The Leelerson

Randomness

2011-09-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

I was looking at iheartfaces and felt inspired to edit some older photos :D

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On another note, I totally did not stick to my plan for the photochallenge T___T I feel very sorry that I didn't even complete that.

I do, however, feel inspired to challenge Black & White photography! :D The photo above was a color picture that I manipulated on photoshop, but in general these days, the few pictures I take, I still take on the manual setting, and I will be adding the element of capturing in black and white. So far, some how black and white makes everything look cool :D

I'll try to post some of those photos up when I get a chance ^^

I'm really excited about all the holidays coming up though, as there will be many more photo-ops to come! :D

2011-04-01T11:03:00.003-07:00

I wasn't really going for this, but I suppose a moment of experimentation turned out not too bad ^^;;

March theme: Vacation

"Eye On The Prize"

Technical Info:
Date: March 2011
Concept: Vacation.
Title: "Eye On The Prize" cause sometimes that's all that keeps you going.
Post Processing: Only resizing :D
Technique Challenged: I was actually trying to make a bokeh filter, but failed, and resulted in this idea kekeke~
Camera: Canon PowerShot A650 IS.

A FAIL moment turned into something... not too bad ^^;;

A few more days...

2011-03-27T00:09:00.000-07:00

There's only a few more days before the end of March...

I think I have my March entry, but I want to give the last few days a chance too ^^

Thinking about it though, last month's "Daymare" was almost a foreshadowing of all the daymares I have been having these days. So strange... such weird and tiring dreams =_=;;

March's theme is going to be Vacation ^^ We'll see what kinds of things pop up, yeah?

... March is usually my fave month of the year cause it's my birthday month! But for some reason March 2011 seems to be very long.

<3

February: Daymare.

2011-02-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

It's a short month, and thank You, God, that it is. I am so ready for March's check to come in >_<

This month's theme? Insanity.

Am I insane for choosing this theme? Yes. I thought it'd be fun, but actually I don't think I gave myself enough creative space to work with.

But I did find a cool song that matched it!

Here's the technical info~

Date: Feb 2011
Concept: Insanity.
Title: Daymare. (you know, like a nightmare, but while you're taking a nap in the daytime.)
Post Processing: B&W, borders, text, contrast.
Technique Challenged: Using a B&W photo theme to display a sort of concept/idea. I'm still struggling much >_<
Camera: Canon PowerShot A650 IS.

--
I just realized I should make a watermark for my stuff... hmm will do that by next month.

Resubmission of January 2011

2011-01-31T21:59:00.000-08:00

I took pictures of that awesome Fire Lane zone, and was so stumped with what to do with it!

But because "people who know some things" about photography have been throwing terms at me (with love of course), I became curious/determined to learn about them. Then it ended up being a "then plus some" experience... so here's my resubmission for my January PhotoHunt.

Photo Info:
Date: January 2011
Concept: Weathered.
Title: Fire & Weather-Proofed.
Post Processing: A little cropping and messing with some levels on PS ^^
Technique Challenged: Learning about and getting a good composition was my biggest challenge ^^;;;
Camera: Canon PowerShot A650 IS.

It's been renamed too... it's a little longer but carries the sentiment :D

2011 PhotoHunt Challenge

2011-01-31T00:43:00.001-08:00

OH DIZZANG, I just (accidentally) discovered how to navigate between tabs on the browser on the keyboard xD

Photo Info:
Date: January 2011
Concept: Weathered.
Title: Washed.
Post Processing: A little contrast on PS ^^
Technique Challenged: Filling the frame. (+I was a little short on time this month ^^; )
Camera: Canon PowerShot A650 IS.

I haven't forgotten about this blog, honest!

So here's the long schpeal about my Photo Challenge:

Creating My Own PhotoHunt Challenge~!

I have been feeling inspired to get better at taking photos, and when I saw the facebook 30-day photo challenge that my friend, See, started to do, I immediately loved the idea!

So I compiled ideas from different photo-hunt blogs, plus a few of my own that I’ve been wanting to challenge (such as techniques I’ve read about online and in magazines).

My challenge is to take photos and select a single photo to represent each of these concepts and post them up, one photo per month.

I will be using the manual setting on my camera in order to learn more about what each function does. Then I will try to post process the photo as little as possible, unless the technique/photo concept calls for more post processing.

There will be a total of 12 photos, ranging from January to December 2011.

This is the list of websites where I’ve drawn inspiration:

photohuntchallenges
Sh1ft.org
43Things
WebAperture
lpdragonfly's Deviantart
esignschild's Deviantart
poetry magnifique photo blog

These are the techniques I will be challenging:
negative space
fill the frame
Macro
Wide angle
B&W/with selective color
Vintage
Motion Blur
Bokeh

And this is the list of photo concepts I will be hunting for:

Weathered.
Insanity.

Vacation.
Rainbow/multicolor.
Joy!
Mother Nature.
Teamwork.
Abandoned/ Sorrow.
Standing Still.
Illusion/Amazing.
Melodic/Melody.
Reflection/Upside down/Backwards.

<3,>

CalidaA.

PS

I know my blog layout was cute before, but... to make my photos look nice, I'll use a simple black backgroud ^^;;

4 lbs is easy to gain

2010-11-16T00:20:00.000-08:00

I worked really hard and was one pound away from my goal for winter when BAM the weekend came... it was a dang crazy weekend too - Riverside, Disneyland, Santa Monica... then home again!

I think I gained mostly when I came back home though. I ate too much carbs today T___T;; How did I do this to myself?! I was sooo close! Must keep going, must keep fighting the cravings and the hunger. Gotta eat right, eat more veggies and fruits... less snacks, less carbs! Run, run, & run!

I'm 4 lbs back from where I was before the weekend started. So that makes 5 lbs as my goal for right now. I was hoping to start on the next 5 lbs already... so I'll take this slowly and carefully.

Gosh, weekends are so dangerous for my dieting! T_T;;

Panda Bento

2009-09-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

I just ate some Panda Express an hour and a half ago for lunch. I was doing some homework, and finally couldn't stand it anymore, the nagging feeling that my body would be angry at me soon if I didn't feed it. So off I ventured from the library to find some new, exciting, non-Starbucks food...

I wanted Subways, but the line was too long! So I actually settled for Panda Express. I got my usual, half-and-half (chow mein, fried rice) with Orange Chicken. But at the last moment, I changed my mind and wanted the good-looking sting-bean chicken. MAN, was that a mistake.

It was SO plain T_T;; I tried putting some of my eggroll's sweet&sour sauce in it for flavoring... at least a little sweetness. what it needed was some soy sauce, but I wasn't about to truck evvvverything over there again, and back just for a little soy sauce. But I regretted the s&s sauce. I regretted getting Panda Express all together.

Sometimes after I eat some Panda, I don't feel so good, or feel a little bloated because I eat it too fast. This time was no exception. I'm still kind of uncomfortable, like I should've eaten that salad I saw at Starbucks the first time around. Would've costed the same anyway.

But the real reason why ate Panda in the first place was because I did not make time to make a proper Bento. Oh, bento, I will not wrong you again. Especially since my financial status is quickly coming to a hallow void, I will rely on my culinary and cute-spert (cute expert) skills to make delicious bento boxes from now on. And regardless of how hungry I am, I will not settle for Panda Express again when I am alone.

And this is why they call me O-bento.

It's more than a nick-name, it's a lifestyle I would like to embrace: money-saving, efficient, compact, durable, portable, and fulfilling. Not to mention as healthy as I can get. I would like to be known as more than just O-bento, I'd like to be O-bento. A dramatic statement, yes. A drastic change to come? even more so. God help me on this one!

-Calida

Devotion, together we walk.

2008-08-26T00:16:00.000-07:00

On going to Baghdad I struck a deal:
For a gram of intellect I took a load of sorrows.
The load grew heavier and my goal more distant, but finally I reached it.
It was when I understood essence and attribute, Bahu, that I found divine beauty.

-The Sufi Poems of Sultan Bahu
in the book "Death Before Dying",
translated and introduced by Jamal J. Elias.

I can write my own as well:
~~~~~~~~~~
On going to graduate, I struck a deal:
For a single degree I took a load of sorrows.
The load grew heavier and my goal more distant, but finally I reached it.
It was when I understood essence and attribute, that I found divine beauty.

A long journey it has been, and it is not over yet. See you when our paths make crossroads again ^^;

-

First Bento Box

2008-03-16T23:47:00.000-07:00

I just purchased my first bento box + a few accessories online at Aramonoya's shop on ebay. I was lucky because this person was having a sale! Plus, they do combined shipping, which is really helpful. It's usually the case that the stuff is too expensive, OR the shipping is ridiculous. I'm sure it doesn't actually cost THAT much to send stuff. Bento boxes should be rather light, right? At least the accessories would be light, such as egg molds, which I have not bought yet.

I'm still hoping to go to Daiso one day. It's like a giant Japanese Dollar Tree... doesn't that sound freaking awesome? Heck yeah. But there are about 3 Daiso's in Northern California. All in NorCal... so must make a trip one day. Geeze, I know I'm just going to go crazy if I do hahah~

Here are some pictures of my bento accessories that I have purchased:

Food separators:

Little Red Riding Hood

Classic Grass Separators

Rice Molds

I already have some cute rice molds, but I couldn't pass this up because they were cute shapes and it was on super sale.

Sandwich/cookie cutters

I'm no good at making cookies, but I can try. But I do make good sandwiches :D And like I said... super sale... Stocking up on cuteness :P

And finally, my bento box!

(inside view) 2 tiered :o

White with Red strap. Sexy.

Woohoo! I can't wait for it to come in the mail. Total cost about $12 with shipping, which is wonderful considering most boxes run around $12 by itself, without shipping. I'm not even kidding T_T

This box doesn't even really fit all of my criteria:

Big.
Preferably white or black insides.
Cute strap or
snap-closers.
Comes with spoon+fork.
Must have cute designs.
Must have at least one separator inside OR
comes with removable compartments inside.

So out of all those "criteria," only 1 thing was met, and that is that it's white. The strap is cute because it's red, but I've seen some that are red AND have a flower or a strawberry... something like that. But like I said, super sale... man, it was so cheap I could not let it go. I'll have to get everything else later on when I go to Little Tokyo or something. :)

But this, my friends, is why I must go to Daiso. Daiso!

Things to get

2008-03-12T18:08:00.001-07:00

There are some things that I always forget to buy, but I always want. So when I have money, I should look here and get these things!

Bento things:
Obento boxes.
Egg molds.
Ham+Cheese cutters for obento.
Nori cutters (esp. for emoticon faces.)
Box straps.
In-set bento cups.
Cute paper bento cups.
Sauce bottles.
Mayo containers.
Side Dishes containers.
Bag for bento/thermo.
Spoon-fork set for bento.
Cute food picks.

CDs and DVDs
Azumanga Daioh on DVD.
Hye Sung's CD.
Min Kyung Hoon's CD.
Buzz's CDs.
Sung Si Kyung's CDs.
Se7en's CDs.
Shinhwa Concert DVDs.
Spin Kick on DVD.

Misc.
Tool box.
Min Woo's merchandise.
Shinhwa merchandise.
Packing cubes.

All so random aren't they? I will always randomly update as a reminder to myself. Maybe I should provide links too?

Oooh, new blog!

2008-03-05T16:28:00.000-08:00

I've always wanted a blogger... this is rather exciting. Now, I just have to find friends to blog with...

:)