Oversubscribed

What a long, strange trip it’s been. This year started with a crawl as I recovered from knee replacement surgery. My personal life took a major hit has well, but I won’t go into that here. Those who know me will understand, and those who don’t don’t need to hear about it. Suffice to say things are going better now, though I am way oversubscribed.

I was qualified as a “direct care professional” to help my son, who has autism, do the things I was already helping him with anyway. Only now, I get paid. It’s pocket change, because he’s quite capable, but he does require some help from time to time.

Then I attended the birth of my daughter’s first child, an event I was lucky enough to photograph. Mom, dad and baby are all doing well, thank God.

Then I signed up for a ballroom competition in Phoenix and my pro partner gave me four new routines to learn. I am dancing “open gold,” the most difficult level in Dancesport, and the routines are challenging. I set two goals for the competition: Just don’t embarrass yourself on the new routines and try to do well in your five more practiced routines (a category called “ballroom”, aka “international standard”). The competition went well. The best part was reconnecting with my friends and competitors from around the country.

I had decided not to photograph the competition because I didn’t want to haul my gear. But the night before I left I got a surprise message from a professional dancer whom I had photographed before. She said she loved my work and included a photo I had taken that she said was her favorite in all the years she has been dancing. So I packed my camera bag. I’m glad I did.

I also got hired as a photo assistant by a friend who had a daylong assignment shooting some high-flying investment advisors. And I accepted a gig in early October to photograph a small wedding (just a one-hour event). Next week, I also will be photographing the annual theatrical dance production at Cinema Ballroom over the course of four days (including two days of tech rehearsals). I am also dancing in the production, so it’s a taxing event.

Wrapping things up, I made plans to attend another Argentine tango festival. This one is in Albuquerque over Halloween weekend. If I make it that far, I will then take a short break to get a hernia repaired. That’s right, I’ve been doing all of this with a hernia.

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine — and shadows will fall behind you.” — Walt Whitman