DC and the Lumix

Well I got my camera on Friday, the day before I left for DC. So I had to experiment with it while I was on the trip. My advice to anyone is to make sure that you know how to use your camera before taking it on vacation. I know I really had no other choice but it became really frustrating for me on the trip. I did encounter a major problem however. This camera does not have a view finder. This isn't such a big deal for a digital because I hardly ever used a viewfinder with my old elf. However the lcd screen has glass over it and is very shiny. While some days on the trip were overcast I still had problems sometimes trying to see what was in the viewfinder.

However I did find a remedy for this. It is a little polarized piece of plastic that fits right on top of the screen. It doesn't seem like another clear plastic thing would help much to reduce glare, but this is a must have for the camera. The camera has tons of features and there isn't a camera this size with a 6x zoom. It is the ultimate package whith this one flaw. But I have remedyed this and now I am ready to start taking lots more pictures.

IMG_0656 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The question of all questions: If you could do anything with your life what would you do?

This is a question that takes a lot of meditation. Firstly I would pick something that never goes out of style. Meaning that there are always new advances and ways to keep up with global trends. Secondly it would need to involve something that I could be passionate about. Passion isn't a common word any more, espically when it comes to people's careers. But then you hear these fabilous stories about lawyers and business people quitting their jobs to pursue their passion of baking, or what have you, and making lots of money doing it. So the question is how do you pin point your passion and seek it out within a career ?
Is seems that now mostly people go to school and think oh you never know where you will end up.....and that is true; you may start off in one major switch and then just apply for a job and get that. But there are ways to make sure that your dream comes true. By sharing your passion and getting to know those people in the world that have the same passion integrated into what they are doing for a living. One way is to network yourself to the right destination...and blogging has opened a vast window of people and of different areas of interest .....now I need to narrow down my interests and see where I have opportunities....

This might take a while, but anything worthwhile takes awhile to accomplish. Right?

Cursed With Electronics

It seems that no matter what I always have some electronic that is broken. I believe the downfall of my relationship with electronics started last year when my microwave quit on me. My hunt for a new one was something else. I finally found one with a browning feature that I thought would benefit me because I live in a dorm, well when I plugged that baby in she started smoking! We took that one right back to the store. And now (knock on wood) I've had the one I have now for about 4 months and she is holding up well.

Next to go was my printer. I had an Epson scanner printer thing and I loved it. I never treated it badly and it's not like it ever got banged up or dropped. But all of a sudden it stopped printing with the new ink cartrages I'd put in it. I wasted soo much paper and ink on head cleaning it , it was rediculious. Well my wonderful parents replaced it for me, with a different brand mind you. But last night I came to find that I wasn't the only one who had this problem. I was talking with my Dad (he has two of these printers one at work and one at home) and he askes me "guess what blew up at work today?" His printer at work crapped out just like mine! Well that makes me feel slightly better and they know that I really didn't do anything to my printer.

But let me tell you about my experience with cameras. Now first I should let you all know that my father taught me well, and I take care of my things especially the expensive things that I want to have for awhile. But accidents do happen don't they? In high school I went on a wonderful trip with my french class to Canada. Well when we got back one of my rolls of film got stuck in my camera, it was advantix film and I had some shed tears about losing that roll. Next we have my first digital camera. I got a little cannon elf, I believe it was an sd 100. Well this puppy lasted me up until this year. Oh we had some good times with her. But she took a little tumble out of my pocket and seemed fine until the lense woudn't retract in an error 1 or something. So for Christmas I got my new Hp. Well here's the story. I want this little one to get me through Europe this summer. However some icy sidewalk had other plans for my camera. I have to park my car a little ways away from my apartment so I tend to ride my bike over to the parkinglot. Well that sometimes is a hard ride especally when the wind is blowing and it is 20 degrees out. Well I almost got back to my apartment this night and realize that I've left my dome light on. Can't drain the battery now can we? So I turn around and it is freezing out and I get to the part of the sidewalk where it curves and is full of ice. Well I have thought to myself before that I will one day fall on it and that one day had finally come. My front tire slipped and my handlebars turned and boom! I went down flat on my back, my purse flew out of my hands and I even hit my head ( thank goodness it wasn't hard). Stressed out I got up and walked my bike across the rest of the ice and proceeded to my car. The light was on and I was thankful that I had remembered I left it on.
So a few days later I decide to charge my camera so I can take some family pictures. It charges right up and I turn it on.....the screen is white! with all these dark spots in it! OMG I BROKE MY BRAND NEW $200 CAMERA! The screen had shattered. I could still take pictures but there is no way to change the modes or see the pictures.
Well despite all of this I'm hoping that the third time is the charm and I have ordered ( and am paying for it myslf) a little panasonic DMC-LZ2 Lumix.

She is currently in the mail and I can't wait to see her. I have read some mixed reviews but have good feelings that this camera will be perfect for me. And I will be taking particular good care of her. Hopefully I will be able to take some great shots for this site. I am a bit sad that I won't have it for my trip to DC but hey that's the way things go and I didn't have the extra $30 to shell out for overnight delivery. But she should be here when I get back from my trip. How Exciting!

Away for a little while

Well this blog isn't going to be much about food but generally what is going on with me.
About three years ago I had had the best grandpa in the world. He taught me, my sister and my cousins soo much. The most important thing he taught me was how to fish and how to filet them. Then about three years ago he started to change. He wasn't himself. My grandma actually moved out after he told her that he didn't love her and never should have married her, mind you after more than 50 years. They had met when she was 16....she's well into her seventies now. Well recently about two weeks ago he complained about pains in his side. He continued to go to doctors and get opinions. Turns out he had cancer and it had spread to his lungs as well. So they operated on a Wednesday. My parents flew down on Thursday (he's in florida). He didn't do so well in the operation and they almost lost him. After a few days they said that it had spread more and that he was going to go into hospice care. Then on Monday morning his body gave up.
Heartwrenching as that is for me....I know that he is at peace now. After three years of not being himself, not being the grandpa that I knew and loved dearly. The man that taught me to fish, how to catch minnows, that had me fry him hotdogs and the man that used to put mustard on EVERYTHING had been fading for three years and now there is no chance of getting him back. I always thought that he'd be at my wedding.....
So throughout all of the MRI's and cat scans the doctors found a spot on his brain that show the signs of an old stroke. So that possibly explains the entire attitude change.

It has been very hard for me to accept how I have acted through the entire ordeal. I was hurt and confused and far away from the entire situation. What do you do when someone you have known for all your life suddenly changes? How do you cope with that? Now there is no way for me to tell him that I am sorry and that I still love him. 

So it is remembering the good times we used to have. It is remembering the last time I spent with him in Disney before his change.  It is remembering that he was touched by the support I tried to give him when he and my grandma separated. 

I will be traveling down to Florida with my sister for the funeral. I don't think I could ever forgive myself if I don't go. I hope that somehow there will be closure, but this will be a tough trip.