Back to school

In the past I've said that I am done with school. No more studying, exams or writing papers. No more prodding myself to remain disciplined and focused. When I retired, it would mean pursuing only those things I deemed to be fun, interesting and without deadlines or proficiency requirements. No more yearly competency exams ( the same dozen or so modules with the same test questions year after year ) required for my job. I would be free to ignite my long suppressed creative energies. It can be difficult to allow those energies to surface, even when needed to help alleviate the stress,  if saddled with a highly stressful job that can leave one so completely drained that days off and brief vacations are needed to simply recover.

Two years ago, when I decided to cut back on my job to half time, I began to dabble in painting with acrylics. I never had any professional training, just a desire to see what I could accomplish trying my hand at abstract pieces. I've found painting to be fun and relaxing, although I'm not so certain that I'm really any good at it, outside of a decent understanding of color and texture.  I'll continue painting when we get to Mérida on a permanent basis, but I've also uncovered an old dream of learning photography.

I finally purchased a decent digital single-lens reflex camera which is a huge step up from our old point and shoot camera. A highly rated DSLR, the T2i is not a professional camera but is quite good for a "serious" hobbyist. A good camera is needed for exceptional photography although the essential ingredient is the artistic ability of the photographer. My artistic nature, long dormant, has begun to surface and I am excited about photography. However, the mechanics of digital or film photography is about as foreign to me as quantum physics.  Canon T2i for Dummies is not sufficient to teach me all that I need to know

Enter The Photography Institute. I'm possibly in over my head, but I enrolled in a 24-week course in professional photography. It's online, so I can pace myself and take up to a year if needed to complete the course. This will most likely slow down my blogging, but I should have some interesting photos to share from time to time. And I might even discover a way to make a little income when we finally get to the Yucatán. You know, enough for a little travel to places like Palenque or Xalapa.