a little untidy, but i'll make a nicer one some other time :)
al-Fatihah to Ejay's father...
Saturday, February 28, 2004
PAPER HORSEY
made a horse today...
a little untidy, but i'll make a nicer one some other time :)
al-Fatihah to Ejay's father...
a little untidy, but i'll make a nicer one some other time :)
al-Fatihah to Ejay's father...
Thursday, February 26, 2004
ORIGAMI
a customer left an origami at the table the other day and Ant kept it above the counter. "I don't wanna throw it away", he had said.
seeing that origami brought back a flush of childhood memories. mum would make tupperwares and tupperwares of origami flowers and animals. i remember abah coming home from Japan bringing back books on origami and sheets of japanese patterned paper. we'd never touch those origami papers because they were too pretty and mum didnt want to waste it since it came from far away and were expensive. so we'd buy those colored paper you can get for 25 cents a sheet and made origamis out of those. our favorite was the jumping frog. all four of us - my two brothers, my sis and i, would make small frogs and number them. then we'd hold a contest to see which frog jumped the highest and furthest.
after coming home from school that night, i took out some paper and started making squares. it has been a long time since i had even attempted an origami so i began by folding and unfolding the paper randomly, hoping somehow it would turn into something. after awhile i started to remember some origami basic foldings. and eventually i did end up with a traditional crane. the next day, everywhere i sat i left a paper crane.
last night i attempted a tyrannosaurus rex. it was labeled intermediate, but i was simply itching. the diagram was in some foreign language and so a lot of guesswork took place in addition to lots of tearing of paper. it was a full half hour before i finally got a semi-trex on my desk, standing somewhat wobbly with its head a little torn. i dare say it is what the diagram had expected. even so, i was a quite pleased with my misshapen attempt and left it on my desk.
there is something about origamis that make you feel obliged just to keep it. it's so simple and delicate, you'd feel bad to throw it away.
seeing that origami brought back a flush of childhood memories. mum would make tupperwares and tupperwares of origami flowers and animals. i remember abah coming home from Japan bringing back books on origami and sheets of japanese patterned paper. we'd never touch those origami papers because they were too pretty and mum didnt want to waste it since it came from far away and were expensive. so we'd buy those colored paper you can get for 25 cents a sheet and made origamis out of those. our favorite was the jumping frog. all four of us - my two brothers, my sis and i, would make small frogs and number them. then we'd hold a contest to see which frog jumped the highest and furthest.
after coming home from school that night, i took out some paper and started making squares. it has been a long time since i had even attempted an origami so i began by folding and unfolding the paper randomly, hoping somehow it would turn into something. after awhile i started to remember some origami basic foldings. and eventually i did end up with a traditional crane. the next day, everywhere i sat i left a paper crane.
last night i attempted a tyrannosaurus rex. it was labeled intermediate, but i was simply itching. the diagram was in some foreign language and so a lot of guesswork took place in addition to lots of tearing of paper. it was a full half hour before i finally got a semi-trex on my desk, standing somewhat wobbly with its head a little torn. i dare say it is what the diagram had expected. even so, i was a quite pleased with my misshapen attempt and left it on my desk.
there is something about origamis that make you feel obliged just to keep it. it's so simple and delicate, you'd feel bad to throw it away.
Thursday, February 19, 2004
FEBRUARY BABIES
february is special :)
14th Feb - Happy first birthday Marsya, darling! Love you lots and can't wait to see you in June!
15th Feb - Happy birthday kak As dearest! Must be the best birthday yet, to have been able to share it with your dear Marsya :) Take care, yeah.
and of course...
18th Feb - Happy birthday Abah!!!! Lots of love and wish I was at home to celebrate with you (by watching some cowboy movie or anything gory of course :D)
a thousand hugs and kisses!
14th Feb - Happy first birthday Marsya, darling! Love you lots and can't wait to see you in June!
15th Feb - Happy birthday kak As dearest! Must be the best birthday yet, to have been able to share it with your dear Marsya :) Take care, yeah.
and of course...
18th Feb - Happy birthday Abah!!!! Lots of love and wish I was at home to celebrate with you (by watching some cowboy movie or anything gory of course :D)
a thousand hugs and kisses!
Friday, February 13, 2004
THE WORLD IN BLACK & WHITE
havent been to the darkroom in quite a while, and i forgot how intense it can be. i was mildly surprise that i had remembered most the procedures in developing. the first few tries my pictures came out overdeveloped and i also blew the enlarger bulb - which has never happened before. so naturally i freaked out for a bit and did the cuckoo dance while alone in the darkroom.
for every picture that doesnt come out right and goes into the trash can, i mentally substract 70 cents and kick myself for not going to bhphotovideo.com.
ps: all pictures taken with a Pentax MZ-M 35mm lens, Ilford HP5 Black & White film at 400 ISO and developed on Ilford Multigrade IV RC Deluxe (Pearl) photographic paper. hover mouse over pictures for technical info.
for every picture that doesnt come out right and goes into the trash can, i mentally substract 70 cents and kick myself for not going to bhphotovideo.com.
ps: all pictures taken with a Pentax MZ-M 35mm lens, Ilford HP5 Black & White film at 400 ISO and developed on Ilford Multigrade IV RC Deluxe (Pearl) photographic paper. hover mouse over pictures for technical info.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
IT'S A FRIENDLY WORLD AFTER ALL
last week has been good to me: phase 1 went extremely well, i got my long overdue paycheck, the sun was out most the time, and of course john fixed me dinner :)
i was out on one of my photography excursions when an old lady asked me what i was taking pictures of. at the time i had my camera pointed towards the sky, trying to frame a fair portion of a building against the bright blue. i had been standing there for a good 2 minutes, waiting for a flock of pigeons to fly over. what i hadn't noticed was that i had attracted the attention of many passers-by; all craning their necks to see what it was i was so patiently waiting to snap.
anyway, i ended up postponing my picture-taking to chat with the old lady. she asked me where i was from and commented that i looked japanese (not the first time, though don't ask me why - some of my friends have christened me Yama, even). she was from russia. noticing her thin jacket i remarked that the cold must not have bothered her as much. she said not really, though she doesn't remember russian weather that well. she met her husband, who is Polish, during WWII and they had come to America in 1949. She asked where I go to study and I replied Carnegie Mellon (always "Carnegie Mellon" when speaking to elderlies - it resonates a much more formal tone and sounds a lot more grand ;)). The old lady had nodded in approval and continued to tell me that her son had gotten his Ph.D from CMU and was currently working in San Francisco. Her other son was a dentist working in Texas and her daughter, a lecturer in Pittsburgh. She looked very happy and proud, and she must have been to be telling me all this. I wondered if 20 years from now my mother would be beaming in the very same way when she spoke of her kids.
I was pretty surprised when she told me her son was turning 58. I said she didn't look a day over 60 and she beamed even wider. She told me she has 3 grandchildren, the eldest now in Northwestern University. Apparently his parents had attended the same college, and it was there they had met. What was more interesting was the fact that her grandson now has a chinese girlfriend. My immediate response was that they would probably have very beautiful kids. She herself mused at this, saying that it was rather interesting. especially since the unborn child would be a mix of russian, polish, american and chinese.
We chatted a little while longer before she said that she didn't want to keep me from doing my photo snapping any longer. So we shook hands (she hugged me too, much to my surprise), bade farewell, and she wished me the best in life while i wished her a safe journey to Florida (for she was leaving the next day with her husband).
That conversation left me feeling how small the world can really seem like with friendly people at every corner.
i was out on one of my photography excursions when an old lady asked me what i was taking pictures of. at the time i had my camera pointed towards the sky, trying to frame a fair portion of a building against the bright blue. i had been standing there for a good 2 minutes, waiting for a flock of pigeons to fly over. what i hadn't noticed was that i had attracted the attention of many passers-by; all craning their necks to see what it was i was so patiently waiting to snap.
anyway, i ended up postponing my picture-taking to chat with the old lady. she asked me where i was from and commented that i looked japanese (not the first time, though don't ask me why - some of my friends have christened me Yama, even). she was from russia. noticing her thin jacket i remarked that the cold must not have bothered her as much. she said not really, though she doesn't remember russian weather that well. she met her husband, who is Polish, during WWII and they had come to America in 1949. She asked where I go to study and I replied Carnegie Mellon (always "Carnegie Mellon" when speaking to elderlies - it resonates a much more formal tone and sounds a lot more grand ;)). The old lady had nodded in approval and continued to tell me that her son had gotten his Ph.D from CMU and was currently working in San Francisco. Her other son was a dentist working in Texas and her daughter, a lecturer in Pittsburgh. She looked very happy and proud, and she must have been to be telling me all this. I wondered if 20 years from now my mother would be beaming in the very same way when she spoke of her kids.
I was pretty surprised when she told me her son was turning 58. I said she didn't look a day over 60 and she beamed even wider. She told me she has 3 grandchildren, the eldest now in Northwestern University. Apparently his parents had attended the same college, and it was there they had met. What was more interesting was the fact that her grandson now has a chinese girlfriend. My immediate response was that they would probably have very beautiful kids. She herself mused at this, saying that it was rather interesting. especially since the unborn child would be a mix of russian, polish, american and chinese.
We chatted a little while longer before she said that she didn't want to keep me from doing my photo snapping any longer. So we shook hands (she hugged me too, much to my surprise), bade farewell, and she wished me the best in life while i wished her a safe journey to Florida (for she was leaving the next day with her husband).
That conversation left me feeling how small the world can really seem like with friendly people at every corner.
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
"two shots of expresso, and i'm still good to go..."
aah, so caffeine has begun to take effect on me. once again. but i do doubt for long. it's only february but it feels like june. and here you can expect to have snow in june. somebody blindfold me and tell me it's spring. i would gladly concede.
My groupmates are exchanging emails and it's 2am. It's a bizzare semester. And what's more bizzare than communicating through virtual space at such ungodly hours? The fact that Britney Spears earns $39.2 mil annually.
(sobs...)
My groupmates are exchanging emails and it's 2am. It's a bizzare semester. And what's more bizzare than communicating through virtual space at such ungodly hours? The fact that Britney Spears earns $39.2 mil annually.
(sobs...)