Dear Dublin, a vlog

Visiting Dublin was like looking through anaglyph glasses. The city has these two very disparate sides, one of art and innovation and the other of trial and tribulation. Together, they form a three-dimensional city where a complex history begets a really inspiring present. Dublin is as beautiful as it is fascinating, and I hope my letter does it even an ounce of justice.

Dear London, a vlog

Since my first trip in 2007, I have found myself repeatedly drawn back to London. On my most recent extended visit over a few months, I pulled out my camera whenever inspiration hit, and decided to write about that nagging desire to be and do everything in this beautiful city. This is my love letter to London.

The recent past in pictures

Just because I'm no longer forcing myself to write a blog each night doesn't mean I have to stick to any strict style of blogging when I do sit down and put something on The Songs of Spring. One aspect of my life that I realized I've been neglecting sharing is my photographic life. I've been in a photojournalism class for the past few weeks and taken the opportunity to explore my campus, my friendships and other areas to get some insights into how best to use my camera.

Before this, shooting was a hobby (by shooting, I mean camera shooting. I don't condone hunting). I took my camera to random places with me so I could take enough photos either to fill up a blog entry, to add to Facebook or simply to enjoy looking back on.

Now I'm trying to perfect the skill a bit more. It's kind of scary, a bit intimidating - especially looking at all the wonderful photography that already exists in the world - but I'm loving every second of it. I never thought I could be so happy behind a camera, but I am.

Anyway, I figured I should share some of the work I've been doing because putting it only on a class Flickr account seems like a sad fate for all of my photos. So here goes nothing...

This photo was taken at an improv show on campus. I liked the vast array of shoes the performers were wearing.

The president of our university was commemorating the anniversary of our student center with cake. I decided to take a photo of the crowd rather than get in the middle of the other photographers when I snapped this picture. Also, no, I did not eat the cake! Sad.

This was my first time shooting a theater production. I really enjoyed myself.

It was a performance of Rebel Without a Cause.

I'd also never shot sports before, but with these guys' permission I took a few photos of them playing basketball.

Taking photos of people floating in the air is fun.

I know I've shared photos like this before, but my campus is very pretty.

I bothered my friend Dana while she was working in her room, and I took this photo of her Mac and her iPad side by side.

Then I got a picture of her cute piggie slippers :)

There's nothing particularly fascinating or compelling about these photos. They're just regular depictions of things happening around my school for the most part. They're in no way extraordinary. But they were fun to take. I'm really liking having the chance to be a photographer. Even though I may never break into the world of picture-taking, it's nice to get a little taste of it.

Maybe this will inspire you to try taking photos more often. If not, then I hope at least you enjoyed it. And I can say quite honestly that it's making me want to take more photos. As many as I can.

Kelly's unbirthday in pictures

Today is my last day in southern California for the rest of winter. It's been a nice opportunity to spend part of the season in warmth, but as of tomorrow I will be on my way to Chicago where it is unbelievably cold and properly wintry. For this last day in my home state, however, I got to spend sometime with friends. We were celebrating Kelly's birthday by having tea on her unbirthday. It was very cutesy, very fun and very filling. Here are some photos:

Before going into the specialty tea shop we talked a bit outside and looked at the window decorations.

Then we decided to make our way in because it was still a bit chilly outside.

We perused the gift shop, looking at all the available teas in jars...

And in bags.

And then we walked under a canopy into the tea room.

Where Kelly set at her birthday throne.

And we all had our own selection of teas in mismatched yet adorable cups.

The tea was accompanied by finger sandwiches and soup.

And a delicious scone with jam and Devonshire cream.

I'm glad to have been able to spend this last day in my hometown for the season with some of my favorite people. It may be a while until I have the chance again - especially since my friend Kristin will be going on her LDS mission in Germany for the next two years. But it was great to see most every this last time for the next few months. Back to Chicago for me!

Tori's graduation party in pictures

My best friend (and "sister from another mister") had a little get-together to celebrate her last days as an undergrad and her impending graduation. It was a calm affair, with pot luck food, Pixar movie watching and friendship bracelet making. Pretty typical in the lives of my friends. Here are some photos...

When I arrived, Tori was making soup according to the rules of her paleo diet.

It looked yummy, but I could not partake for it had meat and I am vegetarian.

I did, however, enjoy the sight of some lovely oranges freshly picked from her garden.

And the view of her dining room table.

When the entire group had arrived, we set out our dishes, made up primarily of desserts.

Once we'd done eating, we picked colors of thread to make friendship bracelets.

Then we pretended we were ribbon dancers.

And prepared for the actual bracelet-making process.

Which went awry in some cases, and thus resulted in the reading of some trivia over the course of the evening.

And then Diana took a power nap and took photos of the ceiling. A fine cap to a fine night.

That was my night. Now I must end the evening as quickly as possible so I can get theproper amount of sleep before an early rise tomorrow. Wish me luck. Goodnight!

Actually, before I go, happy graduation Tori! I'm so proud of you. I still remember you leaving all of us behind in high school to start college early. It was a bittersweet moment. Now I see your progress, and I can only be glad that you made the decision to start college when you did. You're on your way to great things and I love you! Congratulations, my dear!

Winter hangout in pictures

Today was reminiscent of an elementary school summer's day. Not in the weather - which was decidedly gloomy and cold even for a California winter - but in the way I spent my day. The morning was one of the laziest I've ever spent. I woke up early due to jet lag, but then proceeded to fall back asleep throughout the morning, not moving an inch until it was absolutely necessary. But then I went to hang out with friends in the evening, over the course of which we:

Peeled apples for Diana's mom...

who was baking a crumble which you will see at the end of this post.

We enjoyed the pretty poinsettias on Diana's dining room table...

and the lovely pretzel/Hershey's Kiss/M&M bites Eileen brought over as a snack.

Then we played a game called Loaded Questions...

and much hilarity ensued.

The questions were simple, but we made the answers silly as best we could...

and Diana Yellow was victorious.

The rest of us were moderately dejected, like Kristin who couldn't seem to get her hair out of her face.

And then the evening ended. We did not touch the crumble. It was pretty though.

The end. Happy winter break, everybody!

Paris and Disneyland in pictures

I don't have much time for you at the moment. I don't want to make this a regular occurrence because I really love having you in my life and feel that your presence is necessary to keep me happy and healthy and wise. This is why I write in you every day - to be sure that I stay sane every day and keep reflecting on everything that has happened to me over the past several months (and a year coming up this January).

But today I'm going to just show you some photos. It's been a while since I've included any and since I miss equipping you with entertainment from all mediums of expression, I'm rectifying the error. I hope you will enjoy this even though it's less insightful than other writings. These are some snapshots from my trip to Paris and Disneyland Paris last weekend.

At the last minute (on the train at 5:40 am), I changed my plans to go to Le Marais first and instead stopped by the Champs-Élysées for a nice holiday market.

Everything in Paris was white and idyllic on this gorgeous morning. I could barely believe I was in a real place. It felt like a winter wonderland.

Eventually I made my way through the city to Le Marais and stopped at a bakery for some nosh.

But by the evening I was with my friend Dana at the Disneyland Resort Paris. We had some Earl of Sandwich and admired the scenery near the Disney Village (the equivalent of Disneyland's Downtown Disney District).

Then we explored some of the other hotels and saw this at the Disneyland Hotel along with a few suited characters out taking photos with children. Why am I not a child?

The next morning we got our first glimpse of the parks during Extra Magic Hours. These were the holiday decorations leading to Sleeping Beauty Castle when there were barely any people in the park. So lovely.

And the castle set against the morning sky, again pretty much an empty Disneyland.

And some adorable Minnie and Mickey Mouse snowmen.

During the Extra Magic Hours we went on the Dumbo Ride as well as Peter Pan and It's a Small World. And over the course of the day we managed to get on most of the rides we'd planned to pursue. In about 15 hours, we made some major successes.

A view from Haunted Mansion (called Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris) of Frontierland.

We eventually switched parks and spent some time at the Walt Disney Studios Park. There we found a Singin' in the Rain reference and I looked silly.

We also found a High School Musical and Pirates of the Caribbean-themed restaurant where I saw these cute Mickey Mouse highchairs.

Then we made our way back into the Disneyland Paris park for the rest of the day.

And went through an Alice in Wonderland maze/labyrinth, among other things.

But Disney came to an end all too soon and the next day I was wandering around Paris again. I went to Montmartre which was crazy busy on a Sunday afternoon.

Then I climbed many many steps to the Cathedral de Sacre-Coeur.

It was worth it just to watch these people I didn't know being cheesy for a photo they didn't even know was being taken (I'm a creep, but you already knew that).

And I capped the day off by going to Café des 2 Moulins in Montmartre where Amelie works in the movie titled after her. I had some creme-brulée there and I cracked it. Seemed appropriate.

So that is the end of my photo post. There's nothing much to say except Paris was beautiful, Disneyland Paris was exquisite, seeing Dana was a treat and getting to be away for the weekend with nothing but beautiful things planned was a luxury. I can't wait for the few weeks I have back in London, but I lament at the loss of such a great few days. Oh well, more wonderful experiences to come, I'm sure.