~:[CH15 - Day 290]:~ Squishing It In

 

~:[CH15 - Day 290]:~ Squishing It In

Awhile back, I agreed to capture media at a first time festival being organized by a friend. Little did I know that everything would fall on that same weekend. An event I normally cover, MUN, and cross country all had something today and the day itself was quite overwhelming to think about. I traded my MUN coverage, I had to not attend the other event, and I went with the team to the meet before heading to the event. Luckily, the event was close to the meet and the timing wasn't too bad. After catching most of the meet, I headed to the venue, tired from the 5:45am start to my workday. I was a little stressed knowing that I was fatigued and that it was a little warm. In the end, I survived. There was a lot that caused issue as I was capturing these moments from the barricade. Luckily, my entrance was near the stage and I causally walked from there to the stage. It got a little crazy behind me as girls were arguing and I kept getting pushed on with someone even sitting at my ankles, not allowing me to move much. Within the chaos, I made two new friends who dealt with it all with me. One was another media person covering the event, another was a teacher. My schedule was packed, but the area I was in was packed even more. Still yet, I accomplished what I needed to and was happy with the content I was taking home. There was a lot to figure out today to make it all work, but somehow it ended up that it all worked out in the end.

~:[CH15 - Day 289]:~ The Winds of Change

 

~:[CH15 - Day 289]:~ The Winds of Change

It was going to be a busy weekend ahead as I tried to figure out what to do. I canceled one event as it was an impossible feat to do it all and another, I figured would be too tough to make it. With practice canceled, I had a short break before heading to our team event. I found out that one event I was going to cancel, ended up being canceled due to the winds. In a past year, the wind blew all the tents and I think the organizers wanted to avoid that issue again with people inside. One of the performers decided to hold a late night LIVE performance and in the end, I ended up photographing it. After our team event, I jammed over to the studio and captured the moment. I knew that doing so would make the busy weekend busier, but I guess you just make a decision and in the end, deal with the consequences of it. I am not sure how I'll hold up over the weekend, but for now, I'm glad I took the time to attend even if it meant a few less hours of sleep. Mother nature intervened in this case, but in life, sometimes the winds of change help create a path that you didn't thing would originally be there opening up a new road of opportunities. Don't be afraid to take it.

~:[CH15 - Day 288]:~ Let's Do Our Best

 

~:[CH15 - Day 288]:~ Let's Do Our Best

Let's just say, this new conference has gotten off to a rocky start. With heat playing the biggest factor, it exposed the many issues with lack of communication, planning, and organization. Even before this whole fiasco started, we already saw that how they ranked the leagues was problematic and today it showed. While many of the predictable teams fell where they should have, you could see where the faults were with teams falling way behind in their leagues. Regardless, our athletes took on the challenge. They did what they could in their races and I was proud on how they took on the challenge. Our lower levels actually impressed as they won three of the four divisions with frosh-soph girls, who were created at the last minute, ended up in second. There's only so much you can control, but you can control how much effort, time and energy you put it. Even if doesn't end up taking you to where you had hoped to be, you still need to be proud of what you did, because in the end, it will be the thing that helps you the most in life. If you show a consistent effort in all that you do, on average, you'll find the success you hoped for much of the time, even when other factors don't fall in your favor. I hope that things get better in this new conference, but for now, we'll do what we can, hoping everything else falls into place.

~:[CH15 - Day 287]:~ No Matter How Much ...

~:[CH15 - Day 287]:~ No Matter How Much ...

No matter how much thought or planning go into your life, you only control so much. You can make things fit, plan things out, but at some point, somethings just don't work out as planned. I fit my weekly schedule today and found that the Clippers preseason game fit perfectly into it. I was excited as I've always wanted to see Yuki Kawamura in person. Some tickets in a great seat went on sale and so I snagged them, but the Monday before, it was announced that he was waived to my dismay. I was hoping for some type of miracle, but in the end, there was silence and he would not be there. In the end, I got to hi-five all the players and enjoy a good game, seeing Jokic and Murray up close. It was a preseason game, but it had season vibes as they were ramping up for the season ahead. No matter how much you plan, don't fret when things don't work out. Make the most of the moment or pivot and change course. No matter how much time or energy you spent, just know, you shouldn't let that hold you back. Sometimes things aren't meant to work out and today, that was the case. Still yet, I enjoyed the moment and it ended up being worthwhile. For others, they may change course and while it make some time, sometimes that new course may lead to greater things. 

 

~:[CH15 - Day 286]:~ Already That Time

 

~:[CH15 - Day 285]:~ Already That Time

It's that time of year again where we start to round out our Nationals team. It's amazing how quickly the time comes and goes and it's already time to start training a new group of juniors. It's quite the rigorous process alongside the demands of junior year, but often, these students are able to find that balance. Before we know it, it will be time to go to New York and then soon after, we'll start this process again. With each passing year, this process comes and goes quicker and it makes me wonder, how fast will the time go when I'm older and grayer. For now, I'll sit back and continue to soak in all of these experiences and do my best to live in the moment, because before you know it, the present will soon become the good old days.

~:[CH15 - Day 285]:~ Iconic

 
~:[CH15 - Day 285]:~ Iconic

It was a cool thing for JO1 to do. They schedule an event where they performed in a random dance challenge at UCLA in front of Royce. Hosting an open event where they fans and others can gather is pretty cool! It was nice to see them jump into the random dances alongside the other dancers who were probably in awe. While the crowd was a bit crazy, it was a cool experience to be there for and capture through the lens. It was a little difficult getting the shot with the crowds, but I was happy to capture some great moments. It was nice to chill near Royce after the event before eating in Westwood. This area feels so familiar to me since I'm always here for MUN and other events and now, another memory has been created. .This truly was an iconic moment as I felt like they took a step beyond the stage and went to great lengths to connect with their fans in this fashion in an iconic spot. 

~:[CH15 - Day 284]:~ Forget About the Rain

 

~:[CH15 - Day 284]:~ Forget About the Rain

The rain didn't have much impact on me, as I was inside most of the time when it was falling. I was able to get the rest of my grading in during the morning before heading out the event at night. It was a bit chaotic as the JO1 fans were being a little difficult and not listening to the concert staff. I understand their concerns, but they weren't going about it in a good way. Regardless, despite the struggles, the event itself went well. I had to deal with a few obstacles here and there, but by night's end, I was happy with moments I was able to capture. This group bring such great energy to stage and has such wonderful transitions that they grew on me. Last summer, I was lucky to have an encounter with them in the airport lounge when we were both flying to KCON. I guess fate brought us all together and since then, I've been enjoying capturing all these incredible moments. I will be glad to go home and rest a bit, but I'll also enjoy looking through all these clips and assembling the recap from a night to remember. 

~:[CH15 - Day 283]:~ Let's Jump for Joy

 
~:[CH15 - Day 283]:~ Let's Jump for Joy

It's the weekend, but there was a lot of running around to do. I thought my photoshoot was on Monday, but then there was some confusion and so we rescheduled for today. The problem was that my nephew had a basketball tournament. Luckily, the games were in Santa Ana and the studio was in Orange. What luck! I headed to the game and it was a bit nerve-wracking as they went down seven. They stayed calm and collected as they adjusted their defense and ended up coming back to win. I left right away and headed to the studio and get the shoot done. We were in a crunch for time, so it felt a bit rushed, but overall, it went well. I actually had some time after the shoot, so I uploaded the photos to my phone, grabbed lunch and headed back to the gym. The next game started out terribly for us as we went down double digits early, but they slowly clawed back and ended up winning, advancing to the championship game. It's been fun watching this team grow over time and it was nice to see them do well. There is definitely room for growth, but for now, we can celebrate these two wins. I headed home to get back to work, as I sorted through photos and also got some grading done, but I survived the day and it was a good reason to celebrate. The timing somehow worked out for everything and I am grateful when things like this fall into place. 

~:[CH15 - Day 282]:~ FriYAY

 
~:[CH15 - Day 282]:~ FriYAY

Originally I was supposed to drive down to LA to run an errand, but with traffic picking up and with it not being urgent, I passed on those plans and stayed home. I focused on getting some work done and then prepared for my visit from the family. I was exhausted, but it's always fun to spend a little time with the family. It's been exhausting with so many events and this and that going on that it was nice to lay out and just relax even when two little ones were running around the house. I'm not always home when they come over so it's always nice to see them, even if it takes some poking and prodding by them to get me up. With tomorrow being a busy day, I headed in after they left and focused back on the work I had to do. I took a short break to break a pack of 30th anniversary Pokemon cards and ended up pulling a Mewtwo which truly added the yay in Friday. Happy weekend to all!

~:[CH15 - Day 281]:~ Let's Be the Light

 
~:[CH15 - Day 281]:~ Let's Be the Light

We finished our workout just as it got dark. It's been difficult this season as we've had to move a few practices to 6pm and late in the season, we are battling sunlight. The struggles of dealing with the heat is tough enough, but add the light into it and we've got another obstacles. Regardless, the team finished up a great workout and they seem to have been locked in as of late. I am proud of them. Despite the changes and challenges, they stay focused and go above and beyond to get the workout done. Sure, we were missing some athletes, but for the most part, we had a good chunk of the team at a postponed practice. Life will throw darkness our way with the many obstacles it has, but we can find a way to be the light that helps everyone keep moving forward. There are many moments that are challenging in life and I hope that we can work together to maneuver our way through these challenges and finish up despite all that gets in our way. We can only do this if we help each other find our way and this year, this team has been doing just that. We'll see how it all pays off in the end, but as of now, I am proud of what they've been able to do.