Switzerland, 2011

Switzerland, 2011, a set on Flickr.

San Francisco, June 2013

San Francisco, a set on Flickr.

Chile, Spring break 2013

Chile, Spring break 2013, a set on Flickr.

what have I been up to?

Well, I nearly forgot I had this blog. On March 1, 2013 I started a video blog of sorts. I had seen a TEDTalk by Cesar Kuriyama where he explains his project of recording a second of his life everyday and putting it together into a montage. I really liked this idea, so I began my own video. Regrettably, I missed all of the previous adventures I had in Europe and around the US. But hey, I’ve got my whole life ahead.

Here’s the compilation from March 1 – June 7:

What else have I been up to?

More personal development! I’ve been attending Toastmasters International, various Meetup events, and reading a lot of personal finance and real estate investment books. Here are some recent ones that I’ve enjoyed:

Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson

I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki

Ahead of the Curve by Philip Delves Broughton

The Weekend Millionaire’s Secrets to Investing in Real Estate by Mike Summey & Roger Dawson

I got a professional Bachelor of Architecture from UT-Austin, so I’m trying to augment my design education by reading about investing and entrepreneurship. I have to admit I’m still only about a third into The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. It’s so packed with information, so I find myself going through it one chapter at a time. Eventually I will finish it and then reference it now and again.

My friends have often asked me why I don’t read more fictions. Don’t these non-fiction books bore me to death? Well that might be the case if I wasn’t interested in the subject. But every now and then I like to read something like World War Z. I really enjoyed reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series, but book six won’t be out for quite some time. I still haven’t read The Lord of the Rings (but I have the book), so that will probably be next. At some future time I will start the Wheel of Time series as well, since I’ve heard good things about it. Mentioning these books reminds me of the Catalyst Project that I haven’t worked on in a while. Previously I had stopped working on the plot outline because I need a break from it, to come back later with fresh eyes, mind and ideas. Maybe it’s time.

Chicago

Chicago, a set on Flickr.

I visited Chicago in December. Luckily it wasn’t too cold!

Washington, DC

Washington, DC, a set on Flickr.

I took a weekend trip to DC. I really loved it. It really does convey itself as the Capitol of the U.S. I had the feeling that I was walking through Rome in the days of the Empire (might be all that neoclassical architecture), with monuments everywhere, celebrating the heroes and leaders that shaped the nation. The metro system is the best I’ve been on (beats Paris and New York for me), but it is a small city with the entire wealth of the world’s #1 economy so it didn’t surprise me.

New York City

New York City, a set on Flickr.

I visited New York City for the first time this Memorial Day weekend. Here are some of the photos I took! This was also the first time I shot in the RAW format on my T2i. The amount of control I get is awesome!

NYC is an amazing city. I really reminded me of my time in Europe. So many things accessible through public transportation, the amount of people walking, and the endless things to do! The food was delicious, with restaurants from all over the world in the melting pot of America. I met all kinds of people, tourists and local alike. It made me realize that I really should take advantage of living in the US and see everything here. You don’t have to look far sometimes.

charlotte

A few weeks ago, I went with a group of friends to Charlotte, NC where one of them lives. We stayed at his parents’ place, where we experienced incredible hospitality. We ate at a few places, went to some bars, explored downtown, etc. We went to this French bakery/cafe called Amelie’s which was pretty good. It really made me miss Paris and all the pâtisseries and boulangeries there. Oh how I yearn to go back again. Overall it was a great trip, so I’ll share some pictures from it:

enjoy this image at fullscreen, with a glass of milk

dear santa

Please get me this:

I love riding my motorcycle, so how much more amazing would it be to be wearing this while riding?! Well it’s not within my budget yet. Maybe I can get something like this after I pay off my student loans…

trails, Batman, & books

I spent the weekend walking a few trails with friends during the day. I definitely got a face full of spider-webs multiple times, but it was still fun. I can’t really blame the spiders since my face moved into their webs. Every time I hit the trails, I constantly have to remind myself to stop and look up. It’s difficult not to look down because there’s a high chance of tripping on something, but looking up at the canopy of the trees is much nicer.