sophia’s travel by night

So far of the diptych

one of my favorite comfort foods in the world is the simplest egg/ham fried rice + ketchup! yum! new year is coming up. i still need to make something to send out as holiday e-greeting. i'm a lazy bum. o, and on thurs nite, i delivered the last of paintings sold during my show (the black/gold arabesque series)

today, i started officially, the 1st day of my chinese floral arrangement class w/my cousin, who is a master floralist. this is definitely something completely different than wht i've done b4 in painting, computer graphics, print or even my few pcs of sculptures and installations. i'm dealing w/ideas tht r about finding the natural beauty with meaning and style and combinations of both. it's got so much tradition, it's the origin of wht later became ikebana, traditional japanese flower arragement. i think for someone like me who isn't that interested in plants other than herb gardens or a few flowers, ths could b quite interesting. it'll also allow me to work in 3-d and give me diff perspective on things tht flow and about balance, the balance btwn stylized and free flow.

gosh, another nite without sleeping straight thru! this past weeks, i've been waking up at 4am, on the dot. and not able to return to sleep til 7 or 8. perhaps ther's something on my mind i've not been able to pinpoint? je ne sais pas la raison. il y a beaucoup de chose peut-etre. perhaps making a list of what i hv to do today will put me to sleep? 7.22am, who is outside? it sounds wet like it's still raining. loosing my purse is really upsetting, cuz i had to cancel my cc & atm card here. today i will hv to go by the bank. shop for gifts. altho i did it for the states, i still didn't do for the family remaining in taiwan.

Got really inspired 2 paint ths w/copper gold as care w/Wht lines on top. Looks better in person.
After dancing all nite at luxy, i lost my fav sweat shirt jacket n little purse along w/everything tht matters in it. Had ths feeling i should've put.em in my pocket at 1 pt, again, lesson is 2 listen 2 my gut.

o O, x'mas is arriving soon, then new years... followed by chinese new year, etc. year's ending and everyone is taking flight. it makes me want to move too! even tho, i did promised myself i'd stay put for a bit, u kno, settle the dusts, hv some form of routine in my life. it's not as easy to do as it sounds! i just want to go! esp today, saying goodbye to dad who is headed back to OC for the holidays, going skiing, etc. no mosquitoes! then i started looking at Palau! well, it's a thought. why am i so flighty? i am not sure. maybe my soul is from a nomadic tribe long ago, tho i just want to hv a home, i can't seem to stay put! the irony of it all. things outside just attract me too mch? either tht or i become a recluse, stay in, never leaving my room.

this morning, as we sat ther eating breakfast, calvin (buji) asked a very interesting question. if mommy was the one who gave birth to me, why do i have to have daddy's last name? why not mommy's? i really don't kno why it is ths way exactly, not wanting to get into explaining what a patriarch society means, etc. so he instantly announces that he's going to chg his last name to LEE. then i added tht in some cultures, such as spain, a person carries both mom and dad's last names. he then immediately declares (trying to b fair to both mom & dad) then that he would do that, b both yang and lee.

tks to sandra's connections here, we got to go c the press preview of this upcoming film w/heavy-duty cast and great director. the story is set in mid-19th century china during the taipen (太平）rebellion time. this part of the chinese history i'm not very familiar with, not tht i am w/the rest, but because i wasn't ever interested in the art of ths dynasty, i don't kno much about its historical events either. this film is def an award-winning pc. ea/of the 3 main men, andy lau, jet li, and takeshi had their fair share of acting and carried it out their parts very well. i'm quite impressed with the film overall, happy to say.

my x'mas tree in taiwan is up! i bought it yesterday at the B&Q (Home Depot equivalent of US) and set it up tonite w/my nephews, the only other thing we've purchased for the tree is the lights. so we used things we found around the house such as kid's toys, ribbons saved from gift wrappers, & cut-up plastic bottles as ornaments. originally, i thought the blue & green drink bottles plus the plastic beetles/ spiders would b the best. but turns out most of the beetles were left in taichung, so i hung other little toys. would b really awesome if it's just insects! lol! i wonder if this is too hobo?