I will still have to work through another seven weeks before I can be for sure that I will not be relieved of my duty. Then again, just about every coworkers have warned me about distinct lack of loyalty towards its workers from the employer, so I suppose I can be let go at any moment's notice.
Snow was no match for seven days of May-like weather. Over 50 inches of snow accumulated during the late February storm is anything but disappeared, leaving bare ground with little vegetation to look at. Hardly there are any flowers blooming, I think they were just as shocked to see that there are no snow.
At first, I was dreaming about buying Sony a300 even before it was released. The idea of fantastic image with swiveling screen and usable live-view was tempting. Not to mention that I have no attachment on legacy film-based SLR cameras and lenses. Then came to realization that I simply did not have money to buy the camera, and using credit card was not an option as I was getting pretty close to maxing out all my credit cards at the time. That, and my part-time job was barely enough to cover my living expenses. So I set my goal on using next year's tax return to buy DSLR camera. As my time line passed, so did my ideal DSLR camera.
By the time my tax return was nearby, my sights were set on Canon Digital Rebel XSi. Higher resolution, beefier looking camera with a company name associated closely with "Real Camera Company" (not that Sony was a fluke, as they bought Minolta's SLR division to start their own). I was almost tempted to get that camera as my parents mentioned about an old Canon SLR camera lying around somewhere in the attic. To my disappointment, that camera used Canon FD mount. So it was not going to be compatible with current crop of DSLR using EF mount. Oh, and I had to pay back money I borrowed from my aforementioned friend, so I was back to square.
My brother-in-law used to take some pictures. Enough so that his grandmother bought him a Nikon SLR camera from yesteryear to nurture his hobby. Many years have passed by (and I have yet to see his pictures) and he decided to look for that camera and let me play around with it after finding out that I was just dying to get a proper camera of my own. The camera he owns is Nikon EM, so called "Nikon for lady" due to its simplicity. It might have been simple for SLR camera users of its time, but for someone who only dreamed of DSLR camera, it was tricky affair. Not to mention that unable to properly spool up 35mm film reminded me why film died out of the way of Dodo as soon as flash memory and digital camera took off.
Not long after acquiring Nikon EM (and 50mm Nikon Series E lens as well as SB-E flashlight), Ashton Kutcher became a spokesperson for Nikon. His goofy demeanor might have been laughable, but Nikon D60 he was holding caught my attention. Upon learning that almost all post-AI era Nikon lenses can still be used with current DSLR (albeit in limited function), I started to compare D60 with XSi and calculate just how much money I need to save up. Meanwhile, I soldiered onto yet another year of Auto Show with compact point-and-shoot camera.
D60 was definitely inferior camera, without costing much less. I was torn between going with Nikon D60 (and using 50mm lens) or Canon DR XSi (and start anew). With enough time passed and no funding secured, I was about to put it aside until next tax return season until Nikon brought out D5000 and pretty much leapfrogged Canon's XSi. By then, Canon upped the ante with T1i, but that was going beyond any justifiable means of price I can spend on. So I finally bit the bullet and ordered D5000, along with Sigma 18-200mm Super Zoom lens (because changing less = less dusty sensor). Above is the one of first 60 shots I took, with almost no knowledge of properly taking photograph (other than using Macro function).
I could have not been more thrilled about the excitement upon seeing the result in full scale. It was lovely. Something so mundane looked so vibrant. I have tried (and failed) many timed trying to take respectable pictures using point-and-shoot camera and none of them come even close to this pedestrian picture I happily snapped the shutter button at. I cannot wait to attend this year's Auto Show. I hope Lexus brought their LF-A.
School:
Orientation over, passed the class (yeah, they graded the orientation class, too), rest of the classes will begin in one week.
Well-being:
No more stomach-flu-like-symptom.
Job:
Please refer to the first two paragraphs. I do not want to talk about it again.
Reading:
Book: I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert, Batman: Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller.
Manga: Kanamemo (by Iwami Shouko), Koe de Oshigoto! (by Konno Azure), and Oui Oui Days (by Inugami Sukune).
Playing:
Star Ocean: The Last Hope International.
Soon: Either Final Fantasy XIII or Resonance of Fate (or even God of War III).
Two-Cents (is still worth more than my busted bracket... *sob*):
So much for March Madness bracket challenge. Now I am sitting at 35th Percentile thanks to all those Big "L"east teams losing the match. I just had too much faith in them, and they returned my faith with big slap on my face. Ugh, I guess I will not have a shot at getting that "Win an Op. Status for One Week" prize.
