Late Night Shopping Spree

I'm doing things in reverse: I just bought lighting equipment for my non-existent DSLR. Why? Two reasons: 1. I can't plop down $2K+ for a Nikon D300 and a lens until later this month at the earliest. 2. Comparing prices online was torturous, so I did not want to repeat it again when I actually was ready to buy, so I just bought it.

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From B&H:
Manfrotto 001B Nano Light Stand, 6' $56.50
Wescott umbrella: white satin,
removable black cover, 43"          $24.95
Impact umbrella bracket with swivel
mount and flash shoe                $13.95
Shipping                             $7.25
Total                              $102.65
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From Amazon (through Adorama):
Vivitar 285HV flash                 $85.75
Shipping                              Free
Total                               $85.75
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From AlienBees:
AlienBees CST remote transmitter    $59.95
AlienBees CSRB remote receiver      $69.95
Shipping                             $6.35
Total                              $136.25
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Grand Total             Don't want to know
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The remotes were only available from the manufacturer, AlienBees, but the other items were offered by a large number of vendors. To keep myself sane, I limited my shopping to Amazon, Adorama, B&H, and Midwest Photo Exchange (MPEX). Price comparisons are simple until you factor in shipping. It took me about an hour to figure it all out. Was it worth my time? Probably not, but I like bargain hunting. Speaking of Amazon, I'm bummed. I've had the D300 sitting in my shopping cart since May. Nearly every time I sign in I get a price alert. It'll usually tell me that the price has gone up or down by $0.50. Tonight the price went up $22.00! Dang it! That was a kick in the shin. That said, now that I have lighting equipment coming, I don't think I'll be able to resist signing up for a month of free Amazon prime and just buying the darn camera now! Ok, enough ranting. Some of you may have noticed that my lighting purchase mirrors the basic kit on www.strobist.com. That's because the kit is inexpensive and seems highly functional. Since I'm new to all this, I like that combination. I will let you know how it works out...after I get my DSLR. Since this is a blog about photography, I should post a photo. I don't have a nice picture to put up, so here's a picture of my collapsing fence. I should be putting time and money into fixing it instead of devoting so much effort on silly photography! It's 3:12 am California time and I have to be at work in a few hours. Time for a little shuteye. Cheers!