Resizing multiple pictures with Automator

I work with pictures a lot, since that's what i do and so i have to resize them often when uploading to internet or sharing via mail, skype and so on. My biggest problem was the time i have to put into, so lately lots of pictures are just left to be without being processed, even though everyone's asking me to upload this or that shot, but i shiver from the thought of resizing 100 or 200 pictures and just promise myself to do it tomorrow and tomorrow i promise to do that the day after and i never really do a thing. So today i finally decided to google it up... And right now, i'm siting with a huge smile, relieved and a little bit angry with myself for not doing it earlier. 

I am a Mac user, so there's not gonna be any useful information for Windows users in this post, but those, who are using Mac and still don't know how to resize a batch of pictures at once, gonna love it!

I found an article about how to do it using Automator (i know, lots of people are somehow afraid of this program, but believe me - it's good!), and wanna share it with you... There's one mistake though in the article, or if it's not a mistake, then at least difference if you're using the newest OS. When you're choosing an application the article tells you to go for PREVIEW, which in my case was PHOTOS. So don't panic if you cannot find the Preview thingy. Anyway, have fun with it:

http://www.macosxtips.co.uk/index_files/access-extra-preview-features-through-automator.html#unique-entry-id-148 

Your Milly

Day 55.

Almost vacation today... We didn't work at lunch time and if not that reservation from a famous person, that came just while we were sightseeing a little bit, i don't know if we would have worked at all. But one reservation didn't hurt anyone! And we started just from 5 pm today, so i guess it's fair.

I was glad i could have a little bit more time than regular this morning... I did may things, started planning university, filled my agenda with when-to-do-what lists, started choosing additional subjects for studying - i'm thinking i'm going for russian and/or indonesian. I wanted to do DaF (German as foreign language), because i really love it, and i like the teachers, but every single class of that subject crosses with my main classes, so i cannot choose it. Pity, i was really upset by that. But it's never perfect in life, huh? Anyways, there's a lot of new subjects available which woke my interests to come back to that university a little bit more! But what i didn't like was that japanese is also available, which means that there might be newbies in the language course with us, which brings our already low level and further down...

For lunch we went to a park to have a picnic! I looove picnics! We didn't prepare anything by ourselves, because i think it was kinda spontaneous thing, so we had to buy everything, but that doesn't matter, because picnics - any picnics - rule! So we went to this nice quiet park surrounded by tea bushes... Was really beautiful and interesting. And that park had a small organic (i suppose) vegetables shop, where everything's pretty cheap, so we bought vegetables and fruits. Prices were really good except for honey - it was as expensive as hell (just like about everywhere), which makes me crave more and more for a true lithuanian honey. To be completely exact - for honey from my parents bee hives.

After our small picnic we went to a shrine and fed fishes and turtles. The smallest boy kept on eating the fish food, because it was actually kinda delicious and sweet - i tried it. There's gonna be a big festival in that shrine, but i'm not gonna be in Omaezaki anymore...

Before this small trip i managed to order pictures for my exhibition and with having done that i'm completely ready for the exhibition to come, just need to calm down my nerves and be positive about it! I already started doing my portfolio, since i'll have to show something when i'm going to UK. So it was a productive day for me - glad about it!

Day 54.

We had an early finish today! Woohoo!! We had a reservation for lunch, but none for the evening, so my hosts decided to call it a day when it was just 5 pm.

It was good for me, even though i didn't do anything remarkable in my free time. I did however grab a bike and went for a short ride in the neighborhood. I'm also done with the final pick for the exhibition, so now it's just ordering left. It's less than a month until my grand opening and i'm really happy i've decided to do it! I've never studied photography, i just learned it by doing it and experiencing new things, so i often feel insecure about my pictures, because i lack theory in order to defend them if someone says it's crap. But i guess everyone will just smile at me, even if it's terrible.

I notice that the work starts annoying me sometimes. Especially in the mornings. Today we left at 10 am, which is about 2 hours earlier than normal, so i was already a little bit afraid of what's coming today. But it turned out not so bad at all... I started sleeping worse, way worse and it's definitely a result of this kinda work, but it's just 10 more days before i leave, so i can take it. The sleep is not as important at the moment as for example my weight... Today i couldn't believe how badly i fucked up!! I don't remember the last time it was as bad as now, so it really got on my mood for the whole day. I'm angry with myself. Big time. And i've already told my host-momma that i'm gonna cut on the portions a little bit, because i don't feel good now and she understood me - she's a woman after all. (And a gorgeous one by the way...) It's a pity it's so terribly hot in Japan, because i would like to do some jogging and sports outside - i brought my exercise outfit, but for me it's just suffering to be outside, not even talking about working out. But i'll find a way. I know i will lose that weight and get back to normal look, but it's gonna cost lots of time, nerves, patience and self-confidence, which i barely have. Anyway, it's not just about the fact it's not gonna be easy, but also bout the fact, that i fucked up so much! I mean, i gained 5 kg which is A LOT and i gained them in like 2 months, but to lose them takes way longer, it's not just about the weight as well, it's also bout the body shape, because it's not gonna be nice after i lose them... Well, to sum this up in a sentence: i'm angry, disappointed, disgusted and upset.

Day 50.

I'm already looking forward to my day off! Really badly lacking time for myself here in this place... I also noticed that in the amount of pictures - i barely made any, besides of the first day off, when we went to the sea and Nagomi - the place i work, but the rest just stays behind. I have couple of hours in the morning, before the work starts, but i really don't wanna do anything, but just stay at home, lie on the bed and just do nothing.

And yet, i cannot believe it's been almost 2 months already in Japan! The trip last year was not the best one and now i start being disappointed. When i think how much i could have done, but have done nothing really much... But it cannot be changed, for it's already in the past, so there's no use for me to be upset about it anymore! I'll have my time in Tokyo this year for a couple of days, so i'll have to use it well.

Since i'm constantly busy with the exhibition, it starts living within me. Probably it should. At first it was just a random thing to do, but i started putting hopes in it, i really wish it could lead me somewhere, lead to something better. I'm trying to get a place in the capital city in Lithuania for my little exhibition and there's one potential spot, where i might get in - it would be really awesome! It's difficult for me to exhibit my works in Lithuania and hope for something, when i'm not even living there, but that's just a step into the future - i have to show myself every once in a while and it's about time i start doing that.

With business cards and postcards ordered, just the pictures are waiting to be processed. And i still haven't decided on the last choice. I have 54 potential pictures and have to go down to 20. My day off on weekend is gonna be tough!

Day 49.

Today i managed to shape my working day on my own and so i felt way better...

We again spent around 12 hours in Nagomi, but i took my laptop with me, so i could work in the pictures - and i did lots of work today. I took books, i slept, i didn't rush to work too much. I took my time, relaxed, so today the day passed by easier.

It's still hard to spend the whole day (almost) at one place, not being able to take time just for myself, but since we're staying in Nagomi all the time, i just gonna have to accept it as a fact and try to relax there and feel like at home.

Yesterday i forgot to mention, that a friend of my hosts arrived one day back and is staying with us and somehow it feels nice that someone else is here besides me. He's not a wwoofer, he's just staying with us, but he's also helping out which is really nice!

And with days going by, i come to remember what the host from Sasayama said: "it's not for the whole life that you're wwoofing, try new things, new places, try to adapt to what it is, because it's not gonna last long anyway."

Day 46.

Nagomi, the cafe i wwoof at:

Day 36.

It's getting extremely hot again! That's kinda weird, because i thought that summer heat is over already, since it was getting cooler and cooler and then it hit us again! I even don't dare to imagine how hot it is somewhere in Tokyo or in any other big city at the moment... We're lucky to have lots of trees that filter the air through, we have mountains, so it's a little bit better than in concrete jungle. Well, to be honest - it's way better, not just a little bit.

Today i spent extremely a lot time for my internet page and i'm happy to announce that i've done almost everything and just gallery waits for the pictures to be uploaded, which i'm gonna do tomorrow and launch it! Even though it's just a stupid page on one hand, done with flash for free, but on the other hand, it means a lot for me. Even though sometimes i don't really know what i'm doing with my photography and if i'm gonna be able to achieve my goals that i have, but this is a big step towards the final goal. After all, not the result, but the process is important in most of the cases.

Today is our day off, but we had 10 kids coming to us for a small experiment, so they can have fun, we can have fun (*cough cough*) and their parents can have fun seeing the kids having fun. To be honest, i thought the whole thing needed a little bit more organizing, but it went quite well in the end. Kids seemed like having fun, and the head of this even - Seth Sensei, was also quite pleased, so the goal was more or less achieved.

Even though the experiment itself didn't go too well, basically - everyone failed, but the room was filled with laughter and positivity.

Just one negative thing on our host's side... Which is part of organizing things. It took us about 3-4 hours, even though we were told it's gonna take just around 1 hour. And then people might think, that i'm complaining again, but it's just difference in doing things. If i say, it's taking 1 hour, it shouldn't go over 2 hours at least (for me 1,5 hour would be the limit i guess...), so it's just misunderstandings. Just like with wwoof profiles sometimes - the things we have here are amazing and i'm happy to be there, but the fact that it's almost total difference than the profile isn't nice. Especially for those people who are really looking at the profile... (Like myself)

After this whole experiment thing, we had a conversation with one guy which wasn't nice. Yesterday was our "Friday" so we fucked up big time... Yoshi came over, guys had beers, snacks, we had guitar, so we relaxed too much and made too much noise. And some people got really really upset... The way of telling that was maybe wrong, because it was really judgmental and personal, but the things he was talking about were all true and reasonable. After the conversation i pretty much felt like a piece of shit, because it WAS a mistake, that we all did, and we shouldn't have done that. For all those who are gonna wwoof there i would have just one simple thing to say - if you are there, you HAVE to live like everyone around you does, which means that even though we're mostly young people, we cannot just go party all night, because it's not what we do in Tsuji. That was something good to understand for me, because it's a good experience for my life. I'm leaving Tsuji soon, but it's a good lesson for my future. Respect your surroundings not just theoretically, but be the surroundings - when you realize you're part of it, you immediately will respect it way more.

For a positive note, more pictures from the kids day:

Day 12.

An absolutely quiet day with lots of cicadas outside. They're getting louder and louder every day... My second day off has ended and i'm already getting ready for tomorrow. There was no sun today again, so i couldn't turn into a normal person - i couldn't get some sun on my back side and still am half white/half brown. Today i mostly spent my time in my room, reading a recipe book that i found (and stealing recipes), watching some anime and television. Because of time difference, most of my friends are sleeping when i'm awake and i'm going to sleep, when they come to facebook or skype, so it's also a bit weird not being able to buzz someone just during the day (my day). Also, i miss one particular person and i even don't know if i get to see Him even when i'm back in Europe. Our relationship with my bf is totally unstable at the moment and it feels like he's backing off. Probably because of all those practical problems he has. It does feel unfair, since i'm ready to face His problems, but it seems He's drifting apart slowly, which hurts and leaves me in confusion. I don't know what's happening, i don't know if we're heading somewhere, i don't know if we are still we.

In the evening we went to eat to a nice restaurant and talked for quite a while. I heard some complaints from Kazuko again about the boys. How James borrowed some money and didn't pay back or how Robert took/stole the slippers... But i just listen to her, sometimes comment and that's it. I already got a task for tomorrow, which is cleaning wwoofers' house. That's so unfair! They made a big mess and left it and since i'm the only one here now, i'm gonna clean it. But probably that's way better than weeding in the sun (or rain). I get to work quietly and on my own pace, also i get to decide where to put what and i do like cleaning, so it's not a bad task after all. Besides, i promised Kathi to make some pictures of wwoof house, so i'll have the chance!

It's strange now when everyone's left. Adam was supposed to stay, but he decided to leave today as well. It's more about not wanting to be here with Kazuko (our host), than because of his swollen thumb, which wasn't that much swollen, i think, but the official reason is that he cannot work any longer because of his accident last week. Fair enough... It's his call anyway. Of course i miss all of them already, but maybe it's good that Adam left. Why? Personal reasons. It's better for me now to be alone, because it might have gotten tricky with just two of us here.

In the afternoon some warm sun rays kept on falling down, so i took my camera and made some pictures in Clare's garden, take a look:

First reply from WWOOF - positive!!!

Today i had a nice evening... After i came back from work (around 11 pm) i immediately got two nice messages.

First of all it was a call from my special one... After what happened yesterday i wasn't expecting him to give me any attention at all, but i was relieved by his warm voice and by what he said. I was thankful... And it calmed me down, warmed me up and gave me even more faith in us.

Right after that i went to check my email, because this morning i sent two messages to WWOOF hosts and thought that maybe i might get an answer already, but it was more of a hope than actually expecting it to be there in my email, but i actually got one message already. So, let me brag about it.

Here it goes:

ｶﾐﾚさん
お申し込みありがとうございます。
７月２８日から８月８日までなら受け入れが出来ます。
お返事まっていますね。
hXXXXXX
やまざき和子

The message says:

Kamile, (yup, that's my whole name :>)

Thank you for your message.

Reception is available from 27th of July until 8th of August.

We're waiting for your answer.

WWOOFer's code,

Yamazaki Kazuko (i guess it's Kazuko, but i'm not sure bout the reading...)

Wooooohooooo!!!!! I'm totally overjoyed. Even though i wanted to work there from 26th of July until 16th of August, this is still good since it's positive. That means i'm gonna stay at Natsuko's longer than planned, which is just awesome, coz i like Yokohama and i like Natsuko for sure... And also, it's good that they replied so fast, because now i know how to put my schedule in August. Well, i guess i'm gonna leave to Kansai on the 9th of August and stay there until September and then hopefully move to Shizuoka and on 22nd of August go back to Tokyo and stay there for a while at my friend's place.

Until today it still seemed a little bit chaotic, but now it's starting to move on. I'm really happy i get to go back to Japan this summer...

By the way, this morning i got a package! My photo sample came in. I've decided that the quality is pretty good and this price is ok, so i'm gonna go for Kodak Internet Photo Service for my exhibition in October. Everyone who's in Lithuania from October 8th, please do visit my exhibition.

And now, i'm gonna go to sleep... Today without headache, but with a terrible belly pain (pms.... U_U), still with way better mood than yesterday.

Goodnight!