Author Archives: Jess Damerst

Travel

Lord Howe Island, Australia

Imagine a place with turquoise blue waters, tropical fish, lush green forests, friendly locals, and, best of all, no* connection to the outside world. The place you are imagining is Lord Howe Island, Australia.

Of course, it’s a whopping $1000 roundtrip from the mainland of Australia (Just a few Qantas flights daily from Sydney or Brisbane). Oh, and sometimes the weather picks up and you can’t get off the island. Supply ships can also take a hot minute to arrive, so food supplies can become quite paltry between ships.

However, I would take all that and more to visit this secluded paradise over and over again.

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Travel

Hopes, Dreams, & Airplanes

The beginning of 2016 is a marked one. This is the year I take my dreams by the reigns and yell “YA!”

Starting off on the interesting foot known as “unemployment.” We’ve been here before, remember? Decided to take my life in a new direction, filled with being more creative and traveling more. No better way to start that adventure off than on a remote island in the South Tasman sea! More about said island in the next post, promise.

So here we are, with the warm afternoon light motivating me as I sit perched on my brushed-steel, coffee shop seat. Fueled by a soy flat white and an ever diminishing savings account, I’m furiously organizing ducks into something that resembles a row.

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Ramblings

Welcome Back; Tidal Waves and Rainbows

My try-hard, ganbaru face

My try-hard, ganbaru face

You may have noticed an absence over the last year. Or maybe you didn’t (I won’t be offended). Well, I have good news for you: I’m back.

The last year has been quite the roller coaster for me. My previous post marked the final turn in my father’s health, and subsequent rapid decline. The prior November, in a last-ditch effort, he underwent a difficult procedure to “replace” his immune system to beat the Lymphoma. Remember my “Thankful for Superheroes” post? Well, that post was made just after he completed that treatment. He was such a trooper, the true image of strength and a positive attitude. I’m still learning these lessons from him, and will continue to do so for a long time.

It’s been nearly one year to the day since his passing.

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Travel

Photo Journal: UK, Belgium, Germany

It started with a plane from LAX
And it was my first time flying business class!
All very exciting for me, clearly
Beautiful morning view of London taken by Hugh Jeremy
As soon as Hugh landed, he wanted to go for a run
So we started at Tower Bridge
And ran 4.5 miles through some of the more icon London spots, such as Big Ben
Ending at Buckingham palace
There was a bike race happening that day, so we ran on the road with them
It’d been a year since I saw my friend Kris (remember him?!)
We had Nitrogen cooled ice cream at Camden Market
Grabbed a cocktail at the Shard
And found some adverts for the game I am working on in the London Underground!
Then Hugh and I caught a train to Derby, where we met up with Becky and met her friends (this car included)
She took us on a Sunday drive
The Chatsworth House
It was a rainy but beautiful day
With beautiful people 🙂
Finished off with some much needed Sunday roast in a pub
Then it was off to Brussels, Belgium
In an afternoon stroll we came across the Grand Palace
Next stop: Cologne Germany
Alway love to see the Dom
Beautiful architecture
Gamescom 2014 was massive and so busy
The whole city was celebrating the event, even the chocolatiers
So we took a load off that night with some amazing Italian food in town
And, of course, gelato
There was Evolve advertising in Cologne too!
But all good things come to an end.

On a recent work trip, I made a few pit stops.

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Travel

Photo Journal: London, England

Next time, you’ll be here too.

Hadn’t seen Becky since we parted nearly a year ago in Nepal!
So we headed out for some food and drinks
And nearly missed the last train home
Next morning, we headed out to Camden Market
Stopping to check out the canal boats along the way
I’d never seen anything like this before!
Camden Market was big
Really big
It just never ended
It didn’t even end here
On and on
and on
A rave department store
I wasn’t supposed to take pictures; I’m sorry
More Camden
I bought Becky a cronut… she was terrified of it
Classic
Primrose Hill
Beautiful Spring weather
221B Baker St.
St. Pancras Renaissance hotel
Gorgeous structure
Afternoon tea and scones
St. George’s
Stock Exchange
The Shard gave an awesome farewell
Walking back
Stunning hotel
But what trip to England is complete without fish & chips
And Banoffee pie
Goodbye, Europe!
Sunny, sunny Florida…
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Travel

Photo Journal: Copenhagen, Denmark

Lunch in Copenhagen, wishing you were here.

Central square
Eurovision took place here
Tivoli — rumored to be Walt Disney’s inspiration for the parks
Sing to get a subway ticket as a Eurovision promotion
Even department stores look amazing
Opera house
Boats float lazily, as visitors dine nearby
Saw Julia, my German friend from high school!
Beautiful Copenhagen
Colorful canals
Quiet day on the waterfront
Friday shoppers take a break
The sun kept coming and going as we walked
and walked
and walked
Stairs in this were leveled to make a sloping ramp up to the top at some point in the past.
We had an amazing brunch near the university
A church
Walking tour of Copenhagen
A very lively place
The trains have no drivers, just windows
Streets of Copenhagen
The airport is more a mall than any other airport I’ve seen!
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Travel

Photo Journal: Gothenburg, Sweden (2)

For you, dad.

Dusk
Penguins at the zoo
Overlooking Gothenburg
From the top of the hill
Out to sea
The harbor
A rainy view from the top of a skyscraper
There are random trampolines
We didn’t care
Coffee tasting with Swedes
Live music at Starbucks
The drink menu was kind of cute
Looking over Liseburg amusement park
Dusk on the streets
The Central Station
Trams around town
The pool on top of the Avalon
Swedish pride
A sleep road
I was in heaven
The most amazing candy store
Lunchtime shopping
Coffee shop in the alley
Most places look like Ikea
Inside a housing store
Even ketchup has great design
Rooftops of Gothenburg
Leaving for Copenhagen
But second class was comfy
Fields of yellow
As far as the eye could see
The Swedish coast
And quaint country towns
Yellow
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Travel

Photo Journal: Gothenburg, Sweden

I don’t know how much time we have left together, but I think of you every moment, wishing you were here.

Flew over the Atlantic
The design everywhere is amazing, including the airport baggage claim
Took the bus to the center of town
Three trams later, I figured out how to pay and which to board
But the money doesn’t have denomination labels
They leave blankets outside at restaurants in case you want fresh air– but it’s so cold.
Streets of Gothenburg
More streets
Banners made of jeans
Nordstan shopping mall
Had to check out the McDonald’s seasonal items — Chicken wings and Prime Nib (no typo)
Yup, a mall.
But spring is in full bloom
And the weather was lovely
So I wandered
And wandered
And wandered
And wandered
Graduation?
Followed the spring
Wandering
Discovering
Eating traditional Swedish foods
Like rump-roast
And raspberries with butter and ice cream
Until my first afternoon came to a close
But not without me discovering that Sweden loves gummies
Just like Ikea
My morning run through the park was gorgeous. We later returned here to relax that day.
Grabbed a morning coffee from across the street
Trying to learn the local language
Moved over to my hotel, that’s a pool on top!
7-11s are like Japan, places of wonderment and good food
So I bought the weirdest things I could find.
Before returning to the park
Swedes have good taste
I also located the largest chair in Gothenburg
And then I located a cider
And some local food
But, still managed to stop by to get more gummies
My hotel is nice
My view is nicer
Bill Murray talks about coffee
Tiny cars live here
And every afternoon, the Swedes enjoy the tradition of “fika” — afternoon coffee break. So I followed suit.

I love you, dad.

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Tips and Tricks

Composing the Shot

Osaka_ShinSaibashiComposition is one of the fastest ways to ruin a shot – and one of the fastest ways to fix it. The good news is that most people have an eye for composition, it’s just a matter of learning a few quick fixes to turn “There is something off about this” to “I can’t put my finger on it, but this is stunning.”

It’s not formulaic in any sense, so two plus two doesn’t necessarily equal four, but it is a sensory science. Learn to feel out the picture and complement its natural attributes. If the natural attributes are competing, do something about it.

Hunting around on the web, you can find a dozen “Rules for Composition.” But as far as I am concerned, the below are the ones that make or break and image. Once you’ve got these down, you level up even the simplest Instagram photo. Continue reading →

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Ramblings

Thankful for Super Heroes


Super hero and Isu·per /ˈso͞opər/ adjective
 1. exhibiting the characteristics of its type to an extreme or excessive degree
he·ro /ˈhi(ə)rō/ noun
 1. a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

Last year, made a rather lengthy list of all the things I am grateful for. And that list still stands (mostly), but this year, I want to focus on one thing in particular that I am thankful for. If you’re as clever as I think you are, you’ve already deduced that this post is about super heroes. Just maybe not the ones you are used to.

Sure, Batman is brave. Superman is strong. Spiderman is agile. Green Lantern is fearless. But we already know this.

No, what I am thankful for are the ones that slip seemingly unnoticed through life. Unnoticed to all but those whom idealize them. All who believe that they, by the very definition of super hero, exhibit courageous, outstanding, or noble characteristics to an extreme or excessive degree.

In my life, when I think of super hero, I can only think of one person: my father.

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