feeling a bit sad

today i woke up feeling tired, but eager to start my day. seems like everyone is getting sick and i have been dodging this bug.

i woke up freshfaced and bundled to face the elements as i began my quest for seaweed paper and shrimp chips.

but now as i sit after taking a long hot bath, i feel ill. my head is pounding. i cant read my comics. my mind is just not focused.

this bothers me since usually reading makes me calm. settles me.

on my adventure today, i picked up some string dolls/charm made in thailand. i selected a french dude doll. beret. red and white

striped shirt and funny moustache. so gigi. i am sitting here typing and my doll sits gazing at me. he makes me smile.

at the store i bought him at, the cashier girl noticed my TRKFLD bag and i talked them up and told her the 1/2 hoodie asian girl

in their ads is yours truly.

my fresh faced start has began to tumble. my head is pounding and i feel like i am squeezed in a vice. perhaps some tea or cider

will help me. i have spent the whole day walking, searching for a sketchbook that i can fill.

i have to go blow my nose and take a nap.

feeling unpearly like today.

sit tight peeps

i will be sans my macbook this weekend. long story. but three words: failed hard drive. oh goodness.

anyways, read this story and sit tight.

i got my haircut today. ok ok ok. for my friends, i have been sporting the same elf bangs forever, but just realize, that now, i really look like an elf. today was a good day. i took a walk at lunch, got a perfect haircut, the weather is nice and soon i will be going to yoga, which is my new jawn.

read and then i'll post next week. compooters make me angry.

the story below happened this summer. i am a magnet for crazies. or should say i am a "magNUT."

btw, i am beginning to write my memoirs. it is going to begin with the chapter of what happened to me yesterday after the gym. i was waiting for the bus since it was 100 degrees out and it takes me 30 minutes to walk home and i decided to sit on an air conditioned bus. (not a green move, but oh well). as i was waiting for the bus stop and rummaging for my shuffle ipod, some old creepy lady that looked like a she male approached me. then she burped in my face. she quickly explained that when she talks to people, she always burps. my thought bubble: this crazy woman just ate mcdonalds.ew.

she takes out of her patch work hand bag/tote/luggage a tube of cheap looking lipgloss. she taps me on the shoulder and says, "you like? wanna pay me a dollar for it?" before i can throw out a quip, she adds, " i pick pocketed it out of someone's purse, so i didnt use it." as if this last sentence would entice me. as if i would be inclined to buy a lipgloss used by another and not this wanna be saleswoman. but i dont say any of that. the asian in me, didnt want to be rude. i politely tell her no thank you. she huffs at me and then as a last resort asks, " do you have any extra bus tokens at least?" i nod no. by now, i have untangled my ipod shuffle earplugs and quickly put them in and tune in to the soothing sounds tex ritter and johnny cash.

finally the bus arrives. i pick a seat. of course, it is right across from the crazy lady! she gives me disappointing looks. i wanted to tell her that first off, no one is going to buy a used lipgloss! second, no one really wants to wear hot fushia lipgloss!

my second thought bubble was interrupted by the septa driver telling us passengers that there is a detour and my stop was not on it. grrr. so i ended up walking home anyways.

end of the night, the score reads:

pearl 0

septa 1

crazy lady still a crazy lady.

chinese new year, year of the rat

it is a new year and i am hoping the year of the rat bodes a good one. it is tradition during new year to give the children "lucky money." the money is placed in bright red envelopes. i remember being a kid and totally just collecting these red envelopes and counting the crisp dollars. i felt like a millionaire, not realizing that 20 bucks was not that much, but to a kid. the list was endless. i could buy smurfs, hello kitty pencils, more comic books, perhaps buy that voltron set i wanted, particularly the blue lion.

new year is always filled with the chatter of my family, extended family and friends. lanterns are lit and hung up. gold and red lanterns. red envelopes are given out. moon cake is cut into to precise little pieces. you only eat this cake for new year. hit the stores now and i bet it is all gone, empty shelves. the candy of dried coconut, happy plums, and ginger are laid out for guests.

when i was little, my sister and i would wear the our ao dai (traditional vietnamese clothing, a long dress with slits on the side with wide pants). mine was yellow with white pants. we would feel all fancy and special with our cheeks full of ginger and plum candies and our lucky money!

i am trying to organize a dinner tonite in good old chinatown with friends. next weekend will be a huge feast with my family. with such good weather in february, i would love to eat some egg noodle soup and perhaps stop at my fave asian mart and give this little girl who bags my groceries some lucky money so she can start the year of the rat in style and with some luck!

we're on a rickshaw to nowhere- super tuesday

watching super tuesday updates all day. sat at work and killed some time on the internet reading about the republicans vs. democrats.

it freaks me out that huckabee has won some states. here is a man who believes that jesus rode dinosaurs. i am a firm advocate of separation of church and state. that could be due to my profession, but the settlers migrated from england to escape the church and the monarchy. why the heck are we reverting back?! there are people who believe the earth was created in 7 days. yup. one week. they won't acknowledge the fossil that exists. that was placed by satan.

when i was little, my grandparents immigrated here from vietnam. i was in 3rd grade. i remember going to a church with them. both my grandparents are devout buddhists, but they appreciate all religions. buddhism is like a sponge. it allows you to soak up other aspects and appreciate other aspects of other faiths. my grandparents wanted to go to church. it was a beautiful structure, high ceilings. pretty windows. i remember my grandparents being stopped in the hall before the auditorium where people were starting to sit. they were in conversation with some people. i was nearby trying to peer into the auditorium. was there going to be a concert? i was confused. a moment later, my grandfather took my hand and told me we were going home. why i asked? he didn't answer me. my grandmother looked a bit flustered. why i repeated. when we got to the car outside, my grandfather told me very simply, they didnt want us at their church.

i wasnt sad. i wasnt angry. i was confused. growing up, i would try to fit in, but events like the above reminded me that i was not ever going to fit in.

knowing that huckabee is even a candidate for the primary scares me, i wanna take the last rickshaw out of dodge. anybody wanna join me? takers?

the brainstorm for henry the hedgehog and penelope the porcupine

i like to write stories. i like to make comic books. my mom still has the comic books that i made starting in the 1st grade. yes, my geekdom started early! i would make them like graphic novels, covers, credits, and i would staple them so they had a spine, just like a real book.

i also did pop up books. i made a series of pop up books all based on the greek and roman mythological stories. normal for a 2nd grader no? of course not!

my art supply box has scraps of unfinished doodles of creatures, monsters, characters that i try to bring to life and then i get distracted or i am not ready to ink them.

recently, i have been brainstorming henry the hedgehog. i have always liked the name henry. solid name. perhaps because it reminds me of john henry.

today i sat in my office and this is the story that played out. a fat hedgehog that walks with a limp. he is shy and his limp makes him even more introverted. not sure if hedgehogs are even extroverted animals. i do believe they are against the law in PA to have as pets i think. anyhow, limpy fat hedgehog. he lives under a mushroom and sometimes frequents this bar located in a hollow tree stump. here the shady animals, ie. slugs, potato bugs, moths, and millipedes. henry collects herbs and enjoys cooking. so far, i think i wanna have him wear glasses. putting glasses on any animal makes me giggle.

i have a scanner, but i need to hook it up to my macbook. is this complicated?

oh henry and penelope are going to fall in love, but like any love story, there will be tragedy.

YELP review of the day!

hey kiddies, i am so 2.0 and i dig food! :)

read my review!

all roads lead to..cake?

i am not from a big family. the typical nuclear family. my childhood memories are filled with aromas of pho, spring rolls and hot dogs, flan, and frozen orange juice popsicles. i remember going to other kid's homes and their families didn't eat pho. they didn't eat rice everyday or snack on shrimp chips or cold lychees. i was a freak. what kid's mom packs them lychees and mangos for dessert along with tuna fried rice? oh mine did. i remember sitting in the cafeteria in first grade with a hello kitty lunchbox that smelled of spilled milk. my mom put milk in my thermos in hopes perhaps that i would sprout and not always be the shortest kid in class. i would sit and not drink this warm milk and look longingly at the other kid's pbj and capri suns. i would think, wow, their parents buy the cool foods!

lunch was difficult for me. the kid who eats shrimp chips does not attract friends. so i would usually quickly my lunch and take walks outside for recess, collecting acorns and looking at ants. (wow, how the hell do i have friends now?!)

when i would go home, my dad would be home already since he worked the night shift. my dad to me is john rambo. he can do no wrong. he would often sneak a pack of hubba bubba blueberry bubble gum to my sister and i when he returned with my mom buying groceries. he also bought us the thriller album and got me a loverboy folder so i could store my violin music. my dad is the top of the pops.

summer vacations were slow for me. we didn't have money to vacation so my sister and i would enter every library reading contest and win. i would read all the recommended reading the teachers suggested. twice. summer was a time when we both got to spend more time with our dad since he would come home from work in the mornings. he would make us cereal and we all would watch get smart and marine boy. it was lovely. i would think to myself, i love summer vacations!

one day, i recall sitting on the bathtub's edge watching my dad shave. it was amazing. he had whip cream on his face and he would comb it with some stick and then his moustache was gone. i was in awe. i asked my dad what happened to his face. he laughed and said, "daddy more handsome now." "i liked the moustache!" "no, daddy no need. better now."

the next day, i entered the bathroom and i wanted to comb my face. i found the "comb" and in grandiose manner began brushing it in quick strokes on my face. no sooner had i done this feat, did my face start to burn. the razor had cut into my chin. red blood started to drip from my face. i screamed. my mom ran up the stairs to see me in the bathroom dripping blood onto the black and white tiled floor. i started to cry. that is what you do as a kid. you cry when you are hurt, confused, angry. i was all of the above. my mom cleaned me up and even blew on the cuts as she cleaned it with antiseptic. she kept saying, "why you do this? you need to do more schoolwork. then you don't get into trouble." i didn't say a word. i was rehashing what i did and why it hurt. it didn't hurt my dad. i was like columbo, i was examining clues.

that nite i didn't get dessert. my mom told my dad what i had done. i could tell they were upset with me. we weren't allowed to leave the dinner table unless we asked to be excused. i asked and i went to my room. i shared this room with my sister. it was a small room that had bad red carpet. it was not a relaxing colour and in fact the ugliest carpet i had ever seen. i sat on my bed and my dad came in and put a plate of flan cake i looked up and my dad just waved off my reaction and said, "ok. eat cake. no tell mom."

the following week, my mom burst into my room to put away clean clothes when she caught me reading nancy drew books and not practicing my violin. in fact, i was practicing. ok ok ok. i figured out that i could record myself doing scales and playing minuets on this clunky tape recorder. i would lie on my bed and read, keep my door shut, and let the tape run for an hour. i am such an evil genius. this stunt lasted for 2 months, until the incident above. this time, my dad did not bring me cake.