Friday, February 19, 2010

"gentle feel"

enough said:

Thursday, February 18, 2010

www.refresheverything.com/thewaitinglist

one of my fondest childhood memories is of my father, with his film nikon camera hanging safely around his neck, his eyes peering through the viewfinder at us, his family. we're in the house celebrating our birthdays, at the beach, head down mesmerized by the waves, in a random parking lot in front of a blooming tree, and at various school events. it used to annoy me that he would say, "1, 2,.." and then decide to change his point of view and do his little camera shuffle. two steps to the left, one step to the right, two steps to the left again. once he was satisfied with his composition, his voice, "1, 2, 3"--CLICK. the best part was the anticipation of the developed goods.

i LOVED the day he brought the photographs home, the negatives protected by their plastic encasing. I also loved going with him to pick up our memories, handing over the receipt for the store clerk to find. "c" for chong.

as a child, i grew impatient easily. but now, as an older, wiser and more patient "child," i understand my father's craft, the time and thoughts needed for composition, clarity, focus. photography wasn't/isn't just about the captured images themselves but at times, so much more about remembering everything else surrounding the act of taking a picture. the feelings, accompanying music, weather, place in life.

my sweet friend, beth has brought this to my attention that i'd like to share with you. her friend, david y. lee, put his life into the waiting list, a non-profit that raises awareness of the importance of organ donation. (www.thewaitinglist.org) he has entered a photography project, a program for children waiting for an organ transplant, in the "refresh everything" pepsi contest. if his proposal is in the top ten, he'll win $50,000 to supply children the tools needed to provide this: additional support through a creative coping and healing process.

voting continues until the end of the month. i strongly encourage you to sign up and vote! VOTE EVERYDAY until february 28th. thank you, thank you.

www.refresheverything.com/thewaitinglist

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

alice in dongnaemun

dongnaemun is an area of seoul that i haven't explored much of...it's "older" korea, and is less bright than the more recently developed areas. i love it precisely for that reason. on sunday, i meandered the side streets, which curved into random alleyways and nooks with interesting doors, tiles, and machinery.

wooden carts that are used for transporting humungous piles of flattened cardboard. you typically see elderly women and men crossing insanely busy intersections with these in tow. pretty dern impressive!




random art installation lookalike: tangerine peel, cardboard box, broken tv.


cobalt blue door:

cute overload doorbell and knob:

copper tiles:

sweet potato roaster! the sweet potatoes that come out of this machine are so irresistibly scrumptious.


need a date?


soup in vats!

Monday, February 15, 2010

it's about time i went snowboarding!

i have wanted to try snowboarding for the longest time, i'm so thrilled i finally went! it was a total blast and despite my sore body, especially my left butt cheek that broke just about every fall, i'm absolutely taken by this sport! the thrill of the ride down the hill, figuring out the nuances of control and balance! AWESOME!

friends terry, eugene and theresa:

the lift and slopes:

twin goggles:

theresa and maria on the lift:

GLORIOUS:



strapping in:

the mountains!

the view from our hotel:

spontaneous, silly, special!

for amanda's final saturday in seoul, we made it a point to go to song's kitchen, a restaurant that earns high marks in our book! their ddukbokki is the best that christina and i have tasted in korea. after dinner, we spontaneously decided that we had to go out--a must, indeed for amanda's last saturday!--and it was an all night extravaganza of going to our favorite spots!

our nook at song's kitchen:

the view of the restaurant from our table:

hongdae night lights:

beer goggles anyone?

party on!


junebugs to go:

oi bar:



apple hugs:

hookah heart:

the hookah bar:

the pretty, but disgusting tasting "rainbow" shot:

the nastier tequila shot that followed:

so much fun!

Friday, February 12, 2010

make it fun, it lasts longer!


i already knew/know this, but, i'm realizing, yet again, just how much random yet funny examples stick to my students' brains. por ejemplo: vocabulary words. in this week's unit test, one of the vocabulary words was "indecisive." to demonstrate the word, i told my kids this:

"okay, so you're in a restaurant and you look at the menu. you notice there's spaghetti and meatballs. and then you see that there are also fortune cookies. two of your favorite things to eat! (a student had mentioned fortune cookies in a previous conversation.) so then you think, spaghetti and meatballs!?! or fortune cookies?!? meatballs? cookies? cookies? or meatballs?!? ahhhhhhh!" (insert my overly dramatic indecisive face here!)

and sure enough, about half of my students in this particular class made reference to spaghetti and meatballs and/or fortune cookies in their vocabulary test! i gotta start thinking of more randoms!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Friday, February 5, 2010

chicken soup for the soul

i spent wednesday night with my dear friends, theresa and clara, at clara's lovely new home in bundang. to celebrate her new abode, i made chicken soup from scriggityscratch and it was delicious! even during these terribly frigid and bleak wintry months, it's so rejuvenating to remember that it's still, time and time again, the simple things: good food, great friends, warm cozy homes, that make the heart and soul smile.
slug friend in the celery:


theresa loves taking as many pictures (of food too!) as i do:

chick,chick,chicken soup!

yay! for leftovers!

the view from clara's apt: