Rashmi Singh

Selfs, Part III

2012-02-12T19:00:00.000-06:00

Selfs, Part II

2012-01-28T19:30:00.000-06:00

New self portrait sesh

2012-01-11T19:50:00.000-06:00

As soon as I came back to university after winter break, I did a new session of self portraits in my room. I don't know how certain photographers I know consistently take new and fresh self portraits every week. I find the entire process to be frustrating! Somehow the pictures never come out exactly how I want them. Yet somehow when I look at them on my computer, I end up with photos that surprise and delight me anyways. So I suppose it works out in the end.

I finally have one of those self-portraits where I, the photographer, appear with my beloved camera. I rather like how it turned out. It's not too stereotypical, and I look fierce!

More self-portraits coming up soon!

Things I Miss About Spain

2011-12-17T17:05:00.007-06:00

It's been exactly one year since I left Madrid. While I prefer my life in the U.S. overall, there are still plenty of things I loved about Spain. In fact, if I could go back in time and do college all over again, I'd probably become a Spanish major and study abroad in Madrid the entire year. Three and a half months was far too short! These are some of the things I missfrom my life in Spain:

chocolate and churros (especially the chocolate, which was incredibly rich and thick)
greeting people with besitos on the cheek
the botellón and discotecas
cute international boys
chorizo
fast, clean, and reliable public transportation
watching Patito Feo every day during my siesta lunch break
having ample free time to explore new parts of the city at random points during week
getting enough sleep
traveling throughout Europe

El Reina Sofia, art museum with many works of Dalí and Picasso (including Guernica), Madrid

Mario Testino exhibit at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

Shoes

2011-11-27T19:00:00.003-06:00

Leaves, leaves, leaves

2011-11-21T17:00:00.002-06:00

My favorite part of fall: when leaves rain down on the earth till you can't even see the grass.

Photos taken in Parque Retiro, Madrid.

Trees and Silhouettes

2011-11-15T17:30:00.002-06:00

Fall is by far the prettiest season of the year.

This reminded me of the Giving Tree, from Shel Silverstein's book

Madrid Airport

2011-10-06T17:00:00.002-05:00

I was looking through my albums and found this gem of a photo. I like the way the light reflects off the floor and casts everything else into shadow.

Shedd Aquarium

2011-09-18T20:45:00.000-05:00

El Loco de la catedral

2011-09-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

I saw many a beautiful church while I was in Spain. But by far the most unique and perplexing cathedral I ever came across was that designed by Justo Gallego Martinez, who has been dubbed "El Loco" by some because of his sheer insanity in building a monstrous cathedral that graces the outskirts of Madrid.

Don Justo began building this cathedral in 1963. As a young man he joined a monastery, but was kicked out when he contracted tuberculosis. Wanting to serve God, he promised to build a shrine in honor of the Lady of the Pillar if ever he recovered. Thus after his recovery he began building the cathedral on land he had inherited from his parents and has been working on it ever since.

Everything he has built so far has been done completely by hand and almost all by himself, with some help from family and volunteers. With no formal training in architecture or construction and no formal plans for the building, Don Justo simply builds whatever inspires him and with whatever scrap material he can find. Rusty nails, scraps of metal, large slabs of unused wood and tiles, and a mishmash of jugs, tubes, tools, and unused materials are scattered throughout the place. The remnants of ideas that were meant to be remain unfinished and forgotten about. And everyday Don Justo wakes up at the crack of dawn to start another day's work of building this cathedral.

It is perhaps the ugliest cathedral I have seen and will ever come across in my lifetime. Yet its monstrosity is charming in its own way. The complete hodgepodge of materials is unlike anything I've ever seen, and some of the rough and uneven textures and patterns are visually striking. It's a one-of-a-kind building that's unparalleled in its uniqueness.

As you can see, it looks more like an abandoned building left to decay rather than one that is being newly built

Materials to be used are spread around the premise

Justo Gallego Martinez, deep in thought

A worker

Stacy's host mom, the woman who brought us to this cathedral

The textures of the this building were absolutely fascinating

An ostrich nest on top of one of the domes

Justo Gallego Martinez

Ziton Sisters, Part II

2011-08-18T16:00:00.015-05:00

Chicago is dipping down into the 70s and I'm already breaking out my light sweaters and jackets. Where has my 80s and 90s weather gone?

Last set of photos of the Ziton sisters! And then I'll be moving on to photos in a series I call "photos-from-Europe-I-never-got-around-to-editing-and-should-have-posted-ages-ago".

Ziton Sisters, Part I

2011-08-11T21:00:00.002-05:00

I am so incredibly busy with secondary medical school applications! So many essays! What was once a relatively carefree and entertaining summer has just turned into a somewhat exasperating and tiring one. Actually, I'm still having 10x more fun than I do during the school year, even with a full-time research job, but nonetheless these applications are a drain on my time (and money...).

I've crossed off many things on my Chicago bucket list. I have yet to go to Little Italy, Ukrainian Village, the Field Museum, a jazz show, and the skydeck at the Willis Tower. Plus general exploring of cool bars and night clubs. I hope to get most this before winter break.

Below are some picture of the beautiful Ziton sisters together.

Homemade French Toast

2011-07-21T17:00:00.010-05:00

Last weekend my darling friend Katie and I had a girl's night sleepover and in the morning we made french toast and berry butter. Photos taken with my point and shoot Nikon. I decided to go vintage in the post-processing.

First we had some sweet red wine the night before.
The red hat on top is from Tio Pepe in Madrid.
Tio Pepe is a famous figure consisting of a wine bottle wearing a red
jacket and sombrero, and is very visible in the Plaza de Sol in Madrid.

Maria Alexandra Ziton, Part II

2011-07-17T17:00:00.000-05:00

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Black and white versions

Maria Alexandra Ziton, Part I

2011-07-15T17:00:00.067-05:00

Time for some photos of the other lovely Ziton girl - Maria Alexandra.

Anna Sophia Ziton, Part II

2011-07-08T17:00:00.000-05:00

More Anna Sophia! These are my favorite Anna Sophia photos of the bunch, which is why I did several edits of them. I've included the B&W versions too because I absolutely love them.

***************************************************************************************************
Black and white versions

Anna Sophia Ziton, Part I

2011-06-28T17:30:00.003-05:00

Another lovely shoot with the Ziton sisters. Sure, I took these photos nearly a year ago. But then Spain happened, and I wanted to blog about my study abroad adventures. And then the MCAT happened, and I wanted to blog about nothing. And now I am FREE! Free to do cross off items of my bucket list for Chicago, to explore the nightlife of an urban city, to watch a movie every day and read a book every week, edit all the photos I want, take all the photos I want, and finally just relax and enjoy my summer.

Legs, legs, legs

2011-05-21T15:00:00.001-05:00

I think we all know by now that I have a thing for legs and feet. And so, here's my favorite self portrait to date. My very own legs against the wonderfully large windows in my previous dorm Slivka. As usual, I had a great deal of fun with this photo and have several different edits, some of which are shown below. My personal favorite is the first one pictured though.

Barcelona - Architecture, Scenic

2011-05-10T19:00:00.090-05:00

The last of my Barcelona photos. Enjoy!

Mercat Santa Caterina

View from inside La Pedrera

Barcelona had the only seaside I've ever genuinely enjoyed

Outside the contemporary art museum

As I biked along La Barceloneta I stopped to take a picture of seaside during the sunset

Barcelona - Gaudi

2011-04-10T19:00:00.063-05:00

Barcelona is famous for its buildings designed by Gaudi. He has a highly individualistic style and some rather bizarre creations scattered throughout the city. It can be quite expensive and time consuming to go to them all, so visited a select few: La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, La Pedrera, and Casa Batllo (from the outside).

La Sagrada Familia

This is my favorite cathedral that I've ever been to. Just look at those awe-inspiring cavernous ceilings!

I'm not sure why most pictures show the other, old-fashioned
side of the building, because this side is much prettier.

It's such a modern building with an abundance of natural lighting, unlike most
other cathedrals where I feel as as if I've walked into well-decorated dungeon.
Doesn't this look like it's from a sci-fi movie?

Not to mention all the cool statues at the entrance, all cut in a contemporary fashion.

Park Guell

Park Guell

Left: Casa Batllo Right: La Pedrera

On the roof of La Pedrera

Barcelona - City Sights

2011-03-16T19:00:00.067-05:00

Just went through a storm of editing since I finished my last final yesterday. So now I have ~4 posts to last me the next few months since my life will soon be consumed by the MCATs.

Now onto the photos. Barcelona was my favorite city in Spain – it was even more beautiful and captivating than Madrid (although I’d still rather live in Madrid). I generally don’t like beaches, but Barcelona had a nice beachy feel to it. No fish or seafood smell. Just palm trees and a certain sense of liberty permeating the air. No wonder Shakira chose to shoot Loca here.

There were many tourist attractions for the weekend visitor, and I enjoyed doing ALL of them! What I most loved, however, was renting a bike and voyaging around the city and along the beach. Something I definitely recommend for any future travelers. Also a must-see is the Palau de la Musica Catalana. It was absolutely gorgeous, and your entrance comes with a guided tour. No pictures allowed inside unfortunately.

La Boqueria

Know what's special about this photo? ZERO EDITING! Not even a simple color boost!

Giant jug of horchata shared among the girls

Plant graffiti outside of Park Guell

Bookstore, with both Catalan and Spanish versions of everything

Both of these things amuse me for different reasons.
Why Gaudi felt inspired to design such a phallic building is beyond me. The mouse cake is just cute.

Barcelona has a community bike system for its residents called 'Bicing'.
Users simply pay a small yearly membership fee, and then have access to the bikes located
at numerous stations located throughout the city. They swipe their card to check out a bike at
one station, and return it to the station closest to their destination. Brilliant, isn't it?

Valencia

2011-02-05T13:21:00.022-06:00

And you thought I was done with Spain? Ha! Not only do I have these Valencia photos to display, but all my Barcelona photos which have yet to be sorted through and edited. Now that I'm back in the swing of things (exams, studying, MCATs, and more studying...), photo editing and blogging has been on the back burner. However, I've forced myself to at least work through the Valencia folder and post something.

Valencia was a fun and beachy trip. Palm trees and cute boys abounded. It was here where I first I savored churros with chocolate (a snack I miss dearly from Spain) and stayed out until 6am dancing in a discoteca. More in the photo captions.

Ciudad de las artes y las ciencias

¡Churros con chocolate! This was taken at Valor, a chain of chocolaterías in Spain.
The churros there were awesomely large.

Hot chocolate in Spain is a culinary orgasm waiting to happen.
It's basically a melted chocolate bar mixed with cream and served in a mug.
It's strong, rich and sweet - perfect for a chocolate lover like me.

I'd like to replicate this photo as a self-portrait, with me on the other side.

Left: My friend's host mom, Carmen, with her homemade paella. She was an AMAZING cook.
Right: Another homemade treat, arroz del horno.

I'm not beachy person, but we visited it anyways since my friend wanted to go.

When I got bored, I started to take macro shots of that what was directly around me. My boots...

...and my scarf.

Unconventional Selfs

2011-01-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

Some unconventional self-portraits. Well, unconventional for me anyways.

Merry Christmas from Madrid!

2010-12-25T18:21:00.001-06:00

Sort of. I'm not actually in Madrid anymore, but the pictures are all from Spain. So enjoy!

Madrid - The Final Days

2010-12-16T13:26:00.002-06:00

Today is my last day in Madrid. I feel a mixture of contradictory emotions - happy, sad, anxious, nervous, and excited all at once. Like someone is yanking me out of Spain just when I was getting used to the rhythm of life here, even though I know that everything that will lead me towards my future goals awaits me in the United States. I long for the comforts of home, but want to maintain the tranquility and peace I've found here in Spain.

All in all, the last few months have been some of the best in my life. I look back on them with fondness and I'm sad that I'll be leaving all the wonderful people I've met here. Like Nada - the Moroccan woman at the beauty salon who only charged me €10 after waxing off half my body and then invited me over for dinner. Or Cota - my host mom who was a like-minded liberal and progressive woman with whom I would discuss everything from the progression of women's rights to the correct usage of swear words.

While I've technically been on a "study" abroad program, studying has been the least of my concerns. More important to me have been exploring the culture, the city, and the language. Getting to know people and building relationships. And because of that, I've grown on a personal level far more than I have in the past 18 years of my life. Spain has taught me how to be a less timid and a much more open and social person. Someone who can start a conversation with strangers, who knows how to have fun, and doesn't always lock herself in her room studying.

To finish this post, I'll end with several photos from my last few months in Madrid.

Mercado de San Miguel

Templo de Debod

Older women taking some sort of fan-dancing class while I walked around in the Parque Retiro

MTV Europe Music Awards

Portugal - Belem, Sintra

2010-12-05T15:00:00.004-06:00

Our adventures only continued in Belem and Sintra. We arrived at Sintra late night while it was raining with nothing but our backpacks and an address. With no map and no tourist offices open, we went to the nearby Pizza Hut to ask for help. There, we met met Pizza Hut Guy, who was kind enough to actually put on his coat and retrieve his umbrella so he could come out on the street and point out directions. Of course, with him speaking Portuguese, some important bits were lost in translation. All we heard was "follow this road", "curva", "between two buildings" which we took to mean, "Go straight and follow the curve. You'll eventually see two buildings". Alas, what he really meant was "Go straight, and DO NOT follow the curve! Instead, continue straight between the two buildings". Thus, we wandered around in the rain, miserable and tired, for a good 40 minutes. After more help from a gas station and some friendly 'you are here' map signs, we finally reached our hostel.

Sintra was also chockful of interesting people we met.

Michal, Czech Republic: We went to the Chinese restaurant around the corner from the hostel for dinner and recognized a boy who only 10 minutes ago had passed us in the hallway of the hostel. He was by himself, and so we asked him to dine with us.
Patricia, Knoxville, TN: A very sweet doctor we kept running into as we toured the Pena Palace and Castle of the Moors.
Wolfgang, Germany: Our hippy hostel caretaker, Wolfgang. See picture and caption below.
Sassy waiter at cafe: A young Portuguese waiter who told us to practice our Portuguese when we tried to order in Spanish. [In a bizarre UK accent]"You are Americans, learning Spanish, and trying to practice your Spanish in Portugal!? No no, practice your Portuguese when you are in Portugal!"

Outside the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belem

Our hippy hostel caretaker, Wolfgang.
A well-traveled guy who's spent several years traveling through Europe as an artist and was even a chef at one point.
The paintings on the walls and ceilings in the hostel (including the one behind him) were all drawn by him.

Pena palace in Sintra

I love these types of shots. You might see more of them in the future.

View of the countryside from the Castle of the Moors

Friends Stacy (left) and Laura (right)

Portugal - Lisbon

2010-12-02T15:35:00.004-06:00

Portugal turned out to be a very rainy country. VERY rainy. Yet this also ended up being a trip with many adventures. Like meeting the Brazilian boy at the hostel and spending half a day with him in the city, going to a Fado house to hear soulful traditional folk songs, trekking through the Castle of St. George under a torrent of of rain because "godammit we paid to get in here and we're going to get our money's worth!", and going out with the girls to a "heterofriendly gay bar" (as described by Easyjet airline magazine) . And that's just Lisbon alone!

More Portugal photos will be up within the next week.

Tile Museum (Museu do Azulejo)

My friend Laura

This duo was adorable. I know at least I was convinced to part with some change.

Things I Miss

2010-11-14T13:21:00.002-06:00

24/7 grocery stores
All-in-one stores like CVS, Target, or Walmart
Good service
Homemade pumpking pie (and brownies, and cookies, and peanut butter bars....)
People who don't smoke
Wearing a hoodie in public without feeling under-dressed
My smartphone
Eating lunch at noon
Carpeting
Cafes suitable for studying and reading

Chino y Nacho - Niña Bonita

Enrique Iglesias - Cuando Me Enamoro

Juanes - Yerbatero

Shakira - Waka Waka (Esto es Africa)

Diego Torres - Guapa

Cordoba

2010-11-06T13:45:00.000-05:00

I had already visited Cordoba before this trip during my first trip to Spain, but I still enjoyed touring the city once again. We went to an intimate and amazing flamenco show where a FIERCE woman stomped the floor and clapped her hands with an incredible power. In terms of photos, I was intrigued by the textures of the walls and doors this time around.

The view from my window on the AVE, the high speed rail.

The Road to Sexual Equality in Spain

2010-11-01T15:00:00.015-05:00

According to several articles I've read, classes I've taken, and women I've talked to, gender discrimination against women exists in Spain more than it does in other modernized countries. The concepts of machismo and marianismo (the idea that women should be pure and obedient like the Virgin Mary) have been a part of the Spanish culture for a long time, mainly due to the influence of Catholicism, which has been the dominant (and oftentimes required) religion for centuries. Just 35 years ago under the conservative dictatorship of Franco, women had few rights and couldn't divorce, abort, travel alone, or open bank accounts without the permission of a spouse.

I personally can't attest to the high degree of sexism present in Spanish society since my interactions with Spanish men are superficial - I neither live with them, date them, nor have deep conversations with them about a woman's role in society. But from what Spanish girls, my teachers, and host mom have told me, machismo is very much still present in Spanish society.

Regardless of all that, Spain has taken tremendous strides in the past decade to bring sexual equality to Spain. In fact, I'm as in love with Spain's current president Zapatero as I am with Barack Obama for all the legislation he's brought forth to further women's status in society. Let me list all the things he's done that I admire:

This quote
I'm not just antimachismo, I'm a feminist. One thing that really awakens my rebellious streak is 20 centuries of one sex dominating the other. We talk of slavery, feudalism, exploitation, but the most unjust domination is that of one half of the human race over the other half. The more equality women have, the fairer, more civilized and tolerant society will be. Sexual equality is a lot more effective against terrorism than military strength.

-José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, NYTimes

Law of Equality (Ley de Igualdad) - This affirmative action law, passed in 2007, aims to increase female representation in the work force. Specific legislation includes: large companies must have 40% women on the company boards, political parties must run at least 40% women on the electoral lists, women are given 4 months maternity leave, men are given 2 weeks paternity leave. Source Spanish. Source English.
Abortion rights - Just this summer, in 2010, a new abortion law went into effect allowing women over the age of 16 to get an abortion within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. Previously, they were only allowed to in the case of 1) rape 2) fetal malformation 3) physical harm to the mother.
Cabinet appointments - 8 of the 16 cabinet positions, including the vice presidency, were filled with women. My favorite appointment? Zapatero, in a gesture charged with symbolism, chose Carme Chacon to be the Defense Minister - a woman who was 7 months pregnant when she began her position.
Law against Gender Violence - This law, passed in 2004, establishes ways to prevent domestic violence and help women who are currently abused. Specific measures include re-employment and training programs to alleviate economic dependency on the abuser, tougher penalties for offenders, more legal rights for the victims, and informative awareness campaigns to change society's gender stereotypes and attitude towards women. Source.

I realize that within the last few years he's been under fire for his economic policies during the financial crisis, but I only speak to his social policies. In addition to women's rights, he's been a supporter of the LGBT community and legalized gay marriage and adoption in 2005. Overall, he's done a great job in advancing social issues and I think he's a keeper.

Galicia - Cats

2010-10-26T13:00:00.007-05:00

That's right, I have a whole post dedicated to some cats I saw in Galicia because they were absolutely adorable. There were five of them just chilling out on the rocks near the ocean. You can just imagine the glee we had when we saw so many cute cats.

"Oh look, there's a cute cat!"
"Hey, there's one over here too"
"OMG! Another one! THEY'RE ALL SO CUTE!"

One of them (the one featured most often below) even modeled for me, strutting here and there, and occasionally stopping for a pose. I probably took a good 50 photos of these cute tiny creatures.

Can you spot all 5 cats in this photos?
Neither can I unless I zoom in, so here they are all circled.

Galicia - Santiago de Compostela

2010-10-22T15:00:00.004-05:00

Since I didn't write anything last time, I'll talk about Galicia and Santiago de Compostela in this post.

Galicia is an autonomous community in northwest Spain with its own historic language, gallego. Its capital, Santiago de Compostela, is renowned for its cathedral which is an international destination of pilgrimage. Pilgrims from all over the world spend weeks or months backpacking through the countryside and following the "Camino de Santiago".

It doesn't matter who you are - old, young, spiritual, atheist - many just do the camino for the experience. In fact, my friend's 60-some Portuguese host dad just recently got up and left for a two-week bike trip to Santiago de Compostela. And on the bus to the airport I met a young man from Barcelona who had taken a 1-month vacation from work and flown to Burgos to make the trip from there. He explained how the people he met along the way were incredibly friendly, the landscape always beautiful, the journey very difficult, but the experience very rewarding.

None of the pictures below are of the church itself. Frankly I've seen enough churches to last me a lifetime. And you can easily find pictures of it online, and the lighting inside isn't suitable for good photos anyways. Instead are some sights from the city that surrounds the church.

Street shots like this are by far my favorite things to shoot in a city,
so there might be a lot of these in future posts.

Frog legs. They tasted like chicken.

An unintentional self-portriat with only some color editing.
I like how the reflection is such that it looks like I warped into the frame.

Galicia - A Coruña

2010-10-14T17:00:00.027-05:00

My classes are easier than ever, yet I'm just as busy. Maybe not with homework, but with my internship, traveling, my social life, or even little things like watching Patito Feo (and yes, that is absolutely an essential part of my cultural immersion here!)

With all the traveling, I've had little time to sort through and edit photos. But I forced myself to finally update the blog. But since I have yet to travel to another city tomorrow, I'll just post some photos and write about my cultural insights another time.

And so I present you, photos from Galicia - a region in northwest Spain where the people speak Gallego and the seafood is delicious (allegedly...I hate seafood). All the photos below are from A Coruña, although I also visited Santiago de Compostela.

Patito Feo

2010-09-29T06:00:00.031-05:00

The entertainment industry in Spain is...well...rather lacking to put it mildly. Although from previous travel experiences, I get the feeling that this is the case almost everywhere outside the U.S. So what does a girl who practically can't breathe without TV and movies in the U.S. watch when she's left with a mere 21 channels (three-fourths of which are news, sports, infomercials, and dubbed American shows)?

¡Patito Feo!

Yes, that's right, my new favorite TV show is Patito Feo, a teen drama on the Disney channel that follows the life Patito - a dorky girl sporting large square glasses, braided pigtails, and clothes reminiscent of Strawberry Shortcake. The show itself is a blend of High School Musical/Glee, Zoey 101, and Ugly Betty. While it's a regression in depth and humour compared to what I usually watch, it's perfect for my time here in Spain. It's easy to understand the language, easy to pick up what's going on, lighthearted, and relatable. Plus the Argentinian accent is absolutely gorgeous (I love their pronunciation of "ll" and "y").

You can watch the first episode on youtube, and many more on megavideo.

It has your typical cheesy moments of family happiness (and family disagreements).

It has characters with spunk.

And features gems such as this.

(A song I already have stuck in my head)

Madrid - Modern yet Antiquated

2010-09-19T17:00:00.002-05:00

Spain has many modern and progressive elements to it. For example, their metro system kicks ass. It’s just as extensive as Chicago’s, yet half as cheap (€2 round trip, and less once I get the monthly pass), and 10x cleaner and faster. It reminds a lot of the Bart in San Francisco, with electronic signs telling you how soon the next train is coming.

Then there’s the free health care. And the fact no one dresses down. EVER. People always fashionable and put-together, ready to go out to a restaurant with their friends. Reminds me a bit of NYC in that way.


Look how clean this is!	This would be useful in Chicago.

Yet then there are other aspects of life that just seem so outdated to me. Let’s talk about the lack of tech-savvy here. Spaniards aren’t nearly as connected to technology as North Americans are. I rarely see anyone listening to their MP3 player, texting their friends, or working on their laptop on the metro or in any other public place. And smartphones? Sure they exist, but less people use them here. In fact, a lot of Spaniards don’t even have phone contracts! Pay-as-you-go plans are very popular over here.

Part of this is cultural – that Spaniards simply don’t care about getting new gadgets to play with. But part of it is that they simply don’t offer the same services we do in the U.S. For example, I can’t find the Spanish equivalent of many online services offered in the U.S. – Hulu, Pandora, Netflix, Google maps public transit (their version isn’t nearly as good). And sometimes I can’t find very simple things – like USB powered speakers.

And the smoking. Ugh, seriously? C’mon Europe, you’re better than that.

Thus far I’ve found that there are certain aspects from both the U.S. and Spain that I’m fond of. Is one better than the other? I don’t think so. They’re just different. Each one has something unique to offer and I would love to just live on a island where the best of both worlds were combined.

Siestas and Nightlife

2010-09-12T12:21:00.002-05:00

Going out with the girls

One of the most noticeable changes in my lifestyle is my new Spanish schedule. My day more or less begins at the same time each day class/work at 9am). But now instead of chowing down on lunch at noon I must wait until ~2pm when "siesta" begins. Siesta is a very interesting Spanish tradition where from 2pm-4pm the entire city shuts down and people go home to eat with their families. After a big lunch, people oftentimes take a short nap, or "siesta", to recuperate for the rest of their work day. And then from around 8-10pm, I eat a home-cooked dinner with my host mom or go out to a restaurant with friends.

I must admit, I find this more annoying than anything else right now. Why would you just shut down stores in the middle of the day?! And dios mio, why can't stores be open on Sunday?! There's so much you can do on a Sunday! I'm certain I'll get used to the siesta fairly easily - find something to do in that time like take a nap or work on my computer. Sundays may take a little more time to adjust to.

What really surprises me is the night life here. First, Madrid is quite literally a "city that never sleeps". It doesn't matter what hour of the night it is - 10pm, 2am, 4am - there's always Spaniards simply walking the streets with their partners, having a smoke with their friends, or coming back from a discoteca. In fact, it's normal to stay out partying till 5 or 6 in the morning! A far cry from the average American night out where most bars and clubs close at 2/3am.

I did in fact try out this exotic new form of nightlife and enjoyed it very much. It was a great way to meat real Madrileños and socialize with people outside the program. Strangely enough I wasn't yawning and fighting off fatigue at 4am. I swear, there's just something in the air here that makes one less dependent on sleep.

Self Portrait Windows

2010-09-08T16:00:00.026-05:00

Today I leave for Spain for a 4 month study abroad trip. Hopefully that means more frequent updates for this blog.

I'm reminded of Juanes' song "Hoy Me Voy" (Today I Leave) even if only the title itself is indicative of what I'm about to do. I think the self portrait below is fitting as well. I have calmly been waiting since freshman year to step into this new and beautiful Spanish world - and now I'm finally doing it.

Variations on the window portrait below the cut

New Blog Location

2010-08-24T20:21:00.007-05:00

This is my new blog!

Have moved most of my posts from the xanga account to blogger. You can still see the original posts at my old xanga

Will probably post to both accounts for awhile

Blueberry Pie

2010-08-16T23:49:00.002-05:00

This is probably my first (real) attempt at food photography. My friends and I made a delicious blueberry pie from scratch (no blueberry filling in a can!) It was DELICIOUS. Orgasmic. Wonderful. Just DIVINE. And a very easy recipe to follow from Pioneer Woman, one of my favorite food blogs. Enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed the pie.

My friend Natasha eating our delicious blueberry pie

Oh the Fruitful Wonders of Spring

2010-07-14T21:55:00.011-05:00

Self Portrait

2010-07-03T22:25:00.006-05:00

I took a host of self-portraits on my last day at NU this year. I've been meaning to do some for awhile, but always found myself too tired or busy. But on the last day of school I found myself in a room which almost everything packed, most of my friends gone, and virtually nothing to do. So I spent a good few hours taking self-portraits, and it was certainly harder than I thought it would be! I had to take several shots of the same pose because every single time I'd notice something minor that I wanted to tweak, and also because I wanted to experiment with different exposure settings. In the end I got some shots I'm very happy with.

Here's the first of my new self-portraits!

I can be incredibly indecisive when it comes to editing and what I want my final product to look like.
Below are some edits I considered. The first two are different and the third is the picture from above for comparison.

Hippie Love

2010-06-04T23:00:00.005-05:00

Taken on Dillo Day, a Northwestern tradition that involves music, fun activities on the lakefill, and many many drunk college students.

Have a color version here, but I like the black and white version better.

Flowers

2010-05-14T11:00:00.002-05:00

Visiting Mike in Berkeley

2010-04-21T18:45:00.020-05:00

Fun stuff yo.

The streets of San Francisco

I found their excessively stapled bulletin board amusing

Yummy gelato!

Mike hates it when I take pictures of him

At Pier 39

We splurged on some truffles

They were oh-so moist and delicious

San Francisco had the best Chinatown I've been to so far.
It spanned a good full square mile and had a range of shops, from dirt-cheap shops with a random
assortment of objects that no one would ever need and upscale shops with $1000 kimonos and vases.

I loved these red lanterns hanging everywhere

The mall. It was huge. Reminds me of the Guggenheim.

At another gelato shop in Berkeley

I took pictures of various merchandise at a shop called "Sweet Dreams" with varous odds and ends in Berkeley
Had I had more disposable income, I might have bought something there

Mike, Rima, and I played Candyland

Why I Love My Small Chest

2010-03-27T11:21:00.002-05:00

Just authored a post on Lovelyish: Why I Love My Small Chest

Sondre Lerche...again!

2010-02-21T19:21:00.003-06:00

What can I say? He's my little Norwegian wonderboy. I'm absolutely charmed by him - by his looks, his voice, music, and his personality. I've googled and youtubed him dozens of times and listened to almost all his interviews (both English and Norwegian!) As far as favorite musicians go, he's one of my top five. So even though I recently went to his concert five months ago, I had to buy tickets when I saw he was coming back to Chicago for another show.

The concert was, once again, incredible. Even though I arrived only 20 minutes early, I managed to weasel my way to the front row (being short and petite has its advantages). Let me just say that the front row experience was simply amazing and infinitely better! Not only was it a great opportunity for photos and video, but it felt more organic somehow. More intimate to be within an arm's reach and see his body language and every facial expression in fine detail

After the concert he stuck around again for pictures and autographs. And because I've googled Sondre one too many times, I recognized the woman behind the counter selling merchandise to be his wife. She was gorgeous! They make a handsome couple and I hope their marriage lasts. When it was my turn for a photo there was so much I wanted to say to him! But alas, there was a large crowd and it was getting late. So I said my few words of admiration, got my photo, and went back home. It was an experience I'll savor for many years and one that I hope to replicate many times.

Same opening act, JBM

Croon, croon, croon...he's a crooner

One of the songs I had never heard and absolutely loved was "No One's Gonna Come"
The melody and chord changes of the main verse (first 50 seconds) are just gorgeous

Rockin' it out

Me with my friends

Left: "Yo, wassup Sondre Lerche?" Right: Sondre and I are totally BFF, can't you tell?

Sporting the Sondre Lerche t-shirt I bought

Stephen Colbert Fanmail

2010-01-04T17:30:00.001-06:00

I finally sent my letter to Stephen Colbert a few weeks ago. To show him how much I absolutely adore him, I embellished the envelope with colorful paper and drawings. Muchas gracias to my friend Alex for the illustrations on the back. Who knows when he'll get it, or if he'll even read it. But I really hope that he receives it and gets a good laugh out of it.

NU Fall Campus cont.

2009-12-14T21:05:00.012-06:00

Winter has begun in the Chicago area, so I thought I should post the rest of these.

NU Fall Campus

2009-11-25T23:21:00.002-06:00

I actually set aside time to take photos! Northwestern's campus was gorgeous when leaves were just starting to fall and I couldn't resist. So one day I walked around campus in the early morning before too many students up and shot some photos. I would do this more often, but classes and extracurricular activities are killing me. No, really, they're slowly sucking my soul and converting me into a mindless drone that knows only how to work assiduously.

As you can see, I have a thing for foilage. I just love the way branches and leaves look against a bright blue sky.

More photos to come.

Website

I finally got around to updating my website. Only the gallery section has any changes.

Legs

2009-10-24T15:30:00.002-05:00

Specifically, mine.

I decided I need a self-portrait, and since I'm not very photogenic my legs seemed like the ideal body part to shoot. I was inspired by a photo by Gwarf.

I stuck with the black and white edit although I tried out some color variations.

Sondre Lerche concert

2009-09-20T10:00:00.005-05:00

I love love LOVE Sondre Lerche! For those who doesn't know who Sondre Lerche is, he is a Norwegian guitarist/singer who does upbeat pop/rock/alternative music (I'm bad at categorizing artists into a single genre). He did the soundtrack for Dan in Real Life, and well, just listen to a couple of his songs to get an idea of his musical style (Hell No, Heartbeat Radio, Two Way Monologue, Let My Love Open the Door).

At any rate, the concert was simply AMAZING. Sondre Lerche had such stage presence! He was funny, relaxed, and at ease with the audience, always making jokes and interacting with the audience in between songs. Moreover, he was a really enthusiastic performer, strumming his guitar intensely in faster upbeat songs, crooning into the microphone for slower songs. He talked about how his first performance in Chicago was at that very location and about how the hair product that Jessi (his opening act) lent him wasn't doing it for him. When his acoustic guitar didn't broadcast over the speakers, he kept on playing other songs while the technical problems were worked out.

I feel like that was the ideal concert. One where the artists' songs don't sound note for note like their songs on the album, but better. Where they get to interact with you, and their personality takes their music to a new level. Where the venue is small enough that the artist can stay afterward to sign CDs and take photos.

I hope the photos are decent. It's quite difficult to get good pictures in such dim light settings when I don't have fancy lenses or gear. But I did what I could with ISO, aperture, and shutter speed and just hoped for the best. Standing within 10 feet of the performers helped too.

Opening act - JMB (Jessi)

Beautiful Sondre Lerche, singing beautifully

See those muscles? I do love the arms of guitarists.

Just look at those incredibly blue eyes...

I'm the south Asian for the record. The east Asian is a friend I went with.

You Don't Have To Be a Mom

2009-08-18T12:45:00.001-05:00

THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I FEEL!
Read it!
The comments are also worth skimming/reading.

http://squadratomagico.net/2009/05/12/lessons-for-girls-you-dont-have-to-be-a-mom/

Highlights:

"I can say from lifelong experience that no one believes a girl who claims not to want to be a mom. It’s very frustrating when perfect strangers presume to know one’s innermost desires without even asking!...I have always been told, with a patronizing “what-a-silly-girl!” smile, 'Oh, you’ll change your mind!' "

"We are told over and over again by the Self-Appointed Obligatory Maternity Propaganda Brigade (SAOMPB) that, whatever else a woman may accomplish, her truest fulfillment derives from bearing and nurturing children. Such statements are incredibly demeaning: they denigrate any accomplishments a woman may value aside from reproduction, and restrict women’s sphere of meaningful activity to a purely biological realm."

"I would like to say to them the words that no one has ever said to me, even once: You don’t have to be a mom. You have value beyond your womb. You can define yourself in any way you like, through a variety of endeavors and goals and achievements. And if you do choose to be a mom, you can be other things at the same time. Be yourself first."

Eberhard Beach Show 2009

2009-06-06T11:00:00.004-05:00

This year I'm involved with the Undergraduate Chemistry Council (UCC). It's a smaller club, which is nice, and I get to be secretary and take minutes and help publicize events. Every year we have two main shows, a Halloween show and a beach show, involving the chemistry department's sweetheart Eberhard. He does demos for the general chemistry students and we all love him. What follows are some pictures from this year's show. I had to help with the food, which means I only got to see about 15 minutes of the actual show, but I still took photos galore.

We had muchos drinks. Waaay to many drinks.

Getting ready for the show and having fun

The man of the hour, Eberhard, getting some grub before his awesome show

Eberhard!

Many of his demos involved fires or explosions of some sort

Left: The enormous crowd Right: The last demo of the night, a huge explosion with those balloons

Montreal - The Streets

2009-01-20T14:10:00.002-06:00

A modern day hobbit hole

Angry cross-eyed statue spewing out water

Montreal's Chinatown

Montreal - Subway and Ex-Centris

2008-12-29T16:21:00.005-06:00

Why does Canada's public transportation PWN ours?
Our metro stations are filthy! They're never this clean!

This always reminds me of that one vignette in Paris Je T'Aime

They even decorate the stations.
The only decorations I ever see are graffiti.
Except for that one station in the Hispanic village of Pilsen...

The left is the oxygen bar we visited. Yes. We visited an oxygen bar. And what a scam!
We didn't feel a bit "refreshed" after our 20 minutes of pure oxygen.
On the right we have the creepy digitalized guy behind the counter at Ex-Centris who gave us tickets
for an independent film that was rather bad. Does Canada even make their own movies?
Cause the normal theaters seemed to show mainly American movies.

Well, even if the movie was bad, at least the building was awesome.

Montreal - Obscenities

2008-12-02T10:45:00.001-06:00

What Are My Hobbies Again?

I STILL haven't fixed my camera, and now that I've been forced to live my life without it, I've realized it's time to end my journey with photography. Or maybe not "end" it. It's more that I don't plan on improving my skills by getting the expensive gear and learning about technical details like lighting and whatnot. I'll still take photos (once I get around to either buying a new camera or fixing the old one). But taking photos just doesn't hold the same allure as before. I'm still extremely fond of looking at and appreciating photos taken by others. But the goal itself of becoming a proficient photographer is no longer present.

It seems to be the same way with piano. There's no strong desire to do anything other than listen to people who have already mastered the art.

Which leaves me where? I don't know. I feel aimless and rather boring without some hobby to do on the side. I mean, who am I without these things? Just some boring pre-med who goes to college and has no life. Which means I need to find something new and stimulating. I still have a strong interest in languages, particularly Spanish, so I'll definitely pursue that at college (although frankly, sometimes that feels hopeless as well...will I always have to think so hard about what tense to use and whether my pronouns agree in number and gender?). So are there any other suggestions? College is an ideal time to explore, so what did everyone else try out?

Montreal - Obscenities

Um....

Hooker shoes in the shoe store we stopped at when bargain shopping on/near Rue Chabanel

An entire line of hooker shoes

And important accessories to aid in the 'hooking'

The most god-awful bathroom I've ever seen

How come our bookstores don't have displays of funny sex books?

Montreal - Biodome, Insectarium, and Jardin Botanique

2008-10-10T17:40:00.005-05:00

College!

My college life is insanely busy. It's not so much that I have homework to do all the time. It's that my days are full of events... classes, work, social gatherings, club meetings, dinners...there's so much to do! But I love it. I like being being away from the 'rents, feeling independent, and passing my time as I please.

I miss driving. I developed leg muscles within the first week, but it just takes so much time to walk from North campus to South campus and the weather here is supposed to be horrid in winter. But on the bright side, I may be losing weight because of all the walking I do.

I haven't touched a camera since I've been on campus. My camera broke before I came here, and I don't feel like paying Canon $150 to fix it at the moment. Maybe this is a sign (see last post). Not that I'm superstitious or anything, but still...

Montreal - Biodome, Insectarium, and Jardin Botanique

It only looks like her hand is being eaten by bugs

Hello!

Creepy critters at the Insectarium

Botanical Gardens

Japanese or Chinese gardens, can't remember which one

Montreal - Museums and Notre Dame

2008-09-19T23:25:00.001-05:00

Lost Passions

I have played the piano for eight years, taken Spanish for five years, and played around with photography for four years. But now that high school is over and I'm starting anew, I don't know where I'm going with any of it.

It almost seems pointless at this point in my life to continue with piano and photography in particular. Why bother with piano when I don't plan on having any sort of career in music? Why continue photography when the upgrades I want to explore lighting and studio photography are so financially draining, and when I just don't seem inspired by taking photos anymore? Sure, there's this sense of achievement when I finally master a new piece or take a great photo, but so what? I think I'd be just as happy without the two, with books and Spanish to fill the void.

And while I'm still hungry to gain fluency in Spanish, there's always this fear that I will never master the language. That no matter how many Spanish CDs I get from the library, how many English movies I subtitle in Spanish, how many stories I read in Spanish, and how much exposure I get to the language, I'll always have to pause and think about what word to use and the grammatical correctness of my sentence.

For now, I think I'll at least try to dabble in piano even though I won't have private lessons. I'm bringing my keyboard to my dorm, so hopefully I can occasionally learn new songs. With photography, I'll give it another year or so. Maybe I'll finally meet some photographer in person who can be a mentor and teach me more. Or maybe at the end of the year, my interest will just fizzle out. Who knows? We'll see how things pan out at the end of the year.

Montreal - Museums and Notre Dame

Church of Notre Dame

The science musuem and kid with mohawk at science musuem

Sophie is just a cute, little bundle of fun

The karaoke room in the Museum of Modern Art

Sophie stayed in there for quite a bit of time singing along to weird Eastern Asian songs.
Long enough to bore Mike who was begging her to leave and finally just decided to take a nap.

Montreal - Food; 5 Favorite Olympic Moments

2008-08-26T10:30:00.007-05:00

My 5 Favorite Olympic Moments

The Olympics this year have been pretty sweet - probably my favorite so far. But that might have something to do with the fact that this is the first year I'm actually old enough to appreciate them. My Top 5 Olympic Moments (besides the extraordinary opening and closing ceremonies):

Nastia Liukin wins gold in Women's All-Around Gymnastics
You show those underage Chinese bitches who the real champ is Nastia!
Shawn Johnson wins gold in Women's Gymnastics Balance Beam
Yay! She's so CUTE!
Michael Phelps wins his 7th and 8th Olympic gold medals
Don't you just love Michael Phelps and his half-fish body?
Usain Bolt's victory celebration halfway through the 100m sprint
Disrespectful my ass, everyone's just jealous cause some nobody POWNED everyone else
and beat a world record without even trying. That's just KICK-ASS AWESOMENESS!
Matt Mitcham deprives China of 8th diving gold medal after Zhou Luxin was thought to "have it in the bag"

Montreal - Food

I went on a senior trip with three other friends to Montreal, Canada. It was a pretty nice city even though our hotel seemed to be near a lot of creepy hobos. But an awesome trip nonetheless.

First, some adventures with food. Eating food was probably what I most looked forward to on this trip and I certainly was not disappointed. Even breakfast was a scrumptious treat to look forward to (I normally eat cereal or 1.5 pieces of toast). Each morning the hotel delivered croissants (normal/chocolate), baguettes, café, and orange juice for each person. And damn are croissants yummy.

Our first food in Montreal, some delicious wraps

A very colorful and fun bistro in Old Montreal
Small, comfortably crowded, and with live music
My favorite restaurant we ate at of all 4 days

Inside Marche de la Villete

At the market

Cupcake shop

A muffin from Eggspectation

Breaking Dawn Release Party

2008-08-08T20:25:00.001-05:00

Peaceful Summer

So I haven't updated in months. What can I say? I've been in the lull of summer, just reading, watching TV, working a mere 10 hours a week at a job I love (the library) and spending time with friends. I figure it's the last summer to completely relax before I start getting internships/jobs and building up a decent resume to send to med schools. But, I've finally returned to Xanga!

Breaking Dawn Release Party

Yes, I read the Twilight Saga. I'm a female. They're addicting. End of story.

Jacob leaving his clothes behind on the driveway as he transforms into a wolf (Isn't that creative?)

Edward certainly dazzles me all the time...

Nesha, looking sly on the left.
The host of the party, Aliah, on the right.

We all made t-shirts to wear to the Borders midnight release party

Hehe...this shirt was mine

Aliah was PREPARED for this party.
She made a jeopardy style game and had an entire binder dedicated to all-things-Twilight.

Some of the themed decorations inside

Aliah's lil bro on the left. Ayat cutting our celebratory cake on the right.

At Borders, waiting till midnight. I actually left early because Aliah's party was much more fun.
Our Borders had a moderate turnout and many tweens.
Did you notice how young the girl is on the right? Too young to be reading Twilight!

Ziton Sisters IV

2008-05-25T19:45:00.002-05:00

High School is OVER!

Finaaaalllllly! No more bitchy hall moms and greeters who assault me when I try to enter my own school! No more inane homework assignments that teach me absolutely nothing while managing to waste hours of my time! No more having to hide the complete lack of ambition I've had since 4th quarter started! NO MORE!

Ziton Sisters IV

I was going for a "Snow White" feel in this picture

Ziton Sisters II; The Ideal Man

2008-05-04T21:00:00.005-05:00

The Ideal Man

It always amazes me how other girls can be so...indiscriminate when judging men's looks. They just pounce on anything that moves and has male genitalia. I, on the other hand, pride myself on being selective and having a discerning eye, knowing exactly what it is I like in men and being able analyze men's appearances for specific traits.

Having said that, looks aren't my only criteria for judging potential mates. There are always occasions when a male's personality makes him physically attractive. But that's not what this post is about. So here it is, the traits my ideal man would have.

Trait	Preference	Description/Comments
Height	Tall	Anywhere between 5'5"-6'0" since I am only 5'3".
Build	Toned	NOT buff. I hate extra-testosterone filled men with 2 inch necks and upper arms that are 6 inches in diameter from all the superfluous amount of muscle they bear. GROSS!
Width	Skinny	See Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Adrian Brody.
Skin Tone	Light	Anyone as light or lighter then me. I generally find white/olive toned people to be the most attractive, then brown people next.
Skin Texture	Smooth	NO FACIAL HAIR! I'll have none of that scruffy "I'm poor and don't own a razor blade" look! I want soft-as-a-baby's-skin smooth and prefer minimal arm and leg hair as well.
Hair	Dark	Dark brown/black. Any style so long as it is thick and beautiful hair I have the urge to run my fingers through it.
Eyes	Light, large	Green/blue/hazel/light brown.
Facial Structures	Statuesque	Prominent cheeckbones, stong jawline, and having a look of dignity/intellect.

The Ziton Sisters III

Ziton Sisters II; Fake Crushes...How it Ended

2008-04-07T22:21:00.001-05:00

Fake Crushes....How it Ended

Just in case anyone was wondering how my fake crush on Wei Zhou panned out, I'm proud to say it went extremely well. After a week of flirting and giggling when around not only him, but other members of the male population, he was scared of what was noticeably odd behaviour for me, and maybe even glum at the thought of a psychotic Indian girl chasing after him. My actions did after all, escalate into giving him a giant cookie with the poem "Roses are red/Violets are blue/Just like this cookie/I'm made for you". Upon receiving said cookie, poor Wei simply thanked me with as much enthusiasm as he could muster up.

This prank of mine actually inspired a boy named Sergey to prank me! See comments on my previous post for yet another imaginary infatuation with the popular Wei Zhou. My friend and I figured out that we were being 'punked' after realizing that Sergey and 'Other Person' had strikingly similar, eccentric writing styles.

In any case, the joke is up. Wei does not hold a grudge and I can ask him about what the Stats or Pre-Med homework is without feeling girlishly silly.

Ziton Sisters II

Ziton Sisters I; Fake Crushes

2008-03-14T21:00:00.002-05:00

Fake Crushes

There's an eastern-Asian boy named Wei Zhou in my senior class who I admire very much. He's extremely intelligent, creative, sociable, mature, funny, and an entire list of positive adjectives. So one day, I was talking to my friend Mathura and made one of my normal, weird statements, declaring something like "Wei is SO smart! He should totally donate his sperm to a sperm bank!"

How did Mathura react? She told Wei that I'm in love with him and want to bear his children.

Now, she's been doing this for awhile, telling Wei that I have some type of secret crush on him, and I've had to repeatedly deny it. But finally yesterday, after yet another attempt to convince Wei that I'm not infatuated with him, I said to Mathura, "You know what? I might as well give in. I'm going to pretend like I really do have a crush on Wei Zhou."

My fake crush started today. So far, I've had a good start on thoroughly creeping him out. Today in AP Bio the following conversation took place:

[Wei is working on his biology worksheet at the table behind me]

Me: Hey, Wei

Wei: Yeah?

Me: You look really hott in that sweater ::giggle::

Wei: .....oh.....why do you say that?

Me: It just makes you look really lean. You should wear more like it. Wear black tomorrow! Black is slimming.

[Mathura is hiding her face in her arms, her body shaking from laughter]

Wei: Um, Mathura, are you OK?

Mathura: Yeah! It's just...god, Rashmi, you're so creepy!

Ziton Sisters I

Usually don't do the sepia tone or feathered border,
but I thought I'd try something different

Laura Photo Shoot IV; Throwing Books at Classmates

2008-02-27T20:42:00.003-06:00

Throwing Books at Classmates

In class a few weeks back, my math teacher Mr. Dillon was rather annoyed by this Korean boy named John. John is the type of person who never pays attention or does his homework, and somehow always gets through each semester by doing his homework the day of or finding someone to copy off of. So Mr. Dillon jokingly suggested that I jab John in the back with my math back. Of course, I just quietly held my tongue. But then my fellow Spanish club officer and English office aide Vicente said "Do it! Yeah! Do it Rashmi!"

I looked at him quizzically. "Seriously?"

"Yeah!" he insisted. So I raised my math book high in the air, all eyes were on me, and I whipped it at John's back.

What a satisfying moment! The whole class enjoyed it as well, and burst out laughing for at least an entire minute. Even Mr. Dillon's face turned a bright shade of red - he certainly never expected that from me. It was a good outlet, and I think I should be more violent like that (at least occasionally...). Now that I'm a senior, I've noticed that I'm a bit more aggressive in the hallways and just shove my way through the throngs of slow-walkers and angst-ridden teenagers holding hands. I reaaallly need to get out of here!

Laura Photo Shoot IV

Laura Photo Shoot III; Senior Photos

2008-02-01T21:21:00.004-06:00

Senior Photos

I hate taking these things. I hate being in front of the camera rather than behind it and I hate having to do awkward poses that the photographer tells me to do since I don't know how to model. Additionally, I don't get to shop around for photographers since students at my school have to get portraits taken with a specific company in order for them to appear in the yearbook (although maybe it wouldn't matter since most people who take senior portraits suck anyways, just google in "senior portraits" to see the crap that's out there).

So yesterday, I had a retake of my senior portraits because I wasn't thrilled with the first set of photos. I thought I'd bring in some photos to my shoot so we could try to imitate the poses/style. The conversation I had with the photographer was a bit disconcerting though...

Me: I'd really like it if I could have photos with this type of depth of field
Him: These don't have a depth of field
Me: (What's he talking about? Does he mean they don't have a large depth of field?) Right...well...I'd just like the bokeh
Him: The what?
Me: You know, the blur in the background?
Him: Oh, well, the camera doesn't really do that. That's just a special effect, something you'd do in photoshop.
Me: Well, can't you just set your camera to a lower f-stop? I'm pretty sure the camera can do it...
Him: No no, you'll have to mess with image editing programs to get that effect. The camera doesn't do anything like that.

He also gave me the excuse that the short time period would prevent him from taking "these types of photos", although that should really only effect the quantity, not quality, of photos. So now I just have two weird sets of photos. I guess some of them are decent, and I'm probably being picky. But still, I'd much rather hire the people here on Xanga that I subscribe to - they're much more talented and creative, but none of them live in OH!

Laura Photo Shoot III

Laura Photo Shoot II; Common Misconceptions About Me

2008-01-15T19:20:00.002-06:00

Common Misconceptions About Me

1.Rashmi wants to kill every fat person and stupid person on Earth

There is a difference between wishing that obesity and stupidity were eradicated from the world and wishing that obese and stupid people were eradicated. The first simply means I think it would be better if people were never born that way, or did something to overcome their unfortunate circumstances (i.e. study more, go on a diet). The latter is genocide.

2.Rashmi will end up lonely and miserly because she does not want a spouse or children.

Just because others seem to yield to popular social standards to make themselves happy doesn't mean I must. If you depend on others to bring happiness into your life, then go ahead and get married and give birth.

3.Rashmi life has no purpose/meaning to her life because of lack of spouse/children and disbelief in God.

I feel that I contribute to society by taking advantage of my free public education and being a motivated student who will go to college and become skilled in medicine, thus helping the human race through my medical practice/research. These things will ultimately bring me much more satisfaction then a man by my side and a 6 lb infant that leaves my uterus. Furthermore, I believe the human life is meaningful regardless of a dependency on supernatural forces like God. To suggest that it is worthless without a God seems rather pessimistic.

Laura Photo Shoot II

Laura Photo Shoot I

2007-12-21T11:21:00.000-06:00

Birthday!

Today is my 18th birthday! I'll be going out to a hookah bar tonight with some friends, which should be pretty fun.

Laura Photo Shoot I (Beach)

This wasn't the best photo shoot since we ended up picking a really
hot day and were both cranky, but I did get some decent shots.
This photo went through one of the most dramatic editings I've done.

New York City cont.

2007-11-01T15:00:00.003-05:00

New Camera?

So if I'm investing money into the AlienBees B800 Flash Unit + accessories, I'll need the DSLR to go with it simply because the camera I currently have doesn't have a sync port or a hot shoe. I'm thinking the Canon Digital Rebel XT with a 18mm-55mm lens because it is the least expensive DSLR package out there. Is this a good choice?

New York City cont.

Girl with interesting hair

The mandatory shot every tourist must take of the Statue of Liberty

Ppl in NY have some interesting style choices

Times Square. Outside of M&M store in the right picture.

The M&M store was HUGE with tons of useless M&M merchandise.
I just bought .8 pounds of M&Ms cause I'm a chocolate freak.

Where my brother works

New York City

2007-10-06T17:30:00.008-05:00

SO BUSY!

Senior year is horrible! Ech! With 5 AP classes, an Honors Pre-Med class, ACTs, SAT IIs, college apps to fill out, and essays to write I haven't had ANY time to update this blog. But I'm done with a bulk of the work now.

College

I'm pretty set on going to Northwestern University. I'm applying Early Decision, but sometimes I doubt myself.

My mom pretends to fully support my decision, but I know she feels it isn't good enough. As an immigrant parent who doesn't have much interaction with people outside our ethnicity, she's only heard of colleges like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Standford, Duke, etc. But Northwestern? Who's ever heard of that! It's not Ivy League. It's not a top five school like U-Penn, which is where my brother went. It's not the big-name school she can brag about to her Indian friends.

And so I feel like I should scratch early decision and apply to several well-known schools. But then I feel like I might not get in since the acceptance rate for early decision applicants is much higher. And I genuinely want the stress to end in December when I get accepted/rejected.

New York City

New York Public Library

The Apple Store on 5th Avenue. I bought an iPod nano there.

Looking up from the elevator in the Apple store.

Teddy Bears inside FAO Schwarz

Rubix cube guy

FAO Schwarz had a Harry Potter section!

Granada and Journey Home

2007-08-27T22:21:00.001-05:00

College

I'm applying to Northwestern early decision.

Granada and Journey Home

A "Ghost Tree" according to our tour guide at the Alhambra

Our Alhambra tour guide. Coolest guide EVER.
Spoke several languages, was born in Japan, and was once a Japanese comedian.
He kept on telling jokes to random Japanese tour groups during our own tour.

Sevilla

2007-08-04T16:21:00.019-05:00

New Job

Finally! 'bout time since I've been applying everywhere (including those despicable fast-food restaurants). Got my #1 choice too, a job at the library shelving books. I only have to work 10-15 hours a week and I get paid $7.15/hour .

Photo Equipment

And seeing as how I now have a small source of income, I can finally save up to buy photography equipment. I really need lighting, for portraits or small objects. Perhaps Alien Bees strobes? Because that's what this guy uses and I admire his photos. I don't really know what other bloggers use. ANY SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT I SHOULD BUY? Any books I can read on actually using the equipment I buy?

Sevilla

Alright, get ready for some flamenco pictures. Dim lighting, balcony seats, no flash, fast movement!
Agh, these were a nightmare to capture!

Cordoba

2007-07-12T22:00:00.012-05:00

AP Scores

I got a 5 on calc! A 4 on government, which slightly irks me since I thought it was easier than the calc exam, but the math grade is much more important.

Cordoba

Toledo cont.

2007-06-12T06:21:00.021-05:00

College

I've finally narrowed down the colleges I'll apply to and/or visit. The thought of being rejected scares me. I can't even get hired anywhere (with no previous work experience and all the other commitments I have over summer, nobody wants me). So will any college want me!?

Toledo cont.

My two roomates - Krystin on the left and Emily on the right

Raj, modeling Krystin's purse

The Spanish seem to like their palaces. The Ham Palace...The Smoking Palace...

That is a REAL human being.
These strange caricatures were scattered throughout the major cities.
If you gave them money, you were allowed to take pictures of them.

The store Mango.
I didn't even buy anything here, but I just loved looking at everything.

My first night shots - taken on a ferry.
On the first floor of the boat there was loud music accompanied by a dancing mass of teens.
The second floor had chairs to sit down and relax in, and for the dork who hates dancing - a haven to snap some shots.

Haha, such a good story behind this photo.The streets in Toledo are VERY narrow. Our bus driver, Nieves, was backing up so she could pull in to the street right near our hotel. Although Nieves was one kick-ass driver, it was dark, and she obviously couldn't see that there was a big flippin' traffic light behind her.So, she hit the light and bent it backwards. The students all started laughing as soon as we realized what had happened, but Nieves started crying, afraid the authorities would find out and she would lose her license.Not to worry though, some of the boys simply pushed the traffic light back into it's perpendicular state. The next day – the day the city ironically started to repair the traffic light – we left Toledo.

Toledo

2007-05-28T14:00:00.017-05:00

This doesn't represent the KKK in Spain. But still, we thought it was funny.

Another cathedral. We visited so many of these while we were in Spain!

Panoramic view of the city. I know the two sides don't exactly match up - this is but a humble photoblog.

All the bathrooms in Spain had writing all over the stalls' walls

Toledo is known for its metal work

The woman who gave us a tour through a metal workshop

This is where I bought the sword that I gave to my brother

Segovia

2007-05-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

AP Exams

I took two AP tests last week:

Government - Easier then I thought it'd be. This is my weakest class, but I actually knew the essay responses.
BC Calc - Holy shit. Wtf was up with the free response? I thought I'd have trouble on the multiple choice and blow right through the free-response because that's generally what happened during the past two weeks of review. It flip-flopped. The free-response questions were ridiculously hard. Agh!

Segovia

Lots of low angle architecture photos in this post. Can't help myself - the buildings there are just so tall and statuesque.

Colleen and a rather petite knight

Segovia's main cathedral

The Aqueducts of Segovia

Madrid cont.

2007-05-02T17:45:00.006-05:00

I've noticed that where as most people tend to limit themselves to horizontal shots, I tend to take more vertical ones. Everything just seems more appealing vertically. I need to work on having a good mix of the two.

La Plaza de Toros

Inside Alcázar, the Royal Palace

Peacock who must have been grooming himself since his head is missing

Some interesting signs.
The first one says "Beauty Doesn't Have Age".
And if you didn't catch it, look at the placement of men on the second sign.

A Limpieza, or Cleaner.
These little green people were everywhere, keeping Madrid pollution free.
We need more limpiezas in our urban cities.

Madrid

2007-04-21T09:21:00.002-05:00

Some pictures from the 8.5 hour flight to Madrid

The Madrid airport, by far the coolest airport I've been to.
Above this area, it has an amazing curved ceiling with large colored beams jutting out.
Didn't get any photos though since I had to keep up with the group.

Did get a picture of the baggage claim ceiling though

The streets of Madrid

How you get electricity in your hotel room (insert room key in wall).
My roommates and I were lost trying to figure out how to turn on the
lights for about 10 minutes before we finally had to consult a teacher.

Museum of Ham
Ham is like Spain's chicken. It's their most common meat and they have it EVERYWHERE!
Ham for breakfast, ham in the evening, ham flavored chips, ham and cheese pizza...
And as if a Ham Museum wasn't enough, there was another Ham Palace within a mile

Our first course at the Ham Museum

Off to Spain

2007-03-31T18:35:00.003-05:00

Not much going on right now, although next week I'll be in SPAIN with some 20 classmates.

Must start preparing for AP Tests though. And after those I'll have SAT IIs, ACTs, another SAT II in the fall, and finally college apps.

Must also do something productive over summer. Any suggestions?

Hope this isn't over-edited. Not sure if there is too much contrast in her face or not.

Thoughts on my future, my American dream

2007-03-17T21:21:00.002-05:00

So after reading Gatsby for English and discussing women's societal roles, money, love, and the American dream, I've decided my American dream is to be a successful, unmarried doctor. Marriage just seems like such a drag. I want to be a strong, independent women with no one to tie me down. And if there's any man in my life, I want him to be like Will, from Will and Grace. In fact, I think it'd be nice to have that sort of partner, male or female. Someone with whom I could share an apartment, start a private practice, raise an adopted kid, and double my income - but someone with the status of just a close friend.

I'm sure these ideals will change. Some people at school think I'll end up an unhappy, crotchety old woman - I don't want God, men, or my own children! What does a woman do without these things?! Well, instead of espousing men, I'll espouse literature, cultures, languages, piano, and travel the world in my free time.

Other

I just got through an extremely tiresome week

Physics balsa bridges: Plural because the first one sucked so much that Mathura and I made a second one, which still sucked
Recital: Went well. Proud of not having been too nervous.
Junior Fest: Where you play in front of two judges and get ratings. I received a unanimous superior. Was absolutely elated because I thought I had bombed the required piece titled Reverie. Sometimes when I get nervous I go into "auto mode" - I play without thinking, and this piece hadn't quite sunk in yet.
Usual plethora of homework and exams

I'm STILL busy as hell, but at least I have enough time for an update.

Edit: Martin Leung, the videogame pianist, is performing at CIM next Saturday! One hour recital and free admission! I love that kid! Ah, I'm so excited!

My amazing idol, playing the Mario theme blindfolded: http://youtube.com/watch?v=neAiLZcy8Qk

Busy Bee

2007-03-03T21:21:00.000-06:00

Life is BUSY.

SATs are next week. I suck at life, particularly standardized tests. Hopefully I'll do decently.

AP BC Calc is kicking my ass.

Actually, so are the rest of my classes.

I'll have a good and proper update when school work isn't sucking up my vitality.

Here's a photo of Laura. I'm sure more could be done with it. Don't really feel up to it.

The good and the bad

2007-02-07T18:00:00.012-06:00

Final Fantasy Fans...

Do you know what is happening in Final Fantasy IX during the song "You're Not Alone"? I'm playing the piano collections version for my recital (with prodigal Asians again ).

The Bad News

So jazz band is definitely more work then I thought it'd be. The director gave me about 15 pages of music to learn in 3 days for a performance, and for someone like me who learns by finger memory and hates sight reading, that was impossible.

I don't know how my fellow pianist does it. I'm know I'm better then her in terms of classical music, technique, and shaping musical lines. But she can sight read extremely well, learned her 15 pages of music in ONE day, and almost never gets lost in the music.

Suffice to say that I'm not doing jazz band again next year. Certainly not with even more AP classes and college apps.

The Good News

Two snow days in a row because it's too cold outside! Strongsville hasn't had a snow day since 2005!

Linda = Beautiful Harp Music

Jazz band and books

2007-01-12T16:21:00.006-06:00

Jazz Band

I made it! I found out weeks ago, but I've been studying for finals. BC Calc and physics on the FIRST DAY - what a horrible combination. And my school decided that students would perform better with no sleep or energy, so they moved the finals to the mornings (8 AM as opposed to 11 AM). That thoroughly irritated me.

Anyways, Jazz Band is much harder then I thought it'd be. Only because we sight-read at tempo, and there are several passages with just chords written in (it takes me AT LEAST a minute to figure out some of the more insane chords - not four seconds).

Books

Our English class read The Adventures of Huck Finn. At first, I didn't understand why it was regarded as such a masterpiece, a classic American novel that Hemingway even identified as the the source all American literature. But now that we've discussed it in class...the themes of racism, of the hypocrisy of civilized society, of individualism, the satire, etc, it's probably one of my favorite books.

Jane Eyre is another recent favorite of mine. I enjoyed Bronte's elaborate rhetoric, her vivid descriptions, and the narrative - a riveting romance with powerful statements about women's equality. Most of all, I loved Jane, and the fact that Bronte rejected the conventional beautiful heroine and gave us instead an intelligent, independent, strong-willed female - a young woman who defied the stereotype of the domestic feminine ideal.

Head shots of Laura

Jazz Band Tryouts

2006-12-12T22:20:00.005-06:00

Jazz band tryouts were today. The first piano excerpt I had to prepare only had a melody written in for the right hand and these strange chords like B^b13 or G^b9 written in above. I've never had to improvise and create my own harmony and I've never been taught theory (outside the basics). Thankfully, I found a website that gave me all the chords, but it was still a bit unnerving.

I think I did well and hopefully I'll make the cut. Going in, I was sure that I wasn't going to make it because all the pianists from last year haven't graduated. But two of the four didn't even audition again, another I heard practicing and it seemed like he was sight-reading the pieces, while the other told me she wasn't going to bother with the chords on the left hand. All in all, I have a pretty good chance of playing for the jazz band this year.

I think I'll do more with this photo later - maybe try to give it ethereal, high
contrast look, although I'm not really sure how to go about that.

Alcohol Tastes Awful

2006-11-29T14:45:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving Break was amazing, simply because I did absolutely nothing but eat, read, play FF12, and relax.

My brother sneaked me a little beer during the Indian Thanksgiving party that we went to. I always ask him to slip me alcoholic beverages during these functions because I expect the taste to change. But no matter what, they always taste like crap.

How in the world do people drink alcoholic drinks with food, let alone get drunk off of them? Is it an aquired taste? In that case, do you shove them down your throat until you like them?

Recital Update

Oh, and I told my teacher how I felt about the recital. She said I did fine. A little too much pedal, but still good. And apparently that girl who played the concerto was 16...not 12 like I had originally speculated.

Thought this blog needed a tiny break from Laura, so here's a picture of Gabi's baby sister, Claire.
I know, it's blurry, but that "Wtf are you doing?" expression is priceless.

Recital

2006-11-14T13:21:00.002-06:00

I went to my recital yesterday, and I feel like sharing what happened.

I arrive at the end of the first part of the recital. I see a good mix of white people and eastern asians and think "Thank God there are a decent number of white people! Eastern asians are so talented at music, they intimidate me."* I hear the last two performers and they're great. The type of great that comes from years of playing the instrument and practicing like any normal child should.

Then MY half of the recital starts.

All the white people leave and I'm the only one who's not eastern-asian. I'm 9 of 14 in the playing order. When #8 goes up, she plays her piece perfectly, with the melody crystal clear and the timing perfect. When it's my turn to play, I play so horribly that I cringe at the noise I create (perhaps I'm too hard on myself). The boy who goes after me is both younger and better. In fact, most of the people who play after me are younger than me.

And then the finale! I'm in for a treat because this recital ends with two concertos, the first played by a boy not much older then me, the second by some girl who hasn't even gone through puberty. They're not just great, like the two who ended the other half of the recital. They're exceptional! They're up to par with professionals! Both of them play at lightning speed and pound the keys so hard that the grand piano shakes. They create waves of music, an endless euphony of sound, and their fingers simply glide over the piano like its the easiest task in the world. It's a level I'll never attain. Hell, I'll be lucky if I can play like that 12 year old who went after me.

So it was thoroughly enlightening and depressing at the same time. I think I enjoy experiencing the arts much more than performing the arts.

*That's a compliment. Really. I think they've somehow managed to get rid of all the unartistic genes.

I usually favor a bright, saturated style. Thought I'd try something different.

Tales from an Atheist

2006-09-16T13:40:00.002-05:00

The other day I got hit with a Pascal's Wager argument, which is that it's better to believe in God because the risks of non-belief (eternal damnation) are greater then those of belief (wasting our time being devout). There are a number of problems with the wager, but I didn't feel like starting a heated debate and I let conversation fizzle out. Ah, the life of an atheist. Truthfully, I don't get accosted too much on the subject, but it's still tiresome when it does happen. After all, I don't demand justification for theists' belief in a God (unless they require the same of me).

Another short story - in English class we're reading Native American myths. Last Tuesday, we watched a video in which Native American storyteller told us a story of a coyote that is given the power to throw his eyes into the air and bring them back. He mustn't do this beyond a specific number of times, but he does and looses his eyes. He eventually tricks a woman into giving him her eyes and turns her into a snail. After 1° watched the video, one boy said something along the lines of this.

Matt: These stories are stupid. With these talking animals and being able to throw your eyes out of your head.
Teacher: Oh, so you can believe that God put Noah and thousands of animals in a boat to save them from a massive flood, but you think these stories are stupid?
Matt: That's different, that's a fact. These are just stories.

I realize not all Christians are like this. In fact, most Christians I know are moderately theistic and their beliefs are compatible with modern society. But the logic (or rather lack of logic) of these hypocritical, Bible-thumping Christians astounds me.

Well, here are some squirrels I found in Cleveland. They're all over the place on Case's campus.

Plastic Surgery

2006-08-21T19:00:00.003-05:00

Sometimes when I tell friends I'm considering becoming a plastic surgeon, they raise their eyebrows. I suppose that most people assume it's a shallow career (or at least one that helps shallow people), but I have no qualms about using surgery to make oneself more aesthetically pleasing. People already go to great lengths to make themselves more beautiful. We shave, wax, tan, dye our hair, get tattoos or body piercings, wear braces, whiten our teeth, wear colored contacts, etc. Plastic surgery is just another method, albeit an expensive and more extreme method, to beautify ourselves.

Frankly, I see nothing wrong with striving to attain beauty, whether it be through simple hair and makeup or plastic surgery. Throughout history in all cultures, a common goal has been to achieve beauty. Ancient Mayans in Palenque tied wooden boards to babies' heads to flatten and lengthen their skulls. In China, young girls bound their feet to keep them small. During the 19th century, women wore corsets to make their waists as small as possible. Certainly plastic surgery is more effective and safer than any of these customs?

I, for one, love to see a sculpted face with high cheekbones, wide-set eyes, and full lips set upon soft, smooth, unblemished skin. I enjoy looking at attractive face and bodies (and I mean this in a non-sexual way) the same way I enjoy looking at a photographic masterpiece with perfect lighting, rich colors, and a unique perspective.

"As an artist, you tend to view things differently. Your aesthetic sense is a little bit more in tune. With drawing and painting, you're starting with a blank canvas. You're starting from scratch. A human body is different. You’re starting with a structure or form already present. A patient comes to your with a nose that is a certain shape or a breast that is a certain size, and then you're molding or shaping it into something that's more pleasing or aesthetically more attractive. That's what artists do and that's what I do." - Dr. Gregory Fedderson

And that is why I want to become a plastic surgeon.

Much more post-processing then I'm used to. Does it look too unnatural?

Equinox II

2006-07-29T15:00:00.005-05:00

Equinox ended about 2 weeks ago. My teacher was insane and the workload was even worse, but the Genetics class bonded really well and we all became friends with each other. One girl, Diana, even cried on the last day. While I wasn't nrealy as emotional, I felt an emptiness about me on the car drive home. I'm over it now, but I'll still miss everyone.

Diana, my other lab partner

Gabi, the one person I'll frequently keep in touch with since she lives <1 mile away from me

The boys, being weird

Yevin and Kathy doing their cute heart hands

Just had to put another one of Tejas up

...I love this picture

A picture with me in it. I actually posed for pictures on the 2nd-to-last day of class!

Equinox I

2006-07-09T19:00:00.016-05:00

I love this Genetics and Biotechnology class that I'm taking at Case. The class itself is hard because of large amounts of homework we have, but the people here make up for everything.

I love every single person in my class. They're intelligent, yet fun people who I can talk to and who I'm not shy around. I'm going to miss them more then I'll miss people I've known for years since elementary school. I would honestly love to have a reunion with this Genetics class in place of my high school reunion.

High school will be so depressing after this. Back to boring subjects I don't care about with idiots who infest the school. I can't wait till college so I can surround myself with more people like this.

And on a girly note, the Genetics and Biotech class was blessed with cute guys. Every single one of them. Whether it’s their looks, their personality, or both, all us girls adore the guys. Even if it’s in a sisterly way. So today's post will feature pictures of the guys. They're not too good, but I plan on getting more.

Arlin, one of my lab partners.

Vijay. He always randomly taps with with random objects, so weird.

Manik, he's such a sweetie. He's so adorable when he plays guitar.

Felipe. He's such a quiet person!
He's 1 of 3 ppl in my class who shy away from the camera. I had to pester him to pose for this picture.

Tejas! This kid is fricking hilarious, I love him.
Some memorable quotes that will only make sense to fellow Equinoxers:
"Biology is a very diverse subject."
"What do you get when you cross a banana with Canada? A bananada!"
"This particular person has a Y chromosome."

Ashwin. I get amused by watching him fall asleep in our class.
He always uses an Indian accent. I don't even know what his real accent sounds like.

Aash, a fun Indian kid to hang out with.

Andre, one of the biggest flirts I've ever met.

Yevin, a funny ghetto asian kid.

And Dave, our TA, doing his trademark expression. We all think that he's secretly a 'pimp'.

Florida V

2006-06-25T22:00:00.004-05:00

Florida IV

2006-06-07T14:30:00.003-05:00

EPCOT was my favorite park because of all the countries in the back. This was the Germany pavilion.

Taiko drummers outside of Japan

Morocco

Italy

Mexico!

Inside they had two women making folk-art wood carvings

Florida III

2006-05-28T20:00:00.008-05:00

Justin, trying to be sexy and feminine with the hips

Kalani, Sophie, and Michelle at Planet Hollywood

Indiana Jones show

Old Town, a very ghetto establishment, with shops like "Knives 'n Things" and "Black Market Minerals". I tried to make this photo as well as the one below look somewhat 'old' by giving it a brownish tone and/or decreasing the saturation. Any other techniques I could use?

Know what these girls are crowded around?

The sex meter of course! You put your middle finger in a little slot and it throws back a number at your, rating your sexiness.

Florida II; Guaranteed Financial Security...

2006-05-17T15:00:00.016-05:00

Guaranteed financial security for the rest of my life I would spend my life doing the following three things:

Reading: Everything and anything. Multiple times.
Traveling: Right now I feel so caged up although my license has helped to alleviate that problem. I yearn to travel the world and visit hundreds of countries. Esp. Spanish-speaking countries since I love the language.
Learning: Not that crap they force us to do in school. I mean exposure to various arts and skills. I wouldn't necessarily be aiming for perfection; I'd just want a little taste of everything (excluding piano).

For example, I'd enjoy playing the bassoon or oboe, but only for a year or two. I would never even dream of becoming a singer, but some vocal lessons wouldn't do me any harm. I'd love to become fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Hindi, and Japanese, but I certainly don't have the time or intellect for that. I'd probably throw in some cooking, some salsa, and perhaps some glass blowing as well.

Overall, I'd want to be a well-rounded and cultured woman with multiple skills and talents with a wealth of knowledge about uncanny things.

Still at Magic Kingdom in this picture

Before the parade they told us to 'turn off the lights' (something like that) with the above motion that Sophie is mimicking

My only picture of Mickey

Now moving on to Animal Kingdom

Florida I

2006-05-07T19:00:00.002-05:00

Florida pix! I'll do this in chronological order except for my favorites which I'll save for the end. First we visited Magic Kingdom. Having a 12x zoom is amazing so I'm glad I went with the S2IS. It was impossible to take pictures in "It's a Small World", but I managed to get some nice shots. And at the end there's an extremely rare picture with me in it.