1 day left
So I have one day left before I can use Facebook again.
Not one day has passed where Facebook has not been mentioned by friends both old and new. "Oh yeah, you can get in touch with me on Facebook. Email? You want my e-mail? Why? Its on Facebook." Christ....
With one week off, I've realized that Facebook is a
CULT!!! When the hell did the rest of the world join? Its so much easier to get in touch with people and find contacts there.
Is this how everyone else that is NOT using this site feels. Annoyed that they are somehow left out of the loop?
So what was the upside of this? I actually got a lot more work done and found that people seemed to be missing my presence. Got more text messages and emails than I've gotten in a while. Awhhhh... how sweet.
As for the rest of my week, its been busy, littered with meetings with potential web clients, finishing up one design, mini-breaks here and there.
Last night, I finally tried "painting" with Uyen-My. My painting was of a sheep stuck in a man's fro. Its weird. I had nothing to look at. Yeah, don't ask me to paint from my imagination. I suck at it. Usually, I do tons of sketches and research first before I begin a project. Very much a planner. Spontaneous strokes here and there is so not me.
Gonna buy a few canvases this weekend and attempt to paint a "bike" for my sis Kim. Wish me luck :)
damn nice graphics
Transformers: The Best Special Effects Ever?I love watching this movie for the amazing graphics, so smooth and well-done. Just saw it again this week. This is when you really need a big screen to appreciate it all.
gelaskins artist interviews
Gelaskins just started a blog with interviews of their artists. The first one is
Nanami Cowdroy. Her "Blowfish" skin is the one I bought for my mac.
Art On - Vol.1 with Nanami Cowdroy
just one more game
I'm playing one last game of Scrabulous on Facebook with my sister Kim before taking one full week off from that addictive social networking site. Usually I don't get addicted to things. Its very unlike me. The side benefits of this are that most likely I'll be blogging more. Woo-hoo! Man, my page needs pictures. ( When did it become so text heavy) Next on the list :)
getting local
I've been trying to be good and cutting back on western food, eating more and more Vietnamese food. Sometimes its hard. I get cravings for burgers and chips, but there is also a lot of great Vietnamese food out there that I have yet to try, I'm sure.
Earlier tonight, Ha took me, Kym, and Kevin out to one of her favorite seafood places in District 4. There was this amazing Curry Shrimp dish, really strangely shaped long mussels and oh man, Crab with Tamarind sauce, one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I haven't been carrying around my camera of late, so have no pictures. But next time, I'll be sure to take some and post.
no more drama
Its been a strange month back here. Several people I know have broken up or gotten separated from their partners. From the outside looking in, its got me wondering,
"So what makes a relationship last?"
Relationships are complex, aren't they? Or do people make them that way out of boredom, lost of interest?
From what I've seen of successful relationships, they can be very simple. It has a lot to do with communication, mutual respect, trust, and a complete acceptance of the other person, of who they are, not trying to change them into a version that you think is better. Easier said than done, I know. It takes effort. The fact that it takes effort though does not make it complex. Counting from 1 to 1 million is challenging, but that is fairly simple. It just requires a great deal of patience and fortitude. Little steps at a time.
People only change of their own volition anyways, not for anyone else. In the end, they must see that there is some kind of advantage for them. It may sound harsh, but people are selfish. This is not a bad thing, its logical.
Example: "What is best for ME?", "What is best for MY wife?", "What is best for MY kids?" , "What is best for MY family?"
There is reflection of self in all of these statements. So for a relationship to work, you do put your self-interest first. That self-interest may of course include that of your partner's and your family's. You are then willing to make sacrifices and compromises for the greater outcome for all involved, but in the end it still boils down to "What are the advantages for me?" "What will make me happier?"
So cut the drama and be honest, we're all selfish. "What's in it for me?"
Hey! Where's the "Love"? you ask.... Love is selfish. Love also fades, what's left is Loyalty and treating the other person fairly.
the knock-off business
An interesting read on the knock-off industry and what fashion designers are doing to fight against it. Quite amazing the huge effect that the internet has played, to the point where knock-offs enter the market before the originals do. A ridiculous turnaround time of just 14 days for samples. My goodness.
At least orginal prints can be copyrighted.
Before Models Can Turn Around, Knockoffs Fly
head vs. heart
Its been raining a lot lately in hcmc. I know that it is rainy season, but it seems to be much more than it was last year. At times, I do enjoy the rain... the sound and sight of millions of tiny droplets hitting the pavement surface, reflecting the streetlight overhead in a rippling pattern. Seeing people play soccer outside my window as lighting flashes in the background.
But other times, it just makes me kind of sad. The city becomes this dark, damp, cold place, heavy with disappointment as the places to go out and cure the boredom becomes more and more limited unless you want to be drenching wet by the time you get there.
Besides watching movies in, I've been reading a lot lately and that has helped. Its been a long time since I've read a novel and not some techie programming book. Character development is always interesting. What makes one become the person they are? Their enviroment, their goals, their morals, or their heart ?
Of heart and mind
When in conflict
Which does one follow?
A match among equals
hong kong
So after spending a week in California with Yoko, Kimchi, Bernie, and Cong. I headed to Hong Kong to visit my old college roomie Hanna, who's been living there for the past three years. I spent most of my days walking around the city. It has a great public transportation system, so everything was really easy to get to. This
online map of HK by Centamap was also indepensible.
I love love all the so very tall tall buildings, although I didn't like how that trapped the heat and made the city so humid. Went to
Victoria Peak to check out the skyline, ate a lot of food, checked out the a fashion exhibit at the
Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the
Asia Art Archives, in its new home on Hollywood Road, and basically wandered around exploring the different areas of Hong Kong, Kowloon and Lantau Island.
Met up with some friends from college, Tina and Jocelyn, so a bit of an unexpected Wellesley reunion, which is always nice :) I have had a lot of those this summer, mini reunions with family and friends. Summer has been perfect :)
Some pictures of
Hong KongNow back to work....
