Sticker Shock

Oh dear. I just ordered myself a new lens. I've been shooting landscapes and fireworks with a crummy telephoto lens I bought used on eBay in 2002 and I'm ready to graduate. Don't get me wrong, the pictures look fine, but they could look so much better. So (deep breath) I will soon have a brand new Nikon ED AF Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 D in my possession. It wasn't my first choice, but my first choice cost $1,000 more and this does everything I need and will be a HUGE improvement.

I need to pick up a few filters now. Probably a new case. Though I did order a lens hood along with the camera. Now I need to sort through the apartment and see what I can sell to subsidize this "impulse buy," which has actually been brewing for the last 3 years. Anyone in the market for an extremely gently used acoustic guitar? More on that later.

What finally put me over the edge is the realization that the 4th of July is next month, and this may be the last year I live where I live -- the last chance for an easy fireworks setup. The last two new lenses I received as gifts from Jer -- the fisheye 10.5mm and the 50mm f/1.4 -- and they improved my picture quality tremendously, so I have high hopes for this one as well. But geez. I will spend (at least) the rest of the week in sticker shock.

Great month to start contributing to my IRA again, huh?