Car Raid

Having grown up as the eldest of three siblings, 53-year-old Treva Felps has learned to be prepared for anything that may come her way.

"They were a handful," Felps said.  "And while we did get along, it was still helpful to be prepared for anything they might do.  Pranks, tricks, whatever."

This mindset has carried all the way into her adult life.  In her vehicle, a 2014 Ford Taurus, Felps carries things such as a toothbrush, a sweater, pillows and blankets, and spare emergency change.

"I travel...prepared," Felps said.  "You never know, when you go someplace--somebody's house, or a business, or whatever--if it's cold.  I keep a sweater in my car so that I always have one to put on if I need it.  Same thing for the go-bag in my car with the blanket and pillow in it:  If I'm stranded, I'm gonna be comfortable."

This careful preparedness does not only apply to possible emergencies pertaining to everyday life; Felps keeps a table in the back of her car, along with an extra ink cartridge for her work printer.

"[The table in the trunk] is for work," said Felps.  "Because I have different places that I go to, I don't have an office at any of those places.  So I bring a table so I can have a place to set up my laptop and printers."

Along with having a stressful job that spreads all over central Texas, Felps is also a mother and grandmother.  Gum, mints, an extra phone charger, and a stray pink teacup have their places in her car because of the children in her life.

"When [my granddaughters and I] visited the grocery store, she had to take her tea cup with her," said Felps.  "Then she lost it, and we came to realize that it had rolled under the seat where she couldn't see it...The other people in my life definitely have a big impact on what I keep with me at all times."

Felps' head is occupied so largely by her job, family, and friends, that she and the granddaughter are usually more forgetful of the little things.

"You can sit anywhere in my car at any given time and see at least three half-full water bottles from where you may be sitting," said Felps.  "[My granddaughter and I] always bring water bottles into the car, drink a little and then forget about them, or get wherever we're going and don't remember to take them out.  I guess it just adds to always being prepared, even if that one is accidental."

A forgotten teacup sits in the backseat of Treva Felps' car.  Felps' young granddaughter lost it under the front seat weeks ago during a trip to the grocery store with her sisters.

Car Raid Preparation

1.  My subject is my grandmother, Treva Felps.

2.  The weekend of May 21-22.

3.  Some questions based off of the objects of the car--for one, the only thing I remember from her car the last time I saw her is a blanket tucked under the front seat.  Questions about the stories or reasons behind the things sitting in the car, or maybe the scuffs on the inside/outside.

4.  The details of the car--make and model--and things inside of it, the age of the person, general information about the person.

Extra Credit Images

Current Events 6.3

1.  After the first claim was made about the cake with the homophobic slur on it, Whole Foods initially fired back with $100,000 defamation countersuit and surveillance video footage proving that Brown had been fabricating the whole thing.  After Brown apologized profusely for having made these things up, Whole Foods retracted the lawsuit, saying that, after an apology and confession, there was no reason to pursue it.

2.  The bison calf died (had to be euthanized) after Yellowstone tourists put it in their SUV, because its mother had rejected it as a result of the "interference by people."

3.  Geofilters are filters or designs that can be added to a Snapchat photo in order to show the location of a person.

4.  Berkshire, a firm headed by Warren Buffet, bought the stocks of Apple.  Buffet usually doesn't invest in any technology companies because it's too hard to figure out or even estimate which ones will last any long period of time.  Buffet buying the stocks of Apple has heavy implications on what he thinks and the future of Apple.

5.  "Captain America: Civil War" was the top (what else would be?), "The Jungle Book" came second, "Money Monster" came third, "The Darkness" came in fourth, and "Mother's Day" was fifth.

6.  I would "prefer" (understatement) to go to Harry Potter World, for ridiculously obvious reasons.
   The competition for these two places is heating up because Harry Potter World is getting more and more popular, which is cutting into Disney's number of visitors and the amount of money they get each year (particularly the summer).  To heat things up even more, Disney is fighting back by adding things for the Star Wars franchise.
   I don't pay enough attention to Disney to exactly have a favorite character, but I like Aladdin.  There's something about going from poor and parent-less to prince, a story that's much more centered around a guy rather than a princess damsel in distress, that was always much more appealing to me than almost everything else Disney has come up with.
   I've taken the Sorting quiz on Pottermore more times than I'm able to count, and have almost always gotten the result "Slytherin."  Respect.  (I got Ravenclaw once.)

HDR Images

HDR Photography Intro

1.  Shadows are definitely a problem while taking merger photos.  In this picture, the shadow is cut off at the head in one place and another doesn't have one altogether.

2.  Some place that's already in shadow, probably against a wall that has the sun on the other side (the side behind the wall).

3.  Not really.  Maybe tell a story, different expressions or body language in each photo.

4.  Clothes don't really have anything to do with this, unless it pertains to the story of the photo.

Final Exam Planning Warm-Up

The most interesting thing I'm doing this week is seeing Civil War, and I'm not willing to take it any later.

1.  This week or this weekend.

2.  At my house, or in my neighborhood.

3.  Cooking a meal.

4.  A DSLR, things from the grocery store, pans, utensils, blah blah blah.

5.  Some of the video portion will probably be the boiling of something, or the process of something baking.  The pictures will be throughout the shopping portion, most likely, and at the very end.  Since I'm technologically impaired, the narration will probably have to be during the videos.