Golf

Little blue box

Wow, I was quite impressed by the golf seminar I attended this evening. I actually learned a lot of golf basics that I did not know before. It was really worth it and the people who attended were open to networking. And then when I came home, my 5 year anniversary gift was waiting for me. It's a sterling silver necklace from Tiffany's with 2 very small silver heart pendants. You see a picture of the famous blue Tiffany's box.

So, here's an exclusive for my loyal blog readers and I know there are many of you out there following this blog religiously. ;-) I jotted down some notes from my golf seminar and will post some of them here. Maybe you'll learn something new as well and help me remember some of what I heard. Apologies if they are somewhat randomly organized.

- The maximum number of clubs golfers are allowed to have in their bags is 14.
- Proper attire for golf includes:
a) Collared shirt
b) No T-shirts
c) No jeans
d) No golf shoes with metal spikes! Only golf shoes with rubber spikes or normal shoes.
Note: Golf shoes with rubber spikes help you maintain a good grip on the grass. When it's wet and you swing your club, you might slip on the grass.
- A golf course has 18 holes
- Each hole has different pars. A par is your goal. You should strive to hit the ball into the hole in as few strokes as possible. Therefore people who are really skilled do not need as many strokes to hit the ball into the hole.
- A handicap refers to the difficulty of the holes. It also enables people of different skill levels to play together.
- A hole is composed of the tee area, the fairway and then the green.
- There are a total of 72 pars on a golf course.
- Generally it takes 5 hours to play a round of golf
- Golf etiquette:
a) Silence on the green
b) No cellphones
c) Golfer with best score tees off first
- A birdie is when someone gets a ball in the hole 1 stroke under par

Conflicted

Here I am this morning, thinking about the work day ahead of me and the networking event I signed up for after work. On one hand I am well aware that I need to expand my network outside of the office. However, on the other hand going to these events takes time and will divert valuable hours that I could be using to finish up some work or just to catch up on my sleep.

I usually end up being glad that I attended an event because it takes me out of my comfort zone and places me in an environment with new faces and ideas. Hopefully this will be the same. I'll be learning all about golf.

Holiday

Roma

This article from Salon.com was pretty good and inspired me to post one of my pictures from 2007 trip to Rome. Be sure to read the comments because they are part of the entertainment. Oh, to be able to write like that! The language was quite picturesque. You could imagine his experience in Rome. I wonder how long it took the author to write this piece. I especially liked the part where he mentioned the "Visgoths" who were chanting USA, USA.

Americans are very recognizable when they're in Europe. The stereotypical American tourist wears white tennis shoes, which is totally understandable because of all the walking that's done when on vacation.

Silk

Abstract #3

Today's featured texture is silk. It's shiny, smooth and sleek. The buttons are also knotted in the traditional fashion.

This is the Mandarin collared top that I had tailor made in Beijing. I've only worn it in public once and that was to try it on. More often I like to photograph it. :-)

Textures

Abstract #2

Nope, nothing exciting to blog about from sfgate. Oh, I did receive a very nice postcard from a friend who was vacationing in Barcelona. It arrived at my workplace. I like getting postcards from around the world at work instead of boring stuff.

This is a picture of my brown corduroy blazer.

Let's Dance!

Stern Grove Festival

I went to a dance and music performance at the Stern Grove today. The performers were from Alonzo King's LINES Ballet featuring Pharoah Sanders and Hamideen. It was pretty cool to see the dancers. They must all be really comfortable in their own skins because they were generally wearing flimsy costumes that didn't provide much coverage. Plus, you have the eyes of the entire audience glued upon your every move, so that doesn't help. They did not have an ounce of fat on their dancer bodies! Impressive!

I met up with my high school German instructor and another one of her students. It was good to catch up and reminisce about the good ol' days. Since this was a free concert, there wasn't formal seating. Instead, it was a bring your own blanket event as you can see from the picture below. We had a little picnic of fresh veggies and dip, fruits, cheese and crackers. Very healthy so that you don't feel guilty when you snack away!

Abstract

Abstract #1

My cousin is a fireman and a fisherman.

Cup O' Joe

Coffee

There's a hierarchy of coffee places (large chains) in my book.

1. Peet's
2. Starbucks
3. Tully's

I like Peet's because its mixed drink coffees like mocha, chai, lattes, cappuccinos, etc. are less sweet than Starbucks' drinks. Tully's stuff just doesn't taste good. At Peet's I usually order a small chai latte or caffe mocha when I need a little boost.

Of course, if there are unique and quaint little coffee places with great ambiance, I'd like those too. However in our harried lives, it's sometimes just more convenient to pop into one of these chain coffee houses.

One of my favorite coffee experiences was in Berlin. There was a Cafe Einstein close to my hotel where we had breakfast each morning. The chai there was perfect - warm, but not too hot and subtly sweet.

You Go SF!

Pedestrians

Good news for San Francisco lovers.

The city has been voted as one of the most walkable cities in the United States! Yay! Read the article here. Let's break out the champagne glasses!

I'm surprised it even beat the Big Apple. It's no surprise everyone loves the city - even big companies like Google. The company is based in Silicon Valley, but it has opened a satellite campus in San Francisco because most of their employees live in San Francisco and don't want to commute down to the valley. Driving everyday down there adds another level of stress to your life. Who needs that?

The Awakening

Dawn

As a sworn early bird, I tend to wake up pretty early these days so that I can fit some reading and other things in that I really need to get done (like daily blogging!). In the picture above you see a sleepy neighborhood on the cusp of activity.

Yesterday I was in a rush to get some documents printed in the office and of course the printer has to jam! It happens every time. So the monitor tells me where the jam is located and which doors I need to open to remove the paper. I do that and turn little green knobs until I see the evil paper jam. Keep in mind that the copier has been running so the innards are still fairly warm. I'm not going to stick my hand in there! With the clock ticking, I was very tempted to just leave the jam there until the next morning. Luckily a very helpful coworker of mine came over and we cleared the jam. While I turned the green knob furiously, he was pulling out the paper. It came out in pieces and eventually we had to resort to using instruments such as rulers and a scissor. It was like performing a complicated surgery! Funny when you look back, not so funny when you are there!

Heart to heart

Footsie

Okay, here was the photo meant for yesterday.

Tuscany or South of France

Sorry no pic today. It's the fault of Blogger and I had such a unique picture!
Well, I guess it means I had better get to work. It's 9PM and I haven't even started yet! I was 2009 vacation planning. Trying to decide between South of France and Tuscany, both of which are gorgeous destinations so you can't really go wrong.

Reality TV

TV

Reality TV is running rampant in the States. It's all they have on TV these days. It all started with "The Survivor." Yesterday on Bravo, I saw "Shear Genius" which is about hair stylists competing against each other to win some sort of prize. They all live together and get mysterious notes that give them clues as to their next challenge. It was somewhat interesting to see the hair cuts that result and I also enjoyed listening to how the stylists described hair cuts.

Project Runway is another reality type show hosted by Heidi Klum. (How does she have time for all these shows when she also hosts "Germany's Next Top Model"?)

Then there is a show documenting life as a "little person". It's called "Little People, Big World" on The Learning Channel and shows how a family of little people experience with everyday life.

MTV and VH1 have their own shows following celebrities, B-level stars or wanna be celebrities.

German had some reality shows too like "Bauer Sucht Frau", which translates into "Farmer Searches for Wife". The premise of this show is that some farmers in rural Germany have a difficult time finding wives, so they go on this show. Then there were these shows where a nanny goes into people's homes and tells them how to raise their kids and discipline them.

When is the madness going to end? What is the next TV trend? How can we waste more time watching TV?

Centered

Grace Cathedral

One of the crowning glories of California Street is Grace Cathedral. This is an Episcopalian church with a French Gothic architectural style that is reminiscent of Notre Dame in Paris. Inside Grace Cathedral you will find peace and quiet, along with colorful stained glass windows and impressive frescoes. Step inside if you are in a contemplative mood or just want a European fix. This is the closest thing in San Francisco that we have to a European-style church.

A couple weekends ago I sent some emails to non-profit organizations volunteering my time and energy to help them out. I thought I would get a resounding response, but surprisingly only 1 of them emailed me back. The nerve of them! Oh well, it's their loss. I would like to find a way to get involved in my community in areas where I have an interest so that includes the arts and culture.

Since I registered for a photography course in the fall through City College, I probably won't have time for volunteering anyhow. Maybe next year in 2009. The photography course will be 6 hours long on Saturdays from August to December! That's a big commitment of time, but I want to finally take a course. I'm tired of just talking about it.

Nob Hill

Nob Hill

Here is a picture of California Street just as a cable car starts its descent down the street.

The cable car was invented because San Francisco's streets were too steep for horse-drawn carriages and wagons. One day, the cable car inventor saw a team of horses that was dragged backwards when the wagon tried to climb a hill. Poor horses, I can just imagine the pain!

BTW, they call it Nob Hill because that's where all the "nobs" used to live. A long time ago, nob was a slang term for very wealthy people.

How to Spot a Snob

View from the Top

Today you see a view of California Street as it starts to climb and become more steep. Be sure you have enough leg power because you could get out of breath going up this street. Of course it also depends on your pace, but if you know me and the speed at which I walk, you'll understand.

It's funny how we all know which people are friendly and which are snobs, or people to watch out for. It's an instinct, a feeling, a vibe that you sense from another person be it a stranger or a coworker in the office.

Here are some sure signs of a snob:
- You just get a negative vibe from them.
- You are always the first to greet the snob. The snob never greets you first.
- When you're in a group, the snob will never respond to your comments. They will just wait until you are finished talking and then start jabbering.
- When you initiate a conversation with them, they are not very talkative or willing to share or ask you questions.

Crossroads

Crossroads

Here's a picture of California Street as it goes through Chinatown. This is the intersection of Grant Ave and California. Notice the little lantern with bells and the pagoda like structure in the background that houses restaurants.

Okay, enough slacking, must get back to work.

ROTFL

California and Battery

ROTFL - Abbreviation for Rolling On The Floor Laughing

That's what happened when I watched the British mockumentary called "The Office" years ago. It is so funny you can't describe it. Okay, I'll try anyway. :-) The humor is uncomfortable. The main star and one of the producers, Ricky Gervais, who is a comic genius, will say stupid things with a straight face, but you'll be laughing your socks off. You don't know whether to laugh at him or feel sorry for him because he is so oblivious in the series.

I was inspired to blog about him by this Salon article I read. Apparently he's trying to gain fame across the pond here in the States. If you still haven't seen the British version of "The Office", run to your nearest DVD rental store or order it from Netflix! Sometimes you just need a good hearty laugh. Life is too serious.

Back to my photo series, this picture above shows California street when it is still in the Financial District, and relatively flat.

Journeys

California

I want to share with you my favorite street in San Francisco - California Street. Over the next few days I will take you on a photographic journey with me as I walk this street. I really like it because it is pretty steep and it takes you through many different neighborhoods in SF.

On a separate topic, after being back in the United States for over half a year now, I can now more objectively rate the positives and negatives of Europe and the States. In the United States, I appreciate the many freebies that we get like free use of toilets at malls, free tap water at restaurants and toilet seat covers. America is the land of the free after all! In contrast, Italy will charge you for water and often you have to give a tiny tip to the restroom attendant.

Museums

Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco

Buildings

This is the new up and coming museum in San Francisco that was designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. I've never been inside, but I've seen pictures of the interior with its slanted walls and windows sprinkled liberally everywhere.

Fashion

In downtown San Francisco, I see trendy young men who wear really tight jeans just like the girls. I guess they are trying to be hip and cool. These jeans are usually paired with a hat or alternative looking hairstyle. Observing people and their styles can be entertaining at times.

Tourist for a day

Jailbird

"Your English is really good", remarked an Alcatraz employee to me when I requested the audio guide to Alcatraz in German. Ha ha! I just wanted to challenge my brain that Saturday morning by listening to the German version. Yes, as you can see, I have finally realized my dream of visiting Alcatraz. No more lip service, I finally did it. I was on the early bird tour that departed Pier 33 at 9 AM in the morning because I wanted to avoid the hordes of camera toting tourists.

The whole Alcatraz experience cost me $24 approximately including audio guide in German or any other language that happens strike your fancy that day. You could get an audio guide in Mandarin if you're feeling particularly frisky that day. :-)

To reach the island takes only a 10 minute ferry ride. I purchased my tickets online at alcatrazcruises.com. If you're thinking of going to the island, it's a good idea to purchase tickets well in advance because the cruises are so popular that they sell out very quickly.

When on the island, you are given a mandatory introduction from a ranger, who points out the restrooms, the rules (no eating except on the docks), and warnings that the ground may not be level in all locations, so watch out! Afterwards, you can either go watch a brief introductory video about the island or walk up to the cellhouse. I would recommend watching the video first as it provides context for your visit. When you reach the cell house, you get the audio guides, which last around 45 minutes. The stories were kind of interesting because you hear about how some inmates tried to escape and were never found. Also, when we reached Block D of the cells, there's a park ranger standing around the isolation cell who lets a couple people walk in a dark cell and then slams the door shut very hard. Then he proceeds to open the little viewing door to let people take pictures. Finally he "releases" his prisoners who are all smiles. What an interesting job to do all day!

One great thing about Alcatraz is that you have spectacular views of the San Francisco skyline from the island. If you're afraid of bird poop however, I would not advise you to visit Alcatraz because birds now own the island and do their business all over the place. After seeing the cellhouse, there's not much more to do on the island, so you can head back to San Francisco, or do more island hopping by visiting Angel Island. I decided to head back into the city because I had to realize one other dream, which was to ride a cable car.

I got on at the intersection of Taylor and Bay streets and found some seating inside. After the cable car became less full, I got to stand at the back of the cable car where the operator turns some lever. It was SO fun to have the wind in your face and see San Francisco sights sail by! Maybe next time I will be holding on to the rails on the outside. In the picture below you see the cable car operator turning the cable car around.

Independence Day

July 4th - Birthday of the United States

You will see American flags displayed prominently today. Actually, I don't think I would notice if the American flag were incorrect unless it was really obvious.

However, overseas, the Germans seem to be very detail-oriented and observant. On a major German news broadcast, there was a flap over the American flag because it was wrong. See if you can spot what's incorrect about this flag? Flag fiasco There was one more stripe than necessary. I certainly don't think I would have seen it, so it amazed me that Germans would notice it. The station fired some people over this because it was the second time recently that flags were shown incorrectly. They even showed a German flag wrong. Instead of horizontal stripes of black, red and yellow, the red stripe was on top.

Here is a bonus picture that I took today inside Grace Cathedral. I really like the atmospheric glow from the candles and the spiritual and mysterious mood it creates.

Minutiae

Analyze this!

Today was work-free as my employer generously gave us the day before July 4th off. I've been prepping for the Certified Fraud Examiner test, so I thought this picture would be fitting for today. Nothing really exciting to blog about today. Sometimes you're inspired by some daily news or happening, and other times you're not. That's just the nature of the beast.

In terms of local news, there are some wild fires in California. There are so many that apparently the fire fighters have to prioritize the fires and can't fight them all. San Francisco is not affected by the fires, although some days the sky is smoky looking and the sun turns a weird orange red.

Look and you shall find

Prism

A drowsiness that's hard to shake descends upon me. Head is nodding. Must be the big lunch I had today at Kokkari's.

Dusk and twilight

Reminder

I'm staring out the window at the shifting clouds and the sky. The light at dusk has much more character than the light at midday. It's much more nuanced with hints of purple, pink and light blue.

So this is a picture of a ring I splurged on last year in Vienna. I quite like the red color, although I dislike having to remove it when I wash my hands with soap.

My IRS check arrived yesterday. I spent it prior to receiving it; got myself an external flash - Canon Speedlite 580EXII. That's the best way to be patriotic in America - spend money.

Eyes half open

Work

This is my idea of a fun evening - working! Don't worry. I'm just being sarcastic. We all need to work to live, but we should all try not to live to work.

So I noticed that Germany lost to Spain in the European World Cup this past Sunday. Poor guys. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. I'm not a big soccer fan, but I did watch some matches during the Soccer World Cup in 2006 in Germany. It was unavoidable. Maybe the German team could learn a trick or two from Italy or Spain.

Graduation celebration

Appetizers

I've just been celebrating life milestones like crazy this weekend. Yesterday was a wedding and today I went to a family gathering to celebrate the graduation of my cousin's daughter. It was a pot luck, so everyone brought something to share. We had more than enough to eat - appetizers, main courses, and then tons of dessert (cheese cake, chocolate rum cake, and cream puffs). I'm simply stuffed. Then we played "Catch Phrase," which is a game that requires you to have your teammates guess the word that shows up on the card. It's similar to charades and was side-splittingly fun. Then to close up the Sunday evening, a dose of Britishness with Mystery! on PBS.

Wedding banquet

Champagne glasses

I went to a surprise wedding banquet this evening for one of my sister's friends.
Weddings are very much cultural affairs. At traditional Chinese weddings the bride will don a red dress usually. There were also some Americanized touches such as the throwing of the bouquet and the garter.

Here you see my try at being a wedding photographer. Above you see a detail of the beribboned champagne glasses and below you see the menu for the evening.

Spring rolls in summer

Spring rolls

Can someone have too many interests? I think I would be a prime candidate for this title. There are so many different things I want to do in my free time. I want to focus on photography, research travel destinations, read up on business topics, read mysteries, make cards, study for professional certifications, read up on technical accounting topics like IFRS, do some art, write in my blog, improve my German, learn more Italian, learn Mandarin, research real estate in SF, keep in contact with my buddies, get 8 hours of sleep, listen to German language audio books, power walk, go shopping occasionally, explore the city to capture more pictures, invest and the list goes on and on to infinity.

When you have so many interests, you have to prioritize them. Which ones are more urgent? I really want to improve my technical photography skills so that I can spout photography jargon and scare everyone off. ;-P Also, I need to study for my CFE so that I can place another set of letters on my resume. Just kidding. It's good to know all the ways people can commit fraud because if you one day become an employer of people, you will be well versed in all the ways they can possibly misappropriate assets from your company. Additionally, keeping abreast of the business world and professional literature can also be very challenging.

Furthermore, I want to improve my German. The only way to do that when you're not living over there is to write emails and listen to German radio which I do at work (I love Klassik Radio). I still learn new things from my German penpals whenever we exchange emails. For instance, I recently learned how to say diabetic, which literally translates into sugar sick. How descriptive! Also, I want to know how to use authentic sounding German particles like "denn" and "mal". If you sprinkle them in the right places, your German will seem more authentic! I don't think you can really learn such stuff at school in German class. It just comes from daily exposure to the language as it's really used by the average Hans on the street.

About the picture above: This is a picture of my favorite lunch food at the moment - Vietnamese spring rolls. These are made with pork and there's a sweet and sour dipping sauce that comes with it. I like it because it's fairly light, as opposed to greasy and heavy tasting.

About the picture below: Critical Mass during Friday rush hour. This is when bicyclists get to ride through the city streets with a police escort to protect them from the drivers. Tempers can really flare up during Critical Masses.

Hazy days

Flag Unfurled

This has been one of those weeks in which it's mostly about networking and not really getting stuff done. This is the third firm sponsored event I've been to this week. Today was Advisory's All Hands Meeting on a boat. We had the first part of the meeting on one boat, which was moored to the dock, but rocking side to side nonetheless. I don't think it was really a smart idea considering many people were feeling nauseous because they were sitting down.

Then we all got off that boat to get onto another for the 3 hour cruise around the bay. The one thing about boat cruise connectivity events is that you can't sneak out early like you can for events that are on land. They served a buffet on the boat and the there was a Hawaiian theme, so everyone got plastic leis. That was kind of interesting. I took this opportunity to build my internal network and met people in other groups. In other words, I stretched myself as they say in corporate speak. For example, I found out that two people in the office are Italian and two are from France. That was perfect since I am considering a vacation in one of those two countries. They were helpful with the info they provided.

Aside from that, I am studying to become a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). I need to read a bunch of material and then take a test on a CD. I need to discipline myself and just plow through the reading so that I am ready for the exam.

Volunteering

Teamwork

The weather was picture perfect today for gardening and mulching at St. Mary's Square today! Since this was a company sponsored event, everyone had 3 hours off of work to do some community service and a free T-shirt.

As team lead, I was responsible for distributing T-shirts, food and coordinating in general. The people who signed up were personable, easy going and very eager to get their hands dirty and chip in.

I was spreading wood chips, sweeping and shoveling. I wonder if I'll be sore tomorrow. Look closely at the picture. Someone was wielding a chainsaw for the picture. Trust me, it was just a prop. ;-) Quite amazed me how heavy it was.

Manhole cover blown off in San Francisco Financial District

Caution

I've been trying out my photojournalistic skills recently with the two incidents I've covered. On Sunday it was the San Bruno Mountain fire and today it was a blast that happened a hop, skip and a jump from where I work.

This afternoon a loud blast or what sounded like a crash or explosion broke the afternoon lull in the office. We all rushed to the windows to be rubberneckers. There was black smoke coming from the ground. Sirens were howling. Pretty soon police secured the area with yellow tape and rerouted traffic.

No one really knew what happened. It made everyone jittery and brought thoughts of terrorism to mind. Apparently it was just a blast underground. Here's the Chronicle's story.


Whenever you drive your car, be careful not to leave any valuables on the seat. Thieves can break into your car really quickly. See this video.

Cafe Madeleine

So many sweets, so little time!

Today I went to Cafe Madeleine at 300 California Street for lunch. I ordered a grilled turkey sandwich to go. I have wanted to try out this cafe for while now and finally decided to go there today. This being a Monday, I needed a pick me up, so it was a visit to Cafe Madeleine. I really like the way they decorated the cafe with long mirrors and a chandelier.
Everything is really bright, cheery and elegant looking. The glass case containing the sweet desserts also looked sparklingly clean.

The grilled sandwich I had was okay. Nothing earth shatteringly tasty about it and it was not cheap! Maybe they do better desserts. Not sure if I'll go back. I just wanted to try it out to get it out of my system. ;-) I've got another place on my list of lunch spots to try - the Italian deli at the Ferry Building.

Do you have a favorite lunch spot? What makes it your favorite? I welcome your comments!

Guess what? I can't make it to my reunion after all because I'll be on a plane to Oahu that same day.

News Blitz!

Fire on San Bruno Mountain

Plumes of redish colored smoke are rising from the mountain and threatens to engulf the nearby homes. The bright orange flames were spreading in a thin line across the face of the mountain. Hopefully it will be kept under control and extinguished as soon as possible. Finally fire engine sirens are heard in the distance.

Pink lemonade

Pardon for the lack of posting on Saturday. To make up for it, you'll get two today because I'm feeling generous. ;-)

Saturday
Yesterday I went to a summer gathering organized by one of the senior partners in my group. He invited the whole team to his home for sushi and Japanese food. There were actual sushi chefs at his home making various sushi, sashimi and nigiri. His house was nice without being pretentious. We met his wife & son, his two dogs and two cats. We even got a tour of his wine cellar.

Sunday
Boy I am glad the natural air conditioning kicked in, causing the temperatures to drop to more comfortable levels around the Bay Area.

Think deep thoughts

Diagonal

I receive the Smithsonian e-newsletter every so often and sometimes find gems of articles in there, like this one here. It's about melancholy and the English professor who was interviewed believes that Americans are too happy. They should be a bit more melancholic so that they can be more creative. That's his thesis basically.

Being melancholic is not the same as being depressed he said, because depressed people are passive whereas melancholic folks are actively trying to understand their world better and their place in it.

When I was in Germany, I remember there being an exhibition of art that had the title "Melancholie". The exhibit featured artwork that were melancholic in nature. I think that melancholics are romanticized. Melancholy is just a fancy way of saying sad or maybe introspective.

However, I do tend to agree with what he said about Americans being too happy and addicted to happiness. Often Americans think they have the power to control everything - be it other countries, nature, or their own appearance. Just consider all the plastic surgery that is on the market these days. People can fix any little imperfection they have or think they have. You can bleach your teeth so that your smile sparkles, you can get implants of all sorts, and the list goes on an on.

I also agree with this passage on authenticity, which is such a rare find these days.

"An authentic life is an endless interplay between these oppositions in which one tries to put them in a creative conversation with one another, realizing that the light shines more brightly when compared to darkness and the darkness becomes richer and more interesting when compared to brightness. I'm just trying to call people to return to a balance, to consider that part of human experience that many people seem to be repressing, ignoring or flying from."

Swizzle stick

Kettle

Oh no, not another hot and sizzling day! :-(

Yes, unfortunately the weather is heating up in preparation for the first day of summer. Nothing interesting happened today at work. I will be working from home tomorrow. That means I can sleep in. My employer has introduced flexible Fridays this summer, so I will kind of take advantage of it tomorrow. I guess I'll miss the free bagel brekky tomorrow though.

Yesterday my book "The Photographer's Eye" arrived from Amazon. It didn't cost me a cent because I won that AAA Traveler photo contest and reinvested my earnings in the photography book. Hopefully the book will help me improve my composition skills so that I can win further contests. That would be fantastic!!

Sweet taste of summer

No butts

Do you know what defines summer for me? Fresh, cool & juicy peaches. The ones that are redish, orange and yellow colored are my fave.

I came upon these extinguished cigarette butts and thought I would take a picture of them.

Interesting article on interracial relationships with a strong focus on Asian men who marry/date outside of their ethnic group. There are a couple examples of that in my family. My uncle was actually a trailblazer in this area because he was the first one to marry a Caucasian way back when it was not really accepted. Nowadays such couples are no longer worth a second look at because it's become more common.

Monkey business

Switch

This picture reminds me what a luxury it is to have a light switch inside the bathroom as opposed to outside, which is common in Europe.

One of the major differences between Germany and the United States is that professional women can have children and still remain in the workforce. I see more than one example of that in my work group. There's a female partner with two children. She will be rejoining the team pretty soon after maternity leave. Then a senior manager has a young child and has returned to work. It's less of a taboo here I guess.

In Germany, women get called bad names like "Rabenmutter", which literally translates into raven mother, if they decide to return to work. I think Germany should change this type of mentality and seriously improve their child care system if they want to increase the birth rate. Or more German men could stay at home and take care of kids. Perhaps the family network could be leveraged more. Grandparents could take care of the bambini.

Believe it or not

St. Mary's Square

Today I took a picture of St. Mary's Square. Next Wednesday, I'll be acting as team lead for a volunteer activity at this park where we will be weeding and mulching. I chose this project because it's within walking distance of the office, so after I'm done with my 9-12 PM volunteer stint, I can just walk back to work.

Check out this invention here. It really helps mask the pesky sounds that are inevitable in public restrooms. If only this thing could also emit deodorizing scents. ;-) America should install some of these machines.