I bought another new lens last week. This is the last one and my kit is now as complete as it can be with my limited skills and time.

I had never heard of the Sigma 17-70mm f2.8 - 4.5 before I went into the shop that day last week (the kids had health checks so we had no classes, yay), but the knowledgeable fella there told me it was a new lens that had now made the top 10 lists of many professionals and magazine editors. As soon as I tried it in the shop, I loved it. It has extreme macro capabilities as well as lovely wide angles. Yay. I have 2 days of school this holiday Golden Week, and a handful of private lessons but other than that there will be some free time to play with the new lens some more. All the above photos were shot with that lens, except for the one of Pete which was shot with the 50mm.

I have some friends in town for 2 weeks (Justin and Evette), they're sleeping in the sun room as I type. They are a lot of fun - it's their 4th visit, so they don't need their hands held so much. Thank god. I wouldn't have time to hold their hands even if I wanted to. Although, their timing is good as it's Golden Week and - at least for this week - I will have some time. God. What's happened to my relaxed laid back life? My new buzzword: TIME!

Pete & I managed a final quiet coffee in Shibuya (the morning before I bought the new lens) before he flew off to a showcase gig at the Viper Room in LA. I think he'll be back later this year. They were hoping to get onto the Fuji Rock lineup but it's a bit late...

Spent the day playing frisbee in the park yesterday with Darin, Jamie and Justin and laying around on blankets with them, Kat, Evette and Eun Young. Blue skies and 25 degrees. Now that's more like it. Spring, thank you for making a show. I actually have some sunburn. Amazing.

I put some pics up at flickr yesterday. A random, scattered sample... there are more but, well, the new buzzword is TIME and when there's no TIME I can't play with photoshop. Gotta run, I'll be late for school.

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