Probably because I was mentally prepared for something new to happen today, but maybe not quite that much new. Changing jobs and starting a new role is always a bit nerve-wracking. Now the step wasn't that big - I'm still with the same employer, on the same floor, partly have the same colleagues and even have the same locker. My giant tea cup with pink flamingos is still with me and I will continue to hang out in the kitchen waiting for the morning's first brewed coffee at eight thirty. So everything was as expectedly new-old as I had expected. Approximately until 12:08.
A direct message popped up on Instagram: “Hey, you're one of the finalists in our photo contest…” I quickly read “Submit high resolution image” and “Jury will deliberate soon”. How "soon" is "soon"? Soon enough so that I have time to go home and start up Lightroom, or does soon really mean "now"? Since I didn't have either the image or Lightroom at work, there wasn't much else to do but finish work and then quickly send the image in as soon as I got home.
A busy afternoon finally comes to an end and I trudge home to fix that picture. Then the phone rings again. The reminder that I have bike repair booked today. Attans too, they close at 18pm! Pushes on even a little faster, opens the door to the home and pulls the bike to me while I shout hello hello to my daughter. Queue at the bicycle repair shop. Feel like Linus on the Line as he impatiently stands and stamps his foot. Wondering if the jury works later than 18pm, or if it's simply done now? Finally, the bike is handed in after a discussion about valves and punctures.
Back home. Booting up the computer while multitasking with grating halloumi and carrots for tonight's veggie steaks. A new Lightroom update appears to have been installed since yesterday. Nice, I love new functionality! I happily click on the icon. The computer thinks and thinks. Suddenly an error message is thrown in my face. The directory is already in use. By whom then? Tried killing all processes, restarting the computer and keeping my fingers crossed. But not then. The directory is stone dead and my only option is to open an old directory. Lightroom will launch and sync will begin. 120 images left to sync… This will take all night at least…
I give up hope of getting the picture in the near future and cook dinner in frustration instead. In the kitchen among panko breadcrumbs, labneh and a risoni salad, I still feel quite satisfied. Even if I didn't get the photo in in time for the jury, at least I'm a finalist! It's not a shame! Somewhere when the irritation turns into calm and I've got food in my stomach, the brain wires start working again. Maybe I can fix that broken directory? To make a long story short, I got the directory up and running with a few file extension changes and file moves. Lightroom starts up. The picture is where it should be. The file is exported and emailed. Just 9 hours after the pling on Instagram. Hope hope hope the jury is not out yet!
Now I'm sitting here in cozy pants with a cup of Turkish apple tea and finished writing this week's travel post about beaches in Australia for my influencer job for Refunder. Think what an unexpectedly unusual day this turned out to be. Now it remains to be seen what the jury thinks of the picture. Keep your fingers crossed for me :)
