Land ho

2006-10-04

I have a lot to tell you, diary, but I'm not sure how interesting it will be. The thing I'm most excited to report is the find of two old Polaroid cameras last Sunday at the Goodwill. They're both Land cameras; one is a 210 Automatic, and the other is an 80B. The 80B is older--made in the late 50s and early 60s--and there's no film made for it anymore, HOWEVER, today after work I bought a roll of 120 film, because the internet has told me I can use that instead of Polaroid film and it will work (the camera took Polaroid roll film that was discontinued in the early 90s). I believe you, Internet, and I'm going to try it. The only drawback is there's no way to advance the film, so I'll have to go into the Poo Room after every photo and advance the film manually. This doesn't worry me, now that I've had so much experience winding back film in the Smena. The Automatic 210 has two photos left in it, but the battery's run down, so I ordered a battery for it from the internet and hope it will come in the mail soon. It's a weirdo battery that even Radio Shack doesn't carry; hence the need to order it special. Film is still being made for the 210, and I'll get some once the battery is here and I've proved the camera works, by taking those last two pictures. The 210 cost $2.99 (original retail price $49.99) and the 80B cost $3.99 (original retail price $79.99--can you believe that?? that was a lot of money in the late 50s). The 80B is so gorgeous, though, that when I unearthed it from its case, which was buried under other stuff, I had a little trouble breathing for a minute and then I got dizzy. Look at this gorgeousness:

Polaroid 80B Land Camera

That's not a great picture of it, actually, so you'll have to trust me
that this baby is dynamite (my camera hobbyist coworker will back me up on that--I brought it to work today to show him). I can hardly wait to try this film experiment. I may even stick some 35mm in there if the 120 experiment goes well. I'd have to rig it up to fit, but if I could get it to work, the whole surface of the film would be exposed, including the sprocket hole areas, like this photo. That could be pretty cool, I think.

So, maybe that wasn't too interesting, but at least you can't say you didn't receive an advance disclaimer to that effect. In other fascinating news, I just about killed people on Monday when I had to work the desk until 1:30, fueled by only oatmeal (eaten at 7:00 a.m.) and a handful of wheat thins (eaten at 10:00 a.m.)--I was super cranky and about to lose my shit, from hunger. I took this as a sign that I need to change my food regimen, so I've started bringing a Balance bar type thing (not actually sure what brand, but along those lines) to eat at 11:30 so I don't start hurting people when I don't get my actual lunch until 1 or 1:30. It's working admirably and I recommend it if you have a late lunch hour.

Also:

1) My boy coworker, Rich* and I have decided to exchange music cds on a
semi-regular basis--it was his good idea--and today he gave me one he'd made last night. It's pretty awesome; I'm enjoying it. I'm going to burn him disk number one from my Summer Burn two disk set tonight so the 1st exchange can be completed. Rich is funny and I'm so, so glad he works here, because so far he's the only person I can relate to. Since he's 10 years younger than I am, I'm not sure what that says about me (probably that I'm immature, which I already knew), but I don't care what it says; I'm just glad to have someone to talk to.

2) Today at lunch I started knitting the gauge swatch for a sweater I'm going to make from that red mohair I ordered from elann.combecause my monitor made it look hot pink. The yarn probably won't be easy to work with, what with all the fuzz, but it's soft and knits up real pretty and real fast, so I'm going to enjoy making that sweater.

3) Last Sunday when I bought the cameras, I also bought a pair of brown Steve Madden boots that have barely been worn and are in great condition. They're aren't the latest style, but they're in style enough for me--I really don't follow footwear trends anyway. Francisco conditioned them for me and they look brand new now. I like buying good shoes for $8; I feel like I won some kind of shopping contest [first prize: a pair of Steve Madden boots].

4) We're up to Season 3 in Queer as Folk now. We have the first two disks of the season (Netflix), and I have to say, that show is the perfect antidote to a busy day at work. With a glass of wine, natch. Since Sharky's off playing soccer most nights of the week, we're burning right through the episodes, and now I think of it, I'm going to be sad when we finish the last one. But I guess it'll take us a few more weeks, at least.

5) We still don't have any friends. Where is one supposed to meet people nowadays? It's a puzzle.

Lately I've been feeling unsettled and like life is out of control, which I think could be a delayed reaction to the upheaval of moving and settling in to a whole new place. Or it could be a reaction to starting working again, since I feel like I'm never home and have no idea what's going on there. I mean, how much oatmeal do we have left? Are the cats almost out of dry food? When was the last time Sharky washed his sheets? These are the issues that plague me. I've been feeling like I can't keep up with anything in my life--personal correspondence, this diary, projects, etc. I have got to get my shit together, and soon. People are having babies who are both blanketless and smartass onesie-less, and this should not be. Slummyjelly, I'm looking at you. If you read this, please know I've got some stuff in the works for that baby.

I'd best get to doing stuff. Talk to you later.

Love,
E

*his real name--I'm not worried he'll find this diary because a) he doesn't have internet at home and b) he's not all that internet savvy anyway. also I'm sure I'll have only good things to say about him, so even if he did find this, I doubt he'd be bothered. |

cats-kittens

come over some time & see me - 2011-02-25
let's not say goodbye - 2011-02-23
the Rachel Zoe collection - 2011-02-10
I feel happy today - 2011-02-04
the tiny snow stalker - 2011-01-25

design by simplify