Neo Nomadic Dreams
& Caffeine-Induced Reality

The Week That Was: 01.08.10

This week I found myself in an alleyway waiting for my Vietnamese food to be packed and ready. I had been craving pho for the longest of times and I finally succumbed to it. One of my favorite Vietnamese places is just a few blocks from my office building called Vietnamese Delights Pho 99. For $7.50 for a bowl of good pho, that’s already quite a bargain.

I know I’m supposed to be on my strict 14-day diet but I could never resist the lure of a chocolate lava cake complete with berries and vanilla ice cream. Let’s just say I owe myself 2 hours of cardio for consuming this.

This week has been memorable mainly because I finally had the guts to purchase myself an old SLR.  I’ve never been much of a digital camera fan so I have always been on a lookout for a good old film camera.  Paired with a bit of ol’ luck I managed to bag myself this Nikon EM which I have been taking around with me everywhere.  I still have about eight frames left to shoot on the test roll and I can hardly wait to see how the photos turn out.  For all I know I could be really bad at this and that purchasing this was a waste of time.  Then again I could totally rock it. Haha. Let’s hope for the best!

Moe Moe finally got herself an iPhone! Welcome to the club, darling. And what better way to start her iPhone journey than by playing Words With Friends, right? But actually, I just wanted to show everyone that I don’t ALWAYS lose at this game. Although I know after this, she’s going to get a hang of it and beat me to a pulp.

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My weekend’s been about giving in to most of my desires: desserts, pho, and vintage cameras.  As I type this I’m contemplating about ordering a box of pizza.

What have you given into this week?

Playing With Oxymorons

I am beyond thrilled that I am now a proud owner of a new camera, a 1979 Nikon EM.  After much research and convincing, I decided to just put down the money for it.  However, it’s not surprising that I am getting the usual “buyer remorse” symptoms because honestly, I never had a budget for this, especially not after making plans to go to Thailand in the next few months.  But whatever, I am just happy that I finally have it and I”ll just have to cross the bridge when I get there.

Still, shooting with film will probably cost me more in the long run what with the cost of film, processing, and all that jazz.  Guess I’d have to up my learning curve for this one if I want to make every frame count.  But Nikon EM, being the beginner SLR that it is, is quite easy to use.  I’ve read up on film speed for different lighting conditions and aperture and I think I have got the hang of it.  Shutter speed isn’t something I’d have to worry about too much because I can only choose three settings at the moment, B (for long exposures), M90 (for mechanical shutter set at 1/90 sec), and Auto (for stepless speed from 1 sec to 1/1000 sec).

Will have to do some test shots over the weekend to see if I like it.  I actually have a three-day viewing period for if I decide that I don’t want it.  But so far, after just 36 hours or so, I think I’ve already grown quite fond of it.

Note: The photo above was shot with my trusty Sony W120 Cybershot digital camera.  I love the look and feel of film so much that I often edit my digital photos to mimic it—yes, with light leaks and all.

The Story of Cosmetics

So FastCompany wrote about Annie Leonard and her recent work, The Story of Cosmetics.  She does make very fine points without the usual persecuting tone on such companies or of the apathy of the consumer.

This hits close to the chest as I use about…one, two—twenty cosmetic products for today.  That begins from the moment I wake up, brush my teeth, shower, and head out of the door.  TWENTY!  Imagine that.