Seoul in Pictures

Here it is, the photo review from Seoul! Some of the adventures Adam and I encountered:

-Food (food porn shots included below)
-Some creative bars (what can we say? Drinking is cheap in Korea)
-Hot chick on a movie poster rated R. We (OK, I) wanted to know what got the R rating..
-Actual tourism: the streets of Seoul, a prison built by invading Japanese, the Korean War memorial, the Coex Aquarium and the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art (very cool)
-Lots of Christmas scenery
-People! A miniature JA reunion in central Seoul. What a great network this is.
-Proof that Adam has been to karaoke
-Pro StarCraft: a short season finale from the Blizzard-sanctioned, SC2-running, Global Starcraft League (GSL)

Like the Tokyo shots, these photos were an experiment to see if I could live with just an iPhone 4 for travel photos. I’ d say it was workable. 

Enjoy!

Tokyo in Pictures

So, the main winter break vacation post will be from Seoul, but my partner in crime Adam and I swung through Tokyo on the way back home. We had the unique pleasure of spending a full two days with my former IR/PS classmate Kentaro, and reuniting with a collection of UT/JA peeps in Roppongi as well.

In this collection:
-Amazingly delicious sushi food porn
-Fall colors still visible in Ueno Park
-People!
-The shrines and Buddhas of Kamakura
-One Yokohama shot from an automotive tour

By the by, all shots were taken with an iPhone 4. For a phone camera, I’m pretty impressed.


Pics from both coasts

Here, have a few random shots from life lately. Included are:

 
-A trip to the beach in the new wheels
-A hike up a mountain on the edge of San Diego
-The nicest non-premium airport waiting area ever: shiny HDTVs and leather chairs!
-The High Line, a linear park in Chelsea
-My lovely cousin Kelly, who is positively tearing it up in the world of journalism. Apparently the NYT and WSJ have a little rivalry going, and Kelly keeps scoring points for her employer, the Journal.
-Some graffiti on the UCSD campus showing love to Nujabes. I approve.
-It's noisy, but a club in San Diego had a Daft Punk night. You can make out our DJs, wearing the outfits and everything. Good clean fun.
-What's more ridiculous than Rex Douglass wearing one pair of huge silly 3D glasses? Rex Douglass wearing two pairs.
 

Random pictures, Vol. 2

Some recent pictures of things I've come across:

Tencent, a huge Chinese portal, was at GDC a few weeks ago. They
apparently have a cowboy penguin mascot. Who knew?

In NYC, the cool new spot is the High Line, a derelict train line
running above Chelsea repurposed into a linear park. It's actually
pretty great - wonderful views, a good walk, and some great common
space design.

Last night, the undergrad Japanese associations at UCSD threw their
annual festival. For me, it was familiar territory and a very fun
visit back to my own undergrad days. The munchkin doing the ring toss
is the daughter of one of our Japanese government representatives (who
got rounds of applause from the assmbled undergrads watching the
ensuing cuteness of successfully tossing a ring) and the taiko
drumming group put on a great show with a little bit of American
showmanship and cute smiles. That, combined with $3 Japanese beer,
made for an outstanding night.

New wheels :D

Say hello to my fifth set of wheels and my very first independent
automotive purchase.

It's a brand new 2010 VW GTI. It's like a Golf but fast. It's a pretty
basic trim but still really well decked out. I'm loving the stereo
(even if the iPhone adapter is really buggy), the Bluetooth, and my
super-awesome flappy-paddle transmission.

The interior is really fantastic. Good build quality, smooth and quiet
ride, but not without a slight growl from the exhaust.

This car is totally me, and I'm psyched to have it. Ask me for a ride
so I have reason to drive it!