KATRINA LUI

Last week I hopped on a train down to the South Bay to shoot graduation portraits of my sister. These were taken at the photogenic Elizabeth Gamble Garden in Palo Alto. Can't go wrong with the pretty girl + flowers combination!

PDX --> SFC

Portland was awesome! In some ways, it's similar to San Francisco: green lifestyle, convenient public transit, and welcoming of weirdness. It definitely had less of a big city feel (not necessarily a good or bad thing) and seemed cleaner. What I didn't expect was how nice people were! Almost everyone we encountered were super friendly.

As we were there for only two days and three nights, we didn't really have time to wander any part of the city besides the NW quadrant and downtown. Next time I will definitely explore more. Looking back at my photos, I realized that all we did was eat and shop. That was mostly due to the weather, which was rainy—it even snowed towards the end of our trip! On our way to dinner on the last night, I slipped on some black ice and injured my tailbone, causing pain to my rear end that lasted for a few weeks. Worst souvenir I ever got.

In January, Connie and I took the Coast Starlight up to Portland for a few days. This trip was a bit random (people kept asking us why we were going to Portland of all places). When I discovered the Coast Starlight, I thought it sounded like a fun way to travel, packed with an abundance of photographic opportunities (I was right). I picked a destination along the train route that was interesting and new to me, and Connie (as always) was enthusiastic to the idea of a getaway. On the night of January 12, we took the shuttle from the San Francisco Ferry Building to the Emeryville station and started our journey.

My sister had a bucket list for fall which included a photoshoot with leaves, so I visited her in San Jose to help her check that item off her list (never mind that it's already the middle of winter). I took the chance to explore the city a little bit. Stephanie said that I'm the first tourist she's ever seen there.

Alright, this post is over a month late, but I have a good reason! My laptop was in the shop for a few weeks (my uncle gave priority to his paying customers, but he replaced my LCD for free). Not that any of this matters since no one reads this blog. Anyway, I spent Christmas with Bonny and Steph in the most tourist-ridden part of the city. We didn't know where else to go, and we knew that the Musée Mécanique (best thing about Fisherman's Wharf) is open every day of the year.

P.S. This is the first post featuring photos taken with my new camera!

I didn't take very many photos during this trip. We were given $750 to spend at various shops, so we spent most of our time shopping at Caesars Palace and Planet Hollywood. I did manage to grab a drink with my Paris roommate on the last night though. :)

This past Saturday we celebrated Peggy's retirement at Presidio Social Club. The afternoon was full of delicious food and laughter. A good deal of the laughing (and embarrassed gasping) were due to the Creative Cursing book that Tiff included in her gift. I'll never forget Peggy's and Josephine's reaction when the first word they saw was "penis." We'll miss you, Peggy!

I tried to hide my birthday at work, but my plan was foiled. It was a pretty good day.

I've given up on making a separate post for each thing we did, so here's one post with select photos spanning four days. We did a lot during our short stay in Oahu, but I feel like there's still a ton of things to see on the island. I'm sure I'll be back and visit some of the other islands too. Huge thanks to my sister (and future wedding planner) Stephanie for planning most of the trip!

After snorkeling, we went to lunch and then hiked up Diamond Head. The hike is about 1.6 miles round trip, which would've been a breeze if not for the sun pounding down on us. I ended up with a horrible sunburn on my shoulders even though I applied sunscreen!

This was our first time snorkeling, and I think it's safe to say that we all had a lot of fun! The thought of swimming far off from the shore, with the ocean floor several feet below us, was a bit daunting at first. (And would you trust your life with something as silly sounding as a noodle?) The whole experience turned out to be really exciting, and I got pretty close to a sea turtle!