Hometown Day

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1250
“Comfort Food” Torrance, 2021

I spent the day working from my parents’ house in Torrance. It was fun to hang out in the kitchen of the old house and watch my mom make one of my favorite comfort foods: submarine sandwiches. I make them at home, but of course they don’t taste as good as when my mom makes them. It’s kind of a tradition that every time I visit their house, she makes subs for me. 😀

I also visited the nearby CVS to get my Moderna booster shot. I didn’t feel the needle at all, and my arm is just a little bit sore. The person administering the shot recommended some exercise to help with the soreness, which was surprising. I thought she would tell me to just rest and take it easy.

“Booster” Torrance, 2021

With that in mind, I went for a 3 mile run around the neighborhood after work. It was chilly but I really enjoyed looking at the old houses and even ran down some streets where old friends used to live. I suppose most of the houses have different families living there now, but it was still interesting to see how many memories it brought back.

Later that evening, we went out to eat at Ladybug Cafe, which is a Hawaiian restaurant formerly known as Bob’s Hawaiian Style Restaurant. The food was delicious! I had the grilled hamachi plate, and Koa had the Poké Bowl (with ogo in it!) and spam fried rice. Yum! The rest of the family had classics like kalbi, teriyaki chicken, teri salmon, etc. Good stuff!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/40 sec, ISO800
“Local Food” Gardena, 2021

It was a great day in my old hometown. Here’s one last photo from the kitchen which is pretty much unchanged since the 70s. 😄

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/4, 1/160 sec, ISO640
“Kitchen” Torrance, 2021

Loving Curbside

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/7.1, 1/1800 sec, ISO640
“Curbside” Cedar Park, 2021

As the COVID-19 pandemic surges yet again, I am thankful for HEB’s curbside service. I believe the products are marked up about 3%, but it’s so convenient to shop online and have the groceries placed into the back of the car by an HEB employee that I believe it’s well worth the extra cost. And judging by the number of other shoppers using the service, it’s gaining in popularity during the Delta variant surge.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/10, 1/3200 sec, ISO640
“Cloud Over HEB” Cedar Park, 2021

Last First Day of School

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 26.5mm, f/3.2, 1/150 sec, ISO640
“Happy Senior” Cedar Park, 2021

Our youngest son is a high school senior this year, which means this is the last time I’ll be taking a “First Day of School” photo. 😢 You know, the DO grow up fast!

He’s heading back to campus with most of his friends, and he’s been told by us to always wear a mask indoors (except while eating) and to of course practice social distancing outdoors. He’s been vaccinated so we’re not too worried about him getting sick, but we want him to be safe for himself, friends, family, and the community in general.

I’m happy to be able to do some activities and not being on lockdown, but I wish everyone would mask up in public (and in schools). It’s really not that hard.

Shopping in Houston

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/4.5, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
“IKEA Shopping” Houston, 2021

Today Bay and I went down to Houston to pick up keys to his new apartment that he’ll be living in for the upcoming school year. We made a trip to IKEA and Target to pick up some items, and I noticed that many more people in Houston were going mask-less as compared to Austin. The photo above is not an accurate representation of the percentage of mask-wearers versus non… I’d estimate only 15% of shoppers were wearing masks, and it didn’t seem like anyone was practicing social distancing.

I suppose people are just tired of wearing them, even though COVID infection levels are on the rise in Texas once again. I’m still wearing mine 100% indoors, and sometimes outdoors when there are a lot of people around. It’s really not an inconvenience to me.

Day in the Office

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO800
“Color Book” Austin, 2021

I went into the office today, which was the first time to actually work there since the COVID-19 pandemic started last year. I had visited a few times before, for my flu shot, and to pick up some items that I needed to work remotely, but today I needed to do a photo shoot so I decided to take the photos and post-process there.

It was really odd of course because there were only maybe 15% of the regular staff working in the office but at the same time, it felt as if it were normal in that everything on my desk was still the same place that I left it, including the Pantone color book which is today’s photo. I was actually a little worried about the color book since it is expensive, so I was happy to see it right where I left it. I did put it in the locked desk drawer before I left, though!

I’m not sure when I will return to the office full-time, but as more people get vaccinated, I’m comfortable going in once in a while. Still masked up, of course! 😷