Of Monsters and Men, Philly

I went home for the weekend and was just in time for a free summer block concert by 104.5 featuring...

 Of Monsters and Men!! 

They were amazing.

It was raining at one point and we were all wet but it was still an awesome experience.

Some people watched from their fancy condo balconies. So jealous!

Trying to get a peek from past an umbrella. Later, someone was cool enough to take down the umbrella so the rest of us had a better view.

Many fans took the opportunity to surf some crowds.

In their breezy Icelandic glory:

Dirty Paws (all credit to OMAM and 104.5):

Another Summer Poem.

Feathers

I’m afraid to let go of my feathers.

If I lose them, you’ll see right through me

and I won’t be able to escape and fly away.

bare and exposed and grounded.

Cirque Du Soleil

Awesomeness. 

Seriously, we are given the same bodies as these crazy people at Cirque Du Soleil but they do such amazing things with their bodies. 

They have absolute control. 

Their weapons for producing such awe from us are strength, flexibility, grace and poise. 

C'est magnifique!

Oh joy.

Spread a Little Joy. 

I found this tumblr today from the graphic artist Jonathan Mak and it made my day.
Here's my spin:

So I made it into a Get Well Soon card for my Dad who's still working in Ohio for the summer since he has a cold right now. Hopefully it cheers him up!

A Poem for the Summer.

Shatterproof

I’m young.

I can say what I want.

And be naïve.

And have a ball.

☆☆☆

Bellezza

Took a relaxing early morning trip to the North End today.

Someone had mentioned it during the week and I, being a sporadic wandering hobo at times, couldn't resist the opportunity to explore.

It's only my second time there (first time being yesterday), so I was being all Asian Touristy.

The MA State House. What do they do there anyways? 

The whole idea of state houses and city halls seem arcane to me.

I biked past Boston Commons and snapped a still of the fountain on the left.

All the condos by the docks had pretty little balconies - lovely!

A maze fountain by JFF Surface.

The Financial District peaks through the background.

The North End had these cute crowns and stars hanging across the streets. 

Reminded me a little of Le Petit Prince.

What does not belong with the others...? 

How do my people infiltrate the North End with one of their takeout restaurants? 

It's like on the corner of a block surrounded by Italians!

I guess Italians need their Chow Mein too...

Haha, I will be sure to go there someday. (This pub was near Beacon and Somerset.)

This house and the poles remind me a little of POTC.

A restaurant on the docks.

One of the private condos there was right on Battery Wharf and had this beautiful fountain positioned in line with the bay and sunrise. What money can buy.

Also near Battery Wharf.

Sitting on the dock by the bay...

Sitting by the wharfs = blissful thinking.

So glad I got out of bed for the soul-soothing trip.

This is now one of my favorite spots of all time.

Road Trip: Pause

Paht 1

We went on a road trip to Ohio to visit my dad's summer research stint at the Air Force Base. 

Western Pennsylvania has mountains, cornfields, farms, and ... grass. (Oxford comma.)

The rest stops were probably the most interesting parts of the drive. 

Just kidding, there were some awesome tunnels and the bridges next to Pittsburgh were beautiful. It was fun being weird and rambunctious and creating embarrassing moments with my siblings again.

Here's some randos taken on the daddy-o's DSLR:

in the middle of singing another ad lib song to entertain.

I hope those videos never get out into the public.

we got bored. i guess.

oh, sorry: Western PA has trees too. my bad.

 my brother has huge ears. gosh.

Hope you have at least one dysfunctional road trip this summer too :)

It's good for the soul.

Big Window, Big View

the power of windows.

all from A D

A Tribeca penthouse by Lee F. Mindel and Peter L. Shelton

found in Live Your Style blog

I know having too many windows in your house just makes it a huge greenhouse and it becomes hot as hell. But can you blame me if I blast my A/C to accommodate these beauties?
My guilt just lifts away.

Goals: A Process

An earring from an earring pair I made as part of my Metals course senior year of high school.

Probably one of my proudest achievements -- it makes me so happy :)

On another note: today was my first day in the lab, and it was very exciting.

 I may not be grad student material, but I can see the appeal in losing yourself and time to your lab work because there's many enjoyable aspects. 

This is obviously all from my naive prospective, but what's so wrong with that?