Happy birthday to me!

[sylvar]

I'm 32 years old.

My laptop is broken and we can't afford to replace any parts. (So you'll be seeing less of me online, unless I can figure out what's wrong and find a free replacement part somewhere.) Oh well, we got it for free anyway. I just hate being the only person in the house who has to ask someone else for permission to use their computer instead of just using my own.

I'm selling my new digital camera and the lenses, tripod, etc. that go with it. It's the best way to reduce debt and provide for GRE classes, college-visiting road trip, application fees, etc. Jodi says she'll use her savings for moving expenses. I got an unexpected check in the mail, which helps. I'm still selling the camera, and I still need to sell the iPod nano, too. eBay fees are annoying, but I'm not sure I know of a better way to get the best value for this stuff.

Oh well, at least I look hot in my black dress shirt and the jeans I bought a month ago. Never hurts to know people are staring at my butt. ;)

I'm kinda sad about the financial situation we got ourselves into, but we're dealing with it. It was just a bad idea to be living like a dual-income, upper-middle-class family. We aren't.

And despite all that, I'm actually fairly happy today. Go figure.

Oh, if you're a Babylon 5 fan, you might enjoy The End of the World, Babylon 5 Style, which I wrote yesterday.

Comments

[ximinez]

Happy Birthday!

If it's any consolation, it sounds like you are where we were for the past four or five years until a few months ago when L got a job. The solution is simple: Jodi needs to get a job. ;) (Yes, yes, I know it's not that simple - that's why it's funny.)

It would probably be worth it to find the time to hack at the laptop - if you've written it off as already broken. Laptops are built much like desktops, just with much less breathing room, and more proprietary components. I've had some luck hacking on them before.

In the meantime, set up Fast User Switching on one of the other computers, so that you can at least use them without farking up someone else's work. Then get standing permission to use it whenever they're not.

Tell me more about the camera: simple, brief specs, and a ballpark price figure.

[sylvar.livejournal.com]

It's a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT with the standard lens plus a 300mm zoom lens that's fast enough to catch this without a flash (that's fully zoomed in, from about 25 rows back). Both lenses have hoods, one of them has a haze filter. There's a very fast 2GB CompactFlash card (see the whole series for an idea of how fast it can shoot and save) and two spare batteries. It also comes with a Speedlite 380EX external flash, which is crucial for avoiding red-eye. (Forget every "red eye reduction" feature you've ever seen. Point the flash at 60 degrees up, bounce the flash off the ceiling, and you'll have no red-eye at all.) And I've got a kickass sturdy Bogen tripod with a quick-release mount for the camera.

As for price, I'm not sure; I have to figure out what comparable gear costs new, and what this stuff has gotten on eBay. If I had to guess, I'd say around $1k for the lot, but I need to do some research.

[ximinez]

Sounds nice. Don't know if I'm willing to drop that much anytime soon, but keep me in the loop anyway.

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

Couldn't agree more. :)

Is there any way that Jodi could get a part time job to tide over while she's preparing for the GRE?