That fish was really intent on making out with/cleaning the Lego man, haha.
silly fish & sharks from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Legoland fish
laelene Post in video blog，Tags: animals, behavior, fish, legoland, observation, vdieos
28
July
2012
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Feline dozing
27
July
2012
This afternoon, Missy decided to make herself at home on the back of my thighs and on my butt while I lay on the ground. She slept in many positions for about two hours before getting up!
Position #1: all curled up.
Position #2: relaxing and letting the limbs dangle.
Position #3: cozying up and tucking in her face.
Using those photos, I decided to make a collage on Diptic that I then posted on Instagram.
Afterwards, I shot a couple more positions that she slept in…
Position #4: all stretched out.
Position #5: the dangle.
Position #5 from ground level.
Finally, she yawned, got up, stretched, and moved to a spot on the floor. I was free to move again!
Blog makeover
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: blogging, change, pictures
26
July
2012
Yesterday I finally decided it was time to update my blog’s look since it’s been two or three years and my needs have changed. While my old theme served me well, I wanted some different features. For one, I wanted my intro section to be above the fold. Additionally, I wanted the subscription box to be visible above the fold too. I planned on adding a “Follow Me” section with icons linking to my profiles on social media sites, but that wouldn’t be immediately apparent on the old theme. Other than that, I wanted a similar three-column layout with nice use of colors, but something a little less flashy.
So here’s how my blog looked before and after the changes:
The old look.
And the new look!
As you can see, there’s more width in the blog post section to allow for larger pictures and videos. You also get more content above the fold since the lists are more condensed vertically. Finally, it’s much easier to see who I am, how to subscribe to the blog, and where to find me on other sites! I’m quite pleased and I’m sure this theme will last me a few more years.
Desserts first
25
July
2012
Back in high school, my best friends and I fancied ourselves famous (at least to the Olive Garden waiters) for being the “desserts first” type of people. Every time we got together for a meal at Olive Garden, we’d insist on our dessert item as the appetizer. We usually got a very confused and momentarily dumbfounded waiter who’d check with us: “Are you sure you want to have the dessert come out first?” We’d confidently confirm our choice and eagerly await the sweet treat. To a certain extent we did it to be rebels, but it was also a way of doing what we wanted instead of what was expected.
Over the years, I haven’t gotten the chance to continue this tradition, much to my dismay. I always start a meal saying I’ll get dessert only to get halfway through the entree and be too full to continue. Luckily, at most places they have desserts that I can just eat at home for cheaper anyway so I don’t feel like I missed out on too much. Instead, I happily stock up on loads of sugar-laden snacks at home to satisfy my unwavering sweet tooth. In fact, I have so much junk food at home that it often becomes my meal. I have a bad habit of forgetting lunch these days, or grabbing an ice cream bar in lieu of something more filling/less sugary.
Really what it comes down to is enjoying what I like. Why do I need to go through a ritual of drinks, appetizers, and entree before I can get to my dessert? There shouldn’t be obstacles in my way for such a simple goal. In many ways, this little choice speaks volumes to my own life philosophy. I believe in being able to enjoy what you want and not having to hold back because the world told you so. As long as it’s not irresponsible, I don’t see the harm in having my cake first or buying that item I like or treating myself to a massage. And so I do eat, buy, and experience what matters to me. Don’t get me wrong though – I exhibit a lot of self-control when it comes to making these decisions! I don’t jump at every opportunity to do what I want; I make sure to weigh the pros and cons extensively before diving in.
Blustery day
24
July
2012
It was rather windy out on our second excursion with Hawaii Nautical, but it did mean we got to actually turn off the engine and sail!
windy day at sea from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Cat crime
laelene Post in photo blog，Tags: animals, behavior, events, experiences, pictures
22
July
2012
Yesterday I came downstairs to find both my cats staring intently up at the living room window that’s near the roof.
It turns out that what I thought was a large moth was actually a hummingbird that one of them had caught. It found refuge on the window ledge.
There’s the guilty party who caught that hummingbird and brought it in.
This is the “crime scene,” where Missy probably wrestled with that hummingbird and it managed to fly away.
Here are two of the feathers so you can see how dainty they are. Unfortunately I had to leave for the day and by the time I came back, I found that the hummingbird must have tried to escape again only to get caught. 🙁
Kickstarter funding addiction
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: business, cool, gadgets, photography, technology
21
July
2012
For awhile I had heard whisperings of a site called Kickstarter, where you could use crowd-sourcing to help fund things, but I didn’t check it out. I forgot how I eventually ended up visiting the site one day… I probably read an article that led me to look into it further. Well, whatever the case, I found a gold mine of cool ideas that made me happy. After browsing through a bunch, I ultimately decided to fund one called Twig.
It’s an ultra-portable USB charger and stand for your iPhone. I hesitated at first because the new iPhone will be out in a few months (hopefully within 2!) and I plan on getting that. As it stands, the rumors of a smaller charging dock is probably true, so this device wouldn’t work with the new iPhone without a converter of sorts. Still, I really liked the idea and wanted to get behind it, so I went ahead and funded it.
Then I got one of the emails Kickstarter sends out highlighting some of their favorite projects and one of them really caught my attention. This one, called the Lumi Process, is like the opposite of developing film in a darkroom. Whereas traditionally you had to keep your negatives away from the sun, this process actually uses the sun to do the printing. They have a special ink that reacts to sunlight and imprints itself into any fibrous material. So the other cool thing is that you aren’t limited to paper like you are in a darkroom; now you can print on a wide variety of mediums, including various types of cloth and even wood. Being the wannabe amateur photographer that I am, this fascinated me and I just had to get in on the action.
I’ve even got some ideas brewing for Kickstarter projects that I want to post! It’ll be awhile before I’m ready for that stage, but I’m pretty excited and have done quite a bit of research to brainstorm some cool reward levels. If you haven’t already checked out the site, you should, and maybe in a few months you’ll see of my projects up there!
Horsing around
laelene Post in video blog，Tags: animals, behavior, hawaii, horseback riding, travel, videos
19
July
2012
When Panda and I were in Hawaii, we took half a day to go out to Kualoa Ranch, where we went on a two-hour horseback riding tour. Along the way, we ran across some chickens, cattle, and rebellious horses.
Here we came across a hen and some chicks. I’m surprised they stayed so close to the horses!
horse & chicken from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
The cattle stared at us suspiciously, but decided they’d let us pass without charging.
horse & cattle from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
My horse Toby kept going his own pace, which meant getting a fair distance behind the rest, so every now and then he’d trot to catch up. Bumpy!
trotting horse from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Here are some of the horses that weren’t “on the job” that day. I can’t tell if these two were nuzzling, neck-wrestling, or fighting.
nuzzling fighting horses from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Wanderlust journals
laelene Post in photo blog，Tags: notebooks, office supplies, pictures, travel
18
July
2012
I came across this set at Target for just $3! I just had to buy them.
The inside cover of each notebook had a public transportation design that I believe is based of the actual ones you can find in that city. Don’t they just make you want to travel?
Shopping style
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: behavior, habits, shopping
17
July
2012
I’m a “ponder a lot before buying” kind of person. Usually I don’t get something unless it falls into two categories:
- I’ve been meaning to get something like this
- I’ve been researching and wanting this
The first type is the spur-of-the-moment sort of purchase for me. While I didn’t have that exact product in mind, or any specific product really, it’s something that has been in the back of my mind. So I’ve been considering it and when I see something that is close enough and good enough, I might just pounce. It gives me the satisfaction of an unexpected surprise but still with some forethought so I don’t feel too impulsive.
The second type is the really thought-out sort of purchase, where I noticed the product before, checked it out in store and online, and waited for a sale or good deal to come along. Sometimes I do get a nice deal on it, sometimes I just reach a point where I feel like it’s worth it at full price, and sometimes I wait so long that I miss it. When I do get an item though, it feels really rewarding – like I accomplished a goal that I’ve had for awhile.
Because I don’t usually buy things the first time I come across it, I tend to walk around a store getting tempted by this and that, putting them into my cart, then reconsidering before checking out. Much of the time, I end up walking out with nothing because I reasoned that none of the items I got were really worth it at that time. Sometimes all I needed was to hold it and have it for a brief time to feel satisfied. I’m pretty good at convincing myself out of purchases most of the time.
Of course, there are just times where I splurge on something I never meant to, but I like to think that most of my purchases are reasonably vetted. 😛 I’ve yet to meet someone who goes around a store filling up a cart only to end up buying nothing, so speak up if you’re like that too! I imagine most people either don’t put the item in the cart in the first place or buy it if they do. Do you agree?
