The Cenacle

As I was reflecting on Good Friday this morning, I decided to reminisce and go through some old photos and video clips from my trips to Israel. I want to share a clip of the Room of the Last Supper (the Cenacle) in Jerusalem. Of all the places I visited in Jerusalem, including the tomb of Jesus, I found this room particuarly.. well.. holy. I don't know the right word to explain the feeling.

From what I recall, Christian and Jewish leaders fought over the room, and as a result of this on-going fighting, the Muslim leaders were given custody of it. The room was actually converted into a mosque, and you can see the mihrab in the room that's facing Mecca.

Jerusalem is The Holy City for so many people, and if you ever visit, you'll see Christian, Jewish, and Muslim influence everywhere. This city.. so holy.. yet for me, carries some air of mystery.

Or maybe it's just dumbstruck awe on my part for being ignorant.

A Low Key Weekend in SF

My friend and I spent the day together on Saturday. We went for a long walk through the Mission, popping into a couple of antique and vintage furniture stores and admiring all the mid-century furniture that we can't afford. I took her to a coffee shop that I like called Ritual Coffee Roasters near Valencia and 21st. It's a little too hipster of a vibe for me, but the coffee is good there and the coffee shop I usually prefer is a little too out of the way for us.

We ended up doing things a little backwards - guess that's what happens when you have no agenda - and after coffee, we headed to Pizzeria Delfina and Bi-Rite for a late lunch. By late afternoon, the weather got chillier, so we decided to head indoors and make our way to my friend's apartment. We cozied up to classical music from Music at Menlo while eating homemade Shanghai-style pork ribs (YUM!), enjoyed fresh fruit from the farmer's market on Embarcadero, and topped the night off with crafts.

That is my kind of night. :)

Some pictures from the day before I head to bed:

I'd love to own a typewriter like this one.

I remember playing this with my father when I was a kid.

A gorgeous mid-century dresser with a built-in mirror and shelves. Price tag: $1,600 (same dresser in mint condition is $6,500)

This hairless cat lives at the sci-fi bookstore with her sister.

Ethiopian drip at Ritual Coffee

Spicy cauliflower at Pizzeria Delfina - SO GOOD!

The Dr. Pepper from Ireland is much sweeter.. a little too sweet for my taste.

I usually get the strawberry balsamic at Bi-Rite, but this time I got the roasted banana. The roasted banana is good for those who are adventurous but not too adventurous.

One of the $2 finds from a vintage store in the Mission.. I added a jump ring to the pendant, added a crystal to accent the pendant, and strung it on my friend's 18k gold necklace. Looks pricey, huh?

I found some beads from a stockpile I have had since junior high and made some dangly earrings. My picture-taking skills are still pretty amateur, so these earrings don't look that great here. But my friend reassured me that they're cute in person!

I couldn't make my friend's going away party last night, so I made her a parting gift, which I walked over to her apartment today. (I will miss you, neighbor! See you bright and early in the morning.)

Although I'm still a newbie at using my SLR, I decided to test out the live view feature on my Rebel XSi. Even though the picture came out blurry, I like the reflection of my friend's apartment in the window with SOMA in the background.

[Short pause after a long day]

I can't wait for spring in SF.

A Low Key Night in SF

Stuff - to think about. Roomies - both out of town. Former teammate - I wonder if he's annoyed that I have called him twice this week, but I know he'll be honest. Honesty - finding it harder to come by these days. The song - been playing on repeat.

After coming home from work, I decide I need to go for a walk to clear my head. Normally, I go for a stroll in my neighborhood or through GGP, which is just a couple of blocks from my apartment. But I decide to walk through downtown, an area that I never really explore. I want to be near any sort of hustle bustle, to people watch, and to feel like I am back in a large city like Chicago where there's so much going on to distract you.

Nothing beats a walk in SF on a nice day, except for maybe a walk on Lake Shore Drive on a warm summer night. The vastness of Lake Michigan outlined by the Chicago skyline.. gorgeous, just gorgeous. Still, Chicago cannot touch the SF charm that I've grown to love. The Edwardians and Victorians, quirky storefronts, mom and pop shops, street tags and murals, grocery stores and farmer's markets with guaranteed organic produce somewhere.. just some things that SF owns hands down. And of course, that's just my opinion. This weekend, I might even go for an afternoon stroll in the Mission, an idea that came to mind after reading an article earlier this week and feeling inspired to do some local exploration.

Windows - halfway open but open. Long stem rose - sitting in the carafe next to my bed and reminding me to smile for the friendships that I have. Song - I'll play it a couple of more times before I head to bed. Roomies - back this weekend..

For now, I'll enjoy the rest of the night. And when my weekends free up again, I plan to go for a longer walk or hike up in Marin County. Hopefully then, I won't get lost like last time when my friends and I got lost on the Lost Trail (of all places).

Gnite, SF.

A Day of Twirling

I enter the glass doors. A web of tulle. A sea of tafetta. I never imagined that classy and tacky could hang (pun intended) with each other. There is a plethora of dresses, and I can't imagine wearing half of them for good reason. I must admit that dress shopping (especially for weddings!) is incredibly overwhelming, but I am there to serve as the amateur photographer for the day.

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Here's to twirling and Vogue poses:

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Pockets! I love pockets.

Lady in red

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Felt like a Crayola box

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Decisions decisions!

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Having fun :)

And on that note, just a couple of pictures from a wedding I attended last summer in Chicago.. Happy early birthday, Senior!

Love,

Jr.

Happy Holidays

A few more holiday pics from friends..

Ringing in the new year in Pacific Heights
My Berkeley walkaround
My tree-hugging Christmas card from last year

Green

Green is the color of my parents' comforter cover that I hid under last night.. an inviolable place.. a place that I've retreated to since childhood.

Green is the color of the ring I wore last night as my mom held my hand.

Olive green is the color of Max's doghouse that my father brought over from Korea. It doesn't match our house, so I'm not sure why my father chose that one.

Green is the color of the jar of eye cream sitting on my desk.

Green is the accent color I chose for a pair of earrings I made for my cousin's girlfriend for Christmas. Btw, my holiday photos are up here.

Pale green is the color of this Vespa that I saw off 23rd Street in Portland. Kermit the Frog green is the color of the jacket I was wearing when I saw this Vespa.

Light green is the color of the bedsheets I'll be sleeping in tonight. My own.

Traffic light green is the color of my life as I enter 2010. (Let's go.)

Pics from NYE (SF) / NY 2010 (Portland, OR):

Click here for larger pics + captions

Green also happens to be my favorite color.

P.S. Click here for a recipe of AC's "Best Chili Ever" from NYE. Most excellent.

Waiting Room Magazines

You know you're in the Bay Area when you drive in a pack of four Priuses, attempt to avoid seagull roadkill on 101, and have to literally dream of a white Christmas because you don't know what Bing's talking about. You also know you're in the Bay when the old Asian man sitting next to you in the waiting room tries to strike up a conversation and his English pronunciation is absolutely flawless.

The last time I sat in a waiting room was at my dentist's office a few months back, and at that time, I picked up the Nat Geo magazine and read about Croatia. (Btw, people in Croatia are called Croats and not Croations, as I assumed.) There was no difference in preference this time around, and I picked Nat Geo Traveler over Vogue. The Traveler edition had "Great Long Weekends" plastered on the front with a special section on French flea markets. I really couldn't have asked for a more perfect combination for how I want to spend some of my vacation days in 2010, so I quickly grabbed the magazine before the old Asian man did. You know, in "case" of any competition!

I thought of a lot of you as I flipped through and jotted down notes on some potential destinations. I saw ads for Peru, Costa Rica (see right picture), and Maine. Earlier in the week, I was speaking to my best friend about her trip to Costa Rica over Thanksgiving. I was reminded of a bird moth incident my travel buddies and I had in Costa Rica -- shrieking definitely ensued upon encounter -- when she mentioned she saw "tranchlas." She meant tarantulas (jk if you're reading this! :P).

I have this penchant for markets (might even check this one out on Sunday) and am always on the lookout to grow my humble teacup collection, which originated with a Minton's purchase at Portobollo Road Market in 2008. As the Asian man leaned his head back to rest, I jumped to the section on French flea markets. If I head to France next year with a few friends to visit our college buddy working in Paris, then I definitely want to visit the Marché aux Puces St-Ouen to see what plundering damage can be done. I'm going to ask my friend to translate this website because I don't speak any French... just like old times when I asked him to read over my Korean essays in the dorms.

And with all this travel talk, I'll end with a photo from my sojourn to Japan a few years back. Seems fitting for this week. I'm pretty sure the tagline reads High Performance Delivered. Pardon me while I have a Tiger moment.

(Left: Photo from 2008 Google Holiday Party).

(Below: 5x7 puny advertisement on the Japanese subway)