Month: February 2006

you’ll all be glad to know that my nikon d50 has finally arrived. know i can begin taking photos with the thing. of course, i don’t really know what i am going to take photos of right now but that will come.

it’s 6:15 and the ups tracking system says that my nikon d50 has still merely departed secaucus, nj and not arrived anywhere yet. where could my d50 be? it shouldn’t take 36 hours for the ups truck to check into another spot for for the diligent ups workers to scan my box and verify that the d50 is on it’s way home to me. something most have happened to prevent it from running home to me. this leads me to two possible conclusions: 1) the ups driver realized that he/she was carrying a nikon d50 within his vehicle and decided that it was worth losing his/her career to posses the d50 and has stolen my little gem in transit. i’ve never really trusted anyone who willingly chooses to wear brown from head to toe. OR 2)the ups driver had an accident and it stuck unconscious in a ditch by the side of the road. the driver’s injuries are probably so heinous that they keep him/her from radioing in for someone to come and make his/her delivers (and get help for his/her injuries). my poor little d50 is sitting there in the dark worried for it’s poor little life and having to listen to the cries of the ups driver. i sure do hope that the ups driver regains consciousness so that he will be able to call for someone to come and pick up his/her delivers (and of course, get help for his wounds – but after the deliveries are made).

neither of these options is good. i fear the worst.

for the fun of it i thought i would write out the items that i believe will be my first acquisitions to compliment the d50 (of course, i have months and months of research and saving before i buy any of these items – after all, it took me a year of research and saving before i decided to buy this camera). here goes:

• nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF standard nikkor lens – it’s allot cheaper than the 1.4 aperture lens but it’s still good. everyone i’ve talked to says that i need to get a decent 50mm lens first thing.
• canon delux photo backpack – having a backpack to hold the d50, lubitel, holga, tripods, film, etc. would be nice and the canon bag is the best for the price that i’ve seen thus far (i.e. it’s relatively cheap). it’s says “canon” on it but i can put up with that for the price, or simply rip it off.
• nikon ml-13 wireless remote – it’s a cute little device that lets me trigger the shutter remotely.
• nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6g AF nikkor lens or sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 dl macro lens – the nikor lens is a nikor and that definitely has a pull to it but the sigma lens is a macro lens and that has it’s own draw. if i had to choose today (which i don’t) i’m not sure what i would choose – maybe it would be the nikon 55-200mm f4-5.6g ed AF-s dx nikkor zoom lens.

i’ll end up researching this tuff out for quite sometime. i’ve decided to build a separate amazon wishlist to keep up with the items that i begin to consider (was i the only person on the internet who didn’t realize that you could set up more than one wishlist on amazon?).

of course, none of this matters if my camera continues to be stuck in a ditch with the unconscious ups delivery person.

since i have to drop the boys off for school (unlike dropping the boys off at the pool) i usually arrive in the church office somewhere between 7:10 a.m. and 7:25 a.m. noah and i usually hang out together for awhile waiting for the elementary school to begin (it begins 20 minutes later than the middle & high schools). so after noah leaves for school i have the office all to myself for 20 minutes or so. it’s a great time to get myself focused, pray, check my email and voice messages, etc. i love the quiet time i have. today noah’s sick and thus i have the office all to myself from the moment i have arrived. i just finished checking my email and was greeted by the tremendous subject line “your cameta camera order has shipped for ebay #7589942992”. yes the d50 has been shipped.

for those of you who feel like your life depends upon this information i’ll post the current events of the d50’s journey to baton rouge:

us 02/21/2006 5:45 p.m. billing information received
02/21/2006 9:14 p.m. origin scan
farmingdale, ny, us 02/21/2006 10:55 p.m. departure scan
02/22/2006 12:23 a.m. arrival scan
secaucus, nj, us 02/22/2006 4:41 a.m. departure scan

i hope this helps calms your fears. i will keep you updated.

SIDE NOTE – in the interests of truth in advertising i have got to tell you that i am old. i know most of you know this already but i figured i would simply reinforce this fact for you. i have begun to be more demonstrative in my emotions (i.e. i laugh allot easier than i used to). i’ll be watching a commercial and just bust out laughing over something i once would barely acknowledge. the one that gets me right now is one of the febreze commercials. it’s the one where the group is playing charades and the guy is on the floor smelling the carpet. the people are guessing things like “speed bump”. when one of the guessers shouts out “you’re a sausage link” i lose it ever time. it’s a sad state.

SIDE NOTE – i recently read this article concerning a group in san francisco called “the compact.” they have decided as a group not to buy anything new in 2006. they have allowed themselves to buy new food, health and safety items, and underwear, but that’s it. everything else that they buy during the year has to be used and if there is any question concerning it’s used nature they have agreed to discuss it with each other. this is their attempt to keep themselves from being governed by the constant impulse to buy that is so natural within our society. i think it’s great. pam and i were challenged quite some time ago by the thought that if our income determined our lifestyle then were were being controlled by that income. in other words, if the amount of money you spend to live is determined by how much money you make (i.e. you spend everything you make) then you are controlled by your income. this is why so many people (myself included) were able to survive on next to nothing as students and then later in life can barely make it on $150,000 a year (myself not included because there is no way that a youth minister would ever be paid $150,000). being controlled by your income is also why so many people who actually want to give to great charities find that they have very little money to give. since being exposed to that thought pam and i have tried to control our expenses rather than having them control us. we don’t always succeed but we are constantly trying. i don’t know anything else about “the compact” but the “buy nothing new for a year” thought sounds pretty compelling to me.

of course, there is great irony in the fact that i am talking about this in the same post that i have written about my new nikon d50, which apparently hasn’t moved from secaucus, nj yet. come on ups

just thought i would let y’all know that i have not received my nikon d50 yet.

the step for today was setting a temporary shipping address on my visa/debit card so that it would allow cameta camera to ship the camera to our church. after a long time on hold, and a long discussion with one of the regions bank employees i was able to temporarily change the shipping address on my visa check card. now cameta can shipp the d50 to me.

i know that all of you are sitting on pins and needles waiting for me to finally acquire this camera. therefore i will keep you updated whenver possible.

UPDATE ON THE UPDATE – there is now a “pending” charge on my checking account for the amount of my camera. this charge will change from “pending” to an actual charge once they ship the camera. it means i’m just that much closer top the dream. of course, it also means i am that much closer to “buyer’s remorse.” this time period between placing the order and actually receiving the camera is the best part of the whole process. at least i have 10 days of joy.

i finally bought it. i’ve been saving up for awhile and with a little negotiating i was finally able to get a dslr. for a year now i’ve been researching out which camera would most meet my needs (price versus abilities). i didn’t want to buy a camera that would be below what i would use it for but i also now how limited my abilities are and therefore i didn’t want to waste my money and buy a camera that i would never actually use most of. the nikon d50 seems the best fit for me. it’s a strong camera but not too much for an ameteur like me.

it’s has been purchased. now i have to wait for ups to deliver it. in 10 days this puppy will be mine. here’s the deal i got on it.