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...