Wanna know what I've been doing all summer? OK, fine, but pretend you do, cause I'm gonna tell ya.

Mr. Myagi Tim Matsui has been teaching me in the office, and as of last Monday, in the bar too. I might have learned more over Bleu Burgers and IPAs than I did anywhere else, all summer. Tim and I talked about what I want to do, what I need to do, and how I'm going to do it. Those questions aren't crystal clear yet, but what is? Our consensus was: a good portfolio is even more important than a good education to clients. So I'm gonna quit school and shoot full-time.... nah. When I start senior year in two weeks, I'm going to find something that interests me, a story I want to tell, that I'll work on for as long as it takes. Show what I can do, show my style, and show what I like to do. Easier said than done.

Leo Lam had me assist a fashion shoot for a new designer label. Good fun. Learned lots.

Brian Smale took me to an architectural shoot in West Seattle. Interesting to see Brian working.

Last week, I spent seven days in Portland, OR. I stayed with family there, John and Cathy, who are the world's nicest hosts. Besides leaving me, someone they couldn't remember if they'd met or not, with their house key while they went to the coast, John and Cathy also fed me MacandCheese w/ hotdogs, helped me with maps and directions, and beat me 3-0 in ping pong. They'll be a rematch this week.

Lincoln was the first photographer I met with. He talked to me about the need for some business classes and self-marketing ideas, and learned some nifty post-processing techniques later in the week. I was reminded by our talk about mailings that Bangkok has an abundance of cheap printers which could pump out a box of promo cards for cheap.

The next photographer I worked with was Daniel Root. We shot photographed a lawyer for a SoCal law magazine. They wanted to photoshop the subject into a 60's war movie poster, so we setup a studio in a warehouse, matched the lighting to the poster, and only needed to spend 10 minutes actually photographing. Next job was a golf course: "Best golf couse for non-golfers" for Portland Monthly's upcoming "Best of Portland" series. That night we shot a bar which had the interactive video game and karaoke machine Rock Band, projected on a 10' screen; complete with stage lights and a fog machine. The morning after we covered "The best place to send your kids for the summer"... a rock climbing camp at a downtown climbing gym.

I have 2 minutes battery remaining and I'll be too lazy to write later, so this all for now. Stay tuned...

Planes, trains, ferries, airports, and bus rides have always been exciting and interesting to me. Whenever my family went on vacation I would pack my backpack and suitcase one month in advance, savoring the details of our travel plans. I dreamt of airplanes, airport and hotel features, plane food, and of course little plastic wings a flight attendant would pin on my chest. I also remember wanting to ride buses as much as I could. Traveling alone gave me a sense of independence and a chance to get away from life at home. Subways were particularly fascinating; a form of mass-transit neither Florida nor Washington states had. I used to plan bus schedules a couple days in advance, maximizing the number of vehicle transfers I'd make, increasing the number of buses I'd get to ride in. No mini-van rides and parental escorts for me. I was free. I could only imagine how much fun grown-ups must have traveling whenever they wanted to.

I have fun traveling. I still get a bit excited about transpacific crossings when I haven't flown in more than a few months.

However, too much of a good thing... I forget the proverb, but that's not important. My relationship with travel is ironic. When I haven't traveled in a while, I still have the same childhood urge to hop on a bus across town and back for fun. But when I travel as much as I have in the last 6 weeks, I find I'd rather eat splinted balsa wood than step on another plane or train.

Right now I'm on my second delayed Northwest Airlines flight of the day and it's driving me crazy. I slept most of the first flight, but the Detroit-Seattle leg I'm choosing to get some work done. At 9.30pm I'll arrive at SEATAC, a half-hour bus downtown, half-hour ferry, and hour long car ride home. One days rest then: bus>bus>ferry>bus>train......>bus>bus. I shouldn't complain though.. my mother's a transit driver.

I'm returning from Ohio BTW. It was a three and a half whirlwind trip to visit family and scout Ohio University, a grad school I'm considering. It was great to see family and spend time with with everyone.

Yesterday, cousin Josh, Grandma Colleen and I made a trip to OU, Athens, OH. Nice campus. I wonder how'd nice it'd be mid-winter though. I enjoyed my meeting with the director of the Visual Communication school (VisCom offers both Photojournalism and Commercial Photography). Terry explained that OU became know as one of "the top 5" school for photoJ because it found a niche: mid-carear students. Over 90% of their accepted applicants are 5+ years into their career. He suggested I also contact the other top schools including Syracuse, Missouri, Illinois, S. Kentucky, NC, RID, and U. of Lincoln (a partner of Bangkok University!). They all have niches and do one thing better than the others. Syracuse is mostly students fresh out of school, and leans towards commercial/magazine photography... interesting.

I'm back in town for a day, then back to Portland for a week, returning to WA on the 19th. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I'll be on a commercial advertisement with photographer Daniel Root shooting for a sportswear giant (one that's known for it's logo, a greek god, and sweatshops). Might also be assisting for a Nike youth soccer shoot too. Both of those should be great fun. I've never seen how full-scale ad shoots work and I love watching soccer. Friday I'll be working with Lincoln Barbour on an editorial shoot for Portland Monthly.

I'll be in an airport waiting for a 16-hour flight back to Bangkok in another two weeks. Can't wait...