Smile! You are on Andy Camera!

To say I am a photographer would be an insult to the profession, for I have nowhere near the dedication nor discipline to master the art and science of photography. What I am is someone who loves to take pictures of random things; a nostalgic nut who loves to capture 3D experiences in a 2D medium. It doesn't always turn out the way I envisioned it, after all there is a huge disparity between the stoic mechanics of the objective lens, and the idyllic musing of a subjective mind. In addition, I am not as quick as I thought, so those fleeting moments that I attempt to capture remains so ever elusive. Still, there I am, clicking away like your stereotypical Japanese tourist (only I am Chinese); trying so very hard to document each moment as I see them.

I know at times, such behavior is disturbing, especially when I am taking picture of something seemingly insignificant. Yet, I cannot explain to you the compulsion... maybe it stems from the deep realization and fear that the one thing that I truly own and afraid to lose are my memories. I have moved around so much, that I never felt I could hold onto anything corporeal, even the act of owning furniture feels foreign to me. Whatever earthly possession I have, there is an unspoken understanding that they do not belong to me. I will be moving on, leaving things behind. The one constant in my life is perhaps the knowledge that nothing is certain.

Therefore, to me, my dream isn't owning some grandiose house, earning some glorious title. No, my dream is simple, that some day I shall have scrapbook upon scrapbooks that document the adventures within my life, of people I have met, of experiences shared, of common anecdotes to be regaled with gusto in years to come. My dream is someday to be able to go through those albums and rejoice because even though I may be physically absent from a majority of those photos, I know I have been a chief architect behind the smiles, a blessed witness to the beauty of the moment that I attempt to capture.

I hope that someday you and I will sit together, to point and laugh at the photos of our relative youth spent together at one point or another. I pray that even if I should develop amnesia, that should I be mentally lost to you most of the time, somewhere deep in the recess of my mind lies the spark of recognition that triggers a smile, and you will know I recall. It would be like finding a hidden treasure in the attic, behind the cobwebs... and perhaps then you will smile with me.

For now, I shall go about, doing the best I can to bring about, and/ or capture memorable moments. Be goofy with me, humor me, for when I am in the room, you are no longer the strangest person there, so get weird and we will make wonderful memories together, you, me and everyone we know.