PHIDONG.COM . 5.0

Happy Halloween.

That is all.

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I guess SBC decided it was about time they bumped up my upload cap. I used to be capped at about 15kb/s now I'm around 30+. Its small baby steps, but its making a big difference to me.

Today:
1) Finish poems and poetry homework
I fucking fell asleep.. so thats why I'm awake so early
2) Go to Chemistry
I failed the midterm. I got an F.. gotta start going to class...
3) Go to Poetry
Then poetry meeting after..
4) study study study!
My Math 2J midterm is only a day away!!

Another picture because I'm procastinating.

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I got rid of the old weeks ago and the replacement is finally here. The 20D. After being held up forever with Dell, I decided to just place an order with someone else. It arrived.

The box! He included a lens brochure for free. How sweet.

Yummay! We've just begun!!

Unwrapped. Theres an interesting box in the background...

We'll cover up this virgin LCD first

Holla.

Grippay time.

The weenie strap you saw before is just that.. weenie. I bought an Optech foam strap weeks earlier in preparation for this day.

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The rain washed everyones car, but it sure didn't detail 'em. I decided to clean up my driveway today.

Just washed mine. Wash and waxed my dad's (just toppin it off).

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The bulk of my week has finally reached an end. At the beginning of every quarter, I display my major weaknesses. Lack of preparation. Lack of preparation.. and lack of preparation. I finished both of my midterms. Of course I did. They were this week, but I didn't prepare enough and I probably didn't do too well either. I still have a Math 2J miterm on Wednesday, but today feels good, being done with the other two.

I haven't been to either class in quite a while, so I suspect things are going to do an about face once I get my midterm scores back.

I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of anticipating. I decided to have Loc just cancel the Dell order (Thanks to Loc for ordering it in the first place). Its funny how things always end up working out in my life, though. Originally I ordered the 20D with Loc because I didn't have 1500 cash on hand. Loc was kind enough to help me out with his credit. The 20D was indefinitely delayed, but if I had bought the 20D with my own money, I probably wouldn't have even gone to the Camera Expo this month (no cash, no care). Loc didn't go. Sam probably wouldn't have gone. No 70-200L IS for Sam. So its all good that I waited.

I'm shooting with Loc's Digital Rebel right now (for sale). I ordered my 20D today. $1,490. I'm hoping it comes in tomorrow. I got it overnight shipped, but I feel like I have a false impression that overnight packages are delivered on Saturdays. I can only hope because if I'm wrong, I just wasted 20 bucks.

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I decided not to go to school today. It was raining and my classes are far apart. I made up my mind that I'd skip the first class so I wouldn't have to walk in the rain, but my body told me just to sleep through both. I have a midterm tomorrow and one more on Friday. I'm a little worried.

It actually looks that color outside right now. Theres a rainbow in front and the sunset behind. Its pretty interesting looking...

Loc let me borrow his 20D to test out my new lens. The Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC EX. My first impresions of it and the camera are that they are both really great. The 20D is very responsive and snappy (both in terms of speed and sound...)

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I decided to make a spreadsheet of all the camera equipment I buy and sell. Its sad.

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It rained last night. It rained hard. It didn't stop until early this morning. Everything that built up on top of my car washed away, leaving the surface a bit dusty. I wiped it down before I headed out to Costa Mesa for the monthly Camera Expo. It was early. Too early.

So I met Sam up at the OC fairgrounds. It was a lot more crowded than last time. Pretty much the same vendors showed up though, some with new equipment and some with the same stuff from last time. One lens in particular caught our eye. The Canon 70-200mm IS . It was behind a wall of other lenses and looked somewhat like a 70-200 non-IS, but we asked anyway.

1250.

At that point, it wasn't a matter of whether or not Sam would be walking away with the lens, it was how. We only had 720 dollars cash on us. I wanted to bargain down, but since Sam was paying with credit, it'd be impossible. Its all good though, Sam is now part of the 70-200 IS club (which I'm not a member of).

We went to go eat after and then I went home. I didn't get any lenses today, but it was cool hanging out with Sam. Its unfortunate that Loc couldn't complete the third party brigade, but there will be other Camera Expos for us to conquer!

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So the 20D has been pushed back again. Another delayed shipment. My Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX shipped on Friday and is scheduled to arrive this Tuesday. The 20D? Won't be here until the end of this month probably, unless Loc and Todd can pull off some magic.

Some things did start trickling in though. I got my filters (58mm UV and ND) for the 85mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.4. I haven't taken a picture in a long time, but it should be interesting, exciting to say the least, to get back and shoot again. I'm going to the Camera Expo with Sam Lee tomorrow to check out some used lenses and maybe pick up a deal. Oh yeah, my grip and one of the books I bought came in on Friday. More should start coming in soon!

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I think I need to start focusing my energy. This isn't working out, for obvious reasons.

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Picture Frame
Alone on my desk,
a picture frame.
Two faces
I do not know
stare at me,
printed on cheap paper,
still behind the glass,
untouched.

Once a gift from you,
how fitting that
their generic smiles
mock me.

I love poetry.

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Jeff came over at 6 today and I finished up his car. Topped it off with some s100 paste wax which left it DAMN shiny. I also did the molding, windows, wheels, and tires. It looks pretty good now. A lot better than before!!! (pics in extended view)

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Oh man. I spent the day detailing Jeff's car. He dropped it off in the afternoon and left. I spent about 6-7 hours working on it and I'm going to finish it off tomorrow. It turned out pretty good. His paint actually looks a little better than mine. I couldn't get all the swirls out I might redo a couple panels tomorrow by hand or with the PC if my pads are dry. We'll see. I'm going to top it off with carnauba wax tomorrow though. Don't forget..

I TAKE TIPS!


gallery

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Some article here

bold underline itallic

hey!

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Before Sam, Loc, and I met each otehr all three of us were contacted by Dem Sang, a startup magazine that wanted to contract us to work for nothing. I believe Loc was contacted about photography, Sam about design? I was brought in to do the entire layout for beans.

Wondering what ever happened with that? Declined. Declined. Declined. Sorry! The only one out of all of us that works for free is Loc. Holla!

I bought my Digital Rebel sometime in September, slightly before Loc, and way before I met either of them. We convinced Sam to get his Rebel and now all of us are moving on to 20Ds. Now its too late for you to escape, Sam!

We all have domain names under our full names locnguyen.org, samlee888.com, and phidong.com.. Its kind of weird how we all have so much in common.

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It took me fourteen hours to modify Gallery to fit my website template. I have a feeling theres a WAYY easier way to do it, but whats done is done. I don't have any of my old pictures processed, so I'm not gonna add anything for a while, just wanted to let you all know that link is up and working.

I can't wait to get my camera back. The photography books that I bought will be pretty fun to read. I'm mainly looking to concentrate on flash photography and post-processing. I'll keep you all up to date on how thats going!

Tomorrow I'm detailing my first customer's car. (Jeff Chen). I'll be sure to take before/after pictures. Hopefully everything turns out well and I get more customers which will mean a lot more equipment. I have suck expensive hobbies -_-;; Thats all for now.

I'm pretty hungry. Dan has been showing me a LOT of tasty looking Vietnamese food on this blog (noodlepie) and its made me hunger for some food drenched in nuoc mam.. Someone bring me food!

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Oh man, credit is dangerous. I purchased a 20D grip for my camera ( still not here yet ) and I bought 80 bucks in photography books. This shit better pay off!

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I bought a ND and UV filter from eBay last night. Ended up being around 50 bucks for both. They'll fit onto both my 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.8, so its all good. I'll probably get a polarizer for my 20mm and 85mm as well.

Today I bought an OpTech strap. I wanted to get a pro one (thicker) but they only had blue and I thought that was a little too flashy for my own good. I ended up with a grey one the size of the one I had before. Not too shabby. I love the comfort of the Optech straps over regular camera straps and want to be ready when my new camera arrives.

I had a job interview today at GSM. It should be interesting. The job looks pretty easy, its just computer consulting, basically helping people out with their little computer problems. The money will be the biggest draw as its really money on top of everything that I need, so I can easily just spend it on stuff like camera equipment without even thinking twice.

Oh. I got my first credit card today too. It was long due, but I'm now the proud owner of a credit card with only a 500 dollar credit line. Not that I should be spending that much money anyway.

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I left school at 12:45-ish today and arrived in Burbank before the clock struck two. The traffic was light getting there. I met up with Borris and exchanged lenses. We had a nice chat.

I had a Tamron 90mm f/2.8 MACRO for a short period of time. Mint condition. Sharp pictures, but it wasn't the right lens for me. I'm not a macro kind of guy, yet. One thing I will always love about this hobby is the ability to swap gear, buy to try then sell. I buy most of my gear used (everyone babies their equipment, at least I do) and when you buy a used lens, you can usually sell it for the same price. Zero rental fee, pretty much.

Anyway, we talked for about an hour and swapped lenses. My Tamrom 90mm f/2.8 MACRO for his Canon 85mm f/1.8. The Tamron is an older version, but retailed for a bit more. Since its a third party lens, the values are about the same. An even, fair, trade. I was happy to drive home, even through traffic with my new lens. I cleaned up all my lenses today and ordered a B+W 4x ND filter and Hoya HMC UV filter for the 85mm f/1.8. Luckily for me, the 50mm f/1.4, a lens I recently acquired uses the same filter size as the 85mm, so my ND (nuetral density) filter should double up.

My lens lineup is now forming into something that I'm willing to keep, or at least work with. Unfortunately for me, my bag is much too small!

Current lineup:
Zenitar 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye
Sigma 20mm f/1.8 EX
Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM
Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 SP Di
Sigma 70-210mm f/2.8 APO
Kenko TelePlus 1.5x Teleconverter

At this stage, I'm planning on picking up a Canon 35mm f/2. I may be looking to replace my longer lens (70-210) with something nicer, like an optical stabilized lens. But I'll leave the door for that range wide open...

Oh yeah, you might notice a lack of a camera in my bag. I don't have one. Its only a matter of time..

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Deep down inside, I realize. I'm a visionary. I see beyond what is really there and something inside of me tells me that its time to let go. What is it? What is this deep yearning for more that I cannot explain? The voice is vague. Things will probably be explained over time.

Its funny, I'm so good at diagnosing people's problems and helping other people overcome great obstacles, but when an obstacle or confusion enters my life, I have absolutely no course for rectification. Why is it that I can't take a step back. Why can't I let go of the situation and evaluate it from a distance? Maybe its because I care too much. I'm bound by forces which I do not control?

Today I sold my Digital Rebel to someone from OT. What a small world it is! It turns out he knows a lot of people from Imports@UCI. It feels good to be moving in the right direction. Initially, I had all intentions of keeping the camera as a back-up but it wasn't fair for me to hoard its greatness. In all honesty, its better off in the hands of one who will use it. Allen has been doing photography for a while with a G3 and his creativity probably surpasses me. I had no problem putting the Rebel, my beloved, in his hands. I'm sure he will take more advantage of it than I did and take care of it as well.

Why is it? Why is it that we take things for granted? I realized its difficult to appreciate something that you have. This sounds so cliche.. but its so damn true. I have to keep reminding myself to be grateful for all of the things around me, no matter how difficult those things may sometimes be. We never realize all of the little things around us that keep us living, breathing.. that keep us up.

Its always the moment that they get up and leave. The moment they release their grip upon the world and let go that a swooping wind blows down. The wind of revelation. Realization even. At that moment, we realize how important something that we had in our pession, something that we didn't recognize or cherish is now gone. Its only then that we realize how important that thing was to us. Why is it like that? Is it our inner selfishness?

I think its time for me to step away from Imports@UCI. Maybe not forever... maybe just to step back and realize, maybe for myself, what I am personally taking for granted. To solve my problems and to resolve my issues. I'm great at evaluating other people's problems but I always find failure when I attempt to solve mine.

A chinese proverb says that true happiness doesn't come from having what you want, but wanting what you have. Ask yourself a question. The answer may come easily to you, or it may take days of pondering to realize... Are you happy? If not.. maybe its time to let go...

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I've fallen into a slump as of late. Pretty much stagnant in terms of improvement, so I've set up a couple of things I need to work on.

1) Use flash all the time -- master flash photography (oh snap)
2) Use the 18-55mm lens more (see if i like 18-50 range)
3) Do some macro photography before I sell my 90mm f/2.8
4) ???

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