Lie In the Grass, Smell Like Summer

For as long as I can remember, every single summer living in South Bay brought me fantasies of living in San Francisco, where summers were foggy and the Pacific never failed to chill. There's truth behind "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

Now that I live in San Francisco, I still dread the really oppressively hot days but then I quickly recall that chilly Ocean Beach is a stone's throw away. Plus, those days are a rarity, which makes it a lot more bearable. I was made to bundle up, what can I say?

This photo was taken in Paso Robles, California, which is near San Luis Obispo, much farther south from where I am and a lot (A LOT) warmer. It was lovely lying in the park nearby the library in what seemed like the middle of the town. Next time, I look forward to visiting the vineyards instead of just passing through the town like we did this time. Next time. Next summer perhaps.

It's coming to an end but then my favorite season is upon us. Why my favorite? The weather is absolutely wonderful and, well, 23'ish days from today I celebrate another year on earth. That's something I look forward to every year. So, let's start celebrating my birth-month starting 10/01/2010.

#6 - The Whole Kit and Cat-Poodle

I saw this on I Can Has Cheezburger today and it really does sum up the main difference between dogs and cats:

Nothing like some photos of the stars, moons, and planets to remind me of just how small I am in relation to it all. Really puts perspective on any issues I may encounter.

Cole Valley Eats!

The nigiri combo from Hama-Ko. It was OK. This was my last stop in the Cole Valley Dining Adventure of 2010. (Epic name, isn't it?)

Earlier this year, I made a list of all the eateries in my neighborhood with the express purpose of trying them all. Part of it was because nothing happens unless a list is involved and also, I'd like to be able to say "yes" when friends ask if I've tried a neighborhood eatery. (;

Not technically "Cole Valley," but this was hands down one of my favorite appetizers: Thai tacos from Siam Lotus Thai Cuisine. Bonus: they have $2 pints all day. Aww yeah.... :-D

The Spanish mackerel from Grandeho's Kamekyo was so delicious! I thought this place was much better than Hama-Ko, but its ratings on Yelp aren't as good. Go figure. (:

The lunch combo from Bangkok 900. A heaping serving of food. Yum!

I don't know what other food adventures to go on just yet. I love the idea of having a list and working through it, but for some reason I'm not as excited about the 7x7 list. One of my favorite food blogs has a list, but No Salad's tastes are a little rich for my regular consumption. Maybe I'll get around to making my own Yelp list and go from there! I'll keep you in the loop.

Bon apetit!

Bright and Shine!

I have no idea what the name of this flower is, but the color is insane! I took the photo with my point-and-shoot camera. It's a cheapo ($150), dinky Canon camera with pretty cool macro mode.

Ghirardelli Square

On a particularly sunny Saturday, Dima and I shared a sundae at Ghirardelli Square. It was delicious, but I'm still having a hard time determining whether all the hassle - the long lines, the high price, the lack of seating - was all worth it.

So, yes, I suppose you can put a price tag on a classic San Francisco experience. (:

Oh, and P.S., there's a Vietnamese restaurant in the square called Ana Mandara. I didn't actually eat there but did take some photos on their premises the following week and I must say, the people working there are incredibly kind and friendly. I'd love to go back and dine sometime!

California Academy of Sciences - NightLife

I love this new trend of museums being open late at night for the 21+ crowd. At the California Academy of Sciences, it happens Thursday night, admission is half of what it is during regular hours, and, well, no screaming children. (Some screaming adults, though. Can't avoid those!)

Finally I went to one of these events last Thursday and it was a lot of fun because they also had a ton of board games lying around. (Hi, my name is Chung, and I love playing board games!) And we caught a planetarium show which was very informative (we only have a couple billion years left with our sun... boo).

This was taken in the rainforest area. The back-lighting comes from the ceiling.

Jellyfish - so pretty, so dangerous, but so pretty. (:

Hello, Poladroids!

Poladroid is a little program that you drag-and-drop your images into and it "develops" out digital Polaroids. I've been in a little bit of a photographic funk lately so I thought I whip this out to liven things up. Expect to see these images in full - with some updates on my life - in the upcoming days.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Who's Got the Last Laugh Now?

Growing up, my dad would often pack a Vietnamese baguette with some Laughing Cow Cheese. See, here's the thing you need to know about my dad - when he loves something, he's absolutely faithful to it until the end. This is a great quality in a husband and a father, but I disliked it in his relationship to food. It was somewhat difficult for him to try new things on his own.

For a while, I never even bothered trying Laughing Cow Cheese because it stubbornly reminded me of how much he always had some around. And even now, I'm always over-eager to try new things, sometimes to my demise. And then I came full-circle back to Laughing Cow Cheese. I'll suck it up and admit it: that stuff is delicious!

And finally, they've provided a compromise between the two of us: same basic great taste but in a lot of different flavors.

I love some of this stuff on a slice of toast with a little bit of marmalade on top (I'm obsessed with marmalade as of late!). Yum! Maybe dad was onto something.... (:

Help me raise $1,000!

I'm trying to raise $1,000 in the month of September for the following organizations:

• PAWS | Donate to PAWS! | PAWS helps to foster the animal-human bond by helping the disabled, sick, or elderly to maintain their pets. I'm an active volunteer with the organization and truly appreciate the good work that they do.
• Muttville | Donate to Muttville! | You can teach an old dog new tricks. Just because a dog is 7, 8, or 12 years old doesn't mean that she doesn't deserve a chance to find a loving home, right?
• Berkeley East Bay Humane Society | Donate to Berkeley East Bay Humane Society! | They had a terrible fire this year and can really use all the help they can get to rebuild. Please help!
• Humane Society of Silicon Valley | Donate to HSSV! | A wonderful facility that I volunteered with so I can attest to their amazing work and kind hearts. (Fiona Orange, my 11-year-old terrier mix was adopted from HSSV 2 years ago.) These folks really care about their animals and can use your financial assistance to continue and expand their efforts.

Are you interested in helping out your community with a generous donation?

• Donate $75 and get a quick 15-minute portrait session (San Francisco only).
• Donate $200 and get a standard portrait session.
• Donate $500 and get the portrait session plus a DVD with all the high-resolution files!
• Donate $800 and get all that plus $300 in print credits to spend on your online gallery!

To participate, please make a donation and then let me know via email. Forward me your donation receipt and we'll proceed from there!

Please click here to understand how my standard portrait sessions work. All prints and products will be available for purchase as well.

Why should you do this?
Altruism. You're helping out those who can't really help themselves. Seriously. You should feel really good about that. Unfortunately, this also holds some self-serving benefits like tax deductions and, did I mention the portraits? I'm sure you won't mind that these benefits take away from the true definition of "altruism."

Some final notes. Yes, I know it's hard to pick a place to contribute to so feel free to disperse your funds amongst the different organizations listed here if you like. Be sure to collect your donation receipt(s). Please try and spread the word about this so that we get more people to donate donate donate!

My goal is to raise $1,000. I'll aim low so I won't be disappointed. :-D This offer runs through 9/30/2010 so get on it! You have up until the end of 2010 to book your portrait session with me.

Any questions? Just get in touch! Otherwise, I hope to be able to report back with some wonderful news about hitting my goal (hopefully!).

These photos were taken during my volunteer stint at HSSV. Hope you like 'em!

And P.S. - Even if you're unavailable for a portrait session, please consider donating and letting me know you donated because of this drive. It'll make me smile. :-D