Happy (lunar) new year!

Last night we threw a Chinese new years' party at the house for some family friends. If only I had hand-written the invitations I would have knocked out two resolutions this year but this wasn't the invitation-type of crowd so let's call it practice for now. My mom did most of the cooking and I delegated the cleaning to the sisters. House prep went to the BF (mounting a TV up in the main room, patching up walls, hanging up wall decor, repotting plants) and I played orchestra leader, sitting at my podium (couch) and making sure things were done in an orderly manner. ;)

New Toy: Canon 5D Mark II

So I finally bit the bullet and plunged head first in a dslr purchase. I've always had interest in photography but have always been too intimidated to use anything more complicated than a point & shoot. The BF gave me a Leica DLUX-4 for Christmas 2 years ago and though it's a great camera, it doesn't reward you unless you know what you are doing.

So for the past month I've been toying with the idea of getting a dslr. Working at a creative agency, I am surrounded by photographers so within a couple of days I heard enough opinions to narrow my sights on a Canon 5D. The question now was do I buy a used 5D or splurge on a new 5D Mark II? Then I started getting worried -- what if I spend all of that money on a camera and I learn that I am no good? Do I start with a 50D instead, which is half the price? The Samy's Camera Presidents' Day no-tax sale made my decision for me. Not only did I splurge and get the 5DM2, but I bought it with a kit so it came with a 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AF lens.

After taking my first test shot with the camera, I'm instantly happy with my purchase. The picture of Lulu below was taken on program mode (I don't know what I'm doing, remember? :P) in the low lighting of my media room and I was immediately impressed with how much warmth and rich color it captured. I'm excited to see how else I can incorporate photography into my day-to-day life, as both a way to capture memories and to add dimension to the mundane.

Crazy little pups think they're so cute.

A digital/analog life balance.

This week I did something I thought I would never do. I disconnected my blackberry from my work e-mail. No more compulsive checking of e-mail. No more replying to art directors or account managers during dinner. It's a bit liberating. It is the second step in my digital cleanse, in my quest to regain a digital/analog life balance. (The first step was making the temporary switch from iPhone to Blackberry) I found myself often in a panic at first, kind of like that feeling you get when you realize you've left your cell phone at home, like something is missing.

Between Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook, e-mail, texting, photo messages, AIM and who knows what else, I rarely had the time to enjoy life because I was so busy cataloging it. After arriving at a restaurant, my group (BF, sisters, etc) would sit down and promptly take out their respective iPhones to check-in using their location-based app of choice. When dinner is served, again the group takes out their phone to snap a pic to tweet or post on Facebook. When dinner was over we'd be back on the iPhone: searching Yelp for a nearby dessert stop or checking Twitter to see who is where. It got to be sooo silly.

Now that I am no longer an iPhone user, I am always on the outside looking in. The one tapping her foot impatiently as she waits for the BF to finish checking his Google reader before pushing "play" on the DVR. The one twiddling her thumbs as the sisters check-in on Gowalla before ordering their dinner. I see all of these actions and how much time they take and shudder as I realize I once was just as addicted to tapping around the iPhone for no apparent reason.

My life is still mostly digital: I stream Pandora from the iPod as I cook, I watch all of my shows on the DVR or Netflix streaming, I sit in front of a computer for 10+ hours a day and document my life via blogging. But when it comes to connections and communication, I am trying to focus on old school analog approaches. Calling instead of texting. Meeting for lunch instead of chatting over AIM. Watching a musical instead of a movie. Going to a store instead of buying on Amazon. It's amazing to think of how much digital technology has changed our lives in the last 15 years -- I am just trying to capture some of that back!

Well, just until April when they release the iPhone 4G and I hop back onto the bandwagon.

(Dolphin) Watching

Last weekend the BF and I went whale watching in Newport Beach. It was the perfect weekend-morning date after a long, hectic work week. You kick back on the deck with a beer and stare out at the gorgeous coastline (read: gorgeous beach houses on the Newport coastline) with no cell or 3G signal to distract you. (Although I still attempted to tweet)

I was a little disappointed that we did not see any whales even though it was prime grey whale migration season but we did see 6 different types of dolphins and some lazy sea lions.

My favorite part, though, was staring at the coastline. There was something peaceful about swaying on the water, being on the outside looking in. Aside from gorgeous houses and architecture, it was amazing to just take a timeout and think about what a great city I live in. Where else can you see surfers on the beach in the foreground and snow-capped mountains in the back?