Browse Day: January 16, 2007

2 for the price of 1

fisheyeadaptor.jpg

For Christmas, Jes said that I could get a new lens for my camera.  Well, I’ve been pining over two particular lenses for over a year and now it’s time to decide on which one.  Over the weekend, I finally made my decision and ordered (through Amazon) the 50mm f/1.4 for $269.  I decided on that one  because it was the cheaper of the two (other being a Macro lens that was at least $389).  Unfortunately it was on backorder and their estimated date of delivery was mid-Feb!

So this afternoon, I went to Samy’s Camera looking for a used lens – hoping it would make it cheaper.  Instead, I ended up bringing home a brand new 50mm f/1.8 for only $129!  I basically saved myself $140 for a lens that is almost as good.  To reward myself, I went home and ordered the fisheye adaptor that I that I also had my eye on.  What’s cool about it is that it attaches to my Holga AND my new 50mm!!  Yay!  Just to give you some perspective, the real fisheye lens (10.5mm f/2.8) that I would have bought costs about $600.  This adaptor that is made in Japan and made of glass (versus plastic) is only $85!  What a deal!  So, for the price of the original lens that I ordered, I ended up with two and still some money left over to buy some 120 film.  Awesome.

I also signed up for my darkroom class today.  It starts this Thursday and I can’t wait to process the B&W 120 that I used in the Holga.  Photochemicals, here I come!

Anyone need a PM?

I started my day as I usually do. Got up, walked the dog, and went to work. At 1:30, I got a phone call from Jes and thought, “Oh no. What did the dog do now?” That wasn’t the issue at all. It was much worse. Jes went into work this morning and got laid off. It’s not a huge surprise but it was much earlier than he expected. Their company was expecting a big layoff in June but he got the boot much earlier. When he told me, I wasn’t mad, surprised, or anxious. I was just speechless. So, I asked to be excused from this afternoon’s staff meeting and went home to console the husband even though he was probably more relieved than anything else. Fortunately for us, this was a lay off and not a firing, which means a nice severance package will be coming our way. We also found out this afternoon that shortly after Jes left the building, they had a big meeting to announce that no one would be getting raises or bonuses this year. It sucks that we’re a single-income household for a while but it sorta looks like Jes won in the end.

In other news, the WoW Expansion Pack came out today and we went to Target to go get it. He also applied for a job at Blizzard today. It was a funny coincidence that he was going to apply for the job opening even before getting laid off today. It’s pretty ironic that the game that took over our house these past 7 months may potentially support the house after wall. Stupid WoW.