Bayshore C-2020 Zoom.

some of you are probably scratching your heads over the title for today's entry.

the C-2020 Zoom bit refers to my Olympus 2.1-Megapixel, 3x zoom digital camera, which i've had for maybe two years now. if you're wondering why you don't already know that i own one, considering that i've had it for two years now, that's because i can't use it. my father bought it in Paupa New Guinea without a cable for uploading pictures to a PC or the camera's batteries and charger. as the icing on the cake, it has Japanese firmware, meaning that the camera's menus are all in Japanese. I no speak Jap.

so i decided to make lemonade with the lemon that my father landed me with, and recently implemented a three-step plan to get it usable.

1) contact Olympus and ask about the possibility of changing the firmware on the camera, and fixing my accessory shortage.

2) purchase NiMH [nickel-metal hydride] rechargeable batteries as they appear to work well with digital cameras [alkalines burn out after, say, 15 min]

3) start using my camera

but, here're the steps i ended up taking

1) wait an eon for a reply from Olympus in vain, then decide to stick with the Jap menus and only take advantage of the basic features, while sourcing information regarding an upload cable through my friend. he tells me my camera only uploads through a serial port, meaning uploading even one photo will take a 'while' [read as 'another eon']

2) abandon plan to buy batteries, because i won't wait years to upload my photos, and decide to continue waiting for a reply from Olympus.

3) return my camera to the White-Elephant Shelf.

now, the Bayshore bit refers to the expensive condo that my cousin moved into. [the people in my father's family are efficient breeders, and as such some of my nephews are in JC and University] his offspring is now one month old [oh, my God. i must call The New Paper] and he's throwing a baby shower at The Bayshore's Clubhouse. it's tonight.

i have NO wish to attend.

but, as my father's popped out of town, i have to attend, representing the HDB-Suzuki-Swift contingent of the Khoo Empire, as opposed to the Mansion-Condo-Terrace-Semi-D-Jaguar-Mercedes-Benz-BMW-Rover contingents.

i'll have real fun spending my time talking to old farts and cousins who are ten years older than me. it's not right, i tell you.

expect a full report from me. those who are interested in saving my life and my wit, please do not hesitate to call or message me on my cell, so i that i don't have to talk to my blood relations.