5-day black & white photo challenge.

I've seen these 5-day black & white photo challenges taking place on Instagram and so I was a bit surprised when I got tagged to participate on Facebook. I was wary of doing it because as with a lot of things I was afraid I would do it wrong. 

Do you love black and white photos? 

I do, but I can't pinpoint why. I feel like I don't understand it but yet on some superficial level I find them to be beautiful, dramatic, moody, dark and mysterious. They bring out certain feels that color photos can't. I can't pick up on shadow plays and lighting and moods and other technical factors that make a black and white photo great, which is why I feel so superficial when I say I like them. 

But nonetheless, I snapped away at my iphone. A couple of days I found myself straining to find the perfect moment, but most days they came naturally. Here were my five photos. 

What do you like most about black and white photography? 

Day 1: I'm wondering what kind of happy conversations are taking place under these roofs. At the end of a good day I like to look at that horizon and hope that others had a good day as well. 

Day 2: I'm still trying to figure out how light and shadows play in little corners and crevices of my house. Sometimes they are kind, but most times they are tricksters.

Day 3: Maybe Moro from Princess Mononoke.

Day 4: Bokeh!! 

Day 5: Winging dinner tonight. 

two truths and a lie: an ice breaker.

since last time was so fun, i thought maybe we can do another ice breaker together. it was hard to come up with one that we could do through blogging and the only one that kept popping up in my head was an ice breaker activity that i never really liked doing {because i'm so bad at it} - it's called "two truths and a lie". have you heard of it? 

it's simple. all you have to do is tell three things about you - two of them have to be truths but one must be a lie. the goal is to figure out which of your facts are true and false. 

i'd love it if you either guessed what my truths and false were and/or if you could leave in your comment two truths and a lie about you, i'll play along and try to guess. since this is an ice breaker, feel free to comment on other people's comment as well. it'll be fun. but! you have to come back and let me know i have guessed correctly! a helpful tip: either make them really outrageous or really typical. those are the hardest to guess. 

here are my two truths and a lie: 

1. i once slept overnight inside the franklin institute, which is a science museum based in philadelphia, as part of a trip with my girl scout troop. 

2. a long time ago i participated in a pie eating contest and almost threw up afterwards. it always makes me feel queasy now whenever i see "anything" eating contests. 

3. i once worked as a volunteer translator for a mobile health clinic and didn't know how to say "are you sexually active" in korean. so i just stood there stumbling over my words and doing a slow clapping motion with my hands in hopes that the person would "catch on" to what i was trying to show her. it was so embarrassing. 

can you guess which are my truths and a lie? 

and now it's your turn! 

ice breaker: my people.

in my previous job we did a lot of ice breakers during trainings, workshops, retreats and conferences {seriously, an introvert's nightmare. or maybe just this introvert.}. i remember this really quick and simple one from a training i really enjoyed called "my people" and i thought maybe we can do it together. we'll have to break the rules slightly since we're doing this online, but won't you play along? it'll be fun. 

all you have to do is think about a group of people you know. they could be your family, your friends, your blogger network or your co-workers. you don't have to say which group of people you picked. keep that to yourself. now, think of three things to describe them and share in the comment section. here, i'll go first. 

my people... have a beautiful way of seeing the world through their phones, can always find the best selfie angles and know just the right thing to say when i have the worries. 

simple! now it's your turn! 

how do you all talk? a quiz.

this is my map.

//image generated on new york times// 

i think this may already have made the facebook newsfeed and twitter rounds already in late december, but i thought i'd share anyway. did you all see this personal dialect map quiz that was in the new york times? it tells you where you are from based on how you talk. it kind of sounds like a no brainer, but i've had friends from california and the mid-west take it and their results ended up being new york!

as for me? well, i guess you can't take the jersey out of this girl. i got newark/paterson {new jersey}, yonkers and new york. 

if you're interested, take the quiz and share your results! i'd love to know. 

this may not pertain to non-us readers, but what the heck, take the quiz anyway! 

happy thursday, the best day of the week! {not sure why, but i always loved thursdays}