The One Time My Home Team Wins

UCLA vs. Cal
Rose Bowl
October 2005

I was wrong! There was one time that I did go to a game and my team actually won. Hehe, what a crazy game. We had to sneak in with our old IDs, we ended up sitting with some pretty annoying undergrads, and after the game I wanted to cry b/c we had wandered through the makeshift golf course parking lot for nearly an hour and we still couldn't find my car!

But...it was all worth it b/c we won! :) I wish I coulda been there to watch us beat 'SC though. That would have totally made up for all the times I sat through games that we eventually lost.

Teemu!

Teemu Selanne
Kings vs Sharks
2002-2003 season

This was when Teemu was a Shark. Staples Center staff are pretty cool. They let us nosebleed peons all the way down to ice level to take pictures prior to the game.

My friend got bragging rights b/c the Sharks won that night. My home teams never seem to win when I attend! UCLA vs. Oregon, UCLA vs. Oregon State, Dodgers vs Marlins, Padres, Mets, Mariners...etc etc. Anyways, I had to clean up this photo a bit, but it turned out pretty nice for an action shot, yeah? I want to attend more hockey games but 99.9% of my so-cal friends don't like hockey. :(

Anyhoo, it's Stanley Cup time and the Ducks have a 1-0 series lead over the Senators! Good thing I am not attending any games in person or they might lose. :) PS. Teemu is a Duck again!

Freak of Nature

Wedding prep
Brampton, Ontario
August 2005

As a wedding gift, my cousin's sister-in-law-to-be offered to do flowers. We were making the bouquets when we found this! I had never seen two buds within a single flower. How pretty is this! I wish I had taken a clearer picture though but at that time I wasn't particularly picky about the quality of my shots. :P

How to do the Asian Squat

Tet (Lunar New Years)
My house
February 2006

Right place, right time! No way could this be posed. :)
This mockumentary cracks me up!

See you in September

Royce Hall, UCLA
March 2006
Guest photoist: P

I actually can't take credit for this picture. P and I were on campus on day and he went crazy with my camera and took so many pictures of Powell, Royce, Ackerman, Janss Steps, etc. It was like seeing a kid in a candy store; he was literally scampering around campus! This was my favorite shot from that day.

I'm satisfied that I've finally moved into a place where I can reflect back and not be sad/mad anymore. It's taken a bit of time and maturity on my part. So instead of regretting the past, I'm able to be appreciative of all the happy moments I had with him.

Anyhoo, the reason for this particular photo on this particular day is that I will be a graduate Bruin this fall! :)

Cloudy El Monte

Outside my balcony
El Monte
December 2005 (when I woke up!)

Despite the fact that every time I see clouds I want to roll around in the white fluffiness this time I know that there's a storm a brewin'. Click on the picture! How often do you get see this in an urban/smoggy city? Although smog does make for the lovely/unnatural colors of an LA sunset, though. :)

Plantation Exploitation

Dole Plantation, Oahu
July 2005

"Welcome to the Dole Plantation! Look how content I was. I don't mind that my fellow plantation workers and I suffered years of exploitation through unfair or even forced labor. No, I was one happy worker!"

These boards were plastered all over Dole Plantation, painting such an inaccurate portrayal of what plantation life was really like. On one hand, I'm annoyed that they had to make plantation life something that it's clearly not. On the other hand, I can't say that I'm going to stop eating pineapples based on this principle but at least I don't feel as ignorant. I felt bad for the tourists who didn't know any better and ate up the happy-dappyness.

Will there ever be truly fair labor practices or will companies such as Walmart and Dole continue their labor exploitation with no end in sight?

Beatles: Love

Mirage Hotel and Casino
January 2007

Color! I love color. This picture was so fun to take. The colors were perpetually changing so my finger would be on the button at "green", but as I pressed it, it was "bluethenpurple" and by the time I actually took the shot it was "red" already!

Here's a neat trick on the eyes if you've got a mouse with a rolly scroll. Click on my photo to enlarge it, then move your scroll roll up and down really fast, concentrating on the top half of the image. I don't know about you, but I'm easily amused. :)

Toothy Grin

Approx 9 months
April 2007

I've hung out with babies long enough to know that they generally don't smile for the camera unless you distract them and do something really silly. "Silly" ranges from making unintelligible babble talk to dancing like a monkey to contorting facial features into alien faces. You get the drift. Of course when my camera is far out of reach, my baby cousins have grinned to their hearts' content, without me having to put forth any effort! But this time around I was lucky; I had a camera in hand and he just smiled and smiled while I snapped away. Btw, I took this shot in the evening with no flash! I have no idea how the image turned out this clear, maybe it was b/c my hands were steady for once! =)

White Daisy Bleeding Purple

Escondido Falls Hike, Malibu
April 2007

The imperfections of this flower are just what makes this photo so perfect in my eyes. Click on the image to see the purple bleeding into the white, and the purple tints on the tips. I want a vase of these flowers on my living room table!

Banchan

Supersmartsusan
DJ Korean Restaurant, Cerritos
December 2005

What I really like about this photo is that the wall and the table are both so dark that they seem to have blended into each other. Even the cup nearly blends into the background. Were it not for my friend's cream sweater, she might have blended in also. Such a dark setting makes way for the little banchan dishes to "pop out". The colors become richer, but not in a way that overpowers the entire table setting.

I think I speak for my non-Koreans friends when I say that banchan is one of the best parts when eating at Korean restaurants. However, I've been told by my Korean friends that super-Korean people aren't really into these little side dishes. Really?! But it TASTES SO YUMMY. Does that mean if I go to Korea they won't serve me banchan!?

Now, what are possible synonyms for "blend" and "Korean?" I was too lazy to dictionary.com it.

Hula Dancers

Moanalua Gardens
Prince Lot Hula Festival
July 2005

Aren't these hula dancers just gorgeous, even from the back? The costumes are so colorful and bright in a non-clashy way.

This was such a fun day! Even though thousands of people attended the festival, it did not feel impersonal at all. I enjoyed staking out a spot on the grass with my fellow classmates as we watched each halau perform. I loved how it wasn't the slightest bit "touristy"; I remember seeing a lot of locals and their entire families just relaxing and taking advantage of everything the festival had to offer. The Prince Lot Hula Festival could end any year now no thanks to lack of funding so I am glad I was able to attend!

Ducks Swimming

Whittier Narrows
Legg Lake
April 2005

I remember going to Whittier Narrows to try out my camera as soon as I was able to fully charge the new battery. I took such lovely photos that day, but this was by far my favorite. Click on the image to enlarge it; the ripples in the water look unreal!

Hello!

Approx. two years ago my parents gave me a really nifty Olympus 7.1 MP digital camera as my graduation present. Since then I've captured a whole lot of memories it. Despite being really bulky compared to all the super-skinny-girly cameras out there, I've managed to tote it cross-country/ocean to Toronto, New York, Boston, Hawai'i, and cross-town to practically every restaurant, party, graduation, birthday, wedding, hike, etc that I've ever been to. Hell, even my parents have taken it to Seattle, Minnesota, Vancouver, and China- and for the next 3 weeks, Europe. Actually, as of this moment, my camera is flying across the Atlantic Ocean en route to London! How sad, in the last two years it's been more well-traveled than I am...

Despite being in so many public places, I suspect that my camera's mini-cereal-box-sized proportions as well as as my right foot "beach babe" toe sock that it calls home has probably discouraged would-be thieves from nabbing it. (The sock idea I stole from a former apartment-mate!)

All kidding set aside, I can't find any faults with my camera. It's extremely trusty and the quality of the photos taken are fantastic! I still don't know how a camera technically works, so to me, it's just pure magic. :) I don't aspire to do anything fancy with my camera either; in fact I never bothered to learn how any of the special functions work. I should start learning if I want to take my photographic prowess to the next level, but for now I am perfectly happy with just snapping away shot after shot.

I hope you enjoy looking at my photos as much as I had fun taking them!