July 4, 2010

  • San Diego County Fair

    I haven't updated this blog in a while, but I had to upload these two pictures I took last night at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar.  My first time shooting long exposure photography.  I used a Hoya ND (neutral density) Filter with a 8X (0.9) rating.  The settings on my Canon T1i (500D) were set to Manual, BULB (60" seconds), F22, ISO100.  The lens I used was a EF-S 17-85mm f4/5.6 IS USM.  Hope you like the pics.  I was pretty proud of the outcome :)

     

    The Experience:

     

    The Cliff Hanger:

     

    The Ferris Wheel:

December 2, 2009

  • I Got You

    Leona Lewis - I Got You

    A place to crash
    I got you
    No need to ask
    I got you
    Just get on the phone
    I got you
    Come and pick you up if I have to
    What’s weird about it
    Is we’re right at the end
    And mad about it
    Just figured it out in my head
    I’m proud to say
    I got you

    Go ahead and say goodbye
    I’ll be alright
    Go ahead and make me cry
    I’ll be alright
    And when you need a place to run to
    For better for worse
    I got you
    I got you

    Ain’t falling a part, or bitter
    Let’s be bigger than that and remember
    The cooling outdoor when you’re all alone
    We’ll go on surviving
    No drama, no need for a show
    Just wanna say
    I got you

    Go ahead and say goodbye
    I’ll be alright
    Go ahead and make me cry
    I’ll be alright
    And when you need a place to run to
    For better for worse
    I got you
    Go ahead and say goodbye (go ahead)
    I’ll be alright (say goodbye)
    Go ahead and make me cry
    I’ll be alright
    And when you need a place to run to
    For better for worse
    I got you

    Cause this is love and life
    And nothing we can both control
    And if it don’t feel right
    You’re not losing me by letting me know



    it's been a crazy string of events lately.  culminating in impulsive decisions to be there for someone when they were at a low point.  i came upon a sort of revelation last night.  friendship is a powerful thing.  when you find someone you share a strong connection with, friendship can be the only thing to help you get through it all.  barring past events and history and emotional baggage, if you build any relationship on a strong foundation of friendship, i think there is always a place to come back to when all seems to be lost.  i guess it's taken me a long time to get to this point.  i keep thinking of the quote from one of my favorite tv shows, friday night lights, "there's no weakness in forgiveness.  it takes a stronger person to forgive".  i found myself at that crossroad a while ago, but never did it ring more true in my head than these past couple of days.  i am naturally a giving person.  i don't see it as much as a fault as i used to.  i believe, if warranted, to give selflessly, and someday-somehow, it will give back two-fold.  i want to believe this, so i try to live my life by this.  last night, i came to the aide of a friend in need.  a friend i haven't seen or really spoken to in a very long time.  by the end of the night, i felt good about being there for someone who i thought i would never see again.  i was thankful she even let me be there for her.  of course, there's always a caveat.  don't let people walk all over you.  don't  be someone's fool.  i've found myself in these sitations before.  but it's not wrong to think the better of someone.  you give someone that benefit of the doubt--that little sense of trust.   if they break that caveat, it's no one's fault but theirs, not yours.  but that doesn't mean they don't deserve your friendship.  we are only human.  everyone makes mistakes.  it's not my place to judge.  i just want to be able to look back at my life, and know that i did the right thing; that i was the bigger person; that i would try my best to be there for my friends.  i want to look back at a certain chapter of my life and know that it didn't end as bitterly as i thought it had.  i'm thankful i got that chance last night.  i'm thankful that we can still be friends.

    or, all this could just be the spirit of the holidays creeping up on me. lol.

November 2, 2009

  • Pandora

    i did something tonight, that i shouldn't have. i thought that i was ready. i thought that i could handle it. but as soon as i did it, and as soon as i read what i did, a flood of emotions came rushing over me.

    i wasn't ready.

    i needed to see something; i needed something to be true. i wanted what i kept telling myself in my head, to be true. but when i went looking for it, it wasn't there. it wasn't true. what i did find were months worth of stories and images--too overwhelming to take in all at once. there's a reason i stopped going to places like that. there's a reason, for these past several months, why i tried my hardest to close my eyes and shut myself out from everything and everyone.

    i wasn't ready for this.

    it's all very bittersweet--almost ironic, how things are unfolding now. i don't know what to do, or who to talk to. i'm so confused. i don't know what to feel, or what to say. i feel cheated--pushed out of something that i've wanted for so, so long. i feel angry, and upset. angry because there's nothing i can do. and upset because out of all things, a path i believed i would never see again, is verging onto mine.

    i know that life isn't supposed to be fair..

    but it doesn't have to be so mean..

October 26, 2009

  • Strikers + Camera Raw

    went to the strikers show on friday night. amanda's husband is the lead singer/lead guitar for the band. a good time was had by all. although it was a rockabilly scene, i didn't stand out as much as i thought i would. i took the opportunity to take some shots with my canon eos rebel t1i and mess with the raw setting. at work we've been messing with adobe bridge and holy smokes, if you have a camera that shots raw, you should try and shoot raw as much as you can. the recovery and adjustment range is amazing. here are some pictures of the night. the rest im still working on to upload to my flickr

    original raw file


    adobe camera raw edit


    original raw file


    adobe camera raw edit


    original raw file


    adobe camera raw edit


    original raw file


    adobe camera raw edit


    original raw file


    adobe camera raw edit


    original raw file


    adobe camera raw edit


    original raw file


    adobe camera raw edit


    original raw file


    adobe camera raw edit


    it's like working with a film negative. almost full ability to recover blown out flashes. simply amazing results.

September 9, 2009

  • Labor Day Weekend 2009

    i've never done this much..  in one day..  in a very long time..
    labor day weekend was a lot of fun.  the weather was great.  blue skies as far as the eye can see.  not a cloud in sight.  it was a perfect day.


    my god-sister, jacky, tending to the bbq..


    my god-brother, dwayne, proud of a long day of boarding..


    my god-brother, alwynn, enjoying a beautiful day..


    catching some frisbee action with dwayne and charles.. ps. i love my camera..


    after a long day at the beach, we walked through downtown san diego to catch some pizza and drinks..


    taking a stroll through gaslamp.. seriously.. how can you not love this city..


    ciro's pizza.. best pizza after 10pm.. $2.75 a slice.. heck yeah garlic & spinach.. tomato & basil, also delicious..

    hope you guys had a fun weekend :)

July 28, 2009

  • Long Time..

    it's been a while.. not much has been really going on.. comic-con was this last weekend.. i didn't get to go, but a lot of my friends did.. they said it was really fun.. next year, i'll definitely have to go.. i always end up putting off early registration, and by the time the con comes around it's already too late.. i dont know.. i guess i should be more exciting for events like that.. but i've just been in sort of a funk lately.. i guess amanda was right.. xanga is the place where emo thoughts go to die, haha..

    i guess i've been trying to not let my thoughts get the best of me.. i'm doing alright, for the most part.. i mean, i'll live.. but, some days are better than others.. and then there are the days where every waking moment is filled with anguish and despair.. loneliness and an immense sense of loss..

    your birthday was a couple of weeks ago.. i never got to wish you a happy birthday.. for as long as i've known you.. even when we weren't together or really talking to each other.. i always made the effort to at least wish you a happy birthday..

    but not this year..

    and it makes me sad that it's come to this.. i think that's why i haven't been around here much lately.. this blog is filled with thoughts and memories of you.. and as much as i try to erase you from my life.. i can't, for the life of me, imagine ever getting rid of these entries.. i figure, maybe one day, i can look back to this blog and maybe write a new york times best selling love story..

    but of course, in my book.. there'd be a happy ending..

June 15, 2009

  • Just Not Into.. Me?

    so i just finished watching "he's just not that into you".  i know, it looks like a total chick flick, but i think it's more than that.   i think there are views from both the female cast, and the male cast, that are both equally important.  i really liked justin long and ginnifer goodwin's characters' storyline in particular.  at first, i saw a lot of myself, mannerisms and hopelessness, in the character of gigi.  i know, it's a female character, but it was her hopeless romantic view points that i identified with.

    when i was younger, i was as hopeless as hopeless romantics get.  i pined away, girl after girl, hoping someday i would be lucky enough that one of them would return my affection, that they would reciprocate the love i had for them.  eventually, i found someone who did.  i found someone who i thought i could spend the rest of my life with.  and it was special.  and i thought she was "the exception".  turns out, i was just "the rule".  and much like jennifer connelly and bradley cooper's storyline, their love faded, and so did ours.  not so much on my side of the story, but more on her part.  there's a line at the end of the movie that i take to heart, whenever i feel like giving up.

    "...maybe this happy ending doesn't include a wonderful [girl].  maybe it's you. on your own.  picking up the pieces and starting over.  freeing yourself up for something better in the future.  maybe the happy ending is just... moving on."

    after hearing it, something finally clicked in my head.  something finally happened in my heart, and changed the bitterness and resentment to understanding and acceptance.  i have no doubt that she will be succesful and happy.  I see now, that maybe she wouldn't have those things if i were still in the picture.  this is not to say that i am not deserving of that happiness also.  or that i was not worthy, or good enough to be happy with her.  but i see now that maybe her path and my path in life were just too far apart.  that maybe our paths were never meant to intertwine, hoping one day to become one solid road.

    but does that mean i'm going to give up?  shut myself out and push away people, or someone, that i might end up happy with?  as much as i liked justin long's character in this movie, i dont want to be that jaded guy.  i dont want to realize that i've been living behind a wall.  i dont want to have to wait to drive to someone's door in the middle of the night just to return a pen.  i want to know exactlty when it happens, when it does happen.  i want to be like i was before.  when i was younger and romantic.  before the heartache and pain.  we are capable of giving so much love.  i thought maybe i had nothing left.  but i know i still have something to give from within this heart broken heart.  if i didn't have anything left, then it wouldn't have hurt so much.  so maybe.  just maybe.  one day i hope i can look back at the rest of the line from the movie and know that i've found it.

    "...or maybe the happy ending is this.  knowing that through all the unreturned phone calls and broken hearts. through all the blunders and misread signals.  through all of the pain and the embarrassment.  you never ever gave up hope."

    so i have to promise this to myself, and only to myself.  i will not ever, ever give up hope.

    goodnight.

May 17, 2009

  • Separate Ways

    Teddy Thompson - Separate Ways

    Come rolling into town unaware
    Of the power that you have over me
    And what am I to do
    With hello how are you
    Nothing’s ever said that should be

    And I don’t care about you
    If you don’t care about me
    We can go our separate ways
    If you want to
    The ties of love are strong
    But they can be undone
    And we’ll go our separate ways
    If you want to

    I’m turning into me, not you
    I can change my mind not my blood
    And not all who love are blind
    Some of us are just too kind
    We forgive too much
    And never speak our minds

    And I don’t care about you
    If you don’t care about me
    We can go our separate ways
    If you want to
    The ties of love are strong
    But they can be undone
    And we’ll go our separate ways
    If you want to

    I’m giving up on you
    And I’ll turn my heart to something new
    And we’ll go our separate ways
    If you want to

    I stood out in the rain
    Holding my breath
    Waiting for you
    You never came
    You broke my heart
    You broke my heart
    I know who’s to blame
    You’re to blame

    And I don’t care about you
    If you don’t care about me
    We can go our separate ways
    If you want to
    The ties of love are strong
    But they can be undone
    And we’ll go our separate ways
    If you want to...


    i have to do this. i have no other choice. you've hurt me for the last time. you will never break my heart again.

    ever...

April 26, 2009

March 31, 2009

  • Clogged Tubes

    i know, i'm sorry. it's been way too long since i've posted anything worth reading here lately. every time i try to send an email post from my phone, it never shows up. i've already contacted xanga tech support and they fix it relatively quickly, for a day. then it goes down again and my email posts are lost in the aether. *sigh*

    in other other news. jasmine's been away for about 5 weeks now. she's in rhode island for training. she's going into the navy as an officer. it's been a pretty hard time, for both of us, but for her more. she only gets a chance to use the chaplain's phone every sunday after church, and even then there's such a long time of people waiting she only has about 10~15 minutes to use it. she calls her family of course, and if i'm lucky i can have about 5 minutes on the phone with her. she's also written me letters. i'm doing the notebook thing, and writing her a letter every day. before she left, she said it would be kind of ridiculous for me to write so much, but as soon as she was there, she realized how much support and help she could get, and told me to keep writing as much as i can. we also get to email from time to time, but again, not as often as we'd like. she's had a rough first 4 weeks. but she's hanging in there and doing really other. she's passing all her tests and other than her and another girl, they're the last two females in their class. i really am proud of her. i wish i could support her more, but there's not much i can do, other than write her, keep her in my thoughts, and pray for her. so if you have a second or two, send her some good vibes and let her know someone's watching out for her. thanks :)

    hmm, what else has been going on? i guess my life's kind of been put on hold til she get's out. she's got another 7 weeks to go, and even after she graduates, she'll have to go down to the official naval officer schooling down in athens georgia. then she'll be there for about 6 months i think. but at least while she's there i can come visit her, or she can come out and visit me. they'll give her time out, just like a normal school. so i'm hoping for that. i do miss her like crazy though. she's all i think about lately.

    anyways, enough of me being emo. i'm off to write her another letter. til next time.