This morning before Jessica left the Brantleys let me take a family portrait. Half the shot was a futile exercise in using the flash; for this shot, I abandoned the “intelligent” flash mode, put it in manual, and bounced it off the ceiling of the archway. Now I need to perfect my people skills; do you know how hard it is to get four people and a dog to smile simultaneously?!?!
This evening I got to have ice cream with James Oey, a friend of mine from high school. We on the math team, science team, and Science Olympiad team together. He’s been at MIT for the past five or so years, but he recently started a job near San Fransisco. He and his dad drove down to Alhambra for Thanksgiving. Brings back old memories :)
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Yesterday we tried to take the family out for lunch and a day at the beach. We planned to stop at In N Out; we spent an hour looking for it, asked for directions twice, and finally gave up and ate at Subway. We passed the In N Out while were were getting back on the highway. As we drove to the beach, it started raining. By the time we arrived, it was pouring. We abandoned our beach plans and headed to the Cal State Science Museum, which is on the USC campus. As we took the USC exit, we got bogged down in traffic and realized that USC had a big football game. There was no parking to be had, and traffic was so bad it took a half hour just to get back on the freeway. So we came home and lit a fire to warm up from the rain and after an hour or so, I started to notice that it smelled a little funny — Ben forgot to open the damper and we were getting some serious exhaust buildup, especially upstairs. Ugh. What a day.
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Do you think I should wear headgear or not?
Pros:
* might protect my head
* might help me be more aggressive
Cons:
* looks goofy
* might not do much good
* costs $30
Leave a comment and help me decide?
We took Mom and Dad B to Huntington Gardens yesterday. I’d been there before for a history class, but we only looked at the art — not the gardens. The coolest part was the palm garden — they’ve got palms and vines that made me think of Costa Rica. I also liked the Japanese Garden; it had water (always a bonus), big koi fish, and a flower that smelled *really* good. We spent several hours walking around and didn’t even see everything; by that time, our feet were tired, we were hungry, and Dad and I were a little bored of plants, I think :) I hope to go back and take more pictures sometime.
We also ate BBQ at Robins, rode our bikes around campus and San Marino, edited pictures, had fondue with our neighbors the DeWeeses, and went to the Jewel Tunnel Imports Open House today. Now I am tired!
Oh, and I “gave” Ben his Christmas present today, although we won’t be able to pick it up until Tuesday. You’ll have to ask him about it …
Mom and Dad B. arrive tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with us! I’m excited. The only thing that could be better than a family visit is if somehow a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls managed to stow away as Mom’s carry on … ;)
Here’s a photo from our October trip to the Sierras:
Ben and I ventured to the pool today to test the Ikelite housing for the GL2. I find that I’m starting to take things like this for granted — swimming in November? Outside!?!! You just can’t DO that in New Jersey.