Taking pictures. Hearing things. All in a day's work.

I have been using my camera to take pictures of product. It's been ages, really, and I really don't know what I'm doing, and I'm experimenting with white balance and exposure settings and my back really, really hurts from leaning forward to position things/angle camera/take pictures. I'm really really really glad I got a tripod, but at the same time it's a bit frustrating. Plus, I'm still trying to figure out that fuzzy line between using a macro lens and using the closeup feature on the camera. Unfortunately, pics which look clear on the display are quite blurry when I boot them up in Photoshop.

It's a learning experience, I keep telling myself. I can't do things perfectly on the first try. And probably not on the second try, either. But that's a tough mindset to banish, let me tell you.

Also, when I got my new phone, I set it to a musical ringtone instead of a ringer, and it took months before I could actually react and realize that my phone was ringing--I kept thinking it was background noise or someone else's phone. So at this point I feel adequately trained, and I actually pick up the phone before it goes to voicemail.

Except now, when I sit at my computer, there is this weird aural shimmer that sounds just like the musical ringtone does from a great distance. If I tilt my head to the side, it goes away. But who wants to sit with their head tilted all the time?

And in other news, it turns out that the nice nurse girl who is the owner of the Twin Barking Dogs of Barktastic Barkitude is really in a pickle--she had originally moved into the complex with her boyfriend (I do remember him walking the dogs) and now that he's dumped her and moved out, she doesn't know what to do about the dog problem.

She is thinking of giving them to her parents, who have a big yard. Also, there's a neighbor here at the complex who mentioned he could walk them (he's retired), but she didn't seem keen on that idea, as he'd need a key, clearly.

Still, on my end, there was no mention of complaining--I'm not a complainer, generally--but there was a mention of others who could complain, and that the office does not take kindly to noise problems. Passive-aggressive reporting for duty!

Maybe I'm just overwhelmed because I actually did something...

...but seriously, I'm a little freaked out right now. In a good way.

Yes, I finally have a few things on Etsy. After months of not having things on Etsy. And, unlike my ill-fated Cafépress endeavor, this seems exciting; some of my items have already had 26 views after only 24 hours. Now, clearly, a few of those views belong to me, but still--wow.

The pics are...serviceable, at best. The items are okay, nothing really amazing, just plain and simple, with good quality components. I've uploaded some of them to my Flickr account, and that's when it struck me--I looked at a whole page of stuff at once, and I felt giddy. Just utterly giddy. The thing is, I've been renewed in my passion for crafting recently, and this is such a warming moment--I feel like I could dance for joy, at seeing it all, so neat and tidy in rows, and wow.

Now I have to hope that something sells.

(PS: Please understand that I will not post links here in the journal, mmmkay? I need to keep these things separate--the last thing I want is a customer finding my slash fics. heh.)

Wonderful short LotR fics

As always, lady_branwyn manages to pack more insight and characterization into a short story than many authors can in a novel. Her latest set of short stories, A Handful of Valentines, is wonderful and fascinating, covering characters as diverse as Bill the Pony and Barliman.

If you have a few minutes, and you're a LotR fan, you should not miss these. She's a masterful writer, and each sip is worth its weight in gold.

If you're only going to read one, then make it Outlander, a short story of Boromir and Éowyn.