More Thanksgiving Images

Almost everyone at the table had a digital camera that evening, and these are the images from the second camera. We're such a bunch of visual people, and I'm sure the good times that we will remember of the evening are as beautiful as these images.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday, Eric!

It's Eric's birthday today and Naeem, Suba and I took him to Peach Tree restaurant on 18th and Vine to celebrate. The place is a very well-know soul food restaurant, and we really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. None of us have been there before so it turn out to be a very pleasant experience. Of course, on the day after the mid-term election, all of us at the table have more than just Eric's birthday to celebrate!

Two Months Flew By...

I remembered we started talking about my parents' visit about one year ago. Mom and dad always wanted to go on a cruise and we just decided that the timing was right and John and I would go with them to Alaska. A year later, they came and two month after that, they waved their hands and said goodbye to us. They left on November 2nd and have arrived safely in Malaysia a day and a half later. It was a bitter sweet farewell, as we live so far apart from each other and only get the chance to visit each other every other year. However, it always lead us to the planning of the next visit. There's always something for us to look forward to, and when we finally get to see each other again, we know we're going to have a great time because we simply don't have time for other mundane things if we get to see each other more often. I'm glad that my parents are blessed with good health and hope they will continue to be blessed for many years to come so they can visit us more often.

Goodbye, Camera.

Today, my new camera, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T50, finally arrived, and I'm officially saying goodbye to my old camera, Casio Exilim EX-100. My parents adopted this small wonder which took most of the pictures on this blog. In two years, we rarely part from each other, (even when I thought I had forgotten to bring it along, it was there in my bag all the while. ) I hope my folks will take good care of it. Here are the old and the new cameras, taken together in one picture.

These are among the first few pictures taken as test shots by the DSC-T50. The cool typewriter photo was taken by Bruce. I'm very pleased with the picture quality so far.

Happy Halloween

This is the pumpkin that carved at Tom and Marks annual pumpkin carving party. The weather was beautiful after a few dreary rainy days. There were six of us and we went to the nearby pumpkin patch to pick our own pumpkin. Then we went to Mark and Tom's backyard, and started carving our pumpkins. Later, we all went to dinner and then came back to light our pumpkins. Then we invited the neighbors to come judge which one is the best. Tom won. But I like mine, so I'm showing my pumpkin here. It's simple and cute, and I was the first one to finish.

Much Ado About Nothing Poster

Here's the poster I just designed for Olathe South High School. The mask was the creation of the costumer of the play Tam Osgood.

Cruise Activities

Here's another batch of photos of the various activites we did while we're on board the cruise ship for 7 days. I was rather apprehensive about being stuck on a boring ship and have nothing to do, but much to my amazement, there are a plethora of activities to do.

Whale watching...

Playing giant chess out on the deck...

Ping Pong match...

Lounging by the pool...

All dressed up and take family photos...

Bundle up to see the glacier...

Gorge at the Midnight Chocoholic Buffet...

Enjoy a show at the theatre...

Eat and eat and eat and eat...

Or, take a little nap in between meals!

Alaska Pictures, Finally.

It's been a week since we came back from our Alaska Cruise and between my brother and me, we took over a thousand digital photos. It's very overwhelming to edit them down to a manageable number. I figure the first batch of the photos should be the quintessential element of our trip - the magnificent Mother Nature. There's no other better way to immerse oneself in this amazing environment than going on the Alaska Cruise because one doesn't have to be an outdoorsy person to get to these destination. In fact, there are places like the Glacier Bay where there isn't really any other way to get there other than by sea or air. As beautiful as you can see on these pictures, they really don't justice at all in comparison to being present and be surrounded by the sheer vastness of nature.

Mount Rainier, WA. Photographed from our plane to Seattle.

Peugeout Sound, WA. The beginning of our 7 days cruise through the Inside Passage to Southeweat Alaska.

Skagway, Alaska, taken from the train on the White Pass & Yukon Route, looking down at a Class 6 rapid.

At the Inlet of Johns Hopkins, Glacier Bay, photographed from our ship. One of the most beautiful site I've ever seen in my life.

Looking at the breathtaking Johns Hopkins Glacier -- the jewel of Glacier Bay!

Margerie Glacier, right at the boder of Canada. It was exciting to witnessed a few glacier calves, which accompanied by its thunderous sound of cracking and plunging into the bay.

The mesmerizing color of the glacier. A closer look at Margerie.

Seattle Public Library

Thanks to free WiFi, I'm posting this from one of the coolest architecture in the US, the Seattle Public Library. It is built by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaa. It is an eleven story building, envoloped by a multi-angled glass skin. I went crazy taking photos in here.

Smile!

Our family vacation started yesterday. John and I flew to Seattle a day ahead and we're meeting up with our parents later today. Then, on September 3, we'll take the cruise to Alaska. Due to the recent air travel security regulation, for the first time, I flew without my own bottle of drinking water. Southwest was kind enough to give out little snack boxes consisted of a few packets of little tit bits and a bag of Oreo chips. However, they only served us with a tiny cup of soda, perhaps about 5oz of liquid. I think I need to send this picture with an email to complain about the bad combination of food and beverages. They either have to super-size the drinks or quit serving Oreos.

The Fall of the House of Usher Poster

Here's the poster I designed for Eric for his students' play The Fall fo the House of Usher. Thanks to Lauren for being my hand model. The rest are all Photoshop. (No finger nails are harmed in the making of this poster.)

Cooking With Suba

Suba is teaching how to cook a fabulous meals starting with weekend, August 27. She will using my kitchen to conduct her class - "A Gourmet Kitchen" as she put it. I helped her set up her own blog so she can post class schedules and pictures from the classes online. Of course, by helping her doing that, I get to be the food taster for all classes. Yum!

Nip/Tuck Season 4 Spoiler

For those of you Nip/Tuck fans, I'm sure you're eager to find out what to expect this season, starting on September 5. I would have thrown another season premiere party like last season, but I'll be in Juneau, Alaska that day. I wonder if we can get the FX Channel on the cruise ship? If not, I'll just have to depend on my DVR. I've gathered a few spoilers from various sources and publish them here for the convenience of other fans. First of all, there's a list of celebrities appearing as guest stars - Larry Hagman (a surgery on his private part), Brooke Shields Christian's psychiatrist, actually a sexual-compulsive shrink), Rosie O'Donnell, Kathleen Turner, Richard Chamberlain, Cybill Shepherd, Sanaa Lathan, Jaqueline Bisset, Peter Dinklage (McNamara's night nurse for the baby) and Catherine Deneuve (who wants her dead husbands ashes be implanted in her boobies!) Then I heard, Julia (Joely Richardson) is going to give birth to an abnormal baby in episode three. And she will be off for about five episodes and come back for the season finale. Christian will be questioning his sexuality? Interesting. According to TV Guide.com, McMahon said, "[Christian] will be exploring new aspects of his sexuality." Remember Matt shot a guy who tortured him in the season finale. Apparently he didn't die, and we get to see the resolution the story in episode two. And Kimber will be all about Matt?! And Matt will fall in love with Kimber. Yikes! So, there you go. Enjoy the Fourth Season!

Goodbye, Will.

Will recently relocated to Minneapolis. Suba and I decided to compile some old pictures and put together a slide show as part of his going away gift. He burst into tears when we played for him, and of course, we all cried along with him. It was great career move for him and we are all very happy for him. However, we know we’re going to miss him dearly because he made such a big impact in all of our lives here. Farewell, my friend!

Sometimes Three Available on iTunes

The album that I designed for Sometimes Three has been released on iTunes. That means the album cover will be exposed to a huge audience. I'm very excited for the band. Check them out and see what you think. Note that the picture that I posted on April 24 ended up being used for the back cover instead. I think it was a wise choice since they are a new band and it helps putting a face to the group. After all, they are VERY photogenic.

Flamingo Friday

It's Flamingo Friday every Friday on our block during Summer. Each home volunteers to host the pot luck party. Mine was in mid June, and I think it was one of the best! (Considering my house is the smallest one on the block, it was a smashing success.) The first picture was in front of my yard taken two months ago. The second one is the watermelon basket I carved to bring to my neighbor's Famingo Friday Party last weekend.

Birthday Thoughts

A year went by so quickly. One great benefit on keeping a blog - I went back and read my 2005 birthday thoughts with just a click of a button! Last year's thought summed up into one short sentence: Relationships are the true essence of happiness in life. A year later, that statement still means a lot to me. My friends are the fabric of my life. They connect moments and experiences through out the years that define my existence. I'm always thankful for knowing and keeping in contact with them, near and far.

Recently, I'm a little sadden by the fact that, a very dear friend of mine, Will, is relocating to Minneapolis. He is a great inspiration to me and his mild manner clams me down. We both sing in the Heartland Men's Chorus, and I still remember vividly the day we met on rehearsal in the summer of 1998. I guess people come and go in our lives. Just like me packing up and came to the United States 15 years ago, leaving behind my dearest group of friends from high school. The distance didn't keep us from being close to each other, and all of us are constantly making our best efforts to travel to see each other. This year, it's their turn to come visit, and I'm very excited to play host! Knowing that true friends can never be separated by distance, it gives me hope that the friendship between WIll and I is only mildly challenged by about 6 hours of distance.

It always amazes me to think how people cross path and meet each other amongst the sea of individuals in this world. Everyone we know in our lives, is through a chain reaction of and events or people, one person leading to the other. Some people stick around, and some people, you meet for a few hours next to you on a plain ride, and never again cross path. Either you choose to belief that this random path crossing is by design or it is just mere coincidences, we cannot deny that all these cross points effect the doors that lead us to many possibilities in life, just like the Butterfly Effect. This coming year will be an eventful one for me. My parents will be visiting in about a month, and together with my brother, we're going on an Alaskan cruise; followed by the visit of my best friends, Josh and Derrick, during Thanksgiving; and the biggest event ahead - taking the big step of sharing a home with Eric, a new one that we're building soon. Even thought, it is both exciting and a little daunting at times to go down this path that has been brought to me through many past possibilities, I choose to sit back and enjoy the adrenaline along the way. Isn't this what we call the taste of life, anyways?

My Ecological Footprint

Environmental issues are not news to many people, but recently, it has become a major topic in our daily conversation. Perhaps it's because gas price has climbed up to $3.00 a gallon now. Al Gore's movie An Incovenient Truth which came out at the right time opened many people's eyes, and Who Killed the Electric Car?, another interesting documentary is coming soon, which I'm sure will make people want to go out and get a hybrid car immediately. With all these eco-talk, I've decided to take the Ecological Footprint Quiz to test and see my lifestyle, as an individual, impacts the planet. Before I took the quiz, I thought my eco-footprint would be smaller than the average American, since I grew up in Asia, and I've learned not to be wasteful. To my surprise, I scored a whopping 33 points! An average American's Eco-footprint is 24 acres, and mine is 11 acres more! (The Ecological Footprint measures the amount of ecologically productive land and sea area it takes to sustain an individual in a year.) Yikes! My worst score is under "Shelter". I guess apparently, living alone is not environmental friendly. You can take the quiz at myfoorprint.org.

Second Week of Yoga

For me, one of the toughest thing going to Yoga is that the teachers likes to keep the room very warm. It was 96 degrees outside, and I was worried that the classroom is going to be as hot as outside. To my surprise, the A/C was on! It was no cool but at least it was bearable. Nicole's mom was in town and she didn't show up for the class. The second week is a much better week for me. I think things that I learned a few years ago are slowing coming back to me. And I believe that I have a little more confidence after the first class and so I pushed myself a little more this time. My body felt really great after the class because I felt like I pushed myself as much as I could and I was sweating like a pig! I don't know if it's the heat, or I'm working harder, or I'm doing the Ujjayi Breath (Victorious Breath) right, or the combination of all of the above, I was totally soaking wet, including my underwear. Today class was a great workout got me and I'm very much looking forward to the next class!