Woke up to a most unusual March snow this morning. Seeing everything capped in snow again amplified how much I already missed Winter. How much I really wished I could just restart this whole season. Went out and helped my father knock the heavy snow off of our evergreens and then decided to gear up and venture into the forest nearby the house. There is such an eerie calmness to a snowy forest. The snow was already melting and all you could hear was your breath and the sound of dropping slush. I found a large overturned tree and investigated its treefall gap. I’ve certainly been looking at forest ecology differently since I’ve started volunteering at the local state parks.

I digress.

The silence was so peaceful and calm that when I heard the movement of a nearby deer I nearly jumped out of my skin. Away in the distance next to a second fallen tree stood two perfectly still deer. I didn’t get a good look at them but they were probably white-tailed deer (a species Smithsonian is working closely with). I managed to shoot a couple of shots of them but I didn’t have a zoom lens attached. They ran away before I could get closer. 

It was a rather small forest surrounded, albeit sparsely, by residential properties and the lake from my previous shoot. As I retraced my step back to my house I kept thinking how much I’d love to trek into a deep mountainside forest. How much I would love waking up to that crisp, frozen mountain air. I would only need good equipment and a good partner (human or animal) and I know I could make something for myself. Today will be dedicated to filling out my application for the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation. It is a costly program, but in the position I’m in, experience and technical training is invaluable. I am going to have to really work to earn the scholarship, It’d be the only way I allow myself to go back to school before grad school. 

Well, we will see, que sera sera.


Trek On,

Chris

What happens when you cross a Fox, Wolf and Lion? My baby, Leviathan. Going through the usual Monday applications and took a break to watch a movie with the mom and son and thought I’d take advantage of the natural light.

Let us travel the world together my son.

Trek On,

Chris

What better way to kick off spring break than a trip to the National Zoological Park? My brother, Alex, and a number of my friends came home from UVA this week and thought it’d be nice for an impromptu journey into DC. Much to the surprise of my father and I, my brother asked if he could borrow one of the DSLR’s to start shooting around UVA. In terms of men of the So household who are photographers, my brother was the last frontier. We decided to let him take the 5D into DC with us and I gave him an extremely simplified breakdown of manual shooting during the metro in.  To be honest, he picked it up remarkably quick and was able to properly expose a photo within his first 5 tries. I made sure to tell him to try to photograph things in a variety of difficult situations such as against the sky and inside a dark museum (see his shot against the sky). 

I am absolutely in love with the NZP. I have gone several times by myself and even dragged my friends here for my 18th birthday. The animals are all somewhat sentimental to me after the photography project I did on them as well as the sheer amount of research and applications I have sent to work/ intern for the NZP. Nothing too remarkable today but I did capture the curious face of one of the Red Pandas (as you can see I too can use some work shooting into the sky). 

Sunday was the usual relaxed day around the house. The weather was so remarkable that we decided to do some yard work. Some cousins of mine came over and we all decided to head to the nearby lake for some fishing. It was another wonderful opportunity for my brother to develop his photography skills. This time he had to figure out how to properly expose the sky, water and trees/ houses of a landscape. Of course the day couldn’t end without the cliche photographer’s-photo-of-a-photographer. 

All in all, another wonderful weekend to be thankful for. I’m starting this week a bit behind and have a lot to do but things do seem hopeful. 

Here’s to good people, good times and good things to come.

Trek On,

Chris

Starbucks

image

image

     Earlier this week I went back to my alma mater to meet with a potential job/intern connection (oh the things that incite excited speeding now a days). I decided to make the most out of the 4 hours I bought at the parking deck and met up with my good friends Jerry and Sonja for coffee and catching up.

As I sat and waited for them to arrive, I had a lot of time to look around and think. Things had changed so much since I graduated. This was the same 24-hour Starbucks I used to spend all-nighters cramming for bio exams and, eventually, editing photography projects. This was the Starbucks that I used to buy for my ex when we would study late into the night, this was the Starbucks I discovered the Peace Corps in and this was the Starbucks where I fell in love. I looked around and saw students idly chattering with coffees in their hands, macs galore littered the walls with their serpentine plugs. I thought to myself,

“Damn, if only they knew how much work they could get done on a laptop with decent internet and 8 hours of dedication, do they know how many jobs and internships they could be applying to right now? How many companies and non-profits they could be researching?”

My own mind sickened me. I tried to focus back on my coffee. My Americano, rather.I thought to myself how sad it was that I regretted buying it. I could have gotten cheaper coffee at McDonald’s or Dunkin’, hell, I could have made better coffee from home and brought it in my tumbler. Again, my mind sickened me. Through the echoes and hum drums of the coffee shop I realized how close I was to collapsing in on myself. My dress shoes, dress shirt and tie didn’t make a damn difference. The reflection in the dirty window was of a hungry animal stuck in a room full of children. Rejection and routine had begun to chip away at my self-esteem, my being. Hell, the last time I sat in this chair I basically told the girl I loved her ex still loved her and to go for it! I don’t think a homeless celibate monk could stay jobless and loveless as well as me.

Alas, Jerry and Sonja arrived before I could really dig myself in. The world needs people as bright and happy as these two, I mean it. If there was a success story to be heard it would likely be of these two’s relationship. Neuroscientist meets Photographer, could fate have chosen a more interesting intersection of intriguing arts? We talked about school and about life. We talked about Jerry’s senior art project and Sonja’s second attempt at the beast that is Genetics. Oh how they breathed life back into my day. Hum drums sound completely different when it comes from good friends.

After Sonja left for class, Jerry and I caught up on man-talk. We talked about my next plans and my next moves. We talked about my future jeep. We talked about his future photography projects. And what would boys be without their toys? I let him try out the Mark II and showed him how to use a white balance lens cap, in case he wanted to borrow her, and I took the quaint hipster pictures you see above. 

Seeing my gent and lady was very very much needed. As we bid farewell over promises to go to the shooting range soon, I took one last look at the Starbucks and realized that,

“That was the Starbucks where I got my hope back.”

Trek On,

Chris

Serendipity

     Decided to stay home today to do my usual resume/ application work. By chance it was also the day that, Bruce, the refrigerator repair man, came in to take a second look at our freezer. The whole affair went swimmingly and as colorlessly as I’d expected, until he asked me about my travels in France. I’m not sure how he knew I had travelled there this past summer but I answered him nonetheless and I quickly found that I was in the presence of a well seasoned adventurer. Bruce, in all of his bearded-pony-tailed glory, told me of his adventures in France, Amsterdam, Australia and so much more.

“When I was your age my boss hated giving me my paycheck, because he knew I wouldn’t be back for the next 6 weeks”.

I don’t exactly know what job he was working or how vacation hours worked back in 1975, but, Bruce would pack up his bags, choose a country and head there with nothing on his mind but experiencing the world.

“If you’re under 25, finished with school and got your education, I say HAUL ASS! Go to a country, apply for a work Visa, work a little and then off to the next country. Before you know it you’ve travelled the damn world! Because if you get right out of school and find a job, you’re not going anywhere! Next thing you know you’re 40 and you’re thinking to yourself, I never got to do any of those things.”

I kind of wished Bruce would stay for dinner and just tell me about his life. It was as close to serendipity as I’ve ever felt. I can’t say that it profoundly changed much for me…the gears of my wanderlust have been grinding ever since I left school. At the same time, my overbearing, responsible mind has been screeching the brakes on just as hard. I don’t want to get swept away by time, and I fear that every day that passes me, is me getting further and further behind. I’ve been raised to believe that you graduate from college and then you graduate from graduate school and then you work and study for your PhD. Then you get a big job and work and have a family. When that’s all said and done, you can finally enjoy your life. Coming from a family that literally came to this country with nothing, I understand the value we have on education and hard work. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe life should be lived without education and hard work. There should be no limit to how much one learns and accomplishes in their lifetime.

It’s just that…I don’t know. 

I simply, don’t know…

My resume has been refined and torn up by many experienced eyes these past few weeks and I am primed for another onslaught of applications. At the success rate I’ve been having, I am going to need to apply for a not-so-related-not-so-government job. I need the income and structure back in my life…

Well, here’s to what the future may or may not hold.

“Fallin’ from the sky
there are raindrops in my eyes.
And my thoughts are diggin’ in the backyard.
My roots have grown but I don’t know where they are”.

- The Head and The Heart, Cats and Dogs.

Trek On,

Christopher So

P.S. My freezer still doesn’t work. 

Went on an impromptu trip to NJ with my cousin/friend/BJJ partner Kanika (pictured above) over the weekend. Job searching and resume editing for weeks at a time has really started to take a toll on me. ‘The rejections are an experience and learning opportunity’, is what I’ve been telling myself.

Honestly, it was nice to get out of the area even for the 2 days that we went. We stayed in the East Brunswick area and ate at a dim sum restaurant nearby. The food and service was terribly lacking. What I found interesting was the strange abandoned lots in the area behind the restaurant. Surrounding a small cement platform was a army of little saplings and trees. The platform seemed so out of place it was almost haunting. A small glimpse into a technologically apocalyptic world, perhaps? I found a drainage area framed by two trees and thought to myself how much nicer the spot would be if a nearby parking lot didn’t send its overflow into it. Along the same vein I found a pathway of trees that lead directly to a fence and neighborhood. It reminded me of long stretching pathways of trees I saw in France. They led to castles, gardens, museums…

Wanderlust has bitten me so hard these past months. It’s not exactly that I can’t up and hit the world with just my bag and my camera, it’s that I just won’t feel right until I have a steady job. It’s in my being to have structure, work and productivity. I wouldn’t be able to travel and explore if I knew I wasn’t making a difference, a change. That’s what you get when you spend weeks dissecting AmeriCorps’ and PeaceCorps’ websites and fanatically reading as many personal blogs of volunteers as humanly possible…I have a few opportunities coming up that may get me shots at the EPA and the Smithsonian. My resume has been diced up and taped back together so many times yet it never feels like it’s enough. I need to spice up my cover letter as well…That’s what happens when a Pre-Pharm student decides last minute to follow his dreams into Environmental Conservation - a tough uphill battle, but one that I think will be so incredibly worth it.

Here’s to getting up, brushing off and moving forward.

Trek On,

Chris

Job Searching and Late Night Existentialism

We’ve not very long on this planet. It itself will even end one day and what unknown miracles will we have reached by then? I suppose the point is to make the absolute most of the time that we do have - there shouldn’t be a day spent not lived to the fullest. There should be no sadness and no regrets. When the impermanence of it all is mixed perfectly with an appreciation of it all, I don’t think any task or strife should ever seem impossible. Be undeterred and undaunted. It is so clear and yet so hard to understand.

Live to love and love to make a difference.

Chris

Visited DC’s Eastern Market with the lovely Brie Gobel this past weekend. The old market boasts the title of “Washington DC’s oldest continually operated fresh food public market” and is located in historic Capitol Hill (http://www.easternmarket-dc.org/). I was incredibly surprised to find such a lively and diverse market just a few steps away from a metro stop! The goods they sold ranged from finely aged meats and cheeses to fresh cut flowers and ready made seafood dishes. Surrounding the old building were outdoor stands filled with vendors selling odds and ends. While exploring the stands I was approached by an older gentleman named Dan. He was a local and had lived in the area for quite some years. He was interested in my camera and asked what I was shooting. As it turns out he, too, loved photography and had travelled extensively in Asia as a younger man, “When there were more honest things to shoot”. He told me about the area and how much livelier the markets are during the warmer weather. As it turns out the building we were in had, at one point, caught fire and had to be completely gutted out but because of its historic significance, was preserved and restored. Since it was first built in 1873 it has been a home for fresh produce and culture - I was simply honored to be there (http://www.easternmarket-dc.org/default.asp?ContentID=12). The best moment of the day, however, was when Dan bid Brie and I farewell and walked away into the market. It was at that moment that I realized he had been carrying a bouquet of flowers the entire time. My heart warmed to have met such a kind, and fascinating person.

Here’s to impromptu trips, good friends and blessed souls. 

Trek On,

Chris

Went on a spontaneous adventure into D.C. with my lovely photog friend Brie Gobel the other day. Though I wouldn’t normally consider somewhere so close as “travel”, I was surprised at how little I have explored D.C. and found wandering from cafe to cafe to pub to memorials to be invigoratingly adventurous! Whenever and wherever I end up finding myself these next couple of years, I know I will kick myself for not taking advantage of being so close to our nation’s capitol. I will surely kick myself for missing out on all the history and, of course, the fantastic brews and grinds.

Here’s to spontaneity and making plans happen! 

Chris

Picture taken at the flagship Busboys and Poets on 14th & V. The place was cozy, lively and filled with local art. It’s a artist/activist/lover of diversity’s dream place to eat and drink. 

First Steps

Applied to several gov’t jobs today within the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture. Realistically, I don’t know how good of a chance I have of hearing back from any of them, but if things work out, I’ll be working as a Biological Science Technician soon. If things really work out, I may finally find myself in the NW. 

Here’s to being hopeful.

Never stop moving, there is change in the air. 

Chris