When I first decided to get back into photography, it was because I wanted to appreciate the beauty of the things around me. It's very hard to break away from "the grass is always greener" mindset. That's not something you can do with photography. Photography is snapping present moment. You can wait for the shot, but what you get is what is there.

I had started taking pictures of parks and places nearby. Photography forced me to go out into the sun and find memories. I'm really not good yet, and I always forget to switch some setting or other. To my surprise (and much happiness!) one of my photos got picked for an online DC guide.

I didn't get any royalties for it or anything, but it was good to be featured somewhere. It's great encouragement!

I have to start editing my other photos next! It's just so much work sometimes, though!

The Not So Big House - Sarah Susanka

I borrowed this older edition from the local library, which I visited for the first time the other day. Even if I'm not an architect and have no experience at all with construction, building houses, or designing houses, I really liked this book and found it to be very informative and interesting.

We moved into our home last year. The home we bought is a typical colonial style home from a reputable builder. The house is built from a pre-made design, built exactly like our neighbor's and my neighbor's neighbor, ad infinitum . I know what the inside of the house right across the street, and at the end of the street, and on the house at the end of the block looks like.

Certain features of our home, I thought, were useless. Having lived in Japan, I liked smaller areas which utilized space well. Less walking ;p Here, we have a formal living and dining room area, which I thought were useless and considered converting into a library. It's still pretty empty right now, no shelves, no books. But we did put a piano where the formal living room is supposed to be, and that's about it.

It was interesting because Sarah Susanka wrote the same exact thing. There were some things I learned about homes in the U.S. First, formal living and dining areas had been left over from the traditional Victorian ethic. I completely agree with her. I think homes should be just the right size for a person's needs, to cut down on energy costs, too, and allow a better quality of life. I have seen homes with 10 different places to sit. What for?

Second, I learned that colonial type houses were cheaper to build. No wonder our house was so cut and dried! The more corners on the exterior, the higher the cost. It's interesting that a "not so big house" will cost just as much as a McMansion box! And no wonder more people would buy the McMansion. Who can really afford the luxury of having something so creatively and distinctively designed and customized? It's really a shame. I know I wish I could have a home like that, but I'm not creative enough to fix up our boring home to look like "me".

There are other interesting thoughts to ponder from her book. How we need both public and private spaces in our homes, how some couples fight because their homes have no privacy. It was all very enlightening.

I would recommend this book for anyone who loves homes, whether or not they are up for buying a new home, designing their own home, or just trying to figure out what their style is (like me), since I don't even know where to start from! This points out things that you only vaguely knew, but couldn't verbalize. You read it and nod and nod and agree, and realize that all this time, she says what you already knew in your heart to be true.

O.A.R. @ Merriweather Post!

August 7, 2009. HS and my other friends went to Merriweather Post in Columbia, MD to watch the O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) "This Town" concert. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of people there that night. We got V.I.P. seats, with backstage passes. Our seats were so good, in fact (first row on the platform), that we were able to watch the whole concert sitting down, even though everyone else in front were all standing up and dancing! I danced too...in my seat. That's for shyer, more inhibited people who can just sway a little and bounce their heads up and down with the music.

The music sounds even better live than on CD. I particularly liked the drums interlude during "Lay Down," where Chris, Jerry, and Mike went at it for at least 3 minutes. Jerry is really impressive. He was, at different times, playing the saxophone (it has become one of my favorite instruments!), the drums, and the guitar, as needed. Richard sometimes switched from the keyboard to his guitar. The fans favorite, of course, was "Crazy Game of Poker," which everyone recognized immediately. Everyone jumped up and danced wildly. You can't help it, especially at the fast, almost country inspired part of the music. It wasn't just my head bobbing then. My shoulders would sway back and forth a bit, too. What an achievement!

The O.A.R. guys are a bunch of cool guys on stage. They wear ordinary jeans and t-shirts. They walk around casually, without any fancy blocking or choreography that reminiscent of the Mickey Mouse Club. They're relaxed, they don't try too hard. The only thing that comes out from them is their music. Their talent is what draws the crowd's attention, not looks, not choreography, not the set.

Supposedly, O.A.R. is one of the oldest bands in the industry. They've been together since 1996. I haven't seen many concerts, but I do know that when it comes to bands, only the lead singer becomes popular. For example: Tony Hadley and Spandau Ballet; Sting and the Police...the list can go on and on. For O.A.R., though, each member has their own time in the spotlight. Richard gets his own guitar solo, Chris gets his own drums highlight. Benj with his base guitar and Jerry with his saxophone, all have their own time airtime. I think that's what I like best about them. They share!

So in summary, I would say, these guys are so down to earth, they seem just like your buddies. It just turns out that they're really talented musicians...and they rock!

A Hint of Wicked by Jennifer Haymore

I won "A Hint of Wicked" by Jennifer Haymore, from Gaby317's blog site "Starting Fresh" and tried reading it. Thank God it was something I won and not something I bought because I don't think I can go through the entire thing. I guess I'm just not so interested in themes involving one woman being in love with two men I am also no longer interested in reading soft porn with no plot. Then again, maybe I'm being unfair because I only read until the second chapter, but that is all I can stand right now. Thank you, Gaby317, and thank you Hatchett Books, for giving me the chance to read this. This is going on my paperbackswap books. I'm sure other people will find it more interesting than I did.

Persona 4

I ended up taking a longer break from blogging than I thought! It's not that I was busy with productive things. In fact, since I graduated from my master's degree last May, I hadn't been able to do the things I said I was going to do with my photography hobby.

I did manage to get my driver's license. I had also been busy trying to lose some weight. My weight loss efforts were, unfortunately, pushed aside for a couple of days after I started playing Persona 4. It is really terrible, how much time I have been spending playing that game.

It is such great fun though! What really impresses me about the game is the meticulous attention to detail. It reminds me so much of Japan, and the years I had lived there. The department stores have posters of "yakitori" and "ramen" in the foodcourt. The shopping carts are exactly the same (green baskets that you can put on top of pushcarts). The music, the jingles. The train station, the platform, the yellow bands along streets. It makes me all natsukashii.

I had been playing Final Fantasy 12, too. I find that, even if I had always been a Final Fantasy fan, in the end, the game got to be a bit tedious. I just didn't like the main character, Vaan, so much. There was no chemistry between the characters, and, yes, like other reviewers and bloggers, I really found Penelo silly. Especially her hairstyle! I got tired of having to run around the sprawling dungeons. It became more a pain than entertainment. On a positive note, however, the voice actors were the best I had ever heard for an RPG game. And the graphics! Just beautiful. But all in all, still, tedious! I don't know if I'm going to get back to that game. Maybe after Persona 4.

Persona 4, though, is like a breath of fresh air. The way the characters "mob" the downed enemies, with the "wham, thwack, etc" sound effects in cartoony letters, made me really smile. I kind of like the fact that the dungeons aren't so big or sprawling. Also, you can move from one place to another using the square button when in the real world. As for the story...it's a little formulaic and typical for someone who has seen as much anime and read as much manga as I have. I guess I'm getting a bit old for these kinds of things (that's an understatement!). Even then, the storyline makes me laugh a little. The characters are three dimensional(even if they're stereotypical). There's the delinquent biker gang dude, Kanji (but it made me laugh a little that his deepest fear is to be seen as gay); the girls who just want boyfriends (hey, this is a boy's game, still! at least, I think it is, since it has elements of a dating sim), the spoiled rich girl, the tomboyish girl next door type, the "idol", the quiet (cute) girl in class, they all just fit the same old formula. I say, I am getting a bit tired of that formula. But then, aren't romance novels the same in that sense? They follow that same old formula, and yet, they still hit all the bestseller lists! I guess it's because formulas are familiar. And, they don't require so much thinking (at least storywise!). I suppose that's why it's refreshing!

So, I dunno when I'm going to get back to finishing that Final Fantasy 12 game. Especially since I just bought a 2nd hand version of Persona 3!

I hope I don't turn Hikikomori from all this gaming!

Getting Offline for a Few Days

My final exams are coming up, and I have been so distracted. The stress is finally getting to me. I can't seem to sleep well, and I've been reading and checking things online too much. I think my emotions have been going crazy. I'm graduating next month, this week is the last week of classes, I have one exam starting Monday, and family duties have been bogging me down. Put my own personal, self-diagnosed ADD into the pot, and one can see how little I'm actually studying! Consequently, I have been shopping even more (part as "revenge", and part because it makes me feel better)! I broke another rule to myself. I said that I would keep my D80 until I got better at taking photos. Then what did I do? I turned around and bought a D300 from Ebay! S is going to kill me. Seriously. It seemed like such a good deal. Actually, I think it is a good deal, but I have spent too much, and there are other things I need more urgently (like a car!). I shouldn't be getting more toys!

Since I can't seem to control myself when my stress level is high, I'm going to have S hold on to my account to stop me from spending. In the same way, I will get offline for a couple of weeks. I can't study well when I'm online anyway. I keep looking and looking for people I know, or thinking of photos, or reading reviews, and ending up spending money! Oh how horrible!

Oh..this all makes me sad! :(

Unexpected Treasures

 

I saw a bird's nest in the tree right beside our house this morning. I was able to take a shot, and smiled happily all day because of it. I captured a picture of something so wonderful, so close by. I know it's not the perfect angled shot,with the leaves hiding part of the bird, but the fact that it occurred right here, right outside, made it all the more exciting. Special things are all around us, and sometimes, they appear right in your own backyard!

Later, when I looked out again, the nest was gone. Only some leftover twigs remained. I was sad that the bird felt that she had to transfer her nest, just because she had been discovered. She will never know that she had made someone very happy.

I love that I had been able to capture it, even if it was just for a moment. Spring must be the best season of the year!