I Turn My Camera On

Upon returning from an impromptu jaunt to Dupont (via U Street and then Logan... twice, which is a long story that can be summed up as follows: "I have a terrible sense of direction") with the lovely Nick, I was greeted anxiously at the front door, as usual, by my two feline friends. When I shuffled toward the kitchen to retrieve their long-awaited dinner, I noticed that something was amiss. I had already kicked off my shoes (my feet were killing me from the untold number of miles I had just walked), and as I walked past the cats' water dish, I experienced the singularly unpleasant sensation of wet socks. One (or both) of my little angels had splashed out the entire contents of their self-refilling water dish (which, all told, was at least a liter of water), creating a sizable lake between my living room and kitchen. This in and of itself was not out of the ordinary: Both cats love to play with water (but god help you if you try to give them a bath) and delight in making a mess, if for no other reason than to watch the muscles above my left eye start to twitch involuntarily. No, the problem was that sitting in the middle of Lake Catdish, like a sad little castle surrounded by a cat-hair-laden moat, was my digital camera, presumably dragged there by its little wrist strap by Georgia and/or Louie.

I quickly extricated it from its watery grave, but the damage had been done: It won't even turn on. I'm not sure what delivered the death blow--the cats knocking the camera from its perch atop my bookshelf or their subsequent attempt to drown their prey--but if I still can't fire it up tonight, after it's had a chance to dry out, I'm afraid I'll have to officially pronounce it dead.


Rest in peace, Nikon Coolpix 3200. You had a good run.

***UPDATE*** The camera has miraculously recovered! It's still kind of slow and crappy, but it's no slower or crappier than it was before its underwater adventure. I'm just happy to avoid the expense of replacing it, especially in light of the $502 I just shelled out for custom orthotic insoles (damn you, Evil Empire!).