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Daily Photos

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Hi! I hope you had a nice start to the new year! We had a very relaxing one, just eating osechi (Japanese new years food) and watching movies.

Lately I have been reading about photography projects, and the one that caught my attention is something like a “personal documentary”. I guess it is sort of like a recording of my own daily life… just normal things that we take for granted, but if we give them attention, they can become important things. Or another way to look at it is that in 50 years, these things might be of interest. I don’t know if this is true, but I really enjoy viewing these types of photos.

So, I think 2016 will be the start of mine. I am not sure if I will take a photo every day, but I’ll try. I’ve done 365 photo projects in the past so I am confident I can keep it going! I’ve started a new category in the blog named “Personal Documentary” if you’d like to sort by these photos.

This first photo is about as everyday as I can get… it’s the pen holder on my desk at home. I’ve actually had this beer can for over 20 years. I think I cut the top off of it when I was at university and have used it to hold pens ever since.

"On the Desk" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/90 sec, ISO6400
 “On the Desk” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

This project seems like a New Year’s Resolution, doesn’t it? Well, I rarely make resolutions, so I don’t think I can call it that but it is something I’d like to make a habit.

I hope you all have a wonderful year and give it your all!

-B

Last day of 2015

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Good morning everyone! I hope you are keeping warm if your region has cold weather! It wouldn’t be fun to ring in the new year while being sick… 😬

Finally, the last day of 2015… It has been a great year for me! I am pretty sure this year has been the most I’ve ever traveled before in my life.

I can say without hesitation that all of these trips were fantastic and I enjoyed them so much! I used to get stressed about the logistics of traveling, but nowadays I just trust in myself and my family that everything will work out, and that if things don’t go as planned, it’s not the end of the world. Just adjust and enjoy! They say “adventure begins at the first wrong turn”. Something like that. I guess I have learned to embrace the possibilities, rather than stress on the unknown.

Besides all of the travel, a few notable things in the family… Firstly, Koa finished elementary school and began middle school. In his school district, middle school is grades 6-8. He’s loving it so far! Secondly, Bay became a high-schooler. It is still hard to believe that my baby boy has grown up so quickly! I am getting a little tear in my eye. 😂

I hope 2015 has been a great year for all of you. Let’s do our best in 2016!

-B

Back Home

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Hi all! How are you today/tonight?

Well, we are back home in Texas now. Today we flew on our normal route from Long Beach to Austin on JetBlue airlines. We really like flying out of Long Beach because it is a small airport and hardly any traffic or lines. Especially compared to the craziness that is LAX! But this morning’s flight was delayed by 2 hours, so we arrived in Austin at 5pm… not really too big of a deal, and waiting at the airport was ok since we had sandwiches that my mom had made for us. Also, I had time to finish The Martian! What a great book! 👍

USA. California. Long Beach. 2015.
USA. California. Long Beach. 2015.

The flight itself was pretty good, and I spent the time reading and also reviewing and deleting photos from my camera. I like to pare down the photos I keep. In the past, I would just keep every single photo, even if they were similar. I might have 8 photos that are almost exactly the same just because it didn’t cost me anything to keep more than one. But now, I really enjoy minimizing down to just the essentials. That means keeping only the best photo of a series. (I might cheat and keep two sometimes!) It’s so liberating to jettison all the extra photos right away after taking them. I feel like the longer you hold onto all those extra files, the longer they stay in your mind and clutter up your thoughts. Just choose one or two and be happy with those!

USA. 2015.
USA. 2015.

So, we made it home, but Austin is cold! Tonight will drop into the 30s again… ❄ Please take care to stay warm!

-B

End of Vacation

Slice of Life, TravelingLeave a Comment on End of Vacation

Hi everyone! How’s it going with you?

Today is our final full day of visiting my family in California. It’s always fun to come back to my hometown and see how it has changed. This time I noticed the traffic is getting even worse… 😟 But luckily we didn’t drive around too much during our visit.

What was really nice was seeing both my brothers and playing mahjong! We always have a fun time getting silly. Some things never change and I am truly thankful that I have a good relationship with my family.

Sadly we will return to Texas tomorrow. Still, I am happy to see our cat and dog at home!

Take care especially if it is cold where you live!

-B

Visit to Dodger Stadium

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Good morning! How’s it going?

Today it is so cold here in Los Angeles! It’s only in the 30s but happily it is sunny and beautiful outside. 🌞 There are some strong winds coming through the area, so much of the smog has been blown away. The visibility is great!

"Downtown View" USA. California. Los Angeles. 2015.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/420 sec, ISO400
 “Downtown View” USA. California. Los Angeles. 2015.

Yesterday we drove up to Dodger Stadium to shop at the Top of the Park store and also check out the ballpark. ⚾️ It’s great because you can hang out in the Top Deck level and enjoy the view year-round! One of the great tips I read was that you could actually bring your lunch and eat there (if no games are scheduled) and enjoy the amazing view.

"At the Ballpark" USA. California. Los Angeles. 2015.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO400
 “At the Ballpark” USA. California. Los Angeles. 2015.

There’s also a nice stadium tour you can take. It’s a guided walking tour and you get to see the clubhouse, press box, go down to the field and sit in the dugout, etc. It is really fun!

"Looking Up" USA. California. Los Angeles. 2015.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/210 sec, ISO400
 “Looking Up” USA. California. Los Angeles. 2015.

This time we just took a bunch of photos 📷 from the seats and bought a couple of things from the gift store. But it was really cool to hang out with my brother and our kids! And FYI, it was my two kids’ idea to go up to the stadium and I was happy to take them. 😄

"Fanboys" USA. California. Los Angeles. 2015.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/200 sec, ISO400
 “Fanboys” USA. California. Los Angeles. 2015.

Hope you have a great day today, and stay warm!

-B