Panda’s flying out tonight, so I decided to go with some shots of LAX that we got while visiting Clutter’s Park on Valentine’s Day.
I see the Goodyear blimp!
And the Hollywood sign!
Peering out at LAX. This is where I'll be when Panda flies home!
I was sitting at lunch on Friday with my coworkers when it suddenly dawned on me: I don’t relate to people like much of the population. There they were, talking about this and that movie or show or whatever and I, like usual, had pulled out my phone to play a game. One of them asked me why I was zoning out and I said that they always talked about things I don’t know much about and don’t really care about. So, they asked me what I wanted to talk about and I said something not related to entertainment. There was a pause in conversation as they quietly thought of what else to discuss and soon enough, the conversation was back up again, once again about entertainment.
Yup, they can’t go a single conversation without making a movie or pop culture reference it seems.
I went back to my game and the next time I started to listen to the conversation again, they were on to religion; another topic I don’t know about or really care about. Most of them were brought up Catholic and they talked about how they weren’t practicing Catholic, but considered themselves so just because they grew up with it. I don’t believe I’ve ever been to a Catholic service before, so I had no clue what they were talking about. Then one of them talked about raising kids as Catholics so they’d have some sort of moral guideline. Kind of ironic since all of them have delved in less than savory behavior, whereas I’ve stayed away from such things without any religious upbringing. So, once again I did not relate to the conversation and zoned out until the food arrived.
Now don’t get me wrong, I get along with these people quite well. I enjoy working with them and have plenty of good conversation with them. But, I’ve noticed that when we get together as a group (usually over lunch) and they get to talking, it’s almost always about things I don’t know about. I don’t really watch movies or follow famous people, I’m not religious, and I don’t drink or indulge in other substances. That covers about 90% of the shared experiences they talk about. So in a group, I’m left to just sit and listen, or stop paying attention.
When it comes to talking one-on-one though, I get a lot better conversation going. Things I do share with the majority of people is a love for food, travel, and updating each other on our lives. More specific interests that fewer people share with me include business, entrepreneurship, reading and learning, UCLA, animals, photography, exercise, yoga, cultures, and philosophy. There’s still plenty to talk about, but what I like is just not the topic of choice in larger groups at my office. It’s too bad, since I love going out to lunch with these people! It’d be nice if I could join in on the conversation more.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just do away with oil altogether? At least in terms of powering our vehicles…
Oh, BP...
I thought drawbridges were pretty outdated, but this one is still quite active in downtown Miami!
drawbridge closing from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Today is Panda’s birthday! It’s fitting that he’s celebrating another year just as he gets ready to embark on the next stage of his life. In just a few days, he’s off to the east coast to start a job, a career. It’s also his first time living outside of Los Angeles, so there will be a lot of learning and adjusting to do. Hopefully the worst of the storms has passed for this year, so he won’t have to deal with driving in the snow. Living so far from is already going to be a challenge in and of itself, weather notwithstanding.
This Sunday will be the last full day we get to spend together for a long time and I am excited to be sharing some of our favorite things together, including good food and good friends. Of course we will also have some alone time to enjoy each other’s company before our primary mode of interaction becomes Skype. Back when I went to Singapore for a few months, we had been through this challenge (in addition to a pretty drastic time difference). While this won’t be as bad, it will have to sustain for longer, so I am preparing myself for some tough times.
The good thing is that this is a great opportunity for him to grow and hopefully within a few years I can move out there (or he will decide to try something else and we will both move to the same place). It’s too early to say what might happen until then, but we’ve weathered a storm before and I am confident we can do it again. I just hope that we are able to visit each other every few weeks or months. Things are so much better when I can share them with him.
Yay, I can finally get some strawberries this year! Those flowers should all give way to fruit soon...
kids love hippos from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
hippo break from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Oskar like this kind of stress relief - it's like a whole body massage when you pull the string and the grenade vibrates!
Lately I’ve noticed a lot of larger birds on street lamps (mostly by the highway). It started with this one owl by my high school, and has continued with more owls and some hawks. They’re big and beautiful and I only wish I could stop for a picture! It makes me wonder if something has changed lately to make them come out more. Perhaps their habitats aren’t what they used to be? Or they’ve learned to pick up the hobby of car-watching?
I am intrigued and I wish I knew a naturalist or someone who follows wild bird patterns. They could probably shed some light on the situation, since I feel like these birds should be deep in a forest or high in the skies, not sitting on a lamp post overlooking the I-5. At the very least, wouldn’t they take shelter in the branches of a tree? Even with the rain lately, I’ve seen them out and about, sitting atop their metal perches in the cooling rain. If I was them, I’d be in a tree trying to stay dry, not out in the midst of the downpour.
Oh, and I came home to find one of our lawn chairs torn apart one day. Looks like one of those birds could have done it. What’s up with the migration into human territory? I thought there was plenty of greenery and trees for them in the mountains by La Canada. Instead they’re coming out to places with sparse tree growth and high concentrations of human activity. Weird.
I’ve always wanted to be in a cop car when they slow down traffic like that. Too bad this time I got caught behind him and my dad was just in front of him, in the Budget truck! Almost lost track of him on moving day to my new apt last month.
weaving popo from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
