Willa's Place to Fill Up Space

Nick Aguayo Paintings

2012-02-13T06:03:00.000-08:00

Nick Aguayo uses a loose and limited palette that creates a lively painting full of depth.

Mark Ryden and Lady Gaga

2012-02-07T05:43:00.000-08:00

I've always liked Mark Ryden. These are interesting observations on his possible influence on Lady Gaga.

(image via Hi Fructose Mag)

Cheesy jalapeno biscuits and chili

2012-01-29T10:07:00.000-08:00

Recently, I made cheesy jalapeno biscuits and chili... Mmmmmmmmmmm! Here's the recipe.

Awkward conversations

2012-01-27T11:41:00.000-08:00

So, I think I am the queen of awkward conversations. I ended up googling this, and found this. What a great idea!

Simplify

2012-01-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

As I am looking for the next thing to update on this blog, this thought keeps coming up in my mind.. do you ever feel like the web is just a jumbled mish-mosh, variation of the same thing over and over again? Ever since I discovered the world of blogs, I was all excited and fired up. Now, everything seems the same and I end up filtering and focusing on what catches my eye. I feel the need to simplify and just update one page... ONE PAGE DAMMIT!! ..or else, I end up like this guy:

Rogelio Manzo Art Works

2012-01-24T12:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.manzoartworks.com/

Finding New Music

2012-01-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have been jonesin' for new music. Somehow, Keith always manages to find these great, new, and unique artists such as John Mouse and Kavinsky. So, I decided to google John Mouse and find out at what festivals he is performing. I came across the Green Man festival and sampled songs from artists in the lineup. So far, I have sampled 38 new artists, and only found about 6 artists I like, including Gruff Rhys, Wild Nothing, and The 2 Bears. Any new artist suggestions?

The best chocolate mousse of your life

2012-01-18T10:59:00.000-08:00

This recipe has seriously got my mouth watering..

Window

2012-01-17T11:38:00.000-08:00

I am working on a site with my artwork. Stay tuned! Until then..

Marathon training

2012-01-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

Every time I see the Baltimore Marathon on TV, I always say to myself, "I want to run a marathon sometime in my life". I incorporated running into my exercise routine and found that I really love it. There's this freedom in pushing yourself through pain. I have decided to sign up for the Baltimore marathon in October.. 10 months to go! I have already begun research on ways to not kill myself when I run...

image via Good Form Running

Resolution

2012-01-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

One of my resolutions this year is to do a better job of keeping you guys posted. I find that I am constantly blowing away my time idly surfing the web so why not spend that time updating this page with my idle findings?

Shelter

2011-08-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Alexander Tinei

2011-06-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

See his work here.

Illustration

2011-04-23T18:21:00.001-07:00

Recently I worked on an illustration in collaboration with the Amos Lee crew.

Here's Angel in action...

If you haven't yet, check out Amos Lee and Mutlu Onaral (aka Angel), amazing talents!

(image via Amos Lee, video via youtube damon1967)

Beach

2011-01-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

Self portrait as rock star

2011-01-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

Light

2010-12-14T19:23:00.001-08:00

Hand shadows

2010-09-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

Design*Sponge has a cool entry about hand shadows.

Artist a day

2010-08-30T08:16:00.001-07:00

This web site is great to find new local artists. Today is Nora Sturges, my advisor, colleague, and friend at Towson.

Kirra Jamison artwork

2010-08-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Cherry Blossom Sisters

2010-08-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

Check out these cool French memory boards from the Cherry Blossom Sisters!

Creative Alliance figure sketches in pastel

2010-08-15T20:16:00.001-07:00

Everytime Karaoke

2010-07-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

My first karaoke video!

Inspector Spector

2010-06-25T05:41:00.001-07:00

Inspector Spector the Inspector Inspector from Chris Harring on Vimeo.

Mask

2010-06-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

TAC 3rd anniversary show

2010-06-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I have not posted in a while. I have been M.I.A. busy working on a bunch of projects! Here's a show going on that has my work:

Chrys Rock and the 370-something-year-old bonsai

2010-06-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of this past Memorial Day weekend was the Arboretum in DC. It is very much underrated, and boasts a beautiful bonsai garden. Below is a 370-something-year-old bonsai tree. I managed to get my finger in the picture. I am so talented. I cannot believe it is older than the U.S.!

Within the bonsai garden is an indoor area with blooming flowery bonsais and rocks with chrysanthemum type formations. Here is one of them.

Update on Garden

2010-05-28T08:37:00.001-07:00

This week has been a busy week. Monday I went to Dr. Sketchy's. Tuesday, I have been teaching an adult painting class at The Painting Workshop. Wednesday, I attended a monthly critique at The Creative Alliance.

This leaves little time to update my blog.. until now. Last weekend, I took some pictures of my garden.

I found this little guy popped up...

The mustard greens have been getting so big, so we have been sauteeing them for dinner...

Tobias Schneebaum

2010-05-24T08:14:00.000-07:00

Image via amazon.com

This weekend, I saw the movie, Keep the River on Your Right - A Modern Cannibal Tale. It was about Tobias Schneebaum, an artist, and how his travels have affected his work. Much of the media focused on one very small aspect of his life, experiencing cannibalism, which he had done once in respect to the culture of the Peruvian tribe he was with. My take on it is that the media overlooks the other wonderful aspects of his life: his work, his views, his experiences. This movie is a must-see!

Ugly outfit

2010-05-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

I really don't like this outfit...

via http://store.ustrendy.com/product/5086_osmanozdemira-w08/

Love Letter Murals

2010-05-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

via http://lost.net.au/vic/?p=1075

Altering this skirt into a dress...

2010-05-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

growing vegetables

2010-05-17T19:32:00.001-07:00

I have been growing vegetables for the first time this spring, and it has been rewarding seeing those little seeds sprout into a forest near my window. I am a cilantro junkie, and have been planting these babies in a pot...

Tomatoes are ideal to grow where I live...

Dr Sketchy's 05/10/10

2010-05-12T20:26:00.001-07:00

Man Bike Dog

2010-04-01T05:46:00.000-07:00

winter 09-10 artwork

2010-03-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

Canton, Old City - 1/23/10

2010-02-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

We got an early start at a beautiful dim sum place by a lake and mountain. I tried durian for the first time in the form of a pastry. It tasted like onion and garlic. Everyone was wearing reindeer antlers, so my mom exclaimed "Christmas is over!" in front of the staff. I found that hilarious. Then I found out the place specialized in deer meat. Aaaah, talk about being lost in translation.

We walked up a mountain and saw many ppl playing hacky sac and badminton. It was very peaceful with the clear air, happy children, and red fuzzy plants. We walked to the top to a pagoda and could see half of Canton.

After, we went to Gah-Wun's house. He served tea to us on this awesome stone tray that was used to ground inks. Clearly, he was interested in found objects that served one purpose at one time serving another now. He showed us his cool paintings and photographs. We showed him our art.

We went on our way to my parents old town. At lunch at the train station, we almost lost the camera. Thankfully, the restaurant had it, but seemed reluctant to give it back to us. We were very lucky they did because the old town was slated to be torn down.

All the memories of my month-long stay as a 7-year-old in my mom's childhood home came back. This was what I actually remembered of Canton. I could hear the echos of neighbors playing mah-jong, feel the dread of not having fully-working toilets, and see the dark hallways that I feared as a child.

We visited my mom's old school, the place where my grandfathers mistress lived, my mom and dad's old neighborhoods, and my mom's old house where it would have been if it weren't for a highway. We also happened upon a cool copper shop. I could see the references the gallery last night used from this architecture.

After, went to an market that sold wooden carvings, Chinese furniture, goldfish and many cool trinkets for a great price. I got a well-crafted wooden piece to hang earrings for only 10usd.

Afterwards, we hopped on the subway back to have dinner at one of the best Chinese restaurants we've ever been to. Gah-Wuns parents, uncle, aunt, and Mei Mei joined us as well. We had warm almond soup, tofu, fish stew, and eel fried rice. Everyone was so warm and welcoming.

Unfortunately, Gah-Wun can't visit the states until he has visited Australia, Europe, and Japan. The Chinese government does this to ensure people don't leave China.

Gah-Wuns uncle and aunt treated us all to foot massages after. Keith and my masseuses were from Hunan. Gah-Wun's uncle cracked jokes as we got a foot-rubbing. It was such great fun. They were so good to us they even offered an apt to us next time.

Such great hospitality comes so rarely these days. My dads legacy left us with some wonderful family relationships.

Remembrance, Art - 1/22/10

2010-02-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

My cousin, Hiu Kwun is such a good guy. He seems so stressed out but should take more time for himself. He used to have a motorcycle or two but the city no longer allows them. Keith said that if he visits the States he can borrow his motorcycle.

This morning at the hotel, I saw a burka-clad woman with only her eyes visible next to a Japanese girl in a short short skirt. Quite a contradiction. We had dim sum at Food Street located in the hotel that had a traditional Cantonese-style interior.

After, we went to pay respects to my grandmother, uncle 1, and great grandparents. My grandmother was just moved to this cemetary, so her headstone was not up yet. Uncle 1 was my mother's half-brother. My grandfather had two wives: wife #1 was Uncle 1's mother, and my grandmother was wife #2. I was very close with my grandmother, so this meant a lot to me.

After, my head hurt like hell, and I had to take a couple Tylenol and a nap. When I woke up, I felt 100% better. It was such a horrible sinus headache. I was glad I was well rested in time to meet up with cousins for dinner.

These cousins are my dad's first cousins, who are also Mei-Ha's (earlier visit in Hong Kong) brothers and were very close to my dad. Their son Gah-wun (Tobey) and his wife Mei Mei were also planning to meet us for dinner.

Gah-wun and Mei Mei picked us up in front of the hotel. It was a little bittersweet, because he was the spitting image of my dad in his youth. We went to a restaurant with more foods I have not yet tried. Everyone was so so sweet and insisted on hanging out more, but we only had one more day in Guangzhou.

Gah-wun is also an artist, so when he heard that Keith is an environmental graphics designer, he said he HAD to take to one of his favorite places, bEnsHoP. It is a gallery that mixes old period Chinese pieces with the new. It houses many floors with various exhibits, a flower and gift shop, and a rooftop overlooking Beijing street. This museum was a preview of what we will see tomorrow when we visit the old city.

We are so happy to have met such wonderful people tonight. Tomorrow, we are again meeting up with them at a lakeside restaurant, supposedly with some beautiful views.

To Canton (Guangzhou) - 1/21/10

2010-02-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

It is interesting how other countries adopt the "green rules" before America does. For instance Hong Kong and Ireland are already charging for plastic bags in grocery stores.

Today, we were headed to Guangzhou, also known as Canton, where my parents were born and raised. Interestingly, Baltimore's Canton was named after this city. See here under "History" for more details.

The way there was nuts. There were tons of people everywhere. We took the bus to the metro and rode one stop to the HK customs border stop (lo wu). From there, we kept walking and walking from the Hong Kong exit to the China entrance. My passport pic looked so different from now that the China border lady had to get a second opinion from someone else.

Once we entered the mainland in Shenzen, we hopped on the train to Guangzhou. To my surprise, many of the fields were gone and replaced by factories. It is hard to believe that what I was seeing out there was once the path my parents used to escape the Cultural Revolution in China to freedom in Hong Kong. We passed through fields filled with banana trees where my aunt worked at the government's will.

When we arrived my mother got frustrated trying to find the area my cousin wanted to pick us up. As we exited the metro station stop, my cousin pulled up and helped us in the car. He looked the same except a tinge older.

He dropped us off at the hotel and we hung out after getting things settled with our keys. There was much catching up to do after 20 years. Shortly, his wife and daughter came and so did Uncle 3. At 78, he looked a lot older than I remember, but his mind was still sharp.

They rented a room for us at the restaurant downstairs. To get better service, they told the staff that it was the party with the foreigner. It is a shame it had to be that way. What a wonderful dinner. Keith ate a fish eye. Their kid was wild and silly. It was such a warm, wonderful welcome from all!

Afterwards, we walked around a pedestrian avenue of shops just outside the hotel. Red lanterns surrounded the area. We ended up at a shop selling Chinese clothing. It was quite crowded as the locals were getting ready for the new year. It was truly nice being here, though, this was not what I remembered at 10 years old. This city has changed quite a lot.

Back to Hong Kong - 1/21/10

2010-02-03T12:57:00.000-08:00

I had a dream last night with Bret and Jemaine in it but forgot the rest.

It is so nice to be back in Hong Kong because we do not have to wonder if people have an agenda. Here, it is mostly everyday people, families, college students, etc, going about their daily lives and not just catering to tourists.

Don't get me wrong, we have met many honest trustworthy people. It might have been different if we knew someone in Phuket. The place was definitely beautiful and worth it to visit. I definitely want to go back to Thailand, and visit other cities like Bangkok and Krabi. It is certainly a beautiful country.

I saw a big white dude with a cowboy hat around our hotel taking back some pizza. I'm thinking "he's American", and when he saw Keith, relief sprung into his face as he said "Howdy!" to him in a Texan accent.

We love the restaurant Chilli and Spice near our hotel because it is so convenient and comfortable. Green beans with minced meat and either olives or pickled veggies is going into our recipe repertoire.

Phuket - Tour - 1/20/10

2010-02-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

I dreamt last night about a deadline at work so I flew back home to take care of it and flew back to HK. When we finally came home for good, Keith kept swerving on the ride home.

It was such a pain in the ass setting up the driving service to take us back to the airport. We paid for it already and so we still had to re-fax the coupon to them to ensure pickup.

Today we went to the James Bond island tour. I was very motion sick on the 2 hour ride there. There was also a 10-person family in our 15-seat van who were extremely loud, yelling and laughing in German the whole way there. We went to an area with lots and lots of monkeys. I had never seen so many monkeys in my life.

The only time I did not want to throw up was on the longtail boat ride around the islands. Our first stop was at a Muslim fishing village. We had lunch with Frenchmen who thought Keith and I had different accents. It was fun practicing my French. One guy works with ladies clothing (vetements femme). We met some new friends from South Africa and also met some Americans from Chicago.

There are actually very little Americans here. Most tourists are Aussie and European, mainly German and French.

Walking around the Muslim fishing village after lunch, a lady shoved a diapered monkey on us and made us take pics so we could pay her. The Monkey squeaked when he moved. It also farted on Keith, but at least the diaper was there.

The longtail boat brought us to an island with many caves. Keith was excited about canoeing and paddling the boat. We arrived and to Keith's disappointment, there was a guide already there to steer the canoe. Fortunately, our canoer was funny. He kept saying "VIP" "football" "pretty Chinese, handsome American" "ni hao". After, the longtail boat brought us to James Bond Island, then back to the main land.

On the way home I was itching to get off the van because of the loud family and motion sickness. You could tell everyone was getting tired, but at any given point during the ride, at least one family member was trying to cover up the silence with singing, rapping, screaming, yelling, all in German.

We HAD to get a massage after the trip, so we went back to Let's Relax. They had no Thai massage appointments available, so we settled for the dream package which included the hand/foot reflex and head shoulder massage. Floating on a lotus back to our hotel, well, we wished we did, we ended up at a nearby restaurant with a crazy cover singer. So tired now I can't type full sentences. Want to be go back to home away from home (HK).

Phuket - Slumming it - 1/19/10

2010-02-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

We were slumming it today, going to different bars, having a drink here and there. I suppose I did not get a very accurate portrait of Thailand when I went to Phuket. It all seemed very surreal. All I can say was that it was loaded with tourists, mainly lots of white dudes with prostitutes. These guys were old, young jock types, all types of guys. You see them out on the streets, in restaurants. I also saw lots of transgender/transexual men to women but they were less scary.

Being a scooter passenger for the first time was very exhilarating. Keith rented a manual blue jerky scooter that included loose fitting helmets. The traffic was chaotic with not a traffic light in sight. Most passengers did not wear helmets. I could not imagine not wearing one, so I demanded it.

Seedy massage parlors were everywhere. We went around trying to look for a legitimate one as massage comes much cheaper here. The only strangers on the street I trusted asking were non-Asian women because A. if you ask a male foreigner, he is probably looking for some extra action B. if you ask a male or female Asian (I failed the quiz on http://alllooksame.com so I would not be able to tell a tourist from a local) they could be a prostitute or they might recommend their sister/brother/mother/husband/dentist who might be awful at the service.

We ended up at a really awesome place called "Let's Relax". The one hour Thai massage was unbelievable and was done in a peaceful set up of clean, aromatic rooms by a professional staff, all for under 20 bucks! They even gave us a flowered foot bath beforehand and cookies and tea afterward. I want one again after the James Bond island tour but we will see.

On the walk back to the hotel, the party scene was crazy. Vegas has got nothing on Phuket. The momentum of energy builds throughout the day and as night falls, it explodes. Walk through a block of bars/restaurants and you see everything! Everyone is trying to lure you in with something. With each step, Keith muttered "I don't want DVDs, don't want massages, or a taxi ride (tuk tuk), or a tailored suit, nor a blowjob. I just want Tiger Thai boxing shorts for Preston (his brother)".

We called it an early night, like the old folks we aspire to be.

To Thailand - 1/18/10

2010-01-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

It is 1:30am. Post nasal drip woke me up from a couple of crazy dreams. Yes, I am going to Thailand today, but realizing from these dreams, I cannot help but feel overwhelmingly excited that in 4 days, I am meeting the family I have not seen in 20 years. These dreams are scenarios that include challenges of how I meet the Uncle 3 family.

Scenario A - I go to Canton and meet them at a party they were already having. This party included a friend who was just a mushed talking head in a box... He muttered "remember me from when you were little? Wow you have grown to be a very beautiful woman!" Uncle 3 was no where in sight but my cousin was there but he was hard to find because too many people looked like him.

Scenario B - China had strict rules about visiting family in Hong Kong and we could not go there. They had to sneak over from China... When they did, my cousin helped Keith with making signage for a local China / Hong Kong border restaurant. Keith designed an awesome package, but my mother overrode them with some crappy designs because of a tight deadline. Family went back to China and we had to follow them to try to hang out with them. This was done by driving and as Keith was driving us there, barrels and barrels fell from the truck ahead.

Jet lag, little sleep = bad combo of vertigo, nausea, and dizziness. Now we are off to Thailand.

Phuket is a new experience. Lots of scooters and it truly seems like a sin city. Many Europeans visit here. It has an Indian mixed with a South Pacific Asian feel. I saw lots of old men with younger ladies. Hotel people and mini mart vendors seem aloof and unhappy to work. Keith felt sick so I took a walk by myself at night and what an experience in 5 minutes. I saw some old white men with young Asian women. Mini flourescent lit open air restaurants dotted a road facing the beach. I got takeout for one and the guy kept asking me questions. He proceeded to offered his sister to be our tourguide. Not sure if I want that. Outside our hotel, a street vendor along with his child sells naan with nutella. It is loud outside and certainly seems like a vibrant nightlife but we are checking in early tonight.

Hong Kong - Wetland Park, Cousins - 1/17/10

2010-01-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

Dogs - In Hong Kong, I love all breeds of dogs, since I typically wouldn't expect them here, even the little yappy ones (mini poodles, pomeranians, Chinese crested and the like). There's a little chow we saw every morning that loves the koi pond, but we did not see him today.

Pizza Hut - It is cool being a pizza hut delivery guy here. They deliver pizzas in old vespa scooters (the kind like Keith's stella, all manual and stuff).

We went to the Wetland park. It is truly a peaceful escape from the city. Basically, it reminds me of a park around the Chesapeake Bay. It details the plants and animals in the Hong Kong marshland and includes bird watching houses and a butterfly garden. Frolicking around the park are lots of cute kids, who seem much more well-behaved than in the U.S.

We went around the town looking for a place to eat and ended up at a little bustling restaurant where strangers share tables with each other. I had to ask the waitress about the menu items because they were all in Chinese. We ended up with spicy noodle soups that had pickled veggies, fried chicken, and cilantro. A nice lady at our table struck up a conversation with me and I found out she has family in Vancouver. She also said that white men (since she saw Keith) love Asian women and treat them very well... hmmmmm....

After going back to the hotel and resting, we went to meet up in Mei Foo (an awesome looking neighborhood) where my cousin Eddie lives with his family. My dad's cousin Mei-Ha and her daughter Amy (would that be a second cousin?) also joined us. Eddie's 7-year-old daughter Erica was extremely cute. She was a barrel of laughs, very smart, and quite a charmer. Her phrase of the day was "I am America! I am America!" because she was born in the U.S. Amy was awesome and had a lot of common with Keith, so I wished Keith could speak better Cantonese so he could talk to her.

Eddie took us to an awesome restaurant where we had bean tips, fish, green beans cooked with a pickled veggie and minced meat, jellyfish, roast pork skin, and a warm almond soup dessert... Yum!!!!!! We had so much fun hanging out with everyone!

Hong Kong - Friend, Shopping, Apartment - 1/16/10

2010-01-29T14:15:00.000-08:00

TV is smarter in Hong Kong. Only we get shitty programming. For example, somehow, Discovery channel here has more informational shows rather than reality shows.

We met up with our friend and went to an awesome Thai restaurant, Chilli (yes, that's how they spell it) and Spice, and had sticky rice stuffed chicken, spicy noodle salad, pork neck with sweet chili sauce, hollow pipe greens in a Thai fish sauce, squid fried rice, finishing off with mango with black sticky rice. It was an awesome meal. My mom and our friend had young coconut juice in a coconut.

After, we decided to go to Tsim Sha Tsui through the newly built West Rail Line from Tuen Muen. It was much quicker than the bus. When we arrived, it was near a huge mall that looked just like the ones in the states, but the clothing was very expensive. We decided to go to Tseun Wan instead because of boutiques. I fell in love with one beautiful yellow coat from Korea with some red and green detail. Also saw a cute Japanese navy blue blazer and had to have it. So worth it!

My mom and I took a really old bus back to Tuen Mun, which was very nice because it had so few stops and was very empty. We picked up Keith and went to the Lai Bo area to have dinner. It was the worst restaurant we ever had in Hong Kong. Keith even said he liked the dumplings I made much more!

My aunt 11 just arrived tonight from the US, so we stayed in the area and went to one of two apartments that the 8s owned where she was staying. I wanted to show Keith an actual living space of a Hong Kong family. At 300 square feet, you had to use the space efficiently. You could tell it was not my uncle's main apartment as it boasted a calendar from 1999.

Hong Kong Big Buddha - 1/15/10

2010-01-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

I quickly discover that there is no free internet, which is not entirely a bad thing. I get so distracted at home by this thing but now I can focus entirely on my travels... SAD. While getting ready, we watched ping pong on TV.. YES!

My uncle and aunt 8, mom, and uncle 5 came over to our hotel from Tuen Mun, a neigborhood 10 minutes away in the New Territories where my they own two apartments. Here's a link to the description of the various Districts in Hong Kong. We all hopped onto a bus back to Tuen Mun to have breakfast.

Our breakfast, dim sum, was delicious. Taking in the sights, smells, and sounds, I realize that there is a certain unexplainable energy here that does not exist at home. I love it.

We rode the bus to Lantau island where we took the cable cars to see the Big Buddha atop a mountain. Here, there were definitely more tourists in contrast to Tuen Mun. The cable cars led us to a little town leading to the Big Buddha. As we got to the central area, we went to the temple and participated in Buddhist prayer using incense. It is believed (at least from my family's standpoint) that prayer there has an enhanced effect (?) ... I honestly don't understand the religion much outside of family tradition. I also bought Buddhist blessed jade at the store near the temple.

Afterwards, we went up many steps to the big Buddha and took in the sites. With the temperature at 60 degrees and clear skies, it was a great day to come here. We walked back down, sat at a small cafe and had tofu flour soup with ginger sugar water and sesame soup, both made from this mountain's spring water.

In the evening, we went to a cool little Asian cafe that reminded Keith of an American diner and had wonton noodle soup. Then, I got my hair cut and the shampoo guy gave the best scalp massage. The guy who cut my hair was great and hardly knew any English. We had some interesting discussions in Cantonese. He told me he could not tell which English speaking white dude was from where based on accent and did not know much about the States. This made hearing his perspectives and curiosity even more interesting. Everyone spent so much time on me for a shampoo, cut, and blow dry, and it was all for only 11 USD. I had a great experience here and wish this type of service existed in Baltimore.

Asia Trip 2010 - 1/14/2010

2010-01-27T21:10:00.000-08:00

So, throughout the trip, I have written an unpublished journal of the past two weeks of travel to Hong Kong, Phuket (Thailand), and Guangzhou (mainland China). The purpose of the trip was mainly to visit family, but also to have a couple weeks to away to take in the awesomeness of these places. We have gained so many great experiences and revelations. Enjoy!

1/14/2010

Our flight to Hong Kong from Newark, NJ passed over the north pole.. the north pole!! The place where Santa Claus is supposed to reside. Anyway, for dinner, we had some yummy beef short ribs with sticky rice that had the perfect consistency, a preview of the rice to come in China. The snack was a turkey hot dog with Haagen Daaz while watching Rain Man. The flight had a great selection of movies, so I tried to watch the Notebook, but could not stand more than a half hour of it.

More than halfway through the flight, we passed through Mongolia, and the sky had the most beautiful blood orange color. Prior to arriving, we had noodles.

As expected, since we came with my mother, Uncle 5, and Aunt 8 (my mom's sis and bro), family drama did ensue: Uncle 5 lost his baggage and some quarreling between Aunt and Uncle 8 occurred. As a side note, my Aunt 8 lives in US, and her husband, my uncle lives in Hong Kong. She visits him every 3 years or so.

Overall, the journey was not so bad, and the quickest Asia flight I have been on. We arrived at a nice hotel, the HK Gold Coast hotel near the water.

Aunt's Xmas present

2009-12-22T19:48:00.001-08:00

Progression of wisdom

2009-12-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

Scavenger project

2009-12-22T19:36:00.000-08:00

So I am doing this scavenger project for the Art house coop. One of the paintings has to be about wisdom. Here is the start....

happy horse

2009-09-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

In progress - Swinging

2009-08-10T08:24:00.001-07:00

We Sell

2009-07-01T11:07:00.001-07:00

Waterfall

2009-06-25T09:42:00.001-07:00

boxing Danny Glover painting

2009-06-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

So, I am not sure where this painting is headed, and I feel uncomfortable with the composition. Any feedback on it is welcome. I am thinking I should probably change the way the boxers are positioned. Oh yeh, my husband did the middle boxer.

Breakfast

2009-06-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Low Prices

2009-06-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

I can't say this is my favorite painting. I am happy about the concept of it, but it was definitely an experimentation in collage. Well, at least I learned something!

Towson Art Collective's 2nd Anniversary show

2009-06-04T08:47:00.001-07:00

Cobbler

2009-03-12T18:04:00.001-07:00

Bride - in progress

2009-02-27T07:27:00.001-08:00

Piece from Fall 07

2009-02-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

Bride - first stages

2009-02-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

I usually love the first stages of my paintings, sometimes even more than the final. We'll see how this one goes.

Pride - finished for class but not necessarily finished overall

2009-02-16T12:38:00.001-08:00

piece from Fall of 07

2009-02-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

Figure drawing class (work in progress) - drawing based on The Turkish Bath

2008-11-26T21:03:00.001-08:00

Figure drawing sketch5

2008-11-26T20:53:00.001-08:00

Figure Drawing sketch 4

2008-11-26T20:52:00.001-08:00

Figure Drawing sketch2

2008-11-26T20:51:00.001-08:00

Figure Drawing sketch1

2008-11-26T20:50:00.001-08:00

Before the Burial

2008-11-26T08:35:00.001-08:00

After the Burial - currently in the Towson University gallery.

2008-11-26T08:31:00.001-08:00

Raven

2008-11-26T08:19:00.001-08:00

Why did I start a blog?

2008-11-26T07:33:00.001-08:00

I am not the most eloquent lady in the world. I just wanted a home on the web to keep track of all my favorite links, my little scribbles, and random "ventings". So to whoever is crazy enough to subscribe to this... good luck!