something better

i used to keep a diary in my teens and the thought of starting a blog has long crossed my mind but i haven't come around to it.  too many other things to do plus i wanted the first one to be about something nice and good and encouraging and reassuring and uplifting -- something positive and feel-good.  not that there were not any of those things in my life but nothing really stood out to be worth being my first blog.



well, looks like yesterday the worthy first has come for me.



my camera conked out saturday (more on this camera in some other blog) and i had to get a replacement asap as the annual mountain climb in our province was coming up the following saturday and, me being me, i could not imagine going there without a camera.  (i've been our family's photographer since second year high school.  that is a loooooooong time.)



my requirements were simple (or so i thought).  the camera has to have a flippable monitor and it has to be a sony  ->  only because i did not want my 1GB and 256KB memory sticks to go to waste.  well, what do you know.  it turns out the only recent model sony camera with a flippable monitor was the sony dsc m2.  so i call sm appliance center rockwell and ask whether they have such model (i wanted sm so i could earn rewards points with my purchase).  they said they have.  i asked whether they have it in stock.  they said they have.  so wednesday i go to rockwell to purchase the camera.  when i arrived there and saw the actual unit, i was disappointed.  it didn't seem sturdy at all.  nevertheless, i needed a camera asap and this was the only one which met my requirements so buy still i would.



i've already signed the warranty card and given my credit and rewards cards to the cashier when, lo and behold, the salesguys open the box and it was empty.  (ugh!  look before you sign!!!)  it turns out to be the box for the display unit.  i said i was told when i called that they have new stock.  some guy goes to the storeroom and comes back with another box, this time with a camera inside.  but then the box again was labeled 'display unit.'  i told the salespersons i am not one to purchase display units.  (i have passed up a lot of items in the past simply because the item on display was the only one left.)  one of the salespersons tells me the display unit is unused as they displayed only one of the two sent them by the supplier.  i asked what the difference was between a display unit and a non-display-unit.  the girl tells me display units are owned by the supplier not by sm.  i am not too happy.  one of the guys tells me it's up to me whether i still want to go ahead with the purchase.  another guy tells me i've already signed the warranty card.  i tell them i'll pass as there is the same item upstairs.  i'll just buy from there even if it means i won't be able to earn rewards points.



i go to av surfer at the third floor and ask to buy a sony dsc m2.  guess what.  what they have is again only the item on display and i will have to wait 3 days for them to get new stock.  that meant goodbye to a sony camera as i wanted to make the purchase asap because we were leaving for laguna friday.  it was already wednesday and i wasn't too keen on risking a last-minute look-around thursday.



i go to the canon section and decide to buy a powershot.  (a powershot would actually have been my first choice if not for the memory sticks i wanted to reuse.)  the salesperson tells me they don't have the model i want in stock.  oh my, oh my, oh my.  it was 6:30 pm and i was starting to feel down.  i go to rockwell on a weekday, pay parking and couldn't buy a camera.



i decide to try out megamall.  traffic was heavy and i get there close to 8 pm.  they close at 9.  i go straight to sm appliance center.  they have on stock the powershot i like, available on 12 months deferred payment at 0% interest with the credit card i have and... with a free printer to boot!  the printer was worth around P8,000!  was i happy!  i bought the unit right away, earned points with the purchase and am now looking forward to selling the printer.



when God closes a door, He opens a window.  when He doesn't give you what you think you need, it's because He has something better in store.  so true and i am thankful...