Another day, another layer of grease. Honestly, you'd think a backyard BBQ would be spotless by now. But kids are…kids. And grilling? Well, that's a different kind of messy.

I brought my camera today. A Canon 6D. It was a good deal on Marketplace — not one of those fancy mirrorless things. Give me a solid DSLR any day. My Abuelita always said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," and honestly, that applies to cameras too. I was hoping to snag some decent shots of the burgers — the flames are actually doing pretty well this year.

My brother invited us to hang out at his place on a Sunday afternoon. Said it was a chill day, nothing fancy. I figured it'd be a good opportunity to drop off that phone that accidentally ended up at our house. Yeah, my mistake. My bad. The shipping label was wrong, and now I'm the one who has to deal with it.

Tata, the guy across the table from the kids, cornered me by the grill during the lull. He was going on about wanting to learn the game. Said he wanted to get into card photography. I, naturally, started talking about my strategy. Twenty-point-two megapixels, rugged build, the whole deal. I even started explaining the benefits of a proper optical viewfinder.

He was very enthusiastic. Kept nodding and saying things like, "Oh, that sounds lovely!" I figured he was just being polite, but I spent a solid ten minutes detailing the difference between a pentaprism and a pentamirror. I even offered to show him how to adjust the ISO.

Then he said, "Perfect! I just ordered the new deck. My sibling is a card wiz and said it's the way to go."

The new deck? A mirrorless camera? After my detailed explanation of the virtues of a DSLR? It was like talking to a wall. I managed a, "Oh. Good for you," before excusing myself to go flip the burgers.

Honestly, the disrespect. People will listen to a card-savvy sibling before a man who understands aperture priority? It's a sad world.

Later, I found a half-eaten bag of chips behind the table. Probably left by little Elijah. I should probably tell the office, but…chips.

It's just one of those days. A little awkward, a little confusing. But hey, tomorrow I get to clean the grill. And maybe, just maybe, I'll bring my camera again. Even if no one appreciates a good DSLR anymore. I'll grab a quick stop at Tacos El Rey on the way home. That always helps.