The ball is rolling.

And it's a ball I am fairly fond of. I tend to like ball games a lot, too. But this ball could mean the step in my career that I have recently made mention of. It's a shiny, fun ball. I think it could take a little longer than I'd prefer to make its way back to me... but I am nothing if not patient... most of the time.

Slowly settling back into regular life.

I have to say I am quite unused to the slow pace but am almost equally glad for it. The brain needs a bit of time off even if the body was happy to continue the march. Tomorrow I should get the opportunity to have a meeting to see if I might be able to start doing other things at my job that could be much closer to my professional goals, if not a bit more lucrative as well. Then, if I am lucky, I can start readjusting to the faster pace once again.

I can't say I didn't see it coming.

The day that I reached 200lbs in weight. I'm not actually sure if it happened before today, since I never had a scale handy during my last three-week trip, but I was basically that exact weight when I got home today. I thought somewhere in my mind that I would be able to easily avoid it somehow... but, as the quaint and sometimes wise quote states, failing to plan is a plan to fail. Anyway, it's not like being this weight is technically failing... but I definitely want to get back to the much healthier 165lbs or so where I belong.

The end of a semi-long road.

Which in many ways was actually a real, physical road. I didn't fly to either of the last two shoots and both of them were so far out in the sticks that the location was a decent distance from the more populated areas(with one of them only accessible by passing through a gravel road to get there.) I generally don't feel very homesick whenever I travel but I have to admit there is a little piece of it lingering somewhere in the back of my mind. I guess I am still looking forward to my next trip no matter when it comes.

Coming down to it.

We close in on the end of another fine shooting experience. It certainly did not go without its share of trials. And it still has a day of interesting paces, I imagine. I don't know what the weather will be like but, short of an actual tornado, I don't think we will see anything we haven't already faced. Then it will be back to Seattle with us! And the undetermined future will bring a new set of challenges and decisions.

I'm glad I don't live down here.

Because of the mega-hot, ultra-humid days like today. It is oppressive... like a taskmaster with a massive, syrup-covered whip. It just makes you feel gross constantly. And I'm even the lucky one that gets to spend a decent amount of time inside an R.V. Anyway, I look forward to my return to Washington... where the climate is humanly exceptional.

The intensity of a shoot.

It commonly comes in the form of time constraint and shot complexity... this shoot, however, brings weather and animal danger into the ring as well. Our B-Cam operator literally got heat stroke due to the fact that he had to wear a full-body Tyvek suit because the house if full of Brown Recluse spiders, animal poo, mice and potentially snakes. Yep, that is pretty much about as crazy as it could be. This is the first time I am actually grateful I am not a camera operator for this shoot.