a baby. Are you sure your a dog? He hates water. Oh well, I swore we were being groomed for children SOME DAY. (some day meaning not today, nor any time in the near future dad.)

So here are the pictures of Cole getting a bath outside on a cold day 2 weeks ago. Call CPS or Dog Protective Services on me, but he had the choice of the tub, but wimpy fat boy did not like it so he got the hose.

Enjoy!

Him pleading with me to dry him off.

drying himself off.

What the crap is this and where did it come from?

Ahh a shiny new less stinky dog.

I know, I know!

Poor puppy.

Shooting Spree Downtown P-town