This post is long overdue, but it's a Sunday night and I've just had a caffeine overload, so here it goes. A few weeks ago we headed inland to watch my friend Diana perform with Naruwan Taiko at the Los Angeles Taiwan Festival. Needless to say they were the best show of the day. This is how you can tell you're in Monterey Park. I think they meant "park." :) That and the fact that everything smells delicious. Though I guess that depends on the person, I haven't gotten quite accustomed to the smell of stinky tofu yet.


They recently played at the San Diego marathon for four hours, and I have no idea how they managed to sustain their high energy performance. I saw the pictures of their blistered hands on Facebook to prove it.
 
Diana

 

Tony's finals are winding down, as is his two year MBA career at Andersen. It feels like college again, and I can tell he's feeling quite nostalgic when he's not overwhelmed with finals/projects/papers/interviews/(insert more busy activities here). In an effort to give him a break, we decided to do... a four mile, 3.5 hour hike with almost 1500 feet in elevation gain. Probably not your average relaxation technique, but that's Tony. :) In a desperate attempt to go back to our previously healthier ways, we've been trying to hike around the area more. We ended up choosing Hondo Canyon Trail in Topanga, which is a pleasant change from the sight (and smell) of cardio machines and weights. It's a lovely little sylvan canyon that feels a world away from the blare of Los Angeles. Finding the trailhead is somewhat difficult (you drive up and down the street looking for a tiny sign that says "backbone trail"), but the drive itself is full of interesting knick knacks like abandoned boats and antiques (I'd love to take pictures there and yes, I have photography on the brain). Here are a few pictures of the hike:

 

The gorgeous valley and the interesting rock formations
 
One of the few times that Tony managed to wrest the camera away from me. We ate lunch at the top (I use that term loosely, we made it to the top of that trail, and walked partway up another trail). On the way up I ran a few short parts of the trail, which was awesome because it's such a great workout. But on our way down, I was essentially full/lazy/careless. I ended up rolling my ankle on a fat, clearly visible rock on a flat, easy stretch of dirt. D'oh.
 
So I consoled myself by taking more pictures.
 
I have no clue what this thing is. At first I thought it was a rather oddly colored snake, but then I noticed upon uploading the pic that it had legs.
 
Moss graffiti
 
You can sort of see the ocean from our vantage point.
 

A grasshopper masquerading as a stick, and doing a pretty good job of it, too!
 

I like all the colors. It's definitely not as lush as other, wetter seasons, but still so lovely.
 

Seventeen days ago my friend Ricky started taking a picture a day and uploading it into an album he called "three six five." Essentially, it's a picture a day for a whole year. At least... that's the goal. Anyway, big bully that he is, he managed to get an impressive number of people on board, including me. You would think that after taking so many pictures that I'd get tired or bored, but for some reason, the 365 project is a great creative outlet for me. It's like working out a muscle, taking pictures daily helps me see things a little differently and (I think) shoot better. Plus it's also an interesting way to connect with your friends, what they photograph and why.



You can check out the whole album here.

Yesterday I met up with Ellen at Wurstküche, a trendy, minimalistic hot dog eatery in the artist district of downtown Los Angeles. We had originally made a date for tea, but somehow ended up at a sausage-and-beer place. It has some rather exotic flavors like rattlesnake and rabbit, along with the more traditional bratwursts.



The meal also made me very nostalgic for Top Dog, a hot dog "stand" in Berkeley. Because though a good smoked chicken apple is more readily available than it used to be, how can it beat the late night memories of political debates with the Top Dog guy as he handles both your hot dog and your money with his bare hands?

 

Afterwards, we walked around for a bit, the people seem to paint on every surface imaginable. Guess what's below:
  It's a dumpster. We eventually ended up at Little Tokyo for some cream puffs at Beard Papa.
I rarely visit downtown LA, it feels like parts of LA are worlds away because of traffic. But the very first place Tony and I lived in together was downtown LA. Downtown is a place that is convenient to everything but close to nothing. But it has it's own charms and I definitely miss it. It brought a lot of memories as I was driving through some of the places I walked through while living there.

Breakfast at the Pantry
 
Walt Disney Concert Hall

 

French dip sandwiches and pickled eggs at Philippes
 
The tomato basil empanada at the Farmer's market
 
But mostly I think I miss seeing all the skyscrapers and bright lights that characterized my imagination of Los Angeles growing up. Below is the view from my apartment "backyard." I took this picture one night after we were walking back from a modern rendition of the "Taming of the Shrew" at the Catheral of our Lady of the Angels (complete with a wii they somehow incorporated into the performance).

 

Bye downtown.

I've been off the internet grid for a few days because my computer was on the fritz. I'm ashamed to admit this, but it's such a relief being back. It also reminds me of my social dependence on the internet. We're so used to being networked in all these different ways on the web that more often than not we overlook the tangible, (dare I say it) real connections face-to-face. I am far more likely to shoot off an email than pick up the phone, which probably isn't the healthiest way to go about everything. Lesson learned. Can I have my computer back now? :) Just kidding. Sort of. Regardless, it was a real relief to see friends and family all weekend, therapy to my isolation bubble during the week. This weekend was a veritable eating bonanza, I feel like I need to work off at least a week's worth of food crammed into two days. I ended up photographing Jen and her fiance at the Getty, and even managed to convince my buddy Ricky to hold a few poses of his own.
 
"Nope, I can do better," was his response to the above picture. And then he rocked it out with this:
 
Awesome jumps, Ricky.