Symbols in the sky

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circle with line drawn through made by plane in sky

We kept seeing these all Memorial Day weekend - there was a second line drawn later crossing the first one.

Back to work

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All too soon the holiday weekend is over and Panda and I are back to our lives so distanced from each other.  It was a nice long weekend though, and a welcome break from the hubbub of the daily grind.  Today we got to spend the day at the LA Zoo, exploring the various habitats and enjoying the beautiful day.  Tomorrow morning he’s off on a plane back to the East Coast and I’ll be in the office not long after.  It’s been a great 10 days having him around and I look forward to the next time he’s in town.

If only we had more 3-day weekends!  This one has been gloriously long and we got so much done it’s hard to believe it’s only been a few days and not an entire week.  I can’t wait for the next one in just over a month.  Hopefully I can fly out to see him again at that time and enjoy some more time out east with him.  I like the idea of us traveling back and forth to see each other while we’re living and working so far apart.  Hey, when you’re young, traveling is a fun perk!  I plan on taking advantage of it while I can.  Maybe even do a mini vacation to another city while we’re at it.

But for now, tomorrow is the start of a new work week and we have two new interns joining us, so that’ll be cool.  I always love a little bit of change and since I hear both are girls, that really helps the male to female ratio in the office.  We haven’t had that many women in the office since I’ve been around!  I’m looking forward to it.

Windblown

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Panda and I went to Fiesta Hermosa today and boy was it windy and chilly at the beach! Waves were crashing in more violently than normal, sand was getting blown around, my hair and dress got whipped about, and so did a kite some people were flying.

windy beach day from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

blown around from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

kite in wind from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Arbor-seat’em

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Hahaha, get it? Arboretum… arbor-seat’em. 😉

wooden bike seat poking up in back of car

I was at a red light waiting to turn and I noticed this in the car in front of me. I'm pretty sure it's a wooden seat to a bicycle. Random!

Long weekends

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It’s amazing how quiet things are in the office the day leading up to a long weekend.  People are so eager to finish the day early that not much gets done, which sort of perpetuates the whole situation.  After all, why stick around when you’ve finished up your work for the week?  And so it goes, usually with no more than a half day’s worth of work accomplished before everyone packs up and heads out.  Unfortunately for me, I do my weekly reports on Fridays and they always take up quite a bit of time.  Many a time I’ve been the last one left on a Friday night and today I was determined to not let that happen again.

Thankfully, I didn’t have too much work to do besides the report, which takes about 3-4 hours to compile.  It didn’t help that our CTO brought in a Justin Bieber DVD to play, which was at once annoying and distracting.  I can only handle so much tween screaming before getting a major headache!  I was relieved when that was finally over and I was nearing the end of my report.  It was almost 4 PM and there was light at the end of the tunnel!

Ah, American holidays.  It’s so rewarding to get a long weekend to recoup after months of the daily grind.  I’ve hardly even gotten to rest on the weekends since there’s just so much to do.  Hopefully I can catch up on some rest this weekend, what with no GMAT class or events to attend.  Still, Panda’s in town so I want to do some things with him and of course we want to try to meet up with some friends before he jets off again.  I’m glad we have the extra time!

Roaring cats

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It sounds like roaring to us, but hey maybe this is just how they talk.

roaring lions from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Camo-bugs

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bug camouflaged to look like stem or leaf of plant

preying mantis camouflaged to look like dead leaf

preying mantis camouflaged to look like dead leaf hanging from tree stem

A day for returning to UCLA

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This past Saturday was UCLA Alumni Day, where alum are invited back to their alma mater to spend a day listening to panels, taking tours, and otherwise enjoying what UCLA has become in the years since graduation.  It’s a nice day to go back to campus and find out what the latest is with the university and I was really glad that Panda was able to come with me this time.  We haven’t been away from campus long enough to need tours to reintroduce us to the ever-changing landscape, so we signed up for the three panels of the day to learn about advances in healthcare, innovation, and motivation.

The first panel was enlightening and really highlighted the delicate balance between human service and machine assistance that is required in the medical field.  While technology allows more and more processes to become semi-automated, the human component becomes increasingly important to maintain.  After all, you don’t remember how nice a machine was to you – you remember how kind that nurse, doctor, or other staff were.  Parts of the talk were a bit lecture-y and it was hard to stay focused due to the intellectual nature of the topic, but overall I did enjoy and appreciate it.

During the lunch break, Panda and I headed over to the School of Engineering’s open house, where we saw some student exhibits, got some free swag, grabbed some snacks, and got a tour of the plasma lab.  It was my first time really exploring Engineering V and IV, and Panda got to show me some cool spots, like the second floor balcony area that I never knew existed.

After wandering around trying to decide on which place to eat lunch (we were given vouchers to choose our own meals this year), we came back for lecture number two on innovation.  The entire panel consisted of Disney employees, past and present, and each had prepared some sort of visual to share.  Definitely a completely different tone and vibe from the first panel.  While the talk itself was fun and lively, I didn’t understand the connection to UCLA or alumni day.  Whereas the first panel was addressing an issue that UCLA is deeply involved in and at the forefront of, this one struck me as almost a marketing pitch.  I didn’t feel like I learned much, but I guess it was more about being entertained.

Towards the end of the panel, during the question and answer session, the fire alarm went off in Ackerman Union, so we had to clear the space.  Panda and I wandered around enjoying strolling around campus and eventually ended up in Wilson Plaza, where breakfast and the opening ceremony had been.  Due to the fire alarm, the third panel was actually moved out here, so we were there when it began.  The motivation one seemed to pretty much just be about sports, so we decided to catch a tour bus and check out Westwood.  Unfortunately, we got in line too late to get a seat on atop the open-air bus, so we were stuck downstairs.  It was a pretty quick trip around our campus and the town; I really wish the bus had stopped in certain areas so the student volunteers could explain more about the new buildings and other changes to student life.

Soon enough, it was time for the closing speeches and dinner.  While we were eating, a random lady approached me asking if I spoke Chinese.  When she found that I did, she began to ask about the university.  It turns out she was scouting for her daughter, who will be applying in two years.  After a hearty conversation, Panda and I finished up our meals and went over to the registration tent to take a picture with Joe Bruin.  I had decided that I wanted to take the buckets used as centerpieces for the tables, so we walked around looking for an empty table so we could take the bucket without having to ask if someone else wanted it.

And that was it, the end to our very first UCLA Alumni Day together!  I’m sure we’ll find time back at campus more valuable the more time we spend away from it.  Still, not a bad start to what hopefully becomes a tradition for us.  Oh yeah, and apparently the world was supposed to end right around the time we were having dinner!  So much for that.

Awesome aquatic pets

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If I could have a huge saltwater tank, I’d want a pet ray. Remove the stinger and these guys are amazing – so soft, so graceful, and quite friendly too!

This guy was so eager to be petted he was coming out of the water!

bobbing ray from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

They’re not just soft, they kind of feel… fluffy.

petting spotted ray from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

I quite like the cownose ones, probably because this one was super friendly.

pet cownose ray from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Their little mouths are so cute! They look like a face themselves, but the eyes of course are actually on top. I believe those are the nostrils?

ray face from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Romano’s tradition

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[It’s a bit faint, but look closely or click on the picture to see the full size.]

name written upside down in crayon on paper tablecloth

Hey, I can write upside down too! (It's a Romano's tradition for the waiters to write their name for you so that it's upside down to them and rightside up to you.)

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