Kazakhstan

Hello dear readers of this blog! If you’re still keeping up with my entries, I thank you for doing so. I recently joined the Peace Corps and am in Washington, DC right now. Tomorrow, I leave the country to go to Kazakhstan. I will be a secondary school teacher over there for the next two years and three months. I will be running another blog that will document my adventure which can be found here:

http://mjwinkz.wordpress.com

Thank you everyone for your support! It really means a lot to me. =)

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Uplifting Song

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I’ve been working on some important life things as of late. There’s still a few pictures I need to edit and post on here. But until then, I shall leave you guys with this uplifting song. Hope it helps anyone who is struggling with something. Stay strong in the struggle!

Lights – Face Up

It’s late and I am tired, wish I could spark a smile
The place is flying high but right now I want to be low
Don’t want to move an inch, let alone a million miles
And I don’t want to go but I know I gotta go

I just want to feel alive

The times you don’t want to wake up
‘Cause in your sleep it’s never over when you give up
The sun is always going to rise up
You need to get up, gotta keep your head up
Look at the people all around you
The way you feel is something everybody goes through
Dark out, but you still gotta light up
You need to wake up, gotta keep your face up

Seems like the more you grow, the more time you spend alone
Before you know it you end up perfectly on your own
City’s shining bright, but you don’t see the light
How come you concentrate on things that don’t make you feel right

I just want to feel alright

The times you don’t want to wake up
‘Cause in your sleep it’s never over when you give up
The sun is always going to rise up
You need to get up, gotta keep your head up
Look at the people all around you
The way you feel is something everybody goes through
Dark out, but you still gotta light up
You need to wake up, gotta keep your face up

I’m looking for more than a little bit
I’m gonna have to find my way through it
Gonna leave a mark, I’m gonna set a spark
I’m coming up off the ground
I won’t be looking down

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BookFace Page & The Tweeter

I just created a Facebook Page: Michael J. Wong Photography. Please clicky the “Like” button on the page! Similarly to this blog, once I find the time I will make that page awesome with content and junk.

Facebook Page

Also, follow me on the Twitter @wongmj. I mostly follow celebrities because most of my real life friends do not use Twitter. I need real friends on there. Please? ….Orrrrr not.

Twitter

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UCI Undie Run Spring 2010

Last Friday, tons of UCI students gathered on campus in their underwear for a good cause. They gathered for the bi-annual Undie Run. It’s a way to relieve stress before finals as well as donate clothing to the OC Rescue Mission. 97.1 AMP Radio was there entertaining students with dance music. Slap Energy Drink was there providing students with liquid energy. The undie runners ran together around campus making their way through Gateway Study Center and Science Library surprising unsuspecting studious studiers. Everyone seemed to enjoy the festivities.

Here are a few pictures from the event:

UCI Undie Run Spring 2010

UCI Undie Run Spring 2010

UCI Undie Run Spring 2010

UCI Undie Run Spring 2010

UCI Undie Run Spring 2010

UCI Undie Run Spring 2010
And it was all thanks to these guys for making this event possible!

More pictures from the event can be found here on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaeljwong/sets/72157624224664540/

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DSLR, Discounts, Pancakes, Movies!

One of the first things I do in the morning is check my email. I set up Slickdeals Deal Alerts to email me whenever awesome deals pop up. I’d like to share some of my findings from this morning:

Canon EOS Rebel T1i 15.1 MP DSLR & EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens + Canon EF-S 55-250mm = $737.94 @ Amazon.com
[http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2059912&p=30125766]
A great deal on a DSLR if you’re looking for one with lenses. Or you could just get the Body w/ 18-55mm kit for $706.94. That’s the lowest price that it’s been says The Camelizer (Firefox add-on that shows price history charts on certain websites).

Lenovo Portable External USB 2.0 DVD Burner = $40ish @ Lenovo.com
[http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2060370&p=30129970]
The forum also lists another portable DVD burner (LG Portable 8x DVD-RW DL Drive), but after I saw reviews for the LG one on Amazon, it doesn’t seem like a reliable product. These portable DVD drives are perfect for netbooks since they have no optical drives.

Save an additional 25% @ DeepDiscount.com (Valid June 4th – June 20th)
[http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2059246&p=30116742]
Deep Discount has a bunch of random stuff including DVDs, Blurays, CDs, Books, Video Games, Electronics, Fragrances, etc. Supposdly the shipping lags, but you can still find some worthwhile deals.

Free meal at IHOP for joining Pancake Revolution (via Facebook)
[http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2060160]
I loves me some pancakes! I’m sure they’re tastier if they’re free. You get a free meal from signing up, on your birthday, and on the one year anniversary of signing up.

$1 movie admission AMC MovieCamp every Tuesday morning 10am
[http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2059908&p=30125708]
A dollar is pretty cheap for a movie ticket. The movies showing are targeted for little kids, but still… Shrek The Third, Monsters vs. Aliens, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda… Spectacular movies. =)

That is all. Enjoy the deals!

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Photoshoot @ Olvera Street (2010.05.24)

I had a last minute photoshoot in Los Angeles last week. The clothing designer (Janelle Lei Cardenas) contacted me that same morning to see if I was available in the afternoon to photograph her model (Rogue25). They were both coming from far away places to do this photoshoot when the original photographer flaked. Fortunately, I was available to help.

The initial planned location by the original photographer was at Olvera Street in Los Angeles. I haven’t been there since I was in high school so I couldn’t remember exactly where the location was. It was the clothing designer’s and model’s first time there so we were all in for a fun photoshooting adventure. Towards the end of our journey, after we had already taken photographs with the model in the surrounding areas, we found the actual location of Olvera Street. So then we did some shopping and called it a day.

Here are some pics from the photoshoot:

Photoshoot @ Olvera St. (2010.05.24)

Photoshoot @ Olvera St. (2010.05.24)

Photoshoot @ Olvera St. (2010.05.24)

Photoshoot @ Olvera St. (2010.05.24)

Photoshoot @ Olvera St. (2010.05.24)

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H&M

There was a grand opening of an H&M store in Orange, CA at 12pm today. I arrived at 11:45am only to find a looooong line of people who were waiting to get in since who knows when. So I grabbed me some Jamba Juice and waited around outside until the line died down which was around 12:10pm. Amongst the crowded crowds, I managed to find three inexpensive $5.95 dress shirts to purchase. Great deal stacked with a 20% off coupon [see the end of this post for coupon info] = SlickDeal! And I was out of there by 12:40pm. Thirty minutes in and out. I’d say that’s pretty time efficient. Jack. Bauer’d.

These pictures were taken with my Palm Pre:

H&M
The new H&M at The Block at Orange.

H&M
The end of the line. You can’t even see where the H&M store is from back there.

H&M
Tons of people waiting in line to pay.

H&M 20% off coupon that expires 6/6/10:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2049130&p=29989160

And for females who are interested in learning more about fashion and other awesome things, check out my friend’s blog at TinyTines.com.

Posted in Life, Slickdeals | 1 Comment

Twenty-Four

Today I went to Olvera Street in Los Angeles for a photoshoot. It was my first experience working with people from Model Mayhem. Not a bad experience. I’ll try to post pics soon.

While I was at Olvera Street, I spotted a person wearing a hoodie with the number twenty-four on it:

24

And tonight just so happens to be the last episode ever of 24. It was awesomely amazing.

I will miss you, Jack Bauer.

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Flashback Friday: July 17, 2008

The new thing that I hope to regularly do on this blog is post some old pictures that I have taken from way back when. Not so far back. Maybe from a couple years ago. It still seems like a long time ago.

Last night, I was chilling with some buddies of mine and we were talking about clubbing in America vs. Asia. When I went to Taiwan summer of 2008, I experienced how night clubs were over there. The clubs were way more packed in Taiwan than the ones I have been to in the US. It didn’t seem like there were any fire safety codes because it was super packed and it was very smokey because a lot of people were smoking inside. Overall, it was definitely a great experience that I would highly recommend to anyone who is able to travel abroad.

Here are the pics from Club LUXY in Taipei, Taiwan:

Club LUXY
I managed to watch Flo Rida perform. Random right?

Club LUXY
The main stage again with different performers.

Club LUXY
Crowdedness.

Club LUXY
The bartenders performed on the bar juggling fire lit bottles.

Club LUXY
The bartenders also poured some free alcohol for people.

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Let the Mayhem Begin

The other day I signed up for a Model Mayhem account. The gatekeepers reviewed my info and granted me access. Yay!

Find me. Add me. Thank you!

http://www.modelmayhem.com/michaeljwong

Model Mayhem

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