Browse Category: outings

‘S Wonderful

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On Saturday morning, we dropped the dog off at the “hotel” and drove down to LA for the weekend. We made it to Cerritos by 5 pm and had dinner with Jes’ parents before heading up to Hollywood Bowl.

I bought tickets to “An Evening with Diana Krall” a couple months ago and it was finally time to see the show. Going to Hollywood Bowl is one of my favorite summer activities and I was so happy to be able to enjoy this even after we had already moved to SF. I was sitting there taking in the sounds and the people thinking it was as if I had started a book, put it down to start a new book, and then picked up the old book again. I don’t know if that makes any sense but for a moment I felt like we had never left Southern California. This was how we were supposed to spend our summer…under the stars with the warm summer weather and a bottle of wine. Diana Krall was awesome, as expected and she surprised us with her dry sense of humor throughout the show.

dsc_7959.jpgWe spent the night at Johnny’s place and got to play a little Wii in the morning. We also went for a 5-mile jog down to the end of Santa Monica Pier and back. It was pretty warm outside and there were plenty of people at the beach. Once we got back and showered, it was off to Cerritos to have a birthday lunch for my dad. His birthday is tomorrow and it was fun to see everyone together again – including the Suminos.  Here are the photos.

We flew back to SF this afternoon, arrived around 7, and rushed over to pick up the dog. He seemed OK and not too traumatized by his brief time in the “hotel”. He did, however, come home really thirsty and then passed out on his doggie bed. I hope it wasn’t too bad for him.

What a great summer weekend. It was over 90 degrees down there, which was nice but a little too hot for my taste. It’s such a contrast from the fog that we encountered as we drove across the Bay Bridge this evening and they are certainly two different stories. I suppose I’m done with my LA book and ready to continue my SF book for now. Let the adventure begin!

feeling homeless

dsc_7475.jpgI went into the city today in hopes of signing the loan docs on our new condo in the morning. Unfortunately, the bank was dilly-dallying and so I spent all day just hanging around with nothing to do but wait for a phone call from Jes.

My day of wandering started when I picked up a sandwich and coffee and ate on some random steps in front of a building. Luckily there were other people doing the same so I didn’t totally stand out. Later I roamed around and checked my email at the Apple Store. Once that got old, I walked over to the Ferry Building to check it out. I’d never been there before and was pleasantly surprised at all the cute little shops they had there.

For lunch, I met up with Susie. We had pho and it was tasty. Afterwards, I headed south of Market where I found a cool Cartoon Art Museum on Mission & New Montgomery and strolled that for a little bit. By then, my feet were getting tired so I thought I’d find a good place to set-up camp. I contemplated taking a nap in the park but decided to walk around the Metreon. Luckily, I found the food court where they had free WiFi. Sweet! Ah, a place to sit down. After about an hour, I was getting sleepy and was very tempted to put my head down. I felt like such a bum.

Finally at 3:30, Jes called and said to meet him on 1st St. We went to get some cashier’s checks and then to the title company. We finally signed the papers this afternoon around 4:30 and it felt so good to have it done. If all goes according to plan, we should be picking up our keys on Thursday. Yay!

Afterwards, Jes decided to go back to work so I took the bus home. On my way home, I realized that I didn’t get the house key from Jes. So, here I am, sitting on Jimmy’s front porch, surfing the internet, and waiting for Jes to come home. I can’t wait to have a place of my own.

on display

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This summer, I entered my first photography competition and it was for the Orange County Fair. I didn’t know it even existed until my instructor mentioned it to me last Fall in my photography class. Apparently, it’s a very popular contest and they receive more and more entries each year. It’s open to all Orange County residents and my photography instructor encouraged me to enter this year’s competition. So, I shot a couple rolls of film a couple months ago and printed one of them in the darkroom. I submitted the photo in June and it got accepted!

On Thusday night, I went to the “Judge’s Walk Through” to learn a little more about what they were looking for and what they liked about the winning photos. Someone said that there were 2100 entries and 1098 were accepted into the show. Not too shabby for my first try! I was just hoping to make it on the wall so I’m pretty happy. They gave out first, second, third, and honorable mention in each division. I didn’t place but it was really neat to have lots of people viewing my work.

The Orange County Fair started last week and my photo is now on display for the “world” to see for three whole weeks! If any of you are going to the fair, go to the Visual Arts Gallery to find my photo hanging in the Black & White section.  The OC Fair ends on August 5th and is closed on Mondays. 

On Saturday, Jes went back to the fair with me to check out all the photos and to see mine amongst the other entries. He said that mine should have won but I think he’s a little biased…just a little. Haha. Afterwards, we stuck around and took in the sights and sounds of the fair. We saw the fair’s largest onion, cows (of course), and lots of interesting people everywhere. As Jes guzzled light beer throughout the evening, I enjoyed a genuine caramel apple with nuts. Sorry, no fried Twinkies or Snicker Bars that night.

Here are photos from the fair. Enjoy!

Family Day at the Movies

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The last movie I saw in a theatre was “Finding Nemo”. When did that come out? I can’t remember but it was a looooong time ago. Well, I broke the dry spell by going out to El Capitan to see “Ratatouille”. We also broke my mom’s dry spell of over 30 years. She never goes to the movies because it usually makes her sick. I think I have something very similar but not nearly as bad. Anyway, I drove my mom and dad to Hollywood and met up with Brother and Joy. With all the traffic and Harry Potter Premiere chaos, we made it just in time to see the pre-show.

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Disney certainly knows how to put on a show for the kiddies. They had singing, dancing, and the beloved Disney characters on stage. They also introduced Remy, the main character of the movie. It’s funny that Disney actually managed to make a rat seem cute. In fact, when he popped out of the pot on stage, you could hear everyone say “Aw!”

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Well, the movie was as entertaining as I had expected and the short film at the beginning was a real treat. Going out with the family was also a nice treat. Thanks for planning it, Brother! And nice job on not getting sick, Mommy!

Field Trip!

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This afternoon I went on a little field trip with my photog class to Crystal Cove State Beach. It was quite fun with the four of us wandering around the beach taking photos of all the interesting little abandoned shacks, distressed fences, and of course the water. I had a great time lugging around my two camera bodies (one 35mm and one digital) and four lenses. Unfortunately with all the lens changing and kneeling in the sand, I ended up losing one of my lens caps along the way. I think I got some interesting digital shots and hopefully there will be some cool B&W photos on my film rolls.

Check out some of the digital photos I took today.

Bowling Party

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It’s been three long years for the Wangs but they made it. Howard will be graduating with his MBA degree next month and it’s time to celebrate. With Katie being born right as he started the program, it wasn’t easy for either of them. Patti held down the fort with a new baby and full-time job while Howard worked all day and went to school all night and weekends too. Patti promised to throw Howard a big party when he finished and she certainly did. We joined them at Lucky Strike Lanes in Hollywood and Patti went all out and booked a private room complete with food, drinks, and four bowling alleys. Congratulations, Howard!

It was great to see everyone including all my mother-to-be friends. Juliet, Patti, and Patty are all expecting girls this year. For the first time in my life I actually felt like the smallest girl on the couch. 😉 How sad…

Anyway, I’d share photos with you but the photo above is pretty much all I have from last night. I took a few more but some dummy (me) accidentally deleted all the photos this morning before I could even look at them. I’m still kicking myself as we speak. *sigh*

Update: Now that I’ve recovered my photos, here they are. Enjoy!