Hurting here & there

I don't know which hurts more. The physical injuries or the heart but for now my wallet seems to have gone into cardiac arrest and there are still the camera, lenses and flash unit to send in. The phone is in ICU now after coming into contact with its greatest nemesis - water! As did the cameras, lenses... ah, let just say the bagful of stuff with the owner was flushed down the river. The story was...

The day started pretty damp i.e. it was raining. Deliberated whether I should proceed to the waterfall. Along the way the weather cleared and some parts looked like it didn't rain there. On our way in there was some slight drizzle and that wasn't worrying. However 1/2 an hour after we arrived the rain started down heavy so we made our way out pronto. By the time we reached the "tunnel" crossings, the water had risen currents were swift. However, the tunnels had ledges just above the water level and we could make it out via that way. Cross the river to the other side then slowly and carefully go up the ledge. "Wait here while I check out the river". I distinctly remembered saying that as I had done in all my trips. It was my responsibility to check the situation before anyone else gets into the river. I found the edges where the ground dips near the mouth of the tunnels and the currents were strong but manageable. Next thing I know there was someone else in the river behind me and near the danger zone. She was already too deep and losing her footing and next thing you know she was being sucked into the tunnel. I grabbed her and tried to hold on but the power of the water was too strong. We were both sucked into the torrent and immediately i tried to regain my footing. If I could stand up i could still get us to safety on the ledge. I managed to stand but slipped and did a split. Damn it hurt! Again tried to stand and succeeded a brief moment before the water knocked me down again. This time I decided not to waste more energy fighting but to put both legs in front and ride out with the flow. Had to pull my right leg to the front as I did the split again.

"Shit my camera..." That was running in my mind all the time in the few seconds in the tunnel. My bag was AW (All Weather) but no way watertight in a situation like this. I was holding on to the girl all this time. To have let her go might have meant I could get myself to safety but dooming her to the raging river after the 2 meter drop just after the tunnel. This is where the conditions training and experiences over the years automatically kicked in. Keep calm, keep your feet in front and go with the flow. Just before we exited the tunnel, a fierce debate on whether to try to regain footing before we go down the small waterfall or do we ride down with it. I decided without thinking further it would be better to ride down the fall. Looking back it could have been the life-saving decision. If I had tried to regain footing and failed, we could have tumbled head down first into the river below and that would have been disastrous. Everything happened so fast and all i remember was over and down we went. Momentarily submerged but when we broke surface we were near the riverbank and we managed to grab on some vegetation to get to shallower waters. Managed to climb up the stone wall and to safety.

That's the story of how the contents of my AW bag got drenched. Over the next few days I could only hobble. The abrasions on my elbows and hand were manageable but both knees, shin and foot had deep abrasions that would take a long time to head. Right knee was also traumatized but unable to put on a knee guard until the surface injuries have healed over. Getting in and out of seats, especially the car took an effort during the first week. The leg muscles also had been over-stressed so the aches will affect movement.

It has been over 2 weeks since the incident and I am still nursing the 3 injury points. These are the most traumatized and deepest so it will take at least another week to heal. The rest have dropped (actually i peeled) scabs. The wallet trauma continues on with only the phone repair quoted so far. I have not had the time nor financial resources to send in my other precious equipment in for service & repairs yet. The dSLR seems to be ok but still better to have it checked out in the inside. G7 working but detected some rust on the lens protector springs. Speedlite 580EX seems totally shorted out. EF10-22mm working but unable to see if the lenses are clear of watermarks. EF70-300IS and Tamron 90mm both have smudgy lenses and definately needs to be serviced even though motors for autofocus seems to be working. A dire need to get the EF70-300IS telezoom fixed before the aerial dugong search in 2 weeks time.

From the day it happened to today, I have not heard from the group that I was with. Makes you wonder... I can't say it but those are the thoughts that hurt a lot. The emotional mix includes anger. Sometimes we need that but too much of it and the concoction will be a toxic mix. Better to dwell on positive. As in the words of wise Yoda, "But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."

A lesson to draw from this experience? Keep your expensive equipment far, far away from the foolish.

Story of Powershot G9

Thurs, 25 Oct 2007

Scenario - Canon Expo 2007
Special Price Sessions for max 40 persons per session giving up to 50% discounts on all Powershots, Ixus and printers.

Having missed out on the previous day, ct and i decided to try again today for the 1.00pm session. Today marks the last day of the expo. Arrived by 12.25pm and there was already a long line to the queue. Imagine that, a queue for a queue! Joining the line, it does not seem like we would make it into the 40 but we continued standing in line anyway. When they started counting for the cutoff, we missed out by a good 20 places. So, do we stay or do we give up? Checked with one of the staff and he mentioned that there were only 3 units of Powershot G9 left. What are the odds that there will be any G9 left after this session? Decided to lunch first then come back and check if there are any G9s left.

We were back by 1.20pm and the last few from the 1.00pm session were taking their spins on the wheel. Few of them struck the 50% discount... good for them. Checked with one of the staff and he said there were plenty of G9s in store. That didn't jive with what the other guy said earlier. Asked him to double check and he went to the back store and came out confirming that he saw a dozen units in store. Cool! So now it is like shall we stay or shall we go? After a few rounds of deliberation, ct & i decided to stay for the next session at 4.00pm. In the meantime, what do we do? We can't go off or we might miss the line again. So we stuck around, played with all the display units, went ga-ga over the L-series lenses they exhibited and tried some of the games they had.

At 2.20pm we went over to double check with another staff on the number of G9s available. They checked and told us 3. What?! Sure? *Slight sinking feeling* What were our chances of getting the unit then? If we were way ahead in the line chances would be good. By then I noticed some people gathering near the queue entrance. Line to the queue had started! I dashed over to book a place while ct inquired some more. Accidentally jumped queue but the very nice Iranian allowed me to stay on in front of him. Thank you sir! That gave us position 6 for ct and I am 7th in line. Now we were firm in our commitment for insanity. I could not fathom those who would stand in line for hours just to get some discounts, no matter what the quantum. Now I'm one of them.

Conversations were far and few as time seem to tick slowly by. At around 3.30pm, they opened the queue and handed out our queue numbers. We must decide then which product we wanted and they would determine if there's stock available . The G9s were the choice of those in position 6, 7 and 8! Ok, no more G9s for those who stood behind us. This made the time waiting seem worthwhile. 20% would be the least discount with 30% following it unless you struck the bummer deal of a free Powershot A460.

At 4.00pm, the first person spun and she stuck 50%! What a fantastic start. The next 4 took only 20% and one got the free Powershot A460. Next was ct and she struck 50%! I had a 50% through double luck and that moment, all the pain from standing on your feet just went away. Imagine the excitement to the extent that we could not speak properly. Sounded like 2 yodas conversing.

*Later*
Phone call-
DM: Do you want to meet up tonight?
LH: Can. Why?
DM: So I can give you the G9.
LH: You bought it?! *with the "Oh No" tone*
DM: With a 50% discount.
LH: You got it?!? (the 50% discount) *with the disbelieving tone*
etc, etc, etc

Lesson to learn? If situation permits, go for it!