Sunday, December 27, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
About Vegas
Life just shouldn't be like that.
I invested 40 bucks to the blackjack table. Though I lost all 40 bucks, I felt good.
What happen in Vegas stays in Vegas.
TBWA/CHIAT/DAY
As I always said, working in a global advertising agency is my dream career.
But this statement is incomplete, so, which department of an advertising agency? account management? media planning? creative ? or ?
After talking to talents from TBWA/CHIAT/DAY (a creative agency with BIG clients such as Apple, Visa, Pepsi, Absolute Vodka etc), I realized that a decision must be made in regard to my future career. Right now I am choosing between media planning and creative. But I kind of know that I am not a creative enough to survive in ad agency (I didn't attend portfolio school ) and I am not capable of communicating with clients (due to my poor english). So media planning seems to be the only choice.
I talked to the HR that right now I was still positioning myself in advertising industry by having experiences in different fields. Then she looked at my resume, and said "I am thinking whom you should meet and which department is suitable for you based on your background."
Hopefully, I can get the internship in TBWA/CHIAT/DAY Los Angeles office.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
It's really complicated
Should I go for account executive / media planning ?
Should I go for academic, like a M.S. in advertising?
Should i go for a marketing specialist in Venetian Macao or Wynn Macao or the lovely Macao SAR Gov ?
or actually,
Should I focus on my very last final exam on coming Friday ?
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
My Portfolio
This is my portfolio website, where you can see most of my selected photography and graphic design work.
Enjoy and feel free to give me comments.
Best,
Michael
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Just a quick note
Few days ago i went to hollywood with kk. I borrowed my frd's canon 500d and wanna take some night portraits and HD video. It's the very very last chance to hang out with her and take pics for her, since I am going back to macau and she is going back to hong kong for good very soon. We only spent like 1.5 hr at Highland Ave. X Hollywood Blvd. Ya we just stayed at the corner ! Hollywood people are so curious about what we were doing. They were nice and hot, and some of them even asked for pictures with kk. haha. we have fun. without spending a penny.
c'est la vie
I also shot some video. OMG ! I get addicted to the 500D.
but I won't upload the video or I think I will get killed.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
La Jolla
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
A song for mid-night
Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see-
Im just a poor boy,i need no sympathy-
Because Im easy come,easy go,
A little high,little low,
Anyway the wind blows,doesnt really matter to me,
To me
Mama,just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger,now hes dead,
Mama,life had just begun,
But now Ive gone and thrown it all away-
Mama ooo,
Didnt mean to make you cry-
If Im not back again this time tomorrow-
Carry on,carry on,as if nothing really matters-
Too late,my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine-
Bodys aching all the time,
Goodbye everybody-Ive got to go-
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth-
Mama ooo- (any way the wind blows)
I dont want to die,
I sometimes wish Id never been born at all-
I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche,scaramouche will you do the fandango-
Thunderbolt and lightning-very very frightening me-
Galileo,galileo,
Galileo galileo
Galileo figaro-magnifico-
But Im just a poor boy and nobody loves me-
Hes just a poor boy from a poor family-
Spare him his life from this monstrosity-
Easy come easy go-,will you let me go-
Bismillah! no-,we will not let you go-let him go-
Bismillah! we will not let you go-let him go
Bismillah! we will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go let me go
No,no,no,no,no,no,no-
Mama mia,mama mia,mama mia let me go-
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me,for me,for me-
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye-
So you think you can love me and leave me to die-
Oh baby-cant do this to me baby-
Just gotta get out-just gotta get right outta here-
Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters-,nothing really matters to me,
Any way the wind blows....
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Good stuff
They are some rules that created by Dave Holloway, the creative director of T-Mobile.
here are what he said :
It's time to make some rules.
First, you should never try to add a total stranger as a friend on Facebook or contact on LinkedIn without jotting at least a few sincere sentences. Like why you should be connected. Could be because you like their work. Have seen them speak. Want to learn more about how they think. Or just plain find their head shot alluring. Otherwise, it kind of seems violating.
We should all try to get to the gym, go running or practice yoga in the morning. Because with advertising schedules being what they are, it just isn't happening at night.
Learning Mandarin should be mandatory.
As should reading The New York Times every morning. By reading today, I found out we're at war, the economy sucks and there's an election coming up. I'm going to read it tomorrow, too.
Okay, enough with rules.
Perhaps I should try to follow those rules (or my own rules) during summer !
Having a spontaneous life is good and enjoyable, which means you can do whatever you feel like to do whenever you like without really thinking about it. But I think, a balanced life is more worth pursued. My philosophy is : never go to the extreme.
Got a good quote from my frd.
"when you are worrying about all the things that you cannot control, how about just focus on who you are, and things that you want to do." D.F. (Project Runway)
But those good quotes, no matter it's from bible or some famous people, seem not have any influence on me.
Yes right now i am worrying all the things that i cannot control lol
But it doesn't mean that I can sit there and do nothing everyday. I've got to do something, but just don't worry too much about it.
source : http://www.cmykmag.com/site.cfm?page_id=125§_id=11&BloggerID=41&BlogID=166"
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Walk to the beach
Comm Std 101 is the most difficult class that I have ever had in my life. It's about First Amendment and under what circumstance government can regulate freedom of speech. We study some landmark supreme court cases that are interesting in some way, but actually I do think that some of them are really ridiculous. The exams are all hypothetical questions which are so hard for me as an ESL. But anyway, it's over. I think I have tried my best.
Today I just walked to Santa Monica Beach from Sawtelle and Pico with Derek. The distance is 4 miles and it takes us an hour to reach the beach. The beach surprised me. I felt so good, relaxed and comfortable. I did some jogging on the beach on the wet sand and I thought I should do it at least one per week. It was just way too cool to feel the wind, enjoy the sunset, and experience the freedom. Anyone wanna come with me next time ?
Monday, July 20, 2009
Main street is pretty cool, with lots of cool stores (cafe..boutique..)on both sides of the street. I immediately thought of the georgetown in Washingtion D.C. I don't really like shopping mall; I like do shopping in those stores along the street. I didn't get a chance to walk around since my purpose of going to Venice was to enjoy the sunset and photograph it. But eventually I was so disappointed as the sun had gone away before I could reach the pacific coast. (I spent 15 mins on finding free parking lol..that's why).
On the next day I went to MOCA with my housemate miss kori wong, a museum-lover, green-tea-lover, and antioxidant-lover. According to our plan, we are going to visit at least one place per weekend. MOCA is our first destination. I did have expectation about the exhibitions and I did look forward to seeing some great modern art. But once again, I was disappointed. First, the museum is pretty small in size and there are only 5-7 exhibitions. Second, I was just not too interested in its collection. I just wondered why some of them were qualified as the collection of a museum. Perhaps I was just really not sophisticated enough to appreciate those works. Actually the exhibition of Robert Frank's "The Americans" photographs was pretty good. But I had seen it in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. already lol. Anyway we did have fun tho, by taking pics for each other. Here are two of my works:
This color style becomes my favorite one recently. I just edit the picture style in my camera and then use photoshop to adjust the saturation, lightness, contrast and color balance. Shooting great portrait is not an easy task, but I really wanna do well in shooting people. So...anyone is interested in being my model? haha
Currently I am working on the poster design for wcccc. I could say it's a quite challenging task. Let's see what I come up with at the end, which means THIS COMING FRIDAY lol
I remember a sentence that I said before: "WITHOUT HOPE, WITHOUT DISAPPOINTMENT". A friend of mine told me that she always had no expectation in her life so that she could always be happy.
I do always have expectations on many things.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Macau - 10 years after the handover
as a macau citizen, I have a lot to say
but i just don't know how to say it.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
- main street in venice
- lacma
- moca
anyone interested ?
tonight's quote
"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use." (Earl Nightingale)
okay good night. my mind is still chaos.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Updates of life
School is not busy since I am only taking one class. But my work schedule is pretty packed. Should I give up some responsibilities? Now I can say that I really have too many duties. Sigh.
It has been a long time that I didn't touch my camera.
Anyone wanna go taking pics with me ?
Anyone wanna go to some nice places with me ?
Anyone wanna randomly walk around the city with me ?
I don't want a big group of people. I just need one or two companions
I wanna HANG OUT !!!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
It is destiny
If your laptop is broken, your friends will say "hey, get a macbookpro then"
Thursday, June 25, 2009
R.I.P. M.J.

Life is just unpredictable.
You will never know what happen in the next second. So we should cherish every single moment with your families, your friends and your love. We should cherish every single thing that we have. NO matter how many grievances that you may have towards people around you or the realistic world, try to stop, and appreciate what God has given us. We'll never know when our lives will be ended.
Rest in peace, Michael Jackson, the king of pop
Monday, June 22, 2009
Summary of the week before summer section starts
hea...hea...and hea.
Today is the Father's day. I gain a lot from pastor Maurice's sermon. It reminds me a lot.
In last spring quarter, I seem to forget how Christians should act when facing difficulities in their daily lives. We should rely on God, not other people, not ourselves, to give us confidence, energy and wisdom. I seem to forget how to pray, how to have a meaningful conversation to God. I realized the truth after listening to harris's sharing, which encourages me to re-prioritize my life.
summer section is going to start in few hours. I do have to be more hardworking...
the Sprinkles cupcake is pretty good.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Pre-Summer 2009
Finally I am fxxking done.
My junior year at "you see LA" officially ended after the crazy 3-hrs non-stop writing in CS 100 final.It's time to relax for a while, truly, perhaps for at least one week.
I am so laid-back.
I have so many tasks to do...but..I am not really productive..
I sat in front of the computer for many hours already..but still can't think of anything.
perhaps I have to admit the fact that I am not a creative.
I went to the Key Club last night, it's a pretty awesome experience, but unfortunately I am still underage..it would be awesome if I could have a drink, probably a cup of long island, then enjoy the music and dance....lol..
here is a conversation that I had with a friend of mine:
f: friend, m: me
f: hey mike, do you smoke?
m: no way...
f: oh what, it's the basic requirement , it's the bylaw here...
m: hahahah really...
f: do you drink then ?
m: ya, sometimes, but i am still underage.
f: good, let's have party sometime..
m: lol
What should I concentrate on ? Can you tell me, my dear lord ?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Today
Man U failed to defense its champion title of European Championship League.
Good news:
California supreme court upheld the Prop. 8
ps. I'm tired of some types of photography
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Explore the downtown los angeles
Monday, May 18, 2009
Spring Sing 2009
Hopefully I can make a great production at UCLA before graduate.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Updates of my life
I can say that now I really enjoy my life here in UCLA.
I devote most of my time on extracurricular actives but not academic stuff. I do think that I need to balance my life a little bit.
Some quick thoughts of this week:
1. I think people are really in favor of people who are currently enrolled in an art program when they are selecting candidates to fill up a designer position, even though a non-art major student can present a better portfolio lol
2. Recently, I used Photoshop or Illustrator far more frequently than MS word lol
3. Now I can make a 16-pages brochure or booklet design in just 1 or 2 nights.
4. Summer is approaching ! The most common question that people will ask around is "when will you come back to Macau ?" And my answer is always "Well, I will stay here..er...but I am not sure yet, I may be back during Aug."
5. I can shoot better pictures when I am using Canon. lol
6. My apartment is pretty messy
7. I am still looking for summer internship. Perhaps I should focus on other field such as marketing or PR but not graphic design, or actually whatever as long as I can get something to do during my last summer.
8. My mum keeps asking me about the latest news of Swine Flu in Southern California. And every time I say " people in LA think it's no big deal ". Ya that's true, the mainstream media in US rarely report news about the flu but as I know that media in other places such as Hong Kong pay a serious attention to Swine Flu.
9. I just hate the statement "work authorization: US citizens" when I am seeking internship.
10. I do need a Mac in order to increase my efficiency in working on designs and photo editing.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Graphic Design ?
I should think about what I should focus on.
I feel disappointed of myself.
Should I give it up ?
or spend even more efforts on it ?
Sunday, May 10, 2009
In love and in sickness
Do you guys fall in love with this neat poster for the Hong Kong Culture Night 2009 ? =)
It is my latest poster design work and I just spent like less then 2 hours to come up with the layout design. I purposely made that color tone so somber in order to convey the mix atmosphere when juxtaposting romantic stories and sickness during the SARS took place in Hong Kong in 2003. Under this epidemic, couples continued to write their romantic stories, with the fear of losing their beloved ones, families, or any other things suddenly. But ultimately, life just has to go on.
I finished all the poster, flyer and brochure design in two days lol. But I forgot to put my name in the credit list printed on the brochure lol.
But ya, life just has to go on.
5/11, 6 pm, ackerman grand ballroom, ucla.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Pink
I love this pic.
I like the contrast of pink and blue.
I like the color of polaroid.
The good new is that, polaroid will continue its production on instant film.
The pic was taken at melrose ave, los angeles.
Friday, April 24, 2009
I need a Mac
Whenever I read the job description as a creative intern, proficiency in Mac is a must ! I don't even have a Mac, how can I become proficient in using Mac to create artwork?
The next question would be,
Macbook or MacbookPro or Mac Mini ?
I asked some of my friends for their opinions,
one said: get a MacbookPro, because you're going to be Pro.
one said: mac mini is for living room and not portable. Getting a Mac is getting a piece of art, so you have to make it portable. It always feels good when you are using Mac in public place.
one said: actually Macbook is pretty good. It really depends on your budget.
Oh well, budget is a big problem too.
Sigh, I need a job.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Just a great time
We shared similar background, similar values and similar worries about the future.
At the end, we came up with a statement "please don't talk anything about Macau if you want to avoid any anger or conflict"
As ambitious, energetic and civilized youths originated from Macau, we hope that changes can be brought to Macau someday in future.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Highly Recommend !!!
http://www.pandora.com/ - an online radio station
it's just too awesome! you can type in any genre, song name, artist name or any key words and then the website will show a list of music that matches your request. You can click "creative a station, and after playing the first selected song, the website will generate similar types of music ! So that you can listen to a radio station that only contains music that you like !
just try it now !
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Thursday night
It's because it's the most exhausted night in the week. I always go home lately on my own, like at 10 pm since I have club meeting. Today I have attended two meetings, which are kccc and fps. When I got onto the bus, I chose to sit at the back as usual. Therefore I could see all the people in the bus. They all looked tired. Most of them chose to have a nap. But I didn't; instead, I could have a peaceful time in thinking what I have done in this week, what I am going to do during weekend, and what I am going to do in next week.
Usually, I feel a little bit lost after thinking of those stuffs lol
That's the feeling of Thursday night.
p.s. the praise team of kccc is pretty good, it's just like a mini concert. but it will be better if they can either lower the volume of the instrument or sing louder ! ha, just a little opinion as a listener.
Flower fields in Carlsbad
You know what, it's pretty hard to pick the most appropriate flower(s) to shoot. I need to consider the composition, the lighting, the shape of flower, the surrounding etc.
Haha, anyway, here are what I shot.
I used my frd's canon EF 70-200 F4 IS and carl zeiss 50 mm f 1.4,
which is SUPER COOL !
Friday, April 3, 2009
Green Tea Latte
It's just so damn yummy. I don't know how to describe it in words.
Green Japanese Tea Latte from Urth Cafe, Beverly Hills, California.
$ 4.xx for a medium size.
Gals must love !
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Shame
I am his brother, but I don't really know much about him, don't really know who he is, don't really understand what he thinks, don't really know what happens in his daily life as we seldom communicate. Now he's going to pursue college education very soon, I feel that I am not really helpful.
Sometimes I am just too individualistic. I am just too ego-centric and don't spend much time on caring my families and friends around me.
Now, I'm glad that I can know more about him through his blog.
Vietnam War
For sure the Vietnam War is one of the most controversial issues in US history.
After watching the Hearts and Minds, I can have a more profound realization about the War and how US dehumanized Vietnamese civilians. The documentary was just too great. Director Davis juxtaposed interviews of US authorities and Vietnamese civilians with depiction of actual sequences of how Vietnamese civilians suffered. I did remember what General Westmoreland said "the Oriental doesn’t put the same high price on life as does the Westerner…. Life is plentiful, life is cheap in the Orient….life is not important."
When I visited the Vietnam War Memorial in D.C., my feeling was pretty complicated. There were approximately 52,000 names on the memorial. Those people were all brave soldiers who sacrificed for their country. At the memorial, you could see flowers, letters, teddy bears, and whatever that could symbolize the respect to the national heroes. A officer walking around the memorial was eager to answer any questions or explaining anything about the war.
Once again, peace no war.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Misc. about the trip to D.C. I - We missed the last metro
One Photo, One Story
I am a photographer of the trip. I took many pictures in D.C.. Some were good, some were brilliant, and for sure some were really bad. There is always a story behind each picture, so now I am going to talk more in detail about my spring break adventure in this way.
It was 12:45 EST. Five poor college kids were hanging around the national mall after visiting the Jefferson Memorial. We were all exhausted after a long day walking and longed for having a hot shower. When we arrived at the Smithsonian Metro Station, we found that the gate was closed. We missed the last metro back to our inn.We thought the last metro station would be closed at 3 a.m. We thought the metro was just like the subway in NYC, which was 24/7. We thought......
"We could walk, it's not that far away. Perhaps it took 1 hr only, and then we could tell our friends that we did something cool in D.C."
"We could take cab. We were really tired, and we still had to walk a lot tomorrow. We had 5 people, so it's not going to be expensive.
"Obviously, we chose cab at the end lol
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Washington D.C.
In 6 days, we...
visited 3 states: Virginia, Washington D.C. and Maryland
visited 4 museums: National Air & Space, National Gallery of Art, American History, Nature History,
visited 2 prestigious private colleges: Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University
visited 5 memorial & monument: Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, World War II Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial,
visited many governmental buildings: US Capitol, The White House, The Supreme Court, The Library of Congress, The Federal Reserve, the......
I have a lot to tell.
But I don't know how to tell.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
The L.A. Skyline
I long for photographing the skyline of L.A. and freeway for a really long time. Finally, today I went to Mulholland Drive in Hollywood on my own. There is a small visiting point along the Mulholland drive and I just park there. The view is so amazing, as seen from the pics.
I met a couple there and here is our conversation :
couple : excuse me, just for curiosity, what do you take these pictures for ? we wonder why there are so many people taking pictures here every day.
me: : for fun lol, I just like photography. the view here is just amazing.
couple : are you tourist? where're you from?
me: I am from Macau, I am studying at ucla.
couple : what ? Ma...cau ?
me: a tiny city next to Hong Kong...lol.
couple: oh i see, if you go upstairs you can see the HOLLYWOOD logo.
me: wowoow, really, I'll go later, actually it's my first time to visit here. How do you discover this amazing place?
couple: we live here, just 5 minutes walk away, we come here everyday.
me: -.- oh...
couple: how about you?
me: I just type "hollywood freeway" in flickr, then I see other people's photos uploaded.
couple: cool man, have fun, bye.
me: have a good one.
I just took about 20 pictures because of the sudden rain.
Actually, L.A. is a also beautiful city.
for more please go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/micgovu/
The happy long weekend is over. I feel relaxed and recharged. It's time to PREPARE for FINALS.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
2009
2009 is the year for changes. Winter break is going to the end and four days later instruction will begin. Now I am still in Cupertino and I am heading back to Los Angeles tomorrow. Though I didn’t really have any great trips to somewhere else, I could still pursue the happiness as I could have a great time staying in either N. Cal or S. Cal. with my friends. Since the beginning of a new college life in UCLA, the storm of shits had began. Throughout the first quarter in UCLA, I could realize who I was and my flaws through different incidents in terms of academic, spiritual and relationship issues. I did badly in the first quarter, and I know this coming winter quarter will be tougher as I am taking 4 upper-division classes including one core class. Chances are reserved for those who come with preparation. I know I have to be well-prepared in order to secure an employment in US. Well, what I wanna do in future? I really have no idea yet and I am still exploring. "Give all the burdens to lord, trust him and do my best" is what I believe most. In WCCCC, I was really inspired by the messages delivered by Dr. Choi. Change is necessary, and I’m ready to face any coming challenges in 2009. I should re-prioritize the importance of things in my life, and do what i should do.
My wishes for 2009 are:
Stay focus on my study and seek internship opportunities in advertising agencies.
Have spiritual growth and get a chance to serve god, though I don’t know what I can do..lol..
Treat and care people around me in a better way, especially those people who really care me.
Peace no war
Good health
Be joyous all the time
Happy New Year !
Best wishes for 2009 !
P.S. When I wrote this entry, I was listening to the song “Katrina”. It’s really a good song.