secretlyfalling

2012-02-01T01:14:00.000-05:00

My lovely friend Tracy, just a test shot for an upcoming school assignment.
ps. how is it February already?

poinsettia

2012-01-03T15:51:00.000-05:00

week two

2011-12-31T22:01:00.002-05:00

It's late and I took it last week. This week was way too busy, I'm so glad that the holidays are finally over. I'll do better next week, I promise.

quote

2011-12-22T21:30:00.000-05:00

"Look like a girl. Act like a lady. Work your heels like a boss."

52 weeks

2011-12-22T14:58:00.003-05:00

OKAY. I know I said I would start like two weekends ago but I've been working everyday pretty much, holiday season in retail is far too busy. A miracle happened today though and my shift at work got called off so I got the day off, the house to myself, and the time to finally take a photo for this project. So here it is plus a little extra. I uploaded a different version of the same photo onto my Flickr so check that out as well. I just really liked this close up crop, but I liked the other one too so I figured I'd post them both. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this. I know Alexa has been completely up to date with her project so you should go look at that...I'm still so jealous that she's living abroad right now.
Well..wish me luck!

p.s. anyone else think it is absolutely crazy that Christmas is two days away? I don't know about anyone else but it definitely does not feel like Christmas here in Toronto.

topshop

2011-12-21T14:25:00.001-05:00

I went to Yorkdale in order to try and find a dress for new years a little while ago. I didn't have any luck finding a dress so instead I spent too much money in Topshop. I think I'll always be able to justify buying things from there. I'm not sure if its good that they finally brought it to Canada, but at least its no where near as impressive as the department-store sized location on Oxford St. in London, with at least 4 massive floors, because then I'd be in serious trouble. I'm absolutely in love with this top right now though. The zipper detailing, suspender like straps, sheer mesh fabric along the bust, and the cut out bits at the waist....its so perfect to throw under a blazer. They also have quite the collection of nail polish colours and I want them all but at $11 each I definitely had to resist. The first one in the photo though is my favorite right now. It's a barely there nude colour with a hint of grey, so perfect for the winter season.

sidenote:

2011-12-09T00:09:00.003-05:00

A little while ago I organized my Flickr account. Uploaded 2 years worth of photos that I liked and I finally plan on keeping it updated so you can check it out here. I also added a link to my profile on the right side of my blog, just under "Topics".

you're no good for me

2011-12-08T22:58:00.003-05:00

but baby I want you, I want you

Fall semester is finally over and for the first time in two years I don't have an exam on December 23rd. In fact I have no exams this semester, I'm completely done. Can't tell you how pleased I am about that! I'm planning on starting my 52 week project this weekend...wish me luck.
Also, this picture was frustrating. Really bad lighting and bad auto focus meant a huge pain when it came to editing. I actually took this a week ago and only today decided that I liked it a little bit, just enough to post it I suppose. It still bothers me a lot though, oh well.

'tis the season

2011-12-02T17:17:00.000-05:00

It honestly seems just like yesterday that November had started and I was hoping for a calm month. November was definitely hectic...life wise, school wise and of course work wise. At the beginning of the month my doctor told me that I was far too stressed for my age which I suppose wasn't a huge shock for me but was definitely something I needed to work on. Things have finally calmed down a bit and after making some big changes in regards to school I finally feel a sense of relief that had been much needed.

I've also realized that I hardly have time to do things that I actually enjoy, like spending time taking more photos, outside of just school assignments, reading for fun and writing. I've mentioned before a few times now that I would really love to start a 365 project but with the amount of free time I really get on a daily basis it just isn't a realistic possibility at this point in my life, I don't think I'd even be able to finish a week of photos without getting frustrated and giving up. So instead, Alexa, my lovely friend that I met in Thailand this past summer, and I have decided to try to tackle the far more feasible 52 week project: one photo a week for the whole year. Seems doable right? Alexa's project will be a documentation of her year abroad in Korea teaching English, which I am so incredibly jealous of right now but you can check out her photos and her blog here. We said we would start ours at the same time but the last two weeks of school were really busy for me with the semester coming to an end so I'm a little behind but I'm really aiming to begin by the end of this week or next! I already have so many ideas in mind that I just need to find some time to get things started.
I really can't believe it's already December though, Christmas and New years will be here in no time. I mentioned once before that I was supposed to be spending NYE in Miami but that unfortunately is no longer the case, things just didn't work out as well as they were supposed to so instead I'll be celebrating it with a few lovely ladies from work. Also, on another note, I've been trying to figure out what I want to do next summer. Having been somewhere every summer for the past three years I definitely feel the need to go explore somewhere new this summer as well. Originally I had been looking at an internship in South Africa that Elena had showed me but my mom recently found a photography internship in Barcelona, Spain which has me very intrigued. I think Europe will always be my favorite place to travel to with its cobblestone streets and all the history that every European country has to offer. Spain has also been close to the top of my list of places to go to next anyways, I really miss Europe and I feel the need to go back there as soon as possible. If I were to do this internship I'd get to learn Spanish (which is something on my bucket list) and I'd get to revisit Prague and maybe even make a short trip to London to check out the 2012 Olympics. So I guess this is what's currently in the works...we'll see how things work out though.

almsgiving

2011-11-23T18:07:00.000-05:00

Luang Prabang, Laos

Ta Prohm

2011-11-12T12:00:00.004-05:00

We had a three day pass to visit Angkor Wat Temple, which seemed like a lot when we were first told but after our first day there, spending hours visiting just three temples, I realized that a three day pass was no where near enough time to possibly see the entire temple. The second days visit was to go see the sunrise which ended up being a little disappointing considering just how early we had to wake up. The only advantage of being there as the sun rose was that the amount of people around was significantly smaller than when we had visited the previous day, when it was almost impossible to get a good photo without another tourist walking into your shot. We quickly loaded up into tuk-tuks and headed back to explore one of the temples we had visited previously before anyone else decided to do the same.

Ta Prohm is probably the most recognizable temple in Angkor Wat simply because it was used as one of the locations in Tomb Raider. Visiting it again with no one but the ten or so people from our group that decided to come out for the sunrise was a completely different experience than the day before. With no one around the struggle between nature and man was so much more overwhelming. It was so peaceful and quiet that you could really just hear the rustling of the leaves in the slight morning breeze and the echoes of your footsteps in the various walk ways. This is honestly one of the most peaceful moments in my life, it was absolutely beautiful. Everything about the temples is just breathtaking. If you even just think about the construction of them and all the intricate designs that are carved into the stone it's really amazing to think what humans were capable of so many years ago before all the modern day technology. If you're ever in Siem Reap make sure you go to Angkor Wat for the sunrise and go explore the temples before the rush of tourists comes, you won't regret it.

Thailand

2011-11-11T21:14:00.001-05:00

Bits and pieces of my forty days in Southern Thailand. I really started to feel comfortable and at home in this country by the end of my trip. I really miss the heat and beaches...island life was pretty great.

Angkor Wat Temple

2011-11-04T21:12:00.000-04:00

I seem to prefer everything in black and white now...

November,

2011-11-01T09:00:00.001-04:00

please be kind.

Kuta Beach, Bali

2011-10-30T16:30:00.005-04:00

Our last day in Bali. We sat and watched the sunset with our group before people started parting ways, either heading home or continuing their adventure. Even though Bali was the most tourist filled stop we went to in Indonesia, the sunsets at Kuta Beach were some of the nicest ones. The beach was always filled with people and the waves were always being surfed, even as the sun went down. People would walk around trying to sell you ice cream, jewelry, manicures and pedicures right there while you baked in the sun, pillows to make your tanning experience that much more comfortable, and so much more. The beach was always alive but there was something so peaceful about the sunsets.

Uluwatu Temple, Bali

2011-10-29T21:19:00.000-04:00

Traditional Balinese show and lots of monkeys that were not afraid to get up close and personal.

revisited

2011-10-26T07:50:00.002-04:00

Found these while I was looking through my photo library in search of different photos I had taken earlier this year. These were taken back in March and I never ended up using them for anything and to be honest I completely forgot they existed. Guess it's not too late to post them now right?

I'm going to miami

2011-10-25T16:51:00.002-04:00

*Cue Will Smith's Miami...All night on the beach till the break of dawn, I'm going to Miami, Welcome to Miami*

Yup. So as of this morning I am officially going to Miami for New Years. Tickets are booked, and the countdown has begun. I'll be flying there the night of Dec. 28th, meeting up with Elena, waiting for the arrival of other friends the following day, getting prepped for new years, recovering from new years and heading home on the afternoon of January 2nd, only to go back to school the next day. Just a quick trip, but a trip nonetheless. I think it'll be a nice little break from the cold and snowy winter Toronto will most likely be going through. Also, it'll be my first time legally partying in the states...can't go wrong with that!

2 months and 3 days...

Go beyond the cover

2011-10-25T16:08:00.012-04:00

Photo found through Google.

There is something incredibly appealing and attractive about this man...is that strange? Pretty impressive cover up I must say. The song in the video is also amazing. I might just have it on repeat right now..

Gili Trawangan

2011-10-08T20:15:00.008-04:00

The Gili islands, located off the coast of Lombok, Indonesia, comprise of three small islands: Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan. Gili Trawangan, the island that I stayed on during my trip, is the largest of the three islands and has a population of about 700 and it's also the most popular tourist destination.
As soon as we got off the boat you could immediately notice and feel the laid back attitude of the island. A stunning beach filled with bronzed bodies just lazing around on the white sands was the first thing you could see and it really did look like paradise, something you would only see on a postcard. Then you notice that there are no cars or motorcycles anywhere in sight, only horse-drawn carriages and bicycles, so all you can hear is the crashing of the waves and the bells that adorned the horse carriages. Police aren't even allowed to come onto the islands so they have "island security" which you'd often see at night, at the bars with you, most likely just as drunk as you. Although Gili Trawangan is the largest of the Gili Islands you could still walk from one end of the island to the other in less than an hour.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to get my Open Water scuba certification done here. My first scuba experience was while I was in Australia in August 2010 where I got to dive the Great Barrier Reef. Going into my Asia trip I knew that I would get my certification as soon as possible because of all the opportunities I would have to go diving over the three months, and an added bonus was that it is significantly cheaper to get certified in Asia than it is here, in Canada. The waters were absolutely crystal clear and such a vibrant blue so it's no surprise that one of favorite dives was here. I also had a pretty great group of people from my trip also getting certified so there was lots of joking around, from singing Justin Beiber on the boat rides out to our dive spots, to ballroom dancing underwater.

The night life was also never disappointing. Every other night there would be big parties thrown by one of the main bars on the island. These parties would bring out the entire island and people would fill the bars and the one main street until the early hours of the morning. The Gili islands were also famous for the fact that you could legally get mushrooms just about anywhere. Literally every other store sold mushroom shakes or various food items with mushrooms. And I'm not talking about regular mushrooms... ;)

One of my favorite things about this island were the absolutely beautiful sunsets every evening that we would watch from the rocks by the closed down Sunset Bar and how bright the stars were every single night. There's something about the stars in the Southern Hemisphere that are so much more breathtaking. They're brighter and more clustered together in comparison to the stars we have here in the Northern Hemisphere. Every night when I'd be walking to our rooms, about to get ready for a night out or just heading home from a night of drinking I'd look up with whoever I was with, it somehow almost always ended up being Briana, and we'd just stand and stare at the sky.

The only word that does the Gili Islands any justice would be paradise. This is definitely on the top of my list of places I want to revisit. I could easy spend a few weeks here, just relaxing and diving and not being bothered by the hustle and bustle of the real world occurring outside of the island.

One tip though, if you're ever there be wary of their ATM machines, especially on Sundays, because sometimes they like to eat your debit/credit cards and it's a huge ordeal trying to get them back. It happened to a friend of mine and she didn't end up getting it back despite all her efforts. Other then that though, this place is perfection! Also, another strange observation my friends and I made was that there were many cats on the island, but we never once saw a dog..

Borobudur Sunrise

2011-10-05T12:50:00.000-04:00

Borobudur Buddhist temple near Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Watching the sunrise over active volcanoes in the distance.

quote

2011-10-03T19:44:00.000-04:00

"Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground."

How incredibly true.

jalan jaksa, jakarta

2011-10-03T17:17:00.000-04:00

nuit blanche

2011-10-02T14:19:00.002-04:00

I ended up getting home at 4 am after such a long night. Actually saw some stuff this year but the most exciting part of the evening was the bar Adela and I found that played dubstep. Woke up with a sore throat to grey skies and rain. Was supposed to go out and shoot for a photo assignment but I guess that'll have to wait. Instead I plan on lazing around and watching back to back episodes of Big Bang Theory while drinking copious amounts of green tea.

Happy Sunday everyone!

October

2011-10-01T17:51:00.002-04:00

It's finally October and autumn is slowly starting to creep up with its changing colours, rain and cold nights. I'm one week away from reading week which is much needed already. Nuit Blanche is tonight so I'll be joining the rest of Toronto and wandering around the city exploring all the art exhibitions that have been set up. But first, Sushi Queen for a little wine and dine with a friend from Indonesia and then meeting up with Adela to begin the nights adventures.

Koh Samui, Thailand

2011-10-01T17:01:00.001-04:00

Koh Samui Island Tour: photo diary.

Reality bites

2011-09-15T22:55:00.000-04:00

The first week back at school is coming to an end. I only have classes Monday - Wednesday so I guess it's not too bad. This week has been strange though. I'm tired, my mind is all over the place, I'm panicking about my future, and I just don't want to be in Toronto right now. Thankfully I'm heading to Waterloo tomorrow night to reunite with Elena and meet up with some other amazing people that I spent my summer with so that'll be really nice after these past couple of days.

Reality bites.

I've also had this song stuck in my head ever since I left Thailand..

kids

2011-09-13T12:21:00.001-04:00

The first photo was taken in one of the many temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This little boy was very camera shy when I first tried to take his picture but then he encountered Crash (the one with the tattoos) and really wanted his empty water bottle. Crash refused to give it to him and the boy made this face, before a woman directed him away. The second photo was taken at a local village in Senaru, Indonesia during a village trek I went on. The little girls were also really shy once the cameras came out and I have many failed attempts of them just hiding behind each other. I definitely got pretty lucky with timing in both these shots.

Malaysia, truly Asia

2011-09-11T23:21:00.000-04:00

Kuala Lumpur photo diary.

Monkeys at the Batu caves, Chow Kit market, tattoo session and moral support.

Chang

2011-09-08T21:44:00.003-04:00

I forgot to mention another thing that I was able to cross off my bucket list: 55. Ride an Elephant. I was given two opportunities during my trip to get to do this, once in Khao Sok and for a second time in Chiang Mai. They really are such beautiful and powerful creatures, and so smart as well. In Chiang Mai I saw elephants painting and the results were definitely pretty impressive! The specific elephant camp I went to in Chiang Mai allows you to live there for a week or two and learn how to become an elephant trainer. You're given an elephant to watch over, feed, clean and then shown how they're trained. This might be a new addition to my bucket list..

Bamboo tattoo: round two

2011-08-29T15:34:00.001-04:00

Got another bamboo tattoo when I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was exactly one month after I had gotten the one on my arm in Koh Phi Phi so I guess it was meant to be! I got the 5 rows of Yantra which is a Buddhist prayer for good luck in life. This time I even got to keep the needle that I was tattooed with which I'll definitely post a picture of later.
I've slowly been going through all my photos, editing them one by one and its taking forever but I'm getting through them so I'll be posting more soon!

Home comming

2011-08-17T17:23:00.000-04:00

I got back yesterday around 2pm after a 40 something hour journey home. Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, Bangkok to Hong Kong, a 12 hour overlay in Hong Kong and then finally a 15 hour flight home to Toronto. Being back home is odd. The entire drive home I looked out the car window and everything looked so foreign to me. Pulling up into my driveway and seeing my room again was so strange. Right now it feels like I never left home which I really don't like. I guess it still hasn't fully hit me that my big three month trip is officially over. I think one of the weirdest things was coming into my room and seeing my calendar still be on the month of May, with my countdowns until the trip still written in and "SE Asia, Jakarta Bound" written in big letters on May 19th. I really have been gone that long.

I've been walking around my house aimlessly not really sure what to do with myself. I unpacked but everything is just in massive piles around my living room, my desk and floor. I don't even know where to begin in order to start organizing. I had to call work today in order to tell them that I can start up again next week. I guess it really is back to the real world. The sadness of leaving South East Asia has yet to hit me and I'm a little worried for when it does. I keep thinking that I'll be seeing all the people that I had spent the last part of my trip with within the next couple days but then I realize that won't be happening and I really have no idea when I'll see some of the people I had unexpectedly gotten so close with, even within the last 3 weeks of my trip.

All morning I've been trying to upload all my 3000+ photos from the past 3 months and I haven't even been able to get through them all because there's just so many that my computer freezes and I have to restart it all. I'm just in a weird daze now. I woke up so many times during the night so confused as to where I was and why I was sleeping alone, without a roommate, and then I realized "Oh right, I'm in my room, in my house". Sad realization. I plan on taking the next week off until I start work again to get myself back in order. I'll finally post all those travel stories that I had promised along with all the pictures that I've taken so keep posted.

bucket list

2011-08-01T10:29:00.003-04:00

Alright, so I've managed to check off three things from my bucket list since I've been in S.E. Asia.

28. Get a traditional Thai tattoo done with a bamboo needle.

It had to be done. How could I spend over a month in Thailand and not get a traditional tattoo. Since I knew that I was definitely going to get this done my original idea was to get the word "smile" tattooed on my forearm. Thailand is known as the land of smiles so it seemed pretty fitting. I told Elena about the idea and she really liked it as well so we figured we would get matching one, maybe a bit cheesy but me and that girl have been though a lot so it seemed absolutely fitting. Elena, Alexa and I were sitting at lunch in Koh Phi Phi when me and Elena decided that we had to get the tattoos right then, spur of the moment or else we would back out. So, idea in mind we went to a tattoo shop and told them what we wanted. Sadly things didn't go quite as planned. Before leaving Toronto we looked up smile on google translations (yes, I know that's not a valid source but we just wanted a general idea of what it might look like) and what google told us was quite different then what the Thai symbol for smile actually was. We assumed it was going to be a longer word but in reality it was just a small symbol which would have looked silly in the spots that we both wanted, on our arms. So we told the tattoo artists we would be back and we went on to wander around all of Koh Phi Phi trying to think of other possibilities for this tattoo that we were both so set on. We tried to think of other phrases but we just couldn't shake "smile" from our minds. Alexa suggested that we could pick another word or two to add on to it to make it longer, maybe some words that describe us and mine and Elena's friendship. We walked and talked and brainstormed a bunch of possible words. Finally it clicked: smile, dream, live. These words seemed to be most fitting. Always stay smiling, we always dream about the things we want to do in our lives and we are definitely well on our way of living our lives the way we want. Idea in mind we ran back to the tattoo shop. Elena started to get nervous so we bought her some Bacardi Breezers to give her a little liquid courage and I offered to go first. Bamboo tattoos hurt so much less than tattoos done with a machine. You only feel the pain when the needle is in you and its honestly just a split second feeling. The fact that they can be so precise with just a few needles is incredibly impressive and I watched the entire time the artist was doing it. So...one thing more checked off! Oh, and I might just be planning on getting another one in a couple days when I make my way back to Thailand, this time exploring Chang Mai in Northern Thailand.

38. Survive a Full Moon Party in Thailand.

What could I possibly say about Full Moon. Our night started around 9pm when we all gathered in our neon gear that we had spent the previous 3 days stocking up on. The neon paint was brought out and the two Free and Easy groups, a total of about 50 Canadians, got together and we all painted each other up and danced in anticipation of a the long and crazy night ahead of us. By midnight we were all ready and anxious to get the party started. We loaded up in boats from our beach, Haad Yuan, and made our way to Haad Rin when the party was happening. As we turned around the rocks all you could see was flashing lights, a sea of moving bodies and you could hear the bass bumping loud. Imagine thousands of people, dancing, partying, drinking buckets like they're water, and don't forget about the ridiculous amounts of neon clothing and paint. The photo above is of Briana and me all decked out. I didn't even end up drinking that much because the energy of all the people around just seemed to keep everyone going, alcohol or no alcohol. Time went by ridiculously fast too. I remember heading to the washroom and when I came back a few minutes later the sun was rising and it was light out. The fact that we all survived and managed to stay awake to see the sunrise was reason enough to celebrate. I think me and Elena headed back to our hotel around 8:30am. As soon as we got back we both just jumped into the shower in our bathing suits and tried to rinse off all the neon paint (it actually took me 3 days to get every single last bit off of me!) and hung out in our hammocks until about noon, which is when I finally decided to go to sleep since Elena had passed out much earlier. So that was that, 12 hours of nonstop dancing and partying. We did it, we survived Full Moon, and I'm so ready to do it all over again.

51. Go skinny dipping in the ocean.

Well this picture will have to do because there's absolutely no way an actual skinny dipping picture could be posted, nor do they even exist because lets face it, who really wants that kind of drunken fun documented but this is a photo from the location when the first skinny dipping session happened/ The first skinny dipping occasion happened on Paradise Island in Indonesia close to Pangandaran. Our group of 23 had an entire island to ourselves to camp out on and party on. We had a pretty large supply of alcohol, from big Bingtangs, 26's of lots of different liqours from gin, to vodka, to Tandaway (a rum from the Philippines). Needless to say, we were all ready to party. It also happened to be the day before Briana's birthday so we designated the night to her birthday celebrations. And what better way to celebrate a birthday than in your birthday suit. Drunk off of a huge mix of just about every alcohol that we had on the island five of us decided to do it. Not going to lie, my memory is pretty fuzzy when it comes to this part but we all did it the proper way, stripped down on shore and ran in. I do have to say though, pretty liberating and obviously really hilarious considering the state we all were in.

The second skinny dipping occasion happened in Koh Ang Thong with my 40 day Thailand group. Again, it was 23 of us on our own island, with just a few locals around. We started the night with a Pants off Dance off party because, guess what, it was mine and Elena's birthday party! Sadly our party got shut down because our 90's song sing alongs got a little loud and out of hand so we moved our party down to the beach, set up a small bon fire made up of candles and continued the partying and dancing. Koh Ang Thong had the beauty of having phosphorescence in the water. Think of the underwater make out scene from The Beach with Leo DiCaprio....the little algae that light up when they're disturbed in the water...yeah, those are phosphorescence. Me, Alexa and Elena got in the water, got naked and just moved around, making it light up. It's not at all what I imagined it to be. They're so bright, it's actually like a thousand tiny little lights underwater. Again, birthdays are meant to be spent in your birthday suit so I think we definitely accomplished that.

This wasn't on my list of things to do but it's definitely worth mentioning. I officially have my Open Water Scuba Certification. I got it done with I was in the Gili Islands. We had an awesome little scuba team, with tones of laughs and an amazing instructor. I'm going to miss diving so much once I get back home!

The picture quality isn't that great seeing as I had to take them all from facebook but they will have to do for now! So happy August 1st....16 days till I'm home. Oh my.

apologies

2011-07-31T02:20:00.001-04:00

I really thought that it would be much easier to keep this updated while I've been gone. But with slow internet cafes where a few photos take up to an hour to upload things haven't been that easy. So I'm sorry! Its crazy to think that in 16 day I'll be back home. Before coming on this trip 3 months seems like a scary long time but its all gone by so quickly. I only have 3 destinations left before I'm back in Toronto. I'm definitely not at all excited to go home and get back into the routine and school and work. I already have thousands of photos to sort through so as soon as I get home I'll make up for the lack of travel posts, promise!
I've also checked off a couple things from the bucket list which is pretty exciting and will definitely get its own post.

asia bound

2011-05-18T11:46:00.000-04:00

As I write this my countdown widget on my computer says 14 hours, 7 minutes and 33 seconds until South East Asia. It's finally here! It seems just like yesterday that the days were in the hundreds and the trip seemed so far away. This past week has been pretty hectic with saying bye to everyone, making sure my to do list was complete, making an entirely new to do list because I'd always think of 5 other things I needed to take care of as soon as I thought I was done, setting aside my clothing and other necessary items, having full out panic dreams about packing and the trip in general but today I woke up and I finally feel nothing but excitement. I have yet to fully pack but I don't have to be at the airport until 11pm so I have plenty of time to do that. I still can't believe that I'm actually going away for 3 months, to SE Asia, a place that was always on my list but always seemed a little unlikely to happen for some reason. Friends that have been there have told me that this will be a life changing trip and I definitely can't wait to finally be there.
Just a few more hours...

10 days

2011-05-09T14:41:00.002-04:00

...until I get on that plane to Jakarta!

This past weekend Elena and I met up downtown and did all our final supply shopping. After quite a bit of money spent I have the backpack that I'll be living out of for three months as well as day pack, random toiletries, sun screen and aloe and quite a bit of various medications because knowing my luck, and past experiences, I will absolutely get a cold while I'm abroad. I also might have bought some more bathing suits bringing my total up to 7....is that too much hah? I also got a few more plain tanks and v-necks because I'm sure I'll only be living in those and bathing suits. Everything on my to do list has been checked off so I guess I'm ready to go, even though I still feel completely unprepared. Ah well, it will definitely be an adventure and I cannot wait to get on that plane! The thought of packing is still daunting and three months is a long time to be living out of one bag so things will definitely be interesting.

easter weekend

2011-04-25T19:30:00.003-04:00

Such an eventful weekend. Wrote my last exam on Saturday, celebrated by drinking at Sugar Beach and seeing Rusko. Had a blast from the past when spending the entire night with someone I hadn't legitimately seen in 3 years. Drank too much, smoked too much. Lost my voice even more and woke up a mess. Wandered downtown aimlessly with Adela while looking extremely haggard after a night of partying. Sat in the sun, randomly decided to see a movie. Was surprised when said movie was much sadder and cuter than expected. Found hidden historical buildings, walked through a labyrinth and was strangely calmed by it. Walked some more. Sat in a park in the sun, people watched and had long conversations which covered everything from school, to life, to love, to the world in general. Went for sushi and finished off the day with too much chocolate. Much needed weekend, much needed talks. It was the first time I was fully able to enjoy the few sunny days we've had. It feels so good to be done school.

24 days until Asia...

28 days

2011-04-21T18:22:00.006-04:00

Well it is officially just FOUR WEEKS until SE Asia! Finally the trip seems far more in reach, and the countdown's only going to get easier from here on. As excited as I am I can't seem to shake a slight nervous feeling I have about the trip. I feel a little unprepared and as though I still have so many things that need to be done before I leave even though my To Do list isn't that major. Three months is a long time and this will be my longest trip to date, so that is definitely adding to the nervousness, as well as the fact that the SE Asian lifestyle is completely different then what I'm used to here, in Toronto, or have gotten to know during my trips to Europe. Also, living out of a backpack for three months is a daunting thought (I'm not very good at packing to be honest, and I know that I will be accumulating things along the way). Nerves aside though, my extreme excitement is still intact and growing every day. I have my Thailand Visa and might have over done it with bathing suit shopping so all that's left is minor supply shopping as well as getting myself a backpack.
I'm writing my last exam this week so summer is just around the corner, even though Spring has been less than kind so far and I managed to get sick. I just want to be tanning on a beach already!

you're alright but..

2011-03-26T17:14:00.017-04:00

I'M HERE DARLING TO ENJOY THE PARTY.

Can you tell that I'm still avoiding my school work? I've been so inspired lately, writing down all my ideas, and I really want to start a 365 project but I actually have no time to start and keep up with it right now. Such a shame. I'll start it once I get back from Asia, I'm determined to do this!

fifty-six

2011-03-26T00:22:00.014-04:00

______________________

___I get to cross off number 56 on my bucket list: Learn how to make sushi. I did it! I've realized recently that when I want to avoid doing things I should be doing (i.e. the massive amount of school work I have) I like to make things instead. Lately it's been a lot of baking (cupcakes, cookies, cakes, you name it!) because that's obviously a lot more fun then doing readings, studying for exams and writing essays. Tonight, instead of reading a book on hostess clubs in Tokyo, I decided to finally try making sushi. I've had half of the needed ingredients in my kitchen for quite some time now but today when I realized that my dad was planning on making salmon for dinner I asked if I could steal a piece and give this sushi thing a try. The rice was a little difficult to cook but practice will make perfect. It was pretty fun actually, even though I did mess up a bit when rolling it, and I think it turned out pretty good and it definitely tasted good ;).

(I was planning on including larger images but for whatever reason when I uploaded them to photobucket the colour completely changed and became really muddy and dull! Don't know why that happened...so smaller images will have to do!)

10 days until classes are over.
28 days until my last exam is written.
1 month and 23 days until SE Asia.

______________________

the big trip

2011-03-13T19:04:00.012-04:00

Alright so the official countdown is 2 months and 6 days until I get on a plane to SE Asia and essentially spend my entire summer there. So where is it that I'm going exactly?
The trip begins on May 19th, 1:40am when I will be flying to Jakarta, Indonesia with Elena and Brianna. Our actual trip doesn't begin until the May 22nd so we'll have some time to look around and try to recover from the 20+ hour flight as well as get used to the time change.

Our Indonesia trip is 20 days in total and our route can be seen in the above map. The places we get to visit are: Jakarta, Pangandaran, Yogyakarta, Mt. Rinjani, The Gili Islands and finish at Kuta, in Bali. Indonesia will be a constant supply of beaches and we even camp out in a crater of a volcano!

From there me and Elena head to Thailand and spend 40 days (!!!) exploring 7 different locations, mainly islands on both the east and west coast. We'll get to visit Bangkok, Koh Phi Phi (where The Beach was filmed), Koh Lipe and spend the longest time on Koh Phangan. The trip finishes off with a Full Moon party which I am incredibly excited for! I've heard that these things get absolutely insane with mass amounts of people partying all day and all night and alcohol you can drink out of little buckets. Thailand is definitely the destination I am most excited for so I'm glad that we're spending the majority of our trip there and this is where me and Elena will be celebrating our 21st birthdays, within a few hours of each other, so I sense another week long bender (maybe even more intense then the week long birthday celebration we had in London this past summer) in order to properly celebrate being officially legal worldwide.
From island hopping in Thailand we move onto the Laos, Cambodia and Northern Thailand (LTC) portion of the trip. This part of the trip will be 25 days and it'll have less of a focus on beaches and more of a focus on roughing it. We visit a few main cultural sites such as Angkor Wat to watch the sunset and explore the beautiful ruins. In Laos we'll get to go tubing down a river which has its shores filled with little bar huts. They basically throw you a rope, pull you in, and you buy your self some beer! Did I mention that we also get to go on a 2-day terk where we get to ride elephants, see local tribes and swim under waterfalls?

The entire trip is organized by a company called Free and Easy Travelers , which was started back in 2000 by a 20-year-old. Impressive, right? They give their clients the freedom to basically do whatever they want in the areas they tour, in order for everyone to experience each country exactly how they want to, which is exactly what me and Elena had envisioned when we started planning this trip about 8 months ago. I also forgot to mention that we'll also get a handmade hammock from this trip! Beach hut, hammock, sunset, drink in hand...yup, sounds good to me ;) The one I picked out can be seen to the right!

Our trip doesn't end with the LTC trip, from there me and Elena will be moving on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to spend a couple days in one more country before heading back home. By this point I'm sure we'll be absolutely exhausted and probably missing all the people that we'd have spent so much time with so these few days in KL will be filled with shopping (I'm looking at you, Topshop!) and lazing around by the pool.

In total the trip is 89 days long. 3 months. My entire summer. It's recently begun to dawn on me just how long that actually is. When I think about it its roughly the same length as a semester at school, which always seems so long. Don't get me wrong though, I'm still really excited and it's definitely going to be one of those life changing trips.

Everything has been paid off and I've gone to the travel clinic to get my Typhoid shot and Malaria pills. All that's left is the Thailand visitor visa I need to get for myself as well as some supply shopping (backpack and all those other little travel things I'll be needing). Just 2 months and 6 days left...

Oh, and you can look at Elena's blog here for her updates about our trip!

countdowns

2011-03-05T19:34:00.006-05:00

1 week or so until I find out if my school will let me go to Melbourne for a year on exchange. I'm really hoping this works out somehow! A year away from Toronto spent in Australia instead? I don't think things could get any better. And if it doesn't work out then I'm determined to find some other way over there because I already have my heart set on this.

1 month of classes left....how the hell did I get here? The next 4 and a bit weeks will be filled with nothing but tests and final essays, only to be followed by 4 final exams that I will have the pleasure of writing....yuck.

2 months and 2 weeks until Asia....so soon but not nearly soon enough! Everything has been finalized and almost completely paid off. I'll probably do a separate post outlining the entire trip in more detail soon. Is there any way I could just skip March and April and get straight to May? I'm ready to be on a beach...now....

Other then that life has gone back to the same boring routine of school and work, although within the past week things have gotten a little bit more interesting...we'll see how long that lasts though considering my luck with things. I also really need to step it up with my pictures. I have a brand new camera that I've barely used because I haven't found the time for it..completely unacceptable! Good news is that I've finally figured out my fish eye camera (took long enough) so more fun will be had with that as well.

skank tank

2011-03-05T19:04:00.006-05:00

My weekend in Montreal was messy to say the least. It was a lot more fun and a lot more drama filled then I had expected, but all in all it was a much needed weekend to just let loose and forget about reality for just a bit. It's taken me this entire past week to just recover from it...well worth it though ;)

weekend getaway

2011-02-24T20:31:00.004-05:00

nachos and beer at sneaky dees ft. the fish eye cam

Life's been pretty busy since school started and I'll do a more thorough update later but at 6 am tomorrow morning I will be on my way to Montreal for a booze filled, messy weekend. Basically, I cannot wait. I've already begun praying for my livers survival. Wish me luck.

goodbye winter?

2011-01-03T17:31:00.005-05:00

There is no snow outside right now...what's going on Canada?
Can't say I'm complaining though.
My winter break is officially over and I start classes tomorrow. Hopefully this semester goes by just as quick as the last one did.

all work and no play

2010-12-29T20:03:00.005-05:00

So now its two days before new years? Where the hell did time go? My Christmas break is slowly coming to an end and it hardly even felt like I had time off. My last exam was just last week and since then I've been working pretty much every day. It's hard to believe that Christmas is over and done with and that 2011 is just around the corner.
I got a Nikon D90 from my parents so I'm hoping to start playing around with it soon and be less of a lazy artist. Maybe I'll actually try doing a 365 photo project....we shall see...

december?

2010-12-02T17:32:00.005-05:00

How it is already December? Winter is slowly starting to creep up and I'm already not looking forward to it! The past couple of days all I've really wanted to do was stay in bed, avoiding everything....particularly school. I really wish I could just skip the next week. Classes end Dec 8th and I have a huge drawing due tomorrow that I haven't started because I'm at a complete loss for ideas, a big painting due next week, along with a Research Methods assignment, a quiz for my Sex, Love and Marriage class, an 8 page essay which I haven't finished reading the books for, and a drawing portfolio along with my sketchbook. Somewhere in between all that I have to start studying for my cumulative research methods exam on a SUNDAY (..thanks, York) and a Psych&Law exam. Needless to say its going to be an interesting time. It really sucks when you actually don't have enough time to get everything done well...if only I'd learn my lesson by now and not leave things to last minute.
On the brighter side though, I had a lovely chat with Elena today about our summer adventure and we have the bulk of it all figured out and I'm also in the process of filling out a study abroad application in hopes of spending my last year of university elsewhere.
Regardless of all the work I should be doing I've definitely put it on hold in order to watch this movie....gotta love the 90's...

Persona

2010-11-27T12:59:00.006-05:00

I stumbled upon this series by Jason Travis. His pictures are a series of diptychs showing a person and whatever the individual felt was necessary to carry around in their bags/pockets on a daily basis. Here are some examples and the entire series can be seen here.

And then I decided to do my own..

Lucía, Luis y el lobo

2010-11-19T19:33:00.003-05:00

Was shown these two videos this morning in my drawing class. Not much to say other then they're both really eerie but put together incredibly...definitely worth watching.

The description of the videos on vimeo:
By Niles Atallah, Cristobal Leon & Joaquin Cociña
Lucía is the 1st short video of the 2-part series “Lucía, Luis y el lobo” (”Lucía, Luis and the Wolf”). The video was shot frame by frame with a digital photo camera. Materials: charcoal, dirt, flowers, found objects and cardboard. Luis is the 2nd short video of the series “Lucía, Luis y el lobo” (”Lucía, Luis and the Wolf”), it is a follow-up to the short video Lucía. The video was shot frame by frame with a digital photo camera. Materials: charcoal, dirt, flowers, found objects and cardboard.

photo memories

2010-11-06T19:10:00.003-04:00

sweet disposition

2010-10-12T17:24:00.002-04:00

fisheye lens

2010-10-10T15:51:00.004-04:00

When I was in London this past June with Elena we went to the Tate Modern and while we were in the gift shop she found this little film fish eye camera. It was about £50 which seemed fair enough so naturally we each had to buy ourselves one. Well, 4 months later and I've finally finished the film and got it developed. The results were a little disappointing. Most of the photos that were taken in Europe didn't work out. They were either completely blown out or just not centered. I'm a little bummed that they didn't work out because I know we had taken some photos that could have been really cool. I also looked over the actual negatives and noticed that some of the photos did in fact turn out but they were just printed wrong! Note to self: never get photos developed at Loblaws again just because it's a cheaper alternative. Anyways, I'm going to keep trying and experimenting in hopes of figuring out this little plastic camera. Here are some of the pictures that did work out...somewhat...

(London Hostel, Ruby Blues in London, Amsterdam Streets, night out at the Social, chili peppers)

repitition

2010-10-08T18:36:00.008-04:00

This is the first project I had to do for my drawing class this year and it's probably the first assignment in all of university (not including photography projects) that I was actually excited to start. We had to create a self portrait based off of a photo but we had to use a stamp of our choice (I just used the side of an eraser) and an ink pad in order to actually make the picture instead of using a pencil to simply draw it. Needless to say it was incredibly time consuming since it had to be done on 22 x 30 inch paper and the final product took me about 5 hours, but in some strange way it was oddly...enjoyable? These were just some pictures I took during the process of it and after the first 4 hours, before it was actually completed. I took the pictures with my phone so excuse to crappy quality.

miss this

2010-09-28T23:51:00.008-04:00

Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia

Also just finished reading this book, pretty inspiring actually.

Homecoming

2010-09-14T22:39:00.018-04:00

___27 days later and I'm back in the Northern Hemisphere, back in Toronto, and back to school. Australia was absolutely incredible. It's such a beautiful country to be in. Their laid back attitude makes you feel so free and I miss it dearly. I figured that 3 and a half weeks there would have been enough time but in reality it was no where near enough. My Contiki tour was great and traveling on my own wasn't as scary as I anticipated it to be. It's weird now being on my own after being surrounded by the same people, all day and all night, for 2 weeks and it's sad to think that I'll probably never see some of those people ever again. The East Coast was amazing and there's a lot of places that I want to revisit and spend more time in. Melbourne was very similar to Toronto which was surprising, but it still had it's little differences that made it better then back home.
I've been home for 2 days now, been going to school and trying to get back into the swing of things. I'm completely in debt because of Aus but it was well worth it. Once again, even though its only been a short amount of time, I'm bored of home and wishing I was elsewhere. Hopefully I manage to somehow make enough money by December so that I can spend Christmas in Italy and celebrate the New Year in Berlin.
Heres to hoping.

Cairns, Australia.

2010-08-20T01:59:00.013-04:00

___My second day in Cairns. Last night was a bit of a write off since it took 28 hours to get here and I had to deal with a 14 hour time difference. So my night included a bubble bath, room service and falling asleep at 7:30pm.

I spent my afternoon walking along the boardwalk and along the Esplanade, which is the main street in the city center. Cairns isn't blessed with beaches as I assumed, there's a long stretch of mud before the water starts. Apparently they tried to create some beaches here a few years ago by bringing in sand but it all got washed away. The Esplanade is filled with little tourist shops and restaurants and even a public pool. There's artwork every couple meters along the entire boardwalk and a 17 day festival began just last night so set up is well underway. It's 28 degrees here now, and I already have a bit of a tan just from walking around for a few hours.
So far, I'm minorly in love.

1. View from hotel window 2. The marina by the Esplanade 3. "Litter Bugs", artwork along the boardwalk

Sweet sweet baby

2010-08-16T12:32:00.001-04:00

Australia tomorrow!
Can't even believe that its finally here.

wanderlust pt. 2

2010-07-25T23:40:00.005-04:00

So many places to go, my oh my.
How about...spending Christmas in Italy and bringing in the new year in Greece?
Or maybe during the summer spending a month volunteering in and exploring Thailand, celebrating my birthday there and spending another month or so traveling around Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines and maybe a stop in New Zealand?
Sounds about right.

Now I just need to become rich overnight.

July 29th update: Berlin for new years instead...sounds good!

wanderlust

2010-07-24T18:06:00.009-04:00

Just 23 days until I fly out to Cairns, Australia and only 27 days until my tour begins there. Words can't even describe how excited I am.

Travel/Tour documents provided by Contiki,
Daydream Island Resort and Spa, one of the places I will be staying at during my trip.

Girl if you came to party

2010-07-10T11:30:00.004-04:00

Best. Video. Ever.
So..looks like I'm going to Australia for 3 weeks in August? Yes. Please.

Home sweet home?

2010-07-08T18:21:00.012-04:00

I've been home a little more then 24 hours and I'm already bored out of my mind, wishing I was elsewhere. I really just don't want to get back into the routine life that I have here in Toronto. So...whens the next trip happening?

Here's some quick pics from London, all documented by Elena because I was too lazy to whip out my camera.

London Calling

2010-07-01T06:09:00.005-04:00

Its been a week and I've spent way to much money, drank way more then any one ever should and maybe even had way too much more fun that I should. London is incredible, needless to say. Theres some many little things that are so different from Toronto that I absolutely love about this place. Definitely moving here.
Amsterdam in two days.

Just one more week of massacaring my liver and body untill its back to reality.
Not looking forward to coming home, not at all.

you make me high

2010-06-18T22:19:00.003-04:00

Kinda in love with this video and song.

Europe on Sunday, packing begins tomorrow!

Big Spender

2010-06-11T18:02:00.006-04:00

I may or may not have bought myself a Coach purse.

I think I'm in love.

Keep it goin' louder

2010-06-09T21:49:00.003-04:00

I've gotten to that point again where I can't stand being in Toronto anymore. I'm slowly counting down the days until I can get out of here...just 10 more..

I've been listening to this a lot lately. Major Lazer and La Roux put together a collaboration mix tape and you can download and listen to it here.

LAZERPROOF TRACKLISTING
1. Bulletproof (Nacey Remix ft. Matt Hemerlein)
2. Colourless Artibella
3. I’m Not Your Lemonade + Heroes ‘N‘ Villains Remix ft. Gucci Mane
4. Independent Kill ft. Candi Redd
5. Keep It Fascinating
6. Magic (Falling Soldiers Dub)
7. In 4 The Kill Pon De Skream
8. Houstatlantavegas Pains ft Drake
9. Tigerlily (DYWHAP Blend) ft. Rusko
10. Can’t Stop Now (Armor Love Remix)
11. Quicksand (Mad Decent 2010 Rerub) ft. Amanda Blank
12. Cover My Eyes (Costra Nostra Edit)
13. I Said It (Major Lazer Dubplate) ft. Opal
14. Hold Yuh (Double Dubplate) ft. Gyptian

Life Story

2010-06-03T19:12:00.003-04:00

I came across this on my computer today, something I saved for myself forever ago.

_______________________

Life Story

by TENNESSEE WILLIAMS

After you've been to bed together for the first time,
without the advantage or disadvantage of any prior
acquaintance,
the other party very often says to you,
what's your story? And you think maybe they really and
truly do

sincerely want to know your life story, and so you light up
a cigarette and begin to tell it to them, the two of you
lying together in completely relaxed positions
like a pair of rag dolls a bored child dropped on a bed.

You tell them your story, or as much of your story
as time or a fair degree of prudence allows, and they say,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
each time a little more faintly, until the oh
is just an audible breath, and then of course

there's some interruption. Slow room service comes up
with a bowl of melting ice cubes, or one of you rises to pee
and gaze at himself with mild astonishment in the
bathroom mirror.
And then, the first thing you know, before you've had time
to pick up where you left off with your enthralling life
story,
they're telling you their life story, exactly as they'd
intended to all along,
and you're saying, Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
each time a little more faintly, the vowel at last becoming
no more than an audible sigh,
as the elevator, halfway down the corridor and a turn to
the left,
draws one last, long, deep breath of exhaustion
and stops breathing forever. Then?

Well, one of you falls asleep
and the other one does likewise with a lighted cigarette in
his mouth,
and that's how people burn to death in hotel rooms.

psychobabble all upon your lips

2010-05-30T21:45:00.008-04:00

Tonight out on the streets

I'm gonna follow you
Tell you all about a scene
That you would kill for
You're gonna love what's
Burning right in front of you
But you won't see it
By the light of the sunCome out Tigerlily
You're caressing me
I'll take you up
I'll turn you on
I'll take your apathy
I wouldn't lie to you Blossom
Won't you let it go
I'm gonna give you all you want
And don't you knowThat you
I know you better than this
I could be here when you call
I'll make you top of the list
And in the crush of the dark
I'll be your light in the mist
I can see you burning with desire
For a kissPsychobabble all upon your lips.

________________

Can someone please explain to me how May is already over?!
Europe in three weeks, Nero and Time Fest. in July, Rusko in August.
Its going to be a good summer.

summer time

2010-05-25T23:15:00.005-04:00

I clearly suck at blogging too.
BUT...4 weeks till euro trip. Everything is booked and planned and I cannot wait!
Summer is finally here and I'm already nice and burnt from spending a few hours in the sun this past long weekend.
aaaaaand my birthday is a month away as well. Turning 20. Oh god.
OH and, Lost has finally come to an end. Such a sad finale. I just wish there weren't so many unanswered questions.

~~ps. someone please find me a website where I can download this song, I've been looking for a while now but no luck :(~~ never mind! found it!

April

2010-04-18T21:52:00.012-04:00

School is finally over and I couldn't be more relieved. I wrote my last exam last Monday and now all I have to worry about is picking courses for the next two years of my life (which I already know are going to consist of the worst course loads ever).
Two weekends ago I was up in Horseshoe Valley with the fam for a little getaway which turned out to be a weekend filled with a diet consisting purely of candy and chips and nights spent awake listening to obnoxious old people slamming doors and singing Billy Joel and Van Morrison in the neighbouring rooms. It was nice to get out of the city though, Toronto's beginning to get on my nerves.
I've slowly began sorting through all the things in my room and I rediscovered a painting from last year. I also did a new wall setup which was long over due and I'm going to actually start planning my next tattoo.
2 months until Europe!

We were supposed to pick a famous painting and recreate it

and add texture by using found materials.
Details shown below.

New wall setup. Finally put up Audrey, which had been sitting around since Christmas.
The lights in my room reflected awkwardly in the photos :(

Exit through the gift shop

2010-04-11T16:38:00.006-04:00

A documentary about street art and British street artist Banksy. Comes out in Toronto on May 7th. I have to see it.

The first 5 minutes..

don't call my name

2010-03-31T18:20:00.008-04:00

just smoke my cigarette and hush.

1950's pt. 2

2010-03-29T00:11:00.010-04:00

It was unbelievably cold out, especially when the wind blew. The model, Nicol, was such a trooper and didn't complain once, not even in the barely there outfits. (I was absolutely obsessed with that boat and really wanted to sneak on it).

Model: Nicol R. (Elmer Olsen)
Styling: Saki K.
Hair: Tayla H.
Make-Up: Hailey H.
Photographer: Me.

1950's

2010-03-27T17:48:00.009-04:00

Did a photoshoot today for Saki's school assignment.
More pictures will come later.

xxi

2010-03-24T11:33:00.004-04:00

as of today, i have officially been working at f21 for a year
i definitely didn't think i'd last there this long

2000 word essay due tomorrow, haven't started, barely done any research.

sketchbooks

2010-03-19T22:36:00.007-04:00

*click pictures for a larger view

I was cleaning my room yesterday and I came across my drawing portfolio from last year and I rediscovered this. This was the most tedious assignment I have had to do so far in university. We had to pick an object, and trace it...over and over and over again. I think only like 20% of the white paper was allowed to show. It's about 13x24 inches and as I recall I spent a good 6-7 hours on it and obviously I left it till last minute so I was up most of the night before it was due trying to complete it.Today I went out a bought myself a new sketch book and a huge canvas. Once school is over I wanna start doing stuff again seeing as drawing/painting has been put on the back burner because of my lack of free time. I'm not one to keep a sketch book, and when I was forced to keep one for two separate courses this year and last I hated it. But I'm going to give it another try, maybe now that I won't have a time restraint it'll go better? We shall see. Either way my goal is to have it filled completely by this time next year, at the latest. Wish me luck!

Digital Future is tomorrow! Absolutely incredible line up, I'm so excited for it. Calvin Harris, Laidback Luke, Fake Blood, Nero, and some local djs Zeds Dead and XI just to name a few. It's going to be amazing.

Through the window

2010-03-18T12:13:00.007-04:00

oh my

2010-03-17T10:53:00.011-04:00

Picture from my last photo assignment. I've come to realize that my scanner really sucks so I'll try to do something about that later when I have time and shouldn't be getting ready for work. I promise the pictures don't looks that crappy in real life! 2 weeks of school left basically, 1 essay, 1 photo assignment, 1 test and 2 exams to go. Oh my..

postsecret

2010-03-14T12:46:00.004-04:00

This perfectly describes how I feel sometimes..

none shall pass

2010-03-05T20:11:00.004-05:00

One month of school left.

I'm starting to get into summer mode and I spent way too much money today...oops.

i'm so l.a.

2010-03-03T19:05:00.003-05:00

my sunglasses match the cocaine tray,

i'm so l.a.

Dear summer, please come faster.

2010-02-26T21:43:00.012-05:00

She'll be saying "Use me, show me the jacuzzi."

Life's a funny thing.
Something good comes along and disappears as fast as it came.
Things have been pretty weird lately.

Two days ago I finally booked my tickets for my birthday trip. I'll be flying to Prague to take my sister to my grandparents, spending a few days with them, flying to London to meet up with Elena and Brianna, and after spending a week there we'll be flying to Amsterdam for a few days and finally flying back home. I'll be gone for 3 weeks and I can't wait. I'm thinking...day trip to Paris? Visit Stonehenge? Sand board in Brighton and visit their piers and beaches? Maybe see some Banksy graffiti in Bristol? Waste all my money in TopShop?! So many things to do! I'm so excited to start planning this trip. It will definitely be nice to get away from real life for a bit.

About 5 weeks of school left...

p.s. Just started watching The Buried Life. I'm so impressed that MTV is capable of showing something that's not mindless junk, good job MTV!

darkroom

2010-02-12T22:57:00.011-05:00

I spent 6 hours in the darkroom today developing film and wasting lots of paper trying to get a perfect print. Handed my assignment in so I'm officially on reading week now, thank god. No matter how many times I've washed my hands I can still faintly smell the damn chemicals. These were the test prints. The still life and the altered object were part of the assignment and the portrait was just for kicks.

____________________

My scanner is really dusty and made the tones look a little weird..oh well..

Whatever you like

2010-02-11T21:02:00.004-05:00

Got a new lens, all is good.
Spending the entire day in the dark room tomorrow,
inhaling chemicals and such.

R.I.P

2010-02-11T17:20:00.007-05:00

Alexander McQueen died today..

Also I just broke my camera lens.
Assignment due tomorrow.
Haven't finished shooting.
fuckfuckfuck

Can this week be over with already?

Technology is frustrating.

2010-02-06T22:16:00.007-05:00

I have a scanner that can scan negatives and obviously when I try to scan my black and white negs it doesnt work...but works perfectly fine with coloured ones. Not Cool. These were the only ones that didn't get cut off awkwardly. Just randomly shot a roll for class, found this wicked broken lamp outside my neightbours house, along with the chairs. I ran out and took a bunch of pictures at midnight and when I came back to take more the next day someone had taken the chair on the right and the day after that the lamp disappeared. Just my luck. Also, the quality is completely ruined on here, urgh!

Black and white film, Nikon F65 camera.

quiet of the night time

2010-02-05T23:17:00.008-05:00

Audrey Kawasaki. Overlap. Oil and Graphite on Wood.

i have no time for anything.

finally made it in to the dark room though. learned how to develop my own film and make my own prints so i'll have pictures by next week hopefully.

reading week is soon, and i'll be done second year in exactly two months.
thank god.

im trying to get my next tattoo organized but instead of finalizing that one i keep coming up with other ones i want.

i also have to start doing research for my birthday trip to london and amsterdam! looks like i'll be taking my sister to prague first, then flying to london to meet elena, staying there for a week and then flying to amsterdam for a few days. i cannot wait.

and

i really want to start painting again.

Keep your hoes in check

2010-01-21T18:29:00.015-05:00

All pictures taken with a 400 ISO disposable camera bought at the dollar store

Last semester in one of my photo classes my teacher had showed us some work by someone who had used a cheap disposable camera for most of his pictures. I can't remember who it was but I'm going to try and find it because the pictures were pretty great. The set that the class was shown were about consumerism and mass media from what I recall and the high saturation and grainy look of the pictures really worked with the content. After that I really wanted to get a disposable camera and see what would happen. My friend Tracy's birthday was coming up around that time so I thought that I might as well take some pictures there. The results were grainy, discoloured, and unfocused pictures and I love that. Definitely going to play around with disposable cameras again.

broken down forever now

2010-01-09T00:12:00.009-05:00

2010 already?
Another year has gone by like nothing at all. I know its been over a week since new years day but things have been pretty hectic. 2009 was...pretty neutral for the most part. Nothing too impressive at all. The last three months of 09 were definitely some of the worse ones I've gone through so far, so I'm hoping that 2010 has something better in store. I'm back at school and recently started working full time so the odd time that I'm not at school or at work, I'm at home pretty exhausted and most likely asleep. I just started a black and white photo course so I'll (hopefully) be posting more pictures soon. I have so many ideas that I want to do but I'm so limited when it comes to time that things just don't work out the way I'd like them to right now.

I have been stumbling the internet a lot though and I came across Polaroid pictures by a man named Jamie Livingston. Basically he took one polaroid picture every single day for 17 years. They include pictures of his friends, his interests, his job, some self portraits, every day things, and his ongoing battle with cancer. The photos start in 1979, and go until the day he dies in 1997. Overall its a huge collection of amazing pictures; definitely worth checking out here: Photo of the day.

I really wanted to start a similar project this year called 365 and take one self portrait every day, but since I don't have a lot of free time that's been a little difficult. I still might try and do it though..

oh hey, Christmas.

2009-12-25T19:22:00.007-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Is it just me or does it not feel like Christmas at all?
The fact that it's raining right now definitely isn't helping the feeling..

Hop on the spiral, bitch.

2009-12-12T21:30:00.008-05:00

Asbury Park by Tom Hines

I've done absolutely nothing today, and it was definitely what I needed. Ahmed just showed me this website and its amazing.

Hop On The Spiral Bitch

can we stay up for the weekend?

2009-12-08T16:06:00.012-05:00

My classes are done. I have three exams to write. I haven't had time to take any new pictures so here are some from the night that I fell in love with black and white film.

*click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Black and white film, taken with my Nikon F65 film camera.

Winter Blues.

2009-12-01T21:01:00.005-05:00

First day of December and already it's been nothing but frustrating. I'm anticipating having even less of a life then I already do with how crazy work will be now that Christmas is only 24 days away. That paired with studying for my three exams will leave me with no time at all. Not going to lie, I don't have much hope for this month...

I'm hoping something will prove me wrong.

Once upon a time.

2009-11-28T01:28:00.017-05:00

'Oh! grandmother,' she said, 'what big ears you have!'
'All the better to hear you with, my child,'
'But, grandmother, what big eyes you have!' she said.
'All the better to see you with, my dear.'
'Oh! but, grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have!'
'All the better to eat you with!'

------------------

These pictures were for a photo assignment at school where I had to take a series of photographs that narrated a story. When we were given the assignment the first idea that popped into my head was fairy tales. At first I wanted to do Alice in Wonderland but we were already too far in to the fall season for that so I decided to do the story of Little Red Riding Hood instead. Instead of having a wolf, I had a "shadowed figure", purely because it was a lot more convenient then trying to dress someone up in a costume and having it look really cheesy. I also chose for Little Red Riding Hood to die in the end (again, it was much more convenient) because I was on an image limit and finding a Grandmother, her cottage, and all the other aspects of the story would have been too much. Anyways , thank you to Tracy and Taylor for helping me and dealing with the cold and muddy forest. These aren't all the images that I'll be handing in but these ones are the ones I like the most.

*Blogspot makes the quality shitty! Taken with my Panasonic DMC-FZ18 Digital SLR

flashback.

2009-11-25T18:51:00.009-05:00

This summer I had the exciting opportunity to travel to Prague, Czech Republic with Elena. As far as I can recall I had only gone to Prague once or twice all the times that I had visited my family in Czech and I definitely didn't remember much of anything. So when my mom asked if I'd like to go spend a week in Prague and then visit the rest of my family I was more then down with the idea. Needless to say, mine and Elena's trip was amazing. First off all, Prague is an absolutely beautiful city, filled with cobblestone streets, castles and beautiful old architecture. Second of all, European nightlife is absolutely unreal. They definitely know how to party and it left me and Elena exhausted and in pain from all the dancing we did. We met some amazing people and I really miss it. Going there and being able to explore a foreign city all on my own was incredible and it made me realize a need for traveling that I didn't know I had. These are some pictures from my trip..

*click on the thumbnails to enlarge

Black and white film, taken with my Nikon F65 film camera.

and so it begins..

2009-11-24T23:14:00.011-05:00

I've actually always secretly liked blogging. I tried keeping a journal many times but finding time to actually physically write something down on paper seemed impossible for me. However, typing on a computer is never a problem, so a blog just seemed like the perfect solution. And so, here I am. This will be a place for my thoughts, rants and all that other fun stuff. But this will be primarily for my pictures and any other photography related things that I find and feel like sharing. I'm such a lazy artist so maybe this will keep me motivated...at least for a little bit.