frozen

it's nearly 1/2 way thru december now. i'm sitting indoors basking in the sun here in portland, but don't let the sunlight n warmth deceive u here, outside is somewhere in the low 30sF. tht's nearly 0 in Celsius, or freezing. i hv been working on the catalog for my family n used it as my excuse not to step out o the condo in past 2 days. its just way too cold to b out ther. well, i'm just being lazy too. once i step outside, it'll take a while b4 i can return home, as i tend to wander thru town at a slow pace. next thing u kno, i'm nowhere near catching up to my deadline. so now tht i'm in the editing mode, i'd like to just take a breather n write a little, catch up on my thoughts, random as it may b.

ths morning, i finally got off my ass n step outside n trimmed off the dead tomato plant we've named Roma. on monday, he has officially died, or froze to death. it was sad sight to bear. we've managed to grow ths plant from the first day o farmer's mkt back in may. after the whole summer passed, we've gotten 1 tomato tht got stuck on the vine til ths past sunday when i decided to cut it open n c wht's up. it just wasn't ready. but the entire fall season, we've been getting loads o blooms n ther were 2 little tomatoes coming to life. now... we'll just hv to wait til next spring n start over.
anyway, so i trimmed n rewrapped the metal container with the saran wrap tht is on ths thing. 3 out o my 4 herbs tht r planted w/Roma r still alive, so i carefully redid everything in tighter smaller space. i hope they will survive ths winter. Limone (our meyer lemon mini tree) has been quickly rescued n is now indoors along w/Minty n Purple dude (i don't kno wht ths plant is, but he's got purple leaves). it's nice having plants around the house.

i hv been really lazy about writing since summer. i kno i've yet to write up the part 2 o my oz trip. n about the other travels tht has dotted ths yr. ther's been a lot. major n minor travels. but so much to catch up on. but i've been engrossed in playing games on fb when i'm not out or traveling or working. ther's also the time u hv to stop everything to spend w/t person in ur life. n tht distracts above all else i guess.
in terms o my paintings, tht's been very slow progressing also. i'm not sure why. partially it's space. i can't just mess up ths room i live in now in pdx. it's our living room n tho i've alrdy confiscated a corner to b my desk. spreading out further is no good, cuz i'd hv to clean it up every evening. tried working outdoors, but tht doesn't work out so well when u can't c ur torches flames. ok, i can paint other things, but summer is when i'm working on the lunar book. so all i can say is, i'm a bit lazy n lost. am i supposed to come up w/something diff to work out or do i just continue my arabesque series?
many thoughts run thru my head, maybe i'm stuck cuz i'm incubating? perhaps.

well, it's time for me to get things ready to head out n run a few errands. it's like walking myself. once ths is all done, i promise myself to start going to yoga classes again. i can't believe i don't do yoga like i used to anymore. was a 3-4 day week routine + rock climbing! now i barely go yoga n no rock climbing at all!!! n ths is supposed to b great rock climbing town. but if u don't hv a partner, u don't hv chances to go. maybe i should do it in the day time. since evenings r all my precious time-spent hours.

i hope by ths evening i will remember wht i had intended to design for the cover o the catalog. damn, i should've sketched it first or write it down. now i can't recall except tht chris is on ther.

best resto list pdx_2009

The Best Restaurants of 2009 just published on the portland monthly magazine...

Lucky Strike (maybe ths is t/chinese i heard about?)

Beast (heard o)

Park Kitchen (def a plus)

Syun Izakaya (need to chk out)

Bunk Sandwiches (heard o)

Clyde Common (awesome)

Nostrana (great but not awesome)

Paley’s Place (?)

Laurelhurst Market (heard o)

Nong’s Khao Man Gai (gotta try!, love carte food culture)

creeping close to nov.

is it end o oct already? well very close to it, then it's nov, dec/ jan 2010! wow, time just ticks by so quickly n silently. i remember getting on the flt to portland on 12/31/08 from tpe n now it's almost a yr since i hv been here. miss my 12th floor home n vic very much. altho ths new life w/another person is great but i miss my own place too. ok, even tho tpe isn't tht ideal w/mosquitos n humidity, etc. but i did spend the time decorating it n making it my home. and i do feel bad 4 just leaving vic ther on his own in tht space. miss my sis n kids too. sometimes i wish it's all in t/same city so i can visit w/everyone often n yet lead my own life too. anyhoo. ths project is dragging on n on n on. has never been such trouble 4 me b4! "reputable" printer ≠ better printer. they suck! so now tht the pdf font issue is resolved, i hv to resolve my duotone issue! damn. when has anyone met such trouble trying to print ths thing, not i! they can't solve any problems so i hv to do it all. so tired. no time to paint n it's dragging into my free time b4 next catalog dsgn time.
enough complaining.
so yesterday i was home working. i'm all set up now w/my 23" monitor i lugged back from OC. we hv nothing left for breakfast except muesli w/yogurt. i ended up eating tht n a squash soup for late lunch n no snacks b4 hoefesh shechter dance performance at 7.30 so we rushed 2 mkt to buy some energy bar n juice n sun chips. then shared a late dinner after at Higgins. was yummy food. so yesterday i had a vegetarian day. hope my wt doesn't drop too much. anyway, the dance co performed 2 pcs, Uprising and In Your Room w/a live band n music he's composed himself. they had only 2 stops in US west, UCLA n here. they'r very powerful pcs. Uprising was a bit too masculine n raw, towards t/end it was too much the same tempo. but the tension was good. lots o very hiphop dance moves n things i saw at raves, haha. the 2nd was def more interesting, w/11 dancers, it was quite powerful. tho he's trying to say lots n maybe too much trying to say at the same time was a bit tough to get it thru. maybe in a couple o yrs his choreogrphy wl b even more mature n it'll smooth out. i love their energy n tension n dynamics tho. it's def a chroeogrpher to watch 4.

ths morning i was awakend w/an email... aiyo! i guess my hopes o not working on tht stupid book is smashed. back to drawing board.
:-(
is ok, i will treat myself by going to paris.
n buy tix to philip glasse's opera, ORPHEE later
looking forward to pink martini album release party.
hv a great day.
it's all white fog out ther.
w/lots o autumn colors.

bday

wow, is it that time o the yr again? my bday which is in fall, marking the beginning o all the various holidays, halloween, thanksgiving, x'mas, new yr, chinese new yr!
i've been really out o touch w/my blog lately, not tht i hvn't got anything to write. just been so busy trying to finish my lunar book project, which is now... nearly 2 full weeks later than originally projected! i'm nearly ther tho. i had thought yesterday, after staying up all nite to finish some last minute corrections, tht i was all done. nope, still a lot o little things. will ths thing never end? i want to start painting already! really!
update on the tomato situation. hmmm, not so successful. ther's finally 1 growing, but the weather has turned really wet n cold now. i wonder if the plant will survive.
well. i hope i will b able to sort out things soon n start writing more. twittering is just not getting my thoughts n feelings thru.

lost in deadline land.

i kno it's been a while since i really really wrote anything substantial, it has been such a busy summer o traveling n visiting families, n of course, the pile o summer desn work... which i'm really falling behind. hadn't even the chance to really enjoy portland's summer n now it's fall! our time here is limited. ther's a goal to leave town before the heaviest o winter sets in. i'm just hoping i can get thru all these work here so i can paint again. ther's some work i wanna work out here. maybe i should ask larry about renting a spot in his studio to paint in.
ok, enough break from my work. will continue to try to get it all done by being the latest 1 week overdue. the thing w/being designer, u get the blame when something's late. cuz u'r the end o the line o things. but i'd say 1 week isn't too bad tho since everything was stalling in t/beginning o summer. got a late start.
when ths is all done, i will continue w/part 2 o my travel writing on oz n others things ths past summer. if i can remember.

A moving sound's new album release concert

I feel very lucky to b able to listen to such beautiful music at the red theatre in Tpe. It made me want to dance.

Almost 3 months?

Growing up fast