If you’ve ever been on a UCLA tour, you might have heard some of the folklore, including a story about Bunche Hall getting rotated because it was causing too much of a glare on the 405. Perhaps this building needs a remodel!
So many colorful variations in this wonderful sunset! The pinkness of the clouds even further to the left was like something out of a cartoon.
Well, we made it past the “end of the world” today. 😉 While it does seem that the world is getting crazier, what with intense weather patterns and increased violence, I certainly don’t think we’re anywhere near the end of it. In fact, I’d like to think that we’re in a slough right now, getting overwhelmed by the pace of change. It’ll take us time as we continue to adjust to things like how to truly connect interpersonally in the digital age, how to conserve and reuse resources efficiently enough to not run out of them, and the like.
Oh, and don’t forget today was the winter solstice! As the shortest day of the year and the traditional “official” start to the winter months, it’s supposed to be a day where you feast. After all, you’ve got to get your body prepared to weather the long, cold days ahead! I certainly enjoyed a large dinner tonight. I’m looking forward to enjoying the final days of the year, including a trip to Vegas and Knott’s Berry Farm with Panda’s family, a nice quiet birthday dinner with Panda, and a peaceful New Year’s Eve with the cats as we ring in 2013. May it be filled with victories, joy, empowerment, and enrichment.
The Mother Nature’s been crazy lately, what with hail and then an earthquake. I caught some shots of the hail before it all melted away.
I love sitting on the porch when it’s raining out. It’s refreshing! Now if only my electronics played well with humidity…
raining by porch from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
One day, not long after Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy brought two windy, rainy days to our area, I was out walking and came across no less than 8 squirrels when normally I would have seen one or two. They must have been hungry after the storm, because they were ALL eating (or scavenging for food). Here are just a few I managed to capture on film (or so to speak)…
Yes, that little glob is a squirrel all the way up there!
Here’s a zoomed in shot of that squirrel, nibbling on a snack as the branch swayed in the wind.
This squirrel was doing some serious damage and really got into it.
I even put together a collage of some of the squirrels I came across.
I love a warm summer rain and I’ve always been fascinated with when it first begins and the drops evaporate from the ground fast enough that the wetness doesn’t “stick.” The one thing I’m not fond of – that wet asphalt smell that starts to waft up with the humidity.
raindrops on cement from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Well, here we go! A few days ago it became clear that Sandy would affect our region, so since then Panda and I have been gearing up, stocking up on food and filling up all the water bottles in the household with fresh filtered water. We’ve brought out the flashlights and charged up our devices. Now it’s time to settle in and wait it out.
As a federal employee, Panda has seen a notification on TV that his office will be closed tomorrow so we’ll be holed up together as the worst of the storm hits us. I’ll be watching the fury of the winds and rain as they pick up and probably post pictures/videos in the coming days. Other than that I expect to relax a bit since I’m pretty sure USPS is closed, so I can’t send out my packages. Maybe I’ll even get some reading done.
Remember that squirrel that randomly climbed all around my house? Well, here’s some video of it in action, first just trying to get away, then being too scared to move because my cat had spotted it (but quickly lost interest), then hanging on to the chimney despite the windy conditions that day.
squirrel climbing by roof from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
squirrel hiding from cat from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
squirrel on chimney from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
When the rain and sun cross paths, you get blossom rain (as I learned from Beneath Blossom Rain). It’s quite a beautiful thing!
blossom rain from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
What’s been going on lately? Between scorching heat waves and really heavy storms, we’ve experienced some really extreme weather patterns.
pouring rain from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
The rain was coming down so hard that we pulled over to wait it out.
crazy storm from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
