The overarcing plot aside, today was pretty good

[dr4b]

Out of nowhere zqfmbg decided to come drive down from Vancouver BC and come hang out with me for the day. He showed up on my doorstep in the early afternoon, I dragged him to Chinook's for some fish tacos and clam chowder, and then we hung out here at the house for a few hours, mostly playing with cameras. He has a Nikon D700 and some unreal lenses (like a super 14-24mm wide-angle which seems like nothing when hooked up to my camera, but when hooked up to the D700 it's like OMFG I CAN SEE EVERYTHING).

zml got home around 5pm since he came back from Austin this morning, and rehana came over around 6something and dvarin also came home earlyish, and the five of us drove over to Taste of India, where we met up with oren, and then eventually mdf356 and his wife and two kids, and we got a huge table in the sort of side room of the restaurant for everyone and hung out and ate a lot of food and stuff.

Came back here and chatted with I-Gene and Rehana and Carl for a while until the first two dispersed back to their homes, and talked to Carl until around 1am. Now I am doing laundry -- I dug through Carl's my old closet until I found two black dresses of mine, since I figure I will need them for this weekend's events. Some of them need to hang out to dry overnight, so I had to do laundry now instead of leaving it until the morning.

It was a good day in that I got to see many people I hadn't seen in a long time and all. I just hope it isn't freaking everyone out that I seem so semi-cheerful about everything right now.

It's really surreal reading the funeral announcement my uncle sent out. Like "I'm reading my dad's funeral announcement, does that mean my dad is really dead?" I mean, I know it's true, but it just doesn't seem to REALLY be true. Not yet. Still haven't cried, but am still having random little spurts when in conversation I just mention random crap about my dad, which I think I would mention regardless even if he was still alive, but it's stranger to mention it now that he isn't, if that makes any sense. And I'm still somewhat in disbelief that in 24 hours or so I'll be landing in Philly, and going to my dad's old apartment for the last time ever... for the REAL last time ever, that is.

And then a few hours after that I will be eating a hoagie and Tastykakes! I guess there are some bright sides of this all, but I think I'd rather have my dad still alive than the opportunity to eat Philly food again.

Comments

[ohhim.livejournal.com]

The D700 is a full frame 35mm sensor camera so the sensor is about 33% wider than the one on your D80 / my D90.

So if you look at a 14mm-24mm lens on the D700, it looks the equivalent of 21mm-32mm on your camera, since your sensor is only capturing the middle part.

I just can't justify the D700, but one day...

[thatenglishguy.livejournal.com]

Haven't you got that backwards? To get the same field of view on a crop camera as a 14mm lens on a full frame, you'd need an 8.75mm lens.

[ohhim.livejournal.com]

You are correct the 14-24 on the D80 looks like an 21-32 on the D700.

The 14-24 on the D700 would require a 9.3mm-16mm on the D80 (which would be brutally expensive, and most likely doesn't exist).

[shandrew.livejournal.com]

Canon makes a relatively inexpensive high quality zoom for their small sensor dslrs that's 10mm on the wide end.

Anyway...

Dee, i am just now catching up and read the sad news about your dad. I guess you're back in Japan now (ok, i cheated and looked ahead), but if i can do anything to help let me know. I'm very glad you got to spend time with him before he passed away. I can't imagine how i'd handle the same thing happening to one of my parents.

hug,
Andrew
my tastykake supply has dwindled to 1.5 jelly krimpets

[bhudson.livejournal.com]

Where are your tastycakes?

[tg2k.livejournal.com]

Seriously...I'm certain that the winter we went early to the middle of PA for starherd's father's memorial service, that at some point there were Tastykakes involved. And Gibble's chips.

Not even death keeps us from our comfort foods; in fact it encourages them.

[mdf356.livejournal.com]

I've never experienced a close death except for some grandparents I saw once a year. In all those cases I felt fine about it until the funeral, where I had a good cry. I always figured if someone closer to me died it would take a while to really sink in what that really meant.

Grieve your way in your time. I wish I could help.

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

I think the ethernet cable flower is a lovely idea.

You're still very much in my thoughts.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

One day at a time.

[jeliza]

I don't think it really "clicked" that my Mom was gone for, oh, a couple of weeks, except for occasional freaked out breaks. Numb is part of how your mind protects itself, and nothing to be ashamed of/worry about.

*hugs if you want 'em*

[rredhead.livejournal.com]

Hey Deanna. I've been catching up, and I am so sorry. My grandfather died rather unexpectedly - as in, we knew the disorder he had would kill him, but we thought we had more time. I didn't really cry until sometime during his funeral. I actually wrote his obit, and did the program for the funeral. I had so much to do, it didn't really hit me. And then, we went to Missouri for Jack, and we were in a hospital again, and it just all of a sudden was too much.
I guess I'm telling you this by way of saying, I understand. And what you are saying makes sense.

[queendogface.livejournal.com]

So sorry to hear about your dad's passing. Will send good thoughts your way.