It was a nice relaxing weekend here. I hit that super-rare academic sweet spot where I had just handed back assignments in one course and I won’t receive anything new to grade from the other course until Tuesday, so I had some time to myself. A few friends were here from out of town, so after I ran Friday’s ten-miler, I refueled by joining them and hitting a local Food & Wine festival.

In the picture above is my friend J who just completed her first half marathon last weekend and totally killed it. We were both due for a celebration and this was a great place to do it. There was a band and tons of food tents and such. I heard the food was pretty tasty, but I wouldn’t know since not a single vegetarian item was offered, let alone anything vegan. I hate to complain when it was otherwise a great night — I do live in Alabama, so the lack of veg-friendly food doesn’t surprise me. Anyway, I enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine, some conversation, and some people watching.

After we had had our fill of the festival, we headed to a pub nearby where, after much begging at the bar, I finally found someone who could take my order for food. I got a basket of fries, which seemed to disappear from the table awfully quickly. I can’t imagine how that happened, since I assure you that I did not let my friends eat a single one. I think I basically inhaled them. (See? Really not a paragon of healthy living over here. But when I burn that many calories in my morning run, I don’t worry too much about eating a ton of French fries for dinner.)

In the meanwhile, I pulled out my Nikon again. There is nothing my friends love more than mugging for the camera. “Please,” they beg, “take more photos of me and make sure to post them publicly online.” (This is a lie.) But I think they are all so good looking and funny that I persist anyway.

See?

Sooner or later, someone will turn the camera on me, though!

What do you guys think — are you more often the photographer or the model? Do you like it when your friends and family whip out their cameras, or do you wish they would just cease and desist already?