Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

My beautiful laundromat

My mother tells me the washing machine have gone kaput at the home. Being a rental place, it’s going to take some time to get the machine replaced with a (hopefully new) workin unit. In the meantime, my parents are hand-washing their clothes. Just like how they did it back in the old country (read: China). I asked why don’t they take the laundry to the local coin-operated laundromat. Being the extreme agoraphobe that she’s always is, my mother says those “public” washing machines are dirty and disgusting.

I guess? Doesn’t the washing machine sort of sell-cleans? Assuming people are actually using proper detergent…

Honestly, I can’t really argue with my mom. I’m lucky to never had the privilege of using an outside-the-house coin-op laundromat. Every place I’ve ever lived featured in-unit washer and dryer. As for way back when in China: well, I was a tiny kid then, so my parents did my laundry for me (manually). I do not know what it’s like to haul a bag of clothes to a public place, doing laundry at the same time with the rest of the neighbors who also don’t have built-in washers.

What is it like to put in a load of clothes and having to baby-sit it the entire way? I guess the advent of smartphones sort of killed that type of boredom. You can catch entire episodes of shows while the load is doing its spinning thing. Granted, surely those plastic chairs in a laundromat is not nearly as cushy and comfortable as your living room couch. Besides, you sort of have to pay some attention, no? This is America after all: someone can come steal your clothes - or your wallet - at any time. Got to be on alert constantly!

All that is to say: you sort of take the luxuries and conveniences of life for granted, until they get unceremoniously taken away from you, however momentarily. Practice gratitude for the things you already have, my friends.

I feel you, bro

Last time I was back at my parents’ place, my mother told me someone stole all four wheels off the neighbor’s brand new car. She woke up one morning, peaked across the street, and there it was: a Honda Accord tiled on cinderblocks. Why would someone steal wheels off a plain Honda Accord? Because the Honda sedan is ubiquitous. There’s so many of them on the road that the demand for spare parts (law of large numbers vis a vis collision accidents) must be equally sizable. That means a fresh set of (stolen) wheels (plus nearly new tires) should easily fetch many hundreds of dollars.

I do feel bad for the neighbor. According to mom, it’s some young adult who moved into the downstairs in-law unit across the street. The Honda Accord was the first new car he’s ever bought with his own money. Pretty exciting, right? I can remember that joy when I drove my Subaru WRX STI home from the dealership. So much joyful emotion that I nearly had an anxiety attack. Anyways, it has to suck greatly to see something so new and cherished (and expensive) being messed with by amoral thugs. That undercarriage is forever marred by being jacked up on cinderblocks.

I can empathize with that neighbor, too. It seems that particular block of Visitacion Valley is cursed for new cars. Back when my parents bought a brand new Toyota Corolla for me to begin college (many thanks), another set of thugs threw a cinderblock at the driver-side A pillar, while it too was parked on the street. It was a complete violation of the most precious object me (at the time, anyways). While the damage was fixed promptly, the car never felt the same to me since that incident. Sentimental value vanished alongside the purity of an unmolested new car.

Hopefully that neighbor doesn’t love cars as much as I do. If that Honda Accord is just an appliance to him, he’s going to get over the incident rather quickly.

Who's driving the car?

Lake Merced is where I do my weekly running. It is also where I first learned how to drive. Indeed, that concrete parking lot have played host to many a young driver’s first time behind the wheel of a car. It always warms my heart to see one of them out there learning how to drive, all the while I am prepared for my run. Because that was exactly me, exactly two decades ago.

I’ve been driving for twenty years? Jesus Christ that is amazing and sobering at the same time.

I wonder if the kids of the future will even learn how to drive, especially those living in big cities. UBER and LYFT remains ever convenient, plus the looming prospects of self-driving cars. Honestly, who wants to drive when they could be driven? I certainly would rather get chauffeured around. Drivers these days are freaking crazy. I’ve said it before: if I didn’t love cars, I probably wouldn’t own any right now.

California recently allowed “robotaxis” to operate in San Francisco unrestricted, 24/7. Meanwhile I am still waiting to get off the waitlist at both Cruise and Waymo, the two highest profile robotaxi companies. I am actually quite excited to try riding in a true driverless car. Though not nearly as excited as the person who had sex in the backseat of one recently. I want to ride in one just for fun; if I need to get somewhere promptly, I will still call an actual human driving car.

Because you can’t count on a robotaxi to be quick. Its first order of responsibility seems to be safety. I witnessed a Cruise taxi waiting behind a double-parked ambulance for way longer than a human car would have waited. The Cruise vehicle was stationary for such a long time than those of us watching wondered if it were going to move at all (it did, eventually). If that were me in the car, I probably would have gotten out and called an UBER.

One time at a bar

It’s been over a decade since I’ve been at a bar on a weekend evening. It’s really not my scene, you know? First of all, I don’t drink, so the raison d'être for going to a bar is completely lost on me. Since I’m not drinking, it’s got to be for the conversation with friends, right? Well, if you’ve ever been to a bar on a busy night, it’s bloody difficult to talk to one another. It’s so loud that you can’t even hear the jukebox music properly.

And that is why I - and my friends - don’t go to bars.

But there I was this past Saturday evening, sat at a bar in the Marina district. I was there because the classmates from the improv class I’ve been taking decided to go. Nothing like peer pressure, isn’t it? We took in a professional improv show earlier in the evening, and apparently the night was still young enough for some alcoholic refreshments. Thank goodness for non-alcoholic beer: I can partake in the shitty taste, without the alcoholic downsides.

Upon entering I was immediately reminded why I stopped partaking in such festivities. The amount of humanity at that bar was amazing. All there for the privilege of overpaying for drinks and having to yell at each other just to have a conversation. Though if you’re with a significant someone, a bar offers the perfect excuse to get close and whisper sweet nothings into each other’s ears. It’s definitely a younger (than us) crowd, too: a whole lot of twenty somethings not wanting to stay home on a weekend night.

Us older responsible adults called it quits way before the clock struck midnight. Sleep is important! So is limiting the amount of alcohol. We were all one and done, except for one guy who had three beers. He seems like the type of dude who can handle his drinks, though. Nevertheless: no need for a Sunday recovery day!

I need it

Did I already buy another lens for my newly purchased Fujifilm XT-5 camera? Yup! Looks like gear acquisition syndrome is in full bloom. I mean, what’s the point of an interchangeable lens camera if I only have one lens? Granted, if I were to have only one lens, the Fujinon XF 23mm F2 would be it. A compact walk-around lens at my favorite, most-used focal length: 35mm full-frame equivalent. Obviously then the 23mm F2 was the first lens I bought along with the XT-5.

Soon to join that lens is its close cousin, the Fujinon XF 50mm F2. At a 76mm full-frame equivalent, it’s ideal for portraiture, and when I want to punch in a bit during photowalks. Shooting down urban streets, the 50mm can compress the background and block out the peripherals stuff that a wider lens would otherwise get in the frame. During the photowalk in Chinatown last Sunday, I was limited in what I can do when photographing straight down Grant Avenue, carrying only the 23mm. I actually took out my iPhone to use its 77mm full-frame equivalent telephoto lens instead.

Won’t have to do that anymore! With the 50mm F2 in tow for the future I’ll just have to quickly swap between the two lenses should I desire a different perspective. You know what is really baller, though? The professionals that carry multiple camera bodies, with different focal lengths of lens attached to each. Therefore, instead of swapping lens, they just swap between the bodies during a shoot. In a money-no-object world (or a I actually make a living from this hobby world), I would have a second XT-5 attached to the incoming 50mm lens.

Another reason for buying the XF 50mm F2 right now is I want to take photographs of my friend’s newborn twins. Not only is 50mm a more flattering focal length, but I can also get the shot I want without being super close to the babies. Trust me, I’m not spending money simply to have more shiny objects on my bookshelf! (Though that’s very nice too, admittedly.) Everything I buy these days must serve some utility.

JPEG shooter

This past Sunday I got a chance to take my new Fujifilm X-T5 camera out for some first time test shooting. A photowalk around San Francisco Chinatown in the afternoon was called for. After reading the manual front to back and adjusting the custom buttons to my liking, it was time to see what the X-T5 camera can do. (Pairing it with a Fujinon XF 23mm F2 lens.)

Perhaps it’s the substantial money I dropped on essentially switching to a new system (Sony to Fujifilm) talking, but I was pretty immediately smitten with the X-T5. A touchscreen on a camera is so useful (My old Sony A7R2 did not have one). On the Fujifilm I can touch to lock focus on a subject/object and it will do so until I tap again to cancel. It honestly feels kind of cheating to me. I remember the old days of having only eight focusing points on a DSLR, and needing to perform the focus and recompose technique.

Now I can simply touch almost anywhere on the frame and it will lock focus automatically. Magical.

Fujifilm’s famous film simulation modes is as advertised. After seeing how each of them look, I chose Nostalgic Negative as my go to. Nostalgic Neg has the bump in saturation I typical do for my own RAW edits, plus a warm tonality that I prefer over something cool. Set white balance to automatic, and I simply let the X-T5 do its own interpretation of the scene vis a vis the colors.

Kind of funny how I’m essentially treating a “DSLR” camera as a point-and-shoot. It’s like going back to the days of instant film cameras: I don’t control how a film roll will look coming out of development. Being able to get interesting and usable JPEG files straight out of the camera makes me want to go shoot more. Because upon returning home, all I do is transfer the JPEG files off the X-T5 and onto my Mac’s Photos app. That's it! I’ve not touched any of the RAW files from the Chinatown photowalk - there’s really no need.

At some point I might even shoot only in JPEG…

We are sitting too comfy

Apparently, July 2023 is the hottest month in recorded history. It sure does not feel like it here in San Francisco, though I’m sure it’s been absolutely sweltering soon as outside of the city confines. Just a week ago I was sweating it out across the bay in Oakland at an A’s game. But soon as I cross back over to San Francisco, the marine layer welcomes me like a blast of chill in a summer’s desert. We are damn lucky the city have stayed relatively cool, whist the rest of the world is melting down. Granted, we sure pay dearly - in cost of living - for it.

Sometimes I wonder if we ought to have survivor’s guilt, vis a vis climate change. Other than the droughts and smokey wildfires of past years (never forget the big orange sky), I would say San Francisco have been relatively unscathed thus far. Good thing increased carbon emissions in the atmosphere doesn’t cause a correlative uptick in earthquake risk? They’ve been telling us since middle school (that would be early 2000s for me) that we are due for the next big one, and we ought to be prepared. Yet we’ve still not experienced anything close to the 1989 quake.

I really should get that earthquake preparedness kit (finally) in order.

It’s been devastating to watch the wildfire tragedy in Maui unfold. Nearly 100 people dead, whole neighborhoods burned down, and the fires still burning throughout the island. The deadliest wildfire in over a century, and it’s in Hawaii of all places. The islands are not what you would associate with fire disasters (Hurricanes or tsunamis would be more apt), so it makes what’s going on even more shocking. Please donate to the first-respond efforts: American Red Cross is always good. For something more local, the Hawaii Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund is recommended (That is where I donated).