1600 pandas on the street. i don't get it. but i get how taiwanese like these cultural related exhibits. anything that's cutesy will do well. anything that's free will do well. and the paper mache panda's will be auctioned off and donated to charity...that's always a good thing...
and so i recently got myself involved in cali's finest. i believe most branded things of status quo quality are relatively similar. the rest is up to the marketing. so i believe less in the item, more in the people. i believe in vertical integration. i believe in synergy and i believe in smokey the bear coming to asia. i know the american look has been replaced by the korean wave...but nothing has out done hello kitty and all things cutesy yet. plus, i think the shorts are great...
korea made me thinner cuz all i did was drink and eat anjoo....which meant not eat at all. and when i visited taiwan i always put on happy weight. happy eating, happy drinking, happy to be away from korea...now, in trying to make taiwan home, taiwan's become my anti-eating country while everywhere else gluttony. taiwan has now become a healthy haven of oatmeal, workouts and calorie counting. so when i was in NY and LA for 3 weeks, i ate everything in site not wanting to come back...until i came back to this...
taco's don't hit the spot like this...right tiff?
and then it was back to this...and then a 10 mile run...
mom has an art exhibition in august so she's been cooped up like a crazy person in long island painting. it seems as tho she has really gone into artist mode...ignoring outer appearance...hibernating during new yorks coldest winter in decades...and sending me photos of her master pieces. i told her to grow out a mole and leave her finger nails long...while she wraps her head in a crazy person elastic band cuz she says it helps her skin from sagging. i give her critical pointers....but she doesn't take criticism well. tho i do think she's listening this time...i told her to stop painting flowers and landscapes and practice painting things she's not normally used to. people, buildings. it will help with her dimensions...and help with her gauge of lighting. then i told her to stop using chinese oil painting techniques while using acrylic paints....it's not about the 氣 of one stroke...it's not about saving paint...it's not about messing up your strokes...it's about layering your emotions little by little...continuing to add depth to the artwork...
and well...these paintings are a bit uncanny....i guess i am turning into my mother...
i'm starting to love southern california. i want to move there. i'm ready for the weather. i'm ready for that comfortable american lifestyle. i'll never be ready for a family but i want one. and southern california sounds great...with the right person. and for the first time in a long time, i was in LA free to do whatever i wanted. i was at skp's pad alone for the night and woke up bright and early ready to take on the sunny skies. i went for a run to USC. had a coffee and met up with angella for lunch. brunch...turned into us drinking together for the first time ever. i don't remember her as a drinker but we drank...all day. from LA CHAPTER to the ACE HOTEL ROOFTOP...then to PERCH and then a stop at calvin's and then to EMC. bloody mary's to ketel soda's to wine to whiskeys. not much food, an odd headache the next day...but a great day. great catching up...=P
"i was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future"
san diego's become an annual trip for me. last year i flew in to officiate lisa and lewis' wedding. this year i hopped on the pacific surfliner and took the 3 hour amtrak chug down the pacific coast while reminiscing quotes by kerouac. 3 hours later, i found myself at sante fe station amongst the amish.
i knew we'd be drinking. it's always good to drink in san diego. but family life, driving life, california life takes the fury out of life. moderation takes a front seat and cards against humanity secretly adds maturity to my life forcing me to hang out at home with couples...
i had such a great time...i ended up staying for a week. i had such a great time, i ended up wanting to get involved with some projects. i had such a great time, i went brazilian jiu jitsu twice....i had such a great time, i started working out again...and i had such a great time...i miss the pooches!!!
day 1. cucina urbana
day 2. carne asada fries, the doggie beach and all you can eat korean bbq!! (so awesome seeing pooches run straight into the water....not so awesome mochi running away and across the fence into the naval facility....)
day 3. selfie story - we took a day trip to laguna beach on saturday. it reminded me of kristen cavalleri. i took selfies. a special someone whom i haven't spoken to in a while texted me while i was in san diego....which coincidentally was a trip i took with her a few years back...it was a hilarious topic of conversation the entire weekend as we mimicked her selfies and mispellings and well...this is what we came up with....
cards for humanity...this is what ended the night...
day 4. - im not sure what we did on sunday. i think we spent the entire morning watching movies on netflix. chinese and korean movies to be exact. we had homemade 麵線 by lewis....and we continued to watch more movies while i chowed down on salt and vinegar chips...oh yea we at some sushi joint made by mexican ladies. that was fun
day 5. wasn't i supposed to leave already? but i changed my flight didn't i? and don't i always. so we went for a long run in the morning to continue the work out streak from the day before. the park was just a warmup...today we went around the city...perfect weather...and that's why i want to move to cali.
i forgot hoa lives in san diego. she travels a lot and works from home but just got back on sunday night. and she came out and hung out with us...which got the conversation started..."no i don't wanna get choked out....but do you wanna train tomorrow???"
day 6. skp texted me about this lucha libre gourmet taco joint he saw on tv...it's got a ton of yelp reviews. and it was close enough to walk the pooches to get tacos. we got there too early to have taco's so we settled for breakfast. and the sauces were a testament to how good this place could be...but we didn't want to eat again...so we walked back...and i went to train...and hoa choked me out. im actually not in horrible shape. my conditioning isn't terrible even tho im overweight. i have decent control of my body because of a wrestling background. but it did take a bit to get back into the grappling feel. and there was no point for me to overpower my opponent when i have no clue about technique. so when i felt hoa's headlock...i just let her throw me...knowing i'd re-roll. in jiujitsu...the choke goes deeper when you re-roll someone. "she choked me out"
training - wings...carne asada tater tots...and drinks...its such a college town down by PB....i love the american in me. people forget how american i can be. esp when i answered "who was the lakers coach that year" with no hesitation..."rudy tomjanovich"
day 7....i made my way to carlsbad for the day...came back...and hoa came over for homemade spring rolls and cards against humanity
day 8...went running the next morning...headed back to hoa's for more training...and she drove me up to LA so we could go to ktown for the night.
im a youtube addict. i learn everything on youtube because it's convenient, i think very visually, i like being self taught and at my own pace. and i spend a lot of time learning recipes, learning musical instruments...and most recently...learning how to teach dogs how to BANG BANG! so cute.
i land in LA. i eat in & out. instagram. for lunch it's always tacos (i like tacos mexicos the best and i dont like king taco...senor fish isn't bad for fish tacos. and el taurino's hot sauce is good but it overpowers everything). instagram. for dinner it's always ktown. instagram. hangovers are always pho the next morning. and on weekends there's a trip to savoy kitchen. instagram. there's the LA routine...
