My Bridal Party

I've been exploring the creative side of me for the last little while. With the wedding approaching in about a month, my mind's been pretty occupied in that area. Here is some of my work.

Bridal Party: Take One

Bridal Party: Take Two
36 more days and counting! :)

Why you should think before you drink

No, I'm not talking about alcohol, but rather the highly caffeinated drink otherwise known as coffee. Obviously not thinking straight, I found myself at a Tim Horton's drive through ordering an iced cappicuno at 7:30pm while the outside temperature is 3 degrees Celsius. Sigh, I can't even begin to logically reason myself out of that one.
So here I am, suffering yet again (yes, this has happened before) due to my carelessness. Only this time, no deep thoughts. No flash backs down memory lane, only mindless DS playing of Mario Kart and Big Brain Academy......come on B+!!

Stamps pictures on the Camera Store Blog

Camera Store Blog - Stamps Contest Winner Sarah Ho

West Coast Trail

West Coast Trail Journal
August 16 to August 22, 2007
Allan, Dan, Sarah, and Clarissa

Pre West Coast Trail
o o Took 10 hours to drive
o May speed by Allan: 147 km/h caught by GPS
o Dan and Clarissa slept a total of 6 hours combined over two days
o Sarah got GPS which was super useful
o Filled up gas twice, Revelstoke & Victoria
o Got chowder & soup on ferry
o Went to Wal-Mart and bought a lot of stuff (flavour water, rope, etc.)
o Wal-Mart was green and had deceiving front
o Went to Mayfield mall for dinner and had Japanese food
o Packed our bags in parking lot changed clothes in food court, and filled up all our water bottles.
o Went to only shell gas station cuz we thought Allan had air miles. He didn’t.

Day 1 – August 16
•· Woke up at 7am, then it started raining
· We left before they went around to charging camp fees.
· Parked at Stan & Judy Medd for $28 dollars/7 days
· Took shuttle bus. Allan quotes, “Drove crazy fast and I almost threw up”
· Went to orientation, which turned out to be the same place we camped the night before. Allan, Clarissa, and Sarah (x 3) tried to poo, but couldn’t. Dan pooed.
· Weighed our packs on a fish scale
o Allan: 44lbs
o Dan: 45 lbs
o Sarah: 41 lbs
o Clarissa: 38 lbs
o Random guy: 65 lbs
· Hike: Gordon River Trailhead (75km) to Thrasher Cove (70km)
· Up and down with lots of roots, muddy, and started raining half way through
· Clarissa acquired a stick from a guy almost finishing. The stick was all the way from Bamfield.
o She found another one later, but then threw it away and regretted it. So she found yet another one later
· Sarah quotes, “Super hard, I thought I was going to die”
· Clarissa wore a tank top and got extreme chaffing and blisters on her back
· A guy from the hike couldn’t find his glasses but it was on his head
· Sarah walked across the first log really slow because she was scared and her backpack wasn’t strapped on properly
· Sarah fell and slid on her bum and got her pants dirty with mud. This was the beginning of her super dirty mud pants for the next seven days
· Arrived at Thrasher cove after 4-5 hours or hiking
· Found a campsite secluded underneath the trees
· We had a “cute” fire that wouldn’t start up, so a guy offered us fire starter, matches, and wood, because we only had enough matches to make our dinners
· The dad, son, and son’s BF gave Clarissa a pink lighter, because they didn’t like pink
· Later, we offered our campfire to a couple who couldn’t start their own fire
· We put our packs far away from our camps, because we were paranoid of bears. That night it rained and Sarah’s pack got wet.
· Clarissa thought the boys were bears because they were scratching and moaning.
· We had macaroni and cheese.
· Dan and Clarissa hate cheese.

Day 2 – August 17
• Hike: Thrasher Cove (70km) to Camper Bay (62km)
• Woke up late (at 7am) because we wanted to make the tides
• Left campsite at 8:30am. We must make Owen’s point at 10am, but we got there at 10:30am, which freaked out Clarissa
o Owen’s Point: Beach Access to Owen’s Point where tides are below 6ft/1.8m is required. Difficult route, many boulders.
• They were very big boulders, very slippery from last night’s rain, and difficult to climb
• Allan almost died. He slipped on a log 10 feet above the ground with sharp boulders below and turtle. But he used his abs and saved himself.
• In that process he bent his poles and he wasn’t very happy
• Then it started raining
• Conclusion to whether the barnacles on the rocks are sharp: YES
• Fall record:
o Clarissa: A lot and hard
o Dan: twice
o Allan: fell once hard and slipped three times
o Sarah: fell twice
• After Owens’ point we climbed a shelf “and it looked like dinosaur land” –Allan
• Clarissa: “And there’s surge channels which were very scary”
• Then we had board walks for a long time, which was much easier than beach. But they were muddy
• Ate lunch under a tree that had three benches. Lunch was pita and cheese. Again, Dan and Clarissa hate cheese.
• First cable car near Camper’s Creek. We climbed on and a guy helped us by shoving us across the creek
• Arrived at Camper’s Bay in one piece
• Spotted Solo Man for the first time
• During dinner, Sarah found a total of three bugs in her food (Salmon pasta). Dan ate them.
• Clarissa, Allan & Sarah didn’t sleep well
• Dan peed 20 m from the tent. He turned off his head lamp and peed in the middle of the night.

Day Three – August 18
• Hike: Camper’s Bay (62km) to Walbran Creek (53km)
• Creeks passed: Sandstone, Cullite (cable car) Logan, and Adrenaline Creek.
• Woke up at 7am
• Continue hike in the forest
• Even muddier than before, because it rained yet again that night
• Saw Clarissa’s university friends
• Had crazy insane ladders today
o 3 sets of ladders: 250 down or 214 steps (which was the biggest ever)
o At the bottom of the ladder there was a one man suspension bridge. It is so narrow that you can’t even turn around with backpacks on. (Super duper cool)
o Climbed up insane slippery slope afterward
o Dan’s shoes only got wet because he was sweating
o We were going to Logan creek but Clarissa whizzed us to Walbran 3 km away, passed the bog and all
o Arrived at camp ->so beautiful!
o We all took showers in the lake –WOOHOOO!! Good thing we did because right after a million seagulls landed and began taking showers and pooing in the lake.
o The shower felt so good that Sarah found a brand new washroom and pooed.
• Started own fire today without fire starter. Yay, go Dan.

Day 4 – August 19
• Hike: Walbran Creek (53km) to Cribbs Creek (41.5km)
• Creeks crossed: Kulaht Creek, Bonilla Creek, Carmanah Creek (cable car), and Coal Creek
• We first had to cross Walbran Creek with Sandals
• Sarah –“Stupid beach”
o Sarah cheated by walking on water
o (She had full waterproof shoes and would rather walk on slippery rocks)
o Saw two cute little fawns. They were cute until they started “playing mommy and daddy”
• Had good weather for today (this one and only day)
• Cable car across Carmanah Creek was super long and tiring
• Finally arrived at Chez Moniques
o Allan: Burger, beer, chocolate muffin (which Dan totally envied), snickers
o Dan: Chocolate bar and coke
o Clarissa: 2 apples
o Sarah: ½ burger, apple, blueberry muffin, chocolate bar
• Allan felt sick afterwards, and Sarah’s burp smelled like burgers
• Soloman (real name is Christian) drank six beers by the time we left
• Visited Carmanah lighthouse
• No one fell today and arrived at Cribbs Creek to beautiful sunshine
• Dried all our clothes
• Decided to sleep at 8:30pm because we wanted to beat soloman (currently at Dare Point (39km) to Nitinat Narrows

Day 5 – August 20
• Hike: Cribbs Creek (41.5km) to Tsusiat Falls (25km)
• Crazy longest day 16.5km and it took us a total of 7.5 hours
• Woke up at 5am but it was too dark so we woke up again at 5:30am
• Wrote “Asians 40 minutes” on sand for Soloman to read
• Eventually they caught up to us, but in the end, they only beat us by five minutes
• It was a super muddy day. Dan’s shoes got wet
• Had fresh Salmon for $20 at Nitinat Narrows. But well spent. Too bad they ran out of crab
• Allan had to poo right aftwards and used to trowel even though he was only 50m from the outhouse
• We were very tired. Sarah and Clarissa almost collapsed.
• Beach was hard to walk on, because the sand is the soft fine sand
• Were very close to not making the tides near that hole at Tsusiat Point
• Arrived at Falls only to find a MILLION (not joking) birds flying around the beach and bathing in the falls.
• Saw naked German people
• Had really yummy rice today
• Dan built a gigantic fire. One log being burned had all these bugs in it.
• We were out by 7pm
• Water filter had some issues

Day 6 – August 21
• Hike: Tsusiat Falls (25km) to Michigan Creek (12 km)
• Woke up at 6pm
• Rainy yet again. There hasn’t been a night where it hasn’t rained. Took two hours to get ready because we were all so exhausted.
• Started the day with a huge set of stairs up from the Falls
• Allan has a total of 227 bug bites on his legs
• Waded 2 creeks
o Dan finally got wet inches from camp. He was not happy
• Dan built a fire. It was cute but burned a hole in his shirt
• We had tuna pita for lunch. It was AMAZING!
• Sarah slipped on a rock
• Clarissa slipped in mud
• Saw the Valencia bluffs where 129 people died from Shipwreck in the early 1900’s
• Saw naked German...again (actually a different one)
• Arrived at Michigan Creek at 2pm
• We were so tired we all took naps on the beach. Good thing it was sunny today.
• I woke up and found crazy sandal tans on my feet. Allan says they look like band aids.
• Boys, “Saw little German boy pee”
• Ate dinner at 4:30pm. Yummy curry Couscous
• Took cool silhouette pictures on beach
• Sarah finished all her snacks
• Dan showered. He doesn’t smell bad anymore
• Daniel fixed the water filter, so it doesn’t take 5min to pump one 2 L bottle
• Anticipating lots of boardwalk for tomorrow  Looking forward to the 3 m trails
• Talked about what were going to eat the next night for like...1 whole hour
• Last day at camp! And it didn’t rain for the first time at night
• What we would have brought
o Clarissa: poles, sleeveless shirt
o Stuff to keep the fleas away
o Gloves
• Things we forgot to mention
o Met hardcore photographer
o He had a measuring tape and helped Us off the cable car
o It was his 12th time on the WCT and he used over 10 cameras
o His book will release at the end of next year
o His name is Pabel
• What we are craving:
o Allan : wonton mein, ice cream, and fries
o Dan: plain ruffles chips and pop
o Clarissa: fresh fruit and wonton
o Sarah: chips and gelato

Day 7: Michigan creek (12km) to Pachena Bay (0km)
o Hiking time; 7:30 am – 11:15 am
o Breakfast: granola cereal
o Lunch: tuna pita
o Some parts were muddier than we expected
o We walked crazy paced: 3km/hr
o Saw guardians again from yesterday
o Heard sea lions while on trail
o We made it 2nd, after Solomon
o Bus didn’t arrive until 1 pm, and drove us into Bamfield our original bus broke, so we shared the other people bus.
o Arrived at Bamfield at 5 pm
o Photographer guy hiked 9 km/ hr
o Ride was super bumpy. Clarissa got car sick
o Mont back, had Ruffles chips, lays BBQ chips and rice crackers
o Stayed at traveller’s inn
o Saw a bear on the way home to Port Renfrew
o Tried Priceline but it didn’t work.

Sideline photographer for the Stamps Labour Day Game!!

I just happened to be at the Camera Store the other day, and there was a contest to win a chance to shoot the traditional Labour Day football game Calgary Stampeders VS Edmonton Eskimos. I entered my draw, not thinking much about it, cuz there was quite a few other ballets in the box. Plus, I never really win anything anyway.


Yesterday, I get a call from the owner of the camera store, and he told me that I won contest for the game! I even get to practice with the super crazy equipment for a few days prior to the game! I picked up the equipment today, which almost weighed as much as my backpack during West Coast Trail (blog about that later), and took super random/spy shots with the 300/2.8! Here are some of the pictures...they are basically unedited!


See ya'll at the game!

Pictures from the game

KAIO photography

So, I've finally mustered up the courage (and pictures) to launch my photography business, KAIO photography. Inspired by an AWESOME downtown cafe in Perth, Australia, I decided to choose KAIO as the name of my company. KAIO means light, or to burn in Hebrew. With permission from the cafe, I'm proud to introduce to you,

KAIO photography

I pray that this business will be a light in the darkness, to shine and to bring glory to God, my inspiration and friend. Light is required for any type of photography, and I want to capture moments of life that reflect the beauty of God's creation. So this is it. I'm at a point where I'm stepping onto water, pushing away all fear as I chase after a passion that God has placed in my heart for the last couple of years. Yet I'm so excited to see how God will lead me in this next adventure. :)

I'm currently still working on the logo, so check the blog from time to time. Please do comment on the pictures if you can, because I can always use some feedback! Thanks everyone!

Semi-annual update time

OK. People have been complaining because I don't update my blog.

FACT:
-I'm doing the WEST COAST TRAIL this August!
-My wedding website is up!
-Heard about scary person who have been stalking the Calgary Chinese churches through facebook (don't add people you don't know..especially people with the initials J.L.)
-I am currently frantically trying to finish my online courses, which are due in less than a week
-I'm attending 11 weddings this year, and skipping out on 2
-I just finished a half marathon!! Full marathon next year, baby!!
-I just quit one of my jobs.
-I had black licorice ice cream at Lics.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya

And the winner is.....

Which Resort?!?!

Life as an engaged couple is really exciting and special. It opens up a whole new variety of conversations, such as marriage counseling, marriage date, invitations, locations, banquets, housing, cars, jobs, and much more. What used to be happy wishing suddenly becomes upcoming reality. WOW! Sometimes I look at my ring and still can’t believe I’m engaged!

Wedding plans. After months of looking at different resorts with extreme difficulty and careful selection, we finally narrowed our choices down to the following resorts. We’re hopping to have a January wedding, most likely Saturday January 5 – 12, 2008. What do you think of these resorts? Or do you have any preferences or good resorts that you’ve been to?? I’m sure your comments will help lots! Thanks!

Hotel Candidates (click on photo for more information):

1. Paradisus Río de Oro - Holguin, CUBA 2. Dreams Puerto Vallarta, MEXICO

3. Gran Bahia Principe JAMAICA

4. Grand Sirenis Rivera Maya, Akumal MEXICO
5. Iberostar Paraiso Lindo, Playa del Carmen, MEXICO

6. Iberostar Varadero, Sector Punta Hicacos, CUBA

Fairy tale comes true!

As some of you may have heard from the grapevine, I'd like to announce that Nate and I got engaged!!!

On the magical night of Feb 17, 2007, Nate took me to the restaurant of our first date, surprised me by decorating his house with pictures of everything we've done over the last two years, made a beautiful flower bed/walkway down one of his hallways, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!

Yup, I was in shock! I feel so blessed to be engaged to my bestest friend! :) More details to come...with wedding plans and all that jazz!

More engagement pictures are on my facebook account. Click on "Facebook Me" on the right panel to add me as a friend :)

Ola!!! From Aguascalientes, Mexico

Mexico. Before your mind instantly brings you to a location where sparkling blue waves wash upon warm sandy beaches, I’d like to remind you that central Mexico is a striking contrast. Different species of cactus, from the traditional looking ones displayed at taco bell to circular flat discs with spikes speckled the landscape. Cloudless sapphire skies stretch from horizon to horizon, like a gigantic canopy covering the earth. I would like to share about a trip 18 of us went to from Dec 26-Jan 5 with Samaritan’s Purse.

Our adventure began with an eight hour flight from Calgary, to Aguascalientes, Mexico. Needless to say, all 18 of us were ecstatic as we disembarked from the tiny 30 seater plane and took our first step onto Mexican soil. Upon arrival, however, we counted our luggage and realized that over half the bags were missing! The entire process of reporting these bags with our broken Spanish required more than ½ an hour before our coordinator Jeremy, a 28 year old Canadian and construction manager Dwayne came to pick us up. We loaded all our luggage, or what was left of it, onto one truck and climbed into the other. With such a fuss happening in the airport, we were looking forward to a safe trip from the airport to our living quarters, but we were wrong! Within 5 minutes of traveling, red and blue flashing lights appeared and the truck with all our luggage was signaled to a stop by none other than la policia! Fortunately, they were just curious as to where we were headed with so much luggage in a truck, and luckily, Jeremy knew Spanish! A few minutes later we were free to depart.

As a nutritionist, the first thing I noticed upon arrival was the food. Hot sauce and colorful chili peppers laced the edges of our every meal. Children eat anything from chips dipped in chili sauces, to chili sauce flavored candy! For a person who rarely eats spicy foods, I inevitably became the center of comic relief. As much as this may bring a smile to your face, I’d like to illustrate our team’s first experience at a taco restaurant. A restaurant by no means is one such as Red Lobster or Joey’s Tomato, but rather a spacious white tent with grills, tables, and chairs inside. As the odors of fresh meat invaded our senses, we knew this would turn out to be a wonderful experience. With the menus laid before us in Spanish, delicious pictures of fajitas, tacos, and burritos danced in our heads. We were all so happy to try authentic Mexican food, because taco time just isn’t the same. All was well until Jeremy translated the menu. *pause* All right guys, the first thing on the menu are tacos. You can choose to have different fillings in these tacos. The first one is brain, second, pig’s snout, and the third is eye. I wish you were there to see the expression of our faces! Luckily, there were some “normal” tacos, and I’m disappointed to say that none of us had the courage to try the unique selections.

More importantly, our team was not there to eat, but rather to help construct an orphanage, run medical clinics, and help in the existing orphanage. For ten days, two groups alternated between construction and medical clinics. Orphanage construction supplies and labor relies completely on donation and volunteer work. There are normally 5 young men who have dedicated their time and efforts to work long term at the construction site. I personally have never been on a construction site, much less worked in one! We used no machinery except a cement mixer, of whom we are all very grateful to have. Prior to going, I envisioned that the orphanage would just be a shack, randomly put together by different groups of people. Boy was I wrong. Dwayne, the construction manager showed us the architectural layout of the new orphanage. The plans include a 3 story boys dorm, a girls dorm, a kitchen, a chapel, and a court. So far, only the kitchen has been built. Over those ten days, we accomplished pouring the boy’s dorm’s foundation by mixing cement, carrying bricks, and shoveling dirt. At the end of each night, we would visit the existing orphanage called dulce refugio, which is a rented location, and play with each of the kids. At first, I had no idea how to interact with them, since I can only ask a kid how old they are so many times. However, these kids loved us as soon as they saw us soaked up every bit of love we gave them. It still breaks my heart knowing the background these kids came from. Some had violet, abusive parents, while some who’s parents deliberately abandoned them, and some who’s parents are deceased. I’m so grateful for the founders of this orphanage, Marcel and Golye, who sold their own house and everything they had to start up and pay rent for this orphanage. As we got to know the kids better, the contruction got a bit easier because we knew who we were doing this work for, and in the end, that this back-breaking, advil taking labourous work will make a difference.

Lastly, I believe one can learn a lesson with every trip they go on. A resounding theme crosses my mind each time I think of this trip. It is the word appreciation. First of all, an appreciation to construction workers: I can never look at another building without thinking of the amount of work put in it. Secondly, appreciation for basic luxuries, such as drinkable water, warm showers, and flushable toilets. And lastly, appreciation for people who have left the comforts of their own homes to give their lives and talents to a selfless dream: to offer orphans a refuge filled with love and acceptance. Unlike me, the labourous hard work doesn’t end after ten days. They are there for the long haul, and their joyous attitudes always seem to amaze me. To illustrate, at the end of the day, we’re all tired from construction work. You would expect to see the Dwayne exhausted and not wanting to do anything but rest. Instead, we find him at the orphanage, playing with the kids with a giant smile on his face. That to me, is dedication.

All in all, this trip has been an eye opener. I’ve taken home with me the culture, the experience of construction, as well as appreciation for long term workers. After hearing this story, if you are compelled to find out more information about this orphanage or ways you can help out, I’d be glad to share more with you. And guess what? I now eat spicy foods!

Weekly updates dwindle down to annual updates...

I am not surprise if no one ever comes to my blog due to my lack of publishings. Ah well. I'm not a writer anyway. The adventures of my life as of September....hmm...besides working, not much went on. Oh wait, that's a lie! Oct 2006 was my parent's 25th anniversary. While they were in HK, my brother and I conjured up a SURPRISE party with over 130 guests! Click on this blog for pictures and details: Parent's Anniversary Blog. Check out the extreme decorations on that cake!!!


Next memorable event was the Wong Fu tour at the UC. I don't think I've ever seen that many asians in my life! We were there 45 minutes early & won free pop. Whoo hoo. The movie (A moment with you) was ok, kind of slow, and I agree that I enjoy the music videos more.

Oh yah, and the answer to the previous post: Yes, that is the main street of Banff. I just learned how to put reflections so I basically took every picture I had and made a reflection! Tootles to you, Clarissa.