Well, the thing is, before we left there were some things that needed doing around the flat and there were also certain pieces of tech that I wanted to buy. As we didn't spend anywhere near as much as we originally thought on the trip I went ahead and did just that. I should really say 'we' as Nat has been going mad buying clothes. The side effect of a 6 month trip is a dress size that isn't widely catered for in the UK market.
Exercise? Well unfortunately I crumbled and joined the gym. I tried very hard to climb but I just couldn't hack the indoor scene straight off. Numbing my mind throwing bits of metal around seemed like the obvious option. I did have a change of heart as the first set of gym paperwork was thrust under my nose, we left and went to the wall. We came back the next day and I signed my life away for 2 months minimum.
The gym is going well. I'm nowhere near as cut as I previously was as I'm not going on a specific cut. It works, but its not fun. Today I managed to equal my previous PB's which is a good indicator of how in shape I am at the minute, previously these lifts took me 3 months.
I managed to get around to doing another thing this week; relinquishing my 5.10 team membership. They first started giving me boots just before my leg, since then I've done nothing of note and quite frankly this trip highlighted just how good some much younger people are in comparison. I've voiced my thoughts on doing this previously and many people seemed to be of the mentality that I should just shut up and take what I was given. It didn't seem right any longer. Other people, much more psyched can benefit more from that membership than me. Hopefully it goes to an uber psyched Sheffield resident who is looking monstrously strong and keen at the minute. I really have to say thanks to Mark, they continued supporting me when all I gave them was some cr*ppy pictures and a whole list of injuries. Thanks.
Another few days were lost completely to computers. My video camera broke so I replaced it. My PC couldn't edit the footage so I replaced it. Windows 7, compiling all of my various bits of software etc. took a while. Then my parents wanted a new PC as theirs had major hardware failure. So I obliged. Another day down. BUT isn't Windows 7 great? If I can find a 4Gb USB drive I think my Acer D150 could do with a sprucing.
The next major loss of time was solely down to the strobist website. I loved taking pictures on our trip. Granted, most are rubbish but there are a few that I really LOVE. Looking through Flickr I found mention of the Strobist site. I began to read and read I did until it was 4am and there wasn't a single blog post that I hadn't scanned. I had a whole lot more knowledge but noway of using it. More research and I found a budget setup and a heavily sought after DVD called one light. More watching, more reading and I am psyched out of my mind. Nat is quite patient which is a good thing as I think I'm going to suck at this for a while before I produce anything half decent. Should be interesting. The more and more I look at various things I wish I'd gone Nikon right from the start.
So now there are several things on the way from ebay (read: Hong Kong). I hope they come soon and that nothing is DOA.
At the end of the DVD (again at some ungodly hour) it begins a small Lightroom tutorial. I've seen Cofe and JB recommend this on UKB but never really tried. I've always used the GIMP (which isn't exactly an intuitive program). Lightroom is fantastic, simple, good to look at and I seem to get better results. The internet is great, now I can get lost in youtube Lightroom tutorials for a week or so before emerging pale skinned and malnourished. Oh, wait a minute.
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