observations

Off celebrating 4 years with the boy!
We're going back to Griffith Observatory, I'll have a full post on that this week.
=D

(1 year till the wedding!)

Kean

another long overdue post in my coffee shop series.
Kean Coffee in Newport Beach is a favorite place to meet among my friends.

A cozy shop just a few blocks from the beach, I usually see at least one person I know. The baristas are friendly and there's never a long wait. Almost all the coffee is fair trade/organic. Their tea selection is heavenly. Ask for your goods "for here" and you'll get a giant white mug to sip on (i forgot this time). They've won awards for their foam latte art! Most common are ferns though i've seen some really good hearts before. All kinds of people stop in: business professionals, cyclists, families, people before/after the gym, students with their text books and friends chatting away.

It's owned by Martin Dietrich, who also has Dietrich's Coffee. It used to be a chain of shops locally but was bought out by big bad starbucks I think. Dietrich's Coffee is still sold in local stores but Martin ended up opening Kean (named after his son) and staying small (there's one other location in Tustin).

They've got some really great and creative drinks, which I have not yet tried. I'm partial to the acai bowl which comes with granola and banana. There's a...turkish tea w/cardamom (i think that's what it's called) that i've been wanting to try. Plus lots of yummy baked goods. My drink of choice on Sunday? Rooibos Red Tea. It's my latest addiction.

what a wonderful world

"For seventeen days, they are roommates.
For seventeen days, they are soulmates.
And for twenty-two seconds, they are competitors.
Seventeen days as equals. Twenty-two seconds as adversaries.
What a wonderful world that would be.
That's the hope I see in the Olympic Games."

i ♥ Nelson Mandela

Sunroof Sunday

The extent of my traveling these days involves driving all over orange county (and sometimes LA county too) in my car. I want to try to get better use out of my glorious sunroof. Even if it's closed, just using it as a skylight of sorts provides some sunshine and brightness into the black interior of my car. It provides a nice new perspective.

in my driveway:

 

in the parking lot of a coffee shop waiting to meet a friend:

 

(this was 30 minutes later, about 20 miles away. the weather in orange county is crazy!)

interesting that I ended up under (2 very different) trees in both parking locations.

kimberly process

I saw Blood Diamond last weekend. I've been wanting to see it for awhile and then more recently it was recommended by my sustainability professor. He works for the UN and has traveled to Sierra Leone. He spent most of a lecture talking about the history and war and diamonds of Sierra Leone. He said Blood Diamond is pretty accurate in its portrayal of the late 90s early 2000s during the civil war.

The movie is absolutely devastating. So violent. It was hard to watch because I can't just reconcile it by saying its just a movie, when the movie is based on actual events and rebel groups. The brainwashed child soldiers. Corrupt government and military. Yet there was still a kind of beauty. Beautiful african landscapes. Joyous children in refugee camps. A hopeful man running a home for rescued child soldiers. family. change of heart.

It was incredibly long and probably could have ended in a few different spots. But I'm glad it didn't, the story was able to come full circle. To tell the viewer it's purpose, that all those deaths were not completely in vain. The Kimberly Process was instituted in Kimberly, South Africa in 2003. It was to regulate and prevent conflict diamonds from entering the marketplace, to provide certification to the consumer that the diamond they are purchasing was ethically and responsibly mined.

the movie uses a fictional british diamond jeweler called van de kaap, which is probably based on a real company, De Beers. De Beers had a monopoly on diamonds for decades. The movie hints that they actually owned more diamonds than they sold. They would buy them up and store them in vaults so they could present the few remaining as rare, and thus control the market value. Recently diamonds have been discovered other places, like canada, and De Beers let go of their monopoly hold on the market during the Sierra Leone civil war. Although unfortunately now about 60% belongs to a heroin trafficker.

Africa has continued to be exploited for it's rich natural resources. Which are extracted in an extremely unsustainable manner and cause immense violence. and then once the resource is gone and the people are left alone again, they must deal with the environmental and social destruction. I don't even know where to start.

Changing the world

Ahh! These videos make me so happy.

These stairs are in Stockholm. I wonder if they're still there?
One of my dear friends will be in Sweden for spring break, I've sent her on a quest to find them!


Look how excited everyone gets!



hehe! These projects are part of The Fun Theory, by Volkswagen. Makes me proud to drive a Jetta!

I love the whole world...

And in response to yesterday's post:

More reasons why I can't wait to travel the world.

Thanks for the awesome commercial Discovery Channel!

where are you going?

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet!
Where the hell is Matt?

Matt is this guy who travels the world and gets video footage of himself (and sometimes other people) dancing like a maniac. It's so silly yet so cool!

He's been doing it for a few years now. Check it out, it will make you smile.
Or if you're a sap like me, it will make you cry out of joy.
Dancing, laughter and smiles are universal.
It's reasons like this that I want to travel the world and experience life.

living the dream

I don't remember how I found these two, but the moment I began reading their blog I was hooked.
Alex and Mina of Sending Postcards are so fun and adventurous. They've already done quite a bit of traveling (Paris, Japan, Dubai). And then just this past summer they quit their jobs, sold their house in canada, got married and set off to travel the world for a while. Amazing!

They sold most of their possessions, put the rest in storage and are carrying everything else on their backs. They've already covered Central America and are in Miami on their way to South Africa. I've definitely been checking in to see their progress, their posting is about a week behind where they are actually at. I'm waiting for their update on the Galapagos Islands!

p.s. points for creative blog title
"two of us riding nowhere
spending someone's
hard earned pay...
two of us sending postcards,
writing letters
on my wall"

they're both self-professed beatles fanatics!

No. 5

I almost forgot, more Istanbul!

Chanel always makes the most beautiful short films.

Did I tell you I also love trains? I LOVE riding the train. I wish the metrolink or amtrak were as glamorous as the orient express... More on trains later.

exotic

so sometimes i'll see photos of/read about a certain place, and then it'll show up a few more times and build up a huge curiosity in me. This time, it's Istanbul.


First it was Hollister Hovey. The all-american, antiquarian New Yorker.

 

her sister Porter against some beautiful tile

  

 A lovely cafe al fresco, Mangerie

  

The Taksim/Tunel tram

  

the blue mosque

  

Porter at Tokapi Palace Park, apparently it is quite romantic.

 

The Camondo Stairs in Galata.

Some of her other recommendations:
Changa Cafe
The Hagia Sofia (definitely on my list!)
Denizler Kitabevi - antiquities shop
Topkapi Palace
The House Cafe



Then it was photographer Jessica Claire.

 

at the spice market

  

all those beautiful lanterns!

  

(jessica claire photography)

Then a dear friend of mine spent 6 weeks in Turkey that summer. She visited Ephesus, walked the roads that Paul walked, and saw ruins that remain virtually the same as biblical times. 

Istanbul seems to be absolutely overflowing in rich culture. It's on the list.

l'amour

This commercial makes me so happy.
Google was smart in planning their super bowl ad (although I've seen it before that online). Instead of going for the comedy route (and the misogynistic route-which most of the ads seemed to go this year...), they decided to pull at our heartstrings.

mmm paris...love...chocolate...

Deco-dence

This video is amazing!
Footage of the SS Normandie, a grand passenger ship, from 1938. I personally have never seen video of people just doing their thing in the 1930s, only hollywood films. Although the music is a little on the creepy side, the ship looks beautiful, and I miss the days where everyone was so glamorous all the time.

The ship's maiden voyage in 1935 included Ernest Hemingway, Marlene Dietrich, Salvador Dali and Grace Kelly! Can you imagine? I'm pulling the time travel card. Count me in.






The SS Normandie is being featured at an exhibit in New York for the next year, at the South Street Seaport Museum. The exhibit is called DECODENCE and will feature works by the various artists who contributed to the gorgeous design of the ship's interior.

discovered via Hollister Hovey.

gold medal

Alright. I'm going to eat my words. I'm watching the Olympic opening ceremonies right now and I'm hooked. The winter olympics are definitely my cup of tea. Coldness, snow, beautiful landscapes in Vancouver. I'm still not convinced about the summer olympics but that may change due to the overflow of London images that will come my way in 2 years.

But even more than the olympics. I need some canada in my life. Specifically Vancouver. I just heard that there are more people living in California than all of Canada combined...count me in!!! I've got a serious obsession with Canada going on. A friend of mine has been spending a lot of time researching a particularly pessimistic viewpoint of the economic crisis in the USA...and keeps concluding that canada is the place to be. Alright, if you say so.

p.s. Arnold Schwarzenegger carrying the Olympic torch? silly. He had a giant smile plastered on his face.
Can I carry that thing? What are the qualifications? How heavy is it?

Uni

oh my goodness you guys!
I've discovered the most amazing thing ever (well at least it is to me)...

My major in college has been on the intensive side. My curriculum was pretty much decided from my very first quarter. Out of my 18 required general ed classes, I got to choose 6 of them (3 philosophy, UK film studies, creative writing, and history of jazz music). That's only 24 units of free choice out of the roughly 220 units I will have completed when I graduate in June.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't hated all my classes (...maybe a few...). I wouldn't be spending the time to pursue engineering if it didn't fascinate and challenge me. Though one of my required classes that I took winter of my junior year (environmental policy) inspired me to no end. If I had discovered it earlier, I honestly may have changed my whole major. It was also too late to start a minor, so I had to find ways to learn on my own. I'm currently taking a sustainability class for my own satisfaction and will take the 2nd part next quarter. I've been seeking out university extension/online programs for a certificate.

Okay sorry for the long intro, here's the point. I remembered hearing about "iTunesU". Where some universities upload lectures onto iTunes for students to access free. It would be a great way to learn more on my own right? And then...then I realized that Cambridge University uses it. Oh happy day! They have VIDEO! and british lecturers. I immediately began downloading as many as I could. Even their Admissions video for prospective students. Anything to immerse myself in Cambridge and pretend I'm there. So glorious. So since my bank account remains a sad state of affairs, I can download iTunesU lectures and whisk myself away to foreign locales.

new york, i love you

I saw New York, I Love You back in november and still can't get over it. It was another one of those films that hit my core. I need to find a better word than inspiring, perhaps invigorating. I actually wrote down my thoughts after seeing it. It was a jumbled up mess but I'll try to convey the jist of it. The human interaction was so raw, so real. I didn't even realize until much later that it was technically a collection of love stories. It felt so much more fundamental and intimate to be pigeon-holed into a romance genre. It was also just simply beautiful to look at. Some scenes were funny, others completely heart-wrenching, some shocking and some intriguing. One scene in particular stuck out the most, I won't give it away because the reveal of the actor was a delightful surprise. But it involves a man playing a young russian immigrant, I got so sucked into that scene and was distressed that it ended so soon.

And of course in relevance to this blog, it further deepened my desire to explore New York City and all it's facets. All the neighborhoods, the public transportation, the urban lifestyle. The directors, and even most of the actors really had a chance to show the world why they love the city so much.

"New York, I Love You" was the second film in (hopefully a long) series of films featuring one particular city. "Paris, Je'Taime" was the first. If you were expecting the same style, you'll be caught off guard. It was definitely different. If you haven't seen "Paris Je'Taime", it was essentially a mash up of a bunch of different short films by different directors that all took place in Paris. New York felt more in the style of Crash where it is one film covering a couple consecutive days during a set time period. There are separate scenes with their own characters that are focused on, and each scene was directed by a different person. But these storylines occasionally overlap and characters from different scenes meet. Also kind of like "he's just not that into you".

"Shanghai, I love you" is next. Maybe London will follow??

cream of the crop

My cousin posted a link to Forbe's most beautiful cities in the world. They admitted that beauty is subjective and so took a perspective that was really interesting to me, in that it directly correlated to my own career path. Forbes asked "city specialists from a range of fields, including urban planning, architecture and sustainable development." People who really understand how cities are pieced together and surrounding buildings interact.

The list:
Cambridge, England
Tokyo, Japan
Vancouver, Canada
Sydney, Australia
Florence, Italy
Venice, Italy
Cape Town, South Africa
London, England
San Francisco, CA
Chicago, IL
New York City, NY

I've been to six of the cities, and posted about seven of them. I must be on the right track!

surprise!

Little gems like this are what make visiting new cities and/or new cultures so fun.

There's a little cafe in Kashiwa, Japan called Ogori. You order and pay at the counter and then go sit down. Only you don't receive what you ordered. You get what the person before you ordered. And your food goes to the person after you. Definitely a surprise for first-timers. If you're in on the deal, you can choose to be nice and generous or order something crazy for the person after you. Sometimes you may order a big meal, but the person before you only ordered a beverage.

Leave your expectations at the door and have some fun while you wait for your mystery meal!

perfection

i'm dying:

via leeselooks 

Vancouver. I need you in my life*, stat!

Okay 2010 Olympics, while I respect all that you're about, I normally don't watch you and I'm (ashamed to admit) a little bitter about the way you screw up regularly programmed television. But I think I wholly forgive you this year for allowing me a peek into this gorge city. (and you're even more on the up and up in my book: summer 2012? LONDON!)

*honeymoon status perhaps???

bloody brilliant

just in case you need a refresher:

via things of interest

and as if the tube wasn't already the coolest thing ever, someone turned the stops into a musical journey. I'm in!

 

click to enlarge

glorious debris

"Every one of us is called upon, probably many times, to start a new life. A frightening diagnosis, a marriage, a move, the loss of a job... And onward full tilt we go, pitched and wrecked and absurdly resolute, driven in spite of everything to make good on a new shore. To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another - that is surely the basic instinct... Crying out: High tide! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time to take this life for what it is."

- Barbara Kingsolver, High Tide in Tucson

I love this quote. It feels so relevant at this point in my life. and even moreso for some dear friends.

While I'm stuck here in suburban orange county for a few more months, two of my friends are embarking on new journeys on different continents. Both following a calling/desire/urge to go to another country and serve other people. To make a difference.

Yvette graduated with a degree in neuro...biology (i think...girl is SMART!) in december. Then promptly left for Uganda for about 6 months. She is living in Gulu and pretty much doing whatever is needed of her. Visiting prisons, churches, trauma centers, bible studies. Immersing herself in the culture. She's amazing. For updates visit her blog, she updates at least once a week.

And then there's Pam. I've known Pam basically since I started college, 4 years. It's been amazing to see how much she's grown and changed. and yesterday she left for Peru. About a year ago the idea of visiting Peru came to her out of nowhere. And from then on there were crazy signs everywhere. So she went for a couple weeks last summer with our church and she fell in love. She hardly speaks any spanish but she decided that this was where she's supposed to be. So she signed up for a 6 month program that would involve first learning/language/training and then she would be sent out all over Peru and other South American countries to teach and lead bible studies in the communities. Her ability to trust that vision, obey, quit her job and leave for a foreign country is truly admirable. She'll be updating a blog as well, and I can't wait for the stories she'll be a part of. The only question now is if she'll ever come back!

So ladies, time to move out into the glorious debris!

raindrops keep falling on my head

Orange County had a solid week of rain recently. and it was glorious. I think it rained more in that week than it has in the entire past four years that I've lived here. People were freaking out but I loved it.

I'm craving some Seattle action. Some Pacific Northwest generally. I think I was made to live there. Maybe I should have gone to college there or something. I've only visited briefly, four and half years ago. Flew into the airport, drove through downtown in a 12 passenger van.

We spent a night in Anacortes, went on a hike, it was ridiculously gorgeous.

 

that's me 2nd from the left !

  

  

  

 

sorry for the poor quality, stay tuned and you'll find out why these were taken with a disposable waterproof camera.

We then traveled on north to our destination in british columbia (more on that fantastic trip later).

I fell in love with this region, I need to spend more time there. Seattle I must officially meet you!

patisserie

So here's a long overdue addition to my coffee shop series.
Champagne French Bakery and Cafe.
I discovered this little gem in newport this morning after dropping off some homework at school and seeking a quiet place to read. Just two doors down from Starbucks, the poor place was virtually empty, though infinitely better.

I've been obsessed with finding the perfect pain du chocolat, thanks to experience parisienne. So I ordered that delicious flaky croissant filled with belgian dark chocolate along with a cup of peppermint tea. I should have asked for it to be warmed up, but it was still wonderful, and I was pleasantly surprised by their $1.99 combo: a croissant and tea/coffee! Purely by coincidence!

The shop had a big glass case filled with their pastries and treats, a wall full of mirrors and a sandwich menu that I'm dying to go back and try.

It appears they've got locations all over coastal southern california (including TWO at south coast plaza alone!), plus marin county!

Next time I promise I'll take pictures!

coast to coast

i've stumbled upon the most brilliant vacation ever. England's "Coast to Coast Walking Holiday". It's a 190 mile,  15 day trek through Northern England. You stay in Inns/B&Bs at night and breakfasts are included. Lunch and dinner are purchased on the way at the accomodations or pubs. They transport your luggage for you so you can enjoy leisurely walks through terrain varying from the countryside to mountainous trails. How glorious!

 

  

  

  

(his flickr found via here)