Bumbershoot 2007

I love music fesitvals. I came in for the Saturday festivities and was very pleased. The poster art exhibit was really cool. It's really evolved into a community (and respected industry) of its own (I bought a few pieces :) ) There was a sea of shops and booths. And the food...wow! As different bands performed at all the multiple stages, I pretty much had a workout just walking all over the grounds. I stayed 'till night time for the main act: Rodrigo y Gabriela!

Charlotte

The Historic Roseland Plantation was one of the places I visited in my short trip to Charlotte, NC. The grounds were actually closed that day, but the gardner was kind enough to let me in to take a few shots. Charlotte really has that "southern feel". Driving past the city I went through different neighborhoods and discovered in one end of town a lot of old bungalows (lots of brick) and quite a number of boarded houses. The other other side of town was a totally different story with large houses and beautifully placed trees and gardens.

Of course, my main objective was to watch a concert :).....but I did get a few snaps here and there.....

Purple Hazzz

I thought about which picture to post from my recent trip home to the bay area and decided on this one from the ballpark. That evening had a light purple haze and a full moon. I had just arrived from my long drive from WA and felt really great to be back at the ballpark.

Driving Back

It was another 13 hours...but honestly it didn't feel like it. My body was recording the exhaustion, but my mind was still willing and able. I left at 6:30am and was at the Oregon border by 11:30am. I was overtaking a long trailer just when the "Welcome to Oregon" sign came up (so no pix of the sign here :( ). By 4:30pm I was in Portland...just in time for the rush hour traffic :(.

Anyway...I made it :).

Road Trip: First Drive Down to CA

>Program Start...
>Depart WA 11pm WED 06-27-2007

>Arrive Portland OR 1am THU 6-28-2007

>Driver status: tired

>Initiate drive_more: start

>Enter drive_more memo: rest and avoid am portland traffic

>Arrive Eugene OR 2am THU 06-28-2007

>Initiate locate_motel...

>Motel found: Super 8

>Driver status: sleep

>Program Sleep Mode

>Program Reconnect...

>Driver status: charge complete

>Depart Eugene OR 6:30am THU 06-28-2007

>Arrive CA border 11:07am THU 06-28-2007

>Enter arrive memo: woohoo :)

>Arrive SF 4:26pm THU 06-28-2007

>Program End...

>Standing by for next command...

Strength in Words

While driving to the airport on Saturday, I was listening to the public radio station and heard a story about poet Nikki Giovanni and the convocation she delivered at Virgina Tech. It was so moving I was driven to tears. The emotion was the same when I read it in the University website.

Her words were uplifting and released with such potency that it made me believe in the power of the written word once again.

(Nikki Giovanni, delivered at the Convocation, April 17, 2007)

We are Virginia Tech

We are sad today

We will be sad for quite a while

We are not moving on

We are embracing our mourning

We are Virginia Tech

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly

We are brave enough to bend to cry

And we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again

We are Virginia Tech

We do not understand this tragedy

We know we did nothing to deserve it

But neither does a child in Africa

Dying of AIDS

Neither do the Invisible Children

Walking the night away to avoid being captured by a rogue army

Neither does the baby elephant watching his community

Be devastated for ivory

Neither does the Mexican child looking For fresh water

Neither does the Iraqi teenager dodging bombs

Neither does the Appalachian infant killed

By a boulder

Dislodged

Because the land was destabilized

No one deserves a tragedy

We are Virginia Tech

The Hokie Nation embraces

Our own

And reaches out

With open heart and mind

To those who offer their hearts and hands

We are strong

And brave

And innocent

And unafraid

We are better than we think

And not yet quite what we want to be

We are alive to imagination

And open to possibility

We will continue

To invent the future

Through our blood and tears

Through all this sadness

We are the Hokies

We will prevail

We will prevail

We will prevail

We are Virginia Tech

Going under the hood

I don't know what got into me, but after reading articles on the web about some guys who've upgraded their Compaq Presario laptops, I looked into it and found myself shopping for new parts. The low cost of AMD chips, memory, and hard drives was really tempting and I just couldn't resist going under the hood :)

So far everything's working great so I'm glad I didn't break anything (getting to my V2000's processor required me to disassemble a great deal of the board's components). Upgrading from the Sempron to the Turion processor, 512MB more memory (for a total of 1.5GB), and a 7200RPM Hitachi drive really brings out obvious performance gains.

Bottom line: sweet!

:)

Markings Complete

The day finally came. Session 2. Completion of my Giger tattoo by Micah Parker. After constantly looking at the partially finished sections of my tattoo for a month, I was dying to see it in its entirety. We had the whole afternoon dedicated to it and while I was able to tolerate the pain through it all, I'd be lying if I said it was a picnic. After a number of hours, it did start to get sore. And as Micah layered through all the shades and details it certainly did sting.

After finishing the tattoo, my arm had to be treated with some sort of vitamin extract and sealed in a wrap. After about four hours, the wrap came off and it had to be cleaned with warm water and soap, then let dry.

I know I just sat there all day, but I honestly did feel exhausted and once I had finished cleaning my arm and lay on the bed to rest, I fell asleep for a couple of hours.

Of course, as soon as I woke up I just had to go in front of the mirror and look at my tattoo again :) .

It certainly was the artistic expression of Giger's biomechanical I had wanted. I remember in my first session Micah asked why I chose to come to her for this tattoo. I knew the answer, but for some reason was slow to respond (or maybe it was because I had just re-acquainted myself with the feeling of a high-speed needle on my skin ;) ). I wanted to combine several elements from his work and needed someone who could do an interpretation of the fused elements. I definitely wanted an artist who was familiar with Giger's work. Prowling cyberspace for a tattoo artist who fit the profile, I stumbled upon Micah's flash art. My search ended there. Of course, I didn't explain this story the same way when I answered Micah's question. (If I remember correctly, I think I said "...I saw your work on the web and that was it, I knew where I was gonna go for my tattoo...").

Going through the images in my digital camera, I wanted to post this last one I took before I left Micah's studio. 'Just the right image I want for the completion of this entry.

Thanks Micah :)

Centerville stop

I'm back in Utah today for the completion of my Giger tattoo. With some time on my hands, I stop over here in a local Starbucks in Centerville. Last night I was watching the Warriors on ESPN (I know this part should be a Mos Eisley entry...but...nah). I am thrilled that they've reached the playoffs and as a fan I at least get to watch them on national tv wherever I am...and they creamed the Mavs!

Sling Heaven

Woke up this morning and watched the local news...the bay area morning news! Thank the heavens for the Slingbox. My brother setup a unit at his home and wallah!...I am able to watch the Warriors and Giants LOCAL broadcasts (sweeeeeet).

I just watched the evening news...the bay area evening news! Ah yes, KTVU, KRON ;)

Spring Training 2007

This year's trek to Arizona lands me and my brother in a soldout game against the Cubs. Both Barry's were playing (Zito pitching in the photo), temp was 75 degrees, we got sunblock on (this time, yes :) ), beer's cold, priceless ;) Linden and Klesko continue to hit really well and Sweeney hit a home run in the 8th (or was it the 7th?)

Oh....and by the way...we were cruising AZ on a Mustang :). It had a really good kick and we took turns driving and abusing all that packed heat in the hood. (pix below of my brother on the wheel)

Tomorrow we visit Peoria AZ to watch a road game against the Padres.

It's time

"Alright!....No one messes with the Duke!"

Hahahaah......exactly what I had in mind when I saw this in the mirror.....and before I finally got a haircut :)

Rain to Snow to Water

Last night the temperature was so cold it turned the heavy rain to snow...and so morning came and I found my car covered in snow. The temperature was begining to heat up though and by the time I started my car and brushed off the white powder, the snow around already started to melt into water.

drive to work

Revisiting old routes

When you have a lot in your mind, your brain can sometimes decide to run a sub-routine in the background that executes an autopilot sequence. Yesterday, I was sorting through a number of thoughts when I realized I was not on the route home to Woodinville but to my old home in Kirkland! But, hey, what the hell...haven't gone back to Kirkland in a while. So I kept my course and just drove through Kirkland (since I knew a way through to get me back to the 405 anyway :) ). The image above is from Juanita beach, which used to be just a quick walk from my old place.

Salt Lake City

No sirreee that is not the Mormon temple :). It's actually the City and County Building of Salt Lake City. It was a Saturday so federal offices would have been closed...so I really couldn't tell if this place really was being used as a full-time federal building.

I drove around town that day....

shots along the way

Snow Morning

Yup, the snow stopped falling. Now, its just managing to go about with all the slush. Very few people came to the office as the company put out a notice that weather conditions were not favorable. I honestly enjoyed driving in the snow :). A lot of establishments were closed so I headed for the one place that had a high probability of being open.....the local McDonalds :). A McMuffin and Coffee later I'm ready to start my snow day :).

Snow Fog

Snow's Back!

And the odd season continues :). So far it hasn't been as bad. I'll take powder anytime over ice. Driving is no trouble at all for as long as you keep your distance and remember to brake early and pulse the brakes when you have to make sudden stops. You have to give your tires a chance to get a grip :) so stay light on the gas pedal. Accidents still do happen...

Zunday

Oh, just one of those weird Sundays. You're lazy but can't even manage to get to sleep :).

2006 year marker

2006 is the first full year for me in as far as blogging is concerned. Initially, I didn't know if I had anything to say, moreover publish on the web. Not that I had nothing in my mind, but I had doubts on whether I would be able to share as much without feeling my privacy being invaded.

But alas, it resulted in a yearlong series of blogs that multiplied to four...well, four released blogs to-date.

This year's major event, of course, was my relocation from California to Washington.

California to Washington
The Bay Area to the Seattle Area
East Bay to the Eastside
Hayward to Woondinville

I still miss California, but that doesn't take away the fact that Seattle is its own beautiful character and I look forward to exploring more of it. It just wouldn't be fair to compare a decade long experience to a single year in a new location.

The Seattle relocation is not just a Washington state experience, but a true Pacific Northwest one as Canada and the state of Oregon are within under 3 hours of driving range.

That's a lot of ground to cover :).

Alright, break's over. Time to get up and continue on the trail...

Home for the Holidays

Merry Christmas!....Feliz na vidad....Happy Christmas!

Christmas dinner was at my mom's home in San Francisco. The picture on the left is my mom's Christmas tree. She makes a lot of ornaments by hand. It's not clearly visible but she has one gold ornament for each son, daughter, and grandchild. After dinner, we travelled to my eldest brother's home in Pittsburg (in CA).

It was a working a holiday for me, as I had projects that couldn't spare a break. Being granted permission to work remotely, though, is enough incentive and it's all good. Besides, I couldn't just leave projects behind and worry about 'em while I'm away. In a way, I prefer it this way (alright, alright, go ahead, call me a workaholic ---I do have other "holics" in my portfolio, though ;) ).

Plus, the change in scenery is actually good for productivity :)

My nephew and niece were born in the technology age and I am sometimes at awe when I witness how they are able to grasp not only games but computer software and internet sites with ease (Important Note: they are completely aware of cyber-criminals; constantly reminding me to be careful of what information I provide - good call, kids!). The Nintendo DS happens to be one of the gadgets we all share an excitement for. In this entry's photo, we're playing a Mario game that my niece is able to share with me via a wireless download. They are such experts that I make no ambition to catch up at all :). It's just plain fun for me and I think that's what makes it really enjoyable.

My mom is a master tailor and this was an opportunity for me to bring a couple of pants I had bought that were way too long (thanks, Ma! :) ). And mom, being mom, gets to see what my current measurements are...so the following day I get an extra pair of pants...my mom was shopping that day and got me one (now already cut to my exact measurements, of course :) ).

I wasn't kidding when I called my mom a master tailor. Once I had an old couch and my mom (who asked me what color I liked), came over and literally covered and sewed my couch (paddings, pillows, an'all) in magnificent black, all while food was cooking in the stove. Mom was done by the time we had to eat lunch :).