A Continual State of Inelegance

Digital Camera Woes

leila82 — Sat, 22 May 2010 20:27:18 GMT

I'm getting very frustrated with my camera issues.

I'm trying to find something that will let me print out pictures easily, in a size that I can use in my journal. Ideally, this item would be relatively inexpensive, and the refill ink/required paper would also be pretty inexpensive. It would also be portable, something I could toss into my purse/suitcase whenever I travel. In exchange, the quality doesn't have to be amazing. I mean, I have an inkjet printer already, and my dad has 3 inkjet printers that are just sitting in a box as well. I need something more...functional.

So I started Googling (and Amazon-ing. Is that a word? It should be. I use Amazon anytime I'm researching buying something.)

The first thing I found was this camera:

It's kind of like an old school Polaroid, except it prints out these small credit-card sized photos. It comes in different colors that would appeal to any small child. And there's one of the problems with it: it looks like a digital camera for a five-year-old. It's also fairly large; it will fit into a large purse, but not into a small one, and definitely not into a pocket. Also, the film is fairly pricey - around $1 per picture, and what happens when you mess up a shot? There's no preview feature for pictures, and the viewfinder is far from the lens, so close-up shots are hard, as well. Also, there's no zoom on the camera, which is a problem, as well. All in all, I don't know if it's worth the buy.

One of the reviews I came across for the previous camera mentioned this one:

Portable, really inexpensive but...stamp-size pictures? Not really what I'm going for, either. I mean, a stamp? What could you possibly see in that size? So that was out, too. Also, it doesn't really seem like it's going to take great pictures, you know?

The third thing I ran across was this:

A photo printer, but one that's got a couple of qualities I'm looking for. It's inexpensive, it's pretty mobile. The paper is pretty inexpensive, and the quality is decent, according to the reviews. Best of all, it hooks up to most cameras and cameraphones. So, the limiting factor is still the camera quality; I could always print a high-quality picture on my big inkjet if I wanted. Except - oh, it's not compatible with iPhones. At least, not ones that aren't jail-broken. So I'd have to do that. And - oh. It doesn't work with cameras that don't have something called PictBridge. Now, almost all cameras made after 2003 have PictBridge capability. Unfortunately, my camera (which I love and adore) was made in 2000 and does NOT have PictBridge. Which means the printer won't work with either of my cameras, making it kind of hard to, you know, print.

So, yeah. I think I'm going to wind up buying the photo printer, at some point. I can jailbreak my phone, after all. And, I'm planning to get a DSLR camera sometime this year, which should work with the printer, too. I just hate having to look for electronics, and this is why.

p.s. if anyone has any suggestions for this thing, please PLEASE tell me?

just passing by

leila82 — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:57:51 GMT

I miss LJ.

It just doesn't seem to be the same anymore. I still read, daily, but I feel less inclined to comment on posts. And I don't seem to have anything to post about, or at least, nothing that won't either cause wank or violate HIPAA. But it's not just me. There's a slew of people on my flist, people who used to be pretty active on LJ, who just seem to have vanished. I see some of y'all over on facebook/twitter, so I know y'all exist, but facebook and twitter are different.

Also, I miss my American Idol AIM chat buddies, especially in this season of dreariness and dreck. I would look forward to the shows so much more if y'all were still around to mock it!

Speaking of American Idol, this season really does suck. I've quit watching - missed the last 3 weeks, and I don't really care.

Anyway. Um, hi?

leila82 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:40:48 GMT

I just updated firefox, and now none of my LJ addons are working. Can't expand comment threads within my friends page any more. *weeps softly*

leila82 — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:15:35 GMT

I kind of wanted to make a real life post (as opposed to an all-TV, all-the-time sort of thing), but I really don't have the energy. Let's just say I'm glad February is over, and I'm hoping March will be better. For one thing, I have my car back (was in an accident at the start of the month). For another, I'm done with my oncology rotation for intern year.

Oncology is simultaneously the most depressing and painful rotation I've had so far, and it's reinforced that I really like health babies and want to do general peds, as opposed to specializing in something. I don't have the emotional fortitude to deal with really sick/dying babies (and teens).

But, it's over, and I feel much more free.

FIGURE SKATING YAY!

leila82 — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:13:12 GMT

YAY WOMEN'S FIGURE SKATING!

One of the best programs I've seen in a while. Nobody fell, the skating from the top 7 was pretty much perfect. And NOBODY wuzrobbed.

Socchi 2014 is going to be so exciting (as long as the Russians don't get to the judges first).

Tomorrow night: SPEED SKATING!

Someday, I will catch up on my sleep.

sometimes you face tough decisions

leila82 — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:05:43 GMT

American Idol vs. Ladies figure skating?

Oh, who am I even kidding...

leila82 — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:31:58 GMT

WHAT THE HELL HOUSTON? IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO SNOW HERE! AND ESPECIALLY NOT AT THE END OF FEBRUARY!

Also: Olympics have taken over my life*. The End.

* it's a really good thing they're only on every 2 years, because otherwise I might die. I get into things I've never heard of before, like curling. Or, during the Beijing Olympics, speedwalking.

need to vent

leila82 — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:35:02 GMT

So, I've had a somewhat frustrating evening, to cap off a frustrating week.

Tonight, I was going to meet up with some friends for our mutual friend R's birthday. It was going to be a surprise thing, with dinner, and then some sort of going out after. The dinner was supposed to start at 7. My friend D and I went together, and we got there around 720 (we got lost along the way). We were the first ones there. 730 came and went, then 745, then 8. Around 8, R showed up, with her roommate. We were still the only ones there.

D texted the 3 others who were supposed to come to the dinner, to ask if they were on their way. "We haven't left yet," was the response. Two of them didn't show up until 830, the third didn't come till 9 - two hours later than we were supposed to meet, and one hour after the birthday girl showed up!

I am one of those people who are really anal about being punctual. 15 minutes here and there, fine. No big. But an hour and a half? Two hours?? That's not really acceptable, IMO. And the thing is, they do that all the time! For everything! Any social event, you can guarantee that they're going to be two hours late. Which really bugs me, and is one of the reasons I don't really hang out with them all that much.

If that weren't irritating enough, after dinner we decided to go to a bar. Well, let me rephrase that - we decided to go to a bar, but since it was only 1030, we would first go to another bar for an hour, and then go to the more trendy place down the street. Which, honestly, didn't make too much sense to me, but 3 glasses of wine into the evening, I wasn't really able to ask why.

So, off we went to find Bar #1. Two cars - the Leaving Early car and the Staying Late care. We drove and drove and drove, and then made a U-turn because we got lost, and then turned off on this deserted street, and then off onto this street with what looked like abandoned warehouse buildings, where the others parked their car. At this point, we (D and I, as well as R's roommate M who rode over with us) were wondering where exactly we were going. "Oh, just around the corner," the others told us.

We walked down the back-lot street, which was littered with beer bottles and trees with dead branches and a barking dog and let me tell you, it looked (and sounded) like a scene from a horror movie. We rounded the corner, walked up to the main street, and there was a bar. We were headed in, when one of the others (I don't remember who) said, "Hey, this isn't the bar we wanted to go to!" She asked the bouncer where that place was, and he said, "Oh, a few blocks down the street."

So the four of them (K, A, R, and P) started walking towards the bar. Which we still don't know the exact location of (outside of - shady part of Houston). Late at night. In a group of only girls. I felt like it was a potentially bad idea, so I decided to say something, and basically made it very clear that I didn't feel comfortable walking to a place if we didn't know where it was in that part of town. And K said, "Come on. Just grow some balls and let's go." Which - OK, so most likely things would have been fine, but A) we didn't know where the hell we were going, and B) we would be splitting up into small groups when we were leaving, which made things even less safe. Given that, I don't think it was out of line for me to be uncomfortable. And my fellow Leaving Early buddies (D and M), both agreed that they weren't really OK with wandering around that part of town at night. D, M, and I ended up leaving at that point, while the others went on for the rest of the clubbing plans.

I don't know. It just really irks me that K was getting on my case about the whole thing, as if I was being irrational about the whole thing. And I know that it would most likely be OK, but you know, what if something did happen? All it takes is one time, and you could potentially have the rest of your life ruined. And the whole situation was a setup for something bad to happen. There would only have been 3 of us walking back down a mostly deserted street at night in a not very safe part of town in high heels.

Whatever. I was hoping that venting would get that out of my system, but I still feel really irritated at K for what she said.

leila82 — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:19:18 GMT

I have a new planner*! Well, two planners, really - a mid-size one that has Ansel Adams photos and a small one with a light green pleather cover that can fit in my white coat pocket, something that I can actually carry around and scribble in.

So one of my New Year's resolutions is: be more organized. Maybe. Hopefully. We will see.

*******

One of my major plans for the early part of this year is to get my apartment in order. Part of this involves figuring out how I want to decorate my bedroom. I'm trying to come up with a color combination that I like that's not super generic (brown! cream! chocolate!), not super feminine (I may love pink and purple, but I am no longer a teen girl), and not irritating. Right now I'm leaning towards a dark teal color for the walls, with white bedding and white curtains and a white cushion-y chair. But what if it's too dark? It's so painful to repaint over dark colors. Oh well, hopefully I'll have a color picked out by March, which is when I'm planning on doing the painting.

*Yes, it's nearly the middle of January, and I have just now managed to buy my new planner for the year. They were 50% off. Don't judge.

random

leila82 — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:56:07 GMT

I do not know how I feel about this Taco Bell diet. I mean, apparently, you can lose weight if you eat off the drive-through menu at Taco Bell? Which - I guess I could see, if you use portion control (1 bean &cheese burrito for dinner! and that's all!), but then you'd be hungry a lot, because, let me tell you, a bean and cheese burrito is not very filling. And God knows your cholesterol would be off the charts from eating only Taco Bell.

So...nice try, I guess? But still a fail.

Christmas Eve!

leila82 — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 04:03:29 GMT

Post call today, and have managed to finish all my pre-Christmas preparations (and also sneak in a teensy2 hour nap on the sofa while Deadliest Catch was on TV).

Have made peppermint bark, in three flavors, no less. Those of you who've been reading for a while know very well that leila82 + cooking = badness. And of course, somehow, I managed to burn my mouth and my hand in the peppermint bark making process. Also I burned a bit of white chocolate (luckily, you can't taste it in the rest of chocolate). I didn't know that chocolate gets so warm so quickly!!

Have also gift wrapped my parents' gifts - well "gift wrapped," really. I happened to mention that I needed some gift bags and such while I was on the phone with my mom, and she flipped out, all "Do you know how many trees people kill with gift wrapping? THINK OF THE TREES!" which, OK, she has a point, but it's not like she normally is worried about trees, you know? Anyway. I'm one of those people who saves nice shopping bags and the tissue paper that comes with them, just in case I might need one someday. Apparently, today was that day. Now, my dad's gift (a bottle of scotch) is in a Limited shopping bag filled with Ann Taylor and New York & Co printed tissue paper.

My Wii is all disconnected and ready to go home, too (I know what my Christmas present is - Rock Band 2 for Wii!!) So tomorrow after lunch will be Rock Band Time! The only sad part about tomorrow is that I still have to work in the morning, and that I'm on call again Saturday.

And now it's bedtime. YAY!

breaking lj silence for a tv show

leila82 — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:41:57 GMT

so, yeah i haven't posted in ages, whatever. capital letters are still on vacation, blah blah blah.

is anyone besides me watching "the sing-off"? where, basically, 8 acapella groups compete against each other to become the best?

because:
1)i love the judges, nicole scherzinger aside. ben folds is brilliant. he's what kara dioguardi was supposed to be on idol. same with the boyz ii men guy. (btw, yay on seeing people i loved in the 90s!) can we replace randy/simon/kara with these guys?

2) the opener. they all group sang "under pressure" and it was so good, especially considering it was 8 completely disparate groups coming together for the first time.

in other tv news, besides glee, what new shows should i be watching this season? of note: can't interfere with "how i met your mother", idol, or glee. should be easily available on internet, since my next two months are going to be awful, schedule-wise.

leila82 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:34:05 GMT

Um. Apparently there's a tornado watch (and a flash flood warning) out for Houston. It is the end of October. Has Mother Nature not been paying attention?

Weird.

ETA: Just as I posted that, the rain picked up. I think Mother Nature doesn't like my critique on how she's handling the weather.

leila82 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:10:30 GMT

i'm so tired of being on call. i don't want to be on call anymore :(

leila82 — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:20:06 GMT

worked 91 hrs in past 7 days. no days off since 2 sundays ago. on call again tomorrow - so another 30 hrs that get stretched to 32.

so unbelievably tired.

leila82 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:17:08 GMT

*clicks heels together three times*

I will not get piggy flu. I will not get piggy flu. I will not get piggy flu.

Darwin award candidates

leila82 — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:18:17 GMT

I have to preface this post by stating that I'm a huge huge nerd, who regularly watches shows about weather.

So I'm watching "Storm Stories," which is a show about major storms - hurricanes, tornadoes, etc - narrated by meteorologist Jim Cantore (who's probably trademarked the phrase "Hunker Down" at this point). Specifically, I'm watching an episode on Hurricane Ike, which hit Galveston and Houston last year, and therefore is pertinent to my interests in more ways than one.

And I just have to ask: if you know there's a hurricane heading your way, one that everyone is predicting is going to be awful, WHY WHY WHY would you choose to ride out said storm in your apartment that is out on a PIER on the BEACH?? The beach that is about to get the full brunt of a largish storm? A storm that you've known about FOR SEVERAL DAYS?!

We're not even talking about a house that's a block away from the beach or even on the beach itself. We're talking about a house that is pretty much in the ocean already, even before the storm comes into the picture! Wouldn't common sense tell you to, I don't know, hunker down somewhere else, somewhere on land?

IDEK.

leila82 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:45:43 GMT

YAY MY BPAL SAMPLES CAME TODAY! SO EXCITED :D

I plan to do reviews of them as I try them out, but for now I'll just say that I ordered six, but she actually threw in a couple of extras (which - yayyy!), so now I have eight, and they smell YUMMY from afar. I mean, seriously, the box they came in? Smelled so nice! I just have to decide which one to use first.

Nice end to a suck-filled day.

p.s. i've decided that my last post has never happened. :D

leila82 — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 06:46:10 GMT

haii guys om g it is so slong since iv'e seaid how much hil love you but i do love you. an dihavne't forgotton your guys either. i mena i cannt fel bmyh face rightg now butg facesa re seriously overrated and qwho needs thme roight?:

anywayk. i hav en't b eooops i smeezed. anyways. whagt was i saying:? oh yes. i hacne't fel this content in a long time. i miss dalls. that's all. ok by e for now. loc wyou~\\ will post later when i can feel my face. right now iat's all tingly. ayay tin gly~ oh i think i cam goijt to fall over.

overwhelmed

leila82 — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:09:44 GMT

I was thinking about dipping my toes into the whole BPAL thing, mostly because I love perfume oils, and now that I have a job, I can actually afford to buy these sorts of things.

BUT!!! The site has too many choices! Where do I even start? How can I narrow this down??

HELP :(

Next TLC show

leila82 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:00:07 GMT

The radio just teasered something about a woman who might break the octomom record. Twelve babies!!! Am so angry about this. I blame Jon+Kate. Also tlc and media in general. So mad. So unbelievably mad.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

the stuff nightmares are made of

leila82 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:21:30 GMT

I just had a horrible, horrible realization.

One day, in the future, I will have some woman bring her child in to my (theoretical) office for a newborn baby visit or a well child check or something. And that baby's name? Will be Renesmee.

It's going to happen*. And I'm going to end up offending the Twilight-loving mother by laughing until I cry.

* - Seriously. Y'all will not believe the things (non-celebrities) name their children. I've seen quite a few "Nevaeah"s. And Destin-ee/y/ieee is popular too. So is Divine/Divyne/Devyne**. And Miracle/Meracle.

** - I'm serious about these, too. I saw "Devyne" 2 weeks ago. These are parents who are not spelling bee champions, clearly. Could you imagine going through life with your name spelled incorrectly? Or, you know, being named after a really freaky character in Twilight?

oh look! a meme-post!

leila82 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:28:36 GMT

Got tagged for a meme by dont_floataway, and since I haven't posted in ages, figured this was as good a re-introduction to LJ as any.

Rules: First: If you've been tagged, you must write your answers in your own LJ and replace any question that you dislike with a new question.
Second: Tag eight people. Don't refuse to do that. Don't tag who tagged you.

Lots of pillows or just one? One under my head, but lots and lots all around me. Because I might fall off the bed? Or the pillows might fall off the bed.

What kind of books do you read? Fiction, but it varies as to what kind. Right now I just finished reading "The Sugar Queen" by Sarah Addison Allen, and I totally recommend it (and her earlier book, "Garden Spells").

What's the cutest thing you've seen today? I saw a whole slew of newborns and a very adorable 4 year old. I work in a children's hospital, I'm surrounded by cuteness.

What's your occupation? Pediatric Intern (aka - underpaid, overworked, doctor in training)

What's really creepy? Like, creepy right now? Or creepy in general? I'm watching So You Think You Can Dance, and Nigel Lythogoe is creepy.

What's your current fandom/obsession/addiction? I don't think I have one. Is that sad?

What flavor ice cream would you choose right now? Hmmm...I had a pint of Ben and Jerry's coffee heath bar crunch ice cream last week and it was amazing. I wish I had some more.

What websites do you always visit when you go online? gmail, LJ, google reader, twop, twitter, wikipedia

What was the last thing you bought? lunch, at the hospital cafeteria

What's your favourite video game? Rock band/guitar hero - anything with music where I can live out my fantasy of being a famous star with bright blue hair is win.

Do you get cravings? If so, what do you crave? Lots of cravings, and it depends. Sometimes, puffed Cheetos. Sometimes Jimmy John's sandwiches (veggie!) Sometimes pie or other chocolate. Sometimes pizza.

What do you do to change your mood? TV, sleep. That sounds really antisocial, but that is all I have time for these days. I used to hang out with friends, back when I was in Dallas. *sad*

What is your zodiac sign? Virgo. So appropriate, in so many ways.

Do you want to learn another language? Yeah, I need to learn Spanish. I only know enough to deliver a baby (weird, right? "Empuje!" that's all you need to know.)

Five things you can't live without.
1. Friends
2. Books
3. Music/TV
4. Internet
5. Bed

Find the closest book currently sitting near you and flip to page 54. What is the first sentence of the second paragraph? "Congenital tuberculosis (TB) is rare but may occur in the infant of a mother with hematogenously spread TB or by aspiration of infected amniotic fluid in cases of tuberculous endometritis." Words cannot explain how boring all the books around me are.

What's something you'd like to say to someone right now? "I won the lottery and don't have to go to work tomorrow! YAY!" (in my dreams...)

What are you looking forward to? Not being a resident anymore. Not being an intern. Having feet that don't hurt.

Say something to the person who tagged you: I wish I had time to actually respond to her posts, because they are always so interesting to read!

ETA: Oops, forgot the rules! Um. And...tagging EVERYONE :)

Something new

leila82 — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:29:47 GMT

I am posting from my shiny new iPhone. First apple product I've ever owned. Not a 3 gs though; too expensive for me.

Y'all have no idea how excited I am. I've been long overdue for a new phone, especially since mine has actually started falling apart -losing buttons and the like.

Anyway, yay!

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

leila82 — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:19:25 GMT

keep meaning to update, but honestly - nothing particularly interesting going on. which is probably why i'm on twitter ALL THE TIME. SRSLY.

my life is apparently insignificant enough and random enough to be suited to 140-character updates multiple times throughout the day.

this is all just a longwinded way to say "ADD ME!!" i'll probably be over there more than here, until the end of the month, when i will suddenly become employed and very busy.