Twenty Eight

Birthdays (or celebrating any aspect of me) can be tricky. I have difficulty admitting that I like being the center of attention - to a degree. I'm not brave enough to admit it fully. 

Modesty has become so engrained in my mind that being otherwise has subconsciously become labeled as being bad, arrogant, or self-centered. So how dare I want to be surprised, given gifts, or acknowledged just because I decided to waltz out of the womb on a day that happens to coincide with the mathematical constant, pi. Although I have no problem admitting being born on pi day is pretty much the coolest thing ever.

Awesome pi earrings I wear on pi day from Celina.
(Click on photo to enlarge)

But lets face it, I'm human and I respond to encouragement, positive feedback, and wrapped gifts with my name on it. 

Self-acknowledgment was the crux of my therapy sessions while I was in graduate school. It was here that I began to attempt to keep my self-judgments for wanting to celebrate whatever it was about me to a minimum. It continues to be a work in progress.

So when AB asked where I wanted to go for my birthday dinner, with minimal hesitation I responded, "Roys". It is a pricey Hawaiian fusion restaurant I had my eye on since last March when I was in Anaheim, CA for a conference. Then AB and I happened to move into an apartment where there is a Roys in the shopping center across the street!

We went, we ate, and I loved every minute of it (especially the part where we didn't know how to eat the edamame). I completely underestimated how satisfying it could be to get something you wanted, not needed. The trick is to not feel guilty about it! 

Here are a few out of focus photos of our meal:

Instead of bread they serve edamame. 

Mango Mojito

Appetizers

Duck Confit & Roasted Mushroom Flat Bread
Arugula, Parmesan Cheese, Balsamic Nitsume

Korean Soup
Braised Short Rib, Daikon, Carrot, Potato, Cilantro, Chili, Aromatic Beef Stock

Entrees

Boursin Stuffed Chicken

Potato Pave, Chinese Long Beans & Shiitakes, Orange Cranberry Compote, Pinot Noir Reduction 

Shisho Crusted Salmon 
Bacon Wilted Spinach, Caramelized Onion Polenta, Roasted Red pepper Dashi

  

Dessert

Pear Tart 
Puff Pastry, Goat Cheese Cream, Streusel Powder & Salt Caramel

Roy's Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé
Raspberry Coulis, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

So for everyone that took the time to wish me a happy birthday whether by phone, email, text message, or Facebook (it's a chance to reconnect with people you don't normally correspond with), thank you! And I'm obviously grateful and appreciative to those that gave me gifts :D. It does make me feel special.

I also have a tendency to feel guilty for liking pretty shiny things like jewelry because it's expensive and unnecessary. Well, check out what AB got me...

Happy 28th birthday to ME!

Lightroom 3 Test Drive

Since moving I have spent several hours on Craigslist searching for cheap used furniture, apartment decor, and possible jobs (photo or science). 


A UCSD student advertised on there he was looking for subjects to shoot for his photography class. I decided this would be a good opportunity for some free engagement shots. I recently received the photos he took and decided to process* one myself just to give Lightroom 3 a spin - so far I love it! I didn't think the first photo I would introduce on this blog would be one I didn't take, but I loved this one too much not to share.


*After a photographer obtains the digital form of their photos (either from a digital camera or scanning negatives into a computer) they typically process, correct, and/or enhance it using programs such as Photoshop. Lightroom 3 can be thought of as Photoshop-lite or (or iPhoto Deluxe). It gives you more control over what you can change plus many many other functions. 


For this particular photo below I cropped, adjusted the white balance, increased the contrast, and adjusted the exposure.

Engagement shoot at Windansea Beach in La Jolla, CA.
(click photo to enlarge)

Photo credit: Tim Marymee

PS. We've been to a few beaches around here, but this was our first visit to Windansea. It is breath taking. Not a ton of beach space, but a lot of large rocks and bluffs to sit on and watch the ocean and surfers. I highly recommend it if you're ever in the area!

** This purchase of Lightroom 3 made possible by former roommate Matt and my parents :D **

Trial by Fire

My first day at work was Wednesday and I have never felt more out of my own element. Training consists of trial by fire. You get fed some information, but you start serving customers on day 1. I don't know that I have ever felt so incompetent. 

"Ritz Camera UTC. How may I help you?"

"Hi. I'm wondering if you guys have intervalometers for Canons."

What the crap is an intervalometer??? I had never heard that word in my life! 

Between bugging the manager who was with a customer and trying to buy time without sounding completely moronic to the gentleman that called I some how was able to answer the customer's question. 


After answering a few more phone calls and watching the manager make sales, day 1 was thankfully over. 


Day 2 brought more challenges, but it also brought progress. A gentleman walked in looking for a camera bag and after I showed him how to adjust the slots he said he'd take it. My first sale! 


I helped two more gentleman later in the day where one bought a Sony USB flash drive and the second a Sunpak 6200 tripod for $49.99 + tax. I answered more phone calls and was asked about more products and brands I had never heard of, fumbled at the register, dropped receipts, and took way too long to find photo orders customers were picking up. Although for day 2 I guess it was as good as it could be. 


Today was day 3 and I sold my first big ticket item. I sold a Nikon D5100 kit (awesome camera by the way), a Sunpak LED macro ring light, and a warranty plan for a whopping $1083. That was the highlight of my day. 


As the day went on the store got busy and I was limited in my ability to ask for help or to check whether I was doing something right. The manager had to retake a passport photo I had taken for a lady earlier after I had told her it would be ready in 15 min. Another lady was dropping off 4 rolls of film (yes, people still shoot with film and it's awesome) to develop and instead of being a 5 minute process it felt like I kept her there for a half hour because I didn't know how to ring the order up. A few other things happened that just served as reminders that I was new and didn't know what I was doing. 


As I was looking at the schedule for the next two weeks I felt myself on the verge of a panic attack. I am petrified of a customer calling me out on not knowing my facts and taking it out on me or worse on the store by not coming back. I'm scared of taking a print order and it not being done within the hour I said it would be. I'm afraid the manager and employees might question how I ever made it through grad school because I seem so incompetent. 


I know these incidences sound minor and normal for someone on their first few days, but I swear I feel I'm going to be responsible for the collapse of the store because all the customers I interact with will think I'm a complete idiot. 


A part of me really wants to quit because I just feel so ridiculously uncomfortable, but the other part of me knows that this is great for me. Putting myself out there, making myself vulnerable, forcing me to think on my feet, and trying to make a sale are all experiences I can learn from. I just wish these experiences came with training wheels.

First of Many Firsts

I have experienced a lot of "firsts" these past few months. I defended my thesis, moved to the west coast, became a resident of another state, moved in with my significant other,   and traumatically, for the first time in my adult life I was unemployed.

For the first time the next step wasn't obvious to me. Technically the obvious next step was to post-doc, but 5.5 years of graduate school helped me decide I was done with research. A couple more years of it was not going to change how I felt about it. 

While I did my best to find leads and network for potential job opportunities prior to graduating, my time was limited as I scrambled to finish writing and some last experiments. And so only with with the intention to apply for science media/journalism related internships I defended and moved out here to San Diego in time to ring in the new year with my fiance, AB.

I really should have started blogging in mid-January when I began having trouble dealing with my freedom. More than anything else it was the lack of structure in my days. I could wake up and go to bed as I pleased and essentially had no responsibilities. I know approximately ALL of you want to strangle me right now, but hear me out. In grad school I would have also killed to have this kind of time. So trust me, it came as a surprise when I began to recognize the signs of mild-depression that I was experiencing.

I soon realized not having anything to do also meant having no sense of accomplishment, which apparently was important for me. How was I going to justify how I spent a day? 

Additionally, this was the first time I wasn't receiving a paycheck. With moving and living expenses and payments for the wedding I watched the savings I had accrued over almost a decade practically vanish.

After settling in I began to take charge of our finances and came up with a budget so we could continue saving for the wedding on AB's paycheck. I started searching for coupons and grocery deals, mapped out the most efficient routes to the stores to save on gas, and made all of our meals. Helping us to save money became how I could gain the feeling of accomplishment. It wasn't enough.

I followed through my plan of applying for the those internships but wasn't going to hear back until March and decided in the mean time I needed a job. It would address the finance issue and get me out of the apartment. But what kind of job? I either needed a job that would let me go on a 10 week hiatus if I was lucky enough to get one of the internships or get a job that I could afford to quit.

And so one day when I successfully got myself out of the apartment and walked to the mall across the street I passed the Ritz Camera store that happened to have a sign advertising that they were hiring. I picked up an application and debated for a week whether this was something I really wanted to do. 

Long story short, after two rounds of interviews and a background check they offered me the job. So there you have it. I got a job. I am now a Ritz Camera part-time employee. There's a first.

Allow me to introduce myself...

I am Karpatchi. Yup, that's my real name (no it's not).

I'm your fairly typical Taiwanese American that grew up in the suburbs of Philly. Did well enough in school, had my extra curricular activities, played my musical instruments, full ride to Villanova University, received a BS in Chemistry, and then went on to obtain a MS and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Rochester. Super. There's just one problem; I don't want to be a research chemist.

If not research then what? Glad I asked. 

While grinding through graduate school I acknowledged for the first time that I had a creative side. It had been suppressed, tucked away, and only came out to play when I had a camera in my hand - or so I thought. Of course it had always been with me. I just never paid it any attention. However, with time and encouragement from friends and family I began to accept that I had a knack for photography.

Not getting enough satisfaction out of chemistry research, I eventually came up with a way to marry and utilize my creative side along with my scientific mind. I want to become a science broadcaster. I think. (maybe I just want to be a photographer? a discussion for separate post).

You know, the person that gets the facts together for your weekly NOVA program, Lab Radio on NPR, or maybe just the go-to science correspondant on your local news. 

The issue at hand is that there is no obvious route to this destination. 

This blog will serve several purposes for me: 1) Putting thoughts to paper/computer screen has always been therapeutic. I have a tendency to think in circles. 2) I recognize that this is a major crossroad in my  life and I want to document it. 3) I value the opinions and advice of other people, especially from family and friends. 4) To create discussions. 5) I have done a piss poor job of staying in touch with those people I care about. With everyone in different geographic locations and on different schedules this is an attempt to keep you informed of what is going on in my life. 6) To gain writing experience.

I hope you will join me as I navigate my way towards a career.


PS. Thanks to Tulaza who gave me the idea for the blog name.