PUT YO HANDS UP!

As of yesterday, I finished my first year of university. I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. As I was studying, I was looking through all my old photos that are pretty much dated one year ago. Time just speeds up eh. The sun is out again today. It's lovely.


To celebrate, my classmates and I went to this bar called "The Met". They had a pretty awesome deal: $8 for burger and beer. The place itself is alright I guess. They had a DJ.... and it felt kind of awkward to listen to party music when the bar is quiet and it's still bright out. But good burger and skinny fries. Waiter was chill.

Then my friend and I went to this bar called "Whineos". I must say, it has one of the nicest atmosphere :)... I love the decors on the walls.


I just got my fisheye lens in the mail on Tuesday night. I jumped for joy and I got stoked (or I'm still stoked) for fifty two hours. I know it's dangerous to get stoked for that extended period of time, but this fisheye lens is so awesome. I named her Marilyn. Meet Marilyn:




So, I have 4 days left til I leave for motherland Indonesia. Stoked and scared at the same time. I haven't been back there for four years...or three and a half. I hope I can get along.

I Love Vancouver.

Hooollyyyyyy Shee-----

I don't really like Nike, but... this is talent.

buckling down

Well, I'm supposed to be doing my final assignments... but, then I stumbled upon this website: Econscious Market. It's basically a website where they feature products that are made "econsciously". 10% of your purchase from this store will go to one of the charity of your choice on the website. Here's the video to explain the whole deal:

ECOnscious Market from eConscious Market on Vimeo.

I've found these sweet belts so far:

I love the detailing on the buckle.

There's something girly.. yet classy with this belt.

And this buckle has the 12 zodiac symbols :)

I am disappointed with how I cannot afford these belts though. They are to die for :(.

What's in your backpack?

Yep. I finally saw it. I must say, it is one of my favourite George Clooney movies. "Up in the Air" is directed by Jason Reitman, same dude who directed "Thank You for Smoking" (another one of my favourites).

I like how this movie really depicts how bad the 2008-2009 recession was. Clooney's character is a guy who is hired to fire people. So he flies everywhere to fire people. How does he sleep at night? Easy. Read the following monologue from the movie:

"How much does your life weigh?"

Imagine for a second you’re carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life. You start with the little things. The shelves, drawers, the knick-knacks. You start adding bigger stuffs. Clothes, tabletop appliances, lamps. Your TV.

The backpack should be getting pretty heavy now. You grow bigger. Your couch, your car, your home. I want you to stuff it all into that backpack.

Now, I want you to fill it with people. Start with casual acquaintances. Friends of friends. Folks around the office. And then you move into the people you trust with your most intimate secrets. Your brothers, your sisters, your children. Parents. Finally, your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend. Get them into that backpack.

Feel the weight of that bag. Make no mistake. Your relationships are the heaviest components of your life. All those negotiations and arguments and secrets and compromises. The slower we move, the faster we die.

Make no mistake. Moving is living.

Some animals were meant to carry each other to live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star-crossed lovers. Monogamous swans.

We are not swans. We’re sharks.

I don't agree with the monologue, obviously. I, in all honesty, would love carrying that backpack. In fact, I can't wait to have someone to carry the backpack with me.

The Mayo Jar and Coffee

I'm just reposting this from my friend's blog. If you're as swamped as I am with school and everything else, read this cute little story.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jarwas full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.”

The golf balls are the important things-your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else-the small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Isn't that awesome?

Happily Ever After?

I stumbled upon this really interesting collection. I grew up with Disney and I love fairytales. I love the grim and dark background these fairytales generally have.

Check out Dina Goldstein's "Fallen Princesses" gallery. Goldstein takes each of these princesses and set them in the modern day setting, surrounded by modern day issues; of course, with a modern day ending as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of hers. It is a bit mirror-shattering... but the real world sure is tough.

http://www.fallenprincesses.com/

What are your thoughts?

counting down...

It is 35 minutes til I officially turn 19, and 33 days til I leave for Indonesia.

As I was walking home, I was just thinking how much I've changed since my last trip to Indonesia (2006). I have done lots of things since then. I have changed my mind on certain issues. I have changed my wardrobe. I have changed my plans for the future. There are things that I wish I can do again. There are also things that I want to repeat. And obviously, there are things that I just wish I didn't do.

Then I remembered what my eye-doctor (who has a bachelor in film) said to me. He said, "Never think of it as time wasted. Think of it as, 'well, now I know that that is not something I want to do.' Like process of elimination".

Thank you, insightful optometrist with a film degree. Also, thank you for all my friends; you all have shaped me to who I am right now.

"So that to know her, or any one, one must seek out the people who completed them; even the places" - Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf.