Or dateless in North Philly
By T Martin
As the title should tell you, it’s pathetic enough I wasn’t dating anyone for Valentine’s Day this year. To further patheticize (did I make up a new one?) the situation, I even had things scheduled for the day – all work-related, at that. A professional workaholic performed this feat, so read on, but whether you’re with someone or not next February 14th, don’t try this at home!
The Friday before our Saturday love-holiday, I scheduled a last-minute photo shoot to try out some new lighting equipment I had received during the week (maybe even that day, I think). That was for early morning. I had a wedding that was scheduled at least a month in advance for the same day, but since the client didn’t get back to me, I assumed I’d have those six hours to myself again.
Then I received e-mail about a junior sports ceremony at a local high school, an event that would immediately follow my photo shoot. Naturally, I wanted to accept the invitation because I’m a workaholic who only recently learned to say “no” but who is still tapering off a bit.
The only way to maintain my sanity, or a close facsimile of it, was to cancel my other out-of-office appointments and get something done in my office once I returned from the high school. For instance, the model from the morning shoot had lunch while I was shooting at the school. Afterwards, she’d visit my office to look at – and coerce me into printing – some of the day’s photos. She also needed help with her taxes. (No, I don’t do tax services!)
At the same time, I was compiling two photo albums for Sweet 15/16 clients, one of whom was working the ceremony at the school where I photographed. The thoroughly logical me wanted to concentrate on getting some client work out of the way. The spontaneous me conveniently decided to clean my office that Saturday, the extent of which cleaning was the removal of some chair cushions and their return after my model-client left.
Then I got ready to burn a CD-R of some photos from LAST Saturday’s model shoot, encountering some “not enough memory” and “close some programs” errors. I mean, gee, I thought 768 MB of SDRAM was plenty! (For you computer buffs who know what I’m talking about, you need to get out more, too!) I’m temporarily putting that project on hold, since I got the same error messages after a reboot.
In the meantime, what happened to the five articles I’m supposed to be writing for the February edition of NorFilly™ Magazine? By 8 or 9 PM I was too tired to think about it, and I used the excuse that inclement weather in early February was as good an excuse as any for being a week late in production.
So… what did this year’s special day of love cost me? Not much! I didn’t buy and film or processing for my photos. My out-of-office appointments were within walking distance, so I didn’t have to worry about carfare. (The tingling in my back from walking around with a camera bag that weighs more than I do is a reminder, though.) Oh, wait… I did spend a few dollars for some flowers, and I did eat lunch at Joe’s. But I spent considerably less than if I had a date for the day, and I doubt my date would have been too happy with beautiful flowers and an expensive dinner if her partner were sitting across from her in a fancy restaurant with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth as he drifted off to sleep while she talked about what SHE did for Valentine’s Day…