blah blah

hometravelsartfoodsmyspace

My Photo
Name: toan
Location: Maryland, United States

Thursday, September 29, 2005

through the lens

It's no doubt that Steve McCurry is the world renowned photojournalist. His visions awe his peers and amateur photographers worldwide. The image above was shot at Dal Lake, Kashmir. The contrast between colors are striking. Image like this either makes me want to hop on the plane and go to any place where I can take photos all day or put up my camera gear on eBay.

My boss is taking my co-workers and me to New York next month for the annual PhotoPlus Expo; it so happens, Steve McCurry will also be there. Maybe I will have a chance to meet the legend.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Cell Phone

Once upon a time, having a cell means: "wow, you were rich." Now a day, not having a cell phone means: "what's wrong with you?" Who on earth doesn't have a cell phone now a day? There is no excuse for not having a cell phone. I mean that person should be shunned from society. Ok, maybe I shouldn't be too harsh on myself.

So what did I do like many other responsible citizens? I made a purchase of a cell phone a few days ago. I've never felt there was a need to have a cell phone. I don't blah blah on the phone that much. Anyway, I emailed family and friends my cell #. They were delighted to hear I made the right move. Some of them even sent me heart-warming comments:

"Welcome to the 20th century (yeh, yeh, I know it's the 21st, but you're still a century behind)"

"...you just get off the boat?"

"after you dial the number remember to press send for it to work. dont just hold it up to your ear like a regular phone. you'll will be there for a long time."

"Now you can call me when I forget to meet you."

Thanks, guys. Thank you for your supports.

My cell phone is not only a phone but it also has other great features such as Text Messaging, Built-In Camera. Text Messaging is the best part of having a cell phone, it allows me to send short and IMPORTANT messages to my buddies "you suck!" "dork!" "your mom is hot." Ok, I made that part up. I don't call my friend, "dork."

Well, now I feel like I've been back from exile. Friends are welcoming me back in the circle with open arms. Cell phone: Gotta have it.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Roll 'Em Bones


Went to Whitlow's (in Northern Virginia) to see my Radio Mosaic buddies play last Saturday night. See pix I shot from the show. Everyone had a great time.

Friday, September 09, 2005

not a bad week

Once in a while, depends on the scenerio, we'd do a photo shoot outdoor. Last Thursday, my boss, Jon, took everyone from the studio to the Manor Golf Club. The weather couldn't be any better. We loaded the gear on the golf carts and drove to the designated spot. It was fun to ride on one of those. The shoot went on for 4 hours. We could have gone on but the light was fading fast.
Because we worked a couple of hours overtime a day before, Jon let us leave at 1:00 pm on Friday. That was awesome! Since it was Jacquie's birthday (studio producer), Mike, James and I took her to Ziki--a Japanese steak house. We did the Hibachi. I also ordered salmon sashimi. I ate the salmon--so fresh and delicious, while watching my steak being cooked. As usual, the chef did some fancy moves with his utensils. And of course, lots of fire on the grill that could actually burn off some unsuspecting grandma's eyebrows. Everyone enjoyed the show a lot except for the part when the bill came. James offered to pay it with his credit card--apparently, some of us were conveniently having money trouble--with an agreement that we'd pick up the tap for his lunch next time. Well, you know what that means: it means "free lunch." You know no one gonna remember James' lunch treaty.


That night, Mike, his too-early-to-call girlfriend, Julie and I went to Clyde's, a restaurant/bar, for dinner. I had swordfish and a couple of Sam Adams. After dinner, we moved to the bar and had some more drinks. Julie tried to guess which type of girl I like. She scanned the bar for clues...haha. Mike and she insisted that I should go and talk to some girl. Easy say then done. Somehow, I find running with the bulls in Spain was an easier thing to do then coming up to some stranger and starting a conversation. Quite terrifying.

On Saturday, I went to Jersey to spend 3-day holiday weekend with some friends. The ride up was great because I had just signed up for E-ZPass, a electronic toll program which lets you drive through the toll without stopping. This saved me at least 20 minutes of travel time. Wish I could say the same for my money--everytime I go through a toll, my money is taken out of my bank account, dry cleaned, pressed and then sent to the Treasury where it then funds scientists to invent new fun gadgets. For instance, adding Wi-Fi webcams on bullets just incase if soldiers, the next Steve McCurrys, wanted to email their friends some cool candid photos of unsuspecting enemies. Seriously, my money goes to pay for building annoying speed bumps over all the neighborhoods where 4 year old kids or health conscious joggers--usually soccer moms--like to dash across the streets without looking both ways.



That evening, Dave, Kristin and I went to Alicia and Chip's shindig. Since the house wasn't too far from Dave's, we walked instead. We met up with my cousin, Kimmy and her best friend, Kathy at the party. I brought a bottle of Cachaça Pitu; been a while since I had some tasty Caipirinha. I made one too many. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

The next day, we went to Philly for some of Pat's famous cheese steaks. Again, the weather was perfect. The line was a bit long but moving fast. Before you know it, we all got our cheese steaks. I had cheez whiz, onion and mushrooms. Apparently, there is a complex system of ordering cheese steaks. If you didn't how to order and hold up the line, you will become someone else lunch. Just kidding, people just stare at you until you develop an eating disorder. After lunch, we drove to Chinatown and walked around a bit. We met some Brit backpackers who were on their way back to New York. We then went to a Vietnamese restaurant to get some iced coffee. Later that night, we went back to Alicia and Chip's place for dinner.
Not much happening on Sunday. I sat around Dave's place all day. After a couple of days of partying, walking and driving around, we all needed some chill time. That didn't last for long when we recruited Johnny (Dave's friend) over to play Halo. Alicia and Kristin volunteered to make angel hair pasta with meat sauce for dinner. They collected some fresh basil--to add some kick to the sauce--from the front porch. Few minutes later, the place was filled with wonderful aroma. Not long after, dinner was served. We paused the game and annihilated the kitchen. It was the best pasta I ever had. I drove back to Maryland later that night.