Back ... sorta

Lots of stuff going on. Picked up the camera again. At least partially. Have two projects I'm working on. The first is a play on the Quien es mas macho idea. It involves people in every day activities wearing luchador masks. The second is a shot of the cedar trees decorated to look like Christmas trees. Every year people decorate along the road I drive to work everyday. However, often times the decorations are left up well past when they should, and they look ragged. I'm feeling tattered and ragged right now though, so it fits. Hopefully I won't walk away from this project.

Tattooing is ongoing. Just working on the shading. JiuJitsu is a constant. I use it as an escape. At that moment, during those 90 minutes nothing else matters. Work may suck and life might be a drag, but it all goes away for that time period. Sometimes we all need an escape. I know I have more to say, but sometimes my inner monologue needs to stay inner.

More ink work and some vacation

The 3-4 hours of tattoo work I was expecting turned into 7 hours. Finished the sujibori (outline), but the last 5 minutes was bruta. If anyone ever tells you tattoos don't hurt, punch them square in the junk cause they are liars. No more work scheduled til September-ish. In slightly less then two week we leave for Europe. Flying into Copenhagen then catching the boat to cruise the Baltic (with a side trip to Moscow). Should be a fun trip, although traipsing through a bunch of foreign places without even a pocket knife makes me a bit nervous. Especially with my Grandmother-in-law in tow. She tends to make more enemies then friends, on a daily basis. Oh well, if you hear about an ugly international incident in the Baltic region know it was probably me. Be prepared to "send lawyers, guns, & money." Not necessarily in that order.

No pics this time, a combo of me not taking any, and NSFW complaints about the last set. Come on, it didn't show any crack.

Reading through this one, it looks like my ADD is firing a bit, cause I'm all over the place.

Tattoo update - 4 more hours

A quick update to show the most recent work. More work on the left leg and detail added on the glute. Another session this Friday, to complete the right leg & glute (I think).



Crappy photography abounds, but you try shooting detailed pictures of your ass. =)

Time keeps on slipping into the future ...

A quick update for my reader. Work has been all kinds of busy. My quota keeps going up, my territory grows, and I keep meeting and exceeding. May have worked myself into a pickle however, as the boss told me he couldn't afford to promote me (at least for 6 months). WTF Mate.

In other news, I have continued to get tattoos. Started my back-piece a week ago. Sat for a 10 hour session. Ouch seems inadequate. Goes from just above my shoulder blades to just below my err Glutes. Still have 2-3 hours of line work left then we can start shading. Below is the in progress picture. Still need to shoot some new pics, and try to come up with a way to show the whole thing without subjecting anyone to graph pictures of my rear. By the way, tattooing the lower lumbar/sacrum area was an experience I won't soon forget.

Not the only predator in the forest

Sitting under the tree watching the bucks play is a great way to pass the morning. I wasn't hunting deer, but rather hogs. They had been tearing up the place. Literally. A hog wallow under the deer feeder, a spot 30 feet across near the road. Pasture land that is needed to sustain cattle looks like someone went after it with a tiller.

This particular hunt I didn't see any hogs, but I had settled into a nice spot and didn't feel like heading back to the house yet. The sun was warm, cutting the chill from early morning. I had setup downwind of the feeder, and watched with no small interest as first the does and then several bucks headed from their bedding area out to a corn feeder. As they approached a particular area, they would also flash the white tail and get skittish. Circling almost all the way around to my side. Nearly getting my scent, but at the last second heading back towards the feeder. A bachelor group of bucks comes crashing through the woods from the East without a care in the world. Making enough noise to spook the button buck and doe eating on the far south side of the feeder.

Oblivious to my presence, they head up to the feeder. One particular clump of brush has their attention. The Alpha in the group refuses to give ground. A stomp then a loud chuff show his displeasure. Several more steps then another chuff. Finally, a lanky bobcat struts from the brush. He isn't in a hurry, and like me, he isn't after venison. He trots off to the East, like only a cat can do. No rabbits or coons today, but he has other spots to hunt.

It's good to remember, that you aren't the only predator at the feeder.

Huh, What?!?

Been away awhile. No good excuses, or fantastic stories of Smelly Pirate Hookers, just didn't feel like writing. It happens. As should be expected, life continues to roll. This one is a story of caution.

At the ripe old age of 34, I was told I am a candidate for hearing aids. Joy! Well, not really joy, but there is good news (at the end of the post). Apparently years of Shooting, Rock & Roll, and a bit o' time working in loud plants can hurt your hearing. Especially if you don't wear hearing protection. Like most kids/teenagers, I was convinced I was bullet proof. As I grew older, I saw the error of my ways. More specifically I heard the error of my ways in the form of Tinnitus.

People hear Tinnitus differently, mine is an always present high pitched ring that sounds like feedback from a microphone, while others associate it with crickets, or even a low hum. There isn't a cure for it. It's always present. Most times I can tune it out, but night is the worst. I have to sleep with a fan or some other white noise to drown out the ring. In reality it sounds worse then it really is (no pun intended).

Now, the good news. I'm not a lost cause. I don't need the hearing aids just yet. As I age, and my hearing goes into the expected decline I most likely will need them all the time, but the loss I currently suffer mainly impacts speech with background noise. I can recognize that something has been said, but the words don't register (women's voices particularly - because of the frequency). One on one it doesn't have much impact, but in an area with background noise, I will probably have to request something be repeated, especially if I'm not looking at you.

So, what can you do to protect your hearing? Easy! wear hearing protection! When I shoot indoors I wear both plugs and muffs. I picked up a cool set of Peltor hearing muffs, that allow you to hear regularly, but cut out at higher decibel levels. If I go to a concert (rare, but it does happen on occasion), I picked up a set of in ear plugs. They are almost invisible, and allow you to hear regular conversation but block harmful noise. Next on my list is to replace the custom plugs I lost (should be $60 or so at the gun show). $60 custom molded plugs, and $100 Peltors are cheap when you consider the hearing aids I'm looking at run about $3000 an ear.

What motivates

Roughly two weeks ago, I had an interesting interaction with my CF coach. During a particularly tough workout, I was behind. I had just toughed out my last exercise, and was spent. He announced 44 seconds to go. I knew that I wouldn't be able to finish the set, so I grabbed my water instead of making a vain attempt at trying to (usually poorly) try to finish a couple of the exercises. He tried the guilt routine. I don't respond well to the guilt routine.

Him -
"You are going to just quit with 40 seconds left?!?"

Me -
"Yep."

Him -
"Wow?!?"

Fast forward to Tuesday, another grueling workout (notice a pattern here?). One of the guys in the gym is a yeller. Screaming and roaring in the gym to "FINISH STRONG!" and "BANG IT OUT!" His screaming actually decreased my speed, because I was annoyed rather then inspired.

Early in my sales career, I realized that not everyone is motivated the same way. Unfortunately, not everyone has figured that out. So how do you broach that subject, especially with someone like a trainer? A quiet word of encouragement is much better for me then screaming. A calm "Come on, give us one more." will often yield more results with me then any attempt at provocation or embarrassment.

It is an interesting problem, and frankly one that I don't have an answer for. So what is the best way to motivate you?