Look and you shall find

They dream

I was searching for something photo-worthy during my lunch hour today. My feet automatically led me to the Embarcadero because it's such a wide open space with the water from the Bay oh so close. I also like it because it generally doesn't smell like urine. Instead you get a nice breeze and a street that just goes on and on without the interruptions of traffic lights. As I was wandering around, I happened to notice a plaque embedded in the sidewalk. It said "They dream". This was one of a series of plaques, but this phrase resonated the most. Above you see the result of my picture taking adventure. You also get a rare glimpse of me, albeit as a shadow. :-)

P.S. - Please remember to vote in the poll that the upper right hand corner.

Salad bowl

Cool blu

On my way to work this morning,
I was people watching.
There were young people, middle aged people, older folks,
people of all colors of the rainbow,
people of various economic backgrounds and abilities.

The diversity of San Francisco is just awe-inspiring.
We may not necessarily like each other, but
we tolerate one another,
and all share the great little city called
San Francisco.

That's why SF (never call it Frisco!) is more like a salad bowl than a melting pot. Each group maintains its own flavor, but everyone's all mixed together in one bowl.

Camera

Someone asked me what type of camera I use. For these pictures that I post every day, I usually use a Canon Powershot G6 with 7 MP because it's more portable than the one pictured above. The G6 is what I carry to work with me everyday.

However, if I'm on vacation or going on a day trip somewhere, and want to take fabulously sharp pictures with a lot of detail that I can eventually print in large format, then I will carry around my Canon EOS 5D with approximately 12 MP. (Pictured above)

Ugly Americans

The tower

I confess. I did the most touristy thing you could do in town. Yes, I braved the camera toting tourists and walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. This was actually the first time I did it.

It took approximately one hour to walk the 1.7 mile span round trip. Actually it might have taken longer as I often stopped for photos. I would recommend dressing warmly for this walk as it can get very windy up there. There are also plenty of public toilets on each end of the bridge so don't worry about trying not to drink too many fluids.

What struck me most about the bridge was the wonderful red orange coloring against a blue sky. Apparently the color is officially called "international orange". I was also surprised that there weren't too many graffiti scribblings on the bridge considering how many tourists walk across it everyday.

When I was taking the bus home after walking the bridge, there was a gaggle of teenaged girls on the bus. In their fresh-out-of-the-mall perfect little outfits, they looked like fish out of water on the bus. I'm not sure where they came from, but they seemed surprised to see so many Asians eventually board the bus. I highly doubt they were from San Francisco because if that were the case, they would have been used to being around Asians. Anyhow, their behavior got progressively worse. They treated the bus as if it were some sort of zoo and took pictures of themselves on the bus with a backdrop of Asians as if we were wild animals. They kept on gawking, pointing and giggling as the bus ride progressed. It was quite annoying. Then the final straw was when one of the girls suggested taking a picture with all of them using their fingers to pull their eyes into slits to imitate the Asians on board. They all giggled some more as if it were some hugely funny inside joke. They didn't end up doing it though.

How could they be so ignorant to make fun of people that way? The joke wasn't even funny! Perhaps they had never been outside of their plain vanilla suburban homes nor had they ever experienced being in the minority. All I can say is that it's scary that such ignorant people like that are running around. They are the people who give Americans a bad name abroad. They are the ugly Americans.

Vessels

Bowls in the cupboard

Proust question of the day:
What would you like to become when you grow up?

I could answer this so many ways. My first dream job was a house painter. Then I moved away from that dream and decided I wanted to become a detective or archaeologist. This was inspired largely by the Scooby Doo cartoon series, in which a group of pesky teenagers and a talking dog named Scooby Doo drove around in their van called the Mystery Machine and solved mysteries.
Great cartoon!

Archaeology interests me to this day because it involves traveling to far-flung destinations to unearth treasures and historical mysteries. Having an aspect of adventure in a job would be awesome! I think it's probably less exciting than most people imagine it, but still it's pretty cool if you can claim at a cocktail party, hey, I'm an archaeologist. Sounds definitely cooler than - I'm a banker, a lawyer, etc.

Being a detective would be kind of cool too. My current job incorporates an aspect of this because I'm working in an area where we investigate allegations of fraud. In essence, you could say that I'm a detective in the business area. Instead of looking at crime scenes, we get to read emails and examine Excel schedules. The more experienced fraud investigators interview the potential fraudsters. In my opinion, the field of forensic accounting is one of the most exciting in the business world. The whole Enron debacle pushed forensic accountants to the fore of public attention.

Other interesting jobs would be a travel photographer, or travel writer. What makes this job appealing? It combines travel and picture taking - two personal passions.

Smile

Smile, it's Friday!

I successfully resisted the siren call of the vending machine at work today. The colorful bag of M&M's were calling to me from behind the shiny glass, practically begging to be bought. I had contemplated it for a moment, but then decided to be strong. No M&M's for me, instead there were nice healthy baby carrots in the fridge. True, baby carrots didn't really satisfy my craving for sweets, but I'm glad I did not succumb. Gelato was waiting for me at home.

P.S. - There's a new poll on this blog. See the top right corner and be sure to cast your vote!

Fritz

Desperate times call for desperate measures

Today I didn't have time to wander about in my lunch hour, so a picture of Fritz with his crooked smile will have to suffice today. :-) Actually, a macro lens doubles very well as a lens for taking portraits. I really like the fuzzy background as you can see from the picture above. This keeps the focus on the face.

I tried to power through the day, but as 2:30 came along, I was itching to take a walk or get some fresh air away from my cube. Sometimes taking a break does wonders and when you approach your work again, things start coming to you more quickly.

You can look, but don't touch!

Have you heard this phrase before?

Well, in Italy you can't even look now because that could lead to jail time and a fine. See article below, which came from Salon.com's Broadsheet column. Molto interessante!

Tonight after work I went to an event at the World Affairs Council, which had a interesting talk about worldwide criminal organizations.


From Salon.com "Strangers on a train ... under arrest?"

If a man sits too close to a woman on a train or stares at her intensely for an hour or so, can that qualify as sexual harassment? Lawmakers in Lecco, Italy, apparently believe so. Though the Roman hands in the rest of Italy may have a penchant for harassing women in the street, a man in that northern town recently received 10 days in jail and the equivalent of a $63 fine for fixing his eyes on a female commuter on two separate occasions. The court claims that it will explain this odd decision in the future, but maybe now is the time to figure out where the boundaries lie.

Looks can't kill, but if a stranger keeps his eyes glued to your body for an entire hour without your consent, he's bound to make you profoundly uncomfortable. Yes, he. As many a liberal arts professor has noted, the intense gaze of a man can send messages that a woman's usually doesn't. These messages include unsettling predictions like "I am going to kill you," "I am going to rape you," or "I am going to kill and rape you -- it doesn’t matter in what order." Anyone who receives concentrated ogling from a guy she doesn't know is right to err on the side of caution. There's no way of knowing if he's merely fascinated by the color of your pashmina shawl. By breaking one social norm, he's suggesting that he has no problem shattering a few more.

However, we enter peculiar territory when we arrest people for acting strangely in public without causing any physical harm, or committing actual crimes. Under certain circumstances, we already find it acceptable to prosecute those who break society's rules. You can't yell theater in a crowded fire or make jokes about airport security while going through a hijacking, or something like that. But litigating against acts of improper looking could prove even more ambiguous than legislating speech acts. Unless they develop into violations of personal space, incidents of reckless eyeballing are more difficult to verify. People do so much benign viewing that rendering some mysterious portion of it felonious sounds unreasonable. Also, the potential for abuse is high. You might like to throw a sleazebag in the clink for making goo-goo eyes at you, but your own civil liberties are at stake the next time you're fascinated by someone's pashmina shawl. Let's look on the bright side, though. If some weird dude stares at you for an hour, at the very least he's giving you the opportunity to get to safety before it's too late.

Ciao bella!

Ciao bella - Hello beautiful! in Italian and also the name of an gelato chain store in the US. I got two pints today (hazelnut and triple espresso). I had some this afternoon and it was such a nice little treat. The hazelnut gelato actually tastes kind of natural.

Remaining on the topic of food...
Little did I know how serious the food shortage is until I read about it in the Wall Street Journal. Click here for the article. The first time I got wind of this was on my last trip to Costco. I overheard a customer asking one of the Costco employees about the rice. There wasn't any in the shelves and a sign warned people of the "Limit 10 per card" restriction. The shortage seems to be more widespread than just rice according to the article.

Long live letters

Bananas in black and white

I received a birthday card from a friend of mine today. It was a very nice gesture for her to remember my birthday and also to send a card. In these digital days, sending physical cards and letters is a long lost tradition. There's something special about holding a letter in your hand and reading handwritten text. I plan on paying this forward and spreading the joy of letters and cards.

On a different note, I heard a radio commercial today that I found pretty ignorant. A woman's voice comes on the air and says something like this - "In California kids can go surfing in the morning and skiing in the afternoon. Kids can also play computer games in the morning and watch television in the afternoon. Too many kids choose to sit. That's why 1 out of 3 (not sure of my statistic here) children in California are overweight..."

My response to the ad would be to ask the person if she understands the dynamics behind why some kids are sedentary. It's mostly kids from middle to upper middle class who can afford to learn how to surf or go skiing. These sports are expensive because it requires gear like surf boards or skis. Many overweight kids are not from affluent families and therefore these activities are cost prohibitive. Moreover, these kids may live in dangerous neighborhoods where it is just not safe to venture out of the house.

Fuzzy

I tested out my macro lens in Golden Gate Park today. I've learned that it's very difficult to take sharp pictures without a tripod. This is one of the few photos that turned out sharp.

The young & the restless

I was so sleepy in Italian class today that it made me restless. I had to resort to drinking water to stay awake.

Aside from class, I'm trying to take it easy this weekend - no photo shoots, just some maintenance things that I've put off for a long time. Okay, maybe I'll waste some more time with that Brain game. I'm happy to report that I now have the brain of a nerd.

BTW: This is a picture of an old heart-shaped locket.

Gift

Thank you all for your warm wishes and greetings. Happy birthday, frankfurtsanfrancisco!

One of my gifts to myself is a macro lens. It's been on my wish list for a long time and I've been talking about getting it. Since I dislike empty talk (aka fluff, hot air) and no action, I decided to finally take the plunge and buy it once and for all! Still need to learn how to use it though.

Late night blogging

Here's a picture of folks basking in the midday sunshine in Commercial Street.

Yesterday night I was addictively playing the How Large is Your Brain game on Facebook. It's a total waste of time, but somehow hard to stop. I've improved from a chimp brain to an average Joe brain.

Cable cars of San Francisco

Though I've never tried, it seems like fun to ride a cable car. After all, they are moving monuments. I took this picture early this morning and I think the light really is better than in the afternoon when the light is too bright, too harsh and unforgiving.

Mission Possible

I am on a mission - mission to learn the tools of the photography trade and to learn the secret of perfect lighting.

I have been inspired by the other photographers I met on the shoot in Alameda. Their photos have this special something about it that elevates it above snapshots by mere mortals. Generally speaking it is the lighting and composition that make their photos stand out.

Today in the lunch room I picked up a travel book that had an article on San Francisco. The photographer took a photo of the Ferry Building interior similar to the way I captured it above. However, I noticed the magazine's photo had warmer lighting. Probably taken close to sunset, one the best times for warm light. Also, the photo captured more humans, therefore making it more interesting to the magazine readers. This type of analysis and comparison is the first step in improving I think. I need to take a class or workshop!!

Jungle fever

Picture of the day: Potted bamboo at the Embarcadero
Headlines in the news: Obama thinks people in Pennsylvania are bitter about their economic prospects and that's why they cling to religion and guns. This leaked out into the media and now his competitors are milking his indiscretion for all it's worth. This is one of the most exciting races for the US Presidency I've ever experienced!

If I may continue my list of things that Europe (generally) does better than the States or vice versa ...

1. Dedicated bicycle lanes - In Frankfurt more "normal" people bicycled everywhere. I saw old folks, teenagers, housewives, etc. Here in San Francisco, you have to be pretty brave to bike to work on the crazy streets where gigantic SUV's share the road with bicyclists. Most of the people who bicycle in the city seem like they are pros. You'd almost have to be in order to navigate the streets of San Francisco and reach your destination unscathed and with your sanity intact.

Indulge yourself

Yes, today is Sunday and a time to indulge in some thought-provoking reading of trashy celebrity gossip mags. Those things are full of pictures and are similar to high caloric junk food for your brain because they do nothing nutritionally, but we all enjoy it once in a while.

My picture of the day is of a straw hat balancing on a fence close to the bowling greens at Golden Gate Park.

Industrial shoot

What do you do on a very warm Saturday? Go on an industrial photo shoot of course!

I joined other photography enthusiasts this afternoon in Alameda for this event. It was pretty cool (figuratively speaking) and challenging at the same time because we went to an abandoned government site to do a shoot. It challenged me to seek out the aesthetic where most viewers would only see an uninteresting industrial wasteland. I took a total of 34 images and ended up with only a handful that I thought were ok.

Another reason it was a cool event was that the other photography enthusiasts I met were very down to earth people and open to getting to know other shutterbugs. I did not notice cliquish behavior, which really recommends the group. Most people were very approachable and friendly. Overall, the event was very well organized. The only drawback was the sweltering sun pounding down on me. I would have enjoyed it even more had the temperatures been cooler.

Happy Anniversary!

Today was a Jamba Juice kind of day because it was quite warm at 69 degrees. This was lunch actually and it's nice when you want to sip a meal at your desk while hunched over your laptop.

Today is also my two month anniversary of working in my current position. I've gained many new enriching experiences since my first day on February 11. On one project I had to quality check documents. On my current project I get to refreshen my accounting skills because it requires me to understand debits and credits and analyze journal entries.

Frames

Picked up my new glasses yesterday. I asked for redish frames and was recommended these here. The colors are red on the outside and light blue on the inside. It brightens my day literally. Also the service at my optometrist is impeccable. They gave me a little bag with my glasses case, two cloths to wipe the lens with and lens cleaning solution.

Switcheroo

Apologies for the misinformation in yesterday's post. The Olympic torch was run through the streets of San Francisco today. It arrived yesterday in this fair town under the cover of darkness.

I couldn't really miss out on the action, so a coworker and I decided to join the crowds to check out the commotion. There were huge gatherings of people all over the Embarcadero as you can see from this picture taken from the office. There was a band, and traditional Chinese performing artists like lion dancers and dragon dancers to entertain the crowd until the torch arrived. I must have seen the dragons walk in circles 20 or more times before I decided to hightail it back to work. Below you'll also see a picture of a tired dragon resting. Luckily I left when I did because the torch would never arrive. Instead it was rerouted to avoid the crowds and protesters.

True, it must have been disappointing for the crowds of people who were eagerly awaiting the torch at Justin Herman Plaza, but I think it was a good executive decision on the mayor's part to have switched the route to avoid too much public disruption.

The protesters I saw were relatively peaceful. You had the pro-Tibet and then the pro-China demonstrators who were waving their respective flags.

Just as an aside, I think the cops in San Francisco have a much cooler uniform than the police in Germany in their greenish-yellow uniforms that make them look like forest rangers. Neither of them can beat the Italians in terms of cool police uniforms though. In Italy they've got many different types of police, each with their own spiffy costumes! :-)

Surprise, surprise!

Today San Francisco had the honor of being the only city in the United States to host the Olympic torch. The torch was supposed to stop pretty close to where I work, so I had planned to capture some of the action this afternoon. However, some sudden work came up, so I had to nix that idea.

Then when I got home, I spied a little yellow cardboard box the size of a video tape. I immediately recognized from the packaging that it was from Germany. Since I wasn't expecting anything, I was a very pleasantly surprised to discover the contents. Yes, it contained those delicious, tangy fruit juice gummi bears I've always been raving about and a handwritten postcard from a friend in Frankfurt! If only every day could be full of nice surprises! :-)

Of trams and the Old World

San Francisco has old-fashioned trams from Italy that run downtown. Here are two examples of the vehicles with Old World charm that I found along the Embarcadero. Tourists love 'em.

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Proust question of the day:
Where would you like to live?

In the Old World. Europe seems like it would be a good fit because I enjoy history, architecture and culture. If money were no object, living in London for a while seems like it would be cool, although driving on the left side of the road would drive me nuts and be pretty dangerous. A couple prerequisites of where I choose to live would be excellent public transportation and a thriving city center.

De Young Museum

De Young Museum

Walked by this museum today to take these images. I've been fascinated by the tall yellow thing that I noticed last Sunday.

I remember going to this museum for field trips in school, but I've never been inside after it was renovated.

Oxenrose

Italian class started up again after Spring Break at 9 AM today, a Saturday. I had to drag myself out of bed and rush through my morning routine to get to the bus station on time.

I also went to Oxenrose to get my haircut this afternoon. This time I gave the stylist clear instructions and was more pleased with the results than last time. We even had a nice conversation, which isn't always the case. Here's a picture of my haircut experience today.

Hanging out with the boys

Scene: A way too crowded subway train in San Francisco. People of all shapes, sizes, colors and ages are squished like sardines in a compartment of the train. Two male young urban professionals are talking on their way to their respective destinations.

Yuppie #1: So... what you got goin' on tonight?
Yuppie #2: Just going to hang with the boys. Grab some dinner. What you up to?
Yuppie #1: I'm just gonna chill tonight. Keep it low key. Tomorrow the game's on, so I'll probably go to a sports bar. There's nothing much to do in this town.

It was interesting to overhear their conversation. I couldn't help it because they were the only ones talking in the train, so it wasn't as if I were eavesdropping. :) (Usually I do smileys with a nose, but just felt like mixing it up.) I can't believe Yuppie #2 said there was nothing to do in this town! His buddy agreed with him too. That's the ultimate insult to a native San Franciscan. For the record, there is lots to do in San Francisco! Also, I thought it was weird that he said he was going to hang with the boys. I would've thought he would use the word guys.

Anyways, aside from that little snippet of conversation, I went to the dentist today. I've been going to them for around 20 years now. How crazy is that? The dentist was using these tools to do some serious cleaning. It was so serious that topical anesthetic was used. After all that scraping, I am truly amazed that my teeth are still anchored in my mouth.

Picture above: Powell and Market streets - cable car turnaround where all the tourists wait to board one of these San Francisco icons.

Mutiny aboard the bus!

I rode the bus home today and a funny incident occurred. The generally quiet crowd was ready to mutiny against the driver. The reason for the frustration was that the driver suddenly deviated from the usual route without telling anyone that the bus had changed its course. To add insult to injury, the bus driver claimed that he was right. I don't understand how he could be so cocky as to maintain he was right, when everyone who got on clearly saw that it was the correct bus.

This morning I read an interesting article about introverts titled "Caring for Your Introvert"

Just imagine how the world would be different if it were ruled by introverts instead of extroverts. :-)

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Proust question of the day:

• Your favorite painter?

It's difficult to pinpoint one painter I really like because different paintings suit different moods. Generally speaking I enjoy the Surrealists like Rene Magritte, the vividly colorful paintings of Expressionists, Van Gogh's works and Sandro Boticelli of "Primavera" fame.

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Picture of the day: Potstickers for dinner. I left my camera at home, so I had to resort to photographing my dinner once again. I really do try to be more creative and vary my pictures. :-)

Greet and walk

Americans are quite the quirky characters. They love, love, love to ask everyone how they are doing and then walk away or don't answer when they are asked the same. It's just a cultural thing and part of the greeting. Unfortunately, this practice makes Americans seem insincere. They ask about your well-being, but don't really mean it nor do they care to hear about how you are.

For instance, you are in an office and a colleague walks by. Someone might say "Hi, how are you?" and then walk on. You might possibly answer in a number of ways:

1. Fine, thanks. How are you? (This formal option is a bit lengthy and people don't have time for lengthy answers about your toothache or the DIY project you just started. ;-) )
2. Fine, thanks.
3. Any variation of the above

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Proust question of the day: The quality you most admire in a man?

A certain "laidbackness" (I think I just made up a word) or quiet confidence that things will turn out right in the end. Quiet confidence is the opposite of arrogance.
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About the picture: This image of a bus was taken in the evening. The public transportation system in San Francisco is called Muni. Everyone in San Francisco likes to bash Muni because it never comes on time, or worse sometimes it just does not show up.

The magic of leafy green veggies

This was my dinner tonight. Kind of tired after a long day at work, but had to take a picture for the blog before I could chow down on noodles, vegetables and dumplings.

Proust question of the day: Your favorite virtues?

Generosity and kindness
If there were more generous and kind people in the world, it would be a better place.