This summer started off with me exploring a bit on my bicycle and doing a personal training ride for a month. After that month things just fell apart and I found myself stepping away from the bicycle more - I got a bicycle rack for the car for super cheap but even that didn't really motivate me. Eventually I will need to get back onto the saddle but a new hobby has emerged: photography!
Some days, while starting in front of my desktop computer, I would always dream of capturing a beautiful pictures I could use as my wallpaper. I like to look at landscapes and marvels, i guess part of the cycling has shown me some great sights. So an upgrade to my digital camera was always crawling on the back of my mind. There has been a big confusion for me between professional cameras and SLRs for a while -- most people say you don't need an SLR and a simple point and shoot will do. But i guess i'm not like everyone and usually I tend to get a bit too technical to accept something simple.
Eventually I did get the SLR, and getting it was a story all by itself. I researched and researched and decided to invest little into the camera and more into the lenses since the majority of the community does agree with what I say - amateurs say otherwise. The camera came from no other than my cousin who lived at Irvine at the time (quite the drive from the bay area). This was a great opportunity I thought to myself because another thing I wanted to do was visit an old friend down in LA. I had a blast in LA and also got that camera that would set me off on my journey.
So I had the car, and the excitement of getting the camera and meeting up with a good friend got me pumped. I drove the entire 400-500 miles there to Irvine first to meet my cousin who I have not seen in years. The drive down there wasn't as bad as some of my friends told me - it was long but wasn't something that would be impossible; it just took some coffee and a can of rockstar! When i got to LA i dropped off my hitchhiker mom and ditched her so i could go on with my business - the camera. My cousin sold me his first and only SLR for $200, it was a great trade for both of us since he no longer needed it and I was trying to save money by starting off small in the camera world. I stayed that night and hung out with one of his friends and just observed a bit and left for LA the next day.
I went to meet my good college friend Charly from years back. I have seen him drive up to the Bay Area often and so decided it was worth driving down there to give him a visit. The day I got there he seemed to have a lot of things planned already. We played MTG with two of his other friends and it was a great start. He had his own place with a roommate and two large dogs; it was like the complete opposite of what I have back here at home. I stayed in the garage of his house which was a room for someone else that was out of town - it had a superb sealy temperpedic bed!
The next day wasn't as exiting as the first, but it gave me time to soak up on my new camera and also left me with room to think about personal things and explore the area. We walked the dogs and also watched a movie that same day. On Monday we went to Disneyland as he had planned and met up with some new friends there and enjoyed as much as we could in one day. Honestly I had a great time and it was it surprising how much detail was in this park - something I haven't had the mindset to think about until now as an adult. The fireworks was a blast and I had some fun using the new camera I got.
The trip to LA was a blast and I would probably plan on doing it again - maybe during the next magic release because now I have a gang down there to socialize a bit with. Definably a great experience and also a true test of my driving abilities. I almost hit a truck but it was a good thing my mom got scared and yelled out. I know my limits much more now and will pull over next time to sleep.
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