Worst Captcha EVER

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New Etsy Banner

So as some of you may know, I have recently opened a little shop on Etsy. Today I made my first banner! I'm determined to get this shop rolling...slowly but surely. First, though, I need to figure out how to get word out about it in the first place..

Photos from Mauritius

A few of my favorite people-free photos from my recent trip to Mauritius.

Mauritius 1

So far the trip has been awesome. Tons of family, talking, good times. Today we went to Pereybere beach, on the northwest of the island. We woke up late, so by the time we headed out there it was pretty cool. The water had a chill to it when you first got it, but after a few minutes it was just right. I wish I had a pair of goggles so I could swim laps. The beach has changed a bit since the last time I was here. The main difference is that now there's an enclosed area for swimming. Last time there was no netted boundary, so my sister and I swam out to the coral reef with my cousin, scaring my dad pretty badly.

I got some awesome pics of Vikram in the water, silhouetted against the setting sun. I'll post pictures soon. Hopefully he'll guest blog a bit, & raise my reader numbers :)

kdrama

A few months ago I discovered hulu's collection of korean dramas, and let me tell you, I'm hooked. Maybe its because they remind of when I was young, in highschool, and I would spend hours pouring over korean teen magazines while listening to L'Arc En Ciel & HOT, or maybe its because of the awesomely hilarious story lines. Whatever it is, I'm hooked. As such, I figured I should do a quick review of the serials I've seen thus far.


First, I started off with a drama called Boys Over Flowers. Based on a popular Japanese manga series, this show was really quite good. What really got me hooked was how convincingly the actors played their roles. The story is about a poor girl (Jandi) who all of a sudden finds herself going to a rich, exclusive private school, as a result of saving someone's life. Once there, she rubs the "it" crowd of boys the wrong way at first, but slowly they all come to like her. She really likes a brooding, quiet, musical-type guy named Jihoon at first, but ends up falling in love with Junpyo, the richest guy, who at first comes across as a real jerk but slowly warms up through the series. Boys Over Flowers was definitely a great way to start out.


Next was Pasta, a show about a struggling sous chef who falls in love with her head chef. The thing that struck me most about this show was how much detail they incorporated, not just about Italian food, but the technical side of cooking. The details are what made the series convincing for me. The drama seemed realistic because it wasn't just about interpersonal relationships, it involved things that really go on in a kitchen, like resentment over one person holding the line up, etc.

Finally there was My Lovely Sam-Soon, which has been my favorite so far. Actually, every time I watch a serial I think that one is my favorite, so who knows. Anyhow, My Loveley Sam-Soon is about a chubby patissier in her late 20s who finds herself desperately alone as she approaches her 30th birthday. She loses her job, her boyfriend of three years cheats on her & leaves her, and finally when things seem like they can't get any worse, she gets hired by a french restaurant owned and operated by a punk in his mid-20s who thinks money is the answer to everything. Of course they eventually fall in love, and she changes him for the better. The part that I like, though, is that over the series she changes, too, so you get to see some real character development.

Next on my queue is Coffee Prince. I don't really know what its about yet because all I have seen so far is previews in Korean without subtitles. I'm guessing it has something to do with a girl who could pass as a boy who gets a job as a waiter by pretending to be a boy. Sounds strange, but let's see.

Puerto Rico!!!

An Evening With Picasso

Last Friday I coerced my family into seeing the Picasso exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibit was ending soon and I had wanted to go for quite some time. Friday was special, though, because there was also an "informal conversation" at the museum with a photographer who had photographed Picasso.

Honestly, the lecture was the best part of the trip. The photographer's name is Frederick Baldwin, and he had the most amazing story I've EVER heard. There's an online book of his experience with Picasso (available here), and although its pretty good, its nothing compared to the way he tells the story. Through his words you can almost see yourself right there with him in Cannes on a hot summer day. He takes you through the emotional roller coaster he experienced: excitement, fear, dread, anxiety, hopefulness, excitement. His talk was beyond inspiring. He's working on a book about life lessons he has learned, and I'm pretty sure it will be amazing. In summary he said there are 4 things you have to do in life:

1. Dream.
   
2. Use your imagination to come up with ways to make your dreams come true.
3. Get over your fears.
4. Act on your dreams.

It sounds simple, I know, but when you think about it, its really quite hard to implement. Most of us have step 1 down, but somehow we usually get stuck around steps 3 or 4. I want to be able to look back on every stage of my life and feel like I truly lived and learned. I need to find a way to get a print of his letter to Picasso. It would be a great reminder of that spark that life is really all about.