Monday

Monday means one thing. Work! Many people dread Monday's because of work. I often hear friends having anxiety on Sunday night, thinking about what is in stored for them on Monday. Shouldn't the start of a week be a happy one so you can cruise on that high note for the rest of the week? What if the work week started on a Tuesday instead, would people dread and hate Tuesday instead? Poor Monday!!!! Can't seem to shake off that bad rep. It gets a break only when a national holiday falls on it.

My take on it: Embrace the chaos of life by surrounding yourself with Peace. Sounds corny? Try it. By that, I don't mean, swaying a white flag (unless that really bring your peace). It could be music playing in the background during Monday morning traffic, or a white flower that you glance at as you sort through tons of email, or scheduling a date with yourself to watch your favorite TV show that runs on Monday evenings. Believe me, the day goes by a lot faster when you have something to look forward to. Shouldn't that be life in general? Sounds simple enough? Now go and make your Monday a Friday today.

Letter Game + Randomness

My futile attempt in trying to perform an acrobatic move at La Jolla Shores. And one says, "white men can't jump". Try "brown girls can't jump"!

I started the evening with an ambitious goal of reading a book that I recently borrowed from the library. This book was highly acclaimed and was chosen as the "One Book One San Diego". Its called "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Before I got to the first chapter, my mind digressed to the pictures I took recently at La Jolla shores and how I wanted to play around with some pictures in PhotoShop. Soon, I was reading facebook and thinking about about the answers to "Name Game". Talk about no focus and distractions. I guess everyone has those days and moments. Today was mine. Off to another tangent, here are my SMUG answers to the "Name Game".

NAME GAME:

Rules: It's harder than it looks! Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real. . .nothing made up!

1. What is your name: Lava girl


2. A four Letter Word: Lust


3. A boy's Name: LaDanian


4. A girl's Name: LaToya


5. An occupation: Lifeguard (I considered Lumberjack)


6. A color: Lavender


7. Something you wear: Lip gloss


8. A food: Lasagna


9. Something found in the bathroom: Loofah sponge


10. A place: Laundry Mart (does Lubbock, TX count?)


11. A reason for being late: Lazy


12. Something you shout: LIAR!


13. A movie title: Little Miss Sunshine


14. Something you drink: Long Island Ice Tea


15. A musical group: Led Zeppelin


16. An animal: Lama


17. A street name: Lexington Ave


18. A type of car: Lamborghini


19. Something scary: Lice!


20. Ice cream flavor: Lemon Lime


21. Next vacation: London

Black and White

It just seems coincidental that this post, following the previous, shows the opposite of color. Many consider the lack of color as black or white. Can we really say that black-and/or-white is the opposite of color? Isn't black-and-white a "color" of its own? Hmmm, interesting question, I must admit.

While color can bring out the vibrance, my perception of black-and-white pictures are: power. Above are two images that were recently taken in color form. Thanks to Photoshop, I was able to convert them to a black-and-white picture and cascade the two side-by-side for comparison.

I personally think that in the above two cases, black-and-whites are better than the colored version. What do you think? Is the black-and-white more appealing than the colored version of its counterpart? I welcome your comments

Color

Ever wonder how the world would be, if there were no colors (or colours as they say it in UK)? (Momentarily, I am reminded of the movie "Pleasantville"). Ever imagined being blind and having to live a life without seeing colors? Most of us, including myself, take it for granted, the rich colors and the images that surround us. Artist usually remind me of people who appreciate colors a bit more, especially those who deal with paint. If you have been around artist, you have invariably heard them rant about the different colors they see in common objects and surroundings. Heck, they even use names of colors that I have never heard. For instance, my better half never fails to point to the blue skies and says aloud "Do you see the blues and the purples and oranges?" What purple? Isn't the sky blue? While many a times, I just argue with him just "coz", the simple truth is that he is seeing things. I mean "SEEING" thing. By seeing, I don't mean seeing a ghost, but "experiencing" color (if there is such thing as that). So if he is "seeing", what I am doing? Perhaps "looking?". Hmmm, seeing, looking, looking, seeing. You "see" the difference? A conundrum I must say!

These were random images I took with the Canon Digital Rebel SLR while walking around town.

Lankford

When I think of the name Lankford, I think, "What a proper British name". Now, I don't know whether the name is really of British descent but the people in the pictures are: Mr and Mrs Lankford, my friends.

Mr Lankford is a man of many expressions. He has strong facial features - make him a perfect candidate for a face model.

Mrs Lankford is a woman who means business. She loves the snow and is happiest when she is around snow.

These pictures were taken in Whistler, Canada with my hand held canon camera. I particularly liked these pictures among others for the expressions that was captured.

Snow

A cloudy day still looks so serene.

Green and White - great combo ...

Do you see a white dancer?

Glacier Peak lift express on Blackcomb, Whistler, Canada.

View from the peak-to-peak gondola from Blackcomb to Whistler mountain.

Snowy winters is my favorite season. Some may think I am insane, especially having grown up in muggy, sweaty, tropical, equatorial city of Chennai, India. Some may event want to swap with my current residence in the "finest city in America" (that's San Diego which has the average temperature of 72F (22C) though out the year). But there is something about the white snow. It brings peace, tranquility, and calmness. The best time is when it is snowing. The misty haze, the quietness, and the light powdery snow flakes that falls from abyss is a mesmerizing scene, never to be forgotten. The snow brings the child inside me. I want to jump into a fresh snow to make a snow angel. At the end of the day, I don't mind enduring the cold temperature just to get, feel, smell, taste snow.

The above pictures were taken at Whistler/Blackcomb, ski resort in British Columbia, Canada. Conditions was mediocre for the first 2 days of our stay but snow did make its appearance for the last 2 days we were there. What can I say, I love snow!

Strolling along ...

"I am ready to come out". A soon-to-blossom hibiscus flower.

"Intact" dandelion close-up. WoW!

Underneath the mushroom. A shot taken right after the winter rains in San Diego.

A lonely bird at La Jolla shores beach on a cloudy January winter morning.

Three musketeers braving the winter Pacific Ocean water at La Jolla Shores beach.

A troupe of birds watching the surfers at La Jolla shores beach. Can you guess the commander in chief?

Canon macro lens likes this bright colored flower.

Who says the water is cold in Winter? Using the Canon zoom lens, I captured a surfer riding the waves in La Jolla shores in January.

I finally managed to take two Canon lenses to shoot some random pictures. The macro and zoom lens proved to be lots of fun to take images, both close-ups and far away images. Thanks to Photoshop, I was able to bring out the color from many of the above pictures, despite the lack of light from the cloudy winter January days. Hats off to the people at La Jolla shores who braved the cold and let their feet or body soak into the cold pacific water. You won't see me do that. No thanks!