A recent convert to Fujifilm, I had an 18-55 for a wk and was about to dump it back, not happy with pixel peeping, low light..blah blah blah.I was two minded and wanted to keep it only as a 18mm landscape if I ever decided to keep it, which I was sure was not going to happen. I was already looking up for a parking in the city to go to the store for return.

I took this decade old so called ‘jack of all’ dog on a heavy sale and wanted to to give it a shot thinking the store really wanted to get their hands off it.To make a last minute decision, I used it during a wkend family mini hike to a forest.

Then this happened.. like a bolt from the sky, colors SOOC (Straight out of camera) are a perfect balance of vivid and sublime, blew me away like nothing I had seen before, clarity and sharpness..dream like, auto focus – razor sharp, auto\manual focus both no fault. This little lens came back to me like a burst of freshness out of blue sky, a story so compelling you want to read again and again. I finally found that elusive ‘Fuji colors’ I have been hearing for a long time – sans 35 1.4 which seems to be everybody’s darling. 18-55 is a silent assassin, a Femme Fatale. It is staying and not going anywhere! It is now glued on my XS 10 and and bumped out the primes I have off my bag.

With largest aperture of f2.8 on an APCS sensor, small pocket rocket like form factor, top grade build quality, this old lens, came out in 2012, still punches way above its weight and class. I am truly glad I ran into it and finally found that nirvana of being able to say I found my ultimate all season, all purpose, travel, family, everyday camera combo with this lens and Fuji’s XS 10 body, that does not compromise image quality, has image stabilization, is small enough to be carried around, isn’t too protruding and actually pushes the primes to the backup rather than primary lenses. This is a dream lens I had been looking for in a long time, truly, enough said.

Mother nature’s free gifts,
With little help from sun and rain,
From few leaves stuck in a pot of soil
to a full bush of coriander in a few wks
from tender follies
to a life abundant and overflowing.

Lost to you, is you, the true you.
You will know if you stop, pause, and listen to your own thoughts for a second
Ever occurred, you have lost yourself, and lost sense of time and reality
You have lost yourself to
Your insatiable greed, love of goods and money, gadgets, shoes, foods, celebrity gossips, social media, false sense of achievement, entitlement,TV, screens, feeling superior and satisfaction of putting others down
Slave to love of ‘God’ – that mythical figure who will figure it all out for you,
who will wash away all your sins, give you everything you pray for,
But instead, you pay for it
with your soul, your identity, your respect and beliefs
all given away blindly.
Deep beneath, you know it is all fake, and myth.
Ever thought, why?
Life is short
And the one you need to find, is yourself in you.
Your holy grail is not outside, its inside you,
there to be discovered
Deep inside you, buried in the pile somewhere,
is the child that is you, the true you that you have always neglected
waiting for you to find
waiting for you to un-slave.

I miss the mountains, I want to travel, says the He bird.
She bird: Mountains aren’t going anywhere, just stay put.
He bird: I want to see the city of London, Lights of Paris, cobbled stones in Rome.
She bird: London, Paris and Rome aren’t going anywhere.
Yeah, thinks the he bird, I can always go later. Lets make life first.
Then life spuns the net, takes flight, there is no way getting out.
Body is starting to crumble, wings are getting creaky
Still youthful, and full or heart to spread the wings, but can’t really leave.
Life changes everything, everywhere, brings COVID.
Earth starts to recover, feel lighter with so many dead and burnt.
Paris is no Paris of his dreams anymore, beauty has given way to fear.
London is no lively, but barely living. Rome is buried.
The He bird is still dreaming of the mountains,
somewhere near, some far, some in his homeland.
Life spuns, you go where you want to go,
before you can not get unstuck.

Son to parents: Lets get out of the track..I can hear the train coming.
Mother: Where? I don’t hear anything. We are not getting off the track.
Son: Sit still and listen, put your ears to the track, you can hear it.
Father: Yeah, I can faintly hear it, but its not coming our way.
Moments later, train is in the sight.
Mother: Yeah, I can see it now, too late I am stuck to the track.
Lets see if I can dodge it
Father:Let us just just hope that it stops in time, or changes lane. It is up to God now.