This was one of those weeks that struck me hard, with some great moments, some difficult moments, and even some tragic moments … moments that I used to talk about when this blog was only friends & family, and now don’t feel comfortable airing in front of the 7000+ viewers (and some clients) each month.

But of course, whether I mention them specifically or not, those wonderful and tragic moments still exist. So I don’t have some pretty picture today, nor some photoshop tutorial, nor some random story. Mostly just questions for myself.

Time keeps passing by, but am I making the best of it? Since I can only manage my choice right now, am I making (mostly) the right decisions? And what aspects of my life am I willing to sacrifice for another? What responsibilities do I bear for the other people in my life?

But this “philosophical waxing” is too deep. Yes, it’s how I feel … but instead I’ll keep it shallow and include an image of our newest calendar. Here’s a fan from what might be The Calendar Factory’s most complicated piece of art yet, with each page consisting of a 400mb photoshop file:

Just returned from the Kandy Kruise through The Karma Foundation … very interesting event.

Currently I’m in the middle of 2 moves (house and office), new key employee, and our busiest calendar season yet, and more … so for the next 45 days I’ll probably be a little less available than normal. But after things settle in, I’m committed to bringing the word “balance” back into my vocabulary. Any hints on how to make that happen will be greatly appreciated.

For our photo of the week, a silhouette of a very nice couple from the cruise ship … who shall remain anonymous in both name and facial imagery, since I didn’t actually ask to post their picture. Enjoy.

Had a great session with Tianna last week … Tianna is a makeup artist, but when I saw her I knew that we had to shoot. She’s truly beautiful. Our shoot was her second ever (in front of the camera, at least). Here’s a pic from the day…

So tonight I’m at the local Wahoo’s Fish Tacos in Tustin. In line, I seem to wait an interminable time for the lady in front of me — talking on her cell phone — to order. She takes so long, in fact, that I start to read a paper. After ordering, I realize I forgot the paper and go back in get it.

Cut to 30 minutes later. I go out to my car — parked right in front — and push the key fob remote to unlock the doors. Nothing happens. I push it again… still nothing. So I hold down the key to pen the trunk, just to see if it’s the button or the whole thing. Again, nothing. Finally, I try the key. I insert it into the door, but it won’t turn! I step back to make sure that it’s my car … but yep! It was right in front, and it was still my car. (G35 … not uncommon in SoCal, but the Brembo brakes ARE, and so I knew it was mine.)

As I stand there scratching my head — racking my brain for any way that both my key fob AND my keys could magically fail — the slow lady from line (who left a long time ago!) comes up to me, and asks if perhaps I have her keys.

It takes a moment for me to process … one of those “where am I, and how did I get here?” moments … but I figure out I am, in fact, holding her keys in my hand. I guess she left them on the counter, and at some point along the way I picked them up thinking they were mine. Same brand of car, same remote … and nearly the same things on the key ring!

Apparently she was pretty startled when, as she was calling AAA for a locksmith, her car unlocked itself. Three times. She was even more startled when her trunk mysteriously popped open. (If only I could’ve seen the look on her face then!)

She introduced herself (Lena), and we laughed about it. I guess she left the keys on the counter … and probably while I was setting down the magazine or getting my change, I picked “my” keys up thinking that I had set them down there. Funny … small world. She was nice enough about it, although I felt a little bad that her food was getting cold while she was looking everywhere, calling AAA, and generally figuring out how her keys disappeared in 1 minute flat. Apparently, the “The Car Thief” was me.

Just one of those strange stories … what’s yours?

Here’s the photoshop tutorial on how to take any new photo and make it “any old photo.” Actually … it’s a fairly simple process (if you know your photoshop basics) to place anything onto a textured background. It’s probably not earth shattering, but I haven’t come across it in my 18 years of image editing, so maybe it can be helpful for you as well.

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