Hopes for My Trip

I'm sitting here at the terminal, killing time until my plane boards in 3 hours. So I thought I'd do a little test to see if I could write a post via my phone and upload it by email.

I've already flown 5 hours today, catching a red-eye from Seattle to Dulles. Now I'm waiting for a 14+ hour flight to the continent of Africa. I'll have another layover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia before arriving at my end destination of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Overall, it amounts to roughly 24 hours of travel time... The things I do to try to satisfy this travel bug of mine.

Once there, I get to spend three weeks in Tanzania and its island republic of Zanzibar. The first few days will be spent on safari, shooting animals... with my trusty camera. Then a quick hop over to Zanzibar for some beach time. The latter two weeks will be spent volunteering at a couple Young Life camps, playing with kids and building relationships.

On a deeper level, I know the camps will be energizing, especially in a spiritual aspect. But I'm also hoping that my time away from my regular life will help provide some clarity and direction of what's next in my life. I feel like I'm at a crossroads, and decisions need to be made, but my brain is so bogged down that I can't move. A mental paralysis of sorts.

I live a very charmed life, and have been blessed in many ways. But I often lose sight of that-- I see all the distractions, and lose focus of what's important. It reminds me of the movie "City Slickers"... Billy Crystal's character leaves on his annual trip with friends, struck in the rut of everyday life. But as the trip progresses, he begins to renew, and by the end of the movie, he "finds his smile" again. That's what I want-- to return home as a new and refreshed man.

So there you have it-- the thoughts of a man who's going on three hours sleep and an avenue to share them. Definitely not what I expected to write when I started this "test" post. But it's what I'm hoping for on this trip. That and great photographs to share with you all. :-)

My stylish childhood

I'm here at my folks house in Florida, and I found this picture of me... If you look closely, my first camera is beside me on the floor too. Thought I'd share it with you.

Shooting "Candidly"

Over the past few months, one of the areas of my photography I've tried to improve are candid photographs of people... At first, I started taking pictures of my friends' kids... It's always fun to try to capture their wonder and joy as they interact with their surroundings, whether it be toys, food, or other people.

Here are a few of the moments I've been able to capture on "film".

Some things I've learned along the way when taking photographs of kids.

1. Get "kid level" and stay low to the ground... try to see things from their vantange point.

2. It definitely helps if they know you and are comfortable with you... playing with them before the pictures always helps.

3. If possible, set your camera settings to high-continuous shutter... a fraction of a second can make the biggest difference in a shot.

Then there are the event candids that I have been working on. These have been much more difficult than I anticipated... I've been bringing my camera to more functions, trying to capture the spontaneous moments of people in conversation and activity. In many ways, I feel I am weakest in this type of shooting. More often than not, I depend too much on my zooms, and not enough on my feet. So although I can get a tight shot of the person/place/thing, the angle at which I'm taking the photograph is subpar. It's a lesson I continually need to tell myself - "MOVE YOUR FEET!".

My Parents' Parents

I had lunch with a friend from church a couple days ago. We served on the pastor nominating committee together for two years, and a friendship formed. Since he's retired and I have some free time right now, it made sense to grab a bite together and catch up. The time was well spent and I certainly enjoyed the company and the conversation. It's what you would consider a "cross-generational" friendship; he is more than twice my age. We obviously are in different stages of life, but it is those differences and experiences that make our friendship unique.

Our time over lunch reminded me of something related to this that's been on my mind recently -- my grandparents. I've lost each of them over the past three decades. Between the two sets, I knew my mother's parents better than I knew my dad's for a couple reasons. One, they lived near by our family, and second, my father's father (we called him "Yeh Yeh") passed away when I was five years old. But I knew each of them as well as a grandchild can know their grandparent I suppose. For that I am grateful.

Having said that, now that I'm older, I find myself wishing that they were still around so I could have gotten to know them better as an adult. I wish I could ask them the questions I didn't know to ask as a child. What it was like to grow up in China? What was it like to to have lived nearly a century ago? How did you two meet? What's been memorable about your life? Your biggest regret? What was my parent like? It's this that saddens me the most -- I have a million questions, and no possible way to get the answers to get to know them better. All that I have are the stories that are shared among family members, and the memories of childhood long ago.

I write this post not to dampen the mood, but as reminder to those of you out there who still have grandparents; if you haven't already, go and give them a call. Or a visit. And a hug. Maybe brew a pot of coffee and turn off the tv/computer/phone and chat for a while. My guess it will be well worth the time.

I would add more pics, but these were the only two I could find.

Two Weekends a Week

If you had two days each week for yourself, what would you do? Would you go hike a trail you've had your eye on all winter? Would you stay in bed and read until noon? Perhaps take a class or internship to learn something new?

As of two weeks ago, I've started living this very situation. The reason? Budget at work has been cut this year, which means less work for me. Less work for me means that I am working a part time schedule since I'm consultant/vendor, typically Tuesdays through Thursdays. And so far, it's been great.

Up until today, I've had activities for my days off. The first day was spent catching up on overdue home projects. Then last week, my roommate was on spring break, so he, his girlfriend, and I got to have not one, but TWO, Seattle days... The first was spent eating Philly cheesesteak, delivering lunch to B at work, and driving around the Mt. Baker and Genesse neighborhoods. Then on Friday, we enjoyed the deliciousness of Salumi sandwiches and then gazed upon the Seattle Photography Club exhibit at the Henry Art Gallery. Both these days, the sun was out, and we got a taste of Seattle spring. On a side note, B was very jealous of our field trips. I don't blame her.

But like I said earlier, today's the first day that I haven't had any formal plans set. So, being the Seattle-ite that I am, I'm kickin' it at a local Starbucks, watching the rain come down. I don't really know what to do with myself. I brought some reading material, I'm blogging (obviously), and surfing the web. It's almost like I have ADD, ACTIVITY deficit disorder (I know the "A" actually stands for attention).

I have been brainstorming a bit of what to do over the next few weeks. Here's the list so far... Hopefully I'll be able to combine some of them together too.

• Spend more time outdoors
• Shoot more photography and develop my post-production skills
• A related note-- decide on a new photography project to work on
• Be committed to writing once a week (I'm doubtful this will actually happen)
• Read

All in all, this is a wonderful thing really... I know that I'm living a charmed life. I also know I'm in the unique position here I can pursue things that interest me, without sacrificing time with B or work. I think the hardest aspect of this entire situation will be if and when I return to work full time. Will I be able to make the switch back?

What to do photographically in 2011?

The past few days here in Seattle have been beautiful. Cold, but beautiful. As I drive to work every morning, I've been going through the Arboretum. The sun coming through the trees, the waters of Lake Washington are still and partially frozen over -- it makes for some tranquil scenes to start the day.

It's been a nice break from the winter grayness, and the scenic morning displays have my creative juices moving again. I'm inspired to grab my camera, play hooky, and get outside to attempt to capture what I see and tranform it to a digital image. But alas, I'm bound by responsibility and instead elect to drive to the office and sit indoors for the duration of the day. By the time I get out, it's near dusk, and I'm occupied with other duties (walking the dog, making dinner, watching Top Chef).

But it has got me thinking -- what do I want to do this year to better my photography skills? What is a photography project I can start (and finish)? So as the days slowly get longer, I'm going to quickly run out of excuses not to go shoot. I guess I better come up with something soon. I've got a couple ideas kickin' around in the ol' noggin'. I think they need a bit more time to fully bake, but if and when I decide to move forward, I'll let you know. And of course, if you have any ideas for me, please send them my way. I'd love to see what you have to say!

A Resolution

Here it is, a new year.  The year 2011 has arrived, and just like that, twenty four days have gone by. In most ways, nothing much has changed. I'm still working, still living, and still trying to figure out what's to come... But I have made a decision to better myself this year.

Yep, I made a resolution. There, I said it. A resolution. I hate making resolutions. Probably because I always break them. But so far, I've been sticking to this one. Like millions of other people, I've made the decision to get into shape. I've committed to working out three days a week, and so far, so good. I actually made the decision to do so in early Dec, but I wanted to be realistic, and not try to set myself up for failure through the holidays. So right before we rang in the new year, I went and visited the local gym. And tell you what, I've been doing pretty well. I've realized that the hardest part of the workout is getting out of bed. But once I'm up, I'm on my way.

To help break the boredom barrier I often encounter with working out, I've downloaded a couple iPhone apps to help introduce some new exercises. It's been nice to break the cycle of the same 5 things all the time, and helped to keep me motivated. My hope is that I'll be able to start seeing some tangible results soon.

The thing is, I'm not just trying to get physically fit, but spiritually as well. Let me provide some background info.

In the past few days, I made the decisions to go and see my final continent. Yes, Africa is on my radar, and it looks like I'll be traveling there this June. It'll be a mixed purpose trip for me... the first few days I will be on safari in Tanzania, and then soaking in the sun on the beaches of Zanzibar. But the majority of my time in Africa will be spent working at a new Young Life camp in Zanzibar. Details are still scarce right now, so I don't know much right now.

Here's where my resolution comes in -- If you were to tell me I was leaving tomorrow, I wouldn't be ready. And I'm not talking about logistics. I don't think I'm spiritually prepared for the trip. In many ways, I'm out of "shape" for a trip like this. It's been years since I did a mission trip, and even longer working with Young Life. I'm not nervous per se -- rather, I just don't feel like I've prayed enough, studied enough, or known enough  for the missional aspect of the trip. So, I'm trying to start getting spiritually "in shape" for the work that we'll be doing in Zanzibar.

Don't get me wrong. I know regardless of whether I'm ready, the experience will be amazing. The people will be fantastic, the culture and the locale exciting, and that God's love will be in abundance. I have no doubt of any of that. I just want to make sure that I can be as prepared as I can be.

So here's to the hope that I will stay strong and continue my resolution through the year... Feel free to keep me accountable to it!

In Retrospect

In a couple days, the year of 2010 will pass away. Like the years before it, the year was full of highs and lows. But this year is as unique as the 365 days within it.

Perhaps it's a natural to look back upon the twelve months at the close of the calendar year. I tend to think people are of a balanced nature -- most of us like to have closure with each new beginning. To look back when moving forward, and finish a chapter before starting a new one.

So as many are probably this time of the year, here is a recap of the key moments of my life in the year Twenty-Ten.

January
OK, it technically was the end of December 2009, but I thought I'd start the list off with Tucker. Never before have I had the sole responsibility of taking care of something so dependent on me. Having Tuck has been a blessing this past year... to watch him grow physically and mentally, to see him adapt Beth and I as part of his "pack", to experience the joy of him excitedly greeting us at the door, jumping on our laps while watching TV, or snuggling up next to our legs when he's tired. Sure, there have been frustrating times -- digging at walls and his stubborn independence, but it's just part of loving him for who he is. Now I know many of you are probably thinking that I'm putting too much into this dog, this animal. But he's the closest thing I've ever had to having a child, and it's been an eye (and heart) opening experience.

February
Normally, this month is filled with celebration, but this year, intertwined with Beth and my birthdays and Valentine celebrations, was the grief of Beth's dad passing away. In some ways, it doesn't feel like Len's been gone that long. But over these last few weeks, in the midst of Thanksgiving and Christmas, he was missed immensely. There are times that I look over at Beth, and I can read in her eyes the sadness of wishing her dad was still here. And all I can do is give her hug. So Len, if you're reading this, know that you're missed.

The other event that happened in February was the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC. We had the opportunity to go experience the Olympics in person. And although we were only there for a day, it was a great day. In addition to walking through Olympic fever in downtown Vancouver, we were able to watch of of the most exciting sports -- short track speed skating. We saw the craziness of expanding and collapsing laps of the relays, the speed and courage of the athletes, and even the miracle 7th medal that Apollo Ohno won.

March
This month signified the end of my sabbatical.... I returned back to work. My new gig has me working at Microsoft, but as a vendor rather than an employee. It's been an interesting nine months so far. Not only did I have to shake off the rust of not working for 7 months, but there was much to learn. Only now am I feeling like I've come up to speed. There have been unexpected challenges, but the guys I work with are hard working and dedicated to what they do, and we've been able to accomplish some great things.

July
Beth and I took a couple extended weekend trips this month -- the first was to Steamboat Springs, CO. It was an action packed time filled with alpine slides, horseback riding, mountain biking, a rodeo, parade, great food, and even better friends. But even with all the activities, it helped recharge the batteries.

Shortly after CO, we then headed down to the Bay Area for Chan family reunion. Although another long weekend, Beth got to meet my dad's side of the family, we were able to explore a bit of San Fran and Pacifica,  we ate some great food, and of course the family was even better... All in all, very successful family reunion.

Sept-December
This past fall was mainly focused on work... for one of our clients, we have what we've come to call "the reboot". I'll spare the details, but our team was shuffled a bit, and we were able to refocus our efforts to deliver some big deliverables in small time frames.

October
I did take another long weekend to meet up with my cousin for a mini-photo road trip... I've detailed the misadventures previously, so all I'll add is to say that although things didn't go as planned, it makes for great stories after the fact.

December
And here we are. Back where we started. This month has been relatively quiet -- I took a trip up to Whistler to break in the new skis and enjoy time with friends. The weekend was filled with snow, Yahtzee!, friends getting engaged, and hot tubs. All this ruccous was followed by a peaceful Christmas spent with B & her mom.

So there you have it -- the highlight reel of my past year. The have certainly been other things that I've experienced over the course of 2010, but these were the biggest things. And now we're on the cusp of a new year again. What's to come? Who knows? But it's sure to go by swiftly, as the years seem to do nowadays. My hope is that this finds you with new blessings each day, and that by this time next year, you'll be able to look back upon your best year yet. To all of you, I wish the happiest of new years!