Deprived digital citizen

A fellow student recently asked me a question about my laptop. When I replied that I do not have one and nor a computer I was given an odd look and the response that I was 'unique'. I'm starting to feel a little unique as well - in my dorm I must be one of a handful of people who do not own their own laptop and I must be the only one who uses a 'quaint' film camera. Why is this? - am I an old fart before my years?

I would gladly have a laptop if I didn't need to fork out a substantial quantity of the cash which I've been saving for the last 3 years and which will keep me going for the next 5 months. Malmö seems a bit skint on the computers - I suspect QUT spoilt me rotten with its constant access to good software on fast computers 24/7. So far I've only found one descent lab where the security settings aren't set to extreme paranoia. Maybe the status-kwo is to have your own equipment here... The library is only good for word processing and email. The good labs must be hidden around here somewhere.

The hole film camera business stems from a personal gripe of being blinded in bars by people with those annoying multi-flash cameras and then having to see how dumb I look after 3.5 beers. That and I have a soft spot doing developing my film after my holidays and putting it away in albums never to be seen again. Something just feels off about going to some beautiful city or piece of country and taking dozens of pictures (each individually inspected) – it’s as if what’s in the box is more important than what’s actually there. What would I do with a personal photo collection 10-20 times the size of any album? Pour over it for days a time - is possible that any one digital photo (out of a 100+ in a collection from a trip) can have the same emotional connection as 1 or 2 film photos in a collection of 30? - same amount of vodka, just watered down...

But I don't have a digital camera and maybe I'd think this is a long drivel if I did. I'll have to wait till I break under strain of coolness and buy my "no red eye" 5megapixel and blind those gits in the pub.