Photo of the Week (May 25, 2008)

Greetings from Tustin, California, USA!
Photo taken on Thursday, May 22, 2008.

A few weeks ago I started a short-term job at a business owned by a friend. I had barely been there a week when I got a call from one of the many job placement agencies with which I signed up. It had a one-week assignment for me. After months of nothing from any agency, I finally get something and I’m already working elsewhere. I had a quick conversation with my friend who was incredibly understanding about the situation.

The job start last week and was at the Orange County Register newspaper. The parent company Freedom Media just went through a round of lay-offs. I was working in the Creative Department, which lost nearly half its employees and needed temporary help while it reorganized. The length of the work assignment doubled to two weeks as I would cover for a person who was on vacation the following week. The job itself was easy as it matched well with my previous work experience and skills. In fact I had plenty of down time and I jokingly told a few friends later that reading the newspaper was practically a required part of the job.

The newspaper has its own five-story building with its printing facility in an adjoining structure. A sister company, the local television station KOCE, has offices in the first floor and that channel played on its dining center television. The cafeteria’s location was surprising. I expected it to be on the first floor but it was on the fourth instead. It also had a patio with a great view, as the building is located in a mostly residential area.

The building was literally just a mile or so down the road from my friend’s office. Because of this close proximity, I was able to work both jobs. On most days I was able to put in an hour or so at my friend’s office during my lunch break or before/after working at the newspaper job.

While I did take pictures inside the newspaper offices and the fourth floor patio view, this week’s photo was taken elsewhere. The slightly blurry shot shows one of the two air hangers at the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Station. I took several photos to find the best setting and angle to show the truly enormous size of the structure (and its twin). The military base closed several years ago and current redevelopment plans have only one hanger staying up. While the buildings have both military and architectural significance, maintenance and preservation costs are naturally as large as the structures themselves. The challenge is finding a use for buildings of this size and shape. I’m stumped. Ideas, anyone?

Angelo

Photo of the Week (May 18, 2008)

Greetings from Newport Beach, California, USA!
Photo taken on Saturday, May 17, 2008.

At the year’s start I mentioned an event with the intent of telling more at a later date. Fast forward four months and I am finally writing about it. The Relay for Life (aka Relay or RFL) is an annual signature event of the American Cancer Society. Many elements make the Relay go from being just a charity fundraiser to a unique experience. Individuals and teams still collect donations and the Kick Off event in January started that fundraising effort. But the big stuff happened last weekend.

RFL is not a one-day, global event. Instead literally thousands of Relays occur throughout the year in communities around the world. I participated in the one for Newport Beach on May 17-18, 2008, while the neighboring city of Costa Mesa had its own a day earlier. Also the event spans two days but it actually lasts 24 hours, which is meant to represent that cancer never stops and we won’t stop fighting back either.

While a traditional charity event is a formal dinner at a hotel ballroom, RFL takes place outdoors at a school track field typically. Teams camp overnight and teammates take turns to walk or run around the track continuously - the ‘relay’ part. The event organizers provide participants with entertainment and activities on and off the track – music, movies, contests, etc. Various restaurants and other businesses donated food for breakfast, snacks, lunch, more snacks, dinner, even more snacks and late-night cravings.

Relays are done differently from city to city, but a common and best part of any RFL is the luminaria ceremony. In the evening hours, the track’s inner perimeter is lined with small white paper bags decorated with writing and art to recognize people who have had cancer. Inside them candles are lit. Other luminaria are arranged in the surrounding stadium to form special words. “CURE” and “HOPE” are perennials but this year another word was added. My photo of the week shows the luminaria lining the track and spelling out “LOVE” in the stands.

Newport Beach Relay made over $223,000, well beyond its goal of $175,000. I was not at the event the entire 24 hours but came and went four times. I stopped by, walked a few laps for my team, left to do some errands, stopped by again and walked more laps, then went to a party, stopped by yet again and walked even more laps until 1:00 AM, going home to sleep in my own bed. I’m too pampered to camp out and snooze in a sleeping bag. I came back one last time at 8:00 AM, stayed for the closing ceremony and helped pack up my team’s campsite. I came home exhausted but if you asked me right then and there if I would do it again next year, I’d say yes immediately.

Angelo

Photo of the Week (May 11, 2008)

Greetings from Laguna Niguel, California, USA!
Photo taken on Tuesday, May 6, 2008.

Happy Mother’s Day! Over the past several years I have seen trends among family and friends. First came a wave of weddings happening practically every weekend. Next came a flurry of feathers as the stork worked overtime delivering a blur of pink and blue bundles of joy. Then black balloons bobbed by as friends tease you for hitting 40. This was followed by more weddings and then more babies, some born but others adopted.

In less than a year, I know three couples who have all adopted babies. Circa August last year the first couple went to the husband’s (and my) homeland, the Philippines, in Asia and brought back a son. In March another couple went to Africa and brought back a daughter. So far the tally is one boy and one girl.

Breaking the tie, another couple stayed within national borders and brought home their adopted son from St. Louis, Missouri. The new parents presented their prodigy, this week’s photo, at a little party, which doubled as a belated 40th birthday for the proud papa too. While father and son share attention on Saturday, mother surely got her shot in the spotlight the very next day, enjoying her first of many Mother’s Days to come.

Of course I visited my own mother (and father) that Sunday and gave her a simple gift of flowers. My mom has pretty much everything that she needs. In fact she literally has closets full of unused presents received over the years. I see no point adding to the pile. Some presents are regifted while a few have made their way into my hands for use. Also forget about going to a restaurant. My mom does not see much value in eating out nor care for the larger crowds and longer waits as everyone else dines out on Mother’s Day.

After consecutive 13 weeks my run of photos in different cities ends as I already know that the next picture will be from a previously and frequently used city. Nonetheless I impressed myself in this small accomplishment. Lastly I started a short-term job. A friend runs his own small company, which has less than a dozen employees. He recently lost a few workers and asked me to help find replacements while also working on a couple of special projects. The open positions did not fit my career interest but I could not turn down the temporary job. Maybe next week I’ll ask for a raise or is that too soon?

Angelo

Photo of the Week (April 27 & May 4, 2008) Part 2 of 2

Greetings from Orange, California, USA!
Photo taken on Monday, April 28, 2008.

What topic deserved a momentary change to my weekly email format as mentioned in my last message? First here’s a bit more suspense with a quick detour. The weekly photo is a shot of the walkway leading to the movie theatre at the Block of Orange shopping center where I had a cheap dinner with friends. Okay, enough suspense. The topic is Men’s College Volleyball. After recounting matches since January, how could I not write about the regional and national championships? At least I am combining the competitions in one email instead of spreading them over two. Count your blessings.

In Week 1 the regional championships were held at the Walter Pyramid on the nearby California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State) campus. I passed on attending and simply checked the web for Thursday’s semifinals results and watched Saturday’s finals via internet video.

The 2nd-seated Cougars of Brigham Young University (BYU) did a 3-0 sweep of the 3rd-seated Matadors of California State University, Northridge. In the other semifinals match, 5th-seated Waves of Pepperdine University, having already defeated 4th-seated UCLA in the quarterfinals, rebounded from a two-game deficit, winning 3-2 over the 1st-seated 49ers of Long Beach State. Against BYU in the finals, Pepperdine continued its victory streak, winning 3-2 games (28-30, 28-30, 32-30, 30-27, 15-8). Perhaps the Waves should be renamed the Tsunamis.

In Week 2 the national championships were held at the Bren Event Center on the UC Irvine campus. The three regional champions - the Mountain/Pacific’s Pepperdine Waves, the Midwest’s Ohio State Buckeyes and Eastern’s Penn State Nittany Lions were joined by the Long Beach State 49ers, the “at-large” competitor, typically the highest ranking team not already competing.

With the Anteaters hosting but not competing in the competition, I was on the fence on attending. My indecision was resolved by a friend’s free ticket to Thursday’s semifinals. Just a week after their last face off in the regionals, the Waves repeated victory over the 49ers with a 3-0 sweep. Meanwhile Penn State triumphed 3-1 over Ohio State. ESPN2 broadcasted Saturday’s final and I watched the Waves winning streak end with a 1-3 loss (30-27, 31-33, 25-30, 23-30). In Men’s College Volleyball National Championships’ 38 years, Mountain/Pacific region teams have won all but two titles, both times by Penn State. Congrats to the Nittany Lions.

No more volleyball talk until January except for the Olympics in August. But that lasts only two weeks. Count your blessings (again).

Angelo