When it rains it pours.

Our brand new washing machine needs a new mother board. A motherfucking mother board! What the hell? The washing machine has a mother board. We bought this new machine in January. It's one of those front-loading high efficiency ones. We like to be kind to environment as much as possible and using less water seemed great. Except that now this $800 motherfucker is broken. Sure, we wash a lot of clothes, but there are 5 of us. I expect a washing machine to last more than 6 months before breaking. So, the repair guy came and said he had to order parts and then would come back once we called to tell him the parts had arrived. And he recommended we get the extended warranty. We didn't have a washing machine all last week and won't have one this week either. Can you imagine how this sends me into a panic? I washed 2 loads of laundry at my friend's house Saturday while we got ready for a wedding. Then I washed 4 loads of laundry at my neighbor's house yesterday. Six loads of laundry in 2 days. And it's already starting to pile up again!

Oh yeah, and Kevin spent most of yesterday replacing the kitchen faucet. Well, actually he spent most of that time trying to get the bitch of a bolt off from the old, leaky faucet. Now we have a new shiny one that doesn't leak, that makes me happy.

St. Vincent

I went to The Earl in east Atlanta Wednesday night. I was there to take some pictures of a band called St. Vincent, headed up by singer Annie Clark. I had never heard of this band before, until a co-worker of mine happened to mention them one evening at work (He's just about to become related to Annie via her sister). Annie Clark has also been part of the Polyphonic Spree.

Despite being very, very tired from being out until 1am the previous night at The Fray concert, I went to the show anyway. There were two bands that came before St. Vincent and unfortunately I can't recall their names. I spent a fair amount of that time in the restaurant part having some dinner. St. Vincent was really quite good and Annie's vocals are great. I was happy to listen to her mellow and smooth voice. The pictures were very difficult. The Earl is a very small venue and the lighting in there was seriously lacking. I am still in the process of processing the pictures but they are do dark! Despite my great effort with changing shutter speed, aperture and ISO, still, very dark pictures. I am somewhat disappointed because I wanted to have something great to give to Annie Clark, she was so friendly and obliging.

The Fray

I got to shoot at The Fray concert last night at the Hi-Fi Buys amphitheater in Atlanta. This was the first time at a large venue with a well-known band. There were three bands - Eisley, Gomez and The Fray. All of them had the 3 song rule - you can shoot for the first 3 songs and then you have to leave the press pit and leave your camera there. What? Leave my camera? I was concerned about it until I saw the very large security guards who were manning the gate. I put my camera bag right up behind him on the edge of the stage and he promised me he would love that camera as if it were his own. And he even gave me a bottle of water for free, which was most excellent because water was $4 per bottle! Ack!

The bands were great and it was a very pleasant experience. The girls who had to meet us and walk us in from the backstage area were really nice and friendly, the security guys were all very nice. I Had a rather long conversation with one of them about growing up in the south, divorce, kids and working for the government. These few times I have been taking pictures at concerts have given me a whole new outlook on those menacing guys. So far they have all been nothing but nice, helpful gentlemen. And the care they take removing the tiny girls getting squished in the pit is heartwarming.

Transmission woes

Our 1999 Suburban needs a new transmission. Mother fucker. We had the stupid thing rebuilt a couple of years ago and here we are again. I hate that car with a passion and I'll never own another Chevy (Corvette being the exception) as long as I live. But alas, this car is paid for and we have no car payments so it only makes sense to pay for the $2400 repair and move on. Damn it. That just puts more distance between me and a new camera. Fucking car. I hate you.