the forest, it glows

We went to a mountainous part of Malaysia today to see timber post-and-beam architecture.

I've never seen pine trees growing alongside plants like hibiscus, palms, twirly vines, and other tropicals with enormous leaves. It's surreal. The Malaysian students were enamored with the pine cones so I have decided that once I return to the States I will ship over a box to them.

missing Mammoth...

Around this time of year my family and I go up to Mammoth Lakes for our annual summer fishing trip. The past few years it's just been me and my stepdad fishing, and last year was the first time my sister didn't come up with us (more on that later). I did talk to my stepdad on the phone earlier today though... and I think he might make a second Mammoth trip for us when I return from Malaysia! fingers crossed.

sleep deprivation

These days I can't sleep before 3am, been that way for the past two weeks. This mild insomnia is giving me canker sores and a perpetually cranky disposition; the lack of sunlight in the morning throws my circadian rhythm into nonexistence. I sleep better when I've had 3 hours of sleep rather than 6, my body is sore and tired after hours of being awake yet I go back to my bed, lying in the dark, to repeat this same cycle over again.

I think I am finally experiencing the effects of being so tired, so far away from home. ah well, 18 days.

BONE (Jeff Smith)

Last week while moseying around the Mid Valley Megamall out here in KL, killing time before watching the latest Harry Potter movie, I happened upon a sweet little comic book store, simply called Comics Mart, and did some much-needed browsing.

I considered picking up from where I left off on Neil Gaiman's Sandman (I've only read up to the third volume, Dream Country, tsk tsk) but since I would like to own The Absolute Sandman I refrained, and then, being unfamiliar with the setup of the store, asked the man at the front desk if they carried BONE. I could've sworn his ears perked up at my question, and one of the other guys there goes "Bone! You like that one right?" and he replies, half to himself and half to me, "Yes, it is my favorite."

I pick up the first two volumes and the other guy chirps "What are you gonna do now that she's getting those two!" And the other one says "I have my own copies of Bone!" and with a smile rings up my purchase. He asks me if I'm a local and I say no, I'm visiting from the U.S. but staying here a month longer, so he gives me a card with a stamp for every 25RM I spend, and stamps and initials three boxes. I tell him I'll be back for the rest later and he smiles, says nice meeting you, and see you soon!

Sweet! I tore through those two books fast, and just yesterday went back to pick up the next three volumes. I didn't tarry long, I just went in and picked up and left, but next time I think I'll stay and talk to the owner a little longer. He reminds me of one of the guys in charge of my favorite comic book store back home, how crazy is that?

So I haven't actually said much about BONE - it began and became popular in the 90's, is a sweeping saga much like Lord of the Rings, what with a cute humble protagonist Fone Bone, an anthropomorphic bone character, and fantastic beasts including talking bugs, rat creatures, and dragons! BONE isn't only epic though, it's funny. Fone Bone has two cousins, Phonciple P. (Phoney) Bone and Smiley Bone, and all three of them are trying to find their way back home to Boneville, where Phoney was chased out of, dragging with him his two cousins. Won't say much more now - I am halfway through the series. In between journeys to studio and class I'm always thinking about when I can make my next trip to the Megamall, hehe.

eclipse

photos from here

I wish I could have seen this, being in Malaysia and all. The cloud cover was too thick that morning.

I miss this.

night run. photo by Dan.

I'm itching to shoot in film again.

I miss photoruns, late-night movie marathons and comic book swapping with my best friend Dan. Photoruns with some of my best friends from high school. Not just on account of this trip - I've been shooting solo since maybe January or February. Friend way down south of L.A., friend on the opposite side of the U.S., friend finishing school and starting LIFE.

I know that many times I've grown complacent and boring as a person in the company of some of these people. It's time to change that, because life's too short to laze around all the time.

Dan if you are reading this: we have about six months of catching up to do. I just hope you have time for me!

in the heat of the day

All photos by Ryan McGinley.

I've been waiting for the right time to feature some of his photos. His work has a dream-like, ethereal quality - mostly playful and spontaneous seeming, totally surrendering to the moment. He shot an amazing set of photos called "I Know Where The Summer Goes" last year I think and I wish I could have seen the exhibition. He also shot a stunning series of portraits of the 2008 Oscar nominees for New York Times Magazine, which was the first time in a long time I'd been floored by photos of celebrities.

It always seems to rain on Tuesdays in KL (at least it has for the past two weeks) and after a thunderstorm finishes the intense humidity sets in. Which reminds me of lazy summer days where I would climb a tree and daydream, then crawl back down for a glass of ice water, then maybe sit indoors and read a book with my toes resting on the air conditioning vent.

notes:
- The night market outside of my student housing I'm always talking about earned triple extra points today - there's a "thrift store booth" that I scoured earlier this evening and I got about 6 items for 30 RM, which is about 8 bucks. (The dress code is strict at school so I have to cover up). So the dry spell of thrifting has been broken.
- I got lunch for 14.50 RM today, as opposed to the usual 5. A $4 meal compared to $1.30, you don't say. $4 is super cheap compared to prices back home but if I can eat for $1.30 why go for $4? Ah, I definitely do not miss L.A. prices.
- I keep listening to music I listened to from last year/two years ago and it makes me yearn for home/think about things I would do over. thinking about home is normal, thinking of what I would've done differently, ugh, needs to stop.

happy birthday

One of my favorite possessions - a Polaroid from the 1970's of my stepdad TC on the driving range. He is more of a father to me than my own paternal father is, and arm in arm with my mother means the entire world to me.

From one OG (hahaha) to another, happy birthday, TC.

♥

BORED and I want to...

STRUMMER on my shoes?

or DYLAN?

I have a pair of white Vans that have turned a dingy brownish-gray from my travels, and now slightly faded purplish after some old paint-water spilled onto my feet in studio. With my last pair I spray-painted Joe Strummer's image onto the left shoe to make it look cooler and I LOVED it, but after repeated threats from my mom to throw out the shoes I burned them in a bonfire at the beach.

I got materials today while stocking up for studio. One can of black spray paint and a pack of PVC sheets for stencil-cutting, plus an Olfa blade to cut. I need a place to print but I can always just look and draw then cut, haha.

So now, do I repeat the look with Strummer or go with Bob Dylan. Or something else entirely?

decisions, decisions

Cross-posting to ensue:

Apologies for the lame photobooth photo, I just don't like empty posts. This one's semi-relevant - it shows me in my new habitat - 4th year studio at the Universiti Malaya! One of the Malaysian students handed out these ladyfingers while we were working and I was solidly amused and grateful.

Alright so a few hours ago I wrote this at my other blog that I'm slowly building up. About an hour ago, my mom asks me on gchat for my address in Malaysia so she can prepare a care package (but note: nothing too heavy)

So Docs are out of the question, hmm.

This will be a stream-of-consciousness, "things I want from home right now"

starting, NOW.

- chile spiced mangos from Trader Joe's
- seasons 1 + 2 of SPACED
- my black Levi's that I "borrowed" (read: stole) from Joe
- another flannel or two (trust me, I could really use them here)
- retainers (strange request, but I feel like i need to wear them again)
- a pack of men's undershirts (white or black, fruit of the loom!)
- Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
- an In-N-Out double double with a side of animal-style fries

out-of-the question:
- my Nikon FE
- Max & BB, Mom and Yuri

and that's it, I think. MAN I feel demanding.

I think I know what I'm doing

Joe Strummer by Allan Ballard.
Every other month my love for Strummer and the Clash seriously starts to reaffirm the possibility they are my favorite musical group of all time.

It's nearly 2 am here in KL - I've been awake and up, sketching. filling up my travel notebook, personal sketchbook, scribbling here and there, thoughts and doodles and cleaner sketches. Today was the first day of studio and I've never felt so ready and at home. True I'm exhausted but my mind is invigorated, and we haven't even started the good shit yet. This is the time to learn and be fearless, but remain humble and thoughtful, mindful and creative - so much to do in so little time!

happy birthday, America!

Me and this cute little poopie I picked up at IKEA. excuse for the purchase? homesickness...

Returned from Malacca today - we searched for nice beaches but there weren't any immediately near the hotel we were staying at; however the pool there was very nice so we mostly just hung out at the pool, and of course made it out to the night market there. Fun stuff, we ate rice balls at some famous place and then saw some famous people dining next to us (one of them a former leader of the MCA, now they're all political commentators?) and then we had some drinks and retired for the night. We didn't do too much in Malacca, but it was nice to get out of the city for a bit.

For the 4th, didn't do anything too crazy. A few of us really wanted to have something AMERICAN to eat, so we went to uh, TGIFriday's and all five of us ordered burgers, nachos, sodas and beer. How we've missed burgers! Then we went to the digital mall to see if we could get some cheap DVDs, specifically (what else?) Independence Day, but for some reason they had put away all the American movies so we were stuck between Asian movies and American TV shows. Inevitably we returned empty-handed...

Started missing the States really badly, especially because up until now I hadn't really thought about how much I love celebrating the Fourth of July. The casualness, the festivities, the food, sitting on a blanket watching fireworks with friends, BBQ, cold drinks, cheesy I LOVE AMERICA themed movies. I wore my tailored blue dress with white polka dots and red Vans classics to show my American pride, but didn't think of taking a photo of that when I posed for the photo in this post. anyway, babbling now. happy fourth once again, I hope it's swell.

things I miss back home

I ate at a Mexican place last night - it was the first chicken enchilada I'd had in (only?) 2 months! The deliciousness of it reminded me of the amenities/luxuries haven't been available in Asia and, as much as I am enjoying my time traveling it also reminded me of why I'm excited to return home!


Things I miss:
- Mexican food
- In-N-Out (burgers in general)
- Western toilets (biggest problem in China, TBH)
- Toilet paper (lots of toilets didn't have it. again, mostly in China)
- Free refills (everything you order is accounted for, no such thing as free refills)
- cold drinks (at least in China where the water is bad and refrigeration seems nonexistent)
- lemons (no lemonade here, just "lime juice")
- all-over wireless
- mosquito-free indoors/outdoors!

any more and I would sound like I'm complaining, but there are some personal things I miss too, like thrifting with my mom and sistersaur, going to the movies like it's nothing, shooting with my polaroid camera and manual slr, photo runs with friends, and playing with my poopies.

farmer's market

I'm so glad the student housing complex we're staying at has a twice-weekly farmer's market! Great place to get fresh fruits and good food really cheap! Tuesdays and Thursdays, yay!


I got lots of rambutans, mangosteens and carrots :).