Ill Shooting

My brother gave me the nickname Ralph after I blew chunks at work the other day and had to come home early. Thank you, Ryan. Actually, I got a kick out of it when he asked our friend to greet me the following day with, "Ryan asked me to say hi to Ralph!" Good times!

So there I was, suffering on the couch with an upset stomach and a terrible headache, just waiting for the Advil to kick in or fall asleep, whichever came first. And in all of my pain and discomfort, I boiled up my all-time favorite bar snack, edamame, thinking that it would somehow help me feel better. Protein is good for you, right? Despite the fact that I was feeling pretty bad and not in the mood for anything but some peaceful shuteye, I brought out the camera to snap a couple quick shots of my protein fix.

I thought to myself, "Why is it that I am able to find the strength within to take a couple of quick shots of edamame while I am too sick to work?" And if you think this is bad, try remembering to take your camera with you on the way to the hospital to get your finger reattached! Yes, my finger fell to the floor after a freak accident a couple of years back while living in Japan. I kid you not. Did I panic? No, not really. I told myself that I needed to remain calm so that I could communicate with the EMT guys and the doctors so that I could handle this situation. So after putting my finger in a rice bowl full of ice, and thinking, “Holy sh*t. That’s my finger!,” I thought, "Never before was there a better Kodak moment in my life. I'm going to photograph this!" So I grabbed my camera with my still fully-intact hand and walked out the door with my finger on ice…. and in some serious pain too!


I don’t know if any of you want to see the images from that evening along with my recovery process but for those of you with tough tummies and enjoy stuff like this—I know you’re out there—go ahead and click on FINGER.

Also, there was the time that Farah and I climbed Mt. Fuji and although I hate to even admit it, I got a little sick just as we made it to the top of the mountain. It was a combination of being really out of shape and the fact that we hiked all night long that brought out the “Ralph” in me again. The Japanese say that you are wise to climb Fuji once and a fool to do it ever again, and at the top of the mountain it all made sense to me. I would never again set foot on this wretched mountain, but was I wise for doing it? I don’t know. But I would be damned to hike all the way up Mt. Fuji to not have photographs to prove it. I got my sorry ass up and shot the hell out of the morning sun as it rose above the clouds to greet us…. And then I collapsed! Haha

It was a perfectly clear day which made for a spectacular sunrise. It's a hit or miss with the weather and Fuji. They always tell you to take rain gear and prepare for the worst. Luckily for us, we could not have asked for better weather (It was freezing though)! Here are some pics:

So what was this blog all about anyway? Oh, yeah. I like taking pictures all of the time!