For My Girlfriend

Inches of snow built barriers around wheels in Illinois. A guy holding a plastic folder in his hand shoveling snow tries to get out of the parking. He has made a quite many trips in and out of his car as he internally curses all the snow blocking his way. He has been there for the last 10 minutes, but no progress is apparent. I asked him why in this weather, and he replies, “I have to pick up my girlfriend.” He was able to get out of the parking lot, but only after an hour and a half struggling with piles of snow wrapped around his way. I begin to wonder. Is that the power of love? or is it a foolishness?

Snow Alien of the Day

Snow filled up to my knees this weekend in Champaign, and the campus has became a land of snowmen. Among the other snowmen, there was this snow alien I encountered. I approached her with my camera, and she was posing as if she is saying “hi.” Her eyes were so big and charming that I wanted to touch them, but I did not want to offend her. I hope she is not bullied for being different. The only reason I approached her is because of her uniqueness, which made her more intriguing.

*Props to whomever created the snow alien on Quad

Inspiring Hackathon Participant

This young gentleman I met at Union Station, just finished a 36-hour Hackathon at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He came all the down to Champaign from Chicago to participate in the event. He looked really tired when I first saw him, but when I asked him about the event and what he had done there, his eyes brightened up and started to talk about how he made this payment software. He said he only slept 6 hours, but he exclaimed how excited he was to be there. It was an inspiring moment to see someone with great passion in what he does.