Mediocre Man vs. The Halfwit Professor

So, GF and I are going to Jamaica at the end of October (woohoo!) and this just so happens to coincide with the last week of term 1. I talked to my (extremely attractive) adviser and she recommended I contact the professor for the course I am taking next term to see if we could work out something that allowed me to take the course rather than skipping a term. So I sent him this email:

Good day Professor Halfwit (names changed to protect the retarded),

My name is Mr. Awesome (name changed to protect my anonymity), I am planning on taking your Intro to IT course next term. I spoke with *hot adviser girl* about a small issue I have regarding the end of the term. My girlfriend and I have planned and paid for a trip to Jamaica the week of October 23-30. This just happens to coincide with the last week of the term, and I imagine finals as well. *Hot adviser girl* suggested that I contact you to see if you would be amenable to the idea of allowing me to do some extra course work and perhaps taking the final early so as to avoid the necessity of taking off the entirety of the term to accommodate our trip. Any assistance you might offer in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Mr. Awesome

Now, I know I can sometimes fall into the trap of over utilizing my sizable vocabulary ( I swear I try to only use my powers for good... really!) but I thought I was pretty straight forward and concise in asking if I could do more work and do my final early so as to take the last week of the course off to go to Jamaica. Feel free to inform me otherwise.This is what I got back:

The only option is to complete the final early.  You would need to complete all course requirements and take the final  in week 7.

HW

Ummm... isn't that what I just fucking said?  Thanks for not answering my question at all! Now I am trying to figure out a way of responding that doesn't involve me calling him a complete fucktard while still eliciting the yes or no response I was originally after. Best to not berate the person I am begging favors from I suppose. 

On the plus side, if this mouth breather can become a college professor, maybe I should listen to my English professor and become a teacher, after all... I couldn't possibly be as bad as this baddie.

Mediocre Man vs. Vacation & Turning 32

Last week I decided it was high time I took a vacation. I didn't necessarily need to go anywhere or do anything, I just needed to get away from work for a while to reinvigorate myself. Besides, I hate working on my birthday. I don't make a big deal out of my birthday (unless it gains me an advantage, e.g. "It's my birthday... you should get up and get me a drink" etc.) but I hate being in work for my birthday. It all started a few years back when I worked at BN and the M.O.D, Lauren, decided that my birthday teamed with a full house for open mic night would be an excellent opportunity to surprise me in the middle of the store with balloons and that obnoxious "happy birthday to you" song sung by a room full of strangers. Suffice to say I was not impressed.

Aaaaaanyway, I took the week off and did as little as humanly possible. Friday night we took our niece Kass for the night and had a nice relaxing evening at home. We watched Matilda and ate popcorn. The girls woke me up with the intoxicating aroma of bacon and pancakes and we picked up our other niece Kota to go see Despicable Me (a highly entertaining jaunt that I can't recommend enough). Saturday evening I stopped at the bottom of the hill to hang out with our friend Lissa for her birthday celebration, which conveniently coincided with a fireworks display for the Exeter Independence Festival. Mr. Maggie (James) regaled us with an impromptu set of accoustic tunes and fun was had by all. Sunday-Wednesday were pretty chill days of hanging out at home alone playing WoW and tearing through seasons 2 and 3 of Lost.

Wednesday the GF took the day off and we had a nice day together that consisted of me saying "it's my birthday, you should *insert menial task here*" a lot. Thursday-Saturday consisted of more WoW, more Lost up to midway through season 4, and a quick hop out to Portsmouth on Friday for lunch at the Red Hook Brewery with a few friends/coworkers that share the same birthday (give or take a day). I had their chicken tenders (meh) and a couple Mudslinger Spring Ales which were quite tasty.

Sunday we had some family over to the house for a small summer BBQ which turned out to be a pretty nice day (as in nobody tried to kill anyone else, which in my family seems to be quite an accomplishment these days). I managed to get a few decent shots for my photography course during the BBQ which I will share in another entry soon.

Over all a very relaxing week off from the hell pit. I totally needed it and think I will now be able to get to the finish line (more on that later) with a little more ease.

Mediocre Man vs. Depth of Field

Let's see, Not much to report on really. I am heading into my 3rd week of Intro to Photography and I have not pulled the trigger on a single shot of my own. Last Friday I did help Lissa shoot a wedding but she did all the heavy hitting stuff. She loaned me one of her camera's equipped with a sweet lens (note to self: find out what the range was on that lens and buy one) and I wandered the periphery shooting random stuff. All the shots I took were on her camera, and thus her card, but she did send me this shot that I managed to snag and it isn't all that bad.

Beyond that, I really haven't done any shooting beyond snapping off a few shots of a flower out front of our house yesterday in order to play around with depth of field. I think I finally understand the concept and managed to get a few halfway decent examples of how to alter the focal length in order to blur out the background.

Still, despite not having shot much I am having a blast with this class. I know I need to get out there and shoot, but yeah, me and 90+ degree weather with ungodly humidity don't exactly get along. I will have plenty of opportunity to shoot during the music fest on the 31st, and I will endeavor to get out there and at least pull the trigger on something else before then. I have a photojournalism project coming up next month for class so maybe I can use the fest shots to make something up for that. :)

Mediocre Man vs. The Afternoon Wedding

Tuesday past marked the first of my intro to photography classes. The professor seems really nice and knowledgeable, and you can definitely tell she is in love with her subject. The class was a fun, quiet, getting to know you type deal with a brief presentation on some of the basic terminologies, her expectations from us, what we can expect from her etc. The evening was only marred by a skull splitting headache that made it difficult for me to focus. It was so bad I actually got home, chewed a few aspirin and hit the bed for like half an hour until it passed. 

I mentioned previously that mi amigo, Kendar of the beer people, was hosting a music festival and that he had inquired about my services photographing the event. I graciously accepted under the consideration that I would have 4 weeks of beginners lessons under my belt by then. 

Now, this afternoon my dear friend and photography hero, Melissa Koren, called me up and asked me if I would be willing and available to help her shoot a wedding tomorrow. Last week she took a tumble and mangled her leg. Being the trooper she is, she is still shooting a wedding tomorrow and they just put a plaster cast on her leg this morning. She mostly just needs someone to lug her considerable--both in weight and volume--gear around for her. She said she also wants someone with her who knows how to handle a camera in case she needs a shot from a tricky spot.

I'll be honest, I'm kinda freaking out about it! She is an amazing photographer and she has worked really hard to build a really good reputation. She has always been an inspiration to me when it comes to photography. I hope I am up for it. 

Meep!