Queen Carla had arrived a week ago. Tonigh, her royal consorts were delivered, the numbers are complete and court has convened. Carla is my camera, an old Canon A-1 SLR, full with several lenses, filters, add-ons, etc… it was THE camera to have in the very late 70s, early 80s, and has since developed into something of a cult camera. Still, the options it has, as well as the quality it delivers are still top of the line. It was given to me on my 16th birthday, when I first showed signs of falling in love with photography, but I didn’t really use it to its full potential, and couldn’t carry it with me when I moved here. I recently started feeling the urge to have it back, and since I’ve decided to stay here a while longer, it makes more sense.
Why Carla? Well… I have names for a lot of my essential equipment. It’s not geeky, and I’ll tell you why in a second. My digital camera is called Natasha. She’s good. Very good, actually. But soon enough, I’ll want to move up and move on. Natasha isn’t a permanent name, in my mind. My laptop, on the other hand, is called Leela. Girls whose names start with “L” have been a staple of my social life, and all variations of the L****L*** have passed through the realm. Except for Leela. So, that name isn’t particularly meaningful, but there you have it. My external hard disk is called Heinrich. I need him to be strong, durable, reliable and supportive. Heinrich is a strong name. My mp3 player is Tom. I couldn’t find a more generic name for such a generic tool. Also, a certain Tom played a role when I acquire the thingy. I couldn’t care less about cell phones (mine or others) so it’s not included here. This brings us back to Carla. I love the name, and I haven’t met a single Carla which I didn’t admire, respect, lust after, drool over, or all of the above. Carla is a beautiful, musical name. But still, one that sticks with you, and not something you could try on for a day and then move along. I would marry a Carla (no particular one). So, my A-1 is Carla.
Geeky? Not at all. You see, in the days or yore (a long, long time ago) knights used to name their horses, swords, spears, maces and what not. So why not now?
In other news, I’ve started reading fantasy novels again. That’s a good sign, because, for me, it goes hand in hand with being productive academically, or for work. Which is what’s happening. I’m running out of time, but I’m finally moving full speed ahead (sort of)… actually, I’m still picking up speed, but it’s good. I’ve got to meet up with my Prof, demo the system and hand in a second draft on monday, and I just might finish. I’ve got fifteen main tasks that must be done by then, and another 15 or so that should be done before the whole thing is over. Tonigh, I’m doing 6 smaller tasks. Then, i’m taking a break (just a couple of hours) and starting on another set of 5 tasks. Two of which are major, and the rest, relatively smaller. That would leave tomorrow evening, and friday for the remaining four, one of which is really major.
So, I should have saturday and sunday to go over the stuff, maybe do a few of the smaller remaining tasks, and tweak some of the complete ones before my meeting. I’ll sleep on saturday, but only because I need to overnight again on sunday for a different reason (I can’t get up at 6am to catch the bus to H). I haven’t slept since monday, going on 63 hours… but that’s ok. If I make it till saturday without sleep, i’d have broken my old record by something like 40 hours or so.
Not that I’m bragging or anything, nor have I worked the entire time (20 percent productivity, maybe)… but yeah. Thought you’d like to know where I stand, and why I’m behind on blogging and flickring. I’d still have 14 days following monday, but if the next few days are successful, those should be more than enough time to put the whole thing together and package it nice and pretty.
I also instilled some revenge. I was hurt, a while back, she was playing games, or maybe not, but regardless it pisesd me off. I recently paid it back twofold. I promised the party involved that I’m post the email here (it’s nothing special, just a rant… worthy of the realm)… It’s not a drama, but it just felt good, because revenge is sweet, and it clarified the situation to me, somewhat. Maybe not, who know. Either way, the ball is in her court. Which is the way I like it.
Now, I go back to work. I’ll keep you updated, if only to preserve my sanity, and to give myself a virtual fan-base. Tadaa.
