Plane.

Oh maybe, I'll build my house in your cloud
Here, I'm tumbling for you.
Stumbling through the work that I have done,
Don't mean to harm you.
By leaving your town again,
But I'm over the ground that you've been spinning,
But I'm up in the air, said baby hell yeah
Oh honey, I can see your house from here
If the plane goes down, damn
I'll remember where the love was found
If the plane goes down...

gosh, there's so much meaning in this song. well.. at least in the way that i see it, it does. anyways, explaining to you what i feel is the meaning of this song isn't my intended reason for posting. i was just sorting through my old files (yes, i have a lot of them.. and it's taking me years to go through them all, haha). and i came across videos taken quite a long time ago from a Jason Mraz concert i once went to. i didn't even know i had these, but ah! listening to them after looking at biochem just makes me so happy. especially these 2 songs - they actually remind me that everything's gonna be alright lol. so here it is, complete stress reliever for you all :).

i would totally upload more of the videos. but it's just taking too long :(.
ps. Jason Mraz is just completely amazing live. and hilariiiious haha.
pps. yes i know the filming sucks, but that's not the point!
ppps. that is totally not me screaming or.. laughing annoyingly :D.
pppps. i am definitely missing summer and.. anything but school now, lol.

I JUST WANT EXAMS TO BE OVER NOW :(

Around Queen's [2].

Life's full of ups and downs.
But ultimately, at the end of the day,
They're what make you who you are.
The world keeps moving,
And we keep moving along with it.
And everything we experience helps us realize
Just how beautiful life really is.

finally went phototripping around Queen's with a friend! i know, it's exam period and i should be studying. but my next exam isn't until the coming Thursday, and it's biochem at that - so there's not much to worry about if i give myself a little break :). anyways, here are some of my shots!

almost right when we got to campus though, the sun started to set. so, there wasn't much time to walk around and take pictures of the buildings on campus, since we rushed to the lake to take some sunset pictures, lol. i still think sunrise looks much better though, and today was quite cloudy, but hey, sunsets are still amazing no matter what :).




sadly, it got dark really fast - and i'm not that fond of taking pictures under low light, haha. although i finally tried using long exposure! it's not the greatest picture in the world (okay, not even close), but i am so proud that i finally did one, lol. and maybe it's just me, but i find it so exciting to see how they turn out haha.


now i am definitely going to use this technique like crazy in hong kong, especially since they have those super tall buildings overlooking everything :).



anyways, we decided to head on over to the library since.. well, it's quite hard to take pictures of buildings in the dark, haha. so stauffer it was! yes, my first time actually going into the library since.. i was a frosh :D. and they have the coolest things! shelves of books that can be moved just by turning a wheel, awesome old-looking microfilms.. and, of course, a bunch of students studying away quietly (too quiet, if you ask me).




and that's all for now! definitely need another photo hunt when snow finally decides to cover the ground, lol. and i definitely need to take more pictures of the outside of Queen's many buildings.. haha.

Split-Brain?

Whether one sees the world as God's creation
Or as a secular mystery that science is on the way to figuring out,
There's no denying
The beauty and majesty of everything.
There are no seven wonders in the eyes of a child,
There are seven million.

i know, i'm posting so many youtube videos these days and no pictures whatsoever :\ but i've been catching up on my psyc100 readings lately, and this chapter on Consciousness has really made me marvel at just how intricate and mysterious the human brain is. this guy, V. Ramachandran, is honestly so cool. like, i've actually begun to love reading my psyc textbook (well, at least this chapter) because of him, haha. he's a neuroscientist known for his studies on individuals with certain neurological syndromes, including the phantom limb and the one this video is on, split-brain.

split-brain describes someone whose corpus callosum is severed. this is a part of the brain that allows our two hemispheres to communicate with each other. in these patients, it's as if the left side of their brain thinks differently than the right side - which gives us some fascinating interpretations of consciousness. for instance, when you display an image (say, a triangle) on the right visual field of a split-brain patient, they'll be able to verbally tell you what they saw. but, if you display the same image to their left visual field, they'll say they see nothing - interestingly though, when their left hand is given a pencil, they're able to draw what they "didn't see" (the triangle).

amazing right? or maybe i'm just in a nerd state right now :) hehe.

Things You Never Knew.

A butterfly must blink its eyes a few times
Before mastering how to fly.
The night sky is sprinkled all over with stars,
But a few will fall to the ground...

so, my friend just showed this to me earlier today. and i'm absolutely in love with this song now! [yes, i had to search up the lyrics.. :) hehe]. ah, i feel so asian now, even though the only chinese songs i listen to are all from leehom, loll. well, at least i'm getting somewhat[?] more integrated into chinese culture before i go visit hong kong? :D.

of course, david choi and alex goot are still my favourite though, :)<3.

on a side note, fall term is almost over (yay)!! already starting to count down the days 'til Christmas. cannot wait for the hectic confusion it will be: back-to-back reunion times then hong kong then china then snowboarding :)! fun times, as long as i don't get jet-lagged or sick :D haha.

Strangers, Again.

Our lives will continue on in different directions
Towards the inevitable end - becoming strangers again.
And everything we shared will just become fragmented memories
From so long ago I'll question if it even really happened.
And all that'll be left... is this.
A box of random stuff.
From a faded period of time
When this stranger... was the most important person in my life.
What a shame.

ps. david choi!

Left Breathless.

When you are loved, you can do anything in creation.
When you are loved,
There's no need at all to understand what's happening,
Because everything happens within you.

-- Blue Pond, Hokkaido: by Kent Shiraishi
okay, obviously i am in a National Geographic craze right now, mostly 'cause i really don't want to do work and i honestly miss going on trips to random places, sporting my awesomely huge camera and lens, just to take pictures of anything i see. i cannot wait to go to hong kong and china. 'cause i'm pretty sure there will be tons of things i can take pictures of - since i haven't been there since ..grade 1? :) ahhh, it's gonna be so interesting to finally see how different hk looks from canada! although i still don't know if i like the idea of spending Christmas there. there won't be snow or anything remotely like what's above :(.

-- Timber Wolves: by Jacqueline Crivello
loll.. reminds me of when i really wanted a wolf as a pet :). or better yet, an arctic fox! my favourite animal of all time, i must say. they remind me of snow's first fall, of innocence. and they are so dang cute! although i'd probably be scared as heck and run my life out if i actually saw one in front of me.. haha

-- Cuban Tree Frog, Florida: by James Snyder
frog ate the light! and didn't die. apparently, he took the light out of the frog after he finished taking pictures of it and it wasn't quite happy in its unlit state.. lmao.

-- Terraced Rice Field, China: by Thierry Bornier
this picture absolutely amazes me. they're rice fields! rice fields! i never knew such art could come from growing rice.. haha. maybe i'll see something like this!! *wishes*.

-- Monarch Butterflies, Mexico: by Joel Sartore
just.. wow. i'm proud of myself when i get a picture of one butterfly, lol!

-- Giraffe, Mexico: by Oscar Medina
cutest! and funniest animal ever, ahahah. it's almost cartoon-like :). okay, that's all the pictures i've got to share for now. i really gotta get at least some work done today.. :P. okay, lies. i'm just gonna start working tomorrow, just watch me.

Frozen Bubbles.

Underneath your love is where I wanna be
Oh, I never ever felt this good and I can't get enough
Oh, what'd you do to me, I can't fall asleep
You put a spell on me
And now I'm underneath your love.

-- Dew Droplets: by Will Strathmann
i absolutely love National Geographic. i remember flipping through all their magazines as a kid afterschool. my friend and i would just go through all the pictures and see which ones we found the most amazing (not that any of them aren't amazing, of course). oh, if i could only hope to take a picture as good as the ones by NG, i'd be overwhelmingly proud :). well anyways, today i just felt like looking through the editor's picks for the 2011 National Geographic photo contest. and ahh, i am just in awe by some of these. reminds me how beautiful nature truly is <3. here's some of my favourites for this year!

-- Lone Tree Yellowstone: by Anita Erdmann
this photo makes me want snow to come now!! although i doubt we'll have that much snow, haha. from what i remember of winter in Kingston last winter.. it was mostly ice and slush. no white perfection :(.

-- Antelopes: taken in Kenya by Diego Arroyo
cutest thing everr, yes? and finally.. my absolute favourite so far:

-- Frozen Bubbles: by Emmanuel Coupe
absolutely amazing! and guess what? it's taken in Canada too!! haha the bubbles are made from gas released from the lake bed and trapped in the frozen water. click http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/traveler-magazine/photo-contest/entries/43703/view/ to see the bigger version of this picture.
just plain breath-taking :).

Around Queen's.

Just because you can't see it
Doesn't mean it isn't there.
You can't see the future, yet you know it will come.
You can't see the air, yet you continue to breathe.

decided to post a couple of pictures that i took..quite a long while ago, haha. really wanted to go on a photoshoot trip with one of my friends over a weekend, but just never happened cause i get swamped with work (yes, i procrastinate way too much over the week). well in any case, they aren't the best shots in the world, but i felt that my blog was in dire need of some real photos again lol. anyways, these were all taken at Queen's campus! beautiful place, isn't it? it's (mainly) why i chose Queen's in the first place :).

some building that i've never been too but looks super nice + our new med building! yes, construction's been completed for a while, shows you how long ago i took these pictures..ahah. but i have yet to see the inside of it still.

theological hall! that picture was taken with my.. digital camera. haha, it was a really nice day to take pictures.. but my dslr wasn't with me while i was on campus :(.


chernoff. oh, how i hated this place when i had chem labs. this was taken after one of my COR shifts at like 7 in the morning? the sunrise was amazing! too bad it only lasted a couple minutes. but i still got a shot, hehe :)! anyways, this has to be the most random photo set i've blogged haha. whatever, will make up for it after the first snowfall - when i finally take my dslr out to campus again! :).

Little Words.

There's a little truth behind every just kidding,
A little curiosity behind every just wondering,
A little knowledge behind every i don't know,
And a little emotion behind every i don't care.

had a lot of these random quote pictures saved up, so i thought i'd just share them here, lol. yes, i am procrastinating from doing any form of studying whatsoever. ah, just can't wait until i finally get to go home on wednesday and eat some real food :). and finally take some pictures, of course. i miss my camera time :(.




on an interestingly random note...
we're studying human sensation and perception at the moment in psyc, and they gave us a link to see how well off our ears are in responding to sound. during our young years, we should have a hearing range around 20 to 20,000 Hz. but as we grow older (well, our text says 'by mid adulthood'), the highest frequency we're able to hear drops to 10,000 to 15,000 Hz. so, i went on the site they gave us (http://journal.plasticmind.com/ears/mosquito-tone-or-how-to-tell-youre-a-youngun/) to try out my hearing.. i'm 20 and i can just barely hear 16,000 Hz. i swear 20 is not mid adulthood.. lmao sad, isn't it -__-. whatever, i blame it on the ear surgery i had back when i was a kid, haha.

Take a Chance on Me.

Risking our hearts is why we're alive.
The last thing you want to do
Is look back on your life and wonder
i f o n l y . . .

s2.

The Sky is the Limit.

Well, open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn, you're free.
Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours.
Please don't, please don't, please don't...
There's no need to complicate
'Cause our time is short.

FINALLY! i was able to go to wonderland this saturday with a couple friends :) and this time i was determined to take a picture of us while we were on every single ride we rode!


amazing how i never dropped my camera, eh? :)


so.. i DID manage to snap a picture on most of the rides. although i failed at the italian job one.. and my camera's battery power was really low at the end of the day :\. and we didn't really end up going on that many rides anyways, ended up walking around and playing random arcade games and eating and whatnot most of the time :P. soo i guess i'll just have to continue this project next time! loll.


picture that i took while riding on windseeker! i thought this ride was going to be the most amazing one ever since it looked like my favourite childhood one.. you know, the one where you sit in these super long swings and they swing you around like a merry-go-round :D.. but windseeker is simply what the name implies. all you get is wind.. and a real-life map of wonderland haha. a nice break, though.


and ooh, this is a picture of Starlight Spectacular! sadly, i didn't have my dslr so the pictures aren't that great (and my battery was low so i couldn't film it).. but basically, it's this light show that wonderland put on for its 30th anniversary. SO nice. the lights and fountains danced with the music that was playing, and the mountain became so colourful at one point :P.


so yeah, that's how our day turned out :). ps if you ever feel like going to wonderland, take the GO bus there! SO much faster and only like $1 more than TTC loll. unless you love waking up early in the morning :P.

Interesting Eats?

Part of the secret of a success in life
Is to eat what you like
And let the food fight it out inside.

went downtown a couple days ago to chill and do a couple things. of course, i lugged my dslr over there because, well, there's always something to take a picture of in downtown toronto :). and this is one of the places we went to! a small patisserie with amazingly decorated cakes and cute small pastries.


everything was behind glass - so it was kind of hard to take good photos of them :\. but anyways, the blue/brown cake was soo nice. i wannttt :O.


we bought six macarons (i.e. macaroons) to try out. the yellow one was the best - caramel flavoured. sweet and salty all at once! lmaoo.


we also went to this random pizza & pasta place: Magic Oven. it looked tiny from the outside but once you get in... it's actually preeetty big.


they had a lot of original, interesting pizzas to choose from there, one of which was the "uber sustenance": an organic pizza garnished with 24k gold leaves!


haaad to try it just to take photos of it :D. and just in case you're wondering.. gold tastes like nothing. it just absorbed the spicy taste of the sausages haha. and to my surprise, it doesn't cut you as you eat it! loll.


even though the gold pizza was really cool, the other pizza we got with sundried tomatoes, chicken, goat cheese, and portobello mushrooms on thai basil pesto tasted better :). and i loved their thin crust, yuumm.


yup, that's all for now! i am running on less than 16 hours of sleep over the last 3 days. and i think i'm gonna crash... now haha. will post up wonderland pictures sooon :)!