Look. Seriously, look at that face. It’s pretty freaking cute, right? I know. Mika is Brad and I’s dog. She’s almost 3 years old now and she’s a Shiba Inu. I’m sure I’ve mentioned her before a while back but if not, how terrible of me. I love this dog.

Anyway, today Brad took her to the vet because she was acting weird. In the morning she was dry heaving and restless and completely off. At first I didn’t think it was a big deal and I’m SO glad he decided to just take her anyway. Turns out, she has pancreatitis. The vet put an IV in her, gave her a shot to quit vomiting (as she ended up doing so all morning and into the early afternoon), and put a morphine patch on her to help the pain. To top that all off, she somehow rubbed her nose raw and had to be coned. Talk about insult to injury. The cone of shame.

I feel so bad for her. I know she’s in pain and she’s upset right now. She has to stay at the hospital for at least tonight and we have to wait and see how she does tomorrow. She seemed to be doing better when I went to see her after work today but you never know. It’s all a waiting game from here on out.

This may seem pathetic but I already miss her. She’s always there to greet me when I come home and she cuddles with me at night. I really hope she makes a speedy recovery.

I’m impressed. All my worries have now disappeared and I’m actually excited to see this movie. WAY more excited than to see Breaking Dawn…I’m actually already a little embarrassed. I loved the Twilight series but now, not so much. I’m not sure what happened. The main reason I’m going now is to hang out with a bunch of friends and to judge and critique the hell out of it. I’ve never really been a big fan of the movies anyway. Oh well, to each their own.

All I can say is, I want March to be here so I can see the Hunger Games movie.

Anyhoo, I also just came back from Las Vegas for SEMA. Talk about a lot of walking. It felt like we walked for days. A lot of the same people were there that I always see at the Formula Drift events as well so it was nice to see people again. I was also excited to see the RWB cars. Love. My other favorite part was going to this awesome bar called Insert Coin(s). It’s filled with all of the old school arcade games as well as a bunch of TVs to play newer games on different consoles like the XBox and PS3. I’ll be making a post about that later.

So really, just a brief update on things. I’ll have something more interesting soon.

I brought along my friend and coworker, Brandon, to take a look. When we arrived, the entire building was taped off from the public with various RTD employees, police men, and spectators around. At first, there were multiple SWAT team members right outside the doors and windows and we could hear gunshots resounding from the inside. It was almost like watching a movie. I’d say it was like watching a real life situation but to me it was a little surreal since it’s not something you really see everyday.

Mixed among the SWAT team there were also people in different colored vests labeled for the media, controllers, and evaluators. Once the SWAT team moved in, everyone took a break and next up was what looked like military. They proceeded to do what looked like the same thing as the SWAT and as they moved in, next up were police. In the announcement there was something like approximately 82 different divisions that were practicing in response to the situation.

This was the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this and it was very interesting to watch! It’s crazy to think about the situations that people are put in and how they put their lives on the line to protect others. Thank you to those who do this everyday.

I’m still a little hesitant though because I keep thinking and wondering if I have what it takes to even pursue and be a photographer. I think I’m decent at it but nothing spectacular. I wonder if, once I get into it, I’ll be one of those photographers that has the creativity and skill to produce amazing work.

The other day was a bit discouraging due to a comment I had on my photo blog. I know that I need constructive criticism and that I need work but it’s just never fun to read things like that. I understand that the person was voicing their opinion and all but I also think it could’ve been said a bit better. For example, I don’t think there’s one defined “better” way to edit a photo. I know that there are multiple ways to edit and people receive multiple results. I see photography as an art though and as such, I believe that everyone has a different style. Of course, not everybody is going to like them all.

This is also why I don’t necessarily view myself as a photographer. Defining someone as a photographer seems more like a profession and a title that’s earned. I don’t really feel that I’ve earned that and it honestly makes me feel uncomfortable to label myself or to be called that because I don’t feel that I’m good enough; at least not yet. I do hope to be one day though.

This is also why I’ve gone back and forth multiple times about my website. I don’t know that I want it up right now because I basically am showcasing myself as a photographer. It’s there to share photos and sure, I gave it a name but I don’t know. I want to be able to produce better work. Blah.

Seriously though, when my boyfriend and I decide to go buy some groceries or buy some food at a fast food place and you can’t figure out how to get money from his debit card? Come one. All right, I admit that his card is terrible and not all of the credit card machines can read the strip but still. I mean, we’ve even warned them about the card before they go to swipe it just so they’re aware.

Countless times I’ve now watched people at the grocery store or Walmart or Burger King or wherever try 29374982 times to swipe his card to no avail. Seriously, after like the 3rd time, why keep trying? Or after the 7th time, do you really think putting a plastic bag over it and swiping it 4 more times is going to work? I know, sometimes the plastic bag trick does work but it’s rare in my case.

The worst though? When a person tries to swipe it 4 times, then tries 5 more times all super fast, and then hands the card back and says, “your card isn’t working.” So in a case of going through a drive thru at a fast food restaurant I want to reply with, “either learn how to do your job or give me my food for free.” I mean, do they not train you on how to manually enter a card number? Or is it that you’re lazy? Or possibly just plain stupid? Who knows.

Of course, he really just needs to get a new card, which he’s requested but his bank, US Bank, has been terrible about doing that. So until then, I hope when he goes to buy something, the person is smart about it and doesn’t try to give him his card back claiming that it doesn’t work because it does, you just have to figure out the correct way to get it to work in that specific situation, aka just enter the number.