Got my new lens 16-85 VR is here, and I don't think I have any reason to take it off in the next few months (maybe with the exception of the 105mm - for macro). Since I'm always on an update line, I plan on getting a D300. D700 does not justify my current needs even if the full frame sensor does have quite an appeal. I surely need a new tripod (the old one's busted, yeah, darn). Enough with photography updates.

Other than that:
- courses completed (for some time now if I think of it), some exams will follow soon.
- full summer ahead - I got rid of the whole Amsterdam trip idea, and I plan on going to interesting places here, in my own country (Transfagarasan anyone ?). Seaside's first, then come the mountains.
- work's going bad these days, mostly because of lack of time, got a few bad ratings these past few weeks but I'm going to get back in the saddle again as soon as possible. (most probably after this particular exam period).
- the weather is simply unbareable - temperatures that exceed normal limits in the morning, not to mention in the afternoon make it impossible to do anything. This is why I can't wait to go to the seaside immediately after exams (waaateer)
- watching CSI: New York, finished Lost, and waiting for all the other tv shows to come back.

Just another two weeks till my new lens arrives, and I can't wait to get out and test it. For that matter, I can't wait for August to go away on a trip outside Romania and really push my lens to its limits. Basically, this is why I am aiming for that 16-85 VR, I can do both wide and rather close shots with the same lens, making it a must-have. Since I mentioned something in regards to my August trip - still having no idea where I want to go, for some time now I had my mind on Amsterdam, however, now I keep wondering.

Aside from that, what else is new?
- Aiming for CCNA courses this autumn. After I completed my original Cisco courses (you can read about 5 journals on that subject) I decided I will continue those courses one day, however, apparently that day is closer than I thought in the first place. The reason? Frankly, I found the courses quite interesting, and they seem to be a 90% match with my interests (at least at the moment)
- Longing for that damned vacation in late summer. However, knowing myself I'll stick to my internet connection, no matter where I shall be.
- Work's finally going better, I'm looking up to bigger projects as of the beginning of June, which will make my life a lot easier since I will not have to jump from one small project to another anymore.

That's all for a while now. I'll be quite busy in the next few weeks, therefore you will notice low or no activity in my gallery. However, as soon as I'll have something interesting, I'll upload it

- enough with the Cisco updates. Mastered the course, finally.

- I dropped the idea of a so-called wide. My current choice of lens will be a 16-85VR because I want to get rid of my 18-55 - it does its job, but I want to have a better kit lens, which will serve more purpose (and the 16-85 is a bit wider at one end of the interval, making it an excellent choice). I shall write some impressions as soon as I receive it (however, it may take some time). In the future I plan for the newly launched nikkor 10-24, depending on its price and quality. If not, the 10.5 fisheye is the right choice for my taste.

- I want to get some decent filters along with my new lens. The issue at stake is that since most of my lenses were on 52mm diameter, the new lens will simply have no filters. Most probably a grad ND and a polarizer will be my first two choices. Let's just hope my pocket's going to hold that acquisition.

- managed to somewhat recharge my batteries due to the short holiday (1st of May and everything else).

So, happy Easter to everyone (even if it has already passed), hope you all enjoyed your holidays because I surely did. In other news...

- I think I will drop the idea of a 35mm - it's simply not that wide as I might have thought in the first place, and buying it just for the sake of a prime - now I do not know how smart of a move that would be. I am now in the lookout for a wider lens that will truly suit my needs. A 24mm or a 28mm 2.8 will probably meet my requirements, but I will have to check first (slight update - i think the final decission will be a 24mm 2.8)
- I will finish my Cisco courses this Friday (happy happy joy joy) meaning that I will finally have more free time.
- having some troubles with my notebook - battery needs replacing soon (damn, stupid warranty) but I will probably manage to solve this problem until the 10th of May
- looking forward to the freedom of July (hopefully then I will go on a real vacation)

Also, I built a poll for two of my images since I am quite unsure which one to keep (and since they both look similar I cannot keep them both). One looks great as a wallpaper, while one seems better squared and the slight vignetting