I don't know why I am having such a hard time making decisions for myself lately, but here's my latest dilemma. I have been babysitting for a lady in town every week, usually 2-3 days a week. She pays me $10 an hour which is what she offered, but its also what I would typically charge anyway. She called me today to ask if she could refer me to a friend of her's. The friend has a 4 month old baby girl, but she can only afford to pay $6-$7 an hour. The lady I babysat for said she wasn't going to recommend me right away because she didn't know if I would be ok with that kind of pay. It would only be an on-call type job - maybe a few days a week, maybe nothing at all for a week. After dealing with the $3 an hour babysitting lady I am a little apprehensive of anyone wanting to pay me less than I usually charge. That might just be because I had a bad experience though.
In this case it seems to be an issue of not being able to afford to pay me more, not that she's just cheap and clueless. I am much more sensitive to that. I typically charge $10-$15 an hour and in every place I have lived so far, I have met people who are unwilling to pay that much, but at the same time I have always ended up with a steady job from at least a few people who are more than willing to pay what I ask for. Also, her baby is only 4 months old. I know that in many ways, infants need a lot more care than older kids do. But at the same time, while they need more care, I'm not exactly going to be overexerting myself chasing a kid around, dealing with an attitude problem, etc. I'm thinking of saying yes to the job. I don't like the idea of working for less than minimum wage ($8.55 in Washington state), but $6-$7 could be worth my while. At $3 an hour, I feel like my time is better spent at home keeping things organized and under control here. But $6-$7 seems reasonable if its all that someone can afford.
Sooooo take the job or not? I'm leaning towards yes.....
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Wedding Picture Opinions Needed
After a long, stressful day, I may be going to bed feeling happy :-). But I need your opinions first...
If you know me well, or heck, if you know me a little, you've probably heard me whine and complain about our horrible wedding photographer. A year and a month after our wedding, I may have finally been appeased as far as my wedding pictures go.
The one picture I wanted more than anything was our sword arch picture. I didn't care about anything else in the wedding. I just wanted the sword arch (and yellow daises). So of course, we ended up with the world's worst wedding photographer who scoffed at Mr. V when Mr. V made a suggestion. The photographer was trying to set up the sword arch looking INTO the sun. I'm far from being a professional photographer, but even I could have told you that the sun should be behind the camera, not in front of it. However, when Mr. V pointed this out, the photographer made some obnoxious comment like "I KNOW what I'm doing." Well...no she didn't. Our picture came out horrible. (and it should be noted that the picture was taken in a courtyard with 4 identical sides, so turning us around in the other direction should not have been an issue.)The one picture I wanted more than anything was the worst looking picture of them all. The entire sword arch is in a giant shadow (which shouldn't have surprised me, but it was still upsetting to see). I tried lightening the picture on my own. I tried going to a professional camera store to see if they could lighten the shadow. But nothing worked. All that lightening it did was lighten the entire picture. So the front of the picture and the sword arch looked a little better, but in contrast to the background, it still looked bad. The entire picture was lighter, but the shadow was still there.
I finally spent some time googling photo restoration companies and I came acorss Yesteryear Memories. I have been emailing back and forth with "Bob" from the company and he may have just solved what I consider to be a problem, with my picture. I wanted to know if there was a way to basically repaint the picture to remove the shadow. There is, but that would make the picture look weird, according to Bob, because the sunlight is already in the background and removing the shadow completely would take away the natural feel and the natural shadows of the picture. He told me he could remove the shadow 90% from the people, to make the people look normal, while leaving the shadow on the ground (removing it slightly though).
I had 2 pictures that I have been having a problem deciding between and Bob solved that problem too. Picture #1 is the better one in general, in my opinion, because all of the sword bearers are facing in the same direction. Picture #2 looks better because Mr. V and me are closer to the front of the arch and its slightly lighter than the first one, but the guy in the front has his head turned towards the camera.
Meanwhile, both pictures look horrible because of the awful shadow. Bob has been very patient with me as I repeatedly ask questions about how the completed photo will turn out. Today he sent me an example to look at it. Its half of the picture (I guess so I can't steal the whole thing) but I think you can see the difference. Bob even went above and beyond what I originally asked him to do, which now makes me love this company! I sent him both of these pictures. In his opinion, the second picture is better, because Mr. V and I are closer to the front of the arch. However, he pointed out the guy facing the camera, which I hadn't noticed at first. Once he pointed it out, I noticed it and didn't like it. So I asked him if he could just focus on the first picture.
This is the result. Bob took the second picture, and replaced the head of the guy with his head from the first picture...so I get the picture of us closer to the front of the arch, and every guy is still looking in the same direction. It never even occurred to me to ask if that could be done, so I was pretty happy that he suggested it! This is what he sent me to look at.
I can still see the shadow, but I do think that the people look much brighter and whiter and clearer. He suggested enlarging it to a 16x24 and no larger, but possibly smaller.
So...now I need opinions. Should I shell out the money to have him fix my picture? The biggest reason I'm asking for opinions is because I'm not convinced that I have the color set on my computer properly. The original picture was already printed darker than I thought it was, so I feel like I need a few more eyes to tell me if this is going to be worth it. And please give me your honest opinions.
I should also note, that I would love to contact my photographer and point out that the price of this picture is going to equal the price of a photo needing "severe restoration". (They do minor, moderate and severe.) I'm fine with that, because at this point, any price is worth it for me to have my dream wedding picture. It just irks me to no end that this woman insisted she knew what she was doing. Yet to make her picture look good enough to frame, I have to pay for severe restoration. To me that doesn't equal knowing what she is doing. Rest assured though, that I already left her a very unhappy review on a few different wedding websites :-).
If you know me well, or heck, if you know me a little, you've probably heard me whine and complain about our horrible wedding photographer. A year and a month after our wedding, I may have finally been appeased as far as my wedding pictures go.
The one picture I wanted more than anything was our sword arch picture. I didn't care about anything else in the wedding. I just wanted the sword arch (and yellow daises). So of course, we ended up with the world's worst wedding photographer who scoffed at Mr. V when Mr. V made a suggestion. The photographer was trying to set up the sword arch looking INTO the sun. I'm far from being a professional photographer, but even I could have told you that the sun should be behind the camera, not in front of it. However, when Mr. V pointed this out, the photographer made some obnoxious comment like "I KNOW what I'm doing." Well...no she didn't. Our picture came out horrible. (and it should be noted that the picture was taken in a courtyard with 4 identical sides, so turning us around in the other direction should not have been an issue.)The one picture I wanted more than anything was the worst looking picture of them all. The entire sword arch is in a giant shadow (which shouldn't have surprised me, but it was still upsetting to see). I tried lightening the picture on my own. I tried going to a professional camera store to see if they could lighten the shadow. But nothing worked. All that lightening it did was lighten the entire picture. So the front of the picture and the sword arch looked a little better, but in contrast to the background, it still looked bad. The entire picture was lighter, but the shadow was still there.
I finally spent some time googling photo restoration companies and I came acorss Yesteryear Memories. I have been emailing back and forth with "Bob" from the company and he may have just solved what I consider to be a problem, with my picture. I wanted to know if there was a way to basically repaint the picture to remove the shadow. There is, but that would make the picture look weird, according to Bob, because the sunlight is already in the background and removing the shadow completely would take away the natural feel and the natural shadows of the picture. He told me he could remove the shadow 90% from the people, to make the people look normal, while leaving the shadow on the ground (removing it slightly though).
I had 2 pictures that I have been having a problem deciding between and Bob solved that problem too. Picture #1 is the better one in general, in my opinion, because all of the sword bearers are facing in the same direction. Picture #2 looks better because Mr. V and me are closer to the front of the arch and its slightly lighter than the first one, but the guy in the front has his head turned towards the camera.
Meanwhile, both pictures look horrible because of the awful shadow. Bob has been very patient with me as I repeatedly ask questions about how the completed photo will turn out. Today he sent me an example to look at it. Its half of the picture (I guess so I can't steal the whole thing) but I think you can see the difference. Bob even went above and beyond what I originally asked him to do, which now makes me love this company! I sent him both of these pictures. In his opinion, the second picture is better, because Mr. V and I are closer to the front of the arch. However, he pointed out the guy facing the camera, which I hadn't noticed at first. Once he pointed it out, I noticed it and didn't like it. So I asked him if he could just focus on the first picture.
This is the result. Bob took the second picture, and replaced the head of the guy with his head from the first picture...so I get the picture of us closer to the front of the arch, and every guy is still looking in the same direction. It never even occurred to me to ask if that could be done, so I was pretty happy that he suggested it! This is what he sent me to look at.
I can still see the shadow, but I do think that the people look much brighter and whiter and clearer. He suggested enlarging it to a 16x24 and no larger, but possibly smaller.
So...now I need opinions. Should I shell out the money to have him fix my picture? The biggest reason I'm asking for opinions is because I'm not convinced that I have the color set on my computer properly. The original picture was already printed darker than I thought it was, so I feel like I need a few more eyes to tell me if this is going to be worth it. And please give me your honest opinions.
I should also note, that I would love to contact my photographer and point out that the price of this picture is going to equal the price of a photo needing "severe restoration". (They do minor, moderate and severe.) I'm fine with that, because at this point, any price is worth it for me to have my dream wedding picture. It just irks me to no end that this woman insisted she knew what she was doing. Yet to make her picture look good enough to frame, I have to pay for severe restoration. To me that doesn't equal knowing what she is doing. Rest assured though, that I already left her a very unhappy review on a few different wedding websites :-).
Friday, July 10, 2009
Murphy's Law Take 2
A quick update on my life during deployment...
Apparently writing about the bad/annoying/really inconvenient things that have happened to me is apparently an open invitation for more bad things to happen.
First...Larry, the kitten that isn't mine, has an umbilical hernia that looks like it will probably require surgery long before his owner comes back home to take him back. Of course it figures that the one cat that has something wrong with him is the one cat that isn't mine. Caring for him has now become a conversation between me, Mr. V and Larry's owner...while all of us are in 3 different places and 3 different time zones. It makes for some hard decision making.
Second...Larry, the kitten that isn't mine, is apparently determined to drive me insane. Not only does he have a hernia, but he also likes to run out the door at every chance he gets. And he's FAST. Almost every single day, I find myself running back and forth in front of the house (I only had to crawl underneath my neighbor's porch once so far), trying to catch him. I still haven't figured out how to keep him from running out the door. Having 9 cats already, I thought it was simple to keep them inside, even when they wanted to go outside. But Larry is quick and even when I think he isn't near me, he still manages to dart out the door in the 5 seconds that I have it open. I bought him a collar and a name tag, which he promptly took off and hid somewhere so I can't find it.
Third...Larry, the kitten that isn't mine, broke my finger. Sort of. A few days ago, in one of my desperate attempts to keep him from running out the door, I slammed the door on my thumb. Needless to say, Larry still escaped and my thumb quickly swelled up and turned a nice shade of purple. Running after a kitten, while trying hard not to scream in pain, wasn't my idea of a fun time. That day I thought that I just badly bruised my thumb. The next day I woke up to a thumb that was even more swollen and more purple. That was yesterday. I debated going to the doctor, but in the end I decided to just try to splint it on my own at home. I think thats the only thing a doctor can do for a broken thumb anyway. As of last night though, I'm not sure if its actually broken. I think it might be dislocated, which sounds better, but for some reason that creeps me out even more. I hate medical stuff and I hate when pieces of my body do things they aren't supposed to do. Last night my thumb was still purple and swollen but that was going down a lot. Then when I tried to move my thumb it started making a popping sound. I don't know why, but that sound just made me queasy, because my thumb isn't supposed to sound like that! Today, the swelling is almost all the way gone and the purple is starting to go away. Its still making a popping sound though and it still hurts like hell when I try to move it. I'm going to give it another day or 2 and then go to a doctor if it won't pop itself back into place on its own.
So needless to say, this cute little kitten is determined to drive me out of my mind, while hurting me in the process!
On a happy note though, I talked to my friend Alice today for about 2 hours. She's coming out to visit in 8 days and I am so excited! Its really starting to get lonely being in this house all by myself. I feel like I need a connection to my life before Washington, so Alice will get here at a perfect time!
Harry Potter is also coming out next week, and this Sunday the movie theater on base is showing a sneak preview of it for free! Mrs. S and I are going to try to go. We're just hoping it won't fill up right away and we'll be able to get seats.
So in a world where Murphy seems happy to visit me almost every day, I have some happy things to look forward to :-).
Apparently writing about the bad/annoying/really inconvenient things that have happened to me is apparently an open invitation for more bad things to happen.
First...Larry, the kitten that isn't mine, has an umbilical hernia that looks like it will probably require surgery long before his owner comes back home to take him back. Of course it figures that the one cat that has something wrong with him is the one cat that isn't mine. Caring for him has now become a conversation between me, Mr. V and Larry's owner...while all of us are in 3 different places and 3 different time zones. It makes for some hard decision making.
Second...Larry, the kitten that isn't mine, is apparently determined to drive me insane. Not only does he have a hernia, but he also likes to run out the door at every chance he gets. And he's FAST. Almost every single day, I find myself running back and forth in front of the house (I only had to crawl underneath my neighbor's porch once so far), trying to catch him. I still haven't figured out how to keep him from running out the door. Having 9 cats already, I thought it was simple to keep them inside, even when they wanted to go outside. But Larry is quick and even when I think he isn't near me, he still manages to dart out the door in the 5 seconds that I have it open. I bought him a collar and a name tag, which he promptly took off and hid somewhere so I can't find it.
Third...Larry, the kitten that isn't mine, broke my finger. Sort of. A few days ago, in one of my desperate attempts to keep him from running out the door, I slammed the door on my thumb. Needless to say, Larry still escaped and my thumb quickly swelled up and turned a nice shade of purple. Running after a kitten, while trying hard not to scream in pain, wasn't my idea of a fun time. That day I thought that I just badly bruised my thumb. The next day I woke up to a thumb that was even more swollen and more purple. That was yesterday. I debated going to the doctor, but in the end I decided to just try to splint it on my own at home. I think thats the only thing a doctor can do for a broken thumb anyway. As of last night though, I'm not sure if its actually broken. I think it might be dislocated, which sounds better, but for some reason that creeps me out even more. I hate medical stuff and I hate when pieces of my body do things they aren't supposed to do. Last night my thumb was still purple and swollen but that was going down a lot. Then when I tried to move my thumb it started making a popping sound. I don't know why, but that sound just made me queasy, because my thumb isn't supposed to sound like that! Today, the swelling is almost all the way gone and the purple is starting to go away. Its still making a popping sound though and it still hurts like hell when I try to move it. I'm going to give it another day or 2 and then go to a doctor if it won't pop itself back into place on its own.
So needless to say, this cute little kitten is determined to drive me out of my mind, while hurting me in the process!
On a happy note though, I talked to my friend Alice today for about 2 hours. She's coming out to visit in 8 days and I am so excited! Its really starting to get lonely being in this house all by myself. I feel like I need a connection to my life before Washington, so Alice will get here at a perfect time!
Harry Potter is also coming out next week, and this Sunday the movie theater on base is showing a sneak preview of it for free! Mrs. S and I are going to try to go. We're just hoping it won't fill up right away and we'll be able to get seats.
So in a world where Murphy seems happy to visit me almost every day, I have some happy things to look forward to :-).
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