Going to try and write this in one quick go, because I have a Bible study to go to in an hour, and will want to be in bed as soon as I get home from that because I work early. And if you don’t already know this about me, such a schedule is very gratifying to me.
I’ve been back at work a few weeks now, and it’s going really well. I’m naturally very strong-willed and prone to question things (“Why?”), so this time is an opportunity to learn submission to authority — something I’ve always had trouble with, and a lesson I’m sure God has wanted to teach me for a long while. I tell everyone that I’m “Joel 2.0: the Joel that doesn’t complain,” and so far that is true. Consistently I’ve been able to maintain very deliberate high spirits, which keeps things interesting for my coworkers, assuredly. Which is in my opinion as much a part of my job as anything is. Being busy is also very good for me, and not just as a means to a paycheck, but as a way to keep my mind occupied and in a steady rhythm, and myself out of much mischief. When I’m not at work I’m usually at home reading, or out spending time with a friend over coffee to discuss the Word or life or struggles or such things as twenty-somethings have often on their minds. This Thursday night I’ll be with a group at the IMAX premier of Logan — which I am very excited for! I’m a big fan of Hugh Jackman, and specifically his role as Wolverine has always been a favourite. You don’t get much cooler than that guy. It’s also been a while since I’ve seen any movie in the theatre, and years since I had a seat at the IMAX. It’s going to be quite the experience.
I’m writing this post on my new MacBook, which means I have an editing machine again. I had sold my old laptop last year to pay bills and such while I was unemployed, so any photo processing since then had to be done on the family desktop, which isn’t the fastest, and doesn’t have a screen to satisfy my terribly spoilt eyeballs. But now I have my own computer again, and taking photos is even more exciting with the prospect of post-processing in my mind. My next big purchase (which is coming soon) will be the Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2; a gorgeous portrait lens that I will be putting through its paces at every opportunity. I am passionate about portraiture, and an 85mm equivalent lens is an essential part of my kit, likely even my favourite focal length to shoot at, but I haven’t had anything like it to work with since selling my Nocticron last April. Of course this means I’m very excited, and grateful for the hours I’m getting on the clock again.
In the same vein, I have to apologize for the state of my LESSONS page. The five posts I have up were written within a week or so of starting the page, and since then I haven’t even started on anything else for it. This is slightly disappointing for me, since I know I can’t rightly blame time, as I’ve had plenty of that on my hands. I’ve just been lazy about the website lately. But now that I have a laptop again, I will be making myself post more. Anyone who took the time to read those “lessons” at all deserves to have more written up for them, and I truly do want to be a help to all the other avid students of photography out there — which is what we all are, myself included. You’ll never fully learn an art; you just keep growing. So … my apologies for the purely disappointing stagnation of my website. A change is coming.
A fun fact which I don’t know if I’ve shared already, my only real resolution for 2017 was to read all fourteen books of the Wheel of Time series, and yesterday I started on book five. So if I’ve no other tangible bit of success in my life since the start of the new year to point to when asked by all those people whose opinions matter more to me than an old rag, at least I have that. I am still enjoying the books very much (the only way I could possibly read 12,000 pages of anything), and hoping that will continue through the next nine volumes.
I watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty for the first time on Saturday, with a friend who recommended it, and was inspired more than I’d thought I would be. It’s made me begin to form plans for my next adventure. I believe I’ll quit my job on my birthday again, in 2018. I’ll be twenty-three then, in my mind beyond old enough to begin living the life I’ve been craving for so long. The plan isn’t much different than the last (or much of a plan at that). I’ll just pack up the truck with the things I view as necessary at the time, and go. The West is calling me, and the Longing is taking. Even in the contentment I’m learning to have with my life, still my mind drifts far too often to what I really desire to be doing. And I will do it. It’s more than a feeling of romanticism inspired by a Hollywood production: it’s the way I was constructed.
So here’s to you. Whatever your life looks like, I hope you are driven to squeeze every bit of beauty from it right this moment, and find even more in the days to come.
with love,
— Joel