plane whimsy

Project 365 – Days 333-365 and reflection

2015 is over, and now we’re in a brand new year. Hello, 2016! I hope the start of this new year is treating you well, wherever you may be. 🙂 I’m writing this from Chapel Hill, NC, my hometown. I go home every year for Christmas, spending much enjoyable time with my family. I started the daily photo challenge here, 1 year ago, and I ended it here, yesterday. Full circle!

Doing the daily photo challenge has been a great experience. I enjoyed taking random shots every day and picking my favorite for the site. Editing them was fun, and I enjoyed experimenting with various apps.

I managed to take a photo every day in 2015 EXCEPT for 3 days. I’m pretty proud of that!!

This year I’m going to take a break from doing the daily photo challenge. I’ll still be taking photos and experimenting like I did last year, but not every single day. In 2016, I’d like to focus on blogging, and get back into writing. I miss writing. 🙂

I plan to celebrate my very first Project 365 with something special, which I’ll share in an upcoming entry.

So without further ado, enjoy the last 32 photos I took for my 2015 Project 365 challenge:

November 29, 2015 – 333/365

November 30, 2015 – 334/365

Mini Christmas tree for my apartment (from Target's dollar section). — Mini Christmas tree for my apartment (from Target’s dollar section).

December 1, 2015 – 335/365

December 2, 2015 – 336/365

My foot, wrapped in arch support tape. I have flat feet and orthotics are in my future... — My foot, wrapped in arch support tape. I have flat feet and orthotics are in my future…

December 3, 2015 – 337/365

December 4, 2015 – 338/365

December 5, 2015 – 339/365

Dragon head for our dragon boat during the 2015 Oakland Lighted Yacht Parade.

December 6, 2015 – 340/365

December 7, 2015 – 341/365

December 8, 2015 – 342/365

December 9, 2015 – 343/365

Night paddle on the Estuary. My last evening dragon boat practice of 2015.

December 10, 2015 – 344/365

December 11, 2015 – 345/365

Mushroom sprouted overnight in mulch after rain. — Wild mushroom that sprouted overnight in mulch after rain.

December 12, 2015 – 346/365

December 13, 2015 – 347/365

Gift bow in a puddle on a rainy day. I "rescued" this bow and took it home with me. I plan to turn it into an ornament. :) — Gift bow in a sidewalk puddle on a rainy day. I “rescued” this bow and took it home with me. I plan to turn it into an ornament. 🙂

December 14, 2015 – 348/365

Downtown Chapel Hill from the airport taxi. Home for the holidays!

December 15, 2015 – 349/365

Santa Claus at University Place (formerly University Mall).

December 16, 2015 – 350/365

December 17, 2015 – 351/365

December 18, 2015 – 352/365

December 19, 2015 – 353/365

December 20, 2015 – 354/365

December 21, 2015 – 355/365

No picture today. Perhaps I was too caught up in the holiday festivities and spending time with family. 🙂

December 22, 2015 – 356/365

December 23, 2015 – 357/365

My collection of stories I wrote as a kid about my childhood cat, Collar. It's one of the fun things about being home, getting to re-live the memories. — My collection of stories I wrote and illustrated as a kid about my childhood cat, Collar. It’s one of the fun things about being home, getting to re-live the memories.

December 24, 2015 – 358/365

My mom always does a great job of decorating and making the house look festive for Christmas. — Cozy living room, enjoying family TV time on Christmas Eve night.

December 25, 2015 – 359/365

Eating mac & cheese on Christmas Day. Grateful to spend the day with family.

December 26, 2015 – 360/365

Beautiful tree during family trip to Southpoint Mall. Never seen that mall so crowded! — Beautiful tree during family trip to Southpoint Mall in Durham. Never seen that mall so crowded!

December 27, 2015 – 361/365

The new Silverspot Cinema, University Place, Chapel Hill. Seeing Star Wars with family.

December 28, 2015 – 362/365

Meadowmont Village Circle. — Meadowmont Village Circle, Chapel Hill.

December 29, 2015 – 363/365

Jelly Belly. A Southern Season at University Place. — Jelly Belly. A Southern Season at University Place, Chapel Hill.

December 30, 2015 – 364/365

It's raining on campus and I'm LOVING it. — It’s raining on campus and I’m LOVING it.

December 31, 2015 – 365/365

New Year's Party food! A nice, quiet family celebration to end one year and welcome the next. — New Year’s Party food! A nice, quiet family celebration to end one year and welcome the next.

Project 365: Days 313-332

Getting down to the wire for this year! Here are the daily photos I’ve taken over the past few weeks.

November 9, 2015 – 313/365

November 10, 2015 – 314/365

November 11, 2015 – 315/365

November 12, 2015 – 316/365

Contrails.

November 13, 2015 – 317/365

Forgot to take a photo today.

November 14, 2015 – 318/365

November 15, 2015 – 319/365

November 16, 2015 – 320/365

November 17, 2015 – 321/365

November 18, 2015 – 322/365

November 19, 2015 – 323/365

November 20, 2015 – 324/365

November 21, 2015 – 325/365

Blast off from the Estuary... — Blast off from the Estuary…

November 22, 2015 – 326/365

a nice little place to eat. Glen Park, SF.

November 23, 2015 – 327/365

November 24, 2015 – 328/365

November 25, 2015 – 329/365

November 26, 2015 – 330/365

November 27, 2015 – 331/365

November 28, 2015 – 332/365

Project 365 – Days 292-312

A collection of daily photos I’ve taken over the past 3 weeks.

October 19, 2015 – 292/365

October 20, 2015 – 293/365

October 21, 2015 – 294/365

October 22, 2015 – 295/365

October 23, 2015 – 296/365

October 24, 2015 – 297/365

October 25, 2015 – 298/365

Lovely water bottle from the 2015 Automattic Grand Meetup in Park City.

October 26, 2015 – 299/365

October 27, 2015 – 300/365

October 28, 2015 – 301/365

Greek-Yoghurt Pasta Sauce with Spaghetti Squash.

October 29, 2015 – 302/365

Halloween display outside someone's house. — Halloween display outside someone’s house.

October 30, 2015 – 303/365

October 31, 2015 – 304/365

November 1, 2015 – 305/365

Halloween Howl with my Oakland Renegades teammates!

November 2, 2015 – 306/365

November 3, 2015 – 307/365

Finally got around to framing these pictures on the wall in my apartment's entryway, and hung a new mirror. Plus changed the switchplate to a shiny silver. — Finally got around to framing these pictures on the wall in my apartment’s entryway, and hung a new mirror. Plus changed the switch plate to a shiny silver.

November 4, 2015 – 308/365

Looking back at my studio apartment's entryway. Finally have it how I want it! — Looking back at my studio apartment’s entryway. Finally have it how I want it!

November 5, 2015 – 309/365

Crow on a power line. He or she was cawing. I associate crows with fall.

November 6, 2015 – 310/365

Time zone clocks I got from Daiso. JST (because one of my best friends lives in Japan), UTC, and EST. It's great when your colleagues and friends live in other time zones. — Time zone clocks I got from Daiso. JST (because one of my best friends lives in Japan), UTC, and EST. It’s great when your colleagues and friends live in varied time zones.

November 7, 2015 – 311/365

Shopped at El Cerrito Plaza in El Cerrito for the first time.

November 8, 2015 – 312/365

Delicious early birthday brunch with the family at Boot and Shoe Service in Oakland.

A Week in Park City: Days 286-291

Here are some of my favorite photos that I took during the Automattic all company meet-up in Park City last month. It was a great time overall, and I enjoyed getting to see my colleagues and meet some of them in person for the first time.

October 13, 2015 – 286/365

October 14, 2015 – 287/365

October 15, 2015 – 288/365

October 16, 2015 – 289/365

Walk around the grounds near the resort.

October 17, 2015 – 290/365

Photo tour in the mountains, 9000 feet up!

October 18, 2015 – 291/365

10 year anniversary party for Automattic, featuring an amazing Automattician band! Plus guest DJ, the Jane Does.

Off to Park City – 285/365

The Automattic all-company meetup is in Park City again this year! I’m excited to see my colleagues, both familiar and new. Should be a fun week.

Sidewalk smiley – 284/365

This photo was taken October 11, 2015 along the sidewalk of Lake Merritt in Oakland.

Project 365: Days 278-283

October 5, 2015 – 278/365

October 6, 2015 – 279/365

There's something alive under there. — There’s something alive under there.

October 7, 2015 – 280/365

Bathroom walls before they were freshly painted. I had repair work done earlier and the walls looked shabby afterward. — Bathroom walls before they were freshly painted. I had repair work done earlier which is why the walls were so discolored. Glad to finally get it painted.

October 8, 2015 – 281/365

Pie pumpkins at Trader Joe's. — Pie pumpkins at Trader Joe’s.

October 9, 2015 – 282/365

Kitty in the yard. Not my cat but very friendly all the same! <3

October 10, 2015 – 283/365

I needed a picture for today so I just snapped a photo of my laptop's corner. :D :D — I needed a picture for today so I just snapped a photo of my laptop’s corner. 😀 😀

Project 365: Days 259-277

Happy October! Fall is officially here. But in the Bay Area, it feels more like summer. We get our warmest weather of the year from September through mid-October. 8) I’m enjoying it while it lasts. Here are all of the Project 365 photos I’ve taken since the last update.

September 16, 2015 – 259/365

Rain! We finally got some, even if it was just a little bit. — A rainy walk to dragon boat practice. Rain, finally! Even if it was just a little bit.

September 17, 2015 – 260/365

September 18, 2015 – 261/365

September 19, 2015 – 262/365

San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival @ Treasure Island, Day 1. Beautiful day of paddling. — San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival @ Treasure Island, Day 1. Beautiful day of paddling, sun, and fun with teammates.

September 20, 2015 – 263/365

Bay Bridge. Taken before Day 2 of the SF International Dragon Boat Festival. — Bay Bridge from Treasure Island. Taken before Day 2 of the SF International Dragon Boat Festival.

September 21, 2015 – 264/365

Ant Fairies. Picked these up from one of the many vendors at Treasure Island. — Ant Fairies. Picked these up from one of the many vendors at the Dragon Boat Festival.

September 22, 2015 – 265/365

September 23, 2015 – 266/365

September 24, 2015 – 267/365

September 25, 2015 – 268/365

September 26, 2015 – 269/365

BP is gettin' its Halloween on. — Gas station is gettin’ its Halloween on.

September 27, 2015 – 270/365

All I see is anger. Spotted in front of a house on the Oakland-Piedmont border.

September 28, 2015 – 271/365

Started the Kayla Itsines exercise guides today. Start of a 28-week journey, wish me luck.

September 29, 2015 – 272/365

September 30, 2015 – 273/365

Staring at me as I wake up. She wants food and I'm not fast enough in feeding her... — Staring at me as I wake up. She wants breakfast and I’m not fast enough to give it to her. Her patience wears thin…

October 1, 2015 – 274/365

Movie night with a friend at the Shattuck in Berkeley. Beautiful theater, great company, wonderful movie (Meet the Patels).

October 2, 2015 – 275/365

October 3, 2015 – 276/365

The best way to spend a Saturday morning.

October 4, 2015 – 277/365

Project 365: Days 237-258

I’ve been a bad blogger! August ended weeks ago, and September is nearly half over. What can I say, I’ve been lazy about posting. BUT I’m still taking a photo a day, so I’m doing something right. 🙂 Here’s the large backlog from the past 21 days. My hope going forward is to start posting these photos daily again, like I did so diligently at the beginning of the year. Then I can avoid doing these large catch-up posts.

August 25, 2015 – 237/365

August 26, 2015 – 238/365

Chai Tea @ Samovar Yerba Buena. Mother-daughter lunch.

August 27, 2015 – 239/365

August 28, 2015 – 240/365

August 29, 2015 – 241/365

Green smoothies at the Farmer's Market. — Green smoothies at the Farmer’s Market.

August 30, 2015 – 242/365

Patio decorations. My mom helped me make it fun and pretty.

August 31, 2015 – 243/365

California Academy of Sciences. One of my favorite places in SF.

September 1, 2015 – 244/365

September 2, 2015 – 245/365

Sleepin' in the blanket drawer. — Chillin’ in the blanket drawer.

September 3, 2015 – 246/365

September 4, 2015 – 247/365

September 5, 2015 – 248/365

September 6, 2015 – 249/365

September 7, 2015 – 250/365

September 8, 2015 – 251/365

Can't get enough of this beautiful Macbook Pro. — Can’t stop marveling over this beautiful Macbook Pro.

September 9, 2015 – 252/365

September 10, 2015 – 253/365

2nd St. San Francisco. — 2 ND ST. San Francisco.

September 11, 2015 – 254/365

Tech Inclusion Conference, Day 1. Galvanize, San Francisco. WONDERFUL day.

September 12, 2015 – 255/365

Tech Inclusion Conference & Career Fair, Day 2. More wonderful.

September 13, 2015 – 256/365

September 14, 2015 – 257/365

September 15, 2015 – 258/365

Trader Joe's. Oakland. — Trader Joe’s. Oakland.

Review: Beyond the Summerland

Beyond the Summerland by L.B. Graham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5/5. The world-building and storytelling in this book were phenomenal. Also, the author does a reasonable job of developing the characters (though some more than others) and I cared about what happened to them, and I was fully immersed in their world.

However I couldn’t rate this higher for the following reasons:

* The women are for the most part weak, powerless, underdeveloped, and useless. They’re objects of affection for the men.
* To the above point, this book is male-dominated. Allfather (the “God” that everyone worships) only seems to speak to men. All of the teachers are men, all of the prophets and mythical beings are men, the men do most of the fighting, only the men have powers, gifts, foresight. Women are just wives, mothers, and love interests, who can’t think or find their way out of any trouble without the men there to rescue them.
* The storytelling was good, yes, but the writing was so-so. Grammatical errors, weird instances where it lapsed into first-person, awkward character point-of-view shifts, etc. The pacing was strange, with some sections dragging and others summarized quickly.
* The ending was frustrating. 🙁

I’m willing to forgive all of the above faults except for the first two. If L.B. Graham made the women stronger and developed them a bit more, this would be the PERFECT fantasy series. Sigh. I’m still going to pick up Book #2 and hope the women are better in the that one!

View all my reviews

plane whimsy

Project 365 – Days 333-365 and reflection

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Project 365: Days 313-332

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Project 365 – Days 292-312

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A Week in Park City: Days 286-291

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Off to Park City – 285/365

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Sidewalk smiley – 284/365

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Project 365: Days 278-283

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Project 365: Days 259-277

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Project 365: Days 237-258

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Review: Beyond the Summerland

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