Waiting Game over....17-35 AFS is MINE!

Time has sloooowed doooooooown......
Last night I sent paymentt for my very own AF-S Nikor 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF. I'm waiting for the call that will arrange the time and date of my pickup for the lens.
I managed to find a great deal online with a person who lives right near me.....and so I watch my phone waiting for it to begin making loud noises and vibrations.
The AGONY!
Last night I could have killed to have had it. I am currently stuck with only my 70-200 VR, and its 1.5m minimum focusing distance. I wsa taking pics of my kitten in my room, manual exposure, ISO 800 1/30-1/40 sec, f/2.8 when she was in a poorly lit section, f/4 when next to the lamp. I had a few great shots that I could have gotten with the 1 foot or so MFD of the 17-35, but alas, I had to quickly back up and in the process lose the shot. Oh well....
Harrison
LLD sufferer, stage III. Currently awaiting part II of 17-35 'fix'

 

lol its always out for delivery to doorbell ringing....
In my case though it's phone ringing.
It gets worse....since I sent payment last night, everything from the kitten (until 2AM, which is about how late I stayed up actually taking pictures of her), to the yard just a few minutes ago, seems to be just FULL of pictures that the 17-35 is absolutely perfect for, and where the short minimum focus would have been very helpful.
*sighs*
Time to eat for the first time in 24 hours.....

 

How close I am to my temporary cure!
In about 2 hours I will pick it up  
wish me luck

 

Well, i've got it.
My initial impressions....
WOW! Talk about quality. This lens has a great range even on digital, and so far i've done some pratical shooting between 2.8 and 5.6 and on the screen zoomed in i see nothing but quality. I haven't downloaded the pics yet as I'm at my father's house, and my battery is mostly run down- here i have to transfer direct from the camera. When i'm all charged up, i will import the pics into PS CS and see how they look.
Focus is blazing fast and the minimum focus distance is practically right in front of the lens  
This feels like a pro lens   the only little mark on the glass is outside the image area at 17mm on my d70, I checked.
And I saw what it takes to get flare out of this lens- I pointed it directly at the sun and i barely got anything.
I'm on cloud 2.8 right now   in 17-35 heaven.
Will post pics soon, and do some real lens testing for the first time this weekend.
I'm positively thrilled! tomorrow is a trip to the local really good camera store to get a center pinch lenscap and a good filter.
It feels good to have the best of both wide and tele on my camera.
EDIT:
Well, I'm really appreciating my color calibrated monitor, PS CS ACR 2.4 and this monitor have no idea how to process my NEF files.... Anyone know what the original values are for D70 saturation (high) in PS?1 I think its around 25.... The brightness value is default at 50, but its really around 75 or 100.
To make a long story short, the computer here is old and slow, and I don't have MS raw image viewer or CS2 or ACR 3.1, so i'm currently a bit challenged in the software and hardware departments, so the test shots will wait till tomorrow, though the preliminary stuff i've done so far tells me i've got a killer lens here. I'm pretty sure focus is just about spot on, but when i'm at the store tomorrow i'll see if they can give my camera a once-over...
Well, i'm usure of what brand of filter to get. Pitman usually is loaded with Nikon stuff (their color is yellow, too   ) so I expect I could get an actual nikon filter, but what other brands should give me excellent results here   ?
One thing is for sure, this is one heck of a lens....a lot easier to handhold than my 70-200 VR in low light, but without VR to compensate for a shaky crouch or shaky arms. Tomorrow, when i'll have lotsa daylight, I'll take it out in the yard for a landscape spin at all apertures.
Now, this lens has also reminded me to get over to bestbuy and pick up my giftcard and buy a SB600....the built in flash is partially obstructed by the hood at all apertures and the lens itself at 17-25mm.
As far as a name goes.....i'm still thinking but at least i've got one candidate. To compliment my future 'Beast' and current "King 70-200 VR", I'm contemplating naming this killer glass 'Whisper' because the AF is so pleasingly quiet. I know, i've already had 3 other AFS lenses in the past but this one is louder than the 18-70 by a little bit, and IMO its a better sound.