I haven’t been posting pictures because my camera bit the dust this weekend, and I while I hoped a new battery would solve the problem, I could not find a new battery and so was left buying a cheap children’s camera with proprietary window’s uploading software. Uhg. On my way to the airport on Friday I shot off an email to the chief editor of the All-Around at CMU-Q, asking if I could possibly borrow some equipment for some period of time during my stay. I wasn’t sure for how long or what kind of kit I would be lent, if any, but I was hopeful upon hearing stories of their new newsroom.
Out to dinner after getting off of the plane, I was sitting with two CMU-Q students. Chatting, I though I heard that one of them was named ****, which is the name of the Editor-In-Chief at the All-Around. I immediately told him I was the Jessica who emailed him and apologized for the randomness of my email. He made some affirmative noise. I then explained my story of the camera, the battery, and the silly replacement which I got, finishing with “of course I am totally fine if you don’t feel comfortable lending me a camera, but I am very responsible and have a great record with the Tartan and CFA lending.” He said he would be happy to lend me a camera. I told him about my project to bring CMU-Q to Pittsburgh, and it turns out he is curating a show at CMU-Q and we started to work out logistics of me perhaps getting prints of some of the photos he collected to hang at CMU-P.
The next day I walked up to where we were eating lunch and saw him. He had an amazing camera over his arm and when I came over to say hi he said, “here you are, this is the camera”. I spent a great deal of time admiring it and telling him it was wonderful and then we wandered apart. I came to understand later that he was *not* the Editor-In-Chief at the All-Around, but a member of the student government and he had just lent me his personal camera.
I was neither expecting nor prepared for this level of hospitality and generosity. I was shocked and asked a few people if I had committed a social mistake. They all just said to take good care of the camera because he loved it a lot and be grateful. I am certainly glad I brought lots of extra thank you gifts.
So that explains why I will be posting some amazing quality images in the next few days.
Inspirational Quotes:
I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.
–James Madison
