SF: e.g. Conference Day 3

April 14, 2012

(this is a super long psot)


The third and final day of the 6th e.g. Conference. Yi presented after big names such as Marco Tempest, Lena Herzog (!) and Trey Ratcliff. Were we nervous? Nah. You bet!


Mike Hawley introducing Red.



I sat in the front row so that she could see me from the stage. When she started to speak, I felt my nervousness drain away completely. She did a wonderful job and presented very well. During the break later, people came up to her to tell her how amazed they were with her art; many hadn't seen her work before that. I think that's the great thing about Americans. They are so kind with praises and encouragement and so open to new ideas. I think that what Yi experienced was The American Dream, that if you work hard, you can achieve your goals, especially in America.

Top left: with American actor and amazing impressionist Jim Meskimen and his wife Tamara, and talented pianist Victoria Young and her Penang-born mother. Top right: with Shuangyi Li (who has an unusual talent in languages) and David Bolinsky (former chief medical illustrater at Yale). Bottom left: with Trey Radcliff, the top HDR photographer in the world. Bottom right: with explorer Jeff Wilson, producer of BBC's Natural History Unit which produces the wonderful BBC documentaries about natural history and wildlife.



After their presentation, each presenter was interviewed by Jim Meskimen.

After Yi's presentation, I was totally relieved. We had gone to bed for only a couple of hours the night before and woke up at 6 am to get ready. I was her hairdresser.


Alexa Meade's special way of painting portraits.




Daniel Kim's vehicle that can't be toppled, even by another car.


One of the exhibits (forgot the presentor/author). Another exhibit was a gigantic bible beautifully handwritten and illustrated but there were so many people looking at it I forgot to take a photo. I've also forgotten the presenter's name but he was amazing; his talk was on fonts and illustrations.



Nice sunny day, still cold, but people sat out during the breaks.










Early turkey.






Artisan beers.

Stone Brewing provided 3 kinds of beers for the conference. To be honest, I tried one beer on the first day and couldn't drink it. Turned out that that was the most bitter beer the company makes. On the 3rd day, I tried the other two beers and was blown away. The beers didn't taste anything like regular beers! The flavor was so strong and so good, the only analogy I can think of is artisan bread versus regular bakery bread.  Craft breweries artisan beers (beers made the traditional way) are just so much tastier and so totally different from regular beers but like how some people in Asia think white bread in cellophane bags are the best bread, I think craft brewed beers will take a while to catch on here. I hope the craft breweries will lead a revolution and change the way beers will be made in future. But to clarify, I still like a cold regular beer like Carlsberg on a hot day because it tastes so mild it can pass for water.


On the last evening of the conference, we were invited for dinner by Jerry Slavet at Montrio Bistro, just a street up the hotel we were staying in.


This bread was so good, Hub and I ate 3/4 of a loaf.


A squid appetizer.


Yi's steak--yum.


Most of us had the dish of the day--delicious halibut with artichokes, mushrooms and fresh peas. Again, it was faultless.


I think this was Victoria's salmon.


Sandra's duck breasts.


My bread pudding. Prior to this, I always liked my bread pudding with lots of egg custard but this was less custard and more bread and now I prefer bread pudding this way. This was the best bread pudding I've ever had, and it's Montrio Bistro's specialty.





Monterey is an artsy little city, with galleries, museums, theatres and cinemas that show Indie movies.



We ran into other e.g. Conference people on the way back and they all decided to go to the pub across from the hotel where other e.g. people were celebrating and bonding. Hub and I decided to go for a romantic walk on the pier but it was too cold so we left after taking a couple of photos.



It had been 3 wonderful days where we met many talented and wonderful people. Yi said the conference had matured and enriched her so much, she felt like a different person in just 3 days. Meeting all those people, presenters and non-presenters, listening to and watching videos about their stories and ideas, I just came away awed and encouraged, and a little more open to risks and new ideas. One common thread that ran through the presenters: they were all people who worked passionately on their talents and dreams. They were all high achievers. Everybody I talked to, including those volunteers helping in the conference, were either from Harvard or Yale or Stanford or UC Berk. They were people who use both their left and right brains; scientists who also paint or play musical instruments very well (credit to tiger moms?). It was just so eye opening and humbling. We felt so blessed to have attended the conference.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the 6th e.g. Conference in Monterey, California.