Here's to 2014!

Hello! My my, 2013 was definitely a eventful and turbulent year. There was a lot of that "out of my comfort zone" stuff going on, but ya know, I (like everyone else) emerged reasonably intact. And with a new affection for all things bird-patterned (in addition to my skis, I have a bird-themed shirt and skirt now)! 

I'm still recovering from NYE, but I'm feeling good about 2014. Wonder what surprises/horrors (hopefully minor ones) it has in store...

"2014"

P.S. Like the little birdies I drew?! Hehe, this tablet is awesome!!!

Why you lucky little...!

All this SF sun has got me feeling jolly good! Apparently such awesome weather is a rarity, according to every longtime SF-er I've come across (I'd like to say that I don't understand this compulsion to burst a wide-eyed newcomer's bubble, but alas I am evil and have done the same to many a poor soul, aka premed student :D). 

These mean-spirited (or perhaps well-meaning?) people have also been telling me that the snow at Tahoe has been incredibly shitty the past few seasons, but given my good luck on the West Coast so far, I'm reasonably optimistic about my chances for 2013-14. Plus, I finally got new mittens. And my Sparrows will be arriving soon! 

"Jolly"

Intergalactic

It's become weirdly luxurious to just sit at home and fiddle around in Photoshop. What's going on? Who am I?! Lol. 

Anyway, I can barely keep my eyes open, so all I have for you today is this cheesy, retro galactic graphic (with some Halloween colors forcibly mixed in)!

"Intergalactic"

 

Xplosion

Step 1 is over, I'm a year older, I've moved into a new place, and I've finally started my fancy research position (which has quite quickly reminded me that I actually hate working)... whoa, it's an explosion of big events! To celebrate all this, I'm taking a step away from the pastel kick I've apparently been on: 

"Xplode"

P.S. After this, I'll also be done with my gratuitous and inexplicable use of the letter "x."

Back to basics

Wow, what an anticlimactic ending to a months-long ordeal, haha. Whenever I spend a long time preparing for something important, I always expect jolts of pure, unbearable happiness and triumph to rip through my body when I'm done with that thing. Yeah, that rarely happens. At the end of my exam, I just felt beaten up. So I went shopping. :D

Now I have no responsibilities... minus all of the paperwork and administrative hoops I have to jump through to finally kick off my research. Ha! Exciting and dreadful. 

What will my life in SF look like from this point on...? Time to get crackin'!

"Basix"

Off balance

Where's my sense of balance?! I can't wait to get my life together once this horrendous Step 1 is out of the way. There's a gigantic, sunny, beautiful, flashcard-and-question-bank-free world out there, waiting for my havoc! >:)

"Kilter"

-.-

I'm trying to juggle so many things right now. Everything's a colorful blur -- it's like looking through a kaleidoscope!

"Kaleidoscope"

 

Random

Checkerboard, remixed.

"Remix"

Glitter

When this next week is over, it's TIME TO LET LOOSE! For a few days, at least. 

Also, I noticed that I use orange a lot. 

Happy weekend!

"Glitterbomb"

Spin spin spin

So much to do! Sometimes I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels. 

"Wheels"

 

Into the woods

To me, the woods are endlessly revitalizing -- in the spring, they offer up some of my favorite hiking trails; in the summer, they turn into a refreshing, cool refuge; in the fall, they become giant blankets of the most beautiful autumnal hues; and finally, in the winter, they accumulate the snow that's most fun and rewarding to ski through. As much as I love skiing, it's really hard to pick which version of the woods I like best...

"Into the woods"

Midnight

Over break, we checked out Savannah, GA. In preparation for our foray into this beautiful city, we listened to John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The book was quite enjoyable -- pretty much all the characters (minus the narrator) were so colorful and welcoming and eager to divulge their juiciest secrets. Needless to say, I didn't meet any drag queens, society ladies, or witch doctors during my stay, but I still had a great time admiring the city and its enchanting historical houses. The food was pretty delicious, too!

Also, it never got hot when we were in the city (in fact, I had to break out my puffer jacket at night), but the combination of my impressions from Berendt's novel and the look of the city (live oaks! spanish moss!) makes me think of warm colors and overgrown greenery (not unlike a humid jungle) whenever the subject of Savannah comes up. Hence:

"Savannah Nights"

City by the sea

My break is coming to an end, but I've still got the weekend! Hope it goes by real sloooow. 

I have to say, the South is a lot nicer than I originally thought, and Charleston has become one of my favorite cities by far. The beautiful old mansions with their generous porches and elaborate staircases, the strong presence of water, the shrimp corndogs at Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar... yes, I was very sad to leave indeed.

During my visit, I came across a miniature replica of what Charleston looked like when it was still Charles Towne back in the colonial days. I thought the shoreline seemed particularly interesting, so I recreated a retro version of it here. Today, the half-moon battery, depicted in black, is many feet underground. 

Charleston is still very colorful, though, and I can't wait to go back!

Have a good one! 

Q

"Charles Towne"

For the love of books

When I was an undergrad, the only time I ventured into the library was to take photos of books. I was obsessed with capturing the look and feel of old book covers, especially those with faded gold letters. Finding the perfect book was an adventure! I amassed a sizable collection of macro-style photos of books from all angles, and I would obsess over and edit them for hours. I definitely spent more time capturing pictures of books than actually reading them! Ha, all those tuition dollars put to good use. 

Anyway, these skis feature a sample of some of my photos, altered to look less real (the idea of realistic images on skis seems very cheesy and uncool to me).

"Brett"

By the way, I feel compelled to say that I find reading books just as enjoyable as photographing them. :P

Also, on kind of related note, I'm only one shelf exam away from SPRING BREAK!!! Thus, my updates this next week will probably be more sporadic. Maybe I'll finally finish reading a novel.

Have a great weekend!

Poipo

I love purple! I also love pronouncing purple as "poipo" -- a dumb but incredibly gratifying act. Plus, doesn't it look so funny on paper/screen?

Q

"Skylark"

 

Step by step

Today I did an insane amount of walking and stair climbing while wearing rather uncomfortable (but stylish!) shoes. Poor feet.

Q

"Step by step"

 

Warped

Purple...stripes...swirls...some of my favorite elements mushed into an end-of-the-world-ish graphic!

Q

"Apocalyptic"