Belated birthday post

My birthday tends to be a low-key affair, which is fine by me.  This year, though, I was quite lucky to ride with my fellow March babies for celebrations manifold.  Check it:

I missed my brother's birthday dinner to eat with old friends, one of whose birthday is the day after mine.  We went to Three Drunken Goats in Montrose.

[team J bday]

My actual birthday was a long day spent at church.  I found out that it was my pastor's birthday, too, plus another person's a couple of days later.  One of our friends made cupcakes topped with thin mints and initials (our names all start with "J'), and another friend brought a lovely fruit tart from Porto's.

Later in the week a group of friends met for a quick dinner at Zankou Chicken.  My good friend treated me to my first shawerma wrap!  Thanks, Beej!

The following week we did a birthday party for college friends.  Tres leches cake from Perfectly Sweet, along shrimp egg rolls, gourmet sandwiches, and homemade Hainan chicken rice and ribs! 

I generally am over gift-giving because I don't want to accumulate "stuff."  Rather, I'm in favor of gifts of experience like movies or meals, gifts of quality time, or handknits. So I felt a bit bad about all the gifts bestowed on me this year; but I was able to shake it off (meaning: not feeling guilty and not thinking of a reciprocal gift) and simply be grateful.

[gifts]

• West Elm vases/containers -- love that they're white!


• Garden Anywhere by Alys Fowler


• Back to Basics by Abigail R. Gehring


• Soap -- delightful rose scent, sent long-distance from WDC


• Sakura and gold-flecked stationery and sakura tenugui from Ito-Ya in Japan


• Grey and pastel-striped summer scarf -- something I especially like because I wouldn't have chosen it for myself


• Target & Best Buy gift cards -- the loophole against my "buy nothing new" rule


• Eco-bag


• Really nice, out-of-my-price-point headphones (from my brothers)

Zooming out from the above picture, you'll see one of my birthday gifts to self:

[loveseat]

A vintage loveseat, found on CL (of course).  And thanks to my youngest brother's charm, it set me back $50 instead of the $75 at which it was listed -- score!  The light blue-grey damask-y upholstery is in good shape, but isn't really my style, so I've lined it with a jersey sheet while I search the internets for fabric.  My ideas range from a luxurious teal or gold or cream velvet, to a simple geometric, to something unique, like this.  In the meantime, it fits my little space perfectly (and means that not all of my guests have to sit on my (day)bed!).

[sewing machine + box]

My second self-gift was a vintage sewing machine.  I'd been researching for a while and knew I wanted an older Husqvarna for its high quality (the body is a single cast metal piece) and --frankly -- its hawt Swedish desgin.  It's a Husqvarna Viking 6020, complete with folding table, carrying case, and accessories.  It's just beautiful to look at, isn't it? And the sweing chair my brother found and gave me goes with it perfectly!  I actually swung back for the tiered sewing box, which came full of all kinds of supplies.  Now I can get on with pillowcases, hems, and (hopefully) skillbuilding!

Lastly, a lovely cafe au lait -- carefully and painstakingly brewed on a Chemex coffeemaker -- at the new(ish?) Intelligentsia in Old Town Pasadena (which serves food, too, btw), accompanied by delightful companionship and conversation.  Thank you, CO.

I'm so grateful!

I'm the last of my siblings to celebrate the first birthday without Mom.  We've all had each other these past (nearly seven!) months, which has been better than good.  Still, we all miss her.  We'll feel that similar pang again tomorrow night, as we gather to celebrate my dad's birthday.  It'll be a good time.  Different that how we would've wanted it, but good nonetheless.

Arranging the arts

In a fit of enthusiasm about the Small|Cool thing, I woke up Saturday and immediately began sorting through, re-framing, and arranging my art:

[art]

They're eclectic pieces, mostly sentimental -- and with a definite Japan bias -- including:

• a tourist map of where I lived in Japan,


• my name calligraphed in Japanese characters,


• the character for "love" -- written by a second-grader (with her mom's help, but still!),


• various happy sayings sent by my Japanese mothers,


• a picture of my youngest brother, along with his "metamorphosis" art project,


• a photograph I purchased in support of a photographer friend


• a poem composed by my Japanese father (a literature student at Kyoto University) and calligraphed by my Japanese mother (a calligraphy instructor)


• a drum painted by someone on my taiko team


• Maui's hook, a souvenir of New Zealand from my parents


• a baby picture of yours truly

This is most of the art that I own (20-25 pieces); it all needs to be spread across my apartment; and I don't want to spend any money (although I want to add a picture of my mom and other family members).  So they won't end up in the configuration pictured.  Right now everything is placed across the only stretch of open space I have in my studio.  Because I'm an excellent starter but not a stellar finisher, I hope this "method" works to annoy myself into hanging everything onto the walls sooner rather than later.

Small Cool 2011

Apartment Therapy has just announced the official start to this year's Small|Cool contest.  The entry deadline is the 20th.  Will I be able to "finish" my apartment before then so I can enter?  Not sure yet.  Here's what I'd still like to do:

• Replace vertical blinds with curtains


• Sew pillow covers


• Hang art


• Complete bathroom mat


• Work on lighting


• Acquire patio furniture

Think I can do it?  I think it would be fun!  I think I might try!  I welcome thoughts and suggestions (although I will admit that I do have a vision in mind, and when that's the case I can be very stubborn indeed.  But I'm totally up to hear other points of view)!

Alive and living

Last week I was finally able to get a hold of my Japanese parents.  They are fine; the earthquake-tsunami didn't affect their part of Japan (in fact, a lot of people are fleeing towards their area).  I discovered, through Facebook, that the other people I know in Japan are okay, too.  So I feel a certain amount of relief. 

Things are still bad in Japan, though -- as they are in Christchurch, Haiti, New Orleans, Libya, Afghanistan.... you get my drift.  And even here at home. My bro and SIL, driving to and from Mammoth and Las Vegas this past weekend (respectively), told me stories of heavy traffic due to so many car accidents on account of the rain -- and, sadly, the general on-the-road malaises of  impatience, road rage, or outright negligence. My SIL described driving past one scene in which she saw people moving the limp and dangly body of a motorcyclist, and a young woman, apparently the driver who'd struck him, squatting by the side of the road, huddled over and crying into her phone.

"One moment you're here, and the next, you're not."

My prayers are for hurting people and hurting nations, and my hope is in a God who is not only bigger than, but who is  indeed Creator of all:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling....

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

-- Psalm 46:1-3, 6-7

I am acutely aware that life itself -- not to mention health, food, clothing -- is a gift.  Undeserved.  Fleeting.  And what do you do with a gift you know you don't deserve?  You take it and run with it, all the while giving thanks.  So while I mourn and pray and do what I can, I also celebrate that I am alive.  And though my very existence is just a speck on this earth, I believe that every speck matters to the Creator.  Regardless of the scale, then, having the gift of life means taking the responsibility to live the best life I can live, in the time that I am given to live it.

Japan recap

It's a bit ironic that I'm posting this right after yesterday's devastating earthquake.  I don't know anyone in the Sendai area, but my coworkers do; Sendai's sister city is Riverside, so there are lots of local connections.  It's been a crazybusy day at work.  But we're hanging in there, and I'm happy to post these images of a country that is so dear to me, with hopes that its people and land recover from this disaster as soon as humanly possible.

This past trip to Japan was a treat because it was the first time I stayed in Tokyo proper (discounting the very first time, because I didn't know any one or any thing at that time).  Here's a view from my hotel room:

[tokyo tower]

It was especially cool because my good friends live just five minutes from the hotel.  They came to welcome me the night I arrived, and I saw them again during the week.  It was nice to get to know not just Tokyo, but their neighborhood in particular.

Another new-to-me venture was going to see the Imperial Palace.  Well, we mostly saw the gardens around it (it's open to the public only twice a year).  We got as close as about a football field away from the main gate, gaurded against random entries by menacing police bikes.  It trips me out that in a developed country and one that is known for its technology, that law enforcement (and postal service) still ride bikes!

[police bikes]

Japanese food -- 'nuff said.  I was lucky to go out with different friends every night, which was super fun (but also a little exhausting, to be honest).  It was nice to have long catch-up chats and feel a lot of love and support from seemingly far-off friends.

[chicken katsu]

[daikon]

[ramen]

 Lastly, a few random shots: ume blossoms just starting out; Japanese handkerchiefs, tenugui, and furoshiki; and a crazy (to me) pedestrian crossing -- on a Saturday afternoon!

[ume]

[textiles]

[pedestrians]

The offshore earthquake caused a huge rumbling throughout all of Japan: some reports say that the ground shook for five minutes; and here on the west coast of the U.S. we're getting tsunami warnings, too!  I got an email from a friend in the Tokyo area who said that there was significant shaking there, too, and I have yet to call my Japanese parents in the Western part of the country.  Let us continue to pray for safety and recovery for Japan.

Apartment: glimpse

This weekend marks a month since I've been in my new apartment -- how time flies!  The main vision for the floor plan was in mind even after the first time I'd seen the place, so it was easy to come in, build what needed to be built, and shift (push, pull, pivot, drag atop towels) the larger pieces in place immediately.  My brothers helped me move and those five carloads made it seem like I have so much stuff, but once pieces got put in place and boxed items went into shelves and closets, I ended up with quite a bit of open space. (Still, I decided that, my next transition will involve professional movers.)  I forgot to take pictures when the apartment was totally empty and it didn't occur to me to take any until I'd already started to build my daybed (the daybed I wanted!), so here are the visuals starting from then:

    
[moving in, view of main room from entry]

    
[moving in, view from back sliding glass door; view of kitchen from main room]

    
[moving in: bed made, books shelved, bananas bought]

My desk is right behind the daybed; I prefer to 'float' my furnishings instead of anchoring them to the wall.  It makes me feel more grown up.  And desk-wise, it's nicer to have a view of the room and patio instead of a wall, no?  The tough part is cords (computer, printer, the lamp I need but don't yet have) across walking areas.  When I build my own home, I will install tons of floor outlets!  There's a story behind every piece of furniture I own, which I'll tell you one of these days.  One of the first large items I had moved was the refrigerator.  I had doubts about it being in the middle of the 'dining area,' but the shelves next to it anchor the fridge more to the 'cooking side' while creating a nook (along with more storage) as well as a more defined eating area. 

Since these pictures (taken on the first and third nights, respectively), there's been some tweaking in the details, but the apartment remains much the same.It's only my third week of living here, so I'm still tweaking things here and there, still making plans.  

My main issues are the lack of light the apartment gets (obscured by the projecting patio of the apartment above, an overgrown and shedding ficus tree, and the large apartment building directly over the wall), and the competing wood shades in my furnishings (bed, coffee table, side table, desk, have you seen the kitchen? Wood cupboards, wood laminate countertop, wood vinyl floor tiles! OMG).  I have smaller fights to pick with the sad-looking fixture that provides most of my light (hints in the bottom two right side photos), the bleh berber carpeting (anyone know a good rug source?), and the bathroom, which is humongous. Oh, and the patio.

I'm totally looking forward to making this place my own, on my terms and within the confines of my budget.  Finally, all that time I spend lurking on Apartment Therapy is coming to use!  I'm all up for suggestions, too, so feel free to chime in!

Odd start

Disappointingly, my phone was only of use to me as a camera and note-taker whilst in Japan.  WiFi is harder to come by than one would think in the Land of Technology.  I wrote many blog posts, but am rethinking whether I should really post them all.  We'll start with the ones I'm okay with sharing.  Like the following, written on the plane:

[Saturday, February 2o, 2011]

So far I've managed to

• lose my Flyaway shuttle ticket, ransacking my bag and pockets before going back to the ticket window and finding I had simply left it there (the guy looked at me like I was an idiot);


• somehow drop my sunglasses in the flight terminal, before boarding, and have to retrieve them from cabin crew; and


• get entangled in and break my ear buds in my haste to move so that my neighbor could use the restroom.

I feel totally scatterbrained, perhaps the result of getting less than three hours' sleep ... along with some nerves, I suppose, thinking about the last time I was in all these places, with whom, what I came back to, etc. etc.  It's more sobering than exciting, but I think I will have a good trip.  Hope this is the end of breaking and losing things, though.