It's so bloody cold outside!! I think I had my first official teeth freeze moment while attempting to talk on the phone..

I recently read an interview by Chinese artist, Liu Bolin, I found quite moving. An artist that has been dubbed as the "The Invisible Man", Bolin spends up to 10 hours to completely paint himself and disappear in his surrounding... a camouflage..

how amazing it would be to just melt through the walls..

Bolin:

“In my photography, historical statues, costumes and architecture become symbols of that which confines us,”... “I am expressing the desire to break through these structures. I portray subjects that seem to disappear into these structures and become transparent. The subject is released from social constructs and he is free.”

I find these words to be beautiful. I think what he does in his art is amazing. But really, I am most moved by what he stands for as a human being, wanting nothing more than just to be free..

So as 2009 slowly winds down in the next few weeks, I am feeling a bit nostalgic.. It all started when I came across this old photo from my photo gallery. Believe it or not, this was taken just last year. I was a bit taken aback since I don't look like this anymore. When I say, like this, I mean FEMININE! haha. Perhaps its my short haircut. I asked JP if he prefers me with short hair or long hair. He opted for short. I was bit relieved since the thought of looking like this again will be dreadful for me. It represents the time in my life when I was falling down a bottomless pit. I was unhappy (despite the contrary in the photo), lost, broken, and desperate to get the hell out of here. As soon as I left the country, I chopped my hair, met my love, and have slowly tried to put back the pieces of meaning in my life.

It's funny how things turn around sometimes. 2010 is going to be a great year, I know it! I hope the same for you too! Hugs..

I often find myself struggling to write something in this blog, especially since I have so much to say but can't find anything to say at all. I think my brain is speeding at a rate where my body can't keep up. This may explain why I have noticed an increasing amount of typos in my writing, or even why it's difficult for me to look back and recall what it is I exactly did, experienced, sensed during my travels. Perhaps its sensory overload.. or perhaps not..

One of my many fleeting thoughts from my recent roadtrip was the following:

Nothingness is somethingness

Driving through Texas, Arizona and New Mexico one cannot help but notice the perpetual scenary of the enormous landscape of our country. After awhile the only thing I noticed changing were the clouds. A thought then suddenly popped up in my mind - what a waste of land. If I could, I would use this land for something, anything, even if its putting a fake Prada shop in the smack middle of nothing (Oh wait, somebody already did that).

When we arrived to Marfa we met a man working at the local thrift shop. He spoke about his story of how he and his wife ended up in Marfa. He continued to share his stories of all the films (and his side gig as an extra in these films) that were shot in the area, including P.T. Anderson's There Will Be Blood. Apparently, Daniel Day Lewis is a "very pleasant man". During his story, I asked the naive question of "Why?" Why are these films shot in Marfa and the surrounding areas? Why here? The man then responded, "because its the only place left in the country that looks exactly the same as it did 100 years ago." Suddenly I felt a bit convicted from all my previous thoughts of how this vast land was such a waste and that it should be used for something. Well, it is..I guess. For me, now, I realize it probably serves more function than what I could possibly ever ask from it.

And for all those times I complained about how I need to go to Cuba before the 'western civilization' comes in and "pollutes" it with their high rise buildings and a starbucks in every corner. Geez louize!

So we finally made it to Marfa. I must say, it was pretty darn cool.

 

So here I am in Los Angeles again. It took only about 10 trips here to make me finally admit: I can see why people like California. Ahh.. I admit it.. there is something to be said about palm trees and good weather.. Today I was a total tourist. I jumped on the Hollywood Tour bus and took cheezy photos of things I can't even admit to online. Ugh!

So now we are off to Las Vegas and then straight to Marfa, Tx baby!!

It's a bit ambitious I must admit, but hey, why not?!

I'm flying to the west coast next week for some R&R and of course, ROAD TRIP!!!! I love road trips. They are the bestest ~ especially, when you're not the one driving... muahaha.

Okay, a quick "why I love road trips" list:

1. Open road - Need I say more
2. Hidden treasures - little towns, cute shops, crazy locals
3. Landscape - Kodak moments
4. Music - Shane's all time favorite music compilations ON REPEAT
5. Pit Stops - Reason to eat fast food without feeling too guilty
6. Bonding moments - Awwww
7. Escape - Anywhere but here or there

Soooo, the itinerary is looking something like this:

1. California
2. Nevada
3. Arizona
4. Texas
5. Utah
6. New Mexico

I will be in the land of sun and burritos. Good times.

I hope to update this site during my roadside excursions. Until next time..