happy halloween

[see larger photo and poem on flickr]

halloween is always one of my favorite times of year...colorful trees, cool crisp nights, dancing leaves, warm sweaters, hot cider, pumpkins...and of course, lots of candy :)

i didn't get a chance to dress-up this weekend, but i definitely saw a lot of costumes downtown!  there were many jersey-shore characters, tiger woods [complete with mistresses on each arm], and then the tight, short, skin-revealing costumes that the undergrad girls bravely wear while shivering in the 40-degree temperatures.

i had fun listening to some bands on friday night and going to my brother's tailgate on saturday.  then penn state shocked us all with a 41-31 win over michigan!  so it was quite the fun-filled weekend and a much needed break from school work and grading midterms :)

hope you had a great halloween too!

my boots

being back on campus gives me a great, front-row seat for the "young" trendy runway of college fashion.  i've seen skinny jeans, leggings, converse sneakers, patterned hoodies, long necklaces, uggs, colorful nail polish...those crazy ray-ban wayfarer glasses in fluorescent colors [like these...yeah not my thing].

but one trend i really love are all of the great knee-high boots.  not the ones with the four inch-heels or super shiny fake leather [aka: the pretty-woman-ones that were in style in the '80's], but the really pretty suede or leather flat boots.  they are super cute!

so i decided to try out a pair and ordered some online [because the ones in the stores are made for girls who have calves the size of my finger].  i got a pair of faux black suede, and i love them!



and the best part [in the words of nancy sinatra...or jessica simpson], these boot really were made for walkin'!  they are so so so comfortable.

so just wanted to introduce you to my love of the week...my boots :)

falafel feast

a friend invited me over last night for a de-lish vegetarian feast of some middle eastern cuisine...

flavorful falafel with creamy tzatziki

cous cous with lemon, olive oil, fresh peppers, carrots, and parsley

soft pitas and fresh veggies with yummy hummus and amazing babganoush

...can you say yum?

it was a perfect mid-week break to talk about some of our favorite things: movies, food, travel, & photography

the heir to edison

last night a few of us went to see ray kurzweil speak.  i had never heard of him before my technology theory class, but this guy is fascinating...super smart and a bit crazy...the perfect combination for an IT mastermind!

kurzweil is most known for his inventions in the optical recognition field (technology's ability to read text and font), which include the first flatbed scanner and text-to-speech synthesizer [a major breakthrough for the technologies that aid the blind!].  he went even further in the 1980's and created a speech-to-text program that allows computers to transcribe the spoken word [incredible].

his father was a musican in vienna, austria before the family fled to america during WWII, so kurzweil talked about his appreciation for music.  this led to his invention of the piano synthesizer that can mimic the sound of a grand piano [think about the casio keyboards from our childhood...on crack].  but the interesting thing is that all of these technologies seem so common place because they have been around for awhile and we take them for granted.  but the initial conception and invention of them was considered insane, if not impossible, at the time that kurweil introduced them...which makes you wonder about the types of technologies that are in our near-future.  the ones that we all think are "crazy" but will soon become commonplace.

he talked about a lot of geeky-awesome things [which gets us technology students all excited] like moore's law, transhumanism, artifical technology, and nanotechnology [crazy, yet possible, ideas that make the movie, the matrix, look normal].  he is currently working on "reverse engineering the brain" [i kid you not] and believes in microscopic technologies that will be ingested into our bodies to help us regulate and heal our bodies leading to much longer lives, even immortality [yeah, this one takes a bit of time to wrap your head around].  he talks about the ability to download your brain...memories, thoughts, emotions...onto a computer by the year 2020.  no wonder he has been called "the rightful heir to thomas edison."

i couldn't take pictures inside and it was raining, so i just snapped this photo outside of the auditorim showing all of the students pouring into the building, excited for kurzweil's talk...i haven't been to a just-for-fun lecture in a long time, and it was so exciting to just listen and learn...especially to a technology legend.

building my timber

[see larger image on flickr]

"good timber does not grow with ease
the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees."
- j. willard marriott

so, the "winds" of this PhD program are pretty darn strong...gale-force, i would say.  but, in the spirit of this quote, i suppose it's making me "stronger" :)

inspirational signage

[see larger image on flickr]

now, this is one of the many reasons why i love penn state [i think i'm up to #439,827?].  while walking on campus i came across this enhanced stop sign.

it's a simple message:  don't stop believin'

it might just be a reference to the journey song...but given the number of undergrad spirit-groups on campus that day, i'm thinking it was also a tribute to THON...either way, i love it.

for those of you who aren't familiar with THON (short for the penn state dance marathon), it is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world that raises money every year for pediatric cancer through the four diamonds fund at penn state's children's hospital.  every february a few hundred brave students volunteer to "dance" for 48-hours straight.  it's an incredible event with dancing, bands, celebrity appearances, and, most importantly, the kids and their families.  the event is so moving and full of energy, love, and generosity.

so far, THON has raised over $69 million "for the kids" [incredible].  i used to raise money for the cause as an undergrad and have continued to donate as an alumni.  i'm excited to be back on campus and witnessing first hand all of the excitement and preparations for the 2011 event.

watch THON's "don't stop believing" sing-a-long here :)  if you're a penn stater, it'll bring back great memories!

autumn sunsets

[see larger image on flickr]

so, i'm at my desk finishing my assignment due tonight and i happened to glance out the window.  what a beeeeautiful treat to see the sun setting so perfectly in the clear, blue sky!  being in a photography mindset the past few months, my eye immediately spots a photo op [if you're a photog, then you know what i'm talking about...that uncontrollable tendency to frame everything as though it were through your viewfinder].

from my window, i have watched this gorgeous autumn tree turn from green, to hints of yellow, to its current vibrant reds and oranges.  and with tonight's sunset, the light just set the tree on fire against the sky.  so, unable to resist this photo op [and let's face it, i love a distraction from work], i grabbed my camera, ran outside, and snapped a few pictures of the tree.

so, voilà!  these are my favorite images of my pretty tree. these are both straight-out-of-camera [SOOC for my photogs ;)]...no color manipulations...so pretty, right? 

hope you see some beautiful autumn sunsets this year!

happy homecoming

this weekend was homecoming, and boy was the town crazy busy!  i took a little break from work to hang out with some friends :) definitely had some fun...

• watching the parade [while we waited in line for over an hour to get into cafe 210...crazy lines]
• reuniting with friends from undergrad
• dancing and singing to JR/james and spider kelly [so.much.fun]
• getting my picture with ian rosenberger [sort of a local celebrity...former psu student president and survivor palau contestant...& both of us have these awkward poses, which makes me love this pic even more]

although we had a great time, i can't seem to handle the late nights like i used to!  so i'm looking forward to getting some extra sleep tonight :)

mosaic nostalgia

over the weekend i was sitting at my desk doing some work when i heard a very familiar sound from my childhood...the sound of loud, rushing hot air at very close intervals.

i looked outside and couldn't believe it...a hot air balloon was literally RIGHT outside my window!  i waved to the people [not that they would ever see me inside my room] but more out of habit from when i was little.

back when we were kids and heard or saw a hot air balloon, we'd all rush outside to look in awe at the colorful facade, wondering who the people were and where they were heading [and if they were going to make it over our tall neighborhood trees!].  once a balloon landed in our neighborhood, another time the people came so low that they threw candy to us.  so i quickly grabbed my camera to capture the mosaic-patterned nostalgia of my childhood memories.

it must be some experience, to peacefully float above neighborhoods, towns, and cities.  to do nothing but look down at the miniature world below and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  i'll have to try it sometime...[and i will bring candy for those little kids who run outside and wave at me :)]

also, fun fact: did you know that wikipedia says that the hot air balloon was created on my birthday!  no wonder i love them so much :)

raindrops & polka dots

i'm all for rainy days.  when it's damp and cool outside, and i'm curled up and comfy under a soft blanket, watching a movie or reading a book, drinking a cup of warm tea.  love it.

rainy days when i have to be outside?  not liking that so much.  especially when my mode of transportation is my feet...my cold, wet feet.

but instead of getting all pessimistic about this perpetual rain, i thought i'd list the things i'm thankful for in this rainy weather:

• only two classes today within relatively short walking distance [1/2 mile one-way isn't so bad, right?]
• my mom's yummy homemade cauliflower soup [perfect way to warm me up!]
• anti-frizz serum that keeps my hair from looking ridiculous [seriously]
• the grass, flowers, and foliage are happy
• my pretty polka dot umbrella...it's cheerful AND keeps me dry :)

so over the next two days [which will be full of rain as well] i'll remember to be thankful for raindrops...and polka dots.

wishies

[see larger image on flickr]

i took this photo on my "take time for you" walk yesterday :)  i used my 55-200 lens for the first time and, let me tell you, that baby gets some serious depth of field.

when i was trying to search for a quote or song lyric to go with the photo for my flickr post, i couldn't find one that really fit.  these dandelion flowers, or "wishies" as we used to call them, reminded me of being little and believing with all my heart that if i blew off all of the petals while making a wish, that my wish would come true.

now, when i was little, i used to write a lot of poems...they were so silly, usually with lots of awkward, forced phrases so that the words rhymed [although i did have one poem actually get published!].  and thank gosh for my mom, with her patience and encouragement, always telling me how great they were.

so, in the spirit of my 8-year old self, i decided to just write my own poem [also considering that i was attempting to do anything BUT read research papers].  given that my poetry skills are still at that 3rd grade level [at best] this is what i came up with to try to capture that innocent and hopeful wishing on wishies memory...

oh, to be that young, little girl
with her sweet and cheerful allure.
in the grass, barefoot as she twirls,
wishful thoughts, so innocent and pure.

she plucks a dandelion flower,
blows the petals to the sky of blue.
she believes in its magical power
to make all of her wishes come true.

after taking its picture, i did pick the dandelion and blew off the petals with a wish in mind...and it made me smile when i realized that i still believe in the magical powers of wishies :)

to-do lists

if you know anything about me, it's that i'm obsessed with to-do lists.  at any given time, i have at least 5 to-do lists going.

...grocery shopping, school/work assignments, long-term goals, short-term goals, cleaning, extracurricular activities, workout schedules, christmas gift ideas, what music to download next, what tv and movies to watch....it's insanity [albeit, organized insanity].

lately, i've been overwhelmed with the amount of things i need to get done. so i decided to create a simple list of one item...an item which is not found on any of the other lists i have.

"take time for you"

...so, as i'm working on getting through my enormous to-do list for today, i'm going to do just that.  i'm going to go outside for a walk on this gorgeous day with my camera so that i can focus on getting only one thing done in the next hour:  enjoying the beautiful fall day.  taking time for me.  i suggest you try it too :)

slainte

after a jam-packed week of presentations and assignments, some of the ladies and i decided to head down to the new kildare's irish pub for a pint [or two].

we ventured out in the torrential down-pours...got a wee bit wet, but it was well worth it.

a delicious, creamy guinness.

yummy pub food.

therapeutic complaining about classes.

much needed laughs :)