A Scenic World

There was a shot that I wanted.

I’d driven down NW 8th Avenue about two months ago and noticed how the light from the sunset hit the pillars of an overpass and knew I had to use the spot for a 365.

There were a few problems, though. First, I wanted the other side of the bridge illuminated. That meant an early morning shoot, as opposed to a sunset shot. And that meant getting up early one day. Gah.

Second, there is no legitimate parking in the area. I don’t mind walking, but I did the math, and the spot is 28 blocks away from where I live. That’s quite a ways to carry my camera gear + tripod. And since I was fairly certain I wanted to be wearing a coat, that’s a LONG way to wear a coat in the tropical Florida heat. There was a business lot nearby, but they tow. I figured, however, I’d be safe on a weekend day.

Third, I knew I wanted it to be black and white. Since tonality is so important to those shots, I knew an overcast day would work better than a clear one. So I’d have to check the weather the night before and make sure it would be cloudy before I woke up that early and set out.

Finally, finally, after two months, it all came together this morning. I set out, rather terrified to take a photo on such a busy road because I knew people would be looking at me (ironic, I know, since I post a self-portrait every day, but I don’t like being the center of attention). I parked in the business lot, crossed my fingers that I wouldn’t be towed, then set up the shot I thought I wanted.

Um, no. It wasn’t working. The best perspective I could find was from the road, and NW 8th is way too busy to set up a tripod in the middle of the street and hope that no one drove by while I ran to position. I played with a few setups, sweating all the while under that trench coat, and nearly gave up. I packed up my equipment twice and set out to my car, but I was stopped each time by a new way the pillars looked to me as I walked back.

And then, all that patience paid off. Two months’ wait for the right light, and thirty minutes of trying different things resulted in this:

I think it was worth the wait.

I love this man.

So, a tiny, tiny taste of my day yesterday:

I was cleaning my bathtub with a generic bleach-based tub and tile cleaner. I had the bathwater running to rinse out the sponge as I cleaned. After a minute or two, I realized that the water wasn’t draining.

I am petrified of standing water (don’t ask), so I always keep Drano around in case I notice the slightest hint that there might be a clog. Nothing had indicated that the drain wasn’t working properly the day before, so I was really flummoxed.

I stopped cleaning and added a bit of the Drano to the water. I waited 30 minutes. Nothing. So I added more and waited again. Tiny little bubbles trickled up from the drain. At one point, a large bubble broke the surface, causing me to be filled with hope. But nothing else happened after that.

So I poured the entire bottle in.

After 30 minutes, there was still nothing happening. So I decided to call the maintenance personnel at my complex.

One problem with that: I had no idea what the number was.

A quick visit to my next-door neighbor who’s lived here for 37 years remedied that situation. Armed with the phone number to our landlord (who lives about 45 miles away), I placed the call I hoped would fix everything. Except that the connection was incredibly bad and I had NO IDEA what he was saying on the phone. I just kept repeating my problem and my apartment number and hoped for the best.

Since I’d spent the morning cleaning, I was in desperate need of a shower. Jennifer graciously offered her shower, so I headed over with just enough time to get to work on time. As soon as I walked into her apartment though, backpack slung over one shoulder, I realized I’d left my shoes at home (curse my propensity for flip-flops!).

Luckily, she headed back to my place while I showered and retrieved my shoes. Whew. I at least made it to work clean.

When I got home nine hours later, I immediately noticed a bleach smell. Hmmmm. A quick survey of the bathtub indicated that the drain was clear! But a quick survey of the internet indicated that it was a pretty bad idea to mix Drano and bleach.

So I opened the windows, called my mother for advice (sorry about that midnight phone call!), and waited for three hours before finally closing the windows and calling it a night. I would have left the windows open while I slept, but I don’t live in that kind of neighborhood.

And I woke up, alive.

Whew.