About base layers

Ben is going on a hiking trip to Mount Kilimanjaro at the end of July. We were discussing about the gear he needed for the trip and we got to the subject of base layers.
Matt: So you bought your base layers yet?
Ben: Yeah, I spent over $100 on them, they are super comfortable and warm. Some sort of high tech wool.
Matt: Meh... Base layer are just expensive underwear. They just call them base layer so they can charge you that much for them.
me: So... Victoria Secret sells base layers then? Their under wear are really overpriced.
Matt and Ben: ...

Thoughts about photography

So Ben bought a digital SLR today, and this made me think about getting one myself. I have long been thinking of getting a nice SLR to play with. Unfortunately, lack of money, time and patience to do the research and plenty of other stupid excuses stop me from getting one.

Kuo takes amazing pictures with his old school film SLR. Check it out here.
This brought to mind one of the biggest debate I had, to get a digital SLR or an analog one. Of course people argue about quality of digital SLR, I think that we are getting closer and closer to film SLR quality. I give it a few more years, until we can get the same resolution. :) But that is not my main concern.

The one good thing about digital photography is you don't have to worry about wasting film, so you can take a million bad pictures for one good picture. The bad thing about digital photography is you don't have to worry about wasting film. When shooting with film SLR, I think I would be a lot more careful before going trigger happy and would spend more time worrying about lighting, composition, and what have you. Film is expensive after all. :)

Cute quotes from Honest Tea~

You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.

- Michael Pritchard

It's possible to own too much. A man with one watch knows what time it is, while a man with two watches is never quite sure.

- Lee Segall

Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Sierra at Tahoe

Went to Sierra for a day trip with Ben, Flo, and Alan. Lots of fun. 8 hours round trip driving. 8 hours of boarding. Not bad~ I like Sierra better than NorthStar. :) Unfortunately it is a small mountain so it is fairly crowded, especially in the lifts for Tahoe King and Grandview Express.
West Bowl is my favorite place in Sierra. The wait is shorter and the runs more tailored to my level.

Hard Blue:
- Powderhorn (Upper + lower)
- DogWood

Fun Blue:
- Beaver (My favorite so far)
- Pyramid (Real fun if you can survive Powderhorn x_X)

Ok Blue:
- Marmot (I am sure this one is a real cool one if I didn't face plant on it)

Ok Green:
- Corckscrew (Twisties~ Need I say more? The only reason why I wouldn't go back to this one is that it there are way too many people on it, and I almost got run into a couple of times)

For the price and location I would definitely go back to this mountain again. :D
Can't wait to be better so I can tackle Powderhorn and Dogwood without braking so much. :X need to find my balance and be more fearless.

Other notes, tried the deluxe breakfast at McDees for the first time. Pretty good. :) Also, tried the double double for dinner. A double double is a cheeseburger with an extra patty. So worth it. (since it is the same price as the cheeseburger).

Other random cool things I learned today:
- Face planting with braces hurt more than usual. I cut my lips when I face planted in Marmot. Maybe this is why I am not stoked about that run as Ben. I was so relieved that I didn't lose any brackets. ;)
- A kids meal is so much more worth it than a hot dog combo for lunch
- Instant ramen as a snack is awesome. I am so bringing this in my future trips, especially since people at the lodge are pretty cool at providing hot water. Miam. :)
I felt like such a fob tho, eating instant ramen in the middle of the slopes. Hahaha
- Walkie talkies are damn useful to find people on the slopes, need to get one for future trips. Srpint sucks, since I get no reception in the mountain at all... nada...silch... If I had broken a leg somewhere, I would have been helpless. :x
- A McDee's cheeseburger has 300 calories 110 from fat. eeps. XD I had 3 of these... =.='
- A McMuffin has 300 calories 200 from fat. XD I dare not find out how many calories my deluxe breakfast had, with all those pancakes (or hot cakes as they are called) with the hashbrowns and crumpet. XD
- The 5 hour energy drink is actually pretty good. Tasted like concentrated Red Bull. Kept Ben and me awake after we drank it, but ended up with a headache after a few hours. Good thing I had some advils handy.
- Snowboarding with a camelback rocks! :) Get to drink and not slowdown. Carry snacks and other goodies. Give me better balance carving down the slopes... or so I think. Heh.

Can't chew stuff... :(

Decided to get braces this year. Partly, because my sister recommended that I do so. Partly because my current dental insurance is pretty good. So I started on Friday 13th, 2009. They put in eight spacers around my 2nd molars. Now I can't really chew anything hard. :( So I ended up eating ramen and instant noodles. I wonder if braces are gonna hurt even more. Oh boy... what did I get myself into.

春雨里洗過的太陽 - 王力宏

分開之后另一年的春天
記憶也像下雪一樣溶解
那些有你在身邊的影片
呼的一聲飛得老遠老遠

愛在夏天過完之后鎖在秋天
捱過冬天之后的我好了一些
雨后的天上 彩虹出現
撐出一片藍天

我在淋過一場大雨之后的晴朗
那是春雨里洗過的太陽
每個冬季帶來失落 傷得多深
然后忽然看懂云的形狀

If you listen to the rhythm of the pouring rain
那是春雨里洗過的太陽
每個冬季帶來失落 傷得多深
每個呼吸都是新的芬芳

（repeat）

流下的眼淚 留下了智慧
愛情會天亮也一定會黑
世界會等我 它問我冬天過去沒
我在淋過一場大雨之后的晴朗

那是春雨里洗過的太陽
每個冬季帶來失落 傷得多深
然后忽然看懂雨的形狀

If you listen to the rhythm of the pouring rain
那是春雨里洗過的太陽
每個冬季帶著失落 傷得多深
每個呼吸都是新的芬芳
春雨里洗過的太陽

25 Things About Me

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose at least 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

Another form of chain mail, but hey I am bored so why not. :P

25. I speak French, Spanish, English, Mandarin fluently. I can manage Taiwanese and I am totally hopeless when it comes to my German and Japanese.
24. I love ramen. If I were to chose one dish to last me the rest of my life that would be it.
23. I like sweet things, and got the cavities to prove it. Bubble tea, candy are my kryptonite.
22. I love books. I love reading fiction and mangas.
21. I listen to Chinese songs that are cheesy,;so cheesy that they are embarrassing even to my closest friends.
20. I want to sky dive, except it is too damn expensive and I am too chicken. :P
19. I can't dance to save my life, but love to bop my head to the rhythm anyways.
18. I do a major move (city/continent) every 7 years (on average).
17. I love playing computer games.
16. I wanted to grow up and be an artist. :P
15. Friends are really important to me.
14. The opinion and suggestions from my family matter to me.
13. I wished I could travel for a living and visit fun places.
12. I want to have lots of gadgets, but can't justify buying them.
11. I want to have a garage in my future house so I can have a workshop.
10. I like dark chocolate more than milk chocolate. I absolutely hate white chocolate.
09. I love rain and the smell of it.
08. I want to be able to snowboard and surf all I want without worries.
07. I miss my motorcycle, I need to ride it more often.
06. I dislike dusty places.
05. I am allergic to cats, but I love to play with them.
04. I like cooking things once in a while
03. I am addicted to web comics.
02. I am a Virgo.
01. I love Sarah. <3