December 3, 2008
Daily life
3 Comments
These two women have been on the street begging every day since we have been here. They are in different spots but nearly always to be found within a couple of blocks of our hotel. I have been smiling at them every time I see them and we have fed them whenever we have had food to give which is almost daily. (I don’t give them money because they are slaves and whatever they collect goes to the beggar king - essentially a pimp of beggars- EVIL stuff)
any way, we have made a connection and now they greet me. I asked for a picture today and they were very accommodating. I wanted something to remember them by.
December 2, 2008
Daily life, Random Helpful tips
5 Comments
Hannah asked me the other day if I had blogged yet about the day we went to the Buddhist temple- she was there to process it out loud with me and knew I had a lot of thoughts about it. When I said that even though it seems like I have so much time here (being stranded and all) for such a thing it has yet to be QUIET enough in this city to feel like I can get any thoughts in an order understandable to my blogfriends. And she said “That’s exactly how I feel - i want to blog but there is such over stimulation here I can’t process yet.” So Now I have new understanding of why Hannah’s Thailand blog lays fallow…
But I do want to express my appreciation for all that God has taken care of during this strange time and so here is my list of things to pack when you are heading off for an adventure in an unstable country.
- Family with a strong faith that God is in control - so you don’t have the added pressure of handling their freak out (at least not when you are on skype with them)
- SKYPE!!!!
- A hotel reservation in a place gracious enough not to kick you out when you have no place to go: Thank you, Father, that we have a place to stay and please keep all those who are sleeping on airport conveyor belts or under hastily slapped up tents safe, fed, and well.
- A sister who speaks the language and doesn’t get mad when she must race down to the laundry to translate for you before she is dressed for the day.
- A place to feel useful in the long days of unknown: Eli is helping in an English class and Brandy is found in the lobby helping students practice conversation and running spelling and vocab drills.
- A sister who knows how to order strange food to the taste of “farangs” (white people who think they can handle spicy food but really can’t handle Thai people’s idea of “a little spicy”)
- A video game controller to help Eli fill the time- this is big!
- Bible
- A mother who spends time on the phone extracting a guarantee the Northwest will not only replace the canceled flight from Bangkok to Tokyo but ALSO the missed flight from Tokyo to MSP - which isn’t technically covered by the state of emergency.
- Access to funds from home- REALLY I mean this. There are a lot of desperate people who have run out of money because they only planned to stay a certain length of time and I am not taking this gift for granted.
- Some one like Andrea Bordeau who is kind enough to run some book keeping tasks at FCC that cannot wait while you talk her through it on the phone.
- An understanding employer- that’s another big fear I hear about here. Job loss for not returning.
- A husband who: Answers no matter what time you call, listens when you need him to, laughs for same reason, and makes any phone call he can helping to get you home and extend the length of time your debit card will work in Asia. And holds the puppies up to the camera so you can see them.
- Prayer
- Prayer
- prayer
- Friends who leave encouragement of facebook and send emails.
- Friends who feed my husband and check in with him
The list could go on and on- I am so grateful. Thank you, Father. Thank you, friends & family.
November 23, 2008
Daily life
1 Comment
flight was great, food wasn’t bad, and we got to see Alaska! I’ll post those photos later.
Post script: isn’t this ironic? we had no idea what we were in for...
November 11, 2008
Daily life
2 Comments
Behold the single minded focus of Frito Puppy.
November 9, 2008
Daily life
2 Comments
SNICKPOD
Peer into the mind of Paul Dopkins…
November 9, 2008
Daily life
1 Comment
One of my favorite ways of spending time with Paul is side by side on our laptops. Here we are sitting at the kitchen counter and I am playing with my camera.
He’s working on a webjob that hopefully will cover a big chunk of his costs to go to India in Jan 2009. I’m learing about camera RAW files.
November 8, 2008
Daily life
No Comments
Originally uploaded by Brandy Dopkins
I’m learning about Flickr’s “blog this” feature- lets me post a picture from my flickr page directly to my blog. I really like it.
This is a super fun time- in 2000 we went to the Florida everglades and spent the day at Billy’s Swamp Safari. That was our tour guide and he took out a baby alligator so I could touch it. That little fingertip was enough for me- those things are nasty! Paul took the photo and laughed at me the whole time. I love his laugh.
November 2, 2008
Random Helpful tips
No Comments
I really like Phototools. It has helped me make any image better as I edit things for the media screens at Faith Community, and it’s made my personal photography more fun knowing I can make a decent photo great with a little tweaking later.
So I was excited to hear about the upgrade released in October that would include a whole new series of photoframes and layering options and installed it as soon as I could. BIG mistake- which I confirmed when I went to the Phototools support forum after wondering why in the world my photoshop would simply shut down every time I tried to use Phototools.
Feel free, if you are interested in this issue, to browse the forum yourself for other examples and suggested fixes, but here is what I did after much trial & error.
- Use the Add/Remove Programs control panel to uninstall Plug-In Suite 4 if you have already upgraded. (if not, skip ahead to where onOne and I diverge instructions)
- For XP go to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data
- If onOne Software is present you will want to delete it.
- Go to C:\Documents and Settings\Your User\Application Data*
- If onOne Software is present you will want to delete it
- C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS 3 (or CS 4)\Plug-Ins
- Delete onOne Library.acel.8bx and onOne Library.dll if present.
- Go to where Photoshop is located at, commonly C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS 3 (or CS 4)
- Delete the following dll files
-CoreFoundation.dll
-glut32.dll
-onOneSuiteCheck.dll
-onOneToolbox2.dll
-onOneWelcomeDialog.dll
-onOneWidgets.dll
Up until this point phototools support and I are on the same page, you can find all the above steps on this page
Here is where we diverge:
The update is a complete installer, (which takes FOREVER to download, by the way) and the updated versions of phototools and focal point shut down the program. Well, I don’t need new versions of those programs, I just want the new photoframe layers.
- Reinstall Phototools suite 4 from original disc (or stay where you are if you haven’t upgraded yet)
- Run the upgrade file, but select “custom install”
- Uncheck all boxes except photoframe 4.0.
- Complete the upgrade
You will find that while you only installed photoframe 4.0 that the upgrade installer still removed some files it thinks you don’t need, messing up some of your programs, like focalpoint. So here’s what I did next:
- Re-install the original suite from the disc over the top of everything. Do a complete install as if it was the first time. It will put the missing files back and not harm your upgrade to photoframe 4.0.
Crazy huh? Worked though. I’ll update this post if I find any problems in the near future as I play with the software.
October 29, 2008
Daily life, THINK before you speak
No Comments
The original post of a series now titled “THINK before you speak”
Dear Craig’s list poster,
While I suppose I can understand how you may be frustrated with your past experiences selling your items, I wonder if you understand that I, the current reader of your post, am most likely not the jerk you are referring to in the following comment, quoted directly from a recent post:
CASH/PICK UP ONLY!!!
smoke/pet free home! Will NOT HOLD for anyone! If whoever gets here 1st with the money gets it! I’m tired of people saying they will come get it then have to reschedule only to decide they dont want it.
Yes, dear poster, you may indeed be tired of all “those people”. However, now you strike me as a hothead and I will not take the risk of doing business with you. Did you mean to come off that way? I’m guessing no.
You just forgot that this is my first impression of you, and a temper tantrum is not a good first impression, nor a positive public face. Does this somehow exact revenge upon the person who apparently decided your items were not the quality they were hoping to purchase? No, it only reflects on you.
And you just alerted me to the fact that someone else rejected your stuff as not worth the money. I think I will take a lesson from your last buyer and pass on your things.
October 29, 2008
Daily life
2 Comments
I am generally more reserved publicly than this, but I want to lay this one out there. It matters much to me.
If anyone feels so inclined to join me in this prayer, now and whenever you think of it in the future, thank you.
Father, please allow me to complete my work with excellence and peace. Guide me to focus on what needs attention today and trust You for the rest. As I go into designing images for any new series, give me a proper perspective, the knowledge that bells and whistles and flashing media mean nothing without You. Yet I want to do my part with merit, allowing the preaching pastor (Larry, this time) to trust that I took care of my tasks and he can focus on his, maybe even be inspired by what I put in front of him. It’s enough, at the very least, to not distract worshipers with sloppy work, so I ask that You protect me from carelessness. I also ask, Father, that You enable even more; to support Your message visually for those that are visually oriented.
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