ZachIsHere

We have power. Thanks to everyone who was so helpful during this annoying time. To celebrate I am throwing out just a few New York pictures. Some of my favorites are still to come.

I want to look at the bright side.

Lets not think about how it has been 8 days since the house on LoHo lost power.

Lets even cast aside that it could be 6-10 days before power comes back.

The bright side is…we are saving money on utilities.

After some work schedule rearranging I took this crazy train to Kansas City. Megan has been great about letting me stay at her place but I thought it would be good to change it up and get some more work done.

I am reading, working, and visiting. Life isn’t too bad. There is something digging in my head. A new song. Two days ago I was drifting off to sleep hearing random sounds from Megan’s roommates playing video games when a song came on with a force and clarity that immediatly struck me. I usually enjoy posting visuals on this site but the music video from this song was so bad; I felt it took away from the great sound. This piece is best turned up to 11.

We are just here. There isn’t much that can be done. The house on LoHo is still without power and I think it will be Friday until it all comes back. If we are lucky…

I have been staying at Megan’s the past few days. It is fun but I really miss being able to get work done and be productive. My place of business has been closed all week but it opens back up tomorrow.

I am at the Library…it is actually pretty impressive they have alot more up to date resources than I thought.

Just picked up the book “The Ongoing Moment” by Geoff Dryer. Very good read so far.

I have lots of pictures to post once I get settled again. I am very happy with some of the things that have turned out. Keep checking back.

It started out low key.

On Friday night I was doing some photoshop work on my pictures when the power suddenly went out. Not a big deal, it was storming and this kind of thing happens. Looking outside my window I saw that the ice was making for some interesting scenes so I thought it was time to make a journey with the ol’ camera. What I found was shocking…

Trees coming down, lights out, transformers blowing, sirens everywhere. It was like Lord Of The Flies. Luckily the roads were not bad so I kept on going to some different spots that I thought made for interesting photographs focusing on campus. The good part is I got some solid shots. The bad part is it didn’t seem like things were getting any better. I made my way back home soaking wet and cold.

Gathering a very nice comforter I made my way to bed. I awoke Saturday morning to find nothing had changed. I went to the mall with a friend of mine just to get out and do something. Time passed and 24 hours after Springfield’s power outage most of the street lights were not functioning let alone lights in homes.

The sun went down Saturday evening leaving me to sit around in a lifeless home. Thank god Casey came back. He had to work at the radio station that night. We got a bite to eat and drove around to see just how much wasn’t done. Broken trees are littered everywhere. Power is very minimal in the city. The situation is hit and miss. There are no lights on Sunshine street. And no lights on Glendstone from Sunshine to Elm. It is an eerie thing to see.

I am staying in a hotel for tonight because there isn’t really anyone around who has power. There is a lot of stuff I need to get done so it will be a good chance to catch up.

It could be Tuesday until I get power…and that is about as optimistic of a prediction as anyone can find.

News bits (Via KY3)

Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency Saturday and mobilized the National Guard. Blunt says the situation is “definitely a crisis” and conditions will get worse before they get better. Blunt activated 350 National Guard members to help in the areas that he said are the hardest hit. Most are headed to Greene County and the rest to the St. Louis area. The governor says across the state 200,000 customers have no power including 65,000 to 70,000 in Greene County. Guard members should be on duty sometime Saturday afternoon.

Saturday afternoon, Blunt confirmed four deaths across the state due to the ice storm, three being from traffic accidents and one from carbon monoxide poisioning.

Another (Via KY3)

Massive power outages and downed trees covering the roads all contributed to Springfield’s qualification as a local disaster area early Saturday morning, according to the Greene County Emergency Management agency. Officials say Springfield is 60 to 70% without power, while some of the other towns in Greene County are 90 to 100% out of power. Qualifying as a local disaster area happens when a city or area is using all of its available resources, and still needs additional help. Officials have now opened up Schweitzer United Methodist Church, 2747 E. Sunshine, in Springfield as an emergency shelter.

Nominated in the “Best Photography Blog” category.

You can see the rest of the nominations by clicking here.

The idea of local awards is kind of fun but the best part is showing just how much great work is being done in Springfield blog wise. The only thing better than the range of things that are in focus are the quality in which they are written. We have an open ended group that meets twice a month. It has been a long time since I have been able to catch one but there have been many great people I have met and interacted with. I really appreciate all of the support this group has given me, There have been a lot of instances when someone reached out to assist me in my photography journey.

Please take some time to check out some of the websites listed in the nominations page.

Springfield’s own happyendings just released a new music video. Very well done.

Still in the long process of sorting and processing these pictures. I thought I would throw out a few. They are a little rough around the edges but good stuff overall.

Had a fantastic time in NYC. Didn’t really have a chance to do updates so tomorrow I will put together a New York mega post. I took around 470 pictures so those will get processed and thrown on here in waves.

It was a stressful return. My alarm didn’t go off and I woke up an hour late. I thought I was going to miss my flight but I ended up huissling out with time to spare.

Heading back to Springtown this evening.