21 June 2010
Happy Summer Solstice!
Today we dined at Chipotle or, as Owen calls it, A-potes-way. Owen often opts for a soft-shell taco with nothing in it but rice and cheese. That’s what he got today (though I think he added in some lettuce, too). The cashier charged us $2.20 for each of his tacos, for a total of $4.40. This is more than double the usual price. In the past, we’ve been charge $1.10 or even just an even dollar for his tacos. I mean, there’s no meat, no vegetables, no guacamole, no salsa…so I don’t think Chipotle is out too much money when they make his meal.
Jennifer complained, but the cashier said she was charging us the lowest price possible for the tacos. Jennifer said in the past we’d only been charged a buck a piece but the cashier had no response. She didn’t even say: “We raised the prices.” She just said she ws charging us the lowest price possible.
I’m not sure if she was lying or if she just didn’t know how to charge the lower price. I’m gonna guess she was lying, primarily because I usually assume the worst in people.
22 June 2010
Birthing Class, part four of six today.
The highlight of class today – or would this be the lowlight? – was that we had to hold out our hands, have a glob of jelly plopped into our palm, then rub our hands together. It was an effective way of demonstrating the feel of the cervix and how it thins out during labor, primarily by the movement of the pelvis (represented by the lower hand on which the jelly sat) and the baby’s head (represented by the upper hand). At least, I’m guessing it was an effective demonstration. The point was that it’s important to move: if labor isn’t progressing, don’t just lie there in bed, get up and move around. I’m sure this is a tougher task for people in hospitals with cords and wires strapped to them, but thankfully I can chaulk all that crap up to ‘other people’s problem’ now.
Anyway, all I could think the whole time was: Get this jelly off of me! Oh my god – my skin was crawling. I absolutely hate the feel of sticky stuff on my hands. Ketchup, Honey, Milk, Jelly – I can not stand getting these things on my hands, and I wash vigorously until it’s all off – including the smell.
I don’t necessarily mind if my hands are dirty. Working with wood, or working with soil is just fine with me. Of course, I do wash my hands when I’m done with those things, but it’s not like I’m freaking out about it the whole time. It’s that stickiness that get to me. And the residual smell – ketchup, in particular, stays on the hands for quite some time. And jelly…man, oh man…I swear it’s impossible to use jelly without getting any of it on your hands. Just try.
23 June 2010
The big news for me today is the completion of another video:
This marks the completion of my first film in 2010, and it is henceforth labeled as “Zimmerscope #90,” as it is the 90th film I’ve made. I exclude “home videos” from this list; you know, like Owen’s birthday parties and stuff like that. I also exclude films I’ve done for other people, such as filming wedding receptions.
Here’s some fun information about that list of 90:
-I’ve made at least one filmlet every year since 1992. The most I made in a single year was 1993, when I made 13 filmlets. The lowest amount made in a single year was one (four-way tie between 1998, 1999, 2006, and – at the moment – 2010).
-The longest filmlet I’ve made is titled Journey Into Souls’ Depth, which I created in 2002 and is 26 minutes and 48 seconds long. The shortest filmlet, made in 2008, is RIGHT HERE.
-The only filmlet I created in which no one else helped at all was a music video to CCR’s “Travelin’ Band,” which I made in 1995.
-Conversely, there are 48 people listed in the credits for James D. Zimmerman Day (made in 2001).
-39 people have participated in the creation of at least 2 of these films (that includes me).
-Besides me and my wife, the people to have appeared (or helped behind the camera) in the most films are: Tim Galdunick (15 films), my sister (16 films), Andy Kimball (17 films), and Ryan Sutter (25 films). Owen is quickly making headway to break into this exclusive list.