Five years ago, in 2005, it was just an idea. A passion project being born. Starting today, February 26, 2010, the feature film Formosa Betrayed is playing in select theaters across the country. The Taiwanese American community has done an amazing job emphasizing the importance of this weekend (everyone and their mother should go see…
I love multitasking. I’m most at peace when I have ten projects going on at once, and I love tracking the logistics of it all. I constantly have too many tabs open in my internet browser and too many programs running on my computer. I love it when my calendar is full and colorful, and…
“There are three holidays happening this weekend! Who can tell me which holidays?” I ask the kindergartners and first graders in my after-school program. They offer some imaginative responses (Martin Luther King Day?), but eventually, we elicit the correct answers: Valentine’s Day, Lunar New Year, and President’s Day. So in honor of the coincidence of…
Every so often– more often than not, actually– I get to spend my time working on projects I love. It’s not just a coincidence, but a conscious effort to pursue what I find compelling. And while the idea of pursuing your passions is a common enough sentiment, I think many people perceive it too difficult…
Miles driven by others: 37 Miles flown: 390 Miles driven by myself: 150 ____________________________________ =577 miles traveled, and that’s just today. Sometimes exhaustion is the most gratifying feeling in the world. In that moment when you finally sit down and have a chance to rest, you can feel the very essence of gravity as it…
$1453. That’s the amount each one of these eighth graders is trying to raise to go to Washington, D.C. Not having much money to give to the cause, I contributed what I could, grabbing my camera and headed through the thick 8am fog to take portraits of each student. Later, we created a website with…
It’s been a very soggy week here in California. It’s rained every day since last Saturday. Despite the dreary weather, I’ve been keeping busy working on several projects of mine. One of them is the 25 by 25 list that I posted last week for my birthday. Well, I’ve been 25 for a week, so…
It was mid-morning. I sat at my desk typing away at my emails, attempting to appease the multicolored starred and flagged messages crowding my inbox. Taking a break from the work, I glanced outside, and I spared not a moment before grabbing my camera and walking straight to the window. Stretched perfectly over downtown Oakland,…
It’s a natural impulse to compile retrospectives and resolutions around New Year’s. We look back on where we’ve been and ambitiously start charting where we want to go. I almost never make resolutions– afraid I’ll fall far short of my visions of grandeur– but this year, with my 25th birthday rolling in shortly after the…
Happy Holidays from Cincinnati, Ohio! A few years ago, I took over the role of Christmas family photographer at our house. Self-timer set, family members seated on the couch, I’d jet back into the frame to join the family portrait. This year, I got to stay in the frame for a couple shots with my…
“Tis the season! It’s more subtle in California, where Christmas lights adorn palm trees and deciduous trees are still catching up to the idea that it’s time to change colors. But it’s the holiday season! Last night I flew back home to Ohio and landed amidst a snowy wonderland. Ok, I may be overstating it,…
Let’s sit in the sun. Karthik leads the way and picks out a good spot. We had grabbed a couple dogs from Top Dog and headed to the well-manicured lawn on the edge of Berkeley’s campus. We eat and chat, catching up on each other’s lives– my after-school program and my photography; his long chain…