Predestination

Psychedelic

I had a "Eureka" moment today and it's represented by the picture above. Okay, so one rainy day, I saw a picture on the San Francisco Chronicle of people holding umbrellas and walking in the Embarcadero. It was a pretty cool picture because as the umbrellas were very colorful against the circular patterned paving that is unique to the Embarcadero. Also, I have seen artists selling pictures of people walking in the Embarcedero with the flooring as a backdrop.

Since I work there, I've always wondered where these guys are taking their photos. Well, today as I was pondering what I should photograph, I wandered into this area. Eureka! I had discovered the secret location of these photographers!!!

I admit that it's not very creative to recreate others work, but I think it's a start. First you try to emulate the photos of those you admire and then you can move onto the next step which is to communicate your own unique vision.

Aside from that little discovery, I stumbled upon this article about birthdays and how they are celebrated in Germany. I agree with the article, which states that Germans do birthdays better than Americans. First of all, instead of being given a cake, the birthday kid is expected to bring in some goodies for the others. I kind of like that tradition. You're basically celebrating your own day and making it nice for others as well.

Exciting times

This picture at left of the San Francisco skyline was taken on my way to work on the freeway this morning.

Today has been exciting on many fronts. First of all, I had my first taste of the work that I'll be involved in. Plus, it's chargeable, I think! In addition, I received an interesting comment on this blog from a Mr./Ms. Anon. Apparently my excerpt about travel mugs in the office struck a cord and resonated with some of my readers.

A funny incident happened at work today. I was on the phone to order a firm cellphone and plan. It was taking a while to get everything set up because there were hiccups related to the number and she was not used to opening new corporate accounts. The salesperson was none too happy to be stuck on the phone with me because I overheard her say to her coworker that she was "aggravated" and still had a lot to do. She wanted to go home like the others because she had already stayed until 7 PM the night before. Now, as a customer on the line who has been going through this ordering ordeal along with her, how would you feel? All of a sudden the line goes quiet and I hear nothing more of her complaints. Guess what happened? Yes, she hung up on me! Whether it was by accident or on purpose I will never know, but had our call been recorded for quality control purposes, this representative would surely have gotten a talking to. Why on earth would you talk so loud that your customer hears you? That is so unprofessional! If she were a good customer service representative, she would have called me back immediately and apologized.

Since it rained today, streets were chaotic once again. Here is an picture taken from underneath an umbrella.

Antics

On the bus: Sandwiched between two rowdy toddlers who keep fighting and a mother who pretends to discipline her children with verbal threats of physical violence. Curious passengers. Craned necks to get a good look at the circus. Continuous ruckus. How do you open these emergency windows again?

Rain on my parade: Was planning to capture some Chinese New Year street fair images, but the rain and risk of getting an eye poked out by the umbrella-wielding throngs proved to be a deterrent.

Colors

Although it has stopped raining, umbrellas still make very colorful subjects. The colors teal and purple are featured at left.

One website that tells you your personal color based on your birthdate is Colorstrology. Try it out, it can be fun.