Monday, Monday

I knew if I exposed my creative "use song lyrics and titles for my blog titles" idea it would immediately become hard! Thank goodness for the Mama's and the Papa's!

So how was your weekend? Mine was fine. Friday we didn't so much clean the house as we did nothing. Oops!

Saturday I got out of the house by 9am and did a lot of stuff. However, I had a bad experience at Walmart...evil Walmart! I went with all my wedding photo cds to get prints done for family members and friends and a cool photo collage frame I purchased at Bed, Bath, and Beyond to hang in my stairwell (photos will come). So I had like 52 photos to print, which I did, which took about 40 freaking minutes of standing at the little booth. It took so long because the machine is slow and hey guess what, none of the photos were numbered correctly by the photographer. So I had to scan through the rolls again and try to determine which shot of the 3 only-slightly-altered shots I had was the correct one each person wanted. Hard! But this is not even the bad part...

So at the end of the printing, OF COURSE, the machine thingy has some kind of problem and I have to call over an employee who has to turn it off and turn it back on. So I have to stand there and wait for the computer to reboot so I can get my last 4 prints. Hate it. And then, as its rebooting...oh hey, someone needs to check some stupid part of me (the computer says) before I can finish rebooting. So I call over another photo center employee, who opens the booth and looks at all the stuff and finally, the prints finish printing. Upon which, the employee says to me...do you have your copyright release form? I say, I don't know what that is. She says, its the form from your photographer allowing us to sell you the prints (which I am holding in my hand). I say, I was not given such a form. She says, well then I CANNOT SELL YOU THESE PHOTOS or we could all face a fine. I say, ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? She says, no. Because the photos are so nice (what?) we cannot release them without permission from the photographer. I say, well I obviously have permission as I have all the cds here. Well, we need the form or you could be fined $10,000 and face jail time. WHAT?! Okay...can I just say, does this not seem a little excessive to anyone else? For copyright infringement? I'm not saying these pictures are ones I have taken, I recognize them as professionally done photos, I simply want one in 8x10 and others in 4x6 for my flipping photo collage! I will post a sign next to them that says "photos obviously not taken by me if you have ever seen my photography work."

Okay, anyway, I tell the glad-they-were-working-that-day employees how ridiculous that was. She said to me, I didn't make the rules. And I replied, and I didn't say that you were ridiculous, I'm saying the "law" is ridiculous (idiot woman who won't let me have my photos!). I say, can I call my photographer as she is a friend who does this as a side business and can she give you permission that way? Oh no. We need the form. She could fax it, does she have a fax? I have no idea! GRRR! Who is your photographer? They ask me. I tell them...oh yeah, we do prints for her weddings ALL THE TIME. She usually sends a form.

HELP ME, JESUS! So, as you always do business with her, can I not call her and let her give you permission? No, we need the form. SERIOUSLY! We can hold your pictures until you get the form. Okay, that is better that the NOTHING YOU ARE OFFERING ME CURRENTLY. How long can you hold them? 24 hours. . . . . Um, do you see how that is in no way helpful to me as I doubt I can get a form in that amount of time? Oh. Well how long do you want us to hold them. AS LONG AS YOU FLIPPING CAN! I say. Oh. How about 30 days? Um, OKAY...IF YOU CAN HOLD THEM FOR 30 DAYS, WHY WAS YOUR FIRST OFFER TO SOMEONE OBVIOUSLY PISSED AS HELL 24 HOURS?! COULDN'T EVEN THROW ME A BONE AND START WITH A WEEK?! So. Damn. Helpful.

The form is in the mail. I will have my pictures. My photographer forgot to give me the form in the first place. MOTHER!

Saturday finshed out with lunch with the in-laws for Danny's oldest brother's and grandmother's birthdays and painting the dining room. Not finished, but well on its way. Thanks Dad!

Sunday was uneventful (had potluck dinner at Ross and Susannah's with dogs and friends) in comparison to Saturday.

Whew!
erin