♪ we sing with our hearts

put down your sword and crown

2009-12-19T14:38:12Z

So it's been a while. Almost seven months, actually. Where does the time go? It's strange how I look at those April pictures and think "My, how things have changed since then." It feels like time moves faster than it did when I was younger, but at the same time its as though more things happen in shorter periods now than they did back in the day. Could Time be trying to compensate for itself?

Enough philosophical chitchat, though. I'm extremely indignant about Imeem getting shut down by myspace. Now all my old links to current favorites are dead, replaced by a hideously orange ipod ad. Thankfully, that big friendly giant, Youtube, is still around and they have a lovely embedding feature that I've put to use. I do miss the blue-greens of Imeem, though. Alas.

This is a song by a group called Passion Pit. All I can say is, have a listen. I promise you won't regret it.

Anyway, so for the past three months I've been in Tokyo! Finally arrived after years of dreaming~ It's been amazing and of course I've taken more pictures than necessary and racked up 1750-plus pictures so far. Eight more months to go! Yeah~

Never fear, I've decided to choose only my top 11 favorite photos---a surprisingly easy task considering..or maybe that just means I took a lot of bad pictures. I tweaked the brightness and intensified the colors for the first seven, but I couldn't bring myself to edit the last three, which were taken during my program's weekend trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima earlier this month.

09.24.2009 A shot that epitomizes my host family's personality. My host dad painted that wall blue, that's his electric guitar and bear head mask, the thin guitar is my three-year-old host sister's, and the dog loves me. He's sleeping next to me as I type, in fact. I will miss them dearly come February.

09.28.2009 I like getting off a bus stop early so I can cross this bridge, especially on nights like this. Not to mention I'm really happy my host family lives right on the Sumida River. I love water; maybe that explains why I've always stayed somewhere on the Pacific Ocean.

09.30.2009 Taken in a cave in Hasedera Temple during my program's trip to Kamakura. Nothing brilliant or inspiring to say. I just really like this picture.

09.30.2009 You can't come to Tokyo and not take at least one shot of one of the crazy crosswalks in Shibuya or Harajuku. My choice was the one in front of the big screen over Starbucks outside of Shibuya Station, partly because it reminds me of that lovely film "Lost In Translation", but mostly because it shows how dynamic this city can be. Also notice that EVERYONE has an umbrella. Umbrella wars galor that day. As it was only drizzling, the inner Seattleite in me felt more than slightly appalled.

10.01.2009 After my first trip to Asakusa, I came home a bit late and felt the urge to get a good nighttime shot from the top floor of my apartment building. The apartment across from mine looked like a promising subject, so I tried snapping a few quick shots and this was one result. It reminds me a lot of city life and, having lived in relatively large cities for the past three years, that's probably why I like it despite its blandness.

10.18.2009 One fine October day, I went on my own to the Nezu Museum in Omotesando, and was happy to discover it's possible to experience the full beauty of fall leaves without leaving the city. Another thing I love about Tokyo is that I can go to places like museums on my own, but I can just as easily hang out with some friends for an afternoon at a cafe or at places like Harajuku and Shinjuku. Oh, and I love my canon's focus feature. That was one of the reasons why I bought it despite having a perfectly good (albeit lacking a focus feature) nikon.

11.07.2009 Near Hibiya Park in Ginza. Old Tokyo---need I say more? Those movie posters were legit! Faded, sixties film posters, checkboard tablecloths, dark, eclectic, and right under the train tracks. I was transported for thirty seconds before I reemerged into the glamor and glitz of the Ginza district.

11.28.2009 The only food picture I couldn't resist posting. Never, ever eat at a restaurant at Asakusa unless you're looking to get scammed. This baby was about 5 USD. Even for real milk tea (not the bottled kind, although that stuff is bomb too), that is just ridiculous. I should have added more milk and sugar just to be sure I got the bang for my buck. Thankfully, though, it delicious. And it was kind of cool to drink out of that cup. I felt very British and Jane Austen-like.

12.05.2009 The sunset on our first day in Hiroshima earlier this month. One thing I missed in Seattle were those clouds that actually held shape. Japan, like Hawaii, has those, and I can't even begin to say how much I love these kinds of clouds. They make the perfect sunset, the kind of that make me think of home. And with the mountains and the water that surround this city, I really did feel like I was back home.

12.06.2009 More clouds, haha. I just had to pick this picture because it still trips me out how much the sky over Hiroshima and Miyajima resembles Hawaii. Really, I could gaze at this kind of sky for hours and never get bored.

12.06.2009 This is the view we got from the top of the mountain on Miyajima. When I showed this to my host mom, I had to explain that this was the ocean, sunlight, and clouds, and she didn't believe me at first. Seeing this with my own two eyes was almost overwhelmingly beautiful. The way the rays of sunlight danced on the water in shades of violet and gold, broken up by the hazy shapes of distant islands, is something I won't ever forget.

* * *

Until next time~

when all your love is gone

2009-04-23T03:53:08Z

At the tail-end of Sakura season here in Seattle (the UW Quad sakura are starting to be taken over by bright green leaves), I figured I should post this second batch of cherry blossom photos before all the petals have fallen. The theme of this entry is pretty much flowers. It seems like now that spring is here that's all I take pictures of. Maybe next time I'll have moved on to something less trite, not that flowers should be taken lightly.

Eleven pictures this time, the first from four from the Convention Center in downtown Seattle when I went to the Sakuracon (an anime convention) with some friends two weeks ago. The last seven were taken at the UW Quad on the first of a series of very nice days that were separated by a couple days of cold, cloudy, rainy typical Seattle weather. I wonder when spring will be here to stay for good, or does that never actually happen in Seattle?

boy you're one in a million

2009-04-06T04:35:17Z

Another Utada Hikaru song! The songs I feature in my posts are whatever song happens to be stuck in my head when I'm writing. Kind of gives away which artist is on my most recently played list.

Today I went to a place that I've only been to six times since I came to UW, but have considered my "thinking place" ever since the first time I went. It's exactly that---a place where I go when something is bothering me or if I need a quiet place to escape to so I can clear my head. I've usually only gone in winter quarter, but today was the first time I went during the spring. I was surprised to find that the tide of the lake water had risen so that I couldn't sit on the log I normally use as a seat. In spite of that minor change, though, it's still the same peaceful place.

And the bonus for coming during spring? I found out that there are a couple rows of cherry blossom trees on the way over! So half of the following ten pictures are of my personal, mini Hanami~

First: leftover broth from a bowl of pho I had on the Ave this past Monday, the 30th of March. I think I will forever associate pho with the University of Washington, haha.
Second: the Vietnamese/pho restaurants on the Ave follow a unique and wonderful standard: every bowl of pho comes with a free cream puff. Bless them ;)
Third: those yellow flowers are everywhere on campus during Spring. I have absolutely no idea what they're called, but they're pretty~
Fourth: a new take on my special place ♥
Fifth: cherry blossom time!!!
Sixth: the sunlight was a little weird and was hitting the trees at a strange angle, so I resorted to cropping in what I hope was an artistic and somewhat aesthetically appealing way
Seventh: this is my second time seeing the blossoms, yet I still think it's amazing and beautiful how the blossoms even grow on the bark of the tree. Plus the color contrast is gorgeous~
Eighth: more contrasting...more flowers! Ah~ spring! It was warm today, I think 68 degrees
Ninth: up close to the blossoms, and with the lovely blue backdrop of the sky
Tenth: not all the amazing cherry blossoms are on the quad. I think this was a case in point~ I've found my own little haven of yoshino trees~

These bold things are just my imagination

2009-03-29T03:36:34Z

Whoops, my last post was on the last day of May...2008. It's already the end of March 2009! Despite the fact that I've taken at least 700 pictures between those two dates, somehow none of those made it onto this blog. Hard to believe that the last time I posted I was still a freshman in college and now I'm about to start my last quarter as a sophomore.

Anyway, these pictures are all from San Francisco and from my first ever ride on an Amtrak train (from SF to Sacramento). Taken between March 20th and March 23rd. The weather was so nice and warm. Unlike Seattle. But I still love this city in spite of the fact that it's almost April but it's still cloudy, cold, and wet. It'll be sad to say goodbye again in June, especially since I won't see it again for another 15 months after that.

But right, these pictures are from California.

First: the first thing I saw when I got out of the BART station was this: flowers, gorgeous buildings, and blue sky. Plus a huge crowd surrounding a street performer. Ah, San Francisco~
Second: St. Ignatius Church at the University of San Francisco
Third: Golden Gate Park Academy of Sciences Aquarium *pretty*
Fourth: Golden Gate Park Academy of Sciences Rainforest Globe
Fifth: USF has a building called Lone Mountain. Is it strange that I think that's awesome?
Sixth: View of the city from Lone Mountain. I couldn't get the window frame out of the way. Oh well~
Seventh: A banner from Japantown in San Francisco
Eighth: Ghiradelli Square! So much gelato and chocolate~ Plus a cute dog ^^
Ninth: San Francisco Chinatown!!! So awesome~ I wish I had had more time to look around~
Tenth: A funky apartment building on the edge of the SF Chinatown. I dunno, I thought it was cool, haha
Eleventh: the sun rising on my way toward the Bay Bridge
Twelfth: the view from my seat on the Amtrak train. California's countryside is so pretty!
Thirteenth: More pretty~ the tracks actually wound right along the shoreline ♥

high above the chimney tops

2008-06-01T04:00:13Z

It's been 3 weeks! Blame it on school and lots of club events. Including dinner at a nice Japanese restaurant in downtown Seattle and a Mariner's baseball game.

First: it would have been odd to go to a Mariner's game and not take a picture of Ichiro
Second: Safeco Field on a nice Friday afternoon, May 16th
Third: May 17th, pretty clouds that, happily, have been visiting Seattle more often
Fourth: Greek food from Kabobs Express, salad, chicken and veggie kabobs, rice, pita bread, dinner on Memorial Day
Fifth: downtown Seattle at 7:45PM on May 30th. Yes it was really 7:45PM
Sixth: something I haven't had in a while! Maguro, salmon, hamachi on May 30th
Seventh: something else I haven't had in a while! Takoyaki, except it was deep-fried and crunchy, also on May 30th

A lei for my mother

2008-05-11T00:04:29Z

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

In light of this special day, I thought I would dedicated some pictures to my lovely mother, since I'm not home for Mother's Day this year. I went to Pike Place Market today and there were loads of beautiful bouquets. Since I can't send any home to my mom, I thought I would share them with her via photographs.

Click the link below to see the pretty flowers~ ♥

Anyway, given that it's been another 2 weeks since my last post AND I went on a touristy adventure to downtown Seattle, I have a lot of pictures to share. Not counting the Mother's Day photos, there are 16.

First: There were SO MANY flowers and it was so gorgeous; they were selling by the buckets too
Second: A lot of tulips, I noticed, probably because Seattle's spring is known for tulips?
Third: The colors were amazing
Fourth: I liked these flowers; they were huge and the color was very nice--no idea what kind of flower they were though
Fifth: One kiosk was selling these strange glass hangings and when I saw this arrangement I realized they were mini vases that you can use to hang flowers on your wall. Very cool.
Sixth: These are CHILI PEPPERS strung around one of the produce stands, whose employees were equally colorful (both in personality and hair color)
Seventh: One of the best known fish markets in the USA, I think. There was a constant ring of people around this shop just waiting for the workers to throw fish, haha
Eighth: A juggler with two little kids as his audience--lots of street performers in general
Ninth: One store was selling handmade cheese and you could watch them making it. That huge tub of yellowish liquid is what becomes cheese
Tenth: My favorite part. The original Starbucks sign yo~
Eleventh: not like it's necessary, but proof that this was Pike's Place. I couldn't go to Pike Place Market and not take a picture of this sign
Twelfth: a decaf cafe mocha from Le Panier, one of the many good restaurants in the market
Thirteenth: On the bus ride back home, someone had scribbled this on the back of the seat in front of me and I thought it was nice :)
Fourteenth: Not from Pike's Place but rather taken on May 3rd. I was bored and wanted to see if I could balance three oranges on top of each other. Here is my proof, haha.
Fifteenth: On campus, a very romantic little spot~
Sixteenth: Taken on April 26th, a bit of nature and blue sky

making every possible mistake

2008-04-26T18:17:49Z

It's been a while! Spring is actually making an appearance in Seattle currently. IT's in the mid-50s and the past few days have been sunny. And of course there's plenty of bright green springing up everywhere. But nothing beat April 12th, when it was 80 degrees and unbelievably sunny. So, two weeks later, I finally have the time to post five pictures taken from that rather tropical day.

First: balmy weather, green leaves and blue sky; doesn't get much better
Second: daisies are also blooming all over any grassy area on campus. White, white-pink, yellow daises, plus some purple flowers; very pretty
Third: more daises but from an artistic view, ahaha ^^
Fourth: lately this goose has been hanging around here all by his lonesome
Fifth: the fountain and the barely visible mountain (Drumheller + Rainier) from Red Square

This is how it works

2008-04-08T05:12:30Z

I've been feeling rather philosophical lately. More so than usual. It's like the wheels in my brain are on overdrive. Perhaps that's why I haven't taken any pictures since spring break started, about two weeks ago. Who knew thinking about the deeper meaning of life could shut down a person's creative energy. Or at least mine.

In the very least, this batch of photos contains something besides cherry blossoms. Who knew it was possible? All pictures taken on March 22, 2008. Architecture, cherry blossoms, and food. 3 completely unrelated themes. Unless you want to over-analyze things.

First: A cafe on the ave and a very cozy place with plenty of outlets to go around for the countless laptops that appear on the dark wooden tables
Second: A waffle from said cafe, with a cup of fresh fruit that proved to me that unprocessed, natural foods are the real deal
Third: The Computer and Electrical Engineering building or something. Whatever it's called, they have very fancy architecture and it's ridiculously...not pretty or elegant, just very aesthetically stimulating.
Fourth: more cherry blossoms, but this time at a greater distance and at a different time of day
Fifth: cherry blossoms, setting sun, pretty architecture ♥
Sixth: see above, haha
Seventh: it's too bad that the lower half of this shot is so much darker, but I've never had much luck with lighting (amateur photographer, remember?)

you win, it's your show

2008-03-25T04:16:26Z

What can I say? It's spring and cherry blossom are everywhere. Through in a few blue-sky days and it's pretty much inevitable that this post is going to contain pretty much only cherry blossoms on the quad. Hopefully the hype will die down soon.

At least until next spring, haha. Seven pictures today~ ^^

First the only non-cherry blossoms photo, this is Denny Hall, the oldest building on campus and also kind of creepy on the outside. It looks kind of like a haunted mansion. Taken on March 20th, a cloudy day
Second same day as the Denny Hall picture---I finally got my camera to focus!
Third blue sky! and on the day after the previous picture, if you can believe it
Fourth the quad was really colorful with the sky that color and it was a nice change
Fifth probably my favorite picture; same blue sky day
Sixth taken from directly below one of the fully-bloomed trees
Seventh a nice full view of the quad from one of its corners

hitori bocchi no yoru

2008-03-17T00:56:48Z

It's an odd feeling, listening to a song I've heard since before I can remember and finally understanding what Sakamoto Kyu is singing about. This is the insert song for the Japanese drama I'm watching currently Binbo Danshi, and I haven't heard it for a while. Naturally, now I can't get it out of my head.

Anyway, it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post and I've been busy with finals and whatnot. I have a bit of free time today and thought I should upload some pictures I took last week and today. Since it's March, spring is pretty much on Seattle's doorstep, which means... cherry blossoms on the Quad in UW. Prepare yourselves for some repeating themes.

First: Not the quad, but this strange yellow flower that's been blooming everywhere. It's pretty, but my camera is horrible at close-ups. Taken on March 6th.
Second: The quad from the top of some stairs; it's been quite red-pink there lately, and more and more photographers have been sneaking around in addition to myself. Taken today, as are all the following
Third: This is not a yoshino cherry blossom tree. It bloomed about two weeks ago, but
I still think it's another type of cherry blossom.
Fourth: The same tree, just the whole thing
Fifth: Oddly, sakura likes to bud and bloom on the tree bark. I don't mind, because I'm short so it involves less work to get up close xD
Sixth: Fully bloomed sakura on the bark of another tree. They're bigger than I'd imagined
Seventh: Another bundle of freshly bloomed sakura.

Happy Spring!

as my mind begins to spread its wings

2008-03-05T00:30:57Z

It's already March 4th!!! I've been really busy but I still somehow managed to take quite a few pictures. And in order to avoid piling them up on the side, I figured I'd better post them. In 13 days the quarter will be over, though, and then hopefully I'll have more time to do fun stuff~ Anyway, seven pictures today. Ick, long post. Try to hold up! They're quite pretty, if I do say so myself.

First: Too cute to pass up. A duck couple nestling in a puddle on Red Square, February 27th
Second: Very pink flowers! And on February 28th! Spring is creeping up slowing :D
Third: Part of a class trip to Discovery Park on March 1st. Suddenly I've been seeing Puget Sound very often
Fourth: The same field trip. There were so many sailboats and they looked like toys, haha
Fifth: Someone used the driftwood at the park to make a teepee frame thing. It was pretty tall
Sixth: Again the same field trip. We visited a landslide sight and there were these pretty yellow flowers, in addition to the blackberry vines and a lot of poky, dry trees
Seventh: Westlake Center in a store called Fireworks, taken on March 1st. Couldn't stop staring at the revolving lights in these lanterns. If I had one, I'd spend hours spacing out at it

just an opening title

2008-02-24T04:48:15Z

The reason why I chose this instrumental today is because the pictures I took today remind me a lot of the movie "Dear Frankie," which everyone should watch because it's really good. The grays, blues, and whites that dominated the landscape and the pebbles and sand of the beach looks almost exactly like a particular scene in the movie. A kind of sad, thoughtful place where lonely people might go to rediscover themselves, perhaps.

First: a view of the pebbled part of Double Bluff Beach, WA
Second: a closer look
Third: a view of the sandy part of Double Bluff Beach, WA
Fourth: tidal patterns in the sand. My favorite picture; you can see Mount Rainier in the distance
Fifth: the sparse trees against the bluff; waiting for spring, seemed like

ameagari ni futari aruita michi

2008-02-23T06:12:55Z

The lovely theme song for the lovely J-drama "Hotaru no Hikari." Anyway, even though they sky has been blue all week, I think there are only so many pictures I can take of the sky. So no new pictures this time. Instead, what with spring drawing near, I thought I would reflect on Fall in Seattle via the photos I took during my first month in the city.

First: these were the pinkest leaves I have EVER seen. Taken on October 5th last year
Second: a perfect example of the perfect fall day, I think. Taken three days after the former.

turn the clock to zero honey

2008-02-20T04:45:19Z

Love has a cruel and bitter way of paying you back for all the faith you ever had in your brain

On Sunday I went to the shores of a lake and found peace and solitude for a few moments. These pictures are an emblem of the time I spent there. There's quite a few, but hopefully they will be worth looking at. I normally won't post so many at once. But this is my favorite spot in Seattle.

First: what I first saw while walking towards the lake. A very nostalgic picture.
Second: one of many
Third: my favorite view; also my cell phone wallpaper
Fourth: people fly these jets a lot on weekends; the streams form artificial clouds
Fifth: an example of said clouds
Sixth: the sun brightly shining off the surface of the water; reminded me of home a bit
Seventh: my chair
Eighth: a clearer view of the lake
Ninth: not sand, just pebbles; they made a pretty sound

kimi wa eien ni...

2008-02-19T00:31:52Z

I've been insanely busy this weekend with club and homework business. I have a lot of pictures to upload too but I'll try to do it a little at a time. I went kind of nuts with the camera these past three days, haha.

First: it was a beautiful blue Valentine morning. I can't remember how the rest of the day was, though.
Second: the lovely moon after 11 hours of hard work at the JSA Matsuri on Saturday
Third: view of the Ave from Starbucks on Sunday
Fourth: my companions during a peaceful hour at Starbucks. Heaven~ on Sunday ^^

friends now, clap your hands

2008-02-14T01:58:14Z

I've been lazy for the past few days. I took some pictures but never got around to posting them. Obviously this isn't going to be a daily journal, but hopefully I can manage to update it weekly.

Lately, there's been a lot of (>_")> being drawn on the sidewalks around campus. I realized today that it's a face that has hands pointing in one direction, haha.

Okay, so anyway...

First: flock of annoyingly loud Canadian geese on Feb. 10th
Second: it was still cloudy yesterday, but the sun made a lovely golden appearance at sunset
Third: I took this picture because I see this stuff everywhere nowadays
Fourth: From the top of the stairs in Kane Hall. I thought it was cool how the window framed the pretty scene outside. Plus: evidence that it was actually nice today.

Mon coeur joyeux se livre

2008-02-09T05:16:12Z

This French song is from the soundtrack for Amelie. I like it a lot. It's old-fashioned and romantic~ and very French!

So anyway, today there was nothing I felt like taking a picture of. So instead I decided to use some pictures that I took on the geology field trip to Mount Rainier that I went on last quarter. October 13th, 2007. The drive was horrendously long, but the day was nice and I have fond memories of the park.

First: a stream with a view of the peak of Rainier. The sky was so blue! Why isn't it blue now??
Second: an up-close of the stream, which was brown but made a pretty sound when it ran over the rocks. Yes, I know there's someones booty in the pic---sorry!
Third: towards the end of the trip, we looked at some forested areas, which was probably my favorite part.

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain

2008-02-07T23:58:18Z

Better known in English as Amélie, I highly suggest this movie. Just a thought, because it's so whimsical and imaginative and romantic. Anyway, today was--guess? Cloudy, rainy, and cold. But not so dark. In fact, there were a few minutes of sunshine. A hint of spring, perhaps?

First & Second: my semi-comfy but lovely blue&green bed in the dorms. Representing sleep, which I've been thinking about a lot lately.

note: my mood theme is from crackified, under the category of movies ♥

someday my prince will come

2008-02-07T03:30:20Z

Day #2 of this little project of mine. Today was another wet, dark day, so sadly the mood of these shots aren't very cheerful. I can't wait for spring, when there will be more bright green, sunny blue skies, and cherry blossoms.

First: a moody view of Suzzallo Library across from Odegaard Library
Second: the lamppost I pass on my way back to the dorms

rainy days and mondays always get me down

2008-02-06T01:46:46Z

Okay! First post ever in this brand-new "photography" journal!

warning:

this is the first time I'm attempting to take "meaningful" or at least decent pictures, so they may seem amateurish or they may even suck.

Anyway. Even though I wasn't in my dorm for most of the day, I didn't put batteries in my camera until most of the day was over. Therefore, these pictures are of and taken from my dorm room. Excuse the boring theme.

First: housing's lame excuse for a dresser, but I like it anyway
Second: the clouds outside my window when the sun was setting; the only nice part of what's been a wet, dark Seattle day