Colors

It’s February in LA. There is an explosion of summer hues outside my window but I’m feeling rather blue today. You just can’t help the color you wake up in, I guess.

And Again

Ok, so remember that incident with the underwear in the kitchen? Well, this morning, I grabbed socks on my way to the bathroom where they mysteriously disappeared. I went about my morning routine and then — forgive me — was about to sit down to take care of my morning business. Lo and behold:

A wet pair of well-folded socks

Oh, Helen.

The Pitfalls of Being Absent-Minded in a Live/Work Space

As I was heating up last night’s chili in the vacuum of blankness I often find myself in when performing such a task, I noticed a pair of undies (clean — this post is about being absent-minded, not gross) next to the stove. I remember grabbing them out of the underwear drawer on my way to the bathroom this morning. I also remember stepping out of the shower 15 minutes later, wondering what I’d done with them. I cannot remember coming into the kitchen between the bedroom and the bathroom.

I’m just relieved I found the underwear before my assistant gets here tomorrow morning. Uh, I better double-check to see if I remembered to put it away.

Heat Wave

By the end of September, I was totally over the Californian summer heat and ready for cooler weather. Selina told me it was starting to get autumnal in London and that I should definitely pack warm clothes for my trip. As I arrived at Heathrow Airport with my sweaters, an uncharacteristically warm Indian summer hit London. I started to complain about my plight but stink eyes from sun-deprived natives shut me up faster than you could say “SPF 45″. The weather widget on my laptop indicated LA was diving into the low 70s while Hyde Park was getting littered with half-naked people tanning, rowing boats, eating ice cream and generally going nuts over the 80°+ temperature.

By the time I got to Madrid, it was even hotter. I spent 5 days darting from shade to shade like some kind of vampiric night creature. The weather did start to cool off back in London as I got ready to return to LA where, of course, there was now a heat wave. My greatest desire was to get away from the heat and I ended up following its waves across several lands.

Back in LA, I went straight to the Vortex that is my parents’, where they currently co-habitate with my younger sister, her husband, their 5-month-old baby and my baby brother. I call it the Vortex because, once I enter, it’s tough to get out. I morph into a 12-year-old boy: inhale all available junk food, watch videos and play games all night long, shuffle into the kitchen around noon, repeat. A bag of Sunchips, half a box of LU Petit Ecoliers, 2 Dove ice cream bars, 1 cheese-pizza-diet-Coke combo and an enchilada dinner later (i.e. 2.5 days), I somehow made my getaway.

Sunday at the Park

Live saxophonist performing a duet with saxophonist in a video at the Serpentine Gallery (Anri Sala)

The V&A

Primrose Hill

Southbank Centre ... Yup, that's underwear on the clotheslines.

Pipilotti Rist at the Hayward Gallery

Ryan Reynolds is stuck

Left

Amazing

American Girls

I got on the Metro with the intention to go home from the opera house but I got off at a stop midway. My feet seem to be calibrated in such a way that I can’t turn corners or, horror of horrors, turn around. I walked a straight line away from the Metro station, and just walked and walked. I stopped at a random, nondescript restaurant, having already passed a few that looked pretty good. There were three American girls sitting outside the restaurant chatting enthusiastically in that peculiar American Girl way. It was only as I was settling in at a nearby table that I realized I decided on that particular restaurant because I wanted the comfort of familiar sounds for awhile. The girls left as I took my first bite of bland fried calamari.

The Incredibly Short Life Span of Gratitude

It’s stunning to be alive when you come upon new discoveries and the sense of wonder seizes you. It’s equally amazing, and puzzling, how quickly that feeling dissipates as the dust settles back on the world.

Palacio Real

Catedral de la Alumudena

I have so many more photos of this place -- I could not stop taking pictures!

Then I stumbled on to this magical place

... and ate these magical things.

Making It Back to the Land of the Living

I’ve been thinking and feeling some things as of late but I’ve lived under the covers with the lights dimmed down for so long that putting it to words is like trying to jog with atrophied legs. It’s hard and I don’t wanna.

Some of the emotions that have come upon me are such a surprise. They are remnants of a past I was sure I left behind. A past in which there were tears, emotions, uncertainties and general agitation. I’m amazed at how easily my zen house of cards falls down. This house I crafted so carefully and kept away from disturbances. Somebody up there is saying it’s time to wake up. I guess it’s time for something new. Or, really, something old that’s new again.

King Solomon was right: there is nothing new under the sun. But then again, he wasn’t quite right: nothing is ever exactly the same. What will it feel like this time around? Will the joys feel just as sublime? The pain as devastating? Will the hunger drive me as hard and as far as before? And what IS this thing called love? Somebody up there is telling me, Never mind all this going ’round and ’round. It’s time to get up. It’s time to live.

It’s a Shame

by Charles Bukowski

it’s a shame

a great mind and a good body seldom go
together.
or a great body and a good
mind.
or a great body and a great
mind.

but worse, a not so good mind and a
not so good body often go
together.

in fact, that’s almost the entire
populace.
and all these
reproducing more of
themselves.

is there any wonder why the world
is where it’s at
now?

just notice the creature sitting near you
in a movie house
or standing ahead of you in a
supermarket line.
or giving a State of the Union
Address.

that the gods have let us go on
this long
this badly.

as the snail comes crawling home
to manna.

A+B=C

Three months ago, I decided to enter the peculiar world of online dating. There were some promising leads, a handful of dates and, currently, a promising to-be-continued situation. There was also the following note I received today from a would-be suitor, after I told him — very politely and appreciatively, I might add — that this was not a good time for me to pursue things further with him as I would be ending my membership:

What? Am I desperate? So Im not good enough for you huh? LOL. Your a joke. Im not on here for someone to feel sorry for me. I can meet someone out side of Eharmony. Im sorry that you had a bad experiance on here. Better luck to you. My focus is to meet someone nice and sencere and who wants a relationship. You give up to easy. Things dont happen over night Helen.

I try not to be a reductive A+B=C kind of thinker but this really is a sign that I need a break from the harmonious world of e-chemistry match.com. Ok, cupid?

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween, friends and strangers who this way come. I extend a warm welcome to you through the fog of my no-blogging status with this moldy jack-o-lantern (truly sorry if this grosses you out — I shuddered a little myself). Poor thing, couldn’t last till the 31st.