Today I was strolling through the Jardin Botanica (Botanical Gardens), enjoying the rain forest canopies and monkeys and taking pictures when all of a sudden .... my memory card crapped out!!! (Insert long string of profanity here.)
I balked in horror at the words "Memory Card Error" scrawled across the suddenly black screen of my camera, and almost had a nervous breakdown next to the makeshift Japanese Zen garden on the grounds. Well, first I broke down in tears at the thought of losing all the photos I've taken on this trip; I have over a week and half's worth of pictures stored on that stupid card. But after a good cry I regained my composure, and reminded myself that there still may be a chance I can recover my photos once I get to the states. (Ritz Camera, this one's for you.) I just have to wait and see, which is the most unnerving thing in the world. *Bangs head repeatedly against desk.* In the meantime I feverishly tore through downtown Ipanema afterward in a mad search for a new memory card, and after finding nada at two haphazard camera/stationery/kitchen utensil stores, I managed to find a generic memory card made by some company in California. Whew, at least from that manufacturing location I could gather that it'd be compatible. (Almost no one speaks English here, and my Portuguese is far from comprehensible, so "Made in the USA" spoke volumes to me.) It was $75 for 2gb (ouch), but Brazil is really not the place to shop around for a bargain -- you pretty much take what you can get. And so I took. All $75.
Then on my way back to our apartment, new memory card in tow, I realized that the possibility of losing 11 days worth of pictures isn't the end of the world. This revelation came after I witnessed one of the saddest scenarios in my life. I saw a homeless guy about my age sitting in on a curb, wearing only shorts, begging for money. He had no right arm at all, and had only a left arm up to his elbow. When he wasn't begging for food or money, he was eating pieces of chicken out of a tin on the ground next to him, like a dog. Many walked by without even noticing him. It broke my heart, and there's a lot of that poverty here, so it was a good reminder that my memory card issue is downright trivial in the grand scheme of things.
But that aside, fingers crossed I can recover my photos once I get back. Sigh.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
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10 comments:
I think sometimes we have to witness the worst situations to realize that our idea of "worst" really isn't usually too bad.
Hope you manage to recover all your photos.
I guess having a camera malfunction is not a very big problem in comparison to whats happening to some other people. Its funny how people never see how small their issue really is sometimes.
Ps - Im having a blog giveaway at the moment :)
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about your memory card problems. In the grand scheme of things, you're right, it's not really that important, but it's still your moments in time - your memories and you can't really put a price on them. I hope you can get the issue resolved. That is very sad about the homeless man. Poverty is everywhere but most people choose to ignore it. I hope you get home safely and I can't wait to hear about your adventures.
I lost every single picture (about 500+) I took of my first six months living in Switzerland because my brother tried to "compress the file" or something like that. I remember feeling so sick and realizing that there was no way I could actually get them back. With time, I recovered with time, and just had to remind myself that's what memories are for. Still makes me a bit sad, but I've learned a good lesson that's for sure. Always carry an extra memory card, and download your pictures onto an external hard-drive every night.
I'm sure your situation will turn out better than mine. I'm thinking good thoughts for you.
Keep having fun!
Omg that scene just put major tears in my eyes. So sad, so very sad. Isn't it amazing how things like that can make you re-evaluate EVERYthing? OH my gosh, it breaks me heart. :(
That being said, I also hope you can recover your pisc, and I'm so glad you're having such a lovely trip overall!
That happened to me in Germany! I lost a whole month of pictures. Thankfully my other friends had their own pics to share... but it's just not the same. Your eyes were not looking through their lens. Hopefully you can salvage them back home.
OH my word. That is a picture I won't soon get out of my head. How horrible. That poor man. Life makes no sense sometimes.
That is a common sight in Brazil from what I hear.. not so much in Portugal, but at least the community takes care of them
P.S. any reason why you do comment moderation AND word verification? You are going to be catching the spam anyway...
So true, so many things are going on in this world more important than our material things! Great post thanks for sharing
Gah, didn't even realize word verification was still on! Thanks for the heads up, just took it off.
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