Hey tv,

Thanks for that very entertaining account! I think you've just about made it
as cosy as it can get for anyone who didn't go. Did you actually keep a log
as you went? Certainly appreciate the detail.. great stuff. Some comments:

Almost missed you there in the background-
http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040603-190500-1426.htm

That's some shot! Would have liked to see a face though..
http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040603-201424-1452.htm

It wouldn't be PDML Central without a blimp!! Classic!
http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040607-023546-4946_std.htm

No offence, Norm, but that's just wrong. :)
http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040606-095742-4864_std.htm

That's a great portrait..
http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040605-193934-8152_std.htm

The koala's so cute!! Those furry toys clipped to his hat too..
http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040607-024754-4956_std.htm

Cheers,
Ryan

PS. Still waiting for everyone else's pics and accounts to snail in..


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "tom" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "pdml" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 4:28 PM
Subject: gfm 2004


> I'm going to start this a little early as my GFM experience started with
Tan
> arriving on the 29th. (Aussie, pronounced 'ozzie', translations in
> parentheses)
>
> 5/29 6:20 am - Drive to Dulles (dallas) to pick up Tanya (Tan, sheila, or
> "the mouth from the south"). Realize car smells like feet and mayonnaise,
> pull over to a gas station (servo) to do a little last minute cleaning.
Walk
> into terminal, spy a tall red haired woman at the atm. Figure this
> particular woman couldn't possibly be Tanya, as she had enough baggage for
a
> circus troop and their monkeys, but sure enough, it was Tan.
>
> Did I mention it was 6:20 am? (whinge)
>
> Go home, take a nap. Wake up, Tan offers up the first of her vegemite
> concoctions on buttered toast, and a box of Tim Tams.
>
> Tanya accompanies us to band practice. She only cries a little bit.
>
> She seems to be fitting in pretty well -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040602-223052-1396.htm
>
> 5/30 - Sleep in as we're doing a late wedding today. Tan and Ash head out
> and get hair cuts. I, of course, don't notice, and I haven't heard the end
> of it yet.
>
> Tan makes vegemite on buttered toast with cheese.
>
> Head out to wedding in Alexandria. Wedding was sort of hipster funky -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040530-200140-5621.htm
>
> Not at all a typical american wedding, but she seemed to enjoy herself.
She
> did get a little snippy (narky) when she missed out on the wedding cake.
She
> managed not to drop anything, so she earns the official designation of
#16.
> You can see her observing here -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040530-185412-5406.htm
>
> She's way in the back to the left of the painting.
>
> 5/31 - Ash, Tan and TV head over to Ash's dad's house for a family
memorial
> day cookout. There is no vegemite to be found.
>
> Australians make good guests -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040602-223518-1410.htm
>
> I don't think I did any dishes while she was here.
>
> 6/1 - Sleep in, then head downtown for the dc tour. Tan is detained by the
> federal government for 30 seconds for attempted destruction of property -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tom/images/soup.jpg
>
> Tan decides to cook us a good australian meal (aussie tucker). This turns
> out to be spaghetti with meat sauce (spag bog). She also made a dessert
> called self saucing chocolate pudding, which basically exploded in our too
> hot oven. Since it was chocolate we made an effort to eat it anyway, and
> piled on the ice cream. Tan is amazed at the black specks in the vanilla
> which she mistakes for dirt. She's not bothered by dirt and digs in.
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040602-223446-1407.htm
>
> After dinner we headed downtown to the Black cat to see Beulah. Tan seems
to
> have fun, but is annoyed at that guy at every concert who dances
> spastically.
>
> 6/2 - I have to work today, and Tan is too nervous to take my car out, so
> she contents herself by taking pics of a rose in my kitchen -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/rose.jpg
>
> Yes, she spent a day in dc photographing a flower in my kitchen. Yeah,
she's
> like that.
>
> She seems to be highly entertained by the coffee we have on hand -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/nuts.jpg
>
> Ha, nuts, get it?
>
> Tan screws up enough courage to take a cab to the mall while I meet a
> client. She's late calling me to pick her up, so I go to the mall and get
a
> haircut. She calls while I'm getting shampooed, and shows up during the
cut.
> It's at this point she starts cracking on my incipient bald spot. (twit)
>
> Decide to buy some pants, go to the Gap, see a "vintage" t-shirt that says
> Australia on it. Tanya travels 10,000 miles from Australia and I end up
> buying an Australia shirt at the Gap.
>
> 6/3 - Cotty calls to say that he has accidentally broken the British air
> traffic control system. Something to do with his mac...they're only too
> happy to see him leave, so they send him to NY.
>
> Norm calls to see if it's ok if he passes out in the bushes when he gets
to
> GFM. I tell him I don't mind.
>
> Tan and I drive to Dulles to pick up the van, and she manages to drive my
> car home without killing anyone. And she only stalled 3 times! Crikey!
>
> Some sort of girly ritual occurs at this point -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040602-223558-1412.htm
>
> Or maybe they're comparing stomachs, I'm not sure.
>
> Get ready to go out to Marrakesh -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040603-190500-1426.htm
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040603-190638-1432.htm
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040603-190654-1433.htm
>
> Head to Marrakesh restaurant where we meet Christian and wife, Dan and
wife,
> Geoff and girlfriend, Stephen and beer. We eat with our hands (feral), and
> watch a belly dancer -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/040603-201424-1452.htm
>
> Head to National airport to pick up Cotty. Tan teaches us how to walk like
> models by leading with our pelvis', and we swish right up to Cotty and
whisk
> him home.
>
> Cotty has to open his gear -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/boxes.jpg
>
> Tan always does a little dance when people open presents -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/dance.jpg
>
> The obligatory self portrait -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/selfcottan.jpg
>
> And try out Cotty's Pentax 50/1.2 on my 10D -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/gfm2004/50.jpg
>
>
> 6/4
>
> 9 a.m. - Get up, start packing. Geoff and Wendy show up, and we head over
to
> Ledo's to pick up the 15 pizzas. While waiting we buy an ungodly amount of
> junk food and beer at Trader Joe's. Cotty and Tan decide that Trader Joe's
> junk food isn't junky enough, so we go to 7-11 for fritos, oreos and
> slurpees. Mmm, good. (nice) Cotty forgets to pick up Certs.
>
> 11:30 - The road trip starts.
>
> 12:30 - We drive down 66 a ways and stop for lunch at Hardees.
>
> 2 - Guts start churning.
>
> 5 - Stop near Mt. Rogers for gas, and we're able to show Cotty and Tan a
> Piggly Wiggly sign. I feel my work is done, but we continue.
>
> 7 - Stan calls to see where we are. Of course, we're at the Jehovah's
> Witnesses drive-thru waiting for Tan to get over her car sickness. Where
> else would we be?
>
> 7:45 - We arrive at PDML central and just about everyone but Mark Roberts
> has headed up the mountain for the first presentation. We help Geoff pitch
> his tent while there's still light. None of us has had the 3 month
training
> necessary to pitch this particular model, so it takes us 10 minutes, and
we
> nearly poke out 2 eyes.
>
> 8 - Before introducing the speaker, Don congratulates Tanya for being the
> furthest traveled attendee. She's not in the room.
>
> 8:05 - Arrive at the lecture hall, sneak in under the dimmed lights. Even
> though it's dark, we recognize Frank from 20 feet.
>
> 9 - Lecture ends, and we finally get to meet everyone. As usual, it's
great
> to see old friends, and it's just as great to make new ones.
>
> 9:15 - Head to PDML central. In attendance at some point or another are
> Adelheid, Jostein, Doug, Bill and Phyllis Owens, Cotty, Frank, Cesar,
> Graywolf, Steve and Debbie Desjardins, AnnSan, Bruce Dayton, Marnie, Mark
> Roberts, Stan, Cory, Bob S and wife, Geoff Moes and Wendy, Tom Reese,
> Charles Braswell, Tanya (I refuse to call her fairygirl), Don Delurker,
the
> rest of the Delurker men, tv, and some other lurkers who shall remain
> nameless. I'm sure I've missed someone and I apologize. Gimme a break, I
> drank a fair amount of that rotgut rum (bundy) -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040606-124820-4898_std.htm
>
> 2 - Amble off to bed, fall asleep though it sounds like there are 2
grizzly
> bears mating outside the window. Oh wait, that was Doug snoring.
>
> 6/5
>
> 5 - Gate boy awakens. Realizes Tan is sleeping in the van he needs to
drive
> down to the gate. It's early, so he doesn't really care.
>
> 6:30 - Stan comes down to get Tan to take her shooting.
>
> 6:40 - Tan returns for camera.
>
> 9 - Before introducing the speaker, Don congratulates Tanya for being the
> furthest traveled attendee. She's not in the room.
>
> 12 - Pizza boy starts cooking, and soon starts serving -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040606-024824-4805_std.htm
>
> Afterwards we do a group photo -
>
>
http://groups.msn.com/BillOwensPhotos/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=
> 80
>
> 2 - Tan and I go to the the sanctuary to look at the animals -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/deer.jpg
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/otter.jpg
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/tv.jpg
>
> Cotty and Frank meet us. Tan goes back to the van to get more batteries. 5
> minutes later she comes back to ask where the van is. I suspect Frank took
> some interesting shots here.
>
> 3 - Norm shows up, and turns out to be the funniest person on the PDML.
Sexy
> too. Almost pretty.
>
> 4 - Head up to the top of the mountain to check out the swinging bridge -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040606-060242-4852_std.htm
>
> Head down for dinner, and sit at a table with a Pittsburgh equities
trader.
> We explain the whole pdml thing and she is completely amazed. Or dismayed.
I
> can't read people that well.
>
> At this point a few pdmlers who aren't hardcore landscapers decide to skip
> the 7 pm presentation by Bill Fortney (which I had seen 2 years previous
and
> is excellent). It sort of snowballs out of control and about 10 of us end
up
> at pdml central -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040607-023546-4946_std.htm
>
> 7 - Before introducing the speaker, Don congratulates Tanya for being the
> furthest traveled attendee. She's not in the room.
>
> 7:30 - I realize one of the reasons Tanya came all this way was to learn
to
> use strobes, so we pull the AB out of the bag and have a mini workshop.
Norm
> helps us nail down our exposure -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040606-095742-4864_std.htm
>
> And Cesar agrees to be a model -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040605-193934-8152_std.htm
>
> 8 - People start to go insane. About 4000 pictures are taken with *ist-D's
> without any viewfinder usage.
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040606-125016-4899_std.htm
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040606-145822-4938_std.htm
>
> 9 - Gate boy sells his soul to Mark Roberts to get him to do gate duty the
> following morning.
>
> 11 - Doug and tv get out the guitars. The crowd is in awe and shows it's
> appreciation by telling us to get off the coolers as we're blocking the
beer
> -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040606-141932-4927_std.htm
>
> Later, Mark Roberts shows us how to play and sing a proper song.
>
> 6/6
>
> 8 - Wake up and go to breakfast. Tan puts ketchup (tomato sauce) on her
> bacon.
>
> 9 - Settle into the auditorium to listen to presentations. Don has learned
> his lesson and doesn't say anything about Tan.
>
> 11 - Listen to Doug and Mark present the winners and dishonorable mentions
> for the contest. Doug is really good at this.
>
> 12 - We're all disappointed Frank didn't place. We're pretty sure there's
a
> conspiracy.
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040607-024754-4956_std.htm
>
> 12:30 - Tan starts to get introspective -
>
> http://www.bigdayphoto.com/tan/040607-023706-4951_std.htm
>
> And we start saying our goodbyes. Tan gets a little teary at times...
>
> 2 - The DC contingent hits the road.
>
> 10 - Arrive home. Look for vegemite.
>
> So anyway, there it is. Tan was dropped off Monday am with a few tears,
> Cotty was dropped off Monday night with a few laughs.
>
> As usual, it's hard to leave GFM. Once you go it's hard to stay away. Hope
> to see you all next year.
>
> tv
>
>


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