Where’s My Film?

Hey CVS… 13 days… where’s my roll of film, bro?

I posted on an analog photography Reddit forum the other day asking for suggestions for film labs that operate online. Meaning, I ship my film to them, they develop it and send me scans of the images, or send scans and ship back prints (if I pay a little extra).

I book marked a few sites and made accounts at some of them. One had a page dedicated to expired film. There 30+ year old example was super dark. That’s what I expect the first of the two rolls at CVS to look like. My zeroth roll, if you will. The second roll and all that follow should be okay. I don’t really care about that. I just want to see some results. I want to know that the camera and the light meter and all of the stuff work.

I also spent some time recently looking for camera clubs to join. There’s one based in Andover that would be fun to check out but they are shut down for the summer. Thanks a bunch. There are some others in the general Eastern Massachusetts area, but they are kinda far away. Oh well.

My last research topic was free online photography classes. I found one through the Harvard Extension School! Awesome! I tried to sign up for it but when I clicked the “start class” button the link was broken. Sonofabitch! I’ll try again later. No biggie.

Unrelated note: Dinner tonight was 4.2 ounces of deli roast beef. It was delicious. When I was done I set a timer for one hour so that I could know when I would be clear to drink water again. 40 minutes later I changed my mind and went looking for a couple of ounces of grapes. I ended up with 2.5 ounces. Want to know how much that is in practical terms? It was 11 grapes. My dessert tonight is 11 grapes. This is a pretty goofy looking new world, ain’t it?

T-Shirts

I did something silly yesterday that I wasn’t going to write about but now feel like I want to share.

I have a drawer in my dresser where I stash t-shirts that used to fit me but don’t anymore, but I don’t want to get rid of for whatever reason. Yesterday, for the first time since the Gastric Bypass, I opened that drawer. There are shirts in there that were gifts that never really fit right and are basically new. There are shirts in there that date back forever including Rush tour t-shirts from 2004 and 2007.

I tried a few of them on. Some fit okay. Miraculously. Some still have a little ways to go. In true nerd fashion I walked over to Jen’s office to show off and get opinions on how things looked.

I am guessing I will need to buy a couple of work-appropriate collared shirts soon, but for casualwear (hehe) I might be all set.

I feel silly and weird and I am kind of enjoying it.

Relief

I was waiting on an insurance claim for my leave of absence from work in May. I expected it to be a formality that would be wrapped up in no time at all. I was wrong. I was stressing out over the open case the whole time and when I say I was stressing out… it was really stressful, you know?

I’ve been waiting for about a week now for the final document to come in the mail. Every day I was running up stairs and checking the mail box and every day I was left disappointed.

Until today.

I am so relieved. I am so happy that it’s all over. What an ordeal. Here’s hoping I never have to do anything like that again. At least if I do, I’ll know what to expect ahead of time. I won’t be this naïve again.

Sigh
of
Relief

Hungry

This is a new one for me in this new post-gastric bypass world. I had 5.4 ounces of salmon for dinner. Jen made it. She used the air fryer. It was perfect. Five ounces is generally my max for a meal. Today I chased the salmon with a little 3.5 ounce cup of sugar free pudding. That’s 8.9 ounces of food. That in and of itself is unheard of, post-op, but it gets worse, and the worse is what I am actually writing about…

I’m still hungry.

No, n-n-n-n-no. This will not do. My new stomach pouch is tiny. Five ounces should be enough. I don’t want more. I don’t need more. Why the hell is my brain screwing with me and telling me that I am hungry? My daily protein goal is 60 grams. I broke 100 today (barely). Why am I feeling anything other than pleasantly full?

Stupid brain. Stupid, stupid brain.

Lunch Break Flake

I had two ideas for things to do on my lunch break today. I am not going to do either one.

Thrift shopping for manual film SLRs on the cheap
- The Salvation Army store in Salem, NH is apparently only open M-F 10am to 5pm meaning I will never be able to get there unless it’s on my lunch break
Take one of the cameras (probably the digital) out into the woods behind the house to check out a couple of huge fallen trees. Nature photography, babie. Yeah!
- I think the main reason I am not outside right now is ticks. I would have to put on longer, heavier socks and maybe boots and shit like that and I just don’t wanna.

Instead of doing those two things I am sitting at my desk typing this here message to you, the universe.

I’m actually struggling with lunch today. I don’t know what I want. For the first time since before the surgery I am kinda tired of the handful of mini-meals I’ve been eating. I wasn’t in the mood for any of the usual suspects. Chicken, Tuna, Eggs… nothing. I made myself 3.9 ounces of chicken salad but I really don’t want it. I am just eating it to get the protein.

What do I want? Who am I?

Unrelated note: I read that CVS takes 7-10 days to develop your film and return it to you. Today is day 11 since I dropped off the first roll. One YouTube video on beginning film photography said it takes two weeks. Is the YouTube video more accurate than the store? Stay tuned and find out. Or, CVS can just give me my friggin’ pics.

ADDENDUM: Screw it, I thought. I am going to check out that spot in the woods. I grabbed my camera and opened up the bulkhead (which is right next to my desk), and saw that our next door neighbor was hitting golf balls into the woods, as he sometimes does. Shit. A 10 minute photo-op is not worth getting beaned in the noggin’ with a golf ball. Maybe tomorrow. Ticks be damned.

Weigh In Day

As of today I am nine weeks post weight loss surgery. That means today is weigh in day. How’d it go? It went really well. I lost seven pounds in the last week. That’s a pound a day, on average, if you’re keeping track. File under: Holy Shit Burgers.

The 10’s column in my current weight changed again. That is such a magical sight. Last week the 10’s column was a six. Today it’s a five. Brilliant.

Now I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but over the last five weeks I have averaged about 5.5 pounds lost each week. If I do that again next week, my total weight loss since the first check in on January 19th will top 100 pounds. Again, I am not getting ahead of myself. That is just some intellectual thing that the analytical part of my brain sussed out. It is not me getting excited or looking ahead or getting over confident or any of that crap. It’s just a number.

However, if that happens next week… there may be a marching band roaring up and down my street all day. Just saying.

Weight Loss Since (a few days before) the Surgery: 76.6 pounds
Weight Loss Since the First Check In: 97.2 pounds

Holy shit, dudes. Holy. Shit.

Two Months

Today marks two months since surgery. I didn’t weigh myself to celebrate. I thought about it but decided to keep my Wednesday rule and wait two days.

I feel great. The only issue I have is scheduling liquids. A couple times a day I find the dehydration taking over. There was one time when I was visiting mom that it was bad enough to make me a little light headed. Another time, also during a mom visit (pattern?), my mouth was so dry I couldn’t form some words.

Other than that, it’s been aces. The weight is falling off and I haven’t felt this healthy in over a decade. I have millions of miles to go, but so far it’s all good.

So looking forward to whatever comes next.