Hiatus: Farewell for now!

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I know.  I’ve been MIA.  And I definitely have not been posting regularly per my NYE resolutions.  But that’s because I’ve been working on something new.  Something that I’ve been debating about for a while.  I would talk myself out of it, and then talk myself back into it.  And so I finally realized if I don’t do this, I’m probably going to wonder “what if…” for the rest of my life.

So here it is:  Susan Chiang Photography.

Soochie was a little step – ok maybe a semi-powerwalk, in the right direction.  For those of you reading out there (thanks for following me!) I hope that you will join me at my new space!  For existing email subscribers you can subscribe to receive new posts by email using the form from the blog page just like you did for soochie.

Find the new blog here: www.susanchiang.com/blog.

It is too bad that I have to leave soochie here all alone, but I’m maybe one day it will make a reappearance. Until then, see you at the new URL!

 

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If I should have a daughter…

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If you have a free moment, you should think about spending it watching Sarah Kay’s talk on TED.

My boyfriend shared it with me because he thought it would inspire me. And it did. So much that I watched it again the next day. And now I want to share it with you.

I can’t really pinpoint why it’s inspirational, but it moves me. I think it’s her honesty and passion. (Not to mention her crazy way with words. How does she do that? She delivers them so well!)

She asks you to think about three things you know to be true. And not to think too hard about them. Here are mine this morning:

1. Lighting makes a huge difference, if not all the difference when it comes to the mood of a place.

2. Everyone sees colors differently.

3. Lemon tea honey and cayenne pepper is a super drink.

It’s an interesting exercise because when I think about them some more, I start thinking about other things. Like what I don’t know to be true. Or what I think to be true but maybe isn’t. I start to think about all the self doubt I’ve had lately and how it’s holding me back. Sort of. I have been spending most of my waking hours thinking about how to find a way into photography. Am I good enough? Can I actually manage it with a full time job? How much time do I have before the rest of life gets in the way? And then I am exhausted.

But that’s the wrong perspective. I know it, but I can’t help it sometimes. Sarah talks about her journey, how she realized she could, she would, and then did. With her own style. It’s a nice reminder and great inspiration.

One of the my favorite lines in her poem “B”:

And she’s going to learn that this life will hit you hard in the face, wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

To me, at this time, it says: don’t be afraid to fail.

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Homemade Chinese: Sticky Red Bean Cake

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It doesn’t seem weird to me to eat beans for dessert.  But I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m Asian.  Asians really like their dessert beans.  (Except the boyfriend.  He doesn’t fancy bean desserts.  He’s so weird.)  Asians even like dessert beans for breakfast.  Especially in red and green.  Sounds, festive right?

Another fun fact:  Asians really like sticky rice too.  If you have never had it, it’s this wonderfully chewy treat that can be made salty or sweet.  A nephew to sticky rice is sticky flour or glutinous flour.  (Why does that sound so unappealing).  But believe me.  Delicious.  It’s what mochi balls are made out of.  Mochi, you know, the “secret” topping at Pinkberry that everyone knows about.

So let’s put two and two together.  Red beans + sticky rice flour.  This is a dessert popular around Chinese New Year.  But I don’t see why you can’t eat it all year around.

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New Month: February

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I don’t really consider myself a “girly-girl” but I’m definitely not a “tom-boy” either. If you throw a ball at my head I’m probably going to run for cover. But if you give me tools and tell me we’re going to climb up on a roof and nail down some shingles – I’m game. Most of my clothes are black and gray. But I have my fair share of color speckled dresses too. I’m totally comfortable cooking, cleaning and being all domestic. I buy colorful patterned oven mitts with frilly flowers. I will never carry a petal adorned purse. I know. I’m all over the place.

So this month I made this desktop calendar and thought: “hm. this is not me”. I don’t do hearts and flower graphics. Maybe I felt that this was an acceptable blend of frilly-but-not-too-frilly. The two hearts are made of hand-carved olive wood brought back from Israel by the boyfriend’s parents. I like how the wood grain is unique in each heart and signifies that no two hearts are alike. Hope you like it!

If you want to decorate your desktop, click on the just click on the appropriate size for your screen.

1280 x 800

1280 x 1024

1440 x 900

1680 x 1050

1920 x 1200

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The Butterfly Farm

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We took a family cruise last year and visited The Butterfly Farm in St. Maarten.  Did you know that butterflies are indicators of ecosystem health? Like bees, they cross pollinate plants. Some plant species would not be able to survive without butterflies.  If I had my own garden, I would plant these milkweed seeds because the Monarchs need them.

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Travel: San Francisco

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This year is going to be full of traveling.  I can feel it.  I can see it.  It’s getting pencil-ed in ever so lightly on my google calendar for March, maybe May and June too.  There are going to be short little weekend trips to nearby places and bigger trips to faraway destinations too.

We made a trip to San Francisco just a few weekends ago.  We stayed in an old “turn of the century” house right on Castro Street.  This means it’s been around since the 1900s.  Incredible, right?  Think about how many people have lived there.  I didn’t see any ghosts though – thank goodness.  Here are some pictures from their website of the outside.  One from now and one from way back then.  I took some more pictures of the inside too.  It’s cute isn’t it?

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Happy Chinese New Year!

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Happy Chinese New Year!  2012 is the year of the Dragon.  It’s expected that there are going to be a lot of Asian people trying to make babies this year because Dragon babies are supposed to be lucky and strong.  So to my friends that are trying: Good Luck!  For everyone else, I hope that this year is lucky for you in other ways.  新年快樂!

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