I have been horribly absent from the blogworld for the past few days. This first half of this week, I had a pretty tight schedule planned, but I still thought I’d be able to get a post ready each day. . . . I was WRONG!

Knowing I would be out of the office on Tuesday and Wednesday for two totally opposite reasons, Monday was HELL Day. I RAN through Monday at warp speed checking off a list that I thought unrealistic, but I actually perform better when I have more on my plate than normal.

I was later than usual getting home only to find my oldest boy there ready to watch NEW TV. We are so excited about the new Fall lineup starting up. (Summer programming leaves a lot to be desired) So I made dinner and we sat down to watch Heroes. It’s an awesome show! But as soon as that was over, I had to run upstairs to watch Dancing With The Stars that I had recording. I’m obsessed with that show! And so excited for a new season. I love watching the Dancers (who are talented beyond belief) teach these celebrities when the famous celebrities are clearly out of their comfort zone. When they’re not in the comfort zone, they’re just like you and me. (That part makes me smile a little) Some of them, however, rise to the occasion and do a really good job learning these dances, while others. . . not so much. (I’d probably fall into the “not so much” category, but I’d have a blast trying).

Then Tuesday was my day for my long awaited Photoshop class in Virginia Beach. I couldn’t wait! I was certain that I would move through the brain block I have in learning this program and become an instant professional. IF the dude had instructed ANYTHING regarding photos, I may have stood a chance. But this guy (who really was clearly proud of his credentials) spoke only on creating art from scratch. The whole audience was comprised of mostly magazine and book illustrators. Not lowly bloggers who photogragh as a hobby. Shame on me for even signing on. I knew I was in trouble when within the first fifteen minutes, he asked how many people had ever used “calculations” and only one person raised their hand. Yikes.

Well, no matter. I did get a much broader scope of what all Photoshop is capable of and it is truly mindblowing. This guy put together a picture of a train rolling into a train depot and it was comprised of about 15,000 layers. He’d zoom in and pick the tiniest peices of the picture and explain how many layers, channels, whatnot were involved in just that two square inches. The whole time he’s talking about all the intricate details involved in this picture below, I kept thinking “Why not just go to the train depot and take the picture?”

The same guy said he’s working on another piece of work using CS4 that we ordinary mortals are not privy to yet and that it was going to take him 2 1/2 years. Two and a half years, people! In the words of Larry The Cable Guy, “I give up on a good shit after 20 minutes.” My attention span is not 2 1/2 years long. I’m sorry. I’m sure he makes the big $$ and I’m sure he may be well worth it. But ME? It’s not what my calling is.

This is a podcast from the instructor and this is the exact introduction he gave to this class. See – no photograph manipulation within a ten mile vicinity.

The class wasn’t a total loss on me. I did learn one thing and that is not to be afraid to “PLAY”. I’m this freakish perfectionist when it comes to certain things and I never felt comfortable “playing”, especially when my “play” created something monstrous. In the class, I got to see exactly what some of the options were used for and I got a better feel of the language and how to move around in order to “play” more easily. So I guess it’s back to trial and error.

I also had great plans to come home after the class and post about all the great stuff I’d learned and even possibly manipulate a couple of pictures and post my outstanding results, but it turned out that what I had ahead of me for the evening didn’t allow quite as much time as I’d initially assumed I’d have. When the evening post didn’t pan out, I thought I’d write up a post first thing in the morning BEFORE I left to go to the doctor. NO – that was a fantasy as well.

Tomorrow – I plan to post the REAL story is behind a Colonoscopy. The real facts that they don’t print on your instruction packet. It will be riveting – let me tell you. Yep – It will be an EDUCATIONAL post.