the memory making business

I snapped the white gloves on my wrist and stared my food in the eye. The cuy, or guinea pig stretched across my plate, taunting me with his taut skin and almost life-like facial features. I lost the staring contest with the guinea pig, and instead caught the eye of my best friend. We shared a knowing smirk. Another country, another cultural experience, another new food. In Russia it was the kvas, complete with floaty things, and in Mexico it was the cactus. In Ecuador, it was the traditional Andean entree - cuy.

I reached for my digital point and shoot camera, knowing that this was a moment to remember. The time I ate guinea pig in Quito, Ecuador.

Picture I stole from someone on Facebook because I don't have any pics from the day we ate cuy

So I turned on my camera, aimed that bad boy at my friends across the table posing with their gloves, and snapped the shot. I hit the playback button to make sure no one had a double chin, only to find <<bum bum bum>> the error message. All of my pictures from the entire trip had been deleted. On week 4 out of 6. I didn't accidentally hit delete. I didn't drop the camera. The pictures simply took a permanent vacation to the Lost Picture Island.

People. This was devastating. I had pictures of cultural land marks. Pictures from going to the equator. Pictures from the jungle. When am I ever going back to the jungle?!?!

I know some people don't even take their cameras on huge, unforgettable trips. They don't want to be "stuck behind a lens." I admire those people for being content with their mental snapshots. Their given-to-error and rose-colored glasses memory. These people just want to live in the moment without having to worry about taking care of of expensive technology.

I am definitely NOT one of those people. I want the tangible memories. I am that person that sits in front of my laptop for hours scrolling through my iPhoto laughing, crying, sighing, and longing to be back in some other country. (I think I got this from my mom. She has shoebox upon shoebox, album upon album of memories. The decor in my parents' home is pictures).

How could this happen? How could technology fail me so?

In my photography class tonight, the instructor walked me and 4 old/middle aged men through the basics of digital photography. One thing I learned is that when it comes to memory cards, quality matters. It's NOT WORTH IT to pinch pennies and save money on the cheap one. In addition, apparently you're supposed to "format" your card on your camera every time after you upload your pictures onto your computer. You can find this function on your camera under menu. Who knew? If you don't do this, and if you always upload your pictures by connecting your camera to the computer using the cable it comes with, you end up with corrupt files (or something...details aren't my thing). Another way to ensure your memories are safe: use several memory cards, and rotate them throughout the trip. That way if one is ruined/lost/stolen, at least you have some pictures!

Lesson learned. When you pay that much money for a piece of technology, learn how to use it and take care of it. Otherwise, you risk losing all those tangible memories. And when you're in the memory making business, as I am, such a loss is hard to recover from.

I ended up enjoying the last 2 weeks I had in Ecuador. I'll admit, it was nice to have free hands, and not worry about constantly taking out my camera. But even to this day, I have nothing to show for my trip when I want to make a presentation for my students, or scrapbook, or something. The good news is, I ended up returning to Ecuador, and was able to recreate some of the shots I lost next to landmarks, and the equator. Unfortunately, I lost all those captured moments, the laughs shared with friends, and the people I shared the trip with.

The equator - round 2

Well, now I know. I am now looking forward to creating new memories on my next trip.

Keep dreaming, dreamers!

Have you ever had technology malfunction at the worst possible moment?

Do you take pictures, or are you more the "live in the moment" type?