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Week Fifty: In That Moment

I stepped out of a reception for student leaders to take this shot. The view just got better and better every time I caught a glimpse out the window as the sunset until it reached the point where I had to excuse myself, grab my camera, and step outside.

I love love love sunsets, but they are tricky to shoot. It's always hard to know when they're at their best and, once the moment passes, they can drop off so quickly. I invariably find myself with a ton of shots and have to dig through them to find the very best of the bunch. This was the last of the series I took and I wonder if I wouldn't have been better off giving it a minute or two more, just long enough for the blues to darken up a bit without losing the boldness of the oranges at the bottom. I probably could have messed around with the colors in Lightroom to get the effect, but I like trying to keep my photos true to what my eyes really saw.

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Week Forty-Nine: Ol' Blue Eyes

North Berkeley is home to a lot of cats. It's hard to tell how many of them are strays and how many are just being let run around by their owners. In any case, my roommates Andrew and Shawna have started naming their favorite ones. They dubbed this little fellow Frank because he was like Ol' Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra. On top of being a long hair, he's also a chubby little guy and has no collar or tags. He was munching on some grass when I came across him, so it's hard to tell if someone is keeping him well fed or if he's just doing a great job manicuring people's lawns. Either way, he was super friendly and just chilled out while I fired off a bunch of shots. I look forward to the next time our paths cross.

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Week Forty-Eight: A Splash of Red

The Vintners Market is a wonderful event that happens at Fort Mason in San Francisco twice a year where winemakers from all over California come to show off their stuff. Though a ticket will run you $50-ish, all of the winemakers offer free tastings, which makes for a boozy four hours. You hop from table to table, chatting up the people and trying all kinds of wines. Most of the wines are solid (as long as you aren't a fancy pants wine snob) and everyone is more than happy to sell you a bottle on the spot if you really like something you try.

This particular wine was an impulse (read: intoxicated?) purchase that I'm quite pleased with. It wasn't cheap but it will be a wonderful bottle to bust out when a special occasion comes up. It's also a lovely bottle, so I'm more than happy to have it sitting in my room in the meantime!

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Week Forty-Seven: Some Things Last Longer

Right around the time I first started actually thinking about what I wore, my grandma starting giving away a lot of my grandpa's old clothes to the grandchildren. He had Parkinson's, which caused him to lose a lot of weight, so most of them didn't fit him anymore.

My grandpa was a doctor back in the days when doctors wore suits and was always a well dressed man, so there were a lot of great pieces in his closet. Many of them were the first truly high quality clothes I ever owned and I remember wearing his old Hugo Boss shirts and silk socks, feeling like I was dressed to the nines. I loved that feeling and I think my experience with his clothes was really influential to the relationship I have with clothing today.

One of my favorite items that came from my grandpa was a red jacket from Ralph Lauren. Nearly ten years later, I still wear it fairly regularly in the colder months. I can only imagine how long he owned it before me, but that it is still in great shape and doesn't look at all dated is a testament to both its quality and timelessness. It has been more than six years since my grandpa passed away, but it still reminds me of him. I hope it will be around to continue reminding me for many more years to come.

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Week Forty-Six: Up above the static, up above the racket

I have a favorite secret place here in Berkeley. It's usually very quite there with few people passing by and it offers an amazing view of the city and the bay. On one of the rare days where the fog isn't too thick and there are actually a few clouds in the sky, it's a spectacular vantage point to watch the sunset from.

It's also a great place to slip away to and escape life for a little bit. Sometimes that's even more important: a place away from it all where the sounds of every day life fade away and I can just be alone with my thoughts. Life can feel a little overwhelming at times and having a place to step back and take a deep breath is really wonderful

Lost Cause?

My dearest family and friends,

In a time honored Berkeley MBA tradition, I have once again been taking part in No Shave November. We raise money for some terrific causes, including Special Olympics and Reading Partners. And so, I've been skipping my morning shave for nearly a month now, leaving me with the magnificent beard you see below.

The normal practice is to lose the beard once the month is over and revert back to a proper state of clean shaven-ness. But I've started getting more and more compliments on it lately. People tell me that it makes me look like a manly man, like a lumberjack, or at least like the kind of man who likes to chop firewood for fun.

A few people have commented that I'm starting to resemble Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones.

Personally, I think it shares more of a resemblance to Charlton Heston a la Ben Hur

Except for the days when I look like a crazy person.

In any case, it has now crossed my mind that maybe I will keep this thing. Seriously. I know that I would almost certainly look much better clean shaven but it's still very tempting and I just can't help myself.

By now you are probably convinced that I am entirely delusional, that I've completely lost the plot. Surely he must have more sense than this, I can hear you thinking. Perhaps, perhaps not. Fortunately for you, there is way for you to stop this madness.

You see, the reason I even have the option to bail on the shaving part of this is because I haven't actually raised any money yet (horrible, I know). So, technically, I'm not actually at all beholden to the rules of No Shave November. But if you good people were to donate money to this fine cause on our campaign page (https://www.crowdtilt.com/campaigns/c4c-noshave-november-blue), I wouldn't really have any say in the matter.

So here is your chance to save me from myself. Make a donation, even just $10 or $20, and add "that Peter is going to shave that ridiculous beard" to the list of things you are thankful for this Thanksgiving. If that's not enough, you can also add "thankful for the good work these organizations are doing" and "thankful that charitable donations are tax write-offs" (we're doing this through Challenge 4 Charity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit) to that list while you're at it.

Thank you all in advance for your generosity and support.

Love,
Peter

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Week Forty-Five: A Splash of Fall

I love Fall. It is hands down my favorite season of the year.

Fall is when soccer starts back up. In Ann Arbor, it is college football season.

Fall is sweater weather. It is raking leaf piles and jumping in them.

Fall is soothingly overcast days with a gentle breeze. It is that perfect degree of cool that opens your eyes and makes your mind sharp, but also feel warm and fuzzy when you go inside.

Fall is apple cider and powdered donuts. It is big roasts and pumpkin pie.

Fall is when the leaves change color.
Even in California, even if only a little bit.