Wiltingplant

Presented without comment. Have fun, old buddy!

Proud of you dude! What an adventure. Thanks for popping back to update us. Here's to a wonderful next three years <3

hi tigger miss u bro

Druin (a young man named Jeffrey) passed by suicide the day this was posted. He had spent the last couple years of his life feeling extremely isolated as he came to grips with being gay and lacking supportive community. I was probably one of the last people he reached out to in the days before making his decision. I can't blame myself for it, nor do I think I could have talked him out of it, but even now I think of him a few times a month and strive to connect with my friends in the LGBT+ community. Often they need us more than we can ever know. Please, if you read this, reach out and say hi to someone who may be having a hard time. Do it in honor of Jeffrey, and in honor of the Jeffries around the world who desperately need it. I'm not going to promise you'll save a life, but you'll brighten one - and that is just what is needed sometimes.

Heya! Not trying to throw you under the bus for sure with the random chat add, just trying to make sure you're not left behind :) I totally understand the desire to fight one thing at a time and I'm sorry to have made you feel that way, inadvertent though it was. I hadn't seen your old post, no, just a weird coincidence of timing. I hope this new chapter of self-discovery goes well for you and that you're able to find a place among your community with this new-to-them bit of identity. Feel free to reach out if you ever need to chat - here works, or email me: (my username)@gmail.com. Miss you, old friend.

hi

RIPasta

Oh, a reunion thread? Hi everyone <3

<3

1 RUE GENERAL JANSSEN I'm on the work computer and that's the place I had to mail something not long ago. ;)

Are you currently working? Sure am. I am a church directory photographer - I travel to different churches in my area and take portraits of the members for their directory book. What do you like/dislike about your job? I dislike: - The odd hours, which make it difficult to plan time with friends or other appointments more than a week or so in advance. - Photographing pets. We're not set up for it at all, and putting a dog or cat up on my table is just asking for someone else's child to get an allergy attack when he sits up there after the pet. Also pet owners typically have unrealistic expectations for the photos, especially given the type of photography we do. I mean, c'mon. It's a portrait studio. For portraits of PEOPLE. - Constant pressure to keep sales numbers up. I am not the salesman; I work with another guy who sells the pictures. When we go through a rough spell (and all sales jobs do), my higher-ups ask me what I can do to get sales up. Fortunately my immediate boss understands the situation and tends to poke at my partner the salesman more than me, but it still grates on you after a while. I like: - Working in a different location almost every week. There are new people every fifteen minutes. It's great for meeting a lot of people and hearing some great stories. - Hearing "This is the best picture I've ever had!" at least once a day. For so many people, all they have for a photo of themselves is their drivers license - and we all know how those turn out. My job is to make people look good. Facebook pictures tend to document something (a vacation, new hairdo, fun outing with friends, got hammered at last night's party, etc) and are less personal, while my photography is a very personal thing. - Being able to touch people's lives in a lasting way, even if they don't remember me. I work in a lot of churches. A lot of churches have a lot of old people. A lot of old people die. I have had people tell me "You know, the doc says I won't make it another year... it's good to have this picture for my funeral!". Those pictures will be quite probably the longest-lasting memories their children and grandchildren will have. It's not me they remember, but it's something I had a large part in and that feels great. What previous jobs/careers have you had? I worked in food service and as a sound tech for a conference center for a couple years. Before that I did some odd janitorial work for the local shooting range. I've also brought in money through html coding and assembling gallery wrap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallery_wrap) canvases for a local photographer friend of mine. What job/career would you realistically like to have? I really enjoy my current career and will probably keep it for a while. It's got an excellent retirement program and the impact I'm able to make on people's lives is very fulfilling. And it pays the bills.