Eureka! . . . I FINALLY Got It!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Finally, finally, finally!!!

Woohoo!

I am just overwhelmed with J-O-Y that after about five entire weeks of waiting, I finally have my brand new, first hand Nikon D80 DSLR now!

(Click THIS and THIS to read my previous posts about it.)

I have been quite busy since last February so the waiting didn’t actually seem too long to me. But this afternoon, when Wilbert buzzed me that the balikbayan box he sent from Japan already arrived at their home, my EQ (emotional quotient) just gave way! Hehehe. 

Straight-away I just had to go to their house to get my camera. In all my excitement, I forgot that my uncle’s Isuzu Crosswind Sportivo had number coding today! Mwahaha. It’s a good thing the few policemen and MMDAs that I drove by to get to Wilbert’s Philippine house were all preoccupied. I was able to go there and then back home again without getting caught once.

At Wilbert’s house, I opened my brand new black and gray Lowepro Slingshot AW 200 bag and found my Nikon D80 kit spread throughout the bag. I found the D80 manual last, being discreetly hidden from my view and groping hands and fingers, deeply snuggled in with the bag’s "patented All Weather Cover" (said to protect the equipment from weather, sand, and dust).  My enthusiasm died down a bit when I found everything in the manual written in Japanese!

Hahaha. Why did I even think it would be in English when it came from Japan and is intended for Japanese customers?! Hahaha. Well, they could’ve at least made the manual in several languages, with English always being there consistently (the way Olympus makes theirs). Good thing I still have the English Nikon D80 manual that Pastor Jing lent and that the CLC Media Center owns (they bought a Nikon D80 DSLR last month). That’s what I’m reading tonight. I think I’ll have it photocopied, too. I want something handy though I already have a softcopy version in PDF format.

Earlier, I had some difficulty putting the strap on properly. I think the reason was that I was shaking with hunger by then. I decided to feed my "pythons" first, thinking I’d have an easier time understanding the manual after a full meal.

I was right. Eating helped. And I was able to breeze through putting the strap on.

The next miniature obstacle I had was in attaching the kit lens to the camera body. Haha. Blame that on my fear of ruining my brand new 50,000-peso "toy." It was only after I got that in properly that I read the part in the manual that the battery needs to be charged fully first before first use. That’s about two hours and 15 minutes of charging time.

Right now I’m just waiting for the battery to finish charging so I could test my new toy a bit and start shooting away.

Now I’m thankful my new Nikon D80 finally arrived and safely, too. And, I intend on having another one-on-one thanksgiving session with God later tonight. But, I’m also thinking I’m going have to get a tripod, a flash, and lenses next. Oh, boy . . .  

And, after all that, I’m going to have to get my very own car to tag all those things along safely, plus my laptop, too. Oh, boy . . .  I guess I better start praying again now . . .  Hehe.

Like my laptop, I dedicate my new DSLR to God and pray that He would always empower me to use it for His honor and glory. 

Amen. (Shall we pray by twos now? ) 

If and Only If . . .

If I could sing and were videogenic, I’d join this contest in a flash. But, heck, reality bites hard. So, I’ll content myself with watching entries turned in by more musically gifted individuals. (Click THIS to watch entries to the contest.) . . . I’ll content myself with singing along with them in the privacy of my own bedroom, too. Then later, I’ll also sing it in the bathroom and everywhere else I go (Hehe. Last song syndrome.). 

If I could play my flute as well as I used to I could play it along with Marie’s original version. But, I’m years behind in practice so that’s a dead end, too.

If my guitar were in tune, I could at least strum out the song. I know how to play the chords involved (G, A, D, C basically). But, it’s out of tune. And, I don’t know how to tune it.

If I could play secular songs as well as I could play religious songs on my harmonica, I could just play it on that. But, then I can’t. Another dead end. 

Hmmm. Maybe I’ll just get someone else to sing and play for me. And just direct or produce the video. That’s an option. I wonder when the contest ends though. Well, if I could do all this in spite of my hectic schedule now and before the contest ends, then that would be awesome!  But, again, the operative word is IF. Oh, and come to think of it, how would we divide the prize? Hmmm.

I guess for now that brings me back to being content with just watching other people’s entries. Haha. (This is me taking a break from all the serious thinking I’ve been doing lately. . . . Break is over now.)