R.I.F.

Reduction In Force.

I guess in the corporate world it's a lot more palatable to say you've had a RIF than to say you've laid people off.

It's too similar to R.I.P.

I think it's a horrible term, particularly since I got RIFd yesterday... by phone... while on vacation.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I was already making plans for the future that didn't include my now former employer. On the other hand, nobody wants to lose their job. I shouldn't say that. I imagine there are some people who'd like to lose their job for whatever reason.

It's not the end of the world. I have some opportunities available and I had already made plans to enroll in community college this fall to study electrical technology with my eye on eventually becoming an electrical contractor.

I feel for everyone who was let go yesterday, especially my co-worker Julie Ball who had been with the company much longer than I had. I'm still trying to find out how long. I hear she's not taking this well, which is understandable.

A local blogger who used to work for my former company and who keeps up with local media has written a post on the layoffs.

Anyway, as I mentioned on my Facebook page, I'm still smiling. Moving on.

Benadryl Makes Me Sleepy

I took some Benadryl earlier this morning and now I can hardly stay awake, which is bad because I've got a lot of work to do before leaving for vacation tomorrw.

I woke up Monday morning with a rash on my neck and I couldn't figure out what caused. I tried to think if it was related to a new soap or something like that, but nothing sprang to mind.

I then remembered that I had moved a box full of weeds I'd removed from the garden earlier in the week and there must have been some poison ivy or something similar in it. I was wearing gloves while weeding and didn't get anything on me. Apparently just touching something while moving the box seemed to be enough to do it.

I woke up early this morning because the itching was almost unbearable. When I saw my swollen face and puffy eyes in the mirror I was shocked. I'm supposed to get on a plane tomorrow and there's no way I want to look like that when I go.

So I went to the doctor this morning and he gave me a shot of steroids (in the bum) and a prescription to knock out the swelling. He also told me to take some Benadryl to subdue the itching. I took two without thinking about it and now I'm paying for it.

On the bright side, my itching seems to be subsiding and the swelling seems to be going away.

Texas, here I come!

B Photo Posted at A to Z

Don't forget to visit A to Z Photo Blog today to see my latest post and to post links to your photos. Can't wait to see them.

Home Alone

This week I officially join the ranks of the work from home crowd.

When I got to work this past Tuesday I learned that my company wanted to close the office I worked in by the end of the week. I knew we were closing by the end of the month, but they decided to move up the closing so they could save money by cutting off the phones and other utilities.

Don't worry. I still have my job, but now I have no office to go to. Fortunately I have a home office and my company set me up to be able to work from there, but it sure would be nice to have an office to go to.

Since I can work remotely from anywhere I can get a cell phone signal, I've been (and will continue to be) experimenting with different places from which to work. There are several coffee shops to work from, and with a fully charged laptop battery I can work from somewhere outdoors, like down by creek where I went to work a few weeks ago.

It's going to take some getting used to, but I'll make it work. It's better than the alternative of having to commute to Asheville again.

A to Z Ready to Go

It's almost time for A to Z Photo Blog's first post, and I've got to say... I'm a little disappointed in myself.

Well, maybe disappointed isn't the right word, but my photos show that I'm a little out of practice. I feel like I've lost some of my creativity. But I guess that's the point. I needed to start somewhere.

Hopefully as the weeks go by I'll feel more creative and have more variety in my photos. I have to say that the first photo I'll post tomorrow is a sign that I'm doing something right by starting this photo challenge.

Anyway, I look forward most to seeing what others have shot this week. Remember to post a link in the comments section of my A photo when you get a chance.

Woman Removed From Press Area Near Air Force One

(Source: KTLA.com)

Can You Believe It

Secret Service personnel remove Brenda Lee from near Air Force One after Lee attempted to give President Obama a letter, Thursday May 28, 2009, at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. Lee never got close to President Obama and she was released after being questioned.

(AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Is this really how you treat a "Roman Catholic priestess" (whatever that is)/writer for the (Macon) Georgia Informer? Seems kind of crazy.

Photo gallery test II

Photo gallery test

New Photo Blog to Launch

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Attention photographers: Have you lost your focus? Has the flow of your creative juices come to a full f-stop?

A new photo blog hopes to inspire photographers and get them clicking away again.

A to Z Photo Blog is the creation of Andre Rodriguez, staff writer and photographer of the Asheville Citizen-Times.

"As a professional writer and photographer sometimes I find that when I'm away from work I've exhausted my creativity," Andre said. "I've found it hard to keep myself inspired and motivated to shoot photos for myself.

"I searched the Internet for Web sites with weekly or even monthly photo assignments to try and spark a creative revival," he continued. "The revival came, but not in the way I was expecting."

After coming across many, many photo assignment Web sites that hadn't been updated in months--some which hadn't been updated in more than a year--Andre came up with an easy way to "assign" photos every week.

Beginning the week of May 25, Andre will begin looking for photo opportunities beginning with the letter "A." He will select his best/favorite photo from the week and post it the following Monday at A to Z Photo. The following week's assignment will be to look for photo opportunities beginning with the letter "B" and so on week-by-week, letter-by-letter through the alphabet.

Andre encourages all photographers--pros and hobbyists--particularly all those who have had a little trouble staying motivated to shoot more personal photos, to take part in A to Z Photo Blog. Visit the site June 1 to see Andre's first photo and--if you'd like--submit a link in the comments to your photo of the week posted on your blog or photo sharing site.

Contact Andre Rodriguez at atozphotoblog@yahoo.com for more information.

Inspiring others

My sister suggested I make A to Z Photo a challenge blog for her photo friends (and others, too) who would love to have another place for inspiration.

I like the idea.

I also like the A to Z idea because of its simplicity. Coming up with photo assignments all the time is hard. I figure that's why many of the photo assignment sites I checked out yesterday hadn't been updated in a long time.

With A to Z you have a lot of room for creativity. For example, I've been pondering "A" a lot today. I could take a self portrait, since my name is "Andre." I've thought about figuring out how to get an "aerial" shot. "Azaleas" are in bloom now. I suppose a photo of someone sneezing could be of "achoo," but maybe also "bless you," in addition to "sneeze."

The possibilities are endless. Plus, there are 26 letters in the alphabet and 52 weeks in the year, so that basically leaves you doing each letter twice a year.

Anyway, anyone interested in a little inspiration feel free to participate. Hopefully sis will cross post this on her blog and let people know.

Good luck.

I need inspiration

I need some inspiration in a bad way.

I used to love shooting photos, but now I hardly shoot anything that's not work-related. I searched for photo assignment sites online, but many of them seem to have lost their inspiration as well and haven't posted anything new in months.

I've decided be my own motivator and have created a new blog, titled "A to Z Photo." The idea is simple: Beginning with the first letter of the alphabet, I will shoot assignments for a week that correspond with that letter, i.e. apples, airplanes, air bubbles, Advil...

Technically I started the A to Z Photo blog to showcase my photos, but I quickly realized that most of my photos are stale. I haven't shot a lot of new stuff lately. The inspiration for A to Z was my name Andre rodrigueZ. In college I created a "company" called Zota (A to Z backward) Photography for a design course I was taking. I had to create a logo and then business stationery (letterhead, envelopes, business cards) for the company.

But I really needed a nudge and decided to give myself one. So beginning next week, visit A to Z Photo blog and see what I've come up with for my first assignment. I'm also toying with the idea of monthly assignments, perhaps based on the month itself, such as a veterans memorial symbolizing Memorial Day in May or stars and stripes symbolizing The Fourth of July.

We'll see what happens.

Yikes

This was actually not as bad as it appears, but I'm sure it frightened the woman who was driving.
It happened during a dedication ceremony for a new EMS station on the property of a local nursing home.

I guess the woman wanted to test the first responders' response time.

I left before someone towed her out of the ditch. I didn't want to see "Bubba" rip the poor woman's bumper off or something.

Have you seen this boy?

(Photo by John Fletcher)

Last seen on Blogger March 4 (two months ago).

Don't Poke Me, Bro

I came across this video today. Pretty much sums up how obnoxious Facebook can be.



These guys are pretty funny. I found this video after watching a great video about Wii breakfast.

Good Luck

Photographer D.C. Buchanan with his

4-year-old daughter, Kelly, at the opening of

Wal-Mart Supercenter in Waynesville, N.C.

Friday was the last day for fellow photographer D.C. Buchanan at The Mountaineer. I guess they just don't think they can afford to have a full time photographer. I'm going to miss seeing him at assignments. He's a super nice guy, and his wife, Ana, seemed like a sweet lady as well.

D.C. said he plans on concentrating on his freelance career and expanding his wedding and event photography. I imagine I'll see him around some, though. I think he said he'll still be doing some shooting for The Mountaineer.

These are some tough economic times, which have put a lot of people out of work. I got a call last night from a former editor of mine who said she recommended me to the publisher of a small weekly paper in Swain County, N.C., that's going to be looking for a senior editor. It's flattering, but the pay wouldn't be as much as I make now. But who knows what might come down the road. I might be the next one looking for work. Tricky.

Anyway, I wish D.C. and Ana (and Kelly) the best of luck. See you around.

D.C. giving me the stink eye for pointing a
camera his direction during the last event
we covered together, the retirement of
Haywood County Sheriff Tom Alexander.

My 007 Villain Personality

From the movie "The Man With The Golden Gun" (1974).

I have a reputation for always getting what I want. I may look as cool as a cucumber but I find it hard to hide my lust for absolute power. Yet there are times when I show human emotions: I like to mix business with pleasure – just like James Bond.

Which 007 villain are you most like?

Is It Sacrilege?

Something inside me screams that it is, but our machine at work doesn't carry the Dr.

Random Photo

These are my sandals, which I saw sitting outside in the bright early morning sunlight today. So I took a photo of them.

When I was a kid, I hated sandals. I hated the idea of sandals. They creeped me out a little. I was a tennis shoe boy. I loved sneakers. Rarely did I go barefoot. I think I still have some reservations about sandals. I prefer my toes not to shoe too much. No one needs to see that. They're not pretty.

I was wearing these sandals this weekend when I crawled under the house to see if we had any type of water damage beneath the bathroom. From what I can tell we don't. We've had this issue of water on the floor between the toilet and the sink. I'm pretty sure it's condensation running off the toilet (we have a pretty sweaty toilet). I think I've assured myself that we don't have a leak somewhere. Our water bill doesn't indicate a problem. It's just that with the house shut up for winter, and we're experiencing some humidity issues that I can't explain. Anyway, the bathroom stays a fairly warm temperature, but the water filling the tank is quite chilly and causes the water in the air to condense on the toilet thus causing the toilet to sweat.

TMI? I thought so. That's a long way from sunny sandals.

I'm back

...sort of.

I haven't had the time to blog like I used to, and I miss it a little. Not enough to make me sit down and dedicate time to it every day or even every other day. But I was read this on my sister's blog and felt compelled to add my version here. It's a list of 100 things apparently going around from blog to blog. I have highlighted the things on the list that I have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (Do they really mean DisneyLAND specifically? I've been to DisneyWORLD).
8. Held a praying mantis
9. Climbed a mountain
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48.Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Walked in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published in a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

There's so much more left to do, most of which is not covered by this list.