MY WEEK IN PHOTOS: MAY 8–14, 2017!

MY WEEK IN PHOTOS: MAY 8–14, 2017!

Preparing for my visit to Texas for a work trip, the journey and experience of El Paso, celebrating Mother’s Day Weekend, and exploring San Pedro.

Enjoy!

Good morning! Spending this week preparing for an upcoming work trip to El Paso, Texas.

Ran around figuring out a mic situation.

Monday night taco team celebration!

Celebrating the launch of a project (that actually launched uh…2 months ago?)

Morn!

Fried chicken salad ahah my favorite salad that’s just like buffalo chicken nuggets on a some lettuce.

Leaving the Getty around 6 to have some dinner before returning to shoot the Getty at night.

Bibigo!

Quick stop by the candy shop

All set up to shoot the lights that were on the Getty up on the hill. Los Angeles monuments were lit up because the Olympic committee was in town driving through the city.

Leaving for El Paso today, so spent the morning packing and preparing to leave.

Mix of leftovers and some spicy rice cakes cooked pan “fried”

Ready to go!

Checking in the tripod case

My boss recommended this book to me, been reading about nonviolent communication.

One of those rare instances where the seats were 2 to a row, bigger and comfier, and nobody was sitting next to me. I guess there aren’t many direct flights to El Paso from LAX, so they are little commuter planes that go in the morning and evening.

Sunset takeoff

The flight was about 2 hours, I landed around 9pm.

Horse sculptures in the airport

Got to my hotel and prepped my equipment

Went looking for food
The Tap! I can’t resist a dive bar with a neon sign.

It was a Wednesday night and unfortunately the kitchen was closed. But I did get to order some nachos, that was the only thing available.

The nachos were seriously 6 GIANT chips, basically half a corn tortilla each. I couldn’t finish!

Calendar stone

The free breakfast at the hotel

Good morning! Packed up my equipment

Ready to roll

The drive to my destination, a view of Juarez across from the highway.

Here to interview artist and illustrator Zeke Pena, check out his Instagram. He’s super interesting, talented, and it was a pleasured to interview him about a project he’s currently collaborating on with the Getty.

After our interview and b-roll filming, he was kind of enough to drive me around El Paso. This mural is by Los Dos, a tribute to the border community between El Paso and Juarez, Mexico. The cities are connected in work, economy, family. Zeke was kind enough to share his experience of the community divided by a river, then a national border, and now a border wall.
I’m a dumb American, and I wasn’t really aware of how close El Paso is to the Mexican border. I would have brought my passport, to have lunch in Juarez, but unfortunately I didn’t have it with me.

Geographically, El Paso and Juarez are pretty isolated. You have to drive a while into Mexico or into New Mexico or into Texas to reach the next major city. They are connected in many ways that I didn’t really understand before seeing just how close the cities are.

Zeke makes a lot of work about the border community, and I was curious to see the border itself. As an American, we hear a lot about “BUILD A WALL” and “THE BORDER IS LEAKING” or whatever rhetoric. To me the border felt kind of abstract. Like a random line that was decided once and determines clearly two places. Pretty naive, I know.

But here in El Paso, the border has a physicality. It has a river, that was once natural and then turned into a man-made concrete one to make it harder for the river divide to change and shift the border. The border has plants and people and houses and even neighborhoods that are historic to the Mexican Revolution and now are significant places for immigrants. Holding facilities, temporary housing, migrant worker gathering places, etc. More on the historic Chihuahuita and El Segundo Barrio.
And the border already has a wall, partially funded by George W. Bush and then continued to be funded by Barack Obama.

A view from up by the University. Juarez in the distance, beyond the river.

Student work at the Uni nearby. My time in Texas was short! But so interesting and fruitful. Airport carpet Goodbye El Paso and Juarez! I had the next day off so I went with my parents to celebrate Mother’s Day weekend to explore San Pedro. Korean Friendship Bell built in Angel’s Gate Park Looking out over the ocean Wandering around the park The park was once a military fort, so there are leftover ruins from that. So many snails! More beautiful snails Huge bark! Point Fermin Lighthouse One of my favorite things when I was little was climbing things, especially my Uncle’s fruit trees in his backyard. View from the trees Hi ho! Doggo trying to get a good view The Sunken City! In 1929, a landslide knocked a bunch of fancy homes into the ocean. Yes, seriously! Now the foundations, roads, and leftover parts of homes are a destination for street artists and “urban explorers.” Once was a road Life finds a way. See me jump?
Pano by Zach

Cabrillo Beach had some piles of rocks…which means…seaglass! We did some hunting and found the most seaglass I’ve ever seen.

We only spent about 20 minutes there. I’d come back. Nearby is the Frank Gehry designed aquarium.

Celebrating mother’s day with some oysters

Yum, fish!

Walked around the little wharf area

Got to come back to the San Pedro Fish Market for shrimp and potatoes.

Cute!

The next day I got dimsum with my parents and family friends.

Went afterwards with Colee to get some floral coffee drinks

Bia Coffee, we got the lavendar and rose lattes

Delicious!

Stopped by Amoeba

Now that X-Files is off Netflix (WAHH) I’m on the hunt for the used DVDs

Colee got some jazz records

Store pug!

Home!

Their favorite sun spot

Spent some time with my parents, working on a puzzle I started at Christmas.

CAR WASH FINALLY

Relief

My favorite cheap and lazy lunch

Snake’s birthday. Playing the snowboard version of Tony Hawk. Selina so cute how close she holds the controller to her person.

Cranium in action

Happy B-day, Jake

Literally only wanna paint axolotls until I perfect them and love them all.

The day I decided on my homepage theme

Mother’s Day Card

Breakfast socks

Mother’s Day celebration at my cousin’s

BBQ

Roasting churro marshmallows that the sales lady said NOT to roast so that means we wanted to see what would happen. (Nothing really, they just melt really quickly) REACTION when I told her there was spinach in the cake ahah! Happy Birthday to my cousin Keri! Not a proper family gathering without a talent show
Bibi

Piano duet

I fit (barely) into their Cinderella dress

I’m a short Princess

Pasadena

Stick shift driving lesson by the Rose Bowl

I’ll end the week with this photo of Downtown LA.

What a busy week! *Whew*

Much love friends.