This time, my actions in NYC were while I was conscience and not under the influence of anything. Well, that’s not entirely true; I was under the influence of my high regard of the other bloggers and readers ….. hmmmm …. Alright, I wouldn’t believe that either.
Anyway, it was sunny yesterday and NYC can be a very photogenic city. Let me digress for a moment and clarify something to my dear friends in Glasgow. Beyond what you have been led to believe is the sky; (that grayish matter in the heavens above you), there is a huge ball of burning gases that lights the earth – we call that the “Sun”. “Sunny” is what we say when that “Sun” is not masked by that grayish matter, i.e. clouds.
Back to the point .... it was sunny yesterday and NYC can be a very photogenic city. So, I thought it would be great to have a camera again. Then, unexpectedly, while walking near the World Trade Center Memorial Site, I stumbled upon a place that, for a gadget & photography guy like me, can only be called the “Temple of Eternal Happiness”.
My wife, reading the sign on the building, merely called it “J&Rs Music & Computer World”. Apparently, those in the know, call it “J&Rs”.
Note, I explored only a small fraction of J&R’s but found it extends an entire city block consisting of multiple stores, each with a specialty. Closest to a Starbucks, was their store dedicated to cameras. It was two stories of DSLRs & P&Ss – Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Sigma, Sony and on and on.
- - - -I’ve been “in between” cameras for a few months, with the expectation that the arrival of the next Sony DSLR could be as early as June 07. Recently, and checking one last time yesterday, the internet rumors pushed the date back to the originally rumored Sept / Oct time frame.
While in J&Rs, I said to my wife that I should get the A100 because the next model seems to be a few months off.
! However, I mentioned that if I were to buy the A100, somehow, it would hasten the arrival of the new DSLR. !
Perhaps this has happened to you as well; that is, buying something only to find the newer version becomes available just a few weeks later. It has happened to me quite frequently.
So, I joked that by the next day, it would be announced that the new model might become available as early as June.
So, in the J&R temple, I placed my sacrifice – my over-used American Express card – on the Altar, (which my wife called it merely a “check-out stand”). For my sacrifice, I was bestowed gifts consisting of:
a brand new A100K,an extra battery,
a Flash (HVL-F36AM),
4 AA batteries for the flash, and
the happy salesman’s business card.
Then, the Temple Attendant, (my wife called her merely a “cashier”), carefully placed all of the gifts in the Transport Vessel with the sacred inscriptions on the side, (my wife called it merely a “shopping bag with a J&R logo”).
Lastly, as I walked to the Temple exit, the Larger Temple Attendant (wife called him merely a “security guard”), checked to ensure my Transport Vessel contained the proper gifts by matching them to my Record of Sacrifice, (wife says “receipt”).
I walked out of J&Rs as a proud new owner of an A100.- - - -
Actually, this “sacrificial” purchase was not unexpected. My wife noted that one of my carry-ons for yesterday’s flight to NYC was an empty Tamrac bag. She expected that the bag wouldn’t stay empty. This time, I tried to meet my wife’s expectations.
Today, I awaken in NYC to find:1) There is a Glasgow-esque nature to the local weather; there isn’t any sun and it’s rainy, too.
2) There are no mysterious new tattoos on my person, (I checked).3) The new DSLR might be available as early as June.
b shaw (c) 2007
