mrcrisp

• finally, after a week or so of pondering and researching, i finally took the plunge and picked up a rebel xt. the only problem was that it was a floor model from bestbuy. man, i really need to stop shopping at bestbuy. that place is a total rip off. online sales of the xt run for around $470 with a 2gb cf card, whereas this floor model cost just as much before throwing in such essential items as battery, charger, lens cap, and memory card. so i purchased all those things, which came to around $666 (no shitting). and while i enjoyed pouring over my new toy and exploring its amazing manual abilities, i still felt a little bubble in my belly. so i checked amazon prices for not only the xt, but the xti as well. i found a comparable sale for the xti and ordered it, returned the xt, lens, battery, and charger to bestbuy and ended up saving $10.10. so my new xti comes on friday and i can't wait to use it on my 3-day weekend. and not, quite sated, i'm now punishing myself by browsing the lensbabies shop. gah, i better put this camera to good use! hmm, maybe if i ever get to do that cross country road trip. but that depends on if i get my medical discharge. and i guess it depends on my car, too.

which brings me to the second story...

• my car is old. 42 years and counting. most of that parts (excluding the alternator, brakes, and overstuffed, vinyl bench seats) are original, and the engine has a measly 75k miles on it. but lately, something's been going on with the electricity in the damn thing. multiple loads are causing an issue. the radio and speakers alone provide an issue, where a strong buzz replicating the engine's rpm (it increases it frequency and volume as the rpm increases). and then, turn on the lights and that's where the problems really start. when the car is idle, the headlights and dashboard dim. with the fan on, the damn thing craps out fast. considering that the alternator gauge has been sitting moderately still in the middle, i reckoned that the battery was the issue. today i replaced the battery. now the alternator gauge is dipping dangerously past +/- 15 with a hectic and almost sudden bi-polarity. the speaker hum is audibly stronger, and the lights dim even more. so yeah, it's probably the alternator that needs replacing now. which is a shame because, according to the previous owner, the one in there now is only a year or so old. remanufactured alternators aren't hard to come by and aren't very expensive ($50-60), but still, it's a pain in the ass. hopefully this solves this issue. if not, it's time to call an electrician. i don't want this to go as far as preventing my car from even starting, especially since the same thing happened to a co-worker just last week. shucks.

but now it's time to do my dishes and go to bed late. i miss my baby.



and say what you will about vice magazine, but their guide to north korea was amazing.