One of the dogs at work is so freakin’ cute. Now if only he was more sociable…
prancing puppy from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
little lancelot from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
On a side note, why are vertical videos so narrow?
Family united
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: experiences, family, future, opinion, panda
20
December
2010
Once a year, around this time, my family gets together for the holidays. You’d think it’d be easier since it’s just my parents and I, but we’ve got lives on various parts of the globe now. Very reliably though, we go on a family vacation together for the holiday season. Last year it was Vegas. The year before was Cancun. This year? It’s time for the Bahamas!
For our second cruise ever, we will go from Miami to Nassau to Great Stirrup Cay and back again. Pretty exciting and I just can’t wait to play around in the ocean. I’m thinking of going on a snorkeling adventure with some sting rays (they are one of my favorite sea creatures!) and just enjoying the beautiful waters out there. Hopefully the weather will be agreeable and allow us to enjoy everything the islands have to offer. 🙂
It’s really nice to get together with my parents now. We’ve moved past the stage when I was a rebellious teen, always butting heads with them. I’m still stubborn, but my life is really in my control now and it’s great to have the freedom to make my own choices and share my life with my parents. Plus, there’s a lot more to talk about when you don’t see each other for extended periods of time. This year in particular I’m really excited because I’m finally moving out on my own with my first lease! I always subletted before, so it’s kind of cool to have ownership of a lease and know that half of that apartment is mine. It doesn’t hurt that is has awesome amenities and perks and is super close to work too!
When we get back from our little vacation break, I’ll spend a day with Panda for my birthday and then it’ll be time to get ready to move! I’m glad my parents will be around to share the experience with me, see the new place, meet the new roommate, and help me get all settled. I’m looking forward to the end of this year and the beginning of next. So many good things to come!
The iPhones: a side by side comparison
laelene Post in photo blog，Tags: gadgets, iphone, pictures, products, technology
19
December
2010
You can see the little increments on the compass for Safari and read the letters on the Contacts image!
I never really noticed that those globs along the right side of the Contacts image (as seen on an iPhone 3GS) were meant to be letters until I saw the retina display on the iPhone 4.
Settled
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: experiences, opinion
18
December
2010
Finally, I’ve got a place to live near work now! After weeks of searching, I found a suitable apartmentmate to split a two-bedroom with me. I can’t wait to get rid of the commute and get back 3 hours of my life each day! Plus, I am going to get around to some things I’ve wanted to do for awhile – yoga, working out regularly, maybe even get back into swimming again. 🙂
We get our keys on New Year’s Eve and have the weekend to move in! I’m really excited, but I’ve got to figure out how to transport some furniture (and which items to bring). I’m going to need to get a desk as well. Once the big items are in, I’ve got plenty of time to bring all the little things over. And then I can relish my new digs, complete with pools, jacuzzis, grills, gym, media center, mini movie theater, and so much more!
Yay for a wonderful start to the new year!
Wicked bird
laelene Post in video blog，Tags: animals, videos
17
December
2010
This bird was acting like it was possessed or something. It has a strange garble and kept puffing up to try to scare us into giving it food.
crazy bird from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Kitty in the window
16
December
2010
I was walking by some rooms in Saxon Suites on the UCLA campus when this kitty caught my eye. We’re not supposed to have animals in the rooms, so I wonder if those blinds were supposed to hide the cat, not frame him in the light. Oh how I miss having a cat! I can’t wait until I can get one again, one that will be naughty like this cat and let his curiosity guide him, defying any rules.
That’s what my cat did back in NY. He got us kicked out from a temporary living situation because he peeked through the blinds when management was walking by. We weren’t supposed to have a pet there. So, we had to move into the Hilton in Danbury until our house was ready for move-in. What a naughty little cat.
Pregnant police with clown shoes
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: behavior, blogging
15
December
2010
That was the image I created in my mind to help me remember three topics to write about – being pregnant, the police, and shoes (or more accurately, shoe boxes). Yeah, when you come up with such ridiculous imagery like that, it’s much easier to remember what you were trying to remind yourself when you were driving home. I seem to have this uncanny ability to forget all the things I told myself not to forget in the car. The moment I get out and into the house, my mind is elsewhere.
I’m thinking of getting the mail. I’m thinking of what to eat for dinner. I’m thinking of things to do when I get online. I’m certainly not thinking about what I was just 10 minutes before! And unfortunately for me, I tend to have quite the collection of brainstorms when I’m driving. Gotta keep my mind occupied, right? So I think of random interesting things and usually those become potential blog entries that I try to remember to write. But, many don’t get written because as soon as I turn off the car, I’ve got a million other things to consider. And out go all those ideas from the drive!
So one time, I decided to use the power of visual memory and put the three things I was trying to remember into one cohesive image. The items I wanted to write about were 1. how I never want to be “that” pregnant, 2. my fascination with law enforcement, and 3. how Scions look like shoe boxes to me. What do you think of my image? I was having trouble putting the shoe box into the picture, so I went for shoes (and the goofiest kind I could think of). Perhaps I should have thought of a pregnant police officer driving a Scion, but that just didn’t seem silly enough for me to remember. And hey, it worked! As you can see from the posts I linked to, I wrote about each of those topics. 🙂
Powerful imagery. Try it sometime!
Here to save the day
laelene Post in video blog，Tags: experiences, los angeles, videos
14
December
2010
I’m always fascinated by law enforcement/public servants (or whatever police, firemen, and paramedics are categorized as). The firefighters work to fix things after an underground explosion and the helo flies overhead to scan for something. All protecting us in their own way.
reeling firehose from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
helo overhead from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Dirt for sale
laelene Post in photo blog，Tags: los angeles, observation, pictures
13
December
2010
Hey, you can make a side business out of anything!
Ink and paper
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: behavior, future, panda, preferences
12
December
2010
I miss writing.
Not so much writing to express myself, to create something, or to document things. What I really miss is the physical act of writing. I’ve been maintaining this blog for about two years now, a few months after I stopped keeping my daily (handwritten) journal. So all my thoughts and experiences are captured on the keyboard, electronically. Then at work I spend my typing emails, instant messages, and clicking around the internet. Hardly a need for pen and paper. At home, I talk to Panda via instant messenger and communicate with other friends through email and social networks.
It’s been awhile since I’ve had to sit in a class or meeting and take notes. I haven’t had a need to write a letter to anyone. I don’t even pass notes to my friends like I did in middle school. Now it’s all happening through my computer. And after two years, I’m finding that I want to get back into writing things again. Sure, it can be a waste of paper, but there’s something so satisfying about watching ink flow onto paper. I’d like to catch up in my journal (yikes, two and a half year’s worth of stuff to write!) and use my wonderful sets of pens again.
I suppose that’s my inspiration. I have some fantastic pens that make me itch to use them. One set is scented, smelling like anything from strawberries to blueberries to grapes or lemons. The other set Panda got for me and they’re designed to prevent check fraud. They also happen to write really well. It’ll be a bit overwhelming to piece together my life since I stopped keeping track of my daily experiences, but I might just start up again and get back into the world of writing. I’ve always found it a sort of pleasing end when I run out of ink in my pens. Think of all the things I wrote (and maybe also doodled) with that pen! The marks that were left behind! I love preserving memories.
