Last Day of 2011

Can't say I've been too productive when it came to my winter break projects, but I've been making very slow progress.

Started working out again, now my chest and arms are so sore. Hopefully I'll do a better job keeping it up than I did during school. I seriously need to commit better.

I hope I get my car soon, hate to start off the new years without one.

Last but not least, will do my best to write in my blog no matter how insignificant my posts become for whatever reason!

Much Needed Update

It is now the second week of vacation, I plan to start working soon tomorrow and can't believe how time has flown by. Much has happened lately and left me to question whether or not Otis's fashion program is right for me. I do love fashion and do want to become a great designer, but the program pushes me in a way of producing more and more designs rather than developing myself and the process of designing.

I will continue to do my best because I do feel the program has great advantages, but I will also keep an open mind whether or not I this is the right path to where I want to go.

Success isn't always an easy road, pieces of your life will teach you what you're doing right and wrong, and we act accordingly.

Here's a song that really puts me in a good mood.

Zaz- La pluie. It's so romantic.

Hell's Kitchen

A week of school flew by and here I am dedicating my weekend to Illustration/Design homework. I think the homework load multiplied by 4, but oddly enough, I'm in good shape with the work.

For sure, Hell's Kitchen is definitely helping me keep working. =].

Elise is such good television...

Random hot Korean guys. Lee Joon from MBLAQ and guys from Men's Health. =].

Castle of Wonders

So I'm in my new apartment with Ace and everything is great so far. The only new apprehension is the Junior assignments due in four days! Damn, if only I started earlier and the apartment crap didn't get in the way (wasted a good chunk of my time).

Anyways, I'm off to do flats until my eyes burn from the light box.

This song has been keeping me working with renewed spirit.

Apartment and Troubles

Looking back at my older post, that Korean guy had a bad face. Long jawed and bad sunglasses that don't go well with his face.

Anyways, I think I might have gotten my new apartment. After some time of turmoil, being so upset at Ace over this and that (if I ever feel the need to explain the details, I will in the future), and getting over a fever only recently, I feel a bit better about my situation.

I just want to move in already and set up my life for school. I'm kind of tired of all this bullshit LA has been giving me as well as store shit which came up recently which had a negative adverse affect on me (negative adverse? Am I being redundant?).

Here's a beautiful song that has perked me up from time to time.


And then here's a hilarious song from the ever fabulous Robyn.

Hot Korean Guy

It's that time again, where I post random pictures/videos to fulfill my gay Asian male needs.


In the event that the images don't show up, here they are to download.

Oliver Green

For those following Project Runway, I've been recently very excited about one of the contestant by the name of Oliver Green.
I think it's great to have a gay Asian male contestant who is attractive on the show. His designs so far is on point with current trends such as tailored menswear for womenswear and such, but I'm more interested in him at this point. Another thing I was surprised by was that although he seemed to be one of those young prodigies who went headfirst into his career and is now making a living for himself and whatnot, I found it endearing to see that his apartment was less fabulous than I assumed it would be. It made me like him more in the sense that he didn't get to wear he is now because he had a ton of money.

Anyways, I have high expectations for him this season!

Junji Ito and a Night of Cards

I've been reading Hellstar Remina lately and so far it's okay. It's a bit too sci-fi for me, but it's by my favorite horror mangaka, Junji Ito. I think I'd like it better if there was more paranormal things.

Also, spent time with friends recently, something I haven't done in awhile. We basically hung out at Kenny's house, watched TV and played some card games, it was a bit of a reminder why I shouldn't hang out with friends too often. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad time, and I did enjoy seeing them, but it was not really something I plan to do often.

Finally for tonight's post, I'm seeing definite improvement in my muscle building, hopefully I can get to a good point when school starts and try to keep it up.

Lately I haven't been feeling all up to writing; maybe it's because I've been doing it so late at night, or maybe it's because I don't have the energy and concentration to muster up a more colorful way of talking about my day. Despite this, I am glad to be writing anything and doing it somewhat consistently, it'll be a good way to see growth and archive it.

Church and Things

So last weekend, I went to my boyfriend's church. For those who don't know me, I am not very religious, but my relationship with religion has been a complicated one leaning on the side of disbelief. I attended the morning service which is full of older Korean folks, but I had the pleasure of attending the English sermon which kind of took me back a little. There's a lot of singing, and the young attendees all seemed to be working towards becoming a musician. Overall, it was nice and welcoming despite how uncomfortable with a number of points made here and there during the services (seriously, I feel like they demonize Muslims every Sunday service).

Also, I am going to finalize my decision on an apartment next week. I have three top choices, but I am still looking in case there's an even better option.

The Ideal Friend

My ideal friend is another gay, Asian-idol wannabe like myself. I would want him to be intelligent, funny, compassionate, extremely open-minded, and worldly like myself. There has always been a part of me who had wished that I made that gay Asian friend who could be that person I could see often (or not without any pressure or guilt) and spend time with each other improving one another in whichever way we could. A large passion of my life are things fashion, gay, and people, so having that in one friend would be great.

Although I know it is very immature and unrealistic to have such specific expectations in someone (many people do this for their 'true love'), and I understand things in a relationship come at a compromise, but I still hold onto that dream. Maybe I just feel most of my friends are not the trophy friends in the looks department although they are willing to spend time to get to know me and have good personalities. Maybe I'm just being shallow, but I do believe this person will come to me not through the wonders of luck and fate, but because I am pursuing them repeatedly throughout my life.

Time will tell...

Living in LA

For my upcoming semester, I am going to get a 1 bedroom studio apartment. I have a list of places I've called already and am going to look into, so I'm pretty excited to see a furniture-less living situation but with a lot more personal space. Ace is going to possibly staying with me, so it might seem to be a bit smaller than I might expect (which is all the more reason why it's important he has his own room.

Although I am a bit apprehensive about starting the school term, I large part of me is excited to get back into work mode and expand myself in more ways than one. I've had a lot of great memories from the steep up's and down's of being a fashion design major at Otis.

My ultimate goal at Otis is to become extremely good and unique in what I do/design, and hopefully find that niche I can really get into where it can really propel me in the right places in my career (Tokyo/New York). I should really make a goal's list, I think I'll do that next time I post.

Man, I need to stop staying up late...

Here's a Thai commercial on life insurance. Part of me loves the message/story, another part of me hates that fact that it's trying to sell me something and manipulate my emotions to do so.

A Long Trip

Today my parent's friends from Oregon came with their two sons. We basically drove all the way to San Pedro's ports to attempt to get a free tour of their naval ships, only to be turned away because most of us weren't wearing closed shoes and didn't have ID's with us. My dad brought up this idea for a trip through hearing it through a friend, so he didn't see the fine print of requirements which are not flexible. It wasn't all bad though, we took pictures, walked around a few malls, and ate a lot of good stuff.

I also played this card game similar to D&D called Munchkin. It was a really fun game, and I totally would've won if he hadn't left because we had to go eat somewhere. Overall, it was a really long but good day.

Running with Oldies

I've been on an oldies streak lately. Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong era(s) in terms of the music I love.

Mungo Jerry - In the Summertime


Earth Wind & Fire - September


Finally, I have finished the book Running with Scissors and I have to say it was a good read. Despite all the messed up things that happened to the Augesten, I felt it was a really inspirational story about how no matter how screwed up your life is, you can still make a future for yourself. His writing style is witty and sarcastic, which is carried throughout the book despite the number of horrible things that happens to him. Definitely worth reading.

Last but not least, I AM IN LOVE with SUPER JUNIOR's new concept.

His legs are so sexy. I have legs like that. =].

Damn, the 70's are back with a vengeance.

Only You

This is song is so romantic, it really brings me back to the fifties where women wore poodle skirts with those fitted bodices and little boys were dressed like miniature versions of their dad's. Ah...the fifties, what an innocent and simple time that was...

The Platters - Only You

Old School Chums and Leopard Print

Today I spent time with my old school chums from Otis, Peter and Lina. We have been trying to arrange time between our three busy and conveniently inconvenient schedules, but we finally managed to see each other for lunch. Here are some pictures of us at a restaurant:

There was a flea market outside, so we decided to have a look-see.

As for me, lately I've been trying to find an apartment for me and Ace this upcoming Fall semester. Who knew doing it a week before the next month would be so annoying and frustrating, but alas, I'm sure I'll find some place I can turn into a happy home. Ace and I have been trying this whole sleeping on the floor thing because our beds are so old and bad, we have headaches and neck problems when we wake up (not severe ones, but noticeable for it to be a problem). This is good because I won't have a bed when I move into an apartment.

Last but not least, I am really interested in animal prints for guys lately. Especially on this one.

It's super cute, and I think the whole Asian Idol persona can pull off most fashion disasters.

Progress and INFINITE

So from my last post, I am making slow but steady progress in being more productive.

Accomplishments:
-Organizing swipe files.
-Drew a pose/figure from a swipe.
-Traced 4 large model drawing poses for reference.
-Continuing to work out. I'm beginning to see results, and hopefully I'll lose some more fat and build more muscles.
-Started my Rosetta Stone Korean Lessons. (I deserve a gold star for this one.)

Also, I went to my gay social meeting on Wednesday where we talked about sexual health. Some of the topics included the stereotype and roles of bottoms and tops as well as masculinity versus femininity. We read and discussed what are factors in a healthy relationship and the 'List'. It's basically the an imaginary list of expectations we have in the relationships/people we encounter and how they affects said relationships and how we perceive others. Overall it was a really good sessions where a lot of people shared their personal stories and we got a good laugh out of the different characters we had in the room. I also got a cute solar powered toy from one of the members. If anyone is interested in the group, here's the information on them (they are called iMPACT).

In our conversations though, the most eye-opening thing that was mentioned was setting realistic goals to help build a stable/healthy self-esteem. I feel like this struck a chord with me because a lot of the goals I have set in the past are very impressive on paper, but I normally fell short or didn't do at all because it was so daunting. That is why I am going to try to reassess my goals a bit better so I am more ready to commit and see them through. I already feel like this is a positive step forward (along with keeping a blog of my thoughts and misadventures).

Last but not least, I recent came across INFINITE's new MV. Although not my favorite song from them (honestly, they did something amazing with Can U Smile), but it's a nice beat and melody if you really put in the effort to listen.

내꺼하자 (Be Mine)

A New Start

I've been wanting to get something off my chest for sometime. I am about 39 days away from school starting (counting the two weeks where I'll be actually working on an official project), and I have been less than productive when it comes to what I had originally planned for my summer. As much as I would like to say I've been living it up so much this summer that I have no regrets about it, the lack of accomplishing my goals for improving my illustrating skills, designing ideas, and sewing practice worries me.

Not that I blame my friends for my laziness and inability to commit fully and whole-heartedly to becoming more serious as a designer, I feel the money/time/gas/and effort I have put in have been poor choices for my time. I am not all too bummed out about not being able to get an internship this summer (although that would have been so damn fabulous), my true discord lies in stupid little projects I get pretty fast and furious into for a very short time. Making a board game? Putting together a low-budget film for laughs? Going over to people's houses to play video games and sometimes just chat about topical things? Eating out with friends so often? These things aren't horrible things to do with one's time...if you're a teenager, and even then I don't know. I may not be a fortune teller, but at this rate I'm going, a successful and confident designer is not what I foresee anytime soon.

I love fashion. I want to pursue it harder and faster than before. I recall the passion and crazy amount of time I put into observing trends, understanding construction and fabrics, and overall design concept analysis puts a fire into my heart. I feel I see things in fashion most do not, but I am far from being so high on a pedestal to really design with such grace and authority. I am not afraid of failing to become a fashion designer, I am afraid of failing to become the fashion designer I hope to be (I'll explain that type of designer another time).

There are things I hope to do if I'm not doing work related to fashion, and that is learning Korean and getting into better shape. I have a 2 week pass for the gym, and have been working out pretty often (not too often, but a lot more than I have for some time now). I have been seeing results which have been pleasing motivation, and I hope to stick to it even when school starts. I PRAY TO GOD I AM ABLE TO WORK OUT DURING SCHOOL...

In terms of accomplishments I'm pretty happy about during my summer are:
-Starting to work out more often, getting into better shape.
-Went on a nice trip with friends to a casino and overall experience something new.
-Reestablished my relationship with my family (during school, I became so busy I hardly had the time to really see them).
-Still have money. This could change very fast if I'm not careful.
-Started going to a gay social group to meet new people and make friends.
-Sleep well...oh man, this is going out the window once school starts. Better enjoy it before I have to ween myself off of this for conditioning training.

Well, here's some memories of my recent summer events.

Me and Roderick at AX2011

I love his expression in both these pictures.

Random Pictures of Me During Casino Trip