5 Steps Forward, 2 Steps Back

Well, my relationship with the profession of videography has reached a fever pitch. I've got 5 weddings from last year that I still have to do and two that I've done already but they cited my work as incomplete - Well, technically one didn't return any of my emails so I couldn't finish their photo montage (they did mail me cute little thumbnails that I'm supposed to use in a video montage, but anyone with video or photo experience will understand how laughable that is.), so I gave them an extra DVD in place of that, and put their clips online. The other one wanted the whole DVD re-authored because I got the date wrong, which is my fault, but goddamnit - it's a pain the ass. Reimport, rerender, and reburn... Jeez.

Anyway, putting off the job search till I get all these videos out of my life. Can't delay them any longer. So I've just been knee-deep in editing, my head in an endless loop of montages. The latest one I did was to Footloose - they were dancing to the song so I edited the footage in. It's cooler than it sounds, really.

Adjusting to my glasses a little more, though it still feels more like vanity glasses than functional ones. Every night when I go to bed, I think, well, they weren't that bad. And every morning when I put them on, I think - What the hell is on my face? Where's the rest of it? How do I keep my long, beautiful eyelashes from hitting the lenses? Why are my jammies wet again? Why are there chains attached to my wrists? Why aren't I in my cage? Why am I outdoors? Why are people throwing coins at me?

On kid duty now, so I can't do any more editing till their bedtime, but I'll attempt a little of it downstairs. After a good few months of using the Mac Mini as a media center, it's back at the desk, attached to a monitor. The Wii has replaced the internet surfing, email checking aspect of it, and my ipod and its speakers has also displaced the musical aspect of it. The slideshow in the living room is nice, but it's just running on the computer now. Oh well, at least all I spent on converting it to a media center was 19 bucks.

New Glasses, But Not New Job

Well, like a fat bridesmaid with a skin condition, the insurance company that I interviewed for yesterday sent me an email today stating that I was not insurance material. It wasn't really a surprise and at the same time, it was slightly disappointing. I think if the job was indeed going out on the field and settling claims fairly, and to the customer's favor, then I would probably do well. But the reality of it is, I would be working for the company, therefore I should be trying to save the company money, not giving it away.

I guess I'm free to talk about it now, but it's nothing new from what I mentioned yesterday, except that the insurance company was Farmers Insurance. There's even an entire website dedicated to putting the company down. And after reading some of the job descriptions, I wasn't really sure if it was something that I could do. I mean, I'm a big pansy. I like to entertain, nuture, and grope. I'm not really the cutthroat type at all. I guess it's back to the job boards.

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So I got my new glasses today, and I feel like I'm looking through magnifying glasses. They look better than my current glasses in the sense that they don't make me look like a tard, but they feel very different. As the folks at Lenscrafters said, they're the trendy look. I'm thinking, "I'm not trendy or current. I'm reliable and boring!"

The new Ray Bans are a little odd, and everytime I look in the mirror I try to see if the rectangular shape does indeed enhance my face. Or make it stand out. It sure is giving me a heck of a headache though. I'd imagine I'll be braindead by the end of the day.

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Speaking of dead things, my wife accidently closed the car door on her pinkie today, and it's a gorgeous shade of black now. She was hopping in pain up and down the street, and her Dance of Pain was too animated for me not to laugh insensitively. Hey man, picture Napolean (she was holding her damaged hand under her jacket, so she looked like Napolean in stance) hopping around looking like she was doing a rain dance with a full bladder on hot coals. It's all that.

Well, I have to go stare at something neutral to calm my brain now. Maybe a wall or something. That sounds good.

The First Visit to the Dentist

Even though today wasn't exactly a family outing day, it kinda turned out that way anyway. We had eye appointments early in the morning so we left the kids with my mom while we went for our exams. My eyesight's about the same, though he told me I had a big optic nerve - .7 it was. He'd like to see .3 for my age group, and for comparison, .10 was batty blind. So, that wasn't great news, but he wanted to me to keep track of it. So I am.

We decided to get the kids before going to Lenscrafters, but we had to leave Lenscrafters for their very first dental appointment! Knowing that if one kid saw the other in the chair first would not bode well, Alex went first, and I guess that he was really good about the visit. They even got to clean, x-ray, and get flouride treatments. Zoe got a little frightened, and she was apprehensive anyway, but I think it's just too many strange things for her. She was really cute because she was maintaining a rather civil but frightened attitude. The hygienist would ask her if she wanted the different flavors and she went from saying, "Yes." to "No." Her sad little "no"s were close to tears, but she didn't cry. She didn't get too awfully far into the checkup, and when it came time for Alex again, I don't think he was ready for it. He put up a little resistance by saying, "I'm tired, Mommy. Sorrrrrry." But overall he got through it fine.

We finished up at Lenscrafters after that, and I was officially cranky from that point on. Glasses for the both of us was $753 out of pocket. Once the reimbursement processes I'm sure it'll be a little cheaper, but man - nothing like spending a lot of money that makes me cranky as hell. This is why I don't seek healthcare. I'm not even sure if I'm that excited about the frames. I wasn't very sold on the ones I got, but my wife said they looked good, and the girl said they looked good. Afterward we found out we both liked the other better. Oh well. At least I won't have "birth-control glasses" anymore. It'll be more like, "maybe he can walk my dog for free glasses."

The rest of the day was pretty normal. My wife and I like to play this game whereby we put the kids in the wrong beds, and treat them like they were each other, tucking them in, and then pausing - and then going, "Hey! You're not Alex! Hey! You're not Zoe!" And man, they get a kick out of that. We've also been singing the wrong words to songs and Alex and Zoe gets a kick out of hearing that Old McDonald had a dinosaur. They attempt to correct their silly parents but since we're so silly, it doesn't stick.

We also watched "Idiocracy" on DVD. This Mike Judge film got buried during its theatrical release because it satirizes some big corporations without changing their names. It was a pretty good film. Not Office Space good, but better than Talledega Nights, for lack of a more appropriate comparison.