Just got back from Big Sur - the final drive down was a whopping 12 hours (forgot everybody was driving back this weekend) - I hit traffic in every conceivable place... trying to leave Big Sur, all alone the 101, then all around LA, then around SD as well.

Anyways, I think I'll be largely disappointed with the photos I took once I load them all on my computer - I was mostly active midday (which means the sun was way too bright and washed out any good photos). (I may also break my own rule of doing some post-production work in Photoshop with these photos)

Anyways, this one is from the drive up Friday night:

More to come as I get a chance to sift through them.

Update: I ended up pruning the whole collection down to 24 tonight and I've posted them up at http://roykim.net/photos/big-sur/

They turned out pretty decent, actually!

I succeeded in helping to cook a Thanksgiving dinner! It wasn't as hard as I imagined - just really time consuming. I now feel confident I can fly solo next year and do the whole meal myself

Some pictures from tonight: (full album)

The turkey came out really well - was not overcooked, and had great flavor!

I helped make this cheesecake last night - which turned out really great. I'm gonna get a copy of that recipe for myself!

Enjoying the company in the kitchen while cooking

Coworker Guerric (on left), who owns the awesome cheesecake recipe, and did a ton of cooking (I just helped out)

Dinner is served!

Mmm, deserts.

Chairs were in great demand; we ended up with quite an assortment.

This is the solution we came up with when trying to make more space.

Post-meal happiness

. . .

Now I'm getting ready for my 3-day road trip up to Carmel-By-The-Sea and Big Sur tomorrow. I've figured out the most important thing: the soundtrack. I'm leaning heavily towards Red Hot Chili Peppers (very chill, cruising music).

I'll see you guys on Sunday night, and I hope all of you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

And on a more serious note, my heart goes out to the families of those affected by the Mumbai attacks ... such senseless violence...

Currently listening to: Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin'

December is here soon, I can already feel it! (And I don't mean the snow. lol) =) I feel good. I'm excited for Christmas and New Years. Why?

I don't know. Maybe because I am going to Joshua Revolution 2008. Or maybe because I'm not poor. Or I'm gaining weight but I'm ready for Christmas food. LOL! Yeah boi. 10 pounds, I am ready to devour you. haha!

I just feel good all over, like its Christmas everyday. No matter how many customers try to ruin my day. No matter how cold it is outside and it always feels like I'm underdressing when I can't even move my arms because of the thickness of my clothes. No matter how long they leave me all by myself in the customer service desk. No matter how long I have to endure with no food when I'm not home. No matter how many times my mom flips the channel while I'm watching a really good show. No matter how long I struggle to fit into those jeans because I'm not a size double zero anymore. (LOL!) No matter how many fights I get with Pao. (Which isn't much lately.. weird ... LOL!) Etc, etc, etc...

I still feel good.

Because it's not about having it all crease-free. It's the creases that gives life character. =)

My God doesn't need me, but he wants me. You are AWESOME!

One of the things I miss about North Carolina are the cool fall rains. There's nothing better to fall asleep to than the pitter patter of the rainfall.

It does not rain in San Diego. Ever. But, as luck would have it, it is raining very steadily tonight - it's just like the rainfalls at home!

To go to bed, hearing the melodic drumming of the raindrops on the streets below ... so awesome.

so here's a fun game to play at the beach. you take a group of your friends, and you line them up, with their backs towards you.

the game is, you throw the football at them, and they have to all jump and turn around and try to catch the football.

now, your goal is to aim for their nads - the moment they turn around, you want to nail them. their goal, much like those guys who defend against soccer free kicks, is to defend their crown jewels.

i had a lot of fun playing this game when i was back in nc - you can tell by how much i'm grinning:

by the way, doesn't that picture make me look somewhat athletic? like i know what i'm doing?? doesn't it??? this could be the most normal picture of me ever taken.

A few nights ago, I was getting really frustrated with my camera.

"Gosh, how the heck do I set a custom white balance?" (the language wasn't so PG-13)

While playing around with the AEB settings on the Rebel, I realized there *was* a custom white balance feature. D'oh.

For those of you who haven't yet figured this out yet, go to "Menu", and go to the Camera 2 options - select "Custom WB", and then select a picture to serve as a baseline. Done.

The difference?

Of course, I do like the orange effect in certain photos - it does seem more "natural" to night-time city photography (everything sure seems orange to me). But sometimes you want to rip the warmness out (as it was when I was photographing that abandoned building).

There you go, something useful.

Yup, one more week to go and I will take my NCLEX exam already, syempre halo-halong emosyon ulit ito (kaba, takot, at kung anu-ano pa)

Grabe parang deja vu ang nagaganap sa buhay ko ngayon, I remember making an entry, same with this one when I was about to take my local boards (ito sya o...). At that time syempre ang nasa isip ko, "what will happen to me kung maging casualty ako?"...ngayon iba na ang problem ko, I'm thinking more of "if I fail this sayang naman ang hirap, pagod at perang ibinuhos ko para lang ma-take ang exam na ito."

Anyways, because I have only one more week to go, super cramming ata ang ginagawa ko when I realized na there's so many computer exams na hindi ko pa nasasagutan ...at kahit nga yung plans ko on how I will spent my days e hindi na nasusunod..hays!

Anyways, right now, taking break muna para maibuhos ko itong pinaghalong kaba at takot ko... isa lang naman ang gusto kong mangyari sa buhay ko ngayon at yun ay ang matapos na ang exam na ito at makapasa ako ...hindi ba pwede un?? Hopefully, lahat ng nabasa ko, e tumatak sa utak ko, so when the time comes na kelangan ko sila e madali lang hugutin dito sa kokote ko....

O sya, o sya, now that I ventilated my concerns, sana naman mabawasan na itong anxiety level ko, para maging productive sya and not an obstacle sa buhay ko...and lastly I hope God will help me all the way again like last time hanggang matapos itong isa nanamang pagsubok sa aking buhay....

Currently reading: Kaplan Computer Adaptive Test
Currently feeling: sleepy, tired and hungry

So guess what new toy I got? Yes, kids ... a Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens! Since I lack a full-frame digital SLR (Canon 5D - hint hint), the fisheye effect on my Rebel XTI is less pronounced. But this gave me a reason to shoot off a roll of Tri-X on my Elan 7. Now to send in my first roll of film since the Vietnam/Korea trip ...

Anyways, I had a lot of fun just taking shots close to where I live with this - these pictures aren't meant to be good in any way - they're just fun pictures I took tonight (I did take a lot of effort in setting up those beach pictures - these are coming straight off the memory card!). Once I get the hang of this lens, I may try to take some better pictures, but for now, I'm having a lot of fun.

Yay for where I live!

Yay for the US Grant and distortion!

I'm really looking forward to getting the Tri-X back.

So my short lens review: this lens is pretty awesome. The f/2.8 and wide angle actually makes it perfect (in my opinion) for shooting cities at night. It's weird to hear the autofocus motor whir (too used to USM, I guess). But it's a really fun lens.

I have a pretty awesome roadtrip up to Big Sur/Carmel over Thanksgiving, so I'm pretty pumped to make use of this new lens - the limited sensor size on my Rebel may force me to start shooting film again (time to find me some Velvia 50...)

Edit: If the friggin economy hadn't crapped out, and I had some capital gains to show for this year, I'd totally get the Canon 5D. Dag it. Now I have to actually wait and save. Blah!