Life is a conversation. Make it a good one.

" If we don't want throwaway answers, we can't ask throwaway questions. A caring question is a key that will unlock a room inside the person you love." 

Here's a really great read from a HuffPo columnist on how to improve the relationships in your life. I think there's a takeaway here for everyone (Click here).

Angel Island

Just as a disclaimer, I haven't intended for this blog to be so focused on hiking and the outdoors. That just happens to be what I've been doing these past few weekends.

Yesterday, I went out to Angel Island with Sofia to go hiking for the day. There's only one boat that leaves early in the morning and returns at 4 PM in the afternoon, so you're basically stuck on the island.

It was really beautiful out. It kind of reminded us of hiking in Strawberry Canyon in the East Bay because it was so dry out. But the views of the city were just so remarkable, it made up for the fact that we kind of came unprepared.

The island is only about 5 miles in radius, so it doesn't require so many hours of the day to explore. So we spent a lot of time essentially just watching the shadows grow longer. It was really relaxing and much needed since I haven't been getting much sleep all weekend.

I know I'll need to recharge and have lazy days occasionally, but I'd like to take a different stance to my weekends this year. If my weeknights after work are so mundane and uniform, I want to take the chance to do as much as I want and can on the weekends. Meaning, I'll see my friends, go out and explore the city, go hiking, and just try something new more often than I normally do. So far, I'm off to a great start.

After returning from the city, I met up with an old friend to see Spike Jonze's new movie Her. It blew me away. I haven't been this moved by a movie since I saw Lost in Translation, and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the fact that Scarlett Johanson is in both movies. My favorite kind of movies are the ones where two lonely people miraculously connect by chance in a big city. Her brought up so many questions about where technology is taking us, and what exactly constitutes a real relationship. In one of my favorite scenes, the main character Theodore talks with his close friend about their relationships with their OS's (operating systems). And she basically just says fuck it, our lives are so short we should allow ourselves some joy. I liked that. Allowing yourself joy regardless of what form it comes in.

Anyways, I HIGHLY recommend going out to see the movie. If not for the content, just for the damn aesthetic of the movie. It was styled so beautifully--the colors, the costumes. Ugh, it was so good! Go see it, you won't regret it.

Summer in January

                

It's been an extraordinary weekend in San Francisco so far. It's summer in January basically. And while I sit here railing against my stupid iPhoto library for corrupting and deleting many of the photos I've taken today, I will have to say that I had a lot of fun. It's amazing what the outdoors can do for improving your mood.

We spent most of the day eating and exploring Land's End and Sutro Baths. Unfortunately, many of the photos from brunch today were deleted somehow by my computer. Sigh...But it's all right, I still have quite a few. First thing tomorrow night, I am purchasing an external harddrive and backing up all of my photos to my cloud.

In any case, if you're looking for a moderate hike--if you can ever call it that--Land's End can't be beat on a sunny day. You can stay on the wooden path for the most part or go down a flight of stairs to visit Sutro Baths. Not to be missed if you're visiting the Bay!

Sunday Exploring

In an effort to maintain my "new year, new you" illusion, I set out for Muir Woods this past Sunday to go on a hike to get some fresh air with some friends. After a really miserable day of cloudy skies and scattered showers in Berkeley, Sunday brought some much needed sunshine. Really, it was the perfect opportunity to go on a hike.

Now Muir Woods typically attracts hordes of tourists. Loud, DSLR-wielding, visitors who yell at each other in Cathedral Forest and have elaborate picnics in the park regardless of park regulations. Yesterday, however, was relatively quiet. And really, I can't criticize because I've since joined the DSLR crowd. Needless to say, there's a steep learning curve that I'm trying to overcome. But I humbly present you the photos I took on Sunday. Manual settings continue to elude me.