New Year's Eve

Got off work early and feeling good in my jammies. 

It's been a loud year and I really need the quiet.

From above

Thoughts

I think I think too much. I over analyze everything in my head. Every detail, gesture, 

tone, look, sound, smell, scenario—I think about. It plays over and over in my head. 

This has its pros and cons I suppose. Good thoughts will have me feeling real good for 

as long as it lasts. Woeful thoughts will linger and hamper my mood and spirit. 

One thought leads to the next, and soon I wonder how I've ended up where I am in my 

head. Just a big old scramble of thoughts. Does it have to do with sensitivity? Being 

sensitive tends to have negative connotations, but I think it's good to be sensitive. Sensitive 

people are very aware of their emotions...it just gets a little overwhelming sometimes. 

Yeah. 

I like this photo. I found it online. Doesn't it look liberating?

It's New Year's Eve! Another year has come and gone. A big realization this year 

are the people in my life that I truly see as great people. People that I know I will have an 

everlasting friendship with. People that live a five minute drive away from me, and 

people that are thousands of miles away. I'm so thankful for them. Oh and that itch to 

travel is still there. No worries, I will, the timing isn't right just yet. 

Au revoir, 2014. 

Boundless

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

This combo is the bomb. 

A moment

Basil's not much for cuddling. Occasionally, he'll snuggle up on your lap for whatever reason, 
but he normally likes his space. He's currently resting on my lap, and I love it. Totally relishing 
in all of this cuteness, and the heat from his body is keeping my lap warm this cold evening.
I'm actually refraining from repositioning even though I feel my legs going to sleep...this is just 
too precious. 

Kind of late to the party, but I've been obsessing over Sam Smith's songs and some Ed Sheeran. 

Also, I am so grateful for podcasts. Commuting to work has not been easy, but oh man, 
podcasts have made it manageable. 

My favorites:

_Freakonomics Radio
_This American Life
_TED Radio Hour
_Serial (great suggestion by a friend)
_Stuff You Should Know
_Ear Biscuits
_Podcast: Nerdist
_Comedy Bang! Bang! (on occasion)

From above

Recent documentaries

With so much extra time the past couple of days due to holiday season, I've been watching 
documentaries again. It's always humbling to watch documentaries that deal with the extremities 
of reality so unfortunate, I cannot even begin to grasp the stark reality of it all. It's so 
unfortunate, so unfair, that it seems unreal. But it's real. I think how silly my life is...compared 
to other lives I see. A lot of the times I feel like a useless, spoiled, tend to take things for 
granted, brat. Just another mindless body in the world. All those times I've complained about 
trivial, foolish things, it's embarrassing and shameful. 

Documentaries watched:

_Blood Brothers
_The Dark Matter of Love
_Stuck

_Mortified (comical)

You can never go wrong with wood

Humble abode

Tillandsia

My sister got me this Tillandsia, more commonly known as the air plant, for my Christmas 

present. I love it. It came with the crystal pot that cost more than the actual plant. This fella 

is a little weird in that it doesn't need any soil, hence the name. All it needs is an occasional 

(every 2 weeks to be exact) overnight soak in water and they're good. Peculiar little thing. 

Chicken in a Creamy Parmesan and Sundried Tomato Sauce

I saw the picture for this recipe, and I had to make it. This one will be going in my recipe 

collection. It was so flavorful and good over white rice. I even think this will do without the 

chicken if I'm feeling lazy. It becomes like an Italian version curry if that makes any sense. 

Coffee break

Agh

Sparks by Coldplay

One of my all time favorites.

That's a burrito. This was a photo message taken a while ago for my friends in Korea. 
We asked what everyone was doing in that very moment, and I was eating a burrito.
We like to update each other about stuff. 

When it comes to interior decor, there are two things that I can't do. 

1. Wall art, be it framed photos, shelving, or mirrors, above a bed or couch. 
Knowing that I would be idle for a long period of time on those two areas of 
rest, I cannot get past myself envisioning a short reel of said art tragically falling 
off the wall onto myself unannounced, inevitably killing me. Unlikely to happen 
unless there was a violent earthquake or poor setup on my end, but for some reason 
I feel it would happen to me. Freak accidents happen, you know. 

2. Long mirrors left leaning against the wall. 
Just leaning, that's it. I get some mirrors are heavy, therefore very able of staying 
as is, but you never know. Over time, the mirror can gradually slide outward and 
down due to vibrations from our footsteps, Basil playing fetch, accidentally bumping 
into it, doors closing and opening—the possibilities are there. Before you know it, 
you could come home one day to a shattered mirror with mirror pieces all over the 
floor that you now must clean up. Worse, you could be home alone when it falls and 
scared poopless. 

Sad how my mind thinks sometimes. 

You're No Good by Harvey Averne

Basil woke me up at 3:30 am to go pee. As I'm standing outside while he goes, 
I hear this song in my head. What in the world? I'm half asleep, but I hear it. 
Don't know what to make of it. 

Yes

Gets me every time

Sea of Love by Cat Power

Transparent stuff

This is cool. Seems like such a simple yet extremely clever idea. I also read articles 

about transparent planes coming in the near future—2050. My mouth opened in awe. 

How terrifyingly invigorating would that be? Very. I'd like to ride it one day when all is 

well and safe. I'll be 60 years old then. We'll see.

Toothbrushing

For the longest time, I couldn't figure out how anyone can brush their teeth the way 
they did in movies, thoroughly. No foaming drips of toothpaste around the mouth, 
just a quick brush and spit and they were done. I really thought that was how everyone 
in the world brushed their teeth. It's not like I went around asking people how they 
brushed their teeth—odd question to ask. I quietly let myself believe I was just the 
messiest tooth brusher like that of a child, and everyone else had mastered their 
technique to the level of what is demonstrated in films. I remember trying multiple 
times in my teen years to brush my teeth without getting foam all over my mouth to 
no avail. How naive I was...

Yes

Hurrah

Thank you for the rain, Lord. 

Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory

Just watched this documentary and feeling very emotional. I knew music was powerful, 
but I didn't know to what extent such as what was shown in the documentary.

I've always wondered and asked friends if listening to a certain song they loved in the 
past brought them back to that moment in time. For me it's like a rush of memory whizzes 
up in my mind as a flood of specific events are re-encountered. The moment I hear a certain 
song, I'm saturated with feelings and memories—sometimes good, sometimes bad. It's also 
strange how at that time, I may have loved the song, listened to it on repeat for days because 
it made me happy then, but to listen to it again now, I just can't. Random example, I used 
to love Jason Mraz in high school. I did not like high school; couldn't wait to get out. 
If I hear a Jason Mraz song today, I cringe and will immediately turn it off if I can. Listening 
to his songs take me back to feelings I had in high school, which was dismal, frustrating, 
and dreary. Strange huh. But with every song I loved, I always picture the time and place 
where I listened to it, and feel what I felt then. Pretty cool.

Basil

I see him every day, and I love him more and more every day.

Pause

Smalls & Biggy

Ficus Lyrata

Another green beaut I have been lusting for...the Ficus Lyrata, more commonly known as 
the Fiddle Leaf Fig. Look at those luscious, buttery leaves. This I must resist as they can grow 
over ten feet tall and take up a good amount of space I do not have. Once I move out, the 
Fiddle Leaf will be in my living room, it will. I can already see it. 

Rips

Neutral

Behold

The kraken has awakened

Mad World by Gary Jules

Repotted

Finally got around to repotting my plants into their new roomier homes. Ordering a plant 
online seemed bizarre, and it still is to me, but I did it. My ficus elastica is with me at last. 
I love it. I went ahead and separated the rubber plant that originally came with three sturdy 
fellas in a 4" plastic pot into three different pots. My one ficus turned into three—whoohoo. 
I like the look of rubber plants single stemmed and airy as opposed to a bushy bush. 

Look at the snake plant (totally off focus, heh). There's a baby snake sprouting. 
Who knew plants could bring such happiness besides clean air, which I find simply 
marvelous. And they're green—my favorite color. 

Dotty

Basil

Eucalyptus

There's an underpass bridge I drive by every day to work. One day, I noticed a little 

Eucalyptus bush growing by a tree, next to the bridge, behind a fence. The day I first 

noticed it, I was so happy, wondering why I didn't notice it before. Maybe it was too 

small then, or being by an underpass, I never bothered to look. Well, I've been watching 

it over the months, and now it's a big ol' bush, looking mighty strong and alive.

It was twelfth grade. My floral shop class, or was it floral design? I don't remember. 

I do remember learning about the Eucalyptus plant in total wonder, thinking how satisfyingly 

peculiar it looked. Every time I would see this plant, I'd just get happy. It's so dainty, 

loosely symmetrical, and floppy looking when standing alone as a single branch, but see it 

as a full on bush and it's quite the organized clutter. It's not loud, but you notice it. 

I really like this plant. 

Cozy in olive

Today was a lazy day. I grabbed an iced vanilla latte in the noon, made some baked mac n cheese, 

watched stuff, bothered Basil, picked up Thai food, and watched more stuff. It was nice. 

Back to black (more like dark brown). Even though I dye my hair darker, it always turns light again. Hm.