Just shoot me

I was in Paris last weekend.  You wouldn't know that from reading this blog.  I'm going to Budapest this weekend.  You also would not know that from reading this blog.

I am not going to talk about that now, though.  I plan on doing a blog later that reflects on my travels as a whole.  Get excited.

Followers of this blog will know of my troubles with my camera this semester.  I am here, writing this blog, at this moment, as a proud owner of a working camera.  I just ran out to buy one at the camera store down the block from my apartment.  It is interesting buying a camera--or anything, really--with a language barrier.  There's the suspicion that the workers are talking about you in their native tongue, or trying to use your ignorance to their advantage and get you go for all the bells and whistles without you realizing it.  My experience was not like this, however.  I reaped the unexpected benefit of a language barrier--they cannot sweet talk you into something much more expensive.  I just got the least expensive one there, and they were cool with that, hoping for the exchange to be over soon.

I believe that the reason I was in this camera situation to begin with is a manifestation of Karmic retribution in the technology age.  Though I am pro-progress (uh that sounds awkward, sorry) I do have qualms with technology.  We are buying into the philosophy to get new things just because they are new.  There is no longer sentiment attached to our possessions.  We upgrade simply because we can.  I did this with my old camera, my bulky, 4 AA battery needing, very small display, slightly chipped silver exterior Cannon.  I did this only because a sexy new Nikon came along with a sleek rechargeable battery and beautiful display screen.  The Nikon failing, then, was the price I paid for rejecting the old, for the sole reason that it was old.

And I have stepped off my soapbox.  Whether that is truly an insane interpretation of what happened to my camera, and I think it might be, I am grateful to have this absurdly pink Samsung and I'm hoping it is good to me for the rest of this trip.  In any event, it's going to be a while before I am able to trust Nikon again.