Back in America: Another Life Goal Complete

I've missed blogging the last week as I've been running around like a baby who has just found his legs. As you can also see, I miss THOGL, Taiwan, and everything about the place I just left. But alas, this post has nothing to do with anything you've read so far. For that, I'm a little sorry - mostly for dropping your IQ a point or two. And although the title of this entry sounds like it has potential, it is also very misleading on almost all accounts, except for the fact that I did accomplish another life goal recently...

This life goal isn't profound. In fact, some might see it as rather materialistic and selfish. 

This isn't something I'll be remembered for on my deathbed, at least not so far.

This isn't something that even technically happened in America (I told you the title was misleading!). 

This isn't even something my wife necessarily approved of (initially). However, after much groveling, this changed (I hope!)

And so here I am now, proud to say that...

I have accomplished a life goal by purchasing a DSLR camera.

I know, I know. Your jaw dropped, you fainted, you woke up in an ambulance, and you realized that you never finished reading this post. But you've obviously found your way back, so we're in great shape! So onward with the blogging!

This is the closest thing I may have to a child in a long time. 

Now hold on just a second. I know a couple of you are thinking, "If you have such a nice camera, why is this such a lame picture?" Well, frankly, I couldn't think of a better way to take a picture of it, so I grabbed my mom's vintage digital camera and snapped a quick one.

So here I am with a decent camera (it's by no means even close to "high-end") and very limited photography skills. I hope to change that over the course of this school year as I learn to photograph different activities, teaching myself as I go. Hopefully saving up for a couple of new lenses will help as well. Mostly, though, I plan to take an ungodly amount of pictures and hope for the best. To illustrate this point, I'd like to present you with a number:  

4694

 Large, random, and mostly unnecessary - this number is right up my alley. 

There's no easy way to put this, so I'll just say it: that's how many pictures have been taken on my camera since it arrived in my hands less than a week ago. Now, in my defense, approximately 4500 of these pictures were taken by sister-in-law. However, if she ever reads this, she might kick me, so I'll admit to taking a couple as well. I'll post a couple of decent ones straight from the camera at the end of this post, so be looking forward to that (I promise it comes very soon; sooner if you just skip all the text and scroll until you see pictures).

I was able to get this camera, a Canon Rebel XS with the kit lens, for $450 on Amazon while we were in Taiwan (hence the misleadingness of the title). My mom then delivered it to me in pristine condition when she saw me in Manhattan. I've been doing my best to read as much as I can about using the camera, pouring over the manual as well as various photography websites. All of that to say that I couldn't be more ecstatic with my new hobby.

So whether or not you think this a waste, selfish, or just very un-Christian of me, you will eventually get to share in this gift (literally - it's my Christmas and birthday gift from Kalyn for NEXT year) as I actually learn to take decent pictures with my camera. But for now, here's what I have. I hope you enjoy, and I'm sure there will be more photos to come soon. And more blogging, too, because I miss it.

Shawntel, my sister-in-law, took a lot of good pictures. This was one of my favorites.

My mom with a cup of coffee from the exotic country known as Starbucks. Don't tell her that this picture is on here!

Fair warning: I have this weird thing about taking pictures of food. This is a pizza casserole that Kalyn made. Mmm...

 In case you don't recognize this, it's Quelf - the most ingenious board game ever invented. We own it and you need to play it.

 This is my dad's grave. It's been two years now. I'll always miss him.

It's amazing how many memories a camera can capture.