Bay’s Graduation

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 23.3mm, f/7.1, 1/420 sec, ISO400
“Happy Graduate” Cedar Park, 2019

They grow up so fast…

It’s true. I remember taking Bay to daycare for the first time like it was just yesterday! Now he’s finished with high school and off to college in a couple of months. Wow.

“Graduates” Cedar Park, 2019

The graduation ceremony was very nice. It was held at the sports arena nearby which was the perfect size to host a ~525-student graduating class and families. In fact, the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park hosted 4 graduations today, starting at 8 am. Bay’s graduation was at noon, which I think was a perfect time because when it was finished, we had good light for taking photos, unlike the last ceremony which started at 8 pm and ended probably around 9:45 pm. Plus, after Bay’s ceremony finished, we could go home and relax a bit before heading out to a graduation dinner. Perfect timing!

By the way, the entire ceremony was live-streamed on YouTube. You can see when Bay’s name was read and he got his diploma in the video here. Enjoy!

I know that Koa’s high school career will also go by in the blink of an eye, and Bay’s college career as well, so I should try to step back and enjoy all the little moments before they pass me by.

またね~

Re-watching the Harry Potter Movies

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/125 sec, ISO4000
“Harry Potter Marathon” Cedar Park, 2019

On Memorial Day weekend, Koa decided he would try to watch all the Harry Potter movies, but when we got to move #6, we discovered that we couldn’t find the disc. I’m pretty sure we bought all of them, so it is a mystery as to where it could be. Thankfully our library has a few copies of Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince so I picked it up, and we could resume our marathon, albeit a few days after the holiday weekend ended.

I forgot a lot of the Harry Potter story, so it was cool to rewatch them all again and catch all the details I missed before. And Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is still my favorite movie of the series, but I have a new appreciation for Goblet of Fire. But one thing that I find a bit perplexing is when everyone turns against Harry in that movie, especially his best friend, Ron. I mean, Harry has never done anything to make Ron distrust him, right?

That reminds me, I should read the books… I’ve only read the last one, which was fantastic.

I hope you had a magical day!

またね~

I Watched Two Anime: Fireworks and A Silent Voice

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/125 sec, ISO2000
“Anime Nite” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

I recently visited my local library to renew my card and decided to browse the DVDs to see if there was anything good. I was in luck because I found a couple of movies that I have wanted to watch!

Fireworks / 打ち上げ花火、下から見るか? 横から見るか? has the same producer of the amazing Your Name which I loved, so I had high expectations for it. Unfortunately, the story was confusing and not very interesting. The animation was excellent, however, so it wasn’t difficult to keep watching. The little scenes of life around the sea-town were absolutely gorgeous. It was a shame though that the time-travel aspect was too difficult to follow otherwise it could have been great.

My rating for Fireworks: 6.5/10

On the other hand, A Silent Voice / 映画 聲の形 was excellent, with a compelling storyline, interesting characters with complex relationships and several thought-provoking messages. The animation was also good, although not as crisp or vibrant as Fireworks. But the film held my attention throughout the entire movie and I would love to see a sequel that continued the characters’ story arcs. I wonder if something is in the works…

My rating for A Silent Voice: 8.5/10

I hope you had a nice day!

またね~

Senior Awards Night

“Senior Award” Leander, 2019

Bay’s high school career rapidly comes to a close, with graduation looming just on the horizon. But before that, he took part in Senior Awards Night, where he received an award for his work in Visual Arts. It was pretty cool to hear the applause and cheers as he accepted the award. Another proud moment for Mariko and I for sure.

I hope you had a good day!

またね