artsy thursday

pictures of dtla artwalk

small realizations

today i was driving to starbucks. same route, same stoplights. i'm really trying to refrain from using text vernacular but it was "nbd." you get the point. as i waited at the light, i just happened to stop right in front of a homeless person holding up a cardboard sign. i don't even remember what it said and frankly i don't even remember what he looked like. oh actually yes i do because i creepily looked at my side mirror when he walked past me, down the line of cars. the first thing i did when i spotted the homeless guy in front of me was turn down my music. why? because i didn't want to be that completely oblivious and unsympathetic person who blasts dubstep in her car while a person without a roof over his head stands three feet away from her. but what did that matter? i didn't offer or give him anything. i looked around my car wishing i had a care package to give him or even some spare change but all that met my eyes were strands of hair and the numerous bits of lint on my passenger seat and floor. in place of not having anything salvageable to give this man, i almost took out my phone, the perfect social barrier. but then i realized something. why do i have to feel guilty that i'm just sitting in my car ignoring the homeless guy? why do i feel the need to look busy and seem preoccupied when i've done nothing wrong? it's not my fault that he's homeless. i am under no obligation to care about this man just because i have more than him. right?
i was reminded of the book, animal farm, and the whole communistic ideal of equality versus the democratic value of individualism. or robin hood stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. do the more materialistically advantaged have a responsibility to care for the disadvantaged? why did i, as a rightful citizen of this overtly individualistic, independence emphasizing society, care?
because even though humans are intrinsically immoral and evil and inclined to do bad, we all have this thing called compassion. because we are compassionate we feel a twinge of sadness when we see starving african faces. or a mother crying at the funeral of her child. or even that stranger with ripped jeans and disheveled hair on the sidewalk.

nostalgia

today i woke up not wanting to get out of bed. cue the lazy song by bruno mars. but here am i sitting at my computer, very glad that i woke up. and as a little pick me up for the day, i decided to center my outfit around my favorite socks.

cinderella's always been my favorite disney princess. i have a collection of cinderella picture books because apparently every time we went to the bookstore, i would beg to buy another cinderella book. same story. probably the same pictures too.

i guess today's theme could be called nostalgia, considering i also wore a watch that my dad bought me in las vegas when i was six.

the shirt is thrifted and my shoes are "f"errys, fake sperrys. they're actually timberlands and quite comfortable. i especially like the purple lining inside and on the sole.

unwind and rewind

today was nothing short of hectic. i think i might have skipped dinner altogether. i don't even remember. i guess my pumpkin spice latte at 9 pm could count as today's evening sustenance.
i've been contemplating how to wear this dress for the longest time because of its odd hemline but i think i've found the solution.
voila!

self soothe

i think its the perfectionist in me. i came home from a two hour stay at starbucks attempting to study amid the cackling and "omg she is so annoying"s of one female individual who seemed to forget that she was in a study area not gossip central. talk about omg so annoying. so as a method of self soothing, i organized my closet according to type, color, and length.

that reminds me of a scene in the movie, life as we know it, when the katherine heigl refuses to pick up the crying baby to teach her how to to self soothe. but after a couple minutes, she ends up picking up sophie and coddling her. this week's been all about self soothing. i've found myself spending much (needed?) alone time and i would say it's been rough but it's been good. though i do crave the company of others, i feel like i'm strengthening my will power by living out the "i" in independence.
life is good. life is good.

7.28

from riverside to davis to incheon airport to seoul to jejudo and back to seoul and finally my dad's house in daejon, i think i travelled for over 48 hours. i am finally home. wait did i say home? hah. i guess i'll just call it that for the time being. today might very well be my only day off considering i'm going to be whisked away to grandma's country home for the weekend and then back to seoul next week. jejudo was surprisingly fun. after i found out it was going to be a trip via tour bus, i clenched my teeth and begrudgingly awaited my three days of doom.
but you know what. it actually turned out to be one of the better three days in a row throughout my whole stay.

day 0/1

it's currently 5:53 am and i am awake. i haven't woken up this early since a year ago and even then i had to be poked and prodded to open my eyes. oh the wonders of jet lag. it hasn't nearly yet been a day since i've been in the motherland. is it strange that korea seems like, dare i say, my second home? riding the shuttle bus back to grandma's place from the airport, i was looking out the window and still in that daze of "i can't believe i'm here" but it was a different sort of i can't believe i'm here. more of a familiar one. i stepped off the bus and was met with the all too distinctive korea street stench of trash, sweat, and smog through which i maneuvered my way with my luggage in tow on the cobble stoned streets.

it looks like i'll be spending most of my time here with family but i mean, that's alright with me. all i just wanted was to get away and it looks like, for now, i've been welcomed into a pair of sticky and reassuring arms.