Nikki's Photos 001

As I promised(to myself), here are some of the pictures I've been taking these last few weeks with my new D90.

 Some wildflowers

 Playing with filters in Lightroom

 Pomona Courthouse

 First animal I managed to get a picture of, even if it is a silhouette with a telephoto

Rolling hills near my home, the black specks are cows.

I'll be heading back to Taiwan tomorrow for ten days, so expect more pictures then!

End of an Era

Today, I will be taking my first, last, and only final examinations of the semester. Hopefully(or maybe not hopefully) this will be the last time I need take a final. I find myself no longer fit for school. I've found that studying has become an extreme hardship due to the fact that I have not truly studied in many years, and seem to have forgotten how to do so.

This week will be quite the turning point for me. I cannot say too much about certain things, but simply make note that tenacity wins again.

Also, I will be heading to Taiwan again on Thursday, and will be back just after Christmas.  It won't be the first Christmas I've spent on a plane.

On a side note completely unrelated to all above topics('cept maybe finals):

Starcraft custom games are fun. Especially "Star Battle." However, they rapidly degraded my already poor skill at vanilla Starcraft.

I have been taking pictures with my D90(Nikki, not the most inspired of names, I know). I'll do a post of photos later.

Confused

I'm sitting in my last class of my BA for my Business Finance degree, and the professor is having a review for our final the coming Monday...

And I have no idea what he's talking about.

Chances are, this is going to suck.

That and I just spent $400USD on Christmas gifts. Christmas season is truly one of the most terrible times of the year, ranking up there with the the August/September start-of-school season.

In other news:

On Monday night, after my last final, the Geminid meteor shower is gonna happen. Let us hope it is not an omen about "stars falling down" or such nonsense.

I do want to go see it though.

Sushi Koyo

This place has quickly taken it's rightful place as my favorite restaurant. The atmosphere is relaxed, the food is better than sex(maybe, I don't quite remember), and the people you meet are awesome.

Just today, I met a guy, Steve (age 62, as of next week), talked a bit, shared a bottle of Asahi. He apparently travels a lot, and was once in the waste paper, like recycling paper) business. Interesting, friendly guy. Told me about his adventures on Facebook, and the son that may or may not be his. The atmosphere lends itself to quiet relaxed conversation among strangers.

The chef(only one) is an old Japanese guy named Hiro. He has an interesting business model: Insult the customers while serving them the best sushi they will ever have.

It happens to be a very successful model. The regulars go nowhere else. I find it hard to eat sushi elsewhere now that I'm hooked.

Now if only it were cheaper...

Snowboards and Cameras

Two things of note happened this last week.

I got that DSLR I wanted, and I went snowboarding for the first time.

In the December of 2008, I recall picking up a couple of photography magazines at an airport newsstand on the way to Taiwan. Prominently featured in both magazines was the then-new Nikon D90. It was my single greatest desire to own one of these cameras for the next six months or so, until gradually it was replaced in my mind with the new Canon T1i. As I had been using a Canon point-and-shoot at the time (see post : So I went to the beach and killed my camera), I figured it would be nice to have a DSLR set up to match.

As time went on, and my camera lust stayed bottled up inside, the T2i was released, and two of my friends, SuburbanDweller(who still has my tripod) and Phamtom purchased those, I thought I might get one myself to match.

Now, several months later, I finally scrape up enough money to get a camera. I head over to Costco, and see there, on the racks, the D90. Two years after it's release, it's still competitive with the newer Canon T2i(unless you're shooting video, cause then, the T2i excels). At 1279USD, it comes with a standard 18-55 kit lens, and a 70-300 telephoto. At 1409USD out the door, and 1500USD still burning a hole in my pocket, I cast my dice and made my contribution to the improvement of the economy this year.

Snowboarding yesterday, for the first time, was remarkable. I've never been so cold, yet so warm.

I've come to several conclusions:

1: Snow is cold. Snow pants are a worthy investment.

2: Wrist sprains are bad, and wrist guards are a worthy investment. I had Dakine Nova Protector glove/guard combos. Best $50 bucks I spent for this event.

3: It is cheaper to rent a board than it is to buy one, unless you plan on going snowboarding 20+ times within the usable life of that board.

4: Many short runs are easier on the legs than a few long runs, and using your feet to move a snowboard along the line to the lift is more tiring than actually going down a run.

5: The morning after, my legs feel fine, but my arms are sore. The complete opposite of when I went to sleep last night.

That's all for now.

Thankgiving and Brotherhood

Had Thanksgiving dinner with my friends again. Not nearly as memorable as last year, but still worth going.

Shuffled between two separate parties, and the 5-0 did show up to one of them.

Finished Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, which was a bit short. Ending is a mind****.

Planning on getting a DSLR. Perhaps a T2i(550d).

It's either that or a new set of tires, and I'm sure I'll have more fun with the camera.

Still looking to get out of the house.

Work is as usual. No school next week, but I'll barely notice.

Not much, just life

Got and played Black-ops, did not like. Will likely sell it back. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood comes out tonight. Yay.

Ate at Sushi Koyo, excellent as usual.

Tried Honda-ya in City of Industry. Tasty, Costly, Would Do Again.

Finished "The Pacific." Excellent. Even better, I was warm that night/morning.
 Best night in quite some time. Morning even more fun.

Makes me want to move out even more now.

Painted the fence I've been putting off for the last two weeks.

Met a neighbor/friend that I hadn't seen for a while. Updated mental fact sheet.

Work is as usual. 

Need to catch up on my homework.

Need to do Christmas shopping, even if I won't be around for Christmas.

What I did this week

The one thing I did not do this week, that I said I would, is go to the titty bar.

And I can't decide whether or not I regret it.

David/Constantin had a party last night.

Jeremiah plays the bongos.

And if mead was viking beer, the vikings had a hell of a good time in their party halls.

Gave a looted surfboard to Frank at DK Cabinets.

Visited the last Irish holdout in Diamond Bar, Happy's Bar and Grill.

Nerf gun war at Tiffy's apartment on Wednesday, where their "ambush" on unsuspecting innocent was countered by said innocent prepared for an assault. Had Icewine.

Assuming nothing great happened on Monday or Tuesday, because I can't remember either.

Oh, wait. I voted. And pretty much everything/one I voted for did not pass or get elected except for Cali assemblyman and House representative.

Phantom of the Opera, Oinksters, and Halloween

Watched Phantom of the Opera today, apparently their final day in Los Angeles. Seats were alright, row V in the far left.

Didn't like the Christine Daae much, but the Phantom, a Stephen Tewksbery, was pretty good. The Twins that I had brought along were much more critical, though I suppose I'm just more forgiving and laid back like that.

Went to Oinkster for late lunch afterward. That was excellent, had the "Dark Night" brew, was dark and chocolate-y.

Spent the evening at David's. Conversated with David's father, drank a little, and gave trick-or-treat'rs lemons, because we totally forgot it was Halloween. Took Bombay home, and answered a question that she didn't believe the answer to, but hey, meh.

Will be voting on Tuesday.

I think I'm going Meg Whitman. Actually, I'll likely go Republican down the line.

And the Propositions? I'll think about it tomorrow.

First Encounter with Energy Drinks

For the first twenty-one years of my life, I have abstained from drinking...

Energy drinks that is, I would never give up alky.

Well, yesterday, as part of the procedure to procure a ride to a friend's birthday(which, from the pictures and the parts I remember, was awesome!) I was made to drink a 24oz can of Four Loko(Blue Rasberry), and my results can be summed up in a haze of disgust, fun, and inability to sleep.

That and I hate myself right now; if this is what normal people's hangovers feel like, give me back my quick and dirty, high-metabolism hangovers!

Pics from the night can be found of FB, for those that know me. For those that don't, well, you wouldn't be interested anyway.