Paramount Tree Lighting

12/5/11
After a one-day postponement due to high winds which knocked Paramount powerless (literally), the tree lighting came back full force and was a wonderful time spent around friends and family. I didn't really know what to expect, but I really enjoyed seeing people and talking to new friends. The tree was absolutely beautiful and the snow at the end was a pleasant surprise--it was like Christmas at Disneyland! And it was a really great way to spend time with my aunt :)

Oh, and sorry Santa for stepping on your sleigh. And also a lady with a funny line: "I don't think that Santa could've filled my request anyway, it was a tall order. What I want for Christmas is a 6-foot man!" Haha that lady was funny. Also, somebody making ALL the lights go off by tripping over a single wire! And lots of interesting choices of Christmas music (Kermit the Frog?)

Photo Album 2011-11-13

Descanso Gardens

8/25/11
My dad, sister, and I wanted to do something before summer was over so we were about to go to the Huntington Library but we got too late of a start. We got there and then realized we were about to only have like, two hours there and would have to pay $15. So we decided to go to Descanso Gardens instead.

This was a very nice place. It's less manicured than the Huntington Library and is smaller and more woodsy. It was a pretty nice place though. One thing: it was SOOO HOT that day that we left before closing just because we were all dying and I forgot my baseball cap and so did Dana.

Kitten Photo Shoot

10/22/11
Went on a tiny photo shoot to capture Torie with her kittens outside. Michael and Dana were my reflector holders.

Universal Studios w/ Family

10/24/11
Went to Universal Studios with the family since Michael and Dana had a furlough day. It was a quick little 4-hour trip but it wasn't too busy and the weather was really nice.

Kitty Overload!

10/9/11
Some cat laid kittens outside of Torie's apartment and she's been taking care of them ever since. We went down to pick Torie up and played a little (okay, a lot) with the kittens.

Baby Justin

10/15/11
Went with Dana and Auntie Helen to go visit Uncle Philip, his wife, and baby Justin, who is all grown up now since we last saw him! We also visited Apple J, their tortoise.

Got lost on the drive there but found our way soon enough. Ahhh so confusing sometimes.

Japan L.A.'s Rilakkuma Event

9/24/11
Japan L.A. on Melrose had some Rilakkuma stuff imported from Japan and celebrated it with free cotton candy, a D.J., Lolita Girls, free prizes (with every $25 purchase), and Rilakkuma himself!

Afterwards, my auntie took us on a mini-tour around L.A. After getting our "free" Frysmith fries for being among the first 50 at the event, we went to Inksack, which is Michael Voltaggio's counter restaurant, and then headed to Starbucks as well as Scoops, a trendy ice cream place.

[Sorry for the poor lighting conditions--it was a simultaneously cold and hot day.]

San Diego Wild Animal Park

8/27/11
Went to the Wild Animal...er...Safari Park and it was awesome! It changed a lot since we had been there last (I think 2005?) Things got a lot more expensive and they upcharged for everything ($6 to go to the front of the line! $5 for premium Cheetah Run seats! $10 to go on the tram tour at all! $4 FRUIT.) Ah well, it goes to a good cause.

The caravan tour was AWESOME. Our tour guide Jeanie and our driver Dani were super cool and super informative. I came away from the day knowing a lot about animals. And the weather was super nice as well. Took A LOT of pictures. Thank you Nikon 70-300!!

Photos of me are either taken by Dana or Michael/Dad (I think?)

[Not shown: dinner at Roy's which was pretty good and fancy, breakfast the next morning with my mom]

Warner Brothers Studio

8/11/11
Went on the VIP Tour at the WB Studios. It was really fun and informative. Our tour guide was Max but he reminded me of Zack Galifinakis. There was a lot of stuff from Gossip Girls and Pretty Little Liar. And Harry's Law. I answered a lot of questions on the tour :D

Orange County Fair

8/6/11
The theme of the day was "Let's Eat!" I thought I was gonna try the deep-fried butter but I chickened out. Went with Catherine, Annie, and Janista and it was very nice weather. It was an epic time trying to get there haha. It was a nice day. The fair was huge.

Janista's first county fair!

Universal Studios w/FannyAnn

7/28/11
Fanny, me, and Maryann go to Universal Studios. Fanny's first time! Highlights: Jimmy Fallon, weird Simpsons picture, tour groups, locker rooms, annoying line people, and King Kong 3D (although I will miss the old one). Also, Fake Ben Bass.

Then we travel to the Griffith Observatory. Fanny's first time! The view of Los Angeles was breathtaking.

LACMA w/ Family

7/9/11
Dana had to go to the LA County Museum of Art for her figure drawing class so me, my dad, and Torie went too! Started the day off at the Farmer's Market and had breakfast at Du Pars. Then the museum! We didn't go to the Tim Burton exhibit because we didn't have time, but we are members now so we can go another time.

Taiko Project Rhythmic Relations

6/25/11
Fanny, David, Maryann's mom, and I come out to Little Tokyo to watch Maryann perform at her taiko recital. It was really good.

CalTech w/ Dora

6/15/11
Went on a photo trip with Dora to the CalTech campus. It's a pretty campus. The last time I had been there was probably like 6th grade for a piano recital.

It was nice weather and a lot of the time was just spent meandering. Meandering is awesome!

UCI Commencement

6/11/11
I graduate from UCI and from school!!! 16 years of schooling over in the best way :)

A Strange Hour

10/22/10
Maryann, Fanny, and I saw the man, the myth, the legend ALAN CHARLES WILDER at his Recoil show in the El Rey Theatre.

It was amazing. Dreams came true (except for the part where I was too short to reach his hand T__T)

Knott's Scary Farm 2010

10/7/10
Knott's Scary Farm, once again super fun! My camera died in the middle but my dad was able to recover the photos phew!

Eating Anteater

6/3/11
Zookeeper Ray let us come back and see how an anteater eats! Answer: like a dog or cat drinks water, by slurping it up with its tongue!

Gilberto let me try some of his wide angle and zoom lenses whoaa.

Baby Anteater

5/14/11
Me, Gilberto, and Anna go to the Santa Ana zoo to check out the baby anteater and take some pictures of it for the newspaper. Thanks to Zookeeper Ray for helping us out today. My first time seeing a real live anteater! They are so cool.

Angry anteater has its one paw up!

Disneyland w/ FannyAnn Again

5/6/11
Maryann, Fanny, and I visit Disneyland the day before the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides movie premiere. Caution: tons of Elvis pictures ahead! (Never thought I'd write that sentence.)

Renaissance Faire 2011

4/9/11
It's that time of year again for the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Irwindale! This time I went on opening day in costume again along with two pirates (Annie and Janista) and a girl from the future (Kristen). The bad part: no Prince Eric :( :( :(

Almost all of these were taken with the Nikkor 70-300 f/4-5.6 I THINK I LOVE THIS LENS NO I KNOW I DO

I began using manual mode but with the crazy weather that alternated from sunny to cloudy, I quickly learned to just stay on aperture priority mode. So excuse the first hundred or so pictures.

Encinitas

2/26/11
Went with the family to the opening celebration of my dad/sibling's sifu's friend's new karate studio. Then we went to Seaport Village and it simultaneously rained and then didn't rain. Missing: a hobo cart my mom wanted me to take a picture of but I didn't want to take a picture of a hobo cart. Kinda hard to take pictures of the karate because there were so many people in front of me, but it was still a fun event all around.

Taken with my dad's D90 and 18-200 super zoom kit lens.

Fashion Island

4/1/11
Fanny, Maryann, and I decide to go to Fashion Island because the weather was nice out and it was our last Week 1 together (i.e. no real homework).

Got lost on the way there (AGAIN) and other fun things, but in the end we got there and explored it for the first time. Irvine has such nice shopping centers full of things that I cannot afford.

Mary Stuart Selects

Queen Elizabeth I and her compatriots.

Promotional shots for the UCI production of Schiller's play 'Mary Stuart'.

Disneyland w/ Fanny and Maryann Again

3/18/11
Fanny, Maryann, and I have a magical day at DISNEY'S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Disneyland. Oh my gawd, ElecTRONica, how I love thee. Oh my gawd. Oh my gawd.

Not the best photo-taking day for me, but I got some that I am quite happy with.

Hollywood Adventures!

1/15/11
Maryann, Fanny, and I visit HOLLYWOOD to watch Rob Richards play the mighty Wurlitzer organ Ethel in the El Capitan theater as part of their Wurlitzer Weekend program. It was amazing and Fanny's first real time in Hollywood!

This was my first real time breaking in my new Canon Powershot S95, the hardest-to-find point-and-shoot camera to date! Everywhere was backordered but my dad managed to spot it on sale at Costco and leapt at the chance. Thanks Dad! What a great camera. It's so fun to take pictures with.

Disneyland w/ Maryann and Fanny

1/17/11
Disneyland with Maryann and Fanny--captions to come soon! Also photo rotation -_-

Renaissance Faire [Edited]

Which of these should I submit to the photo contest? There are four categories: General Fun and Festivities, Action, Romance, and Children (there's also a category for historical but I don't have anything for that)