Reactionary

What does this picture have to do with anything? It isn’t a photograph, just a snapshot taken by a family member that I cropped. So why post it?

Well, two things. One gone the other in danger. Firstly, the four silver rings I used to always wear. This past week, I lost them at work. All of them. And I didn’t notice they were gone until the next day when I was getting ready to scrub and there was nothing to take off. It was a horrible, sinking feeling that that realization caused. 12 staright days of getting up at 0530 will make you that forgetful and that unable to burst into tears at the realization that something so valued is gone. The Claddagh, the silver and gold twist, the one with the knotwork, and lastly, the crisscrossed one that’s newest and barely a year old. All gone. I can’t even cry. This, my friends, is exhaustion.

The other thing is the camera. I love it though the horrid humidity of the summer has sidelined it for a while. It and its two lenses cost more than me and it’s in trouble. I bought the lastest wide angle (the one shown here is the 50mm prime at the UN) for Italy. Thanks to more rabid Islamists and the latest bust, I won’t be able to take it on board an aircraft. Domestic flights have been banned from liquids and gels but British airlines flying through the UK are banned from all carry-on items besides wallets, glasses without cases, and Rx meds with your name on it. Everything else is banned, according to the rules in place now. Guess how I was planning on getting to Italy? Virgin Air via London. Yeah, I’m convinced now that the world truly loves me. I could check it, but is that a risk I’m really willing to take? The body alone weighs in at $1200+. And digital cameras are senstive to extreme temperatures. Guess what airliners’ holds and the North Pole have in common? I could take the 35mm, but what will I do for film. You can’t check film because all checked baggage gets x-rayed. I’d be better off just flushing film money down the toilet. What’s the other option? Buying film and developing it in Italy? How do you say, “Who’s the best film lab in Naples?” in Italian? How do you say it like you mean it? Can I easily find Kodak’s TMax for less than the cost of my right kidney on the black market? Damn it all. I could NOT take a camera at all, but what’s the point? I’d be moping the whole time because I couldn’t take pictures.

There are still a few weeks left. Hopefully, as time passes, they’ll reevaluate the new policies. I’ll live without lip balm. I won’t talk to anyone until I get on the ground and can brush my teeth. I’ll live without hand lotion and get me to the nearest Sephora in Rome asap, but the camera… Dash it all. This bites.

Posted on August 13th, 2006 under Life •  Print •  Email • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback