I don’t know what I’d do without them!

No, not mine… my cat’s. I cut my cat’s hair. Again. Sorry mom!

Sophie Jack, more affectionately known as “Baby,” has very long hair. The hair under her chin gets stuck in her mouth all the time, the hair by her butt sometimes acts as a spiderweb (catching you-know-what), and she has started getting some deep matted clumps of hair on her back. So I did what any good mother would do, I gave her a haircut. Her shiny black coat never fully recovered from the last haircut I gave her a year or two ago. Underneath the shiny black was a dull gray, and though the hair on her back has finally turned black again, many other areas remain gray. So I don’t feel so bad about doing it again. At least I didn’t do this to her.

She doesn’t look nearly as ridiculous as she did the last time I gave her a haircut. But just like last time, she does appear to have lost 10 pounds. The cat’s hair makes her look like a fatty fatty two-by catty. But she’s not. She’s quite athletic in fact. She even does backflips. Photographic proof of this will come at a later date.

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted, and there are a couple reasons for that.

1. I was on vacation…. a vacation, that well, kind of sucked
2. I’ve had a really rough couple weeks (yet also an amazing couple weeks)
3. Everything on my mind is far too personal for this already rather personal blog

So I guess this post here will be the catch-up post. And hopefully this will serve as a segue back into normal posting, though I can’t guarantee it. Life is upside down right now. It’s really good, it’s really bad, it’s really all over the goddamn place.

Anyhoo.

Yesterday, I completed two, yes two, things on my to-do list of life. And no, it was not #5 or #24. It was #12 and #23… learn to change my oil and be a tourist in my own town. Also, during my vacation, I completed #13 as well. What can I say, I am on a roll.

Carolyn served as my own personal photographer yesterday, documenting the quest to rid my oil tank of what resembled chocolate fondue more than it did motor oil. Not only did I learn to change my oil, but I also learned that girls with boobs probably shouldn’t wear white t-shirts when changing oil.

Earlier in the day, we completed #23 by cruising Main Street as tourists - camera on shoulder, posing with some of the landmarks (the bear and the moose specifically), and shopping the t-shirt stores. Carolyn kissed the moose, and I snuggled up to Franz, my new boyfriend.

Friday, I shot the Hell’s Belles show at the Canyons. The guitarist is a photographer’s dream… as are drunk people, little kids rocking out to AC/DC tunes, and big bearded dudes with babies.

It was weird to shoot a band again. I don’t really like taking photos of bands, but it was a lot of fun, and it brought me back to the days when all I did was shoot bands… especially very loud bands. It’s hard to believe, but once upon a time, I was pretty hardcore. And when I was a wee young lad, I became pretty involved in the Twin Cities punk and hardcore scene. I was adopted by some old-school old foagies who made a zine and I became their photographer and next-generation protege. All I did was shoot bands, help organize shows, and be awesome (or at least as awesome as a 17-year-old can be). We fizzled out after a while, stopped making the zine, but I kept up with the being awesome part. This continued for several years until I reached a point where I really needed to ditch that life for a slew of reasons (mainly it wasn’t so awesome anymore and I had too much ambition in my life). I fell off the face of the earth, stopped going to shows, and found a much better life for myself. I think my ears are probably thanking me for this. But anyway, shooting a band the other day reminded me of these days gone by.

Anyhoo. Now we’ll continue traveling back in time to my vacation the other week… the one that sucked. I blame the weather, a 1985 AMC Eagle, Caron Butler, The Washington Post, and primarily a late-night phone call for butchering my vacation. If I learned anything that week, it’s this - It’s no one’s fault, but bullshit will always find a way. Despite everything, I did get to see a whole lot of old friends, and had a great time in doing so. And let’s not forget that I also completed #13 on the list. Here’s a slideshow highlighting a few of the finer points of the trip. Enjoy.

So now, as we continue back in time, we find ourselves the week before my vacation, Saturday specifically, where I shot the pond skimming contest at the Canyons. It was a lot of fun. The photos below will prove this.

Well, I think that’s as far back as I’m willing to go. I think that about catches up to the point before I took my blogging break. Also, I’m just really tired right now and need a nap.

But before I go, I should also mention that I have re-done the photos portion of my site here, and if you want less talk, more photos, maybe you should look at that instead of this here blog. I’ve made a “recent” album where I just shove all sorts of crap.