Day 181: Cool Fizz

June 30, 2011
This bipolar weather is driving me absolutely insane. But at least today was hot, kind of. I had an excuse to open a case of Izze drinks. Grapefruit fizz in the middle of summer? Yes please!

Day 180: Steak Bowl

June 29, 2011
I had lunch with a friend today whom I haven't seen in months, literally. After some deliberation, we ended up at Chipotle in Pinole. Every time I go, I always tell myself I'll have a bowl, but I always end up getting a burrito. I finally broke the chain today and got a bowl. And what do you know, it was pretty good!

Day 179: Summer Failure

June 28, 2011
It's almost July. Someone tell me why it is pouring rain. This summer has been pretty whack, why should it stop now?

Day 178: Fallen Branches

June 27, 2011
Due to high winds, this branch fell from our neighbor's tree into our backyard. Imagine if someone had been under it when it fell. 

Day 177: Roll Over

June 26, 2011
Hi, meet my dog. After she takes a bath she proceeds to frantically run all over the place and rub up against blankets and pillows and whatnot. It's actually really funny to watch. I caught her mid-roll while she was attempting to dry off.

Day 176: Flaming Night

June 25, 2011
I don't know if night shot is supposed to make the photo look like this, but it happened. It looks like I took this in the midst of some attack or a fire of some sort.

Day 175: Vibrant Spontaneity

June 24, 2011
I didn't expect this shot to come out as sharp and vibrant as it did. Just a little spontaneity in the world. 

Day 174: My Toppings

June 23, 2011
Because I hang out with friends that like to be a little adventurous, and because I live with a family that is turning progressively vegetarian, I find it hard to enjoy a slice of plain pepperoni pizza nowadays. They made an exception for me today! Instead of the zucchini/mushroom/onion toppings, I got to indulge the pepperoni and cheese toppings. Don't get me wrong; change for health I think is unconditionally good. But I need my allowance of debilitating and unhealthy foods every once in a while.

Day 173: Crushed Cones

June 22, 2011
We found these expired sugar cones in the pantry today. Instead of plainly throwing them away, Rachel decided to have some fun with them outside. This included stomping on them mercilessly, and leaving them under car tires. Some people may be surprised tomorrow morning.

Day 172: Neglected Shoes

June 21, 2011
I exercised for the first time in what seems like months. First an outing with my badminton racquet, second a date with the treadmill and jump rope. And this happened all in one day! My running shoes have been neglected for a while, but not anymore!

Day 171: Summer Anomaly

June 20, 2011
The dogs left a tennis ball in the backyard. Little forgotten trinkets and memories of what used to be. Isn't that the importance of summer? - to rediscover these memories, either buried deep within our consciences or right beneath the exteriors of our minds, waiting to resurface. The anomaly may be right under our noses; we just have to know where to look.

Day 170: Cellular Evolution

June 19, 2011
I was going through the garage and found these three old phones (the one on the right is my current phone). We as humans have come a long way in terms of evolution; technology has, too, at an unbelievable rate.

Day 169: Late Summer

June 18, 2011
My family took a trip out to Yosemite today. Considering that it's mid-June, we were not expecting to see what we saw out there - snow and waterfalls. The first photo is Lake Tenaya, cool and fresh from the still-melting snow. Actually, the snow is still piled on the hills. The other two photos are of Bridalveil Falls (Had another UP moment!). This landmark waterfall should be dry at this time of year, but nope, it's still running. The rivers' currents were so strong that boats and rafts were prohibited from sailing the waters. We came within the waterfall's radius and got drenched. Consequences of a late summer, but probably no drought in its stead! 

Day 168: "Bored" Games

June 17, 2011

Sometimes I wish we had a huge attic full of family heirlooms and artifacts to sift through to waylay boredom. Unfortunately, we don't. But, however, we have started to build an archive of old toys that we used to love playing with and board games that always kept our rainy days occupied. It's a nice way to start our own little time capsule.

Day 167: Cloudy Expectations

June 16, 2011

The clouds looked very surreal and animated. It reminded me of the Toy Story cloud background, for some reason. And Toy Story reminds me of last summer, the summer of a lifetime. Today we had our first party of the summer, one of the few we'll have, I think. It was great hanging out with these familiar faces again. I just wish this year could live up to last year.

Day 166: Huge Roots

June 15, 2011
Cleaned up the backyard today. Mostly sweeping, then pulling weeds out in the finally-humid summer weather. One of the weeds had roots the size of my head. The yard had been neglected for a while.

Day 165: Textural Balance

June 14, 2011
Made chocolate cake with Rachel today. I like this shot since it shows multiple textures. And finding that right balance of everything becomes an art.

Day 164: Another Day

June 13, 2011
Another typical day with this little monster. 

Day 163: Puzzled Desires

June 12, 2011
What I would give to be someplace like this right now. Hercules is just a little too overplayed now. Just one of the few thousand-piece puzzles my mom likes to put on display.

Day 162: Take Flight

June 11, 2011
This is my favorite photo from graduation today. This gives a sense of closure, elevating oneself to different heights, to now fly away as a fledgling adult in the real world. Definitely the vibe graduations are supposed to have. Plus, at first glance this photo reminded me of the movie Up. Awesome. Congrats, graduates. It's time to face the unknown and leave the comforts of high school to a new realm, where anything you dream is possible, and a new beginning, where these dreams will help reshape or reinvent your identity. Time to take flight.

Day 161: Commencement Exercises

June 10, 2011
Funny how these tickets don't explicitly say "Hercules High School Graduation Ceremony," but rather "Commencement Exercises." Is that even remotely appropriate? In either case, I'm attending the graduation ceremony for the class of 2011 tomorrow!

Day 160: Yummy Yummy

June 9, 2011
Fruit salad consisting of watermelon, pineapple, and cantaloupe. Refreshing, despite this horrible weather.

Day 159: Good Eats

June 8, 2011
I swear this tastes a million times better than it looks. Combination fried rice from Thai Basil in Berkeley. One of the things I miss about living in Berkeley. It was a good day here.

Day 158: Long Life

June 7, 2011
Meet Anju, one of our three fish. Normally fish don't last long at our house, but strangely, these three have last for a long time. They are now huge, healthy fish.

Day 157: Expensive Taste

June 6, 2011
Authentic Venetian glass from the source. I paid big time for this. 

Day 156: Mystery Bear

June 5, 2011
I'm a Golden Bear, and I'm proud! This little plaque is completely unrelated to Cal. My dad got me this from his business trip to [insert mystery state here].

Day 155: New Life

June 4, 2011
World, meet Ashley. She's only a month old. My parents have been visiting the family for some time now, but it was my first visit today. So cute! I think today was the first time I've legitimately held a baby.

Day 154: Athletics Fan

June 3, 2011
As I continue to sift through and clean my room, I'm stumbling upon things that I have recently forgotten. During my first visit to an A's game (when they were still decent), I managed to get an autograph from Barry Zito (more or less the equivalent of Lincecum now). I remember the A's throttled the Yankees that game, but we weren't able to stay for the entire game.

Day 153: Blue Skies

June 2, 2011
"How long 'til our dreams run dry? Don't know but we're staying. On our knees we raise our eyes. Holding on and praying to find one blue sky." It's June. This weather needs to lighten up quick.

Day 152: Unwanted Conditions

June 1, 2011
It's June. I should not be worrying about rainy weather. I also should not be worrying about allergies. And yet, here I am.