life through a 2.7-inch LCD screen

So my luck has never been strong in regards to cameras. and though i know i've never spent large amounts of money on one, i will say i've invested a lot of money in multiple cameras and i feel that they should have lasted me much longer than they did. I purchased one a few years ago in Scotland and it died within the year. i then purchased a Sony which i thought should do me better and within a few months it started draining all of the battery out of the camera within a few hours. i purchased a battery charger and re-chargeable batteries, and this only seemed to help a small amount, i was recharging them after every use. slowly, the camera started not even turning on, or turning on only sometimes, and now no matter how new or charged the batteries are, it won't turn on at all. so, not only did the camera not work for more than a year, but i also spent tons of money on the battery charger and multiple batteries. now you may be thinking perhaps i don't take good care of them, but in all honesty, i think i do, i have had cases for them, and feel that because of each past disaster, i've been more careful with each new one. there's nothing more annoying than when you think you'll be able to take pics of an event and then realize that you'll either have no record for your memories, or you'll have to rely on other people to both take the pics and then eventually post them on facebook or send them by email. of course it's more often than not that the friends that take the pictures never send them, so i don't get to have the morsels of memorabilia i want from the events i've attended.

i have decided it's time to try again. and again, i realize i haven't spent hundreds of dollars to help guarantee the quality of the product, but i did take advantage of a 'black friday' sale at target (only because i actually needed conditioner and so was in the store--i wasn't one of the people waiting in line hours before the store opened, i swear!!) the 17 year old that i asked about the quality of the camera was so overwhelmed by the business of the store that he couldn't answer any of my questions in complete sentences and was looking around impatiently the whole time he was ringing up my purchase. ps, it wasn't that busy, and there seemed to be more flustered target employees than shoppers by the time i was in the store. even in spite of that, i feel that i've made a good purchase--when i opened the box there was a battery and charger with the camera. I proceeded to sigh with relief!!

anyways...here she is...

Hot peas

So it turns out...William James Adams, Jr. from Black Eyed Peas is really hot...how have i been missing him all this time???
he actually looks like the former detective from Law and Order...
in both cases...yum!!

ebay---who knew!!!

ok, so i'm a little behind the times, i realize, on many things. Ebay happens to be one of them. For some reason, even though i used to use Half.com (which is Ebay's 'cousin' i will say) for purchasing and selling text books, Ebay was always a bit of a mystery to me. i don't like the idea of bidding on something, having to wait and after having finally decided to spend my precious money on something, have the chance of someone overbidding me at the last minute. oh the disappointment.

now i realize that there are tricks and gimics to save me from this possible, impending disappointment, but who has time for that?? also, i always had a picture in my head of people always and only purchasing very expensive things.

to be fair, i have tried to purchase items before with much difficulty and headache. a year or so ago i tried to purchase a new copy of my favorite book by Leon Uris -Mila 18, and couldn't figure out how to pay the guy for it even though i won the book. the guy emailed me twice for payment and i ended up losing it because as hard as i tried i couldn't figure out how it worked. i swear to god there was no button for me to click to actually pay the man.

HOWEVER...i've recently made two purchases on Ebay with great success.
Success #1:
a month or so ago i bought a laptop 'cooler', which is a flat piece of equipment that sits under my laptop with three fans that cool it in order to help prevent it from overheating. it didn't cost hundreds of dollars like one might expect, i was able to find one for just under $13 and it works beautifully.

because of this i decided to try again.
Success #2:
my dipshit ex boyfriend gave me a money clip when we were first dating. mind you he got it for $1 at a thrift store, but he got me hooked, and i decided not to lose the practice of using one just because he is an asshole. it really is quite practical and prevents me from having to take a purse everywhere i go...another major bonus! recently the one he gave me broke, and i've been lamenting going back to using a wallet, even though i haven't been able to find another money clip anywhere. shockingly, they aren't sold in every corner store! i was, however, able to find one for $12 at a cute boutique but i figured if they are sold somewhere for $1, i could do better than $12. so, after going to multiple thrift stores, coming across my new favorite Vintage store on N Broadway and being unsuccessful in finding one anywhere, i decided to try ebay.

this is what i found
and for less than $6...not too shabby!! now, i haven't gotten it in the mail yet, and i did have trouble with paypal...but i got my confirmation for payment and that i should be expecting it to arrive within a few days...

ahh...modern technology helping make my life a little easier...who would've guessed, especially when used to purchase something classic....love it!

couch potato

the problem with getting sick, not only the fact that as i live alone i have to let my dog out no matter what, make my own food and wash my own dishes, is that there's nothing you want to do but lay down and do nothing...but time goes by slowly, and so tv/internet become a way to pass the time.

so, as i've had the flu for the last three/four days, i've been home, becoming what i've called a hulu-youtube-facebook junkie. i've spent much too much time on the internet and too much time watching tv. and with all of this time on tv, i've been watching So You Think You Can Dance, which honestly has impressed me. I've seen a few episodes this season, but seriously, the people competing are really solid, really talented people, and it's honestly a fun watch...even though i can't stand the host, the blond with an accent. i can't stand how she says 'judges'....SOO annoying!! i don't really watch American Idol, i stay clear away from Dancing with the Stars (Which is totally stupid), but i would recommend this show...it's pretty sweet!

now, if only i can get rid of this headache and sore throat so i can get off this couch and stop feeling so lazy...:)

a smelly situation

i was riding the bus to meet a friend last night and i'm pretty sure the girl next to me farted. she sort of squirmed weird for a minute and then everything smelled really bad for a few minutes. and not the same really bad smell you get when there's someone near you on the bus that hasn't showered in over a week and you feel you have to get off the bus 10 stops early just to get a breath. this was pungent and gross and sitting next to me...euwww...

wow...it's been a while.

so i have been on hiatus for longer than i thought i'd be...i've been through a lot, and haven't been very motivated to write, or inspired to share my thoughts. mostly because they've been depressing...a bad, difficult break up...and two grandparents have passed for which i've been very involved in...not in a killing sense, but in a support/assistance sense. ok, that still sounds bad. i was there for both my grandpa and grandma at the end of their lives, holding their hands, advocating with hospice/nursing home staff for the most possible comfort as they suffered and i was there during their last moments. it's heavy. it's hard. it's surreal to be placed so close to the reality of life and then death.

see, not very positive or uplifting. however, i wouldn't've traded it for anything, and i'm really so blessed to be there, both times. on a good note, 81 and 98 were their ages and they had overall good lives. the boyfriend on the other hand (make that EX boyfriend), well that's another story for another day...if you're lucky...

the inspiration for the post this saturday morning was actually due to the fact that i wanted to share that i picked up over 30 bottles/cans (and other various pieces of plastic garbage) from the pockets of grass on the street where i usually let brayson do his business...because the bottles and cans have been there for months and i finally couldn't take it anymore. i think the people walking by were amused or at least mildly worried about my sanity. either way, my street looks better than ever before...and i'll admit, i'm slightly motivated to look into volunteer opportunities to pick up other peoples' garbage and make this city look a little nicer...is that weird?? i've realized lately that i haven't done volunteer work in years anyways, and that's really sad. some of my friends tutor kids every week and i all this past week i just sat on my ass and worked when i get home from work. my life, sans boyfriend who encouraged me to take time for myself (one of the few good things about him), is really rather boring and too filled with work. maybe volunteering will be good for me...hmmm

at least for now, until another weekend of people drinking-so-much-they-feel-the-need-to-use-their-alcoholic-containers-to-litter-all-over-the-street, i get a break from preventing brayson from stepping on broken or potentially broken glass and can let him poop in peace...