Yay I can post this now!

the gift has been given so i won't be ruining any surprises.

a custom order for rohin :)

Another dumb retail experience

So I went to Michael's to stock up on polyfil and watercolor paper. They have weekly 40% off coupons in the newspaper ads & online. Usually I just 'em my phone with the coupon pulled up and that works just fine. So today I went to Michael's with my sister with an expired coupon to see if their eyes would glaze over the date and a current coupon.

Cashier: Um, this has expired.

Me: Okay, let me pull one up on my phone.

Cashier: We don't accept those.

Me: Yes. I've done it before.

Cashier: Not at this Michael's.

Me: Sooo... now at this Michael's you want me to waste paper and print out a coupon?

Cashier: (beat) Yes.

So I just get one item using the good coupon.

Cashier, waving the expired coupon: Do you still want this?

Me: Do I still want an expired coupon?.... that you didn't let me use...?

She kind of grumbled, the people behind me laughed and I walked away shaking my head at how dumb some people are. Ha.

I'll just go back tomorrow with a fresh Sunday coupon for the polyfil. I refuse to print coupons that I can just pull up using my phone. So wasteful!

Oldies but goodies

I was sifting through my old sketchbooks and found this one. Now you know where the banner art came from. I was volunteering in a kindergarten class in Thailand and the kids borrowed my sketchbook to write the Thai alphabet & the days of the week in English :) . I can't believe that was more than a year ago. Oh brother I miss traveling, says the girl who was in Hong Kong less than two months ago.

Then I found this in an old new york sketchbook:

can you spot the sketches that later became the paintings below? :)

Rawr! card

for moments when only a hearty 'rawr!' needs to be said.

now on etsy!

A Preview.

Fighting the Good Fight, take two!

I haven't thought about this phrase in a very long time. I think it's because the meaning is now lost on me. In a good way.

When I was living in Asia, trying to create a foundation for my business, I clung to that mantra to stay afloat. It was my reminder to keep going. It was my way of moving against people's inquiries about getting a 'real job,' or that inner voice asking, 'what are you doing with your life? You need money!' Whenever I backpacked, I felt at home & at ease. I met fellow 'fighters' and we connected so intimately & infinitely on that common philosophy alone. I was afraid of coming back to the US, where reality would slap me in the face in the form of a relatively low bank account, and unfamiliar, unsupportive faces.

Now, I realize that the fighting has simply become living, and somehow I've managed to surround myself with fellow fighters/livers without having to leave US borders... namely Bruce who strives to make Silverlake/Echo Park/Los Angeles better in every way possible, Kevin who works his 9-5 without ever doubting that he is a writer first & foremost, and Victoria, my partner in craft-crime, who is so disciplined in her work & {paper & type} (more than she gives herself credit). I guess that's why I love visiting LA and find my time with friends so nourishing & rejuvenating. Fighting isn't necessary if no one around you is against you.

So. Yay :) I can't wait til April for another stay.

The state of my desk

I guess I was so intrigued by the state of Oliver Jeffer's desk that I thought to take a picture of my own and examine it in a similar way.things to note:

• a mason jar filled with randomness: 7 bouncy balls, a dried flower from a hike, a piece of confetti from a Flaming Lips concert, a necklace from Greece, twine from the 2010 calendar, rolls of pennies, thread, shells from Philippine beaches and small, green toy soldiers.
• new card in progress, on screen & printed
• outgoing orders
• photobooth strips, including stickie pics from japan
• my daily, weekly, monthly to do list
• trusty stamp & pad

work & play balanced & equally represented. key to maintaining sanity in a one-woman operation :)