Photo: Perfect Profile

Taken February 18, 2012 with Minolta SRT Super. Unedited.

I was extremely pleased with this photo once I finally saw it. Not only is my subject pretty, but I would say that this is a perfect exposure with good composition, beautiful contrasting, and great depth of field. There are a few other photos from this day with the same surreal look and feel, which I will be posting soon.

One Week as a SeaWorld Adventure Camper

Back in the summer of 2006, I went on a trip with my cousin and her family to San Diego SeaWorld to participate in an educational program called Adventure Camps. As part of our five-day “adventure,” we got to see everything, and I mean everything, that the park had to offer – including a part of SeaWorld that is typically off-limits to regular park-goers: “behind the scenes.”

As a previous aspiring __________ (insert any job title relating to the care or study of animals, here), and since my cousin dreamed of being a dolphin trainer, I knew there was no way I could turn down her invitation to join her on the trip. After all, how many times in your life do you actually get to meet and greet dolphins; sit in the front row at the Shamu Show; learn about sharks, hands-on; go snorkeling; ride and re-ride (and re-ride) the Journey to Atlantis water coaster; spend quality time with your cousin and her family (brownie points?!); and MORE, all in the same week? (Seriously, people, I was a Junior in high school at the time). Well, where I’m from (land-locked and surrounded by mountains), there was no way any of that would have EVER happened if I hadn’t gone. And despite how bland the last two days at the park seemed (due to repetition in activities), I’m pretty glad I was given the chance to experience this.

My cousin, her cousin, and I all signed up for a five-day day camp program offered by SeaWorld. This not only allowed us to spend time at the park, but outside the park, as well, for personal itineraries during the evenings. The groups were split up according to age group, and luckily, the three of us were all placed in the 9th-12th grade group, along with about ten or so other kids. Each group had a guide, and if I recall correctly, an assistant guide, that not only held the responsibility of “guiding” us around, but to make sure that each of us stayed with the group. Even as a kid, I recall the whole park experience to be very organized, and not to mention, our guides were pretty awesome.

Now, let’s see if I can dig into that deep part of my memory…ah, yes. Here is a list of the activities (that I remember) that were included in the five-day day camp:

• A tour of the “hospital” area – we saw a plethora of detained sick and recovering marine animals and were told about their treatment process, facilities, etc. One story that I remember a vet tech told us was how a sea lion was in the hospital for having a parasite, and that the end of the worm came out with a bowel movement one day. Knowing that they had no other way, one of the employees ran over and stepped on the tail of the parasite to prevent it from going back in. After pulling it out completely, the parasite ended up being about 30 feet long. (GROSS)!
• Dolphin meet and greet – best part of the whole five-day trip. We were each allowed to stand right by the edge of their pool with one or two small fish. When they approached, we got to toss the fish right into their mouths and pet them. I wish this could’ve lasted all day…

Dolphina (my name for this one) smiles for the camera!

My cousin Hailey shares a moment with a dolphin, behind the scenes at SeaWorld.

• Fed sting rays. Actually, they had their stings removed, so they were safe to touch! The trainer explained to us that all we needed to do was clamp the piece of meat in between two fingers, stick it in the water for a nearby ray, and then it would suck it into its mouth like a vacuum. That’s exactly what it felt like, and it was awesome. This is probably my second-most memorable part of the trip.
• Got to hold/touch starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, etc. One of the animals (sea cucumber?) was the most interesting and eerie of them all to hold – if they are out of the water for too long, they start to expand as a defense mechanism. If they aren’t placed back in soon, they will simply explode. (Don’t worry – I didn’t “try it to see what would happen.”)

Holding a starfish!

• Sat in on a plethora of shows, including the Shamu Show, which we got to see front-and-center. Yes, we got very wet that day.

Front-and-center at the Shamu Show

• Toured all of the other open features and displays in the park – the non-exclusive part of the program.

Flamingo pond at SeaWorld.

View from the Bayside Skyride

• Went on all the rides once or twice (or thrice or…).
• Learned about sharks, hands-on – got to study and touch baby leopard sharks.

My group listening to some guides talk about sharks.

• Went on a two or three hour-long snorkeling excursion at a marina nearby Seaworld – got to swim around and view the underwater life. There wasn’t anything more than sea grass, crawdads, and the occasional fish here-and-there, but it was still pretty fun.

This marina near SeaWorld was the location of our snorkeling excursion.

That's me as a 17 year-old! Snorkeling for the first time!

• Made awesome friends, whom I personally kept in touch with for a few months after the trip.
• Made memories and the gained the ability to say that I’ve done all of the above.

So if you’ve come to this post searching for a review of SeaWorld’s Adventure Camps, I can tell you from my own experience that it was probably one of the coolest experiences of my young life. At the age of 17, I got to see and learn about something that I was highly interested in at the time – virtually directly. The five-day day camp option cost upwards of $300 dollars, but I’d say that it was well-worth the expense because of all the exclusive stuff we got to see and do in and around the park. The atmosphere that was set by our guides was very laid-back, yet respectful, and they provided us with safety; kept our well-being sound by providing us with water and snacks; and gave us the chance to go do other things around the park based on “rule of majority.” The only relatively negative thing I have to say about the whole experience is that it seemed like five days was too long. Some of the activities that we did in the first three days seemed to be repeated on days four and five, and, well, frankly, there’s only so much to do at SeaWorld. I would look into all their Adventure Camps programs if that worries you. But, of course, I went six years ago, so some of the programs are probably different by now. You have to provide your own sack lunch, which is another downside (sushi is probably not the best meal to have in a park that promotes the well-being of marine life, anyway).

Overall, that week was pretty amazing considering all the new things I got to see and do; the people I got to meet and become closer to; and the memories that were made. I would highly recommend this experience for any K-12 student who is highly interested in marine or animal life. Lastly, I would also recommend sending them with at least one other friend or family member around the same age. That way, neither of them will be alone, which will make their experience all the more enjoyable!

Feel free to comment with questions that I haven’t already covered, or to share your own memories of a SeaWorld Adventure Camp!

I May or May Not Have Shed a Tear

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! (Drum-roll, please)

Introducing my debut as an amateur film actress! (LOL) Enjoy this short film, “Two Late,” produced by my Video Production I group for our final project:

(Told you the photo would bring it all together!)

And that’s a wrap!

Like, really.

Because I just graduated from college!!!

Sure, some people might think that’s an achievement, but I don’t really view it as extraordinary. I’ve always liked school and learning new things, so I always knew I would be going to college. But, to be quite honest, I’m just a tad scared to move on with my life. Okay, maybe I’m really scared, but can you blame me? School is pretty much the only thing I’ve known for the past 18 years of my life. That’s 18 years in a row that I’ve spent at least 9 months of every year sitting in a classroom learning something with 30 other people. One more time, just in case you didn’t hear/read me: 18 years.

On my way to school for the last time on Wednesday, I watched students walking on the sidewalk – some at a normal pace, some frantically as if they were late for their next class. You can always tell who is just beginning and who has been there for a while from the way that they walk. (Because, let’s face it, once you become a Junior, you are pretty mellow and do whatever you want – especially if you’re a Communication major…LOL). I drove the familiar route that I had driven for the past three years to the parking lot near LNCO (Language and Communication building), and I may or may not have shed a tear remembering what it was like to be one of those frantic students -  one of those students who is taking that “attendance-based” general; one of those students who still thinks sucking-up to the teacher will get you an “A”; one of those students who think they’re going to be a doctor and end up going into communications (LOL ). And then I remembered, briefly, all the good times that the University of Utah let me experience: the football games, volunteering, meeting awesome people, gaining invaluable knowledge and skills for the “after-life”…

I make graduation sound like it’s putting me through utter turmoil, but it is quite relieving (despite the fact that I will no longer be able to use “school” as an excuse to take time off from work or not attend certain activities because I just don’t feel like going). (Who hasn’t done that before?) I feel as though a ton of weight has just been lifted off my shoulders. I no longer feel burdened from the commitment of spending extra time studying and doing homework when I really just want to sit and watch some HGTV. I feel good. I feel…free. But most importantly, I feel ready – ready to take on the world and re-start my career in the right direction. It’s time to begin a new chapter…

Who Burns Their Tongue on KFC Mashed Potatoes, Anyway?

Apparently, I do…

We were hours into our drive home from Reno when I realized that half a Clif Bar, a few cheddar flavored Sun Chips, and a small piece of black pepper jerky were no longer going to sustain me. We conveniently pulled off i-80 in Elko, NV and pulled right into the drive-thru of a KFC (yeah, yeah – I can hear your “ew!”s and “gross!”es…whatever). After ordering “the usual” (not that I eat there that often), we proceeded back onto the freeway. I lifted the lid off the 8 oz. container which held the beloved mashed potatoes and discovered a nice trove of gravy on the inside of the lid. Without thinking twice about my instincts to satisfy my starvation, I stuck the tip of my tongue into the amassment of creamy goodness, and that’s when it happened.

Normally I would’ve relied on my eyesight for any clues that my food was boiling hot, but by this time, it was already pitch black outside (despite it only being 5:30 pm in Nevada) so I was challenged to eating the so-called “artificial” meal (KFC conspiracies) according to my four other senses. As a result, not only did I have to suffer through the rest of my meal with a numb tongue-tip that failed to provide me the 5% of taste-ability that the rest of my tongue could, but for about a week, I suffered additionally from the aftermath; a painful canker had prohibited me from appropriately eating like a normal person. Imagine a semi-open-mouthed attempt to chew. Yep, I pretty much looked like a dog trying to eat a giant hunk of microwaved leftover steak. (It’s not funny, please stop laughing).

Prior to this horrific happenstance, I had spent a majority of the car ride reminiscing our vacation in San Francisco. I imagined how amazing it would be to live there. I imagined how amazing it would be to live in a one-of-a-kind, pastel pink or yellow Victorian; how amazing it would be to walk anywhere within a reasonable distance to shop or dine, or to simply board a highly-accessible form of public transportation to go a little farther; how amazing it would be to explore the redwood forests or spend your whole weekend at Golden Gate Park; how amazing it would be to grow the inner-foodie in me with the mass variety of food available to indulge in (what’s “KFC”?).

When I now express to Kyle and my parents my desire to move to San Francisco, they mock me by saying that I said the same thing about Long Beach and Vancouver, B.C. Let me explain something to you: while it might be true that I literally said “I could live here” when I was physically in said cities, I was oblivious to the idea that “I could definitely see myself living there.” I mean, technically, anyone can live here (wherever “here” is), but the fact that I could see myself living there (wherever “there” is) is a completely different level of conscious thought. And, to reassure my desire, I recently read this Huffington Post article about how the quality of life in San Francisco is among the best in the world. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I knew it was great just driving through the hilly city the day we arrived.

But what do you care? I’m going to live there someday, and that’s all that matters. In the meantime, I’ll just have to resort to sharing my favorite photos that I took of/in the city with you all.

View of "the top" from Pier 39, San Francisco. Does anyone know which "hill" this is? (I think it might be Russia Hill) Taken November 24, 2011.

The infamous Lombard Street, the "windiest street in the world." Taken from the staircase-of-a-sidewalk parallel to the street on November 26, 2011.

The Transamerica Pyramid as seen from Chinatown, San Francisco. Taken November 25, 2011.

Close-up of the top of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. Taken November 25, 2011 at 70mm.

Just a neat shot of a street and buildings from Chinatown, San Francisco. November 25, 2011.

A trolley strolls up toward Nob Hill in San Francisco. November 25, 2011.

Taken from atop Twin Peaks in San Francisco on November 25, 2011. Does anyone know what street this is?

Taken from atop Twin Peaks in San Francisco on November 25, 2011. Does anyone know which bridge this is?

I always wish I had a sister

In place of writing about San Francisco today, I thought I would share a photo with you as a teaser for my group’s final video production project (which also happens to be my very last project, EVER, as a college student!!!).

Watch out! It's the Whitney Woo Twins!

In case you don’t know me in person, please be informed that this is a photo of me – only me. I don’t have a twin, I just have decent Photoshop skills. Now, which is the real me? Clearly it’s the better, less evil-looking one on the left. Just kidding…actually, the evil-looking one on the right is the real me. Sorry to disappoint you.

Lastly, I would like to say that this image pretty much creeps me out. I mean, I always wish I had a sister, but seriously?

Anyway, keep your eyes out for my group’s awesomely fantastic final video project, which I will gladly share on my blog later this week. If you watch it, you will definitely see how the above image ties into the story. (Haha! I know what happens and yooooooooooouuuu don’t! Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah!)

Tall Yellow Grass

Ashley, October 2011

Curious

Ashley, October 2011