i had honestly intended to wait till i found the lx2 a good home before getting a new replacement cam for the soon-to-be former replacement cam. but a good deal reared its pretty head and i grasped it with almost no thought.
sure it wasn't even the one i had set my eyes on but the difference of a hundred bucks or two can sure sway the heart like little else can. extravagance be banished, at least for this year.
say hello to the sony cybershot t20.
other than gushable looks, this is not the most competent compact camera around although performance and features are above average while picture quality is merely pleasing at best (to quote most review sites). but for sheer pocketability this sure has the lx2 beat; and knowing it can be ready for action within a second boosts spontaneity tremendously.
serious photography can wait.
this morning, i put the panasonic lx2 up for sale on the photography forums.
after i made the somewhat painful decision to let the konica-minolta dslr go last year, i was determined to find the right compact replacement. much bleary-eyed research later, the lx2, with its brilliant feature set, stellar output and handsome styling, emerged as the obvious candidate with no real rivals. yet for the past 6 or 7 months with this camera, i never became comfortable with using it. i guess specs aren't everything.
what a shame.
but don't bring out the tissues yet for here's more dismal news: my interest in photography hasn't waned so i still want a decent piece of equipment, but perhaps something more pocketable than the panasonic this time.
my budget? nothing above what i sell the lx2 for. so let's hope i get some good offers.
by casting crowns
i once was lost, but now i’m found;
i once was lost, but now i’m found.
so far away, but i’m home now.
i once was lost, but now i’m found
and now my lifesong sings.
i once was blind, but now i see;
i once was blind, but now i see.
i don’t know how, but when He touched me;
i once was blind, but now i see.
and now my lifesong sings;
and now my lifesong sings;
and now my lifesong sings.
i once was dead, but now i live;
i once was dead, but now i live.
now my life to You I give;
now my life to You I give;
now my life to You I give.
hallelujah, hallelujah
let my lifesong sing to You.
one of the interesting elements of a new year is the renewed desire to start everything afresh, to sojourn through another 12 months with accumulated wisdom in the earnest hope to right past wrongs.
irony can't laugh hard enough at the people the world over who fall blindly into the same viciously-looping trap we innocently call the new year. it must be the word 'new' that throws everyone off.
as you may have cleverly surmised, yours truly is one such poor sod who, very fortunately, narrowly averted a disasterous decision to invest in a new nikon camera system thanks to a rare and timely flood of sensibility.
i must admit that i miss my camera-lugging, shoulder-bruising, picture-making days; and to set the record straight, declare that it has never been my intention to abandon it completely. so of late, the temptation to revitalize this hobby had been increasing its death grip on me till i was on the cusp of making contact with sellers of camera equipment and lenses. 
how did i come so close to the crackling bonfire? nothing has changed since the decision to part with the konica-minolta. i'm still expecting to be busy with school and work, and time to hone my craft will still be scarce, perhaps even more so than before. but somehow, logic gets crushed by such passionate longing that all that seems irrelevant and trite.
so, i will pack this part of me neatly into a box and shelve it for 08. and if you catch me sneaking a peek, you have permission to kick my ass.
now to post this before i change my mind.
so the first weekend of class has gone by in a flurry of note-taking, lectures, discussions, roleplays, sharings, videos and starbucks lattes.
i was a little surprised that i enjoyed it all, and even learnt some things from it; and all that in spite of my initial determination to be fatalistically morose about it [see post directly below for sheepishly irrefutable proof].
i hope the good vibe sustains itself through the rest of the semester.
i had not been looking forward to the start of semester 3. that was partly influenced by trepidation regarding my clinical practicuum, dread regarding the assignments, and of course, the big bum in me wanting to be on vacation 24/7.
it looks like my fears are not unfounded; or at least half of them are. the expectations for assignments have been raised a notch and there's also a massive project to undertake which involves not only me, but everyone i know whom i call family all the way up the tree.
did i mention i wasn't looking forward to this?
it has been months of fighting the near-rabid desire to acquire the htc touch - a pda/phone hybrid housed in a sleek and curvy body. its main selling point, however, is the revolutionary interface known as the touchflo which enables the user, that's me, to easily [and stylishly] manipulate the touch with a finger swipe or two.
and patience does pay off, i'm glad to report. in waiting till i was eligible to recontract my mobile line, i was rewarded with an enhanced unit which htc released just last month in response to the unexpectedly soaring sales for the original touch.
so no more running into crowded stores just to catch a glimpse of the touch behind smeary glass cabinets, or reading and re-reading online reviews, or watching and re-watching youtube videos about it.
now, perhaps, some semblance of sanity can return.
now that the ballyhooed getaway is over and done with, it's time to consolidate the good times before they are lost to the approaching weeks.
i'm not going to muse about how nice it was to be by myself... etc because that would be like flogging a dead horse, so i'll just list the most memorable things as they surface. it's not very innovative, i know, but it gets the job done.
slowing down
i'm surprised at how much easier it is to pray and meditate when there aren't a zillion things worrying me. the implication is therefore that i worry too much most of the time, which also leads one to conclude that i don't pray and meditate as much as i should [it's funny how this one turned out to be a confession but i guess good memories come in all forms, especially unexpected ones].
lessons
on the 2nd night, the rousing voices of a group gathered in the house next door singing 'just a closer walk with thee' caught me by total surprise. i stood outside my room, on the verandah, in the chilly night air, listening to them singing, no, proclaiming chorus after chorus. the songs they sang were old, but each line was ringing with such fervent truth through the darkness. even when we are not seeking, God speaks and teaches every day!
quietude
silence is indeed golden, and for me, enjoyably so. other than to order food and make purchases, i barely needed to converse at all. while waiting for the bus on the morning of my return home, i met a chatty canadian tourist who insisted on sharing with me all about his travels. i'm guessing it's because i was the only other person there. however, for all his friendliness, i couldn't decide if i was annoyed or intrigued, but i identified an odd sensation, almost as if i was re-acclimating to prolonged conversation again. now as to whether that's a healthy trait, well, i'm going to sit on the fence on it for a bit.
another world
on the last night of the trip, i chanced upon a well-worn copy of the kite runner, a prize-winning debut novel by afghan-american writer khaled hosseini laying around in the common area. i ended up with 3 enthralling hours submerged in a moving tale of betrayal and redemption. it has been so many years since i've thoroughly enjoyed a good book that i've forgotten the relish that comes from devouring page after page of a well-told tale.
finally, pictures!
i didn't use the camera much at all this trip, in fact i kept forgetting to bring it along with me. as cameron highlands is famed for its cool climate, the agricultural landscape of the region is therefore prolific and lush. these snaps were taken of the flowers found in the wild and at the guest house i was staying in, and close this post with images as lovely as my memories of the place.
so it's day 5 of the break, and i finally had the good sense to plan an excursion to the only wifi spot in town with my lappie in tow. i guess there are some things, like himbosity, which never change even with clear mountain air and zero schedules.
this isn't quite a snugly-fitting description but it has been an interesting week. it all began with a horrifying bad monster movie screening on the bus up to kl; dinocroc: how could i ever forget thee [even though i desperately wish i could]? that was followed by 2 days of sleeping in, lounging around dinesh's apartment, getting sick of maggie's curry-flavored instant noodles and watching dated b-grade movies on cable tv.
on wed, i took the morning bus up to cameron highlands and arrived, thankfully, before the nausea from the winding journey kicked in full force. just in time for lunch, no less. i settled myself in at a quaint little guest house with the most vibrant flower garden and a lovely window from which to watch the grey rains pour non-stop the rest of the day.
i expected cameron highlands to be cool, weather-wise i mean, but i didn't think it would be cold. i realised on thur morning, when i awoke in a frozen ball, how rather ill-prepared i was for the high country. but one makes the best of the situation, i thought, as i thawed out in the hot shower. i explored tanah rata, the little town that i was in, acquired a map and generally bummed the day away between aimless meanderings and the psp.
my alarm got me reluctantly out of bed before dawn and i spent friday morning attempting a couple of mountain trails found on the map. none were very interesting, sad to say, but i enjoyed the sense of solitude, quietly trudging along the uneven trails by running water with the sun rising beyond the dark foliage above.
there's still the rest of one last day here, but i'll just take each hour as it comes. there are no cinemas, no starbucks, no mega malls to be found here; just a slow and steady rhythm of life in a sleepy town. this trip wasn't so much about doing stuff or seeing things, but just to be by myself and with myself.
i guess i'm the kind of person that just needs to run away from all that is familiar and routine on occasion, and just spend quality time finding me again. does that make sense?
so, bottomline, has it been a good trip? as i think about it, i realize it's unfair to phrase a simple yes/no answer. there is undoubtedly the good from the me time which i needed, but there's also the not-so-good from the lack of experience in planning a trip like this. i guess there could have been more accomplished, though exactly what i can't say either. or maybe i'm just unwilling to commit one way or another, haha.
but i can say with great certainty that i had a good time. maybe that's what counts.
i was admittedly a tad worried that i would end up spending my upcoming break battling the flu and other viral delights; which is why it's such a miracle that i'm almost mended save for the random cough and low-pitched speaking voice.
i have been so looking forward to this getaway time that i was determined to see it through; even if it meant a sneezing and hacking confinement in a motel somewhere with a mountain of cheap tissues and a wonky television.
that's how badly i need this!
which is also why i am so thankful that i woke up this morning without the burning lump in my throat and leaky nose that i went to bed with.
who would know what we need better than God?
this is my 3rd post for the week which means i'm on track with one of my resolutions. yay for me!
so i kicked off the new year with a brilliant party at henry & jenny's, followed by two days of headaches, body aches, hacking up green phlegm-balls and vacillating between nausea and giddiness.
what a great start, huh?
that effectively puts my grand plans of world domination and exercising on hold, hopefully for not much longer. however, after sleeping through the entire day, i am feeling somewhat better.
the evening air feels cool and crisp outside, i think i'm gonna take a walk. and maybe get a little ice-cream along the way. yay!