Names

I have the opportunity to hone my cooking skills once again. Yesterday I prepared such a large portion of hearty Italian inspired soup that it has fed two people for three meals.

Today on my afternoon stroll I found these two images. One is of the seal of California and the other is of a hanging flower basket along the docks, a little pocket of sanity, peace and relaxation during the lunchtime craziness.

Proust question of the day: What are your favorite names?

I have always given this question much thought. If I did not have the name I now have, I would have liked a many syllabled name like Alexandra or Victoria. Shorter names I am fond of include Stella and Joan. For male names, one of my faves is Christopher. I prefer classic names over trendy ones. In the U.S., you can name your child anything under the sun. That's why you find many made up names here like Taylor, Riley, and Charisma to name a few examples. In Germany names given to children are fairly regulated I believe. This is due to the fact (I think!) that the government wants to protect children from being made fun of if their parents decide to give them a very unusual name. So what you find in Germany are many traditional names like Claudia, Christine, Thomas, Erik, Mark etc.

Spring has sprung

Sunday = Walking in Golden Gate Park

I've walked by these flowering trees many times, but today I finally decided to capture it indefinitely in digital pixels. This picture doesn't do justice to the real tree. There are so many tiny light pink blossoms on one tree. It's quite a sight.

The Proust question of the day is - Who are your favorite characters in history?

There are so many interesting characters in history. One of the more interesting characters that come to mind (not necessarily my favorite!) is Rasputin, who mesmerized the Russian royal family. Franklin Roosevelt was relatively admirable for what he did during the Great Depression and in WWII. I really don't know too many historical figures off the top of my head. I'll just brainstorm here. Let's see... Cleopatra, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Charlemagne, the first Emperor of China who united the country and built the Great Wall, Marco Polo, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Einstein, Henry VIII, Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi.

Okay, Gandhi may make the list.

Pivot tables

Want to learn how to use pivot tables in Excel to analyze data, here's a decent website.

Pivot tables are a pretty cool way to view data and use it to answer different questions.

Eye doctor

I went to see an optometrist today to get a new set of glasses. I'm really looking forward to my new frames, which should be ready in 10 business days.

They ran a bunch of tests on my eyes. One test was the puff of air test. Then you've got the peripheral vision test and the depth of vision test. My least favorite is the air puff test.

I had an idea, a spark of inspiration yesterday. I will post one question from the Proust questionnaire and answer it myself. Here's the first one:

- What is your favorite flower?

Tulips because I think they represent spring

Friendship & keys

Can people still make new friends when they are no longer in a school-like environment?

What is the definition of a friend? How has it changed over time? Did people in the older generations have closer friendships than people in the younger generations?

At what point in a relationship does an acquaintance become a friend? How do you know this?


It is extremely difficult for people who are no longer in school or college to make new "friends", however you wish to define that term. People often advise those wishing to find new friends to join clubs or pursue their interests and they will automatically find like-minded people who could potentially become friends. This sounds logical, but this seldom happens in practice. One reason is that there are many weird people out there. So in order to protect themselves, people do not to open up much to strangers that they do not know well. This is self preservation and is a natural reaction. Another reason is that people often already have a well established group of friends and do not feel the need to add to that group.

I have a theory that friendships were better in the good old days when people knew each other for many years from childhood onwards. This may be due to the fact that a long time ago, most people grew up and remained in the communities in which they were born. These days in which mobility is within reach of the masses, friends are strewn across the country or across the globe. Everyone is so wrapped up in their own lives or busy with their careers. It's such a shame to lose contact with those whom you once thought were your friends. However at times, friends can disappoint you and get on your nerves as well.

An acquaintance becomes a friend when you are both on the same wavelength and you enjoy talking to one another. Between good friends there exists a level of trust. You trust the other person enough to share personal experiences and stories with them. You feel comfortable enough to call them up without notice and ask them if they want to hang out or just meet up
for a coffee. You just know when an acquaintance has friend potential, but often it's a little dicey because you don't know if the person really wants to hang out with you or if they are just being nice when they talk to you. Someone has to go out on a limb and ask if the other person wants to hang out. It is often then that an acquaintance becomes a friend.

What are your thoughts on these questions?

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It's been three months now since I first started blogging regularly and I am as amazed as you are that I have kept it up. :-) Admittedly, some days I am just scrambling to find something to talk about in this blog or desperately seeking something interesting to take a picture of. I also have to work, which leaves me precious little time for my own creative pursuits of which this is one. With this backdrop, I will segue into a slightly funny column I read in sfgate today. I only found certain passages funny, mind you. It discusses man bags. I think the columnist Jon Carroll was as desperate as I occasionally am when I need to find something to blog about. Imagine if you had to write a column everyday and had to be witty every single day. You'd be searching everywhere frantically for suitable topics as well and some attempts are more successful than others. :-)

Finally I come to my picture of the day. It is a bunch of keys and keychains of various shapes and sizes. What is on your key ring? It tells a lot about you whether you know it or not.

Noodle vortex

The picture I took today is a vortex of dried noodles. Try not to get hypnotized by it. :-)

I finally finished my taxes yesterday. Today I actually had work where I had to think. That's good for my brain. It needs a workout.

Sickly sweet

I took the bus home tonight and started smelling some sickly sweet smell from the back of the bus. Just a wild guess, but I think some people are smoking something illegal back there.

Today I took a photo of the old Pacific Stock Exchange building in the Financial District. This has been converted into an upscale gym called Equinox.

Random thought of the day: I really need to get my hair cut. It's grown out into a many layered monstrosity.

Farmer's Market

On Tuesdays, the Farmer's Market takes place in front of the Ferry Building. Here you catch a glimpse of the office folks who crawl out of their cubes to shop for organic fruits, vegetables and preserves among other items.

I finally received the last of my tax documents today and need to schedule some time to prep my own return. I can hardly contain my excitement. (Not!)

Allergies

The warm weather is nice and spring-like, but it's causing my allergies to work up. I've been sneezing uncontrollably the past couple of days, my nose drips like a leaky faucet and my eyes itch.

Tick......tick.......tick. When you have no deadlines, time just seems to stand still.

Gentlemanly

I witnessed a funny scene today at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. The man was sitting in the row boat enjoying an ice cream while the woman was struggling with the oars.

Stow Lake - You can rent little boats here, bicycles and other vehicles to explore the park. Strawberry Hill is a hill right in the middle of Stow Lake.

Happy camper

I'm one happy camper today. Do you know what made my day? It was a little piece of paper from the Goethe Institut in Frankfurt that stated that I passed a very challenging German language exam (Grosses Deutsches Sprachdiplom)!

Initially I took all four parts (Speaking, culture, writing, reading comprehension) of the language exam in May 2007 and passed 3 of the 4. Then in November 2007 I retook the essay portion of the exam. With a lot of practice and some tutoring, I finally passed the essay. Yay!

The picture today is of wontons. You can call them Chinese ravioli if you like.

Homeward bound

Funny how things turn out. I had planned to fly out of Munich Friday afternoon so that I could do some shopping perhaps if there was time. However, it turns out that today, Good Friday in Germany is a holiday. Shops are closed and people have the day off.

Also, the weather is nasty today. It was snowing lightly this morning and now it is raining. These conditions aren't good for pulling out a camera and taking shots unfortunately. Instead of seeing the sights, I ended up in my hotel room doing some Internet research for work.

I had a direct flight from Munich to SFO and watched 4 movies: "Bourne Ultimatum", "Lissi und der wilde Kaiser", "Rush Hour 3" and "Michael Clark". My fave amongst the four was Bourne Ultimatum because it was really exciting. Rush Hour 3 was pretty formulaic. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. "Michael Clark" with George Clooney was a little harder to follow. Lissi had no plot line whatsoever and so it ranks last.

The picture above was taken at the airport in Munich. It's a new model of BMW called the X6. Did you know that BMW stands for Bayerische Motorenwerke?

An ode to German bread

I had a "Power Laiberl" today for brekkie. That's a funny name because it combines Germans' love of incorporating English words into their everyday speaking. I believe "Laiberl" is Southern German/Austrian dialect for body, but someone please correct me if I am wrong on this one. So taken together, eating this bread is supposed to give you power for your day.

There is an extensive array of breads available in German bakeries. Most of them are very hearty. I find that it does not taste as refined as American breads that tend to be sweeter and have less nutrients. Nothing beats a nice warm Broetchen.

It's cold!

I can't believe how cold it is in Munich. It's 32 degrees and some snow was on the train tracks this evening. The weather is one thing I don't miss about Germany.

So the picture at the right is of a blood orange I purchased at a supermarket chain called Aldi. I think I've had Italian food almost everyday for dinner this week.

Reminisce

So some things about Germany are coming back to me now that I'm here again. For starters, Germany has a distinct smell. I don't know how to describe it, but I recognize it every time I am there. It's just like China has it's own smell and so do the United States and England.

Secondly, Germans call a projector a "beamer." The very first time I heard that, I thought the person meant a BMW because in the US, some people call BMW's that, I think I've heard.

Thirdly I like how tip is included in the meals and you just need to round up a bit for the tip. For example, if you meal costs 5.50 EUR, you could just say 6 EUR and round up. Also, if you go out with a group of friends, the waiter will gladly split the tab for you so that you end up paying only for what you ordered. That's benissimo!

Here I am being not very creative with my picture. It's one of the hotel room in its natural state.

Catch up

This fluffy German-style pillow at the Hilton City in Munich pretty much sums up the next "to-do" on my list: to get some shut eye. Usually the first nights are rough and then the following nights jet lagged people sleep more soundly.

So far the team I'm on in Munich seems good. However, the final decision from the jury is still out until I actually start working more with them.

Flight

The flight to NYC was good. They let us use portable DVD players in business class on United. I saw a weird film called Sleuth with Michael Caine and Jude Law. The security check peopel were somewhat rude as they generally tend to be. A little power in the hands of (insert your word of choice here) can be a dangerous thing. They may end up abusing it and think they are so high and mighty.

Gandhi

Gandhi was a giant of a man in terms of what he achieved and how he achieved it. In this picture, he appears to loom over the Ferry Building and Embarcadero office building in the background.

Gandhi used non-violent means to free India from British rule, which inspired Martin Luther King Jr. in his fight for equality as well.

On a more personal note, I am in the process of packing for my trip tomorrow. Much planning and thought goes into this process.

Inverse

The quality of my photos has an inverse relationship to the number of hours I work. So if you imagine the number of hours worked in a day as the y axis and the quality on the x axis, then you have a downward sloping line. :-)

We were treated to Haagen Dazs ice cream bars today and I had pad thai for dinner. Tomorrow morning will be bagels and for lunch we'll have pizza. Do you see a trend here?

Redacted

Redact: verb - to obscure or remove (text) from a document prior to publication or release

This was what I was doing in the office after hours. There are many ways to redact. Some of them range from the low tech (paper, tape and/or Post-It notes) to the high tech (special programs or Abode Writer).

Of course when you are working against a deadline, everything breaks down. The last spreadsheet I had to redact was hard to format, so I ended up redacting using a series of Post-its in a variety of sizes, tape and the word "redacted." Then the printer just had to run out of toner. It happens every time!

But now I have worked my first overtime in my new group and feel initiated.

China People Baby

Today I was begging. Gotta keep utilized or else you look bad at the end of the fiscal year when they hold meetings and talk about you.

I have discovered the secret to sharp pictures! It is shooting in RAW format. There was this guy who took tack sharp pictures and I really aspired to do the same. Then I went to that Photo Meetup and someone showed me a photo he shot with the same camera body as I own. His picture was crystal clear. I asked him how he did it and he said he shot RAW. I am now in love with RAW. Drawback is that files are huge.

Check out this "China People Baby" doll I got for free in Beijing. You can see the clarity and sharpness.

Double helix

While I was having lunch today in the lunch room, I saw that another scandal has popped up in politics. This time it involves Eliot Spitzer and a prostitution ring. I don't follow politics that closely, but I do remember him as a district attorney who was trying to make a name for himself. A couple years ago he was in the news all the time, prosecuting this or prosecuting that. He was trying to raise his profile as the good guy. Now see what sort of poor judgment he displayed as a public servant! I bet his foes are licking their lips at this juicy story.

Getting to my photo of the day, I took a photo of a spiraling stair case at the Embarcadero. I had never seen that area before so that was cool.

Bling bling

Funny how a wide angle lens can make a Toyota look larger than it actually is! I shot with the RAW format for the first time and think it actually results in clearer pictures. However, after I converted it back to a JPEG, it seemed to have lost some of its sharpness again. Oh well, I will just have to learn how it works or take a class.

Dumped

Another great example of how the Brits create brilliant television programming... I read a Salon.com article this morning about a reality show set in a dumpster. Here's a link. The premise is that a diverse group of participants are sent to a landfill to "survive" for a certain amount of time. I especially like how the group worked well together as a team. This is a refreshing change from the scheming survivors seen on American shows. The Brits probably have wittier commentary as well.

Got pig?

I'll be able to return to Germany for work purposes the week after next. Although it will just be for four days, I'm psyched about it! How cool is that?

In German there is an idiom that literally means to have pig. Figuratively it means someone is lucky. Sometimes all we can see are the negative things in our lives, but there are actually many little things to be thankful for.

Above you see the Bay Bridge through the legs of a huge spider. Okay, the spider is just public art.

Sitting on the dock of the bay

I took a much needed walk during my lunch break today. Sky was overcast, but it was nice to get out and get some fresh air.

This is a picture I took during my walk. It features the Bay Bridge, someone sightseeing and a white gull.

One small step

I finally made it to a networking event for photographers. This was one small step towards becoming a better photographer. I met some interesting people with different stories. For example, someone spent 6 weeks photographing things and people in Africa. Then from someone who worked at Apple, I found out what Lightroom was and how it relates to Photoshop. Also, someone with the EOS 5D encouraged me to try out shooting in RAW format. Basically it was a good way to share ideas and learn from others. I'm glad I pushed myself to get out there. Actually it was really easy to talk to everyone and this is coming from someone who is definitely not an extrovert.

By the way I took this picture of the Ferry Building in the evening when I was heading towards the meeting location. I like the totally different look.

Dentist visit

So I went to the dentist today. I like how they always stick a bunch of tools and devices in your mouth and then ask me questions as if I could answer with a saliva vacuum and another cleaning thingamajigger in my mouth!

Despite that, my teeth now feel much smoother when I floss or glide my tongue over them.

Paper cut

Paper cuts really hurt and so do sensitive teeth.

This is a picture of the Bank of California. I didn't know it existed, which goes to show that you learn something new everyday.

Sunday - domenica - Sonntag

Today I took my EOS 5D on an excursion to the Botanical Gardens. This time the lens was protected by a polarizing filter. You can just turn the ring and see different color effects right there without using Photoshop. That's cool!

The weather was an exceptionally fine today for a walk. As I was walking, I noticed a bicyclist zooming by. He turned his head to look at this woman walking on the sidewalk. Then he laced his fingers behind his head, leaned back on his bicycle and pulled his elbows back. This had the effect of puffing out his chest and making him appear larger. Then he did more flexing and stretching. I don't know if he knew he was preening, but it was definitely entertaining to observe.

Palace Hotel

Sometimes I think downtown SF is being used like one huge public toilet.

I went into the Palace Hotel today at New Montgomery and Market St to take a photo of its atrium. I'm surprised no one accosted me.