Somewhere along the way, this turned into a totally different animal.

While everyone else is watching The Inauguration, I am standing here, alone, looking out into a vast and empty lobby. Hello, Economy? We get it.

I don't have much to say today and whatever I do say will most likely bore you to tears, but hey, I'm still leaking from the face so it's only fair that you are, too. (Or something like that.)

Speaking of things that bother me (I know, we weren't), I really can't stand it when people say "I wish I had a nice camera like that" as if the camera does all the work. Yes, a good camera can do wonders for quality, but the camera itself can't do crap about composition, exposure, etc. without someone who knows what they're doing choosing the right settings.

Just to clarify, I am not "someone who knows what they're doing."

I received my first camera, a Canon point and shoot, for Christmas when I was sixteen. God, I loved that camera. Still do, but it broke the night before our wedding. If ever there was a sign of things to come... JUST KIDDING.

That camera took great pictures and I'd love to share some of them with you, but film, scanning, blah blah boring.

It's funny, looking back, to think how did I not realize it then? Photography, as a profession, just never occurred to me. But, boy, it should have. It should have occurred to someone! I took a ton of pictures, even back then. It's a good thing photography went digital, otherwise I'd hate to see how many boxes of pictures I'd have to store.

After the Canon's unfortunate demise, The Husband and I purchased THE WORST CAMERA EVER. If you're in the market for a camera, please purchase one from a company that specializes in cameras, not computers or printers or anything like that. And if you already went that route, like I did with the horrible HP, I'm sorry. That's all I can say. And maybe it's working out for you, and that's great, truly. And if not? Well, again, I'm sorry. I feel your pain. 'Cause, dang, I hated that thing.

Buying my Nikon back in 2007 was probably the most difficult purchase I've made in a very long time. I don't think I put that much thought or effort into purchasing my last car. And I'm pretty meh about our future house (but that's probably just 'cause it doesn't feel real yet).

I spent a month researching cameras. I had my heart set on a Canon, but the Nikon felt so much better. But then it all about what kind of Nikon? Did I need the D80 or would a less-expensive D40 fulfill my needs?

And then I was all what if, what if, what if??? for a really long time. Like a month. And everyone at work was all shut up already! And so was The Husband and anyone else who had made the mistake of lending an ear.

And once I finally made the decision to go with the D80? Just thinking about what I went through trying to figure out where to buy stresses me out today. I looked online at various "companies" whose means of acquiring said cameras were much too questionable (but holy crap, were they cheap). I looked at eBay. I looked until I went blind and then, finally, in a fit of buyer's rage, went to my local Samy's and made a purchase.

And I never looked back.

The end. (But not really on "the end" part.)

Seriously, I don't know what I'd be doing with myself and all the time I'd have on my hands if not for photography. I'd probably be reading, which I used to do a lot of until the madness of photography, Photoshop, and blogging entered my life.

Did you know I started my first blog back in 2004? But it's lunch time now, so goodbye forever.

But not really of the "forever" part.