Light my fire
This is my friend Marilyn playing with some fire during our camping trip on Assateague Island, Maryland. I tried it for the first time and she makes it look so easy! Click on the thumbnails below the video to see the photos.
Arlington Earth Week Community Fair 2012
Below are pictures from the second annual Arlington Earth Week Community Fair, sponsored by the George Mason University (Arlington Campus). The fair brought together green businesses, organizations, and student groups to further promote sustainable practices and alternative eco-friendly ways to live our lives. A main component of the fair was the “Operation Rain Barrel” silent auction and competition, which consisted of 20 beautiful rain barrels painted by students from Arlington Public Schools. The Green Patriot Award was awarded to Martin Ogle, for his contributions as the Chief Naturalist for Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority’s Potomac Overlook Regional Park. At the end of the fair, an indie rock band from Richmond, VA, Carbon Leaf, performed a great set with a killer light show. It felt good to be surrounded by people working together to make this planet a cleaner home for all.
For more information on the fair and a list of its exhibitors, please visit: http://green.gmu.edu/community/earthweek/arlingtoncommfair.html.
April 22, 2012
Sam and Dan’s Engagement Pictures
Last week, I had the pleasure of taking engagement photos for Sam and Dan, one of the sweetest couple I know.
Below are a few of my favorite photos from the photo shoot, taken in various places in their beautiful home, backyard, and Old Town, Alexandria. This was my first time ever taking engagement photos, and it was a great one! I learned a lot from it as well. It was also my first time using my off-camera flash (Nikon SB-700), and I am really happy with the results. I am more of a natural light kind of person but the flash gave another dimension to my photos that I never had before. Mother Nature was also on my side that day, giving me plenty of sunshine during the early afternoon, and overcast skies in the evening. It was an amazing experience to be part of their lives and I will always remember it. Thank you for sharing such a memorable piece of your life with me, Sam and Dan!
Kurtis Parks and The Anthem CD Release Show with Gideon Grove
Held in the beautiful venue of Barrack’s Row Theatre, Kurtis Parks and The Anthem CD Release Show was a rocking time, with Gideon Grove opening and performing with a live band for the first time ever!
March 30, 2012
The Capital City Showcase Pictures: Feb 2012
There’s something about a small intimate local comedy show that makes me very very happy. It combines some of my favorite things: absurdity, jokes, and local talent – proving that you don’t have to travel far for a good side stitch (from laughter, that is). Held in The DC Arts Center in the heart of Adams Morgan, The Capital City Showcase is a monthly DC comedy show that features local comedians and musicians. Below are pictures of the great local acts that performed on February 11, 2012: MoReese Licorish, Katherine Jessup, Tim Young, Kenney Speed, Gideon Grove, and Eru, with Christian Hunt as the host.
Four letter words
To Misha and Dan: It’s been amazing to see your relationship grow and develop over the last couple of years. You both have taught me the importance of patience, perseverance, and dedication when it comes to relationships. You guys make me believe that love is real, that it does exist, and that it is not just a simple four letter word. Thank you.
Rhymes and good times
If you live in Washington D.C., like poetry, and want some mental stimulation on a Tuesday night, Busboys and Poets has an Open Mic at the 14 St NW and V location. I went for the first time last Tuesday and had a great time listening to the local and feature poets, while enjoying some delicious food. Some of the poems brought tears to my eyes. The power of language to create and stir up emotions is something that we should take advantage of. Through poetry, we can present information in a different way, create awareness with rhythm, and play with words to change minds and maybe even change behaviors. My goal is to perform one day…one day soon.
The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show
Two weeks ago, I attended the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show at the Washington Convention Center, which was a whirlwind of food samples (think Costco times a hundred), mop demos, shoe insole free trials, and hungry humans running around trying to cover as much square footage of the convention center as possible.
I was in heaven.
In the midst of stuffing my face one sample at a time, Paula Deen appeared on the projected screen on stage, which were behind the black curtains separating the audience from the rest of the convention center. Giada De Laurentiis and Guy Fieri also had special appearances during the two-day extravangaza of eating and shopping. After 4 hours of consuming and walking, I began to feel lethargic as a food coma took over my body.
That is what I call a good day.
Warning: Hunger may result in viewing this slideshow.
November 5, 2011
Is that you, Elvis?
Tom Connelly as Elvis
The shiny jewels and gems on his black jacket glimmered in the sun as Elvis walked towards me on the street. I felt star-struck, even though I knew that it wasn’t the real Elvis (or was it?).
I stopped him and asked for a picture, and he was kind enough to go along with my questions as I asked him if he gets paid for being an impersonator. Replying that he does in fact get paid for his events and handing me a business card, I realized that I too, can get paid doing whatever I wanted to do, as long as I actually put all of my wishful thinking into action. Sometimes, you just have to stop thinking, and just do. Non-thinking can be especially helpful for the periods of time when you are thinking. For the next couple of months, I’m going to consciously do more and think less, but always remembering to reflect on my actions at the end of the day.
All it took was a simple stranger on the street impersonating a famous dead celebrity to make me realize that I can make my own dreams a reality. Thank you, Elvis, thank you very much.
I can fly
Above are some of the pictures that I took on my flight from Washington D.C. to San Francisco several weeks ago. Transferring from Detroit, my father joined me for the second leg of the flight to California. It was a strange day, leaving from Washington D.C., my current home, and then flying into Michigan, my teenage home, and finally landing in San Francisco, my home experienced during my earliest years of existence. Being in three cities that I spent the majority of lifetime in one day was quite the mind/time trip.
There’s something about going to the airport and flying on a big bird metal machine (aka an airplane) that excites me every time. The excitement may also stem from the lack of control I have once I am on the airplane. Trusting a stranger to steer me to my destination, I sit and am ready for what the ride brings. Despite my seemingly relaxed attitude about flying, I still have irrational flashes of anxiety while I’m in the air. Turbulence? Sure, I’ll try not to imagine this big giant piece of metal falling in the middle of the sky. The pre-flight videos don’t make me feel better to know that I have a life vest under my seat just in case I need to slide down a large wetslide into the middle of an ocean, but also remember to use my seat cushion as a floating device. Every time the plane lands, I breathe a sigh of relief.
In a way, flying in an airplane gives me a similar feeling as climbing into a roller coaster. My fate is in the hands of an external agent that I have no control over and I am just in it for the ride. Whatever happens, happens.
Exciting Awesome Note : This is my 100th post on my blog that I started almost a year ago! Thanks for checking out my site and I hope you enjoy it.
Why don’t you take me to…Chinatown
Ah, San Francisco – my second home away from my first home (the motherland known as China) during my fresh days as an infant. With time, I grew to be a wise fifth grader who knew nothing about the city but the one mile radius of my house and the concrete grounds of my elementary school. Oh and of course, Chinatown, where my parents shopped for the week’s worth of groceries after they dropped me off at my Chinese class on Saturday mornings.
Growing up in the suburbs of Southeast San Francisco is probably one of the reasons why today, I find every culture’s rituals, sounds, sights, tastes, decor, and philosophies to be so unique yet interconnected through the fundamental values of being human. In my neighborhood, the minorities were the majority and most of my friends were African Americans, Hispanics, and other fellow Asians (mostly Chinese and Japanese). I had one or two blond-haired blue-eyed boys in my 4th grade class, but I didn’t think too much of it. It didn’t really matter. We were blind as kids, and we loved every moment of it. With simultaneous exposure to the ‘American’ children at school and my traditional Chinese family at home, I was able to enjoy the best of both cultures.
Returning back to San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, nostalgia hit as I walked through Chinatown during a Saturday morning, and it seemed like the pace of the crowded streets had not slowed down one bit. My mouth watered at the sight of the barbequed duck hanging from the window. I eye-balled the hundreds of silk scarves and wondered which to add to my scarf collection. I took pictures like I was a tourist, and I’m sure some spectators even thought I was a tourist. Perhaps, I was the adult tourist in my childhood home, trying to recapture my faded memories into a digital stick that I could make multiple copies of.
Nevertheless, San Francisco will always be my first conscious home. The rush of Chinatown grocery shopping that morning brought me back to my five year old self, as I waited on a street corner for my parents to pick me up with a car full of groceries, stocked for the week.
Sax Taxi-ing around the world
Meet my good friend Jon Sax, also known as Sax Taxi, Jonerthan, BeerioKart King, and one of the youngest agents in the house music industry.
You will find him opening for DJs at Lima and as a panelist at the upcoming Amsterdam Dance Event 2011 (one of the above pictures will be featured in the brochure and online here!). Watch out world, Sax Taxi is taking over!
Take a listen to some of his beats: http://www.myspace.com/saxtaximusic.
Vort Port International: Sustainability for all.
It is true that we can change the world.
Above are pictures from a fundraiser in New York City for Vort Port International, a non-profit comprised of young passionate individuals who believe that they can make a difference in the present and future of communities in developing countries through education and empowerment, with the goals of providing economic opportunities and clean energy products to promote a more sustainable planet for all.
For more information on Vort Port International, please visit: http://www.vortport.org
Priscilla priscilla, open up the door
I think I was laughing the entire time during this photoshoot. Meet my hilarious and awesome friends, Lizzy and Misha, showing me what I was missing from my childhood: a game called Priscilla.
Mutual healing
Yoga enthusiasts practicing synergy yoga, an innovative form of yoga that completely utilizes the benefits of partner stretching through a mixture of sustained poses, massage, and acrobatic yoga.
-Love Your Body Day in Reston, Virginia
Jazzin in Brooklyn
A good jazz band at Prospect Park on a comfortable Sunday afternoon, entertaining the lines of people waiting for a tasty bite at the Food Truck Rally.
- May 22, 2011 , Brooklyn, New York
Arvind’s Birthday Video
Happy Birthday to his awesome twin brother (Ashwin) as well!!!
Music credit: Osunlade and Erro: Everything in its Right Place – [www.pctrecords.com]
Album: Exit Music Songs With Radio Heads
Navarasa Dance Video
A video of Chandni Shah’s beautifully choreographed 9 Emotions (Navarasa) dance that we created in a matter of hours!
