In Which I Continue My Race To Insanity...

Oh My Goodness.

I've mentioned in the past (probably repeatedly, possibly ad nauseam) that when I ride the crazy train I like to roll sans coulottes. (That's without pants if you're not up on your franglais, people...)

Because regular crazy is just...not quite crazy enough. We dooz it large, baby.

In that spirit, I just opened up a can of whupass on my brain.

You see, this week I officially filed the paperwork for my own business. As of November 1, I will be "opening the doors" so-to-speak, as a professional photographer.

Now, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking "I have seen the photos she posts around these parts and I'm hoping this isn't part of the long-term diet plan because those babies are gonna get hungry."

No? Okay, so maybe just "WTF?" Better? Yeah. Thought so.

I got my first SLR camera when I was 16. It was an Olympus OMG, and it was my baby. I had been accidentally assigned to photograph sporting events for my high school paper (mostly because there was.. uh.. nobody else willing to do it) and found I had a knack and a passion for it. So my parents encouraged me, and my OM and I went everywhere together. I even took some shots at my brother's wedding (along with a paid photog, of course) and, for a high school student with little training but plenty of enthusiasm, they were pretty damn good.

No, seriously.

For a few years there, my ultimate dream in life was to be a photographer for Sports Illustrated. I even took photojournalism at BYU and got to take a few photos for The Daily Universe (the university paper) while I was there. I also loved shooting musicians, mostly because the body language and facial contortions of a performing artist are so downright captivating.

I just loved taking pictures.

Then, nearly 8 years ago, I moved to Northern Virginia. I stopped taking pictures. Photography suddenly became something related to birthdays, holidays, and weddings.

Now, with a little help from The Benefactor (thanks again, Cash!) I am shooting again. And I'm loving every minute of it. Thanks to the encouragement of friends, family, and distant acquaintances... I have officially established my business. And I'm running around like my pants are on fire trying to get everything set up and ready so I will be prepared to start actually doing this.. you know... for a "living".

Which is a nice way of excusing myself for being absent for almost a week. Plus? My internet was teh broken. But it's all better now, and has strict orders to take daily vitamins and maintain excellent health going forward because I NEED THIS OUTLET. And the withdrawal shakes were making it hard to hold my coffee cup steady.

Ready for the crunchy coating on the crazy candy? I'm also a shadowy member of the coup d'etat being staged tonight in our HOA. Current Board = Rogue Agency, so I've been very quietly studying state codes, the declaration of covenants, and the bylaws so I can assist the vocal leaders of this mini-rebellion in ousting our shady board.

The goal of tonight's meeting is to wipe the current board and start fresh with Directors that will, you know... do things like tell us what they have done with our money. Riveting stuff, I know it. And you're just dying for me to lecture you all about things like fiduciary duty and conflicts of interest. Sadly, I must lay my heady down for a quick snooze, else I find myself drawing a blank at a critical moment... when I just HAVE to be able to quote Chapter 36B-3-103(b). Oh the humanity!

Stay tuned for complete coverage of the insanity. You know you wish you could TiVo this stuff...