there's no place like home...

...but oh, how I already miss Malaysia/Asia.

countdown...

5:30 pm on August 9th in Malaysia:

- 3 hours to my next meal.
- 5 hours since my last meal.
- 6 hours it took to build my freakin' topography in Rhino.
- 36 hours since clubbing all night at Zouk (more on that later, maybe).
- 41 hours left to work on take home final essays for Arch 316, 424, 425, 426.
- 81 hours til I turn 21.
- 88 hours to deadline.
- 96 hours to deciding whether to pass out for the night or go out again.
- 124 hours to KLIA, boarding a plane and coming home!

Exhausted, exasperated, exhilarated, energized, excited.
!!!

sleepytime

There are kittens and cats that live in the kitchen alley right by my housing complex - the laziest cats I have ever seen. They don't even bother going after the rats that thrive there!

I hope to sleep like this little kitten tonight. snoooze.

(architectural) highlights from Singapore

(apologies for the obvious lack of a wide-angle)

1. Illuma Shopping Centre
2. La Salle College of the Arts
3. The Durian(s)
4. Henderson Waves
5. Green Roof at Nanyang Technology University.

The parting shot of Singapore, which exists only in my mind now, is passing under a Calatrava bridge on the bus ride out...!

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.

eclipse

photos from here

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

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.

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 :).

goodbye Penang, hello (again) KL

An adorable 50's-style lamp that I really wanted to take (but of course, didn't). It was on the coolest bedside table, too!

This kitty stayed out in the courtyard with me late at night as I caught up on the internet. She's a lot friendlier than she looks.

When this kitty slept, she slept like a log!

At Penang we stayed at Cheong Tze Fat Mansion (that name's probably not correct, I'll check it later), really cool restored mansion with 38 rooms, all themed! We were in Penang for two days - it's a nice historic city and we explored it a bit, mostly enjoying all the different kinds of food! A mix and sometimes fusion of Indian, Malay, Chinese, and Thai, and possibly even more. Night markets are the coolest and by far my favorite part of experiencing the cultures out here. The only bad part about Penang is I've gotten the worst mosquito bites here than on our entire trip! :( Need more mosquito repellent, badly. Now we're on "vacation" (read: stop travels, rest) before we get on to a crazy month of WORK.

I ♥ fruit

Rambutan (part of the lychee family!) is one of my favorites out here!

Ladyfinger! Sweeter than a banana :)

Mangosteen! Here they say it's the queen of fruit. Outwardly it looks like a woody eggplant, but what's inside tastes amazing.

Great thing about this trip is that all the fruits are in season! Night markets are chock-full of fruit stands and they're super cheap and delicious. Yum yum yum.

missing Vietnam

especially the pho.

biking to the beach (Hoi An)

Spent yesterday morning riding bicycles through the countryside in Hoi An to an unspoiled beach where we frolicked until lunchtime; then we rode back and took a walking tour of downtown Hoi An. Beach photos below!

Mounting bikes after stopping by a construction site for a house. We are architecture students, after all.

Beautiful beach full of lush palm trees, clean white sand that's probably 100º F, ouch, and clean blue-green water. With jellyfish.

A handful of tiny sand dollars, crab carapaces, and shells with holes - which I later stringed on to a bit of palm fiber I found.

Pineapple juice at lunch. Mmm, frothy.

Close-up on the shell necklace.

Hanoi to Hoi An, Vietnam

Halong Bay

I am getting progressively worse at keeping tabs on this blog, but with good reason, as internet connection is faulty in the hotel rooms.

I'm sitting outdoors in a covered patio because the wireless connection's the strongest here. There are lizards crawling around on the hotel walls, bugs flying and biting, and frogs and birds screaming at and calling to each other in the trees. There's a group of locals karaoke-ing, the air is hot and sticky and it hangs in the air like a giant, hovering cloud. There are two kittens peering at me from under the table. They look like they want to come say hello, but they are much too shy and frightened to do so. Mama cat is nearby so they are safe and have a place to go.

Tomorrow we bike to the beach and explore downtown Hoi An! Should be a very interesting day.

HONG KONG >>> China

Oh man how I've missed the blog-o-sphere (I can't believe I just said blog-o-sphere)!!!

some poopies tussling in Suzhou; they made me miss mine!

First day in Hong Kong after two weeks in China. We started off in Beijing, then went to Dunhuang (near the Gobi Desert), Xi'an, then Shanghai, a small stop to Suzhou, then Shanghai again. China is very stringent about what is viewable on the web and as a consequence I couldn't blog or watch videos on YouTube - a huge thumbs-down to censorship. Thanks, China.

I wrote notes to myself for each thing we did in China, so I'll probably backtrack and post to the actual dates, just because I can. wooo!

Xi'an (6/5 - 6/7/09)

Xi'an - one of the oldest cities in China and home of the famous Terra Cotta Army that protected the tomb of Qin Shi Huang - China's first emperor.

Leaving Dunhuang for Xi'an, in one of the tiniest planes I've ever flown in - three seats and an aisle wide!

At a terra cotta soldier-making factory. A broken soldier in the rubble outside of a kiln.

Unfired clay heads made with the local clay, which is a nice dark brownish grey.

At the actual site of the real terra cotta warriors...!

Outdoor floor detail at the Grey Mosque - the first/only Muslim place of worship in Xi'an.

Lychees being sold on the street. I really wanted to buy some dried kiwis but didn't get the chance!

We went to a dumpling house that made dumplings in the shape of what's inside. They were not that good, but these walnut dumplings were divine.

Dunhuang (6/3 - 6/5/09)

Dunhuang is a little town right out by the Gobi Desert - more of a farming town and less hectic as a city like Beijing, though bustling and busy in itself. A really beautiful and quiet transition from city to country.

Hello camel!

We rode camels to the Singing Sand Dunes in the Gobi Desert.

Orange booties to cover up shoes and pant legs and keep sand OUT. such was the fashion that day.

Camels resting after our intial trek to the dunes.

I got a sweet red hat to keep off the sun, everyone said I looked like Jessie from Toy Story!

Nearing dusk, leaving the dunes.