Browse Category: photos

on display

dsc_7322a.jpg

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!

Wine, Cigars, and Teddy Grahams

img_6047.jpgIt’s been so hectic around here lately that I’ve been a little behind on my postings. I just uploaded photos of our night out with our friends and neighbors, Jay and Nikki. It was on one of Jesse’s last nights in Irvine and we thought it would be fun to walk down to the wine bar for a little tasting. We started with a sushi dinner at Mitsui and then walked next door to the bar. It was packed with people but we managed to get a great spot inside. There was a live band playing and we enjoyed a flight of Merlots and a flight of some other reds. I also brought along a “picnic in a bag”, which consisted of smoked mozzerella, my mini cutting board, plates, and a knife. Once we got tired of the noise inside, we squeezed ourselves into the patio where Jesse and Jay puffed on cigars the rest of the night. The evening ended with more wine and a little coffee and Teddy Grahams from the am/pm. So much for boycotting the gas station. Anyway, it was fun to hang out with the neighbors and take advantage our amenities one last time.

Here are the photos.

Virtual BBQ

dsc_7164a.jpg

I spent my July 4th with Marie, Cole, and Kenji. The day started at Marie’s house where we had an udon lunch together at Cole’s kiddie table. Afterwards, I played with his new toys – a bunch of different characters from the movie “Cars”. I also brought my laptop and did some work while I was there. In the meantime, I introduced Cole to the internet. We played some online Elmo games and messed around with the Photo Booth program on my macbook. He certainly got a kick out of seeing himself on the screen.

Meanwhile, Jes was preparing some ribs for the BBQ that they were having at Jimmy’s house. So, we turned on iChat and Cole got to wave to Jesse. Eventually Cole got pretty grumpy and we decided to put him down for a nap. Unfortunately he was so excited by the internet games and everything else that was going on that he wasn’t really cooperating. Before he could start climbing on the furniture again, Jes got back online, looked him straight in the eye, and said “Hey, aren’t you supposed to go neh neh?!” Cole was so scared of him that he walked himself over to the futon with a really guilty look on his face and asked Marie for a pillow. He kept looking over to my laptop to check if Jes was watching. Since Jes was still watching him, it was only a matter of minutes before he fell asleep. It worked like a charm! Marie was so shocked since it usually takes at least 30 minutes or lots of coaxing to get him to fall asleep.

Once people arrived at Jimmy’s house, they came by to say “hello” to me. It was pretty neat being about to talk to see and talk to them. In fact, Jes put the laptop (me) at the dinner table with everyone. It was as if I was seated at the table with them. I could see who was there, what they ate, and could hear what they were saying. All I was missing was a taste of the ribs and a beer in my hand. Virtual BBQ!

The evening ended with dinner at On the Border, a walk around the shopping village for a balloon sword for Cole, and then a nice long walk down to the local park. We sat on the grass and watched the fireworks. We also witnessed a huge car crash involving at least 6 cars and a turned-over truck. Crazy.

Here are photos from the day’s events. Enjoy!

signing my life away…

dsc_6798.jpg

This morning we signed the contract for the new condo and will be FedEx’ed to the builder on Monday.  It seems way too easy.  I guess it won’t actually hit me until I have to make our first mortgage payment.  It’s going to be painful.  Hopefully we’ll find someone to rent our place soon.

Packing has been quite a headache but it’s moving along.  Frames are coming down, books are being put in boxes, and piles of “stuff we’re giving away” are accumulating around the house.  I’m going to miss our little birdhouse.  Unfortunately, this birdhouse makes our new place feel like a fish bowl.  Here are photos of the new place.  If all works out, we’ll be moving in in mid-August.

House Hunt

We’re up in SF this weekend to start our search for housing. It’s crazy how little space you get for so much money. We have a couple of possible places and have decided that we will most likely purchase something. I still think it’s crazy that within less than a week, we’re up in SF looking for a place to live and planning life outside of Irvine. As we walked around, I was scoping out places for Koa to pee and where the closest ATMs were. This is insane.

Oh yeah, we got to see Ryan and Michelle’s newly renovated loft.  Nice job, guys!!  Here are some photos.