Christmas time is here...

...and the best thing about it are the songs. Here's a video of Mariah doing possibly one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time. Be warned, the video is equal parts nauseating and cute. There are dancing gingerbread men at one point! Also, I think my neighbors have opened up a dance studio in their apartment. Why are my walls and ceiling rumbling??!

Old school Barcelona and fishes

More walking around and taking pictures today. I ate in the Barri Gotic quarter last night and thought it was worth coming back during the day for some pictures. Not only are the buildings unbelievably beautiful, the alleys are equally awesome. The only thing is that the alleys are hard as hell to navigate. I had to consult my guide book after every turn. I think I heard school children laughing at me (every school in Barcelona decided to take a field trip to the Barri Gotic today).





After a couple hours I got tired of getting lost and decided to head over to the aquarium. I love, love, love geeky science excursions, so it was kind of perfect. I met an octopus that kept staring at me and followed me back and forth. Creepy! I also picked up Raymundo, my only friend in Barcelona. Raymundo, I love you.







Finally, I took the metro to see Gaudí's unfinished La Sagrada Familia. Thought I had enough yesterday? Think again. It was monstrously huge. The outside looked it like was melting stone with blockhead statues attached. The statues all looked extrememly sad, which added creepiness and awe to the whole experience. I only stayed at ground level and went to the museum. The line for the elevator to go up to the upper level was way too long.

It's been a Gaudí kinda day

Today was my first full day in Barcelona and I did a lot of sightseeing. When you travel by yourself, you get things done pretty damned quickly. I ate breakfast, took the Metro to the end of La Rambla and visited the waterfront. I walked La Rambla up towards L'Exiample, where I did the recommended neighborhood walk. After that, I went to Parc Güell where Gaudí's old home is located.

After walking around for what seemed like forever (and taking pictures), I visited the museum, which also used to be Gaudí's home. I really could have done without it and saved myself four euros. I was pretty exhausted, but when I checked the time, it was barely 2:30. After much deliberation, I decided to suck it up and keep sightseeing. The only thing in my book that interested me enough to pull me out of my slump was Casa Batlló...designed by Gaudí. From the outside, the windows look like Tim Burtonesque skulls. It's pretty amazing to see it first hand. I had no intention of going inside, but it was still too early to quit. The hefty seventeen euro entry fee didn't help, but it was worth it. I think it's even more awesome inside than out. (Photos to come!) After that I started to walk around again, but my feet hurt and the Metro station beckoned.


Beautiful mosaics scattered throughout the overhang.


Balconies constructed from stones.


Gaudí home and museum.


The truly awesome Casa Batlló.


There were lots of arches inside the house.


Looks much more impressive in person.


Huge, low hanging chandelier in the drawing room.

Zach Braff rules my world

Using Zach Braff's image as leverage to annoy co-workers is my new favorite pasttime.

UPDATE: Jocelyn has written her own account of the day in The Braff Wars.


Me and Zach on the beach, courtesy of Jocelyn.


Zach on a print ad.


Analog Braff in a digital world.


Jocelyn's husband body snatched by Zach Braff.


Braff v. Braff

Brian isn't that good at making words

Lately I've been semi-addicted to Scrabulous, a Scrabble application for Facebook. It's an intense scramble to make words like "riel" and "jins" and "coilers." Extra points if the tiles land on one of the designated colored squares. Even though there's a dictionary that the game compares the played words to, my opponents (read: losing opponents) still dispute their validity.

One of the said disputers is fellow Outdoorsy Adventure Clubber Brian. In a losing rage, Brian has made accusatory statements such as:

"what the hell? Bads and seemings are words? I call bullshit."

"alright, I let "riel" slide and "doer", but reify is just complete and total bullshit."

"Ay think y'all make up words"

"shit"

See the games in which these colorful words were spoken below.

(click for larger shot)

Sheila and I shop

Fighting our inner shoppers is hard. We went shopping for Christmas sweaters last night and ended up putting a jacket each on hold. Today, we debated going back and buying them.

Happy Gorging Day!

Now I can official hunt down a Christmas sweater. Why is it that after three years of looking for the perfect one, I'm still searching? It's not like my requisites are extremely. All I ask is that it's knitted, has reindeer and snowflakes, and can either be red or green (but preferrably the former). If anyone sees one, grab it for me.

But for today, let's give thanks. Who better to do that than William Burroughs?



Thanks for everything!

Photos are taken

So after spending a fortune on new camera equipment, I still have a laundry list of things I have yet to buy. Those include a circular polarizer, a diffuser for the flash, perhaps another flash for more complex strobe photos, a wide angle lens, and of course, a new camera bag to carry all the new stuff in.

I'm trying to take as many photos as I can to justify the cost of the equipment. Here are a few examples.

Christmas came early

My sister texted me a few days ago and wanted a Ninteno DS with Brain Age (which is kind of fun, if not a bit frustrating) for her birthday this year. Our birthdays are close enough to Christmas that we sometimes just give/get one gift. Since I blew a big chunk of cash on camera equipment very recently (see previous post), getting a game system would put another a big dent in my budget. But, what the hell, I'll try to get something good out of the deal. What should I ask for? There was only one logical answer to that question: Guitar Hero for the PS2 I inherited from my cousin.



I've played the game briefly and it's pretty addictive. Guitar Hero is probably my second favorite time-waster; number goes to the world wide web. There are no minors or majors, no callused finger tips, no broken strings, and absolutely no bar chords. It's a (non)guitarist's dream. You just press one (or two or three or four) of the five button on the plastic guitar controller as the notes fly by on screen. As Audrey noted while we were playing, I tend to heel-tap and chicken-neck to the beat of the songs I like, particularly Cheap Trick's "Surrender."

Who's going to let me throw a Guitar Hero party at their place??

It's Frivilous Friday!

That's why it's perfectly fine to buy a $300 lens with only one focal length and bid on a $250 flash on eBay (which could eventually go up even more). Nevermind that I recently put myself on a monthly budget. These two things have been on my radar for a while, so it's not really that impulsive like most of my other large purchases. I wanted the lens for its HUGE 1.4 f-stop. I'll be taking a lot more perfectly lit flashless photos. If you're reading this, you're probably my friend. And if you're my friend, you're probably narcissistic, so you'll love the fact the Canon f/1.4 50mm lens is one of the best portrait lenses. And if I win the flash, I'll be able to take your portrait even in pitch dark.






UPDATE(!!!!): It's here! I was going to bring my camera to work just in case it comes, but in my haste this morning I forgot. Looks like my ginkgo supplements aren't really doing their job.

My friend, the dummy

Stay in school.

Corn mazes and pumpkin patches

I'll admit...I love the holiday season. It's a time of year filled with lots of indulgent foods. Halloween is the gateway holiday. It starts with candies and pumpkin related food (pies, seeds, bread, etc.) to get you ready for the larger meals later in the year. What better way to kick off the holiday season than to spend a night at a pumpkin patch with a 30+ acre corn maze?

I prepared for the long journey by eating a tri-tip sandwich and a polish dog in 5 minutes flat. I didn't have a soda, I'm watching what I eat. Who needs sugar when you're pumped on adrenaline? The first 15 minutes in the maze were filled with confidence and excitement. I knew where I was going and would hit the first bridge in the maze soon and get an idea of how long it would take to finish the maze. Another 15 minutes go by and I'm getting hungry and cold. I was Jon Krakauer, a modern adventurer, enduring hunger and pain for the greater good. Eventually we found one of the bridges and the exit shortly after that. I celebrated our journey with a churro and strawberry banana "smoothie" which was more of a slushee. It was a bad choice for a cold October night.

I managed to get some good photos despite being famished.


The patch.


Posing for photos.


Alexis enjoys a sandwich.


The rest of the crew.


Trying to survive on corn.


No love for pumpkin.


Pumpkin hill.


Me and Frank, shootin' the shit.

Project Runway is almost here, or Where is Andrae?

It feels like a few years since Project Runway's season finale aired. I've waited and waited for the new season to start, and guess what? I'm still waiting! What the hell??! Another month? That shouldn't be right.

Since I don't have cable and rely on Audrey for all my Bravo needs, I haven't really had a chance to watch Tim Gunn's show. In my heart of hearts, though, I know even that wouldn't quench my thirst for PR.

For fans of Season 2 (the best!), here's a gem I found on YouTube:

I need to be somewhere like this

I really need to be where the leaves change colors. So, so pretty. I'm tired of green and brown all the time. Every now and then city living misses big time.

Apple swag

I finally booked a time slot to see an Apple specialist (aka "Genius") about my laptop. For the last couple months, it would charge to 100%, only to completely shut off 15 minutes later without warning. This was strange considering that my battery only had about 115 cycles (a normal battery goes through 300-500 cycles before totally losing its charge). I also brought in my Airport Extreme, which I use with an external drive as server for my computers. It was having trouble showing the disk and pissing me off regularly.

It paid off to book a time because my wait was about 10 minutes, instead of the usual 30+ minutes. The guy was really understanding and after making sure that my battery was a dud, gave me a brand new one. Then I whipped out the Airport and without even testing it, he went and got me another. I was pretty shocked, but nonchalantly said "Oh, cool." I'm sure he saw through my facade, though. My jumping up and down while clapping my hands probably gave it away.


Brand new Airport Extreme and battery.

I love New York, but I still love SF more

Every time I make a visit to NY, I love it a little more. It's the city that doesn't know how to be boring (though I can't say that for myself when I'm there). The 4am bar closing time kicks my ass every time.

The best part about New York is hangin' with my main bitch, Uyen. She was nice enough to let me stay with her the whole week I was there. "Ban, ma," she would say. Thanks to her I now know how to make eggrolls (why didn't I take pictures of them??!).

Thanks, also, to my other friends who were nice enough to meet up with me while I was there: Ryan, Caitlin and Jeff, Alicia, Jarron and Ben, Joey, and Ellie, who showed me around Philly.

Though my time in NY was well spent, the heat and humidity got to me. I was so glad to be home and walk out into crisp, cold, dry air. Hello, San Francisco!


When When on the rooftop.


Fun building across from Uyen's apartment in Brooklyn.


Stairway to a hot, sweaty hell.


Young City Fish Balls


Alleyway that looks like other NY alleyways I've been down.


Guilty! (In Philadelphia)


Hangin' by the Delaware River.


FroYo and Andrew's ass (I think).


Lookin' good, feelin' good.