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Feelin'

2010-08-17T00:04:00.000-07:00

Really feel like getting a Macbook Pro or the Samsung Vibrant. I don't have money for either. gg

Florida

2010-08-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more from Florida.

Some new changes

2010-08-02T00:25:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I updated this blog. I don't really want or have the time to write out what is on my mind; So here are some pictures from the latest adventures I have went on.

PANOS

2010-01-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

Bad decisions make great stories

2009-12-24T23:09:00.001-08:00

Yea they do but in this case they make an extremely annoyed story teller of an extremely stupid story. I have to either work out or take and work on some photos to feel about right. Made a stupid decision tonight/this morning. Here are two from today and just a few moments ago.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow?

2009-12-20T00:02:00.000-08:00

It has been a semester of college, and it is really different from high school. It moves a lot faster and I noticed that there is a lot of time in between classes and a lot of time that I should be studying. From what I took this semester and from what I am going to take in the coming semesters I really need to pick up the work load and start really working. I am not sure what my grade is at this point but I think that a 3.00 by now is acceptable but really a 3.50 is what I am aiming for. There is no one there to hold my hand to make sure that I understand everything, I need to do things for myself and make sure I understand the materials. From the start of the college semester I didn’t really know what to do. I would take naps in the library and not do anything with my time because I thought it was like high school. Everything would come to me like it did back in high school. Teachers would beat the subjects into you making sure that you understand things and gave you many tests to work on so you would do well. But it’s not. It’s been the complete opposite. For now it is one down seven more to go.

But enough about school. The semester is over and people are coming back. There should be more time to hang out and not care about the stresses in life that are coming up and behind us. It is almost Christmas and I really haven’t gotten the one thing that I wanted. A new lens. I have been back and forth about what I want and to this point and right now it is a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 that I really want. It is a fast lens and I think that I want to experiment with this length. There is a lot of snow outside right now.

I don’t know what I am going to do all break. There is a lot of time from now and the next semester. I know what during this break I am going to pick up on photography. I want to print and hang up things from vacation and family events. I want to buy frames and just throw everything on the walls of my house. The walls look so bare and dead without anything right now. (Except for the occasional writing and scribbling of my little sister) I want to work out a lot more. From what I experienced is that studying doesn’t work out with working out. You have to put a lot of time into studying and you don’t get to work out anymore. I want to know that I am not going to wake up anymore in the middle of the night worrying about my future and what I am going to do in life. There are a lot of things I want to do but I am not sure if there is enough time or when the time is right to do them. And so because one of the nights I was up thinking about life I was watching Jimmy Fallon on Hulu and I came across this saying I don’t quite remember but it went something like this, ‘Never say you don’t have enough time, say you have plenty of time. If you say you never have time; you never get things done. Your body and time start to move faster. When you have plenty of time your mind and spirit move slower in time.’ -Deepak Chopra.

I have plenty of time.

The final stretch.

2009-11-30T23:38:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a fun weekend. There was a full two days of football and a lot of food. A lot of people came back from their colleges and it was fun seeing a lot of people. Michael came back from USC which was a lot of fun. He came back and was ready to play in his USC sweater, ready for the cold.

Reality is going to set in now. This is the final stretch of class with only two full weeks of class left there is going to be a lot of work and a lot of studying. I see myself working out a lot less. From thanksgiving and all the football I played my body is still sore so I'm going to take it easy on my body this week. I am going to give up working out I guess for the next two weeks or so to focus on studying. I am really aiming for a 3.5 this semester at least. What is really weird is that my grades look a lot higher than what I thought they would be. (Chemistry, Diana and her email was a really uplifting and chemistry is also the most weighted course I am taking) I know if I can do well on my finals and continue to write well I can get the 3.5

Somethings I need to do:
-Outline most of the Biology chapters so I don't have to reread them. Both for Biology 29 and 34.1
-Read chapter 11 and 13 for Chemistry
-Work on the compare and contrast essay for English and the English final
-Math, work on math. I have taken this class lightly because I thought I knew it all. Boy was this a blast from the past. I need to get a 100 on this final.
-Read Read Read Study Study Study.

Important Final Dates and Times to remember: (as of now)
December 15th
Chemistry final 8:00AM -- 10:15AM
English final 10:30AM -- 12:00PM
Math final 3:00PM -- 5:00PM(?)

December 16th
Biology 34.1 6:30PM -- 8:30PM

December 17th
Biology 29 1:00PM -- 3:00PM(?)

(?) Indicate the ending and starting times I am not completely sure about.

Petra

2009-11-14T23:27:00.000-08:00

Someday I would like to visit this place. Along with the Grand Canyon. They seem to be areas of great photo opportunities and they are of great rock/landscapes.

Gear.

2009-11-02T14:45:00.000-08:00

Last night I found out about the discontinued Sigma 14mm f/2.8. It is a cheaper alternative to the Canon 14mm f/2.8L II, and I'm not sure why but I felt like I needed to have this lens. Then I remembered I have a APS-C sensor. Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 ftw! No picture in this entry. Working on a personal photography project...

Apple Picking Asian

2009-10-12T14:01:00.002-07:00

Had another night stressful insomnia about life. Went apple picking day after.

"What would happen if I could ride a beam of light?"

2009-10-11T00:37:00.001-07:00

Nothing.

Self doubt.

2009-09-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

I am not sure why but I found myself awake last night up until like 3 o clock. I sat in bed and wasn’t sure why I couldn’t fall asleep. I was stressing about things again. Mainly the question, what do I want to do in life? I look over things that I need for my future if I were to become a doctor and everything seems so competitive and demanding. There is so much school in it and when is there me time? Will I even make it into medical school? I am not sure why I choose this path but I am not sure what I want to do with my life if I don’t become a doctor. This self doubt eats me up at times. What am I doing to do if I don’t even make it into medical school? What will a pre-med degree do for me in life? I think about these things and it eats me up sometimes to the point where I don’t get sleep.

There are other times where I am totally with the idea of becoming a doctor. Where nothing is stressful and school and school work just comes to me and I do it. I don’t know why I do this to myself. The feeling of self doubt sucks and uncertainty also sucks. Uncertainty stresses me out too all the time. Knowing things and knowing what is going to happen feels great.

[Picture] That is the view from the top of one of the mountains over looking over a town in Maui. Original size of image 8186x1987.

asdf

2009-09-19T12:02:00.000-07:00

What a strange week it has been. Some old stuff.

Beaters

Man Date.

2009-09-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

Today I went on a man date(s). Went shopping around with Sabit looking for some Van Chukkas, lows were preferable but I found a white pair in high. I didn’t buy them right away but went back to DQM later with Jerry and Jesse. Before that I went to Columbus park to sit around and wait for Jerry. We threw a little and saw Jesse. We caught up about the summer and then went to DQM to pick these bad boys up. Next man date? Not sure when but I know I am going to lunch with Baruch kids on Tuesday on my day off.

"I thought 'Sabit' was a bad name but 'Gaymen' that's a bad name" -Sabit.

no homo.

Textbooks.

2009-09-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

I spent my first Tuesday off, many more to come, on campus with Chris Vincent and Sara shopping for text books. I took the liberty to walk into the Brooklyn College Barns & Nobel and buy brand new textbooks and think about buying a Brooklyn College sweater as well. These things cost an arm and a leg to buy.($460) Sara did buy Vincent a rainbow folder that I am not sure why he is going to use for. He tells me that it is a great conversation starter with girls he doesn't know in class. Good luck with that. There wasn’t much compromise for all these science courses that I am taking, but I know that I am going to use these text books for more than one semester so it will be all worth it. I also went to work out today and saw the few friends that were staying in NYC. My old gym teacher, Alpha, was there and was telling me how he used to work for his college office. He would take text books and just make copies of things that he needed for free. GG. I find myself stressed because I know that I learned the material but I have forgotten a lot of it. I am not sure why I feel as if the finals are the next class and I am going to fuck up. I have a whole semester to relearn this stuff. Plenty of homework too now to do.

Cambell 8th edition!? Chyeaaaaa! -.-"

Not all textbooks pictured.

185. Ankle. Poker. Dinner.

2009-08-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

Nothing new to what we did today at the 185. Some poker and the Yankees game. The ankle and the foot was doing a lot better from about a week ago. I think that we need to do this one more time, for the people that have left and the people that are going to leave. Tonight was only five people and no pictures. Next week there needs to be another gathering with a camera, dinner, and maybe a yankee game too. Towards the end we all realized that High school was over and college was starting. Advisory will be missed, as will some friends.

Random...
Shanghai buns from Shanghai.

Prom night.

Where were the rest of the asian guys?

Food & Random.

2009-08-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

The food in all these places overall have a better taste than the states. Hawaii’s food has its own taste because of the Polynesian culture that goes into it. In China and Hong Kong the poultry and meats have a sweeter taste and there is no taste of hormones. Chicken and duck taste better and are a lot tenderer then anything we have here. Peking duck in Beijing was pretty good and all the different drinks from all these places were cool as well. Another picture update with just random things mostly drinks.

AHH!

Summer 09

2009-08-11T21:45:00.000-07:00

This was basically the flight route that I took during my trip - New York, Minnesota*, Honolulu, Maui, Honolulu, Narita/Japan*, Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghi, Gualin, Gaung Zhaou, Hong Kong, Seoul*, New York.

* -Only stopped in the airport

I started off in Hawaii, which I thought was completely a tourist spot but when I got there I saw some ghetto areas that weren’t like the movies. They sort of looked like slums. Even though they were sketchy at first I learned to get over it and just relax, what else would you do in Hawaii anyway. I learned that the locals were very nice too; they are way too laid back though. I went to two islands in Hawaii, Honolulu and Maui. The beaches, some tours of beautiful places and the submarine ride were basically what I found the most interesting here in Hawaii. One of the most beautiful tours was the tour of pearl harbor the visiting the USS Arizona memorial. (beautiful picture opts) The water doesn’t smell like anything and a lot of pretty things.

Japan was next and this would be a mini pit stop. I stayed here for about five hours just walking around and taking in the Japanese culture. The Narita airport if huge and has a lot of fun things. This was the last place where I updated anything. They have a lot of vending machines that have many unique drinks. For an airport I had a lot of fun.

The next stop would be the first time that I would be out of North America and the first time back to the homeland. Beijing the capital of the country was a hot, sticky and smoggy place. The air quality was a problem from the start because it felt like you had a twenty pound weight on your chest when you went outside. The heat in this country was sometimes unbearable to the point you didn’t want to eat. Here in Beijing I did visit some things that I wanted to see. I climbed to the Great Wall and I went to the Forbidden City. These two things were cool, but it didn’t top the next three places where I got some things. First was the pearl store where I got a free pearl for guessing how many pearls were in this freshwater oyster. Next was the jade store where I got a solid jade ring that will continue to grow green the longer I wear it. (they say) This store, not sure the English name, was the store that also designed the metals for the Beijing 2008 Olympic games. Finally was the tea ceremony palace. Here my father spend over $1000 on tea leafs alone, but it was some good tasting tea. I also visited the Water Cube and the Birds Nest because they are still there.

Xi’an had nothing special except the Terracotta Army. There are three chambers where these soldiers can be found. The first and second only have 3/4^th the size soldiers and the third had life size soldiers. Shanghi too doesn’t really have anything to visit but some really old structures few minute drives outside of the city. The city itself doesn’t have anything to visit but this needle building with a sky level to look straight down. Most of the city is made up of finical buildings. Gualin was a city that was just filled with mountains that were pretty but got boring really fast. There was also a pretty cave that had "crystal lake" but again it was just one thing that got boring fast. What can I say about Gaung Zhaou? Nothing there really but walking and another five star hotel to stay at. Here marks the first part of China that I visited and from the about two weeks that I lived here it really sucks. It is still a developing country with a few things to do. You rarely see any non Asian tourist because from what I learned the Chinese government doesn’t like to give out visas to non Chinese people. The tourist that are there are all loud people that don’t have manners and are extremely rude. They push, yell and sneeze on you as if it were alright to do so. In all of these places I have visited a Buddhist temple, if you didn't know I following some buddhist beleifs and I burned a lot of candles and incents on this trip.

Mt Snoopy

Hong Kong is many steps up from China and all those cities that I visited. I stayed in the Kowloon area and there were civilized people there. The food was a lot better here and they have a subway system. There is a lot of shopping as well here and who knew that camera gear there was cheaper. I was also part of the butt of the True Blue III release, but I did pick up a pair of new Lebron’s to ball in.

Towards the middle I had to go back to visit areas back in to China where the “Ching” last name came from. This area is called the Toisan (Taishan really) and there is no AC. The roads are all dirt roads and people here are really the OG villagers. If you step on the wrong property dogs will chase you trust me. There are nice people here that are very welcoming but the heat the humidity didn’t help when hanging out with them because they kept asking us to eat. Really here I found out that some of the people do eat dog. I was just thinking to myself the rest of the stay here “what the fuck?” I went to visit a great grandmother ching’s burial area that I didn’t know. I just sweated it out for the rest of this.

Finally I made it back to Hong Kong to do some more shopping and eating. We did a meet up with many friends and family and I have to say my last day in Hong Kong was a memorable one. I walked down the “sneaker street” of Hong Kong, had steak for dinner, and went to the mall. Now the Chinese girls from Hong Kong are pretty but when you look at a few and then look behind them you just might have a buff guy in a tight shirt with a popped collar wink at you. It was a pretty gay moment for me but I would visit Hong Kong again, but never again China.