SZL Photography

2014-01-15T16:02:00.001-07:00

Moving sites

2012-07-28T20:16:00.000-06:00

This site has moved to www.szlphotography.wordpress.com

Hot Air Balloons

2012-05-20T09:49:00.001-06:00

Currently listening to - Substitution by Silversun Pickups

Went hot air ballooning this morning! It was a new experience for me. Great way to start off the day.

Random Fact #32 - I really enjoy kayaking/canoeing

Greece Panoramas

2012-04-14T09:18:00.004-06:00

Currently Listening to - We Are Young by Fun

Kalimera! That's good morning in Greek. I went to Greece over Spring Break and had a fabulous time with my friends and teachers from my high school. We stayed in Athens, Delphi, and Tolo. Here are some panoramas I made of sites around Greece. Enjoy!

Overview of Athens. Taken from the Parthenon.

Mountains of Greece

Site of Olympus, where the first Olympic games were held

View of the sea from the Temple of Poseidon

More mountains. Taken from the site of the Oracle of Delphi.

Random fact - Spinach pie is my favorite Greek food

Blah

2012-02-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

So I've decided that posting a picture everyday is getting tedious. I didn't know how difficult it would be to just find something interesting to shoot. I feel that the pictures I'm posting are just general random uninteresting photos from my days and it doesn't make for an interesting blog post. I've decided to stop Project 365 and only post quality photographs whenever I go out on my photo walks or photoshoots. Plus the photos I take on my photo walks are much more interesting than generic items in my everyday life.

Busy Busy Bees

2012-02-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes I know, slacking again.

February 6th - English essay due today, this is how I write down my thought process and find keep track of quotes in the book.

February 7th - Just a couple of hats I crocheted for Project Fuzzy. CAS hours!!

February 8th - Finally made the Key Club t-shirt order after a few more little obstacles. This quote is on the back of the shirt.

February 9th - Sister made some cupcakes. Vanilla cake with a strawberry frosting.

February 10th - 1st place for most attractive picture ever.

February 11th - Best thermos ever! Keeps my tea warm for a long long time.

February 12th - Broke my water fast today and had a great salad for dinner.

Weekly Update

2012-02-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

It has been one hectic week. Couldn't find the motivation to plug in my camera. But here are the pictures!

January 31st - Picture of the key club shirt logo

February 1st - Started a new diet in an attempt to clear my skin. All raw veggies/fruit for two months. Ah!

February 2nd - More CNY celebrations!

February 3rd - Snow Day!!!! Yes!

February 4th - Ridiculous amount of snow. Shoveling was a pain.

February 5th - Concluding the CNY celebrations with a big feast.

Stop Memorizing

2012-01-30T22:15:00.001-07:00

Currently listening to - the wind banging against my windowpane

Today in Economics Club we had a discussion about the economics of the different education systems around the world. Mostly focused on the education systems of Finland and America. Basically we decided that in Finland teachers are more motivated to study because they are seen as someone who is comparable to a doctor or lawyer. They are also paid better in Finland than compared to the salary of American teachers. All teachers in Finland are required to have a masters degree and the process to become a certified teacher is very selective. The Finnish are also incorporating life skills into the classroom such as sewing, cooking, etc. that produce students that are well-rounded. In America, the school districts are cutting classes like these to save money. Maybe America can learn a thing or two from Finland. I thought the quote was fitting for today's discussion - we are given facts and expected to regurgitate them when we might not actually understand how or why something works that way. In Finland there are no assessments and emphasis is placed on actually understanding a concept.

Random Fact #30 - In Finland, elementary students have to take off their shoes before entering the classroom.

Insanity

2012-01-29T09:14:00.002-07:00

Currently listening to - We Found Love by Rhianna

Last week was insane. I was so busy all the time and never found time to post pictures. So here are the photos from last week:

January 24th - Received a gift card to Starbucks from the hospital I volunteer at because of my volunteer work. Yay! Time to start Starbucks Rewards.

Random Fact #24 - I volunteer in the hospital gift shop

January 25th - Only took a picture of half of the postcard since my address is on the other side. Rob interviewed me for Wash U and sent me this postcard. Dope.

Random Fact #25 - Yes, I'm going to Greece over spring break.

Januray 26th - This is my monkey that I bought back in 3rd grade... He just hangs around in my room on my lamp. Remember when hanging monkeys were all the rage?

Random Fact #26 - Kangaroos are my favorite animals.

January 27th - Tis the season of cuties! Cuties are so delicious and refreshing. The box is almost empty and only bought it like 4 days ago.

Random Fact #27 - My favorite fruit is... no idea. They're all delicious to me. Although, I'm not a fan of honeydew and cantaloupe.

January 28th - Dad arrived back home. He got to travel back to Malaysia for CNY. Lucky duck.

Random Fact #28 - I love the smell of airports.

January 29th (today) - Spent the first half of my day finishing my math project... and it wasn't even spent solving the problem... it was spent typing out how I solved it. So fun.

Random Fact #29 - I spent the rest of the day doing nothing productive, like watching Cupcake Wars. Great show.

Chinese New Year

2012-01-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to - Move For Me by Deadmau5 and Kaskade

January 21st - So I made my own fruit/nut bars. it's a really simple recipe and definitely cheaper than buying them from the grocery store. You'll need about 10 dates or 12 prunes, 1/4 cup of raisins, and 1/2-1 cup of almonds (depending on your preference). If you have a food processor all you have to do is process everything together and you'll get this sticky mushy substance. Roll it into a ball, place it between two pieces of wax paper and roll it out using a rolling pin. Place the flat sheet in the freezer for at least an hour so it's easier to cut into bars later. Yum.

Random Fact #21 - The tablecloth is new.

January 22nd - Chinese New Year reunion dinner! The reunion dinner is the night before the actual day of CNY. There is usually another celebration on the last day of CNY. The family had steamboat which is basically where you cook all the food fresh in a boiling pot of soup in the center of the table. Most of my family resides in Singapore/Malaysia so I have not had ever had a true reunion dinner with the entire family. Sad day.

Random Fact #22 - Best part about CNY? Red packets of course.

January 23rd - Actual Chinese New Year day! How did I spend my CNY? Going to school and doing work. So fun. Had a super fun economics club meeting today. We played with play-doh and bought and sold with paper money in order to know what we want to teach to elementary school students. I made a snapback out of my play-doh. T-shirts also came in today and they look snazzy. Why are the smalls always so big on me...

Random Fact #23 - Coordinating clubs is a lot of work, but it's totally worth it.

Cola

2012-01-20T22:12:00.001-07:00

Currently listening to - I'm Not Alone by Calvin Harris

Again, why can't people just recycle their cans... it's not that hard to put it in the recycling bin. I'm pretty picky with what I drink. Honestly, I can't stand soda. The carbonation just kills me. The only time I ever crave coke is on a hot hot day in the summer. It has to have tons of ice in it as well. I do like root beer and cream soda though. My choice of drink during the winter? Tea or hot chocolate. Or water. Water is always good.

Random Fact #20 - I have a Harvard interview tomorrow... Ah!

Insomnia

2012-01-19T03:28:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to - Fire and Rain by Mat Kearney

No, it is not 3:18 in the afternoon... it's 3:18 in the morning! WHY CAN'T I GO TO SLEEP?! I've been attempting to go to sleep since about 10:30pm and have been tossing and turning. The gusty wind doesn't help much either. About every month or two I have one night where I just can't fall asleep. It just started a few months ago so I do not know what's going on. I dread these kind of nights. Ended up getting up to eat something, read a book, played games on my ipod... ugh.

Random Fact #19 - I sleep with 3 pillows.

Monster

2012-01-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to - Set Fire To The Rain by Adele

In my opinion, Monsters are the worst energy drink ever made. I had a sip of my friend's drink and it tasted like cough syrup to me. Why do they sell so well? I don't even want to look at the ingredient list. Disgusting. If I never need to pull an all-nighter, give me 5-hour energy or caffeine.

Random Fact #18 - Every summer I pull an all-nighter during Relay For Life.

Mickey D's

2012-01-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to - Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People

This week I'm taking pictures of trash and litter I find around my neighborhood. Why can't people just throw away their garbage properly?

Random Fact #17 - I hate it when people do not recycle.

Oh Chem...

2012-01-16T19:28:00.005-07:00

Currently listening to - nothing

Like the title? Haha... There is a organic chem test tomorrow so I had to finish up the worksheet that is due tomorrow. It was a good way to review as well. That pretty much took up most of my morning. Stereoisomerism, reaction pathways, amides, nucleophilic substitution reactions, carboxylic acids, elimination reactions, ahhhhh... O-chem is definitely my favorite unit in chemistry since it's so logical and all the rules actually make sense. There aren't very many exceptions.

Random fact #16 - Esters smell pleasant.

Peek-a-Boo

2012-01-15T21:46:00.002-07:00

Currently watching - 500 Days of Summer

Finally a photograph not taken with my phone! There's this photo idea where you walk for 10 minutes and take a picture of wherever you end up. I ended up walking close to a tiny frozen stream near my home. Found a little patch in the stream where the ice melted and the water was rushing underneath. There is a good photograph waiting around every corner, just walk.

Random Fact #15 - I love Zooey Deschanel.

La Cueva

2012-01-14T20:56:00.003-07:00

Currently listening to - Breathe by Skrillex ft. Krewella

(Great song, check it out)

I have been on a Mexican food spree this weekend. My spice tolerance has definitely been kicked up a notch from all the green chiles I've eaten. Met up with a friend I met this summer and we went to eat at this restaurant called La Cueva. In Spanish la cueva means "the cave". The food was delicious and if you are ever down in Aurora you should definitely try it out. The parking lot is pretty sketchy because you have to turn right into this side street that looks like a sidewalk. Be wary.

Random Fact #14 - I have never heard of Rocky Balboa until tonight. Jordan and a Best Buy salesman told me that's a little weird.

A Week In Review

2012-01-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to - Fight For You by Jason Derulo

I know I have not updated everyday but I have taken a picture everyday! All of them were taken while I was on the road so did not use my DSLR. That is why camera phones were invented. So here's what I did this week...

Tuesday, January 10th - I volunteer at a hospital in their gift shop as a cashier... so exciting. Barely anyone comes into the shop to buy things so I have three hours to do homework. When I get bored I browse through all the weird products they have. I saw this nail file. What is the use of a nail filer when it is bejeweled and you can't use it anyway. The products out on the market these days are ridiculous sometimes. I'm not going to buy an emery board for decorative purposes...

Random Fact #10 - I haven't painted my nails in four months.

January 11th - FLAT TIRE. My favorite. So on the coldest day of the week of course I have to get a flat tire. Since my wheels have locks on them and I lost the key to the locks I couldn't change to the spare tire. I had to get towed and had a nice chat with the tow truck man as he drove me to Discount Tire. So he was a radiologist and apparently was so fed-up with the health care industry that he decided to quit and become a firefighter/tow truck man. He said he was much happier now than when working in the health care field. You never know what kind of people you are going to meet.

Random Fact #11 - People are interesting.

January 12th - Submitted the order for Economics Club shirts. This is the design that is going to be printed on the front of the shirts. My friend Melissa is a wonderful artist and created the design for us. So excited to receive the shirts within the next two weeks!!

Random Fact #12 - I think economics, business, and finance are super interesting.

January 13th - Friday the 13th! I have never had anything bad happen to me on Friday the 13th. I wonder how many people actually believe that Friday the 13th brings bad luck. Got out of school at 10:30am so I had the entire afternoon to do whatever. Decided to bake bread for funsies even though I've never actually done it before. It turned out pretty well. The picture is before the bread was put into the oven. Went to Efrains with some friends for dinner. Great mexican food.

Random Fact #13 - Playing Contact while waiting in line at a restaurant is a great way to pass time.

Adjectives

2012-01-09T22:06:00.002-07:00

Currently listening to - Someone Like You by Adele

Leaf - dead. Snow - slushy. Sun - illuminating. Branches - shadowy.

Language would be so boring without adjectives.

Random Fact #9 - I make my bed everyday... before I go to bed.

Footprints In The Snow

2012-01-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to - Don't Look Back In Anger by Oasis

So it's perfect running weather one day and snowing the next. The only thing predictable about Colorado weather is that it is unpredictable. All the snow melted off of the sidewalk except this random patch. It is not even covered by shade so I do not know why it has not melted yet. Since Colorado does not have beaches (sadly) I guess we will just have to make our footprints...eh shoeprints in the snow instead of the sand. Spell check is telling me that "shoeprint" is not a word. I can make it a word if I want to! From my point of view, that is one large shoeprint. But since my feet are so small I guess my view of shoe size is a little distorted. The worst part about having small feet? I have to order all my shoes online...I guess that saves me money since I can't go splurge randomly when window shopping.

Random fact #8 - I own around ten pairs of shoes.

French Streets

2012-01-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to - nothing

This afternoon I finally finished a 1000 piece puzzle with my sister. That's what you do on snowy days in. It's a puzzle of a French street with a nice art gallery and tavern. I would love to visit France one day. I think it's one of those places in the world where you just have to visit before you die. Honestly, I do not quite like tourist attractions as much as I like spending the day doing the things a local resident would. That way, you experience the actual culture a lot more accurately.

Random Fact #7 - I had a college interview with Washington University St. Louis today. I think it went pretty well.

Goodbye Christmas

2012-01-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to - Memories by Panic! At The Disco

I took this picture yesterday but I wasn't in the mood to plug my camera into my computer and upload it. Lazy, yes I know. I thought the reflectiveness of the ornament was an interesting touch to the photograph. Now you all know what my family room looks like. I The family is taking down the Christmas tree and decorations soon so I decided to take one last picture of an ornament before it is stored away for another year. Ornaments are definitely the best part of a Christmas tree. Looking at the ornaments different families put on their trees tells you a lot about their lives. Some families put up their children's macaroni ornaments. Others put up ornaments with their favorite sports team name on it. Some families douse their tree in tinsel. My family? We went for the classy silver and blue theme this year. Over the years our tree changed dramatically. When I was in elementary and middle school our tree would be filled with random craft projects, candy canes, and multicolored lights. As my sister and I got older the ornaments became more sophisticated. The old arts and craft projects found their way to a box in my basement that has been left unopened for several years.

Random fact #6 - Started playing Hanging With Friends yesterday. Try it.

Nougatocity

2012-01-05T21:16:00.003-07:00

Currently listening to - Structure by Innerpartysystem

Apparently anyone who has ever eaten a Snickers bar has experienced Nougatocity. I found this on the back of a Snickers wrapper a few months ago and thought it was pretty funny. Interesting enough to make it onto my corkboard wall. Eating Snickers just causes me to become more unmotivated because all I want to do is sit down and watch TV. It makes me feel sluggish. Gross. Unfortunately chocolate is so delicious that it is difficult to resist when it is right in front of you. Don't deny it. I am pretty sure I ate my weight in chocolate and sweets this winter vacation. Trying to avoid sweets now... we'll see how long that lasts.

Random Fact #5 - I got attacked by a dog while running today and screamed bloody murder. All the oncoming cars definitely judged me.

Trackin' Miles

2012-01-04T22:16:00.001-07:00

Currently listening to - Dig by Incubus

I have been taking advantage of this perfect running weather we've been having lately. More overcast and partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the high 50s or low 60s please! Went for a nice run around B-town after school today. The wind has been very mild as well which is always a plus. Running into the wind is not very fun. It feels like Casper is pulling you back by using an invisible rope tied around your waist. Casper, I thought you were friendly. The photograph shows my running shoes (Asics GT-2150) which have traveled with me everywhere from the Royal Arch to the Charles River "trail" in Cambridge/Boston. I say "trail" because it's not really a trail even though Massachusetts would like to call it that. It's more like a... flat dirt path. Running on the Charles River bike path was way better than running on the pathetic 12" wide dirt path.

Random Fact #4 - Today I had a major memory lapse moment with my friend Ellie. Couldn't figure out for the life of us how to integrate 1/x^2. When we figured it out we were like... wow... This is what break does to our brains.

A Touch of Blue

2012-01-03T21:36:00.004-07:00

Currently listening to - Undisclosed Desires by Muse

You know it's the last day of break when you're rushing to finish all your homework. Procrastination at its finest. I still feel like I'm forgetting to do something... I hate that feeling. So because I had to do homework, I ended up digging out an old photograph that I meant to post a while back but never got around to it. This picture reminds me of spring when all the new baby birds are hatching. Robin eggs are such a pretty color (maybe I'm a little bias because blue is my favorite color); sadly robins are not as pretty as their eggs. Why are robin eggs blue anyway?

Random Fact #3 - Red Skittles are my favorite.