So, everything was going so well. I called Nikon to check my camera’s status around Monday of last week, and repairs were set to be finished by around Friday.

I logged into the customer service/repair section of their site to check my camera’s status Friday night. Its status was no longer listed as “in shop.” A new, ominous status appeared, “re-estimate.”

What? What does that mean? They already gave me an estimate… right?

Right. And it didn’t matter. Apparently they didn’t notice the broken CCD sensor the first time around, and let me tell you… CCD sensors are expensive.

What was the new estimate, you ask?

Oh, you know… more than I paid for the camera (and two lenses) in the first place. Nothing too serious. Only $584.23.

WHAT?!?!

A;SLKDFJA;WLFJK

$%&@$%^!

Sigh.

So, it’s off to new camera-ville. For anyone keeping track, that’s 2 cameras in 2 months. This time though, I’m getting a 3-year warranty including accident protection. AKA idiot-proof, klutz-proof, no-fail peace of mind guarantee for the suckers like me of the world.

Hopefully things turn out better. I’m going to be ordering the camera tomorrow, so here’s hoping it arrives by the end of the week.

Immediately after I discovered the re-estimate of $580some, I went to icanhascheezburger to chuckle at LOLcats and hopefully wallow a little less in my own sorrow. Ironically, this picture was on the first page. $%^$.

I’m not going to ask what else can go wrong. That’s like the equivalent of the not-so-clever heroine of a horror movie running to the second floor of her house with no escape from the axe murderer asking what else could go wrong. What? Over-dramatic? No, I don’t think I am. Why do you ask?

IN OTHER NEWS:

Getting super excited about Halloween party planning. I know, it’s not even October yet. Shut up. I only have a FEW decorations out. And the entire menu planned.

Will include, but not limited to:

These Cookies

A cheddar cheese ball

Chocolate pots de creme

Something with puff pastry

Something with bacon

Something with pumpkin

A lot more somethings

..and lots of candy!

I plan to post some great dessert and appetizer recipes on here for you in advance in case you’re planning a festive party, as well. So many posts that I want to make! October is going to be a busy month!

I hope you bear with me! There’s light at the end of the tunnel. Really, this time. I hope. Please?

Love,

lolfoodie

—–

9/28 UPDATE: New camera ordered! The arrival estimate from Amazon is October 4! Maybe they’ll be super awesome and it’ll arrive early? Maybe?

Hi, everyone! I’m still here, and mostly still sane. My camera is officially listed as “in shop” on Nikon’s website, which means they have actually started working on it. Hopefully it won’t take much longer now!

So, in my camera’s downtime, I’ve been making small upgrades to the site here and there. The most obvious is that I have added printable versions for each of my recipes, so look for this button

if there’s a recipe you want to print out for later! I know it’s not exactly an eco-friendly solution, but I just don’t like having my laptop in the kitchen. I am usually messy… so it doesn’t turn out well for me.

This also provides the recipe in a concise form if you don’t want to browse through all of the photos and rambling.

The other obvious change (although this was made a couple of weeks ago) was that I increased the width of the main blog post column, allowing room for larger photos. I increased the size of photos I post from 420 to 650 pixels, which is a significant change and should increase the potential for mouthwatering-ness.

Other changes involve individual post meta tags/titles and search engine optimization, which 99.9% of you don’t care about.. so yeah. Well, maybe 99.6%. I have a lot of geeky friends.

I’m constantly trying to improve my site, so if you ever have any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to comment or send me an e-mail!

So, I finally heard from Nikon about my camera repair estimate today! I really shouldn’t say “finally” because they were pretty speedy with the whole deal. I shipped the camera out last Wednesday, they received it on Friday, and contacted me today (Wednesday). So I certainly can’t complain about their turnaround time!

What was the repair estimate, you ask? A whopping $236, including return shipping and tax! I expected it to be about as much, honestly, because nobody I talked to knew what was wrong with the camera and that usually means something expensive is broken. Sigh. I feel like I got punched in the kidneys anyway, though, considering that’s nearly HALF of what I paid for the camera in the first place. Coulda woulda shoulda.

Lesson learned: Get a dang warranty with your big purchases!

But at least there is light at the end of the tunnel. I’m going to go ahead and authorize the repairs this evening, and hopefully will be back in full swing with posting my kitchen adventures within a week or two!