LIFE

This past Saturday, Liz and I spent an hour at our local cemetery. I can't explain it, but I've always found cemeteries an interesting place. Peaceful, quiet, and a place to reflect. The tombstones tell a story. Children, soldiers, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, mayors, Jews, Christians, rich and poor. The older tombstones tell me life goes on long after I'm gone, the new ones tell me someone is probably still grieiving. Graves that are dated 1969 or newer make me think back to what I was doing the year that person died.

In my quest to become a better photographer, I felt I needed to have some focus as to what I was doing. So, I'm using the month of September to take photos in cemeteries as I make my travels throughout the midwest. I am providing a link below to take you to my Flickr account (hopefully it works, and hopefully I can get it organized). I've played with a few photos to see what I could pull out of them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/garykelch/

TOE TRICKS

DANCE MOVES

Not sure why I call Sean, "Seana"...I usually get the gender of my children right.

REJECTION

I read this in a trade paper for sales reps. Maybe this applicable for other professions:

Two Strategies that Help you Deal with Rejection:
1. In your imagination, step out of your body and watch yourself and your prospect. The discouragement fades quickly. Add humor by pretending you're watching your sales manager get rejected instead of yourself.
2. Delay judgement about the call. When a sales ends in rejection, don't evaluate the situation on the spot. Say to yourself, "It's too soon to tell. Maybe this is awful, maybe not. I'll decide later. Then, like Scarlett O'Hara, say to yourself, "I'll think about that tomorrow."

From-Selling Essentials 2009, June 5, 2009, Vol.7 No.7

SEPTEMBER 8 2009

This is Sean's new date for surgery.

SEAN'S SURGERY

Dr. Smith, one of the surgeons who will be operating on Sean, called Sunday morning to cancel Sean's surgery for Monday morning. Apparently two kids came in over the weekend with emergencies that will need attention Monday morning. So we will talk to the nurse/scheduler in the morning and see when we can get Sean in. I know these things happen, but with my travel schedule, this complicates matters if we can't get him in later this week.

TERRITORY

I just got back from sales conference, and my new territory covers Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kentucky. I had one account in South Dakota, but another rep is going to do that. Whew!

JELLYTELLY

For those of you with kids, check out jellytelly.com
It's the next project from Phil Vischer, creator of Veggie Tales.

KABOD

GLORY

This (Hebrew) noun has a literal meaning, "a heavy item," which is not often used. The figurative meaning of something that is highly valued is more common. In theological contexts, this word often describes God and his attributes. SEE: Gen 31:1; Exod. 16:10; Numb. 14:10; 1 Sam 4:21; 2 Chron. 32:27; Psalm 24:7; Psalm 145:5

AMISH COUNTRY

ALL'S GOOD

I picked up Sean and Dawn today from the hospital. They held him until 5 to see if he would regain his fever. He did not. Orders now are to keep him out of Sunday school class, Wal-Mart, malls, ect. to keep from getting infected by other kids.

BACK TO THE HOSPITAL

Sean had his fourth DPT shot today and things went pretty well. Granny and Grandpa were here for a visit and they left to go home when Dawn took Sean to the doctor. About 9:00 pm tonight Sean went from laughing to disoriented, shaking and crying in moments. Dawn called the nurse hotline and long story short, we were told to take him to Wooster Hospital, were he was checked out, but they are not equipped to handle heart babies. So, the Akron Children's hospital ambulance came and picked Sean and Dawn up where they will spend the night for observation.

HOMER

see more Funny Graphs

LAMP STAND

8 BALL

WA LA

Dawn just mentioned that it's spelled Voila'.

PANORAMIC

One reason I really enjoy photography is there is always something to learn or experiment with. I've already realized I'm such an amateur and I have so far to go, but I have a lifetime to get it right. I was looking last night at the cost of panoramic cameras, and the cheapest one still uses film (which some pros still swear by), which starts at $450. If you want a digital panoramic camera, be prepared to lay down $2000-$5000. The cheapest lenses for my SLR still run in the $2000 range. Fortunately, most consumer cameras now come with software that allow you to improvise and turn out something that will at least please yourself.

Will and I play basketball at the high school. So on the way out of the gym , I grabbed my point and shoot camera, took some photos of the school football field, came home and plugged them into the software package...and wa la.

(click on the photo to enlarge)

THERE'S JUST...

not a whole lot to post right now. I installed a ceiling fan, does that count?