Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Lulu in Love

The whole point of going to Hawaii was to see Lulu and David tie the knot...

How they found, cherish, and love one another is truly inspiring for all of us. When you meet that Person, you'll know, and everything before that Person will feel so very nominal.
Congratulations to the both of you, it was me crying like a banchee in the 3rd row. Sowwies. :)

Welps, for all us single ladies at least we have each other! It was SO. MUCH. FUN hanging out with our Columbia crew scattered all over the world but for this moment all gathered in the most wonderful island of O'ahu. Quickly guys, get married and have weddings so we can all hang out more. :p

And yes, good girlfriends are almost as hard to find too. :)

Thursday, May 24, 2012

O'ahu Photography Tour

Disclaimer: THIS IS A PHOTO DUMP. I MEANT IT TO BE A PHOTO DUMP. ^_______^

Guys, what happened. My life imploded and I have too much going on and I'm working myself into a sleep deficit that I won't be able to dig out of anytime soon. My mother has been here in Shanghai with me for the last month, and I took her to Sichuan and Beijing. Then I had to fly to HK for work. And while everything is going on there's been major changes in my work structure and projects are finally coming to bud (knock on wood). I've had major tests on patience and professionalism. I've feared for my future. I've welcomed my future. It's all a hot mess, one that has prevented me from really blogging for the last 6 weeks. However, I still carry my camera around, so I have a major backlog of material to post. It's like staring at a textbook a day before the test.... should I cram or should I just burn the book?

Thus, photodump. Because it's midnight and I still have a month's worth of sleep to catch up. 

Synopsis -- I was a crazy girl who woke up at 4am while on vacation in Hawaii so I could take pretty pictures with O'ahu Photography Tour. Worth it? Totally. Alex, the tour operator, was super nice and chill. He took us to all these special places that he's staked out, so you get to see another side of O'ahu... it feels like it's your secret adventure, one with nature. Hope you enjoy. :)

Sunrise.
It was overcast, but I didn't mind... gave it a mystical feel.

Lovely Liza, the only other crazy who thought it was a great idea to wake up at 4am.
Yes, we were the only two people on the tour.

I love wildflowers.

Oh, hai!

Took this one through the car window (shaded) while enroute to another destination. 
I love looking through branch patterns, which here is mixed in with sky patterns. Double whammy!

More branch patterns! 
Or more accurately bamboo, which are grass stems. Did you know that? I did. Cookie pls.

These were tiny baby fern (?). 
Not sure exactly, but these tiny bright red shoots growing out of the mossy summer palace ruins caught my attention.

This reminded me of Spirited Away somehow...
Lush peace.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Kayakfornia Dreams

Me oh my, I don't know what happened... it seems like I've gotten lazy with blogging after coming back from Hawaii a month ago! I've been incredibly busy with work, family, friends... and my mom just landed in Shanghai a few days ago. Excuses excuses. :p But to be honest, I have so much going on right now that I haven't been in the mood to sit down and pound out a good entry. But the more you wait the greater the inertia...

OKAY SO WHERE WERE WE? 
Hawaiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jing, Sandy, Chris, Shaun and I went on an amazing day tour operated by Twogoodkayaks where we paddled our way across the sea from Oahu to Mokulua Island. Kevin, our tour guide, warned us that we'd end up burning at least 2000 calories kayaking that day... and boy it sure felt like it!!! Paddling in the sea is no joke, and when the waters get choppy you either fight your way through or you float back to shore. I for one am ALL FOR physically strenuous adventures... it's incredibly rewarding to be challenged while soaking in new experiences. That, my friends, is why I have the salty soul of a pirate captain. o_o HA.

Christopher Smee, my cabin boy.
He just got promoted from cupbearer.

Our tour guide surfing the waves with his kayak.

Mokulua Island is actually a bird sanctuary, where these birds (ah, don't remember what type) come to breed and lay their eggs. These birds actually spend their entire lives at sea, coming back to land only to hatch their chicks. As you can see, their nests are actually just holes in the ground. It's easy to squish them and their babies. Therefore we must actively protect them. o_o

A Chinese person would find you an easy meal....

Another thing about Mokulua Island is that Hawaiian royalty used to hold luaus around its naturally formed bath, called the Queen's Bath. Apparently that was the queen's special place to hold parties and stuff. I can see why, because it is gorgeous! Blue skies, green waters, dark rocks, white surf, clean air, calm skies.... I could have stayed out here all day.

Shaun. Me. Chris. Jing + John Locke from Lost??? O_O
Sandy pansied out, but she can't swim without floaties. :)

After exhausting 75% of our energy GETTING to Mokulua Island, it was a bit of a struggle RETURNING to Oahu. Kevin rewarded us nicely with several cups of sugary instant coffee, heated up by an ingenious little contraption made out of a soda can!!! Basically it's comprised of the bottoms of two soda cans stacked into each other bottoms out, becoming a little cylindrical box. Small holes are poked around the top, and when you fill the box with denatured alcohol (which you can find anywhere apparently) and set it on fire, tiny flames will come out just like it would in a stove. It's such a curious simple little thing. :)

Kevin making us gourmet coffee, Mokulua style. ^_~

It was very Sandy. -_-;;; HAHAHAHA.
And Chris' Castle, which I crushed mercilessly with my foot while cackling towards the sky.

My mates. :)
GROUP HUG! We conquered Mokulua and all its avian residents! They stood no chance.

Now onward to bigger adventures...