I've been wanting to get a digital camera before we go to New York City at the end of the month; in particular, something small that I can carry around, to take pictures as I go about things.
20:27 > ok, I have a Coolpix 995.
20:28 > the process of getting this thing has convinced me that my
lack of complaints against Fry's lies solely in my not
shopping there very much.
Fry's Electronics is a California-based chain of electronics stores. The East Coast has no analogue, as far as I know: imagine Barnes & Noble, or a grocery store, except loaded with computer-related stuff (they also sell CDs and DVDs, and a variety of appliances; in fact I have been told that it was originally a chain of grocery stores, but I have not confirmed that and it feels specious). It's the geek's Quickie-Mart, where you do your best to run in, get what you want, and get out, without interacting with the employees (that link, until very recently, was the first Google result for "Fry's Electronics"). The staff are notoriously unhelpful, and the merchandise is notoriously variable: it's hit or miss whether you'll get a bargain price or pay 20% over market, and there's a very good chance your purchase will be defective.
Well, not only did I overpay by about $80, the camera is bigger than what I wanted, so I'm going to return it tomorrow, and order the Coolpix 885 online tomorrow. It's a much smaller, scaled-down version of the 995, without a couple of features that I never use, and if I want them, are present in my 35mm film camera anyway (also a Nikon). I hope to be able to take it around with me and photograph the various quirky things I see from day to day.
On Saturday night we went to a party in San Francisco, and on the way back to the car we saw a San Francisco police car pull up, with some blonde woman in the passenger seat stroking and kissing the cop's face. He pulled the car up, turned on the flashers, and he and the woman got out and went into the building...
The car was still there and empty when we got back twenty minutes later. Your tax dollars at work.
I finally gave Mona a chance to dye my hair, and it looks good. People at work definitely noticed, and one woman, a tech writer in her late 40s, said she thought it looked great and she wished she had the courage to try something like that.
I like how my life has refocused. I'm extremely unhappy with my career, but I have my priorities straight, and I spend more time reading and writing and toying with music, and spending time with Mona, who is just about the coolest person ever. I noticed in Fry's today that I just didn't have so much urge to buy stuff.