When the sky is clear, colors open up.
Flowers — WIP
Work in Progress.
Flowers, Oil on Canvas, 16inx24in.
Chrysanthemum
A Happy Birthday — indeed
For as long as I could remember, I never paid any attention to my own birthday. Celebrations usually, in the past, went unoticed.
This year, for some reasons, I have gone to the other side of the pendulum–organizing a party for myself, inviting friends, arranging things to celebrate and feel absolutely great doing it.
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Birthday party / Hawaii party at home.
This photo was taken by my friend Winnie. I think it captured my mood and feelings for the party — lots of laughter. How often do you have closed friends whom you had know since you were barely 11 who hang out with you on a regular basis? How often do you have neighbors who care for you, love you, and are filled with fun? I have a handful. Plus, some amazing friends I have known over the years. I might not see them often, but I truly know they love me and I love them too.
After the party, I hurried to Aberdeen for family dinner. It’s a Father’s Day/My BD celebration. When it comes to family, I don’t ask for much honestly. A meal of 14 people together is more than enough for gratitude and joy.
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Highlight of my BDÂ –
Taking advantage of my BD/HK resident status, and mom’s senior citizen status, we went to Ocean Park together today (FOR FREE!). Had a blast. Mom at first refused to have me rented her a wheelchair, but I talked her into it, knowing she did not like to go to places for her body pain (esp. knees), and her worries about lack of toilets (didn’t manage to go quickly enough). Finally she agreed, and it was a lot of fun to roll her up and down the hills. She worried constantly about how much work it’s for me to push her, but I was having fun doing so. At times, it was quite some workout for me to push her uphill. But all in all, Ocean Park is quite wheel-chair friendly, and people are helpful. I can’t tell how grateful and happy I am today. It’s like taking my child to Ocean Park. Just that the child is my ma. Before leaving, ma tried to get me choose a stuff animal, saying, “I didn’t buy you toys as a child, pick one pick one.” I told her I had to work and so didn’t choose one. But in my heart I plan to come next year again with her. 
No bras needed
- Haven’t written much here because life is pretty full.
- Paintings go on well: water color and oil painting both.
- Writing is slowly yet surely taking shape, esp. my picture books.
- Trying to wrap up this exam season. I think I could recite rules concerning conditional tenses, indirect speech, passive voice backwards.
- Not my favorite thing to do.
- But what needs to be done needs to be done.
- I do from time to time think of moving elsewhere.
- Don’t get me wrong: I love my life here.
- But it’s always nice to dream.
- I told my friend — the number one criteria for the place I want to move to is this:
- “That it would be perfectly comfortable to walk out home without wearing a bra.”
- I don’t want to be like hippies, walking around naked.
- I simply want to feel okay not to wear a bra and people feel ok with it.
- To be honest, most women don’t need to wear a bra.
- Especially Asian.
- The bras you get from HK are so ridiculously thick and padded — totally unnecessary.
- Those thin kinds are simply laces.
- Wearing them is like not wearing a bra.
- And people do give you a weird look.
- Am I the only one who thinks that way or most women here do have very sizable breasts that they find it perfectly necessary?
- Anyways, that means I am probably not emigrating to Saudi Arabia.
- Birthday is coming up and I am hosting my first party in this new home.
- Yeah, looking forward.
- I am gonna wear a “mumu” — the Hawaiian dress that a once-upon-a-time-bf brought me when he visited Hawaii.
- Honestly, “mumu” is so unflattering.
- No matter who wears it, it makes you suddenly look like a middle-aged, if not older, Italian grandma (I mean your figures).
- So I have the “mumu” shortened.
- Now, it looks (slightly) better.
- The party’s theme is Hawaii (that’s why I’d wear the mumu)
- I hope I could get some decent sashimi to make poke.
- I really really love eating poke.
- Getting excited about summer trip.
- Talking with the friend I am to visit.
- He recently got a speeding ticket. While we were talking about where to go when I visit him, he said, “I hope I will go to the traffic court before you come over.”
- To which I replied, “Why?”
- “You wanna go to the traffic court with me?”
- “Why not? It should be a great cultural experience for me.”
- He laughed.
- I added, “Will you stand behind bars? If you do, I am gonna take a photo.”
- LOL, he and said, “You will use that as my FB profile photo.”
- “Yes,” I said, “And I will add the line, “I was once a sinner, and now I am a saint.”
- Btw, my friend does quite a bit of spiritual works, and so it will be great to have his “sinful” photo up there.
- —
- The other conversations we had was about shopping.
- Now, this friend is always busy. His clothes and shoes all have holes in them and he has no time to shop. So he said, “I wonder if you mind when you come over, we go shopping together.”
- “You mean for toilet paper?” I asked.
- “No, I mean clothes and camping stuff, to get ready for the trip.”
- “Well, only if you promise that you will try on whatever I ask you to try on.”
- “Sure.”
- “Okay, we are going to Victoria Secret.”
- He laughed out loud again.
- —
- See, that how we relate in these days.
- Dumb and silly.
- Anyways. I work hard when I am not chit-chatting.
- You know what, I honestly love what I am, who I am, what I do, and things around me.
- It’s a great feeling to feel I am okay with myself.
- These are from thumb-nail water color paintings I have been doing. All about Hawaii.
- I love Hawaii. Isn’t that quite obvious? Or do I need to tattoo that on my forehead?
New Coffee Table
A few painted wine cases put together and two potted plants — become my new and only coffee table. Home is slowly looking more home everyday. Great thing about this table is that not only it’s free (from recycling wine cases) but they serve as great book shelves.
Hawaii
Oil on Canvass. Hawaii series.
These paintings are painted upon many other attempted paintings underneath. I finally get something I like, especially the one at the bottom. Volcanoes, surfs, sea, lifestyle — are all something I love about Hawaii.
