The cold that never ends

I have had this cold for well over a month now.  Not a full bore cold, but bits and pieces of it have lingered, come on strong, fallen back and tried to come on again.  It's like two evenly match infantry battalions fighting over the same piece of real estate, back and forth, give and take, but neither side able to declare a winner.

A little over a week ago, the other side picked up a new weapon.  It decided to start clogging up the hearing in my left ear, and then several days later, the right side joined the fray.  The weird part is, and I don't know if this is normal in hearing loss or not, but it seems that certain frequencies are more affected than others.  My wife Andrea just so happens to be in that group of the "most affected."

I know there are guys out there who would think that this is a good thing, but really its not.  I have to do those little things like turn towards her to hear her and ask what a couple of times.  Its not that I don't like to look at my wife, I do.  I really do.  She's beautiful.  It's just after asking her "huh?" and "What?" several times, when I see her talking to me, it has that appearance of she's yelling at me.  That is never a good thing.

And things that happen in my own mouth are amplified a gazillion times as well.  I'm sure if I was to eat a pretzel right now, I would not be able to hear an AC/DC concert going on around me.  Enough is enough.

I broke down yesterday and called the doctor to get an appointment.  It seems that this is going around as well, but, and there is always a but, I can't have the normal treatment.  A touch of background here.  I have an irregular heartbeat that has my regular Dr. more concerned than the cardiologist he consulted with.  So because of this, he is being extra careful, and will not prescribe things that have any kind of affect on the heart, like a decongestant.  So now I am trying to fight this with antibiotics, which will take longer to clear up.  

Now, if I could just get Andrea to stop yelling at me....

The good and bad of iPods

I love my iPod.  I'm on my 3rd one, and I love it.  One of those gadgets I'd be lost without.  It has totally revolutionized the way we listen to music.  And it keeps evolving.  The Genius feature on them now is just brilliant.  The ability to make a playlist based off of a song is, well, genius.

One of the other ways we lie to use it is to make what we call vacations lists.  When ever we travel a distance, we create a list where everyone gets to pick the same number of songs to go on the list.  That way, no one can complain that their music is not getting played.  As the years go on, the variety gets more and more diverse.  I don't know how many families can go from Slipknot to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to Reba McIntyre then to Billy Joel.  They are some fun lists to say the least.

Every once in a while though, I put it on an album, and play that all the way through.  Typically, its an older album, late 70s era.  It reminds me of the old days.  Back when an album came out, and you listened to the whole thing, over and over.  There were good songs, there were songs that weren't as good, but you listened to it all.  The album had a feel to it, and that was part of the beauty of an album.  Many times, the song I liked best on the album was not the "hit" that you heard on the radio.

I believe a lot of that is missing today.  I am as guilty as anyone.  A lot of times I just go into iTunes and get that one song that I want.  For some bands though, I do get the whole album, and it takes me back to the good old days.

Not all change is good, nor is it bad.  It's just, well, change.

Here is something that hasnt changed much.  This is a cathedral in the Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, OH.  If you ever are in the area, be sure to check out the grounds, it is very beautiful there, and will be worth the time you spend.

It's official

Holland Photography has had a paying job, and now it has a website.  Nothing of any substance is there yet, but its a start.  If you don't take the first step, then nothing will ever happen.

I received a bit of feedback from the first job, which was pictures of the Confirmation Class at St Joseph's parish in Galion, OH.  I would have never gotten the job if it hasn't been for my Father-in-law, so I am grateful that he gave me the chance.  I must admit I was nervous as hell when I went to do the job, but for the most part everything went really well.  I learned a few things from the trip, so that should make things better in the future.  The feedback was really good, and there is a possibility of future work from this, which is even better.

I do have a wedding on the schedule, for this time next year.  While I do not want to get into wedding photography, I agreed to do this one as Beth is Family, and has been for almost 30 years.  She knows my apprehension, and doesn't care, so I hope that is a good sign.  With that being said, I really would prefer her wedding not be the first.  I would like to be able to have some experience before I do that, so if you are close by, getting married soon, and need a photographer, let me know.  We'll work something out  :)

So the website that is up and running is at Holland Photography (http://www.hollandphotography.net).  Be sure to use the net instead of com, or else you will be talking to someone in Missouri, and I'm sure the mileage fees for those jobs will be outrageous.