Karen--spinning in circles..

Sunday, April 30, 2006

wee-wee

One week till takeoff!

Many things to do:
  • Figure out how to work the camera and camcorder
  • Buy an extra SD card (if anyone know where I can find cheap ones, that would be awesome)
  • Pack, pack, PACK!!!!
  • Be on the lookout for: cheap tees and "china hometown" pants (aka flood pants/capris)
  • Pack extra rolls of toilet paper
  • Bring plug adapters, and chargers
  • More I can't think of right now

As some of you know, my camera finally came in on Thursday. Which was funny, cause I was going to call them and threaten to cancel my order and get my deposit back if it didn't come in on Friday. But alas, it came, and it's such a priceless beauty. I tried the panoramic "stich assist" on my patio and was very impressed:


I feel as if my 400 bucks has been totally worth it after this picture...!

Anyways, I bought a 1GB SD card, and I'm thinking of buying another one. I know I know, why didn't I buy the 2GB one...it's a long story. Anyways, if anyone knows of a cheap one, that would be uber awesome.

In regards to SD cards, I discovered something this weekend totally AWESOME. Some SD cards, when bought, come with a little pouch or snapbox to keep the card clean. Unfortunately, all the ones I bought have been cheap and didn't come with such things. So this weekend, I got pissed off and went off for a search of SD Card box, or something of the like. That is, until, Darren came up to me in Superstore proclaiming he wanted to buy Listerine Pocketpaks. I had a brilliant idea after that.

With the help of my dad, he chipped off some of the plastic that was in the way, and I got myself a brand new SD Card holder:


And even as a bonus, each pocketpak can hold not just one, but two SD cards (as shown). Hooray!!! So for those of you stuck in the same situation, there is always a cheap solution to an expensive problem: thank you Listerine!

Oh oh, and now for a Reach! Musical...I love this guy...! If this ever happened in lecture, it would make it as Class-of-a-Lifetime for me..!



Bloody awesome.

Karen

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Good luck!


Just a short note here wishing my buddies that are in school the best of luck in all of their upcoming finals! It's gonna be a long week for all of us, but I'm sure we can all tough it out and reap the benefits after (aka SUMMEERRRR!)


Good luck to all!!!

(On a side note, those wondering the outcome of last week's camera picking, I've made a choice and bought a new camera. Behold: the brand new Canon Powershot A700..! More on that later, since my camera is on order and expected to arrive this week..!)

Karen

Thursday, April 06, 2006

One more week of full time education

So I'm having difficulty picking out a new camera for my trip to China. I've narrowed it down to two cameras, which both are pretty good. Maybe I should have a vote to see which ones people like more:











Canon Powershot A700:
-6.0 MP, 6x Optical Zoom
-Best feature of all: Panoramic Mode, which allows you to take multiple pictures and link it together to create a long one, a bonus for scenic views in China
-Around $450 bucks
-Fits really nice in hand when holding it
-Most of the modes are available and ready on
the top dial
-Brand new: just came out to Canada a few weeks
ago.
-Bad: Does not come with rechargable batteries


Nikon Coolpix S4:
-6.0MP, 10x Optical Zoom
-Best feature: the swivel lens...pretty cool eh eh eh?!?!
-And something is good about it's flash too..I forget... something how it's closer to the lens so it can reach farther and have a better effect..I don't remember..bah.
-Huge LCD screen
-Bad: no panoramic mode, fits funny in hand when holding it
-Around the same price, $450 bucks




So they are pretty much *almost* the same. Except the Nikon would be more bang for your buck, since it has a larger optical zoom. But I really like the panoramic mode for the Nikon: it'll do wonders when I'm on vacation. I'm leaning towards the Canon, because it does feel better when you're holding it and besides, I have heard that its lens quality is better, although I don't really know anyone who can back me up on this *cough*Wendy*cough* =P

For camera buffs that want to know the nitty gritty of both cameras, click *here* for a side-by-side comparison. Dpreview has become a very visited site by me lately! (Thanks Wendy for the link!)

Anyways, if I can get any....anyyy..feedback from anyone it would be awesome!!

Sooo...about a week ago I found out that my ex-favorite-singer had a new CD out. That's right guys, Mr. Jimmy Lin came out with a new CD:

It was a shock, really, because he hasn't come out with a CD in the past like ohhh....6-9years-ish. And plus, he's really quite non-existant now. All of his fans back in '92-'97 probably, like me, grew up to find bigger and better things (ie: Rain), and became a bit more mature and realized those teeny bopper days were over. So I downloaded his CD and meanwhile, came upon his newest music video. What I saw, was a shocker. (Don't worry, this is only 30 secs long)



Classic example of oh...I don't know..let's say... good boy: Topher Grace meets 50 Cent. It was horrible!!! Mind you, Mr. Jimmy Lin is also pushing 30 years old. Not that that's old, but really, when the image you held before was all sweet and innocent, and now you revert to ass shaking chicks, cars, and the image of "coolness", in music videos, I'd take his old image any day. And as for his CD: it wasn't that great. I always hoard/keep everything I download, but I deleted the CD right after. It was a disappointment.

But on the right side, that guy did not age ONE BIT!!! Seriously, he didn't even gain a friggin pound. He looks like he could pass for 19 still. Damn him and his young genes.

However, if you want to see something pretty damn cool, check out this new Pepsi advert with Jay Chou, Sammi Cheng, Aaron Kwok, F4, Edison Chen, and Jolin Tsai. It's pretty cool. Makes me want to drink more Pepsi (hahahahaha..jokes =P)

Ahh..I swear... youtube.com will be the death of me..!

So last week was Darren's bday, and it was my treat for the whole day. We ended up going to Kilerney Art Studio for the ceramic/pottery painting, and it was really fun! I was super worried that Darren wouldn't like it, since you know..guys..pottery..you get the story. But I think he ended up having more fun than me....since he's into that whole artsy thing and, I think, painting is soothing for him. So I definately will go again sometime! Darren painted a Garfield ceramic, and I painted a frog. They were really small, but it took us 4 hours! I couldn't believe it! But whatever, we were beginners and all, so it's ok. I think next time I'll do a plate, to make me expand my creativity a little bit...and Darren said he'll do the snail ceramic hahaha! So yes.. it was totally fun! We pick up our pieces this Saturday, so mayhaps if they turn out well, I'll take some pictures and post them here!

I can't believe it! One more week of school. And so long University of Calgary! It bites that I miss out on BSD this year...I didn't anticipate that school would end on a Thursday, so I would have to work instead. It sucks...I told myself for years that I would go on my last year of U, and now it comes..and I can't!! Boo hoo! Ah well...

And on a more fun side, I also decided to take another dance class during May/June at the UofC. I've decided to take Funk Fusion with Lisa, so I'm totally looking forward to it. I've got one more class of Belly Dancing, and that's it for the term. I still suck at it, but I think I've also improved a lot. The instructor is making us combine all of our moves now, and making us dance nonstop for the whole hour, which is really tiring, but fun! I'm totally glad I took this class with Diana, because we both look like idiots, but we get such a good kick out of it. Laugher, is always good for your soul...! But anyways, on our last class, the instructor is going to do a whole dance sequence for us..so I'm excited! Maybe it'll inspire me to take more Belly Dancing class..jusssttt mmmaabyyyeee....

Ah..what's up with the car troubles lately? Tom and me with our flat tires, Cindy with that dumbass hit and run, and now my coworker with her transmission. Think the cars are on strike? Perhaps.....

Wow...what a long update. I'll talk more later!

Karen