Hummingbirds are the most fascinating birds… they’re like the helicopters of the plane world. I’d never seen so many at once, and in the middle of the UCLA campus nonetheless! Out of all that concrete and brick, they were able to find these feeders. Cool, huh?
flitting hummingbirds from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
So I mentioned a little while back that I am watching Medium, and I have found I have little patience for overbearing parents. I get annoyed that they are always so worried – you’re too young to have an email account, you’re too young to walk home alone, you’re too young to stay home alone. Blah, blah, blah. What is this crazy control these parents think they can exert? Sure, you should be careful, but you never let your child out of their gilded cage, they’ll never learn to fend for themselves. The world, though filled with its dangers, is also totally to navigate without being hand-held the whole way through.
I quite like the way that I grew up and it had nothing to do with what I’m seeing in this show, and in other families. Granted, by the time the internet and email came around, I was already a pre-teen, so there wasn’t much concern over when I’d be ready. Then again, the eldest daughter in the show wasn’t allowed to get an email account until she was 13 or 14 (and only under the condition that her parents had full access). I got myself plenty of accounts, as well as instant message screen names and even free websites. I stayed home alone for a few hours here and there as early as 8 and by the time I was in 6th grade, I’d be home alone for days at a time.
A child who had a babysitter stay with them instead wouldn’t have learned the responsibility that I did. How do you expect someone to take care of herself when you never let her be on her own? No wonder it’s a huge deal for parents when their beloved child is off to college. It’s the first time in 18 years they’ve ever let them leave the house for more than a week! But me, I got to travel and visit relatives in China. I got to go to a variety of summer camps and enjoy myself, learn more about myself and the world. I would have hated to stay with my parents all the time, sleep in the same bed every night. Perhaps that is why I had absolutely no trouble traveling through Europe alone for a couple of weeks. Perhaps that is why I never got too homesick while studying abroad for a year. These are skills that can be learned very early and life and it certainly helps you cope with the situations that can arise in your adult life.
I don’t believe in parents always peering over their child’s shoulder, not giving them privacy or space to grow and learn. I am great at detecting spam mail or other shady business because I have seen it since I first got on the internet. I know exactly how to take care of myself when I am alone. I don’t put myself in dangerous situations and when I am alone in a foreign place, I am always conscious of my surroundings, making sure no stranger gets too close or that anyone is following me. I learned a lot of street smarts by being out in the world. I don’t think there’s any other way to do it. So when it comes time for me to be a parent, I am not going to prevent them from going to sleepovers or seeing boys/girls or getting an email account all to themselves. I’d rather teach them the skills to know how to take care of themselves in each situation. After all, experience is the best teacher, isn’t it?
Tucked away in a teeny coffee shop in LA is this Asian-inspired piece. What a cool table to chill around.
The Tiger Temple in Thailand is pretty amazing. There’s a certain awe surrounding creatures so magnificent and powerful. When you go, there’s an area where the adult tigers hang out during the day, with lots of keepers around who take you around to get pictures with the tigers. Each person who goes to take pictures is paired with two keepers – one to lead them and one to take pictures. I put my camera on video mode so I could get a little live footage before the photographer keeper figured it out and switched it to camera mode. Here’s that footage:
petting a tiger from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
I then noticed one of the tigers pacing around as the keepers tried to calm him. Nobody was allowed to take pictures with him while he was in a mood.
pacing tiger from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
And then in another area, two baby tigers were playing with the monks who take care of them. They’re so cute! But don’t be fooled, these suckers are strong!
playful baby tiger from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
baby tiger playing from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
One of my coworkers has been working hard to renovate his yard into the ultimate spot to hang out and throw some parties. It was finally ready for its official unveiling today and he held a day-long party to celebrate! I moseyed over around six and quickly fell into conversation after conversation. My original plan of just stopping by for an hour or so soon dissolved and I settled in for hours of chillaxin’. With a jacuzzi, bonfire pit, sand beneath your feet, ocean breeze swirling around, and wall projector, what more could you ask for? This picture doesn’t do the place justice.
Between all the fun chatting and hanging out with some newly-made buddies, I took a detour to two guys’ apartments so they could change into something warmer for nighttime in the beach community. Seeing these three places so close to the beach makes it a really appealing place to be. Who doesn’t enjoy an ocean view? I think I’d live a much more active lifestyle if I was right there. It would make me want to walk around more.
I happened to have my Acu Hoop in the car, which is a 3-lb hula hoop meant for working out with. Many tried, but few could master the moves it takes to use one of those suckers. It was hilarious to see people try though! Sure made for quite the entertainment when they’d try all sorts of hip wiggles and pelvic thrusts to keep it going. Unfortunately, those motions don’t work very well for keeping such a heavy hula hoop going. All you need to do is stand straight and move a little side to side. I tried to teach a few, but they all attempted to move around too much. Oh well, it was great entertainment!
I was one of the only girls there, which is quite reminiscent of my work environment, where I am currently the only girl. It’s always an interesting dynamic, where I am either often the center of attention or pretty much ignored. Today was much more of the former than I’ve had in awhile, and it was interesting. I had a lot of fun even when I was teased, hassled, or otherwise talked about. Boys will be boys, as I’ve learned. These guys certainly knew how to have a lot of fun though and that brought out the bubbly side of me, which was great. I haven’t been in situations like that lately, where I can be the sociable person I am in gatherings like today’s. I enjoyed getting out and meeting new people while enjoying a really great part of LA.
It’s been around a year now since I decided I would do a daily entry for this blog. As I adjust to working life, perhaps it is time to consider posting a little less than daily. I have accidentally missed a day or two here and there so far and I wonder if I should just let days like that go. So far I’ve been making them up right away. It wouldn’t be a tragedy if posted 4-5 times a week, would it? I’m just afraid that one day off will lead to another and slowly things will dwindle. If I stick to the strict regimen of one post per day, it keeps me on track and doesn’t allow room to stray. Maybe I need that sort of discipline.
I think I’ll give it a try though, allowing myself to skip a day here and there and see if I start slipping. If that’s the case, I’ll tighten up my resolve and go back to one a day for consistency’s sake.
Early in the year, an electrical explosion underground rocked Westwood and created quite a mess when much of the neighborhood was blacked out to fix the issue. Here it is minutes after the explosion.
Well gee, you can’t put a sign up like that without inviting me to exploit it just a little. All in good fun! I’ve taken so many action shots I’ve gotten the timing just right, but Panda still needs to perfect the skill…
Over the past couple of years, the term “superfruit” has taken hold and generally refers to more exotic fruits that have high antioxidant levels and an abundance of nutrients. There’s nothing wrong with the standard fruits at the store, like strawberries, oranges, or blackberries, but this new breed of superfruits has been elevated onto a pedestal and given some sort of glamorous image. It started off with blueberries and pomegranates, which are relatively accessible. Then came açaí berries that became all the rage, yet no one really knew what they were. Certainly understandable since most of us will never encounter a fresh one in our lives. From what I know, they are highly perishable items and are generally found in the Amazon region. By the time they could get shipped to the US, they would have gone bad, so they are only found as juices or flavorings.
Along the way, other exotic fruits have gained popularity, like goji berries, maqui berries, chermoyas, etc. They haven’t been quite as well-known as blueberries, pomegranates, and açaí berries though. Based on the products I see being sold, that trio has been unbeatable. Now it seems that a new fruit is on the verge of breaking into their market share. The yumberry, aptly named, is a red fuzzy fruit that I have also never seen fresh. As a child I knew them as yang mei (??) and often ate preserved ones, which are delicious! Forget about plums or apricots or whatever else dried fruit you may have had – these things are the bomb. (Well, to someone like me who loves tart things anyway.) And now Honest Tea and Jamba Juice have added them to their products as they slowly gain popularity and recognition. Though the drinks don’t really remind me of the dried fruits I used to eat, I’m glad to see they’re getting their day in the spotlight.
So if you haven’t tried them yet, go explore and try to get a real one. But if you can’t, you might luck out at a local Asian supermarket with the preserved ones. I’m going to try to hunt them down too!
leafy sea dragon from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
