2090 replies to this topic

[Amethyst]

-------------------------------------------------- Last night
---------------------------------------------- Today
------------------------------------------ Tonight

+? Slowly getting better...?

[rekaru]

+back in california for the summer :D
-my latest check hasn't come in yet, which means my new desktop will have to wait
+but, my laptop is getting fixed
+if i maintain the rate at which i've been learning japanese, by the end of summer i'll probably be able test out of advanced classes, which means i could just make my own class (with departmental approval, of course) in which i can cover jlpt stuff.
-i still have a ways to go though. the joyo kanji isn't as bad as everyone hyped it up to be..but advanced grammar is pretty tough.
-still haven't worked on my proposals. blech.
+/-research assistantship fell through. oh well, looks like i'll just have extra time to read~
-stopped freelance writing for a bit. i want to work on improving my art first, then toward the end of summer, market myself as a freelance illustrator/writer. unfortunately, while this does mean i'll have a lot more free time, it also means i won't have too much extra money to throw around during the summer. not that my writing jobs ever gave me that much money to begin with, haha.

[Kamau]

@#^#$.

- Went to bed at 3 a.m.
-------- Was woken up to leave at 6:20 a.m. in order to go to work with Dad.
---- Didn't end up helping with much of anything that he said I was going to help him with.
++- Went back to the office and learned how to do something new. Good because I know how to do it. Bad because it means he'll want me to do it more often. Good because he'll probably pay me to do it.
---------- Can't leave, despite being shown what to do already (and having finished it), because Dad's talking with a client and Mom says I need to ask and make sure that there's nothing else he wants me to do before leaving.
-------------------------------------------- $^&$%@#$. Mom just was like "so when your father comes back out of the room, and the client is still with him, make sure to watch what you say because he's an important client." And I'm like "Uh yeah, I know that." And she starts going on about how I have a "combative edge to my voice" right now and how I'd "better not back-talk" when Dad comes out. All I need to do is ask him if there's anything else he wants me to do. I'm not stupid enough to back-talk my father in front of any client, and I told her so, but she just kept going on about it.

-------- Camera has been gradually falling apart since the beginning of last semester. The one major screw that holds the entire casing together fell out in the beginning, and it's progressed to the point where the entire front cover has come off at one point, though with force I can push it all back together. The zoom knob doesn't like to turn anymore, which probably means some dirt or something got inside and is hacking up the circuits. Dirt has gotten into the viewfinder so, though it's not in the pictures, I can't wipe it off or anything. The knob to switch between options on the camera still agrees to turn, but it's starting to slow down. The camera takes absolutely forever to actually cooperate and take a photo. The other day, when I tried to take a video, it refused to press down until I restarted the camera. Restarting the camera takes a long time too because the button is wearing out. Etc, etc, etc.
-------------------------------------- Rather than letting me just get a new one, Mom insisted on me going to a camera store in town in order to find out how much it would cost to get it repaired.
------------------------------ I feel like I was insulted at the camera store when I went down there. Conversation:
Man: What can I do for you?
Me: I want to know how much it would cost to have this repaired. -hands camera-
Man: -starts looking at camera- What's wrong with it?
Me: Essentially, it's practically falling apart. -briefly describes that the zoom button barely works and there's at least one screw missing, so stuff inside is a bit damaged-
Man: Well, there are a few screws missing from the bottom. Someone's been taking this camera apart. (Oh yeah, I've definitely been taking my camera apart in my spare time...Totally explains why I don't know what's wrong with it.)
Me: Uh... no, it's just been falling apart for a long time now.
Man: Yeah well, I've been doing this for a while and I've never seen them come out on their own. (Oh, so now he's going to tell me I'm wrong?)
Me: ... ... How much would it cost to fix it?
Man: I'd have to know what's wrong with it first. There's a $20 estimate fee, and it gets incorporated into the repair cost after we figure it out.
Me: Look guy, I just need you to tell me that it'd cost more to fix it than to buy a new one.
Man: I can't tell you that because we haven't done the estimate yet.
Me: -has had enough- Alright, well, thanks. I've got my answer. -takes the camera back and leaves-
Man: (as I'm leaving) Tch.


#%^#$#@B%#$^. Look bucko, I didn't come to your store to get insulted. I came to get a rough estimate on the price of fixing my crumbling camera. If you're not smart enough to at least say "oh, well, it'll probably cost somewhere between *price* and *price* because of the camera type and what looks to be wrong just from the outside, maybe a bit more but we don't know yet. There's a $20 estimate fee, but that would allow us to figure out exactly what's wrong if you'd like" then I want nothing to do with you. It's not that hard to be polite and not make it sound like I took my own camera apart for fun and just wanted you to put the pieces back together.

----------------------------------------------------- After replaying all of this to my mom, she still thinks we should just get the screws and put it back together. $^#$%(#U%Y$.


... .... .... + I will probably be home early enough to hang out with people, if either of the two people I hang out with at home want to actually get together...

[kspr]

^+if it was a Ritz/Wolf camera, take solace knowing theyre going out of business, but also be pissed because they have a book there that has camera models and average repair costs. but cameras are a pain in the butt to repair because so much can go wrong with them.

[Kamau]

It's a Canon. :/ And it was already permanently out of stock in stores when I bought it because I bought an older model on sale...

[lazlo falconi]

He means if the store was Ritz. Also, your mom may be right about putting the screws in, the zoom servo might not work if it needs to be touching the casing. But that's just a faint glimmer of a possibility. How much did the camera cost? If it was less than $200 you're probably better off getting a new one.

Edit: The Nikon D3000 is only $800 now for the starter kit, which comes with a 2GB SD card, a basic lens, carrying case, battery and charger, and probably some more stuff, which pisses me off because I paid nearly $1000 for my D80 starter kit. ($1400 after the 2 year warranty)

[Kamau]

I wish I could buy a camera like that... <3

My camera cost $200, and it came with a 3-in-1 printer, so the camera itself was even less. If I am one day allowed to get another camera, it'll probably have to be in the $100-$200 range max, sadly.

[lazlo falconi]

Try a Coolpix S640. It seems like a pretty awesome camera, and it's a Nikon, so you know, good.

[kspr]

Any Nikon is really good. They're incredibly easy to figure out. this one has no viewfinder because of the huge screen i couldnt find the fuji i have on the site, but this one is half off, and a pretty good camera. girlfriend/fiance has this one and it's super compact, and still has a decent flash. actually it looks like most of the compact canons are on sale. what kind of pictures are you taking with it? are you trying to do something artistic with it? or is it more going to be just for fun? unless you're going to enlarge a picture, you don't really need anything more than 7 megapixels. otherwise they're just cramming more pixels on the sensor chip. which usually isn't any bigger than your thumbnail. they're also square for the most part, except for nikon i think has the pixels that are octagonal.

[Stars]

I don't have a camera of my own (other than what's on my phone), but my storm chasing friend asserts that Nikon is the best.

[lazlo falconi]

It's really a matter of opinion, but I'd agree with your buddy. (Also storm chasing? This friend doesn't happen to live in the midwest, does he?)

[Stars]

He and I both live in the midwest. =p
Though he moved to Oklahoma a month or so ago and was very excited about all the recent chaos and destruction.

[Kamau]

I'll definitely have to look at those cameras. o:

what kind of pictures are you taking with it? are you trying to do something artistic with it? or is it more going to be just for fun?

Well, I photograph/video tape pretty much everything that my friends and I do, so I mostly need something that can take really good photos and videos, with good audio. I'm also a Mass Media major, so I do a lot of stuff with cameras in general.

[kspr]

this one is waterproof, and shockproofresistant.you might be able to score an older one for less though.

[Stars]

+++++ Torren- I mean, legally downloaded ;) the second season of How I Met Your Mother, funniest show evar.

[lazlo falconi]

+Agreed.

[Stars]

Oh and,
++++ Demonoid, ftw.

[Kamau]

----- The dog kept whining, so after attempting to go to bed around 2, I find myself awake again starting at 5:30. Hoping to try and get more sleep now that I've walked him, but who knows if that will happen....

[kspr]

+Rome
+Air Conditioner Works
-high fiber/high protein

[Kamau]

-------------------------------------- Was supposed to get email from (supposed) new job in order to start this weekend. Did not get email.