I think people generally delight in routines. I know that I do. Routines eliminate the anxiety of anticipating the unknown as it nears you like a panther stocking you in the night. I like to go out of town to conferences and trade shows and I also enjoy advertising assignments that take me to places I'd never get around to visiting on my own. But the re-entry is always a bit annoying. Either because I've put off unpleasant tasks until a job or project is over or because I've put off a doctor's appointment or financial task. Today was the day when I handled things I'd put off in anticipation of my time in Santa Fe.
We don't have swim practice on Mondays so Tuesday was my real re-entry day; post travel. Sure, I was at swim practice on Friday and Saturday of last week but the Easter holiday put a crimp in my swim schedule on Sunday and Monday. So those other two days didn't really count.
Today's workout seemed normal to the people around me but I felt like I was trying to drag a small truck up a steep hill with my bare hands. Lots and lots of freestyle sets on tighter and tighter intervals. The kind of stuff that feels fun in your twenties but seems like real work in your late 60s. Matt, in the next lane over, set a mean pace. A couple seconds rest in between sets. Tight, tight intervals. And speed work.
By the time we finished our hour we'd covered about 3400 yards. Not bad but even just a week out of the pool is enough to make you feel the workout. It's tough until you get your feel of the water back.
After swimming and a quick breakfast I made a trip downtown to my bank to make a deposit and also quickly catch up my banker on last week's bank conference. After that I was on my way through highway construction and beastly traffic to visit my dermatologist. I wanted to know if a spot on my face was something not to worry about or something that, left unattended, might kill me.
Dr. Carrasco doesn't beat around the bush. "We need to scalpel that puppy off and then biopsy it." Oh joy. A shot of pain killer in the cheek and some quick work on me with a sharp knife. I'll know in a week if it's just a creative actinic keratosis or some sort of scary basal cell cancer that will require a bit more digging and scrapping and, maybe some sutures. While he had me in the chair he also offered to blast a seborrheic keratosis he found behind my left ear with a few healthy applications of liquid nitrogen. You know, just to make things a bit more fun. My only question for procedures like this is: "Will I be able to go to swim practice in the morning?" The Doctor, knowing me pretty well, asked, "Chlorinated or not?" I assured him that the pool was perfectly chlorinated (whatever that was supposed to mean) and he gave me approval to go swim. What's the worst thing that can happen? Cue the flesh eating bacteria...
One thing I like about my relationship with my dermatologist: I called yesterday to set up an appointment and I walked into the office the next day for analysis and treatment. That's service I like!!!
After my exciting experience at the office of minor skin torture I dropped by the house, thought about taking a nap, but got a text from the production company I worked with in SF last week. They wanted to know what to do with my back-up case full of Leica cameras and Leica lenses. I got in the car and drove from my house in the SW of Austin to their offices in the NE quadrant of Austin. Traffic was about par for the course in our fair city. The Mopac expressway was stop and go almost all the way there.
Now I am back in the office and very clearly thinking that a nap would indeed be just the thing. I'll go take care of that right now....
Now that the numbing agent has worn off my cheek hurts. Two things I wish I had done more diligently during my teen years in Austin (and beyond): Flossed more and used more sunscreen. Do those with relentless application and you'll probably live well into your 150s...
Happy to have the Leica inventory re-united. All good and all happy.
Added: Just heard from the guys at the Leica Store in Miami. The tariffs are about to bite. LSM sent a note that prices will be heading north on May 1st. And that includes prices on anything coming into inventory after the 1st; even if it was pre-paid. That includes special orders, et al.
Leica obviously isn't the only company to respond to the tariffs. Pretty much everything in the photography world is about to get at least 10% more expensive for USA photographers. Many of you won't feel the sting but for us hard working, low paid professionals it will probably feel less than optimal. More painful. Couple it with the precipitous drop in the value of the dollar compared to other currencies and you can see that we're heading in a direction that will eventually make almost every camera buyer here uncomfortable.
Remedy? Prepare to be happier than ever with the gear you already have!!! Feeling smart that I spent the last four or five years over-buying Leica stuff....
Are those giant paper prints that you are drying in your lab, Kirk? I just can't seem to make out what the image is about.
ReplyDeleteAlways happy with my gear - as long as you don't have one I that I don't. Now where is my M240...
Oh and before I forget, here are two topics that we Canadians are most concerned about when comparing our lot to the land of free and brave. Health care and camera costs.
ReplyDeletecf. Although we generally bitch a bit less about our health care, long wait times for "non-life-threatening" treatments are a problem, especially dermatology. It has taken me over 3 months to get an appointment for a suspected melanoma (it wasn't one).
cf. For the first time in history our cameras may cost less than the US. Strange thing - our government hasn't chosen to antagonize manufacturers who don't build in our country - despite the fact that Leica closed down its first foreign factory here.
Nikon had a big refurbished sale recently so I was able to buy a 85mm 1.2Z that I probably don't need at a price lower than ever before, basically 30% off new and that's even covering the taxes. If they do it again, which I expect they will I might grab a Z8 or Z9 that I don't really need either. I expect all camera companies to have deals in the near future its just going to be sporadic so try to make sure the volatility works in your favor.
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