I've been Schmapped!

Ok, so it's not exactly the front cover of National Geographic, but I still consider it a publication! My 2004 photo of the neon sign outside of the Royal Thai restaurant in the Gaslamp district has been chosen for inclusion in the Schmap! online guide for San Diego.

If it wasn't for a spur of the moment dinner with my good friend KT who was visiting an hour south of me, I wouldn't have been considered :-). I'm so thankful for good friends and good food!

http://www.schmap.com/sandiego/restaurants_thai/p=23781/i=23781_1.jpg

Shmap!! San Diego Submission

Exciting news! Shmap!! contacted me today via Flickr mail requesting use of an old photo of the Royal Thai restaurant that I had taken when I was still living in Irvine. Though I've never heard of the company, in browsing their website, it appears that Shmap!! publishes digital travel guides for cities all over the world that can be easily downloaded and carried for travel use.

Their newest guide for San Diego comes out on July 7th so I'll be waiting with bated breath to see if they include my photo!

21 and counting...

The amusement value of the Metro never fails to disappoint.

I was sharing my train car with a group of very self assured, loud, and most likely drunk kids given the time of night. The boisterous group were soon revealed to be happy college 4th years declaring both their age and their majors and their schools, "oh my!". One of them decided to come and sit on my side of the train and started speaking to myself and the girl sitting in front of me. He introduced himself as a 4th year at VCU, the other girl introduced herself as 19, a 2nd year at UVA.

When it came my turn, I just LOOKED at him. I mean, really, I know we Asians look young, but come on. On one hand, I'm thrilled to have time on my side, on the other, it's an obvious detractor for professional advancement.

Rejuvenation

With the way things have been going for the past few weeks, an old college friend of mine suggested that I take a break, a mental vacation. Sort of a quick trip to the spa for peace of mind and spiritual healing. After all, how often would I have an opportunity like this? Life is bound to only get more busy and complicated with the eventual husband, dog, picket fence and 2.5 kids.

Her suggestion included something along the lines of taking a month long sabbatical in a West coast beach town, working part time at a surf shop to tend to the mortgage on the East coast, and playing "beach bum" to let time heal all. Though I have never been quite this free-spirited, even a short 2 week sabbatical sounds refreshing. A new outlook on life is a definite requirement at this point.

Movin' on up

A quick trip to the Bloomie's website today proved to be delightfully suprising. Prominently gracing the front page is a full page photo of Maggie Q. For those not in sync with Asian cinematic news, Maggie is of Polish-Irish (Father) and Vietnamese (Mother) descent and bears a striking resemblance to our equally freckled Lucy Liu. While relatively unknown in parts American, she is a bonafide Hong Kong filmstar. Maggie also posseses the enviable delight of dating the equally gorgeous Eurasian actor Daniel Henney.

Kudos to Ms. Q and her promotional team for landing her in such a high-profile promotional tie in as Bloomingdale's face for Summer 2007 contemporary wear. Hopefully her small part in "Live Free and Die Hard" starring Bruce Willis will live up to expectations.

Bag of bags

I love the concept of recycling gone hip. I'm not referring to restyling a Good Will find either. With all of the options available in the market these days, it's very easy to fill an eco-friendly closet with recycled sweaters (cut and repieced), sustainable apparel (bamboo is the fastest growing vegetation on earth), and organic clothing that doesn't harm the earth (it takes one-third of a pound of chemicals to grow enough cotton for just one T-shirt).

While searching for the perfect summer pool tote, I unearthed this particularly clever find which should be very easy for my DIY friends to whip up. This very chic little bag is hand crocheted out of those pesky plastic grocery bags that we all have floating around. The end result is a easily storable waterproof tote that's cool enough to go anywhere.

Thanks to Marlo for her creative recycling.

Dahl by Alison Kelly

Pixie-like Alison Kelly of Project Runway fame, always sent equally adorable creations down the catwalk during her short tenure on the show. Her newest spring 2007 collection for her clothing line Dahl, continues in the same vein featuring puffed sleeves, mini-dress hemlines and trapeze silhouettes.

Dahl spring 2007 line, evoking girlish glamour exclusively at Shopbop.

And a great cry went out....

I have been chided no less than three times today for being a slackerific blogger for the past few months. Winter is almost over, it's a new year (both solar and lunar), and with classes now over, I can no longer use them as an excuse either. I have also been accused of being too busy to blog due to a certain male presence in my life. Perhaps I could say that the amount of time I spend tidying up has increased at the expense of my blogging time?

No matter. With the winter thaw, let's see what else is emerging besides Mother Earth.

• The Oscars were too long. Gee, really, just like the last ten years? Even with a separate ceremony for the scientific and technology awards, four hours of champagne drinking doesn't alleviate the situation. To give the sci-tech winners their due, only one award winner receives an actual statuette, all other winners receive plaques. What a rip-off! (I'm a nerd, what can I say?)
• George Bush manipulates nature. Not that Daylight Saving Time wasn't already hokey enough, in 2005 (two entire years ago) President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Doing so moves Daylight Saving Time up a month starting this year in an effort to decrease energy usage in the US. Don't forget to turn your clocks forward on the evening of March 10th. I'm considering moving to Hawaii where the pineapples are tasty and they don't celebrate DST (along with American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Arizona).
• Clearance sale MANIA! When February and August roll around every year, so do the clothing clearance sales. Sales are imminent when little inventory stickers start appearing on fixtures at major department stores such as Lord & Taylor and Macy's (I used to work for L&T and doing inventory took an eternity). When the stores finish conducting inventory, everything goes on CLEARANCE SALE! Though it's a little late in the game, a few of my favorite sales are still in progress (Shopbop, Emily Grace, Active Endeavors). Sizes and styles are limited, so grab it while it's hot!