May 30, 2011

You're funny. Wait, no you're not. But actually, you are...not.

First, what do you think of my new background? I feel like it might be too much. That could also be due to the fact that I was staring at my faces for so long as I was trying to get the collage together.

Second, I saw "Kung-Fu Panda 2." If you're looking for a feel good movie, go for "Kung-Fu Panda." Best line from the film? "My son saved China and you can save too! Buy one dumpling, get one free."
The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior.
I love the whole Ancient China setting. I've always been proud of my heritage. In fact, I've lately felt homesick for Hong Kong (even before Kung-Fu Panda). It's weird. I want to be in that environment again: the constant movement, the food, the language, the buildings, the harbor. I suddenly miss everything about Hong Kong.
Me looking up:
I think this is in the same apartment complex my grandma and aunts live in.
Me looking out onto Hong Kong Island.
Taken on Victoria Peak.
It's absolutely gorgeous. 

Moving onto the topic of my post, I had a weird encounter with what I call the "I'm serious, but not really, but actually I am" sense of humor. If you do this, I have to tell you up front: I cannot tell if you're serious or not. I admit that I am sometimes guilty of such puzzling humor. To anyone I may have offended or confused with this brand of humor, I apologize.

My weird encounter: I was delivering some food.
Just deliverin'.
The guy who opened the door was very friendly and greeted me. Then, with a smirk on his face, he asked, "You have change for one hundred dollars, right?" The weird grin threw me off and I, thinking he was joking, laughed and said, "Yeah, I always have change for Mr. Benjamin Franklin." 

"Fantastic!" He slipped me a one hundred-dollar bill.
He wasn't joking.
"Um, I only have twenty dollars in change." The smirk quickly disappeared. He stared at me. 
"Okay, what's wrong with this picture?" he asked. I hesitated. His brows furrowed. 
"How much was my order?" 
I mumbled his expense.
"And how much did I give you?" 
I sheepishly answered.
"And how much are you giving back?" 
I looked at the crumbled twenty in my hand. He grabbed the hundred dollar-bill from my hand.
"Don't come back till you have the change." The door shuts and I was left on his porch befuddled by the whole situation.
Befuddled by the whole situation.
I returned later with exact change. When he opened the door, he had that smirk again. "So, you brought more food with you, right?"

I wanted to punch him.

p.s. Sorry for such a lousy post. I was trying to meet a deadline. You see, I've posted on Mondays for quite a while now (and if it wasn't on Monday, it was on Sunday). Seeing how it was getting late and I haven't posted yet, I just whipped up the first thing that came to mind. Hence, this post.

p.p.s. Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all the soldiers who have died for our country and for those who are now fighting for our country.

May 26, 2011

Good day sunshine.

I awoke yesterday morning to a war within my body. White blood cells rushed to my lungs and my throat as the enemy virus began its second wave upon my immune system. I felt heat from the conflict and I laid still in hopes that the sedentary state of my being would aid my white blood cells in the battle. My room was dark and I listened for the familiar sound of rain.

Nothing.

I turned towards my window and saw light seeping through the blinds, yearning to be released into my cold, gloomy room. A surge of anger raced through my veins: here I was, laying sick in bed, and it was finally a beautiful day.

My dad advised me to go out in the sun. "It will do you some good," he promised.
I dragged myself out of bed and walked straight outside.
Sick and getting some sunshine.
I felt weird. No, not because I was wearing a Grover T-shirt and pajama bottoms out in the middle of my front yard; that was normal. It was because I sensed something within me change. The sun illuminated my soul as its rays cleansed my body.
I felt weird. I was...happy? The corners of my mouth began to twitch into a smile.
Happiness. (Discovered through some sunlight and a shower.)
I was happy.

End of my strange short story.
Moral of the story: the sun has magical healing powers.
Also, me sick = weird posts.

May 23, 2011

A couple realizations.

First realization: Rapture does not mean a zombie apocalypse, even though I have had recurring nightmares about such an event. I have to admit, when the news stated that Rapture was to be on May 21, 2011, all I could think of was "AHHH ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!" Apparently, the CDC thought the same.

And no, the recurring nightmares were not because I played Plants vs. Zombies for two hours straight before going to bed.
Best game ever.
My second realization happened on my way to a babysitting job. I pulled up to the gated driveway and found that the darn gates won't open. I looked to my right and saw the Hollywood sign (sorry, I had the urge to quote my on-and-off guilty pleasure); I looked to my left and found the keypad with a "Call" button underneath. I rolled down my window, reached out, and came to an awful realization--my arm was too short.
Quick fact: "Meet the Robinsons" is one of my favorite films.
It's also my comfort movie.
No matter how I positioned myself, I was always an inch away from the call button. I even unbuckled myself, kneeled on the seat, and had half my body dangling out the window. I was STILL off by a quarter of an inch.
Fairly accurate reenactment in my driveway and edited with the help of Mac Paintbrush.
On a completely different note (I feel like I change topics often in my posts...), I attempted art again. This time, instead of melting candles, I melted crayons.
Untitled...for now.
It's a bird. Can you see it? To the left of the big white blob, which I kind of regret including, is its top beak and the blob is covering the bottom beak. I hope you can see it. I saw it...but only after my dad pointed out that it looked like a rooster. Is that how abstract artists do things? Do they just create a mumble-jumble of something and show it to their closest buddies and the first thing that pops into their heads, that's what it is? (Was that sentence even grammatically correct?) It's like a weird twist off the Rorschach test.

It's untitled for now, but like my last art pieces, I'll have other people name it. So leave a comment below and help me name my bird/whatever-you-see and why you named it that. I really enjoy reading other people's insights on my work.

Now here's a nice video for you to enjoy at the close of this post: ("I Hope This Gets To You," The Daylights)

On a quick, more serious note, pray for Joplin, Missouri and those affected by the tornado. 

p.s. I finally put up a picture of my lamingtons. They'll be waiting for you (ahem, Kristen) in my last post.

p.p.s. August 10, 2011 UPDATE: my then guilty pleasure is no more. I saw a picture of her participating in one of my biggest pet peeves as an Asian. So goodbye Miley. Though I still like "The Climb," I now officially disowned you. 

May 16, 2011

Rain, rain, math, lamingtons

For the next week, Connecticut is expecting rain. And lots of it. I sat in front of the television trying to find a weather channel that had sunnier forecasts, but each disappointed me. And being a delivery girl for a local Asian restaurant means I have to drive in the rain. This will not end well. I know. I've done the math.

Driving = blah
Driving + Asian driver = Look out!
Driving + Asian driver + rain = DANGER!
Driving + Asian driver + rain + windy roads = AHHH STAY ON YOUR SIDE OF THE ROAD!
Driving + Asian driver + rain + windy roads + after sunset = intense search party sent out by the restaurant in hopes to find the delivery girl that never returned

This is my future.

Also, If driving = -gas and gas = $$$, then driving = -$$$
Gas is now $4.30/gal. It's ridiculous. In fact, the day I came home, gas was $4.13/gal and the very next morning, it jumped up to $4.17/gal. It's really ridiculous.

On another note, I made lamingtons again. This time, they came out better. We (Illia and I) had a more powerful mixer and we had more measuring spoons to work with. Last time, I only had one one-cup and one one-tablespoon. I had to be creative, which resulted in the cake base collapsing. It was still delicious.

(Finished product photo to go here...in a couple hours...)
(Update: May 23, 2011--Finally, my lamingtons pictures)
So much deliciousness in one little square. 
Chocolatey and coconut-y...mmmm
I bring this up yet again because my favorite YouTube vlogger Natalie Tran, more universally known as communitychannel, had once promised lamingtons to her viewers. She never delivered. Now, you may think I'm insane for following a vlogger with the intensity I have, but watch some of her videos (these are some of my favorites...probably because I relate to them the most: JUST KEEP IT, BAD LOSER, Embrace The Position, OMG you look SO hot, Cooking in a hotel room with Natalie Tran).

Segway...
Coming soon to theaters, I believe. Anyway, I love movies like this. They make me want to be a teacher, to be an inspiration to someone and help them find who they are. I want to help people realize their potential and help them to overcome moments of self-doubt. (I realize I also have self-doubts and have to overcome my own faults, but I have been working on fixing many since I've been home and unemployed.) I want people to be happy because if there is one thing in this world that I believe all of the human race is entitled to is true happiness.

Also,
Holy cow, I love this song (which made my Favorite Songs for the Time Being (to the right of my posts under About Me)). I bought Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid (2008) and it's absolutely wonderful. I listened to the album all the way through for the first time when I was caravaning with a friend. (She was dropping off her car and I was to drive her back home.) The only qualm I had with the album was its first song "Starlings": I was driving and trying to find my exit when "Starlings" was playing. At various points of the song, there were horns, as in brass instruments, blaring from my car's six speakers for a good two measures each. I became disoriented and deaf and I had missed my exit. But, when "One Day Like This" filled my Honda with wonderful strings and beautiful lyrics, the next six minutes and fifty-one seconds were just pure happiness. I couldn't help but smile when Guy Garvey confessed that he loved my eyes. Oh goodness.

I have a weakness for strings and accents.

May 9, 2011

What I've been doing: reviews of my current life; 5/9

Like the post title suggests, I have a couple of reviews to write. I'll keep them short and sweet.

In this last week, I watched...
...two movies:
1. "The King's Speech"--(2010) It was exceptional: wonderful acting, beautiful cinematography, and incredibly inspiring
2. "Inception"--(2010) Despite this being my third or fourth time watching this film, I still found it amazing.
...countless episodes of television shows:
"Community"--(2009- ) "Community" is incredibly witty and hilarious. It's hard to pick a favorite character, though I am tied between Chang and TroyandAbed. Yes, I do have an affinity towards Chang because he is Asian. But he's funny and odd at the same time. TroyandAbed: Troy is funny, Abed is the best, but them together is magic.
"Friends"--(1994-2004) "Friends" is filling the "friend void" that I've developed since I came home. Enough said.
"The Voice"--(2011- ) I've always been a fan of singing shows. I've watched American Idol for a huge part of my life, but I feel this show may take it a step further. The not-as-good artists are already sifted out and so we end up with talent like this. Absolutely beautiful.

You can tell I'm doing a lot with my life.

May 1, 2011

05/01/11

‎"I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” 
Mark Twain

Musings of Eden: 5/1/11

by Eden Wen
--------
I cannot do many things.
I cannot even draw,
Yet I love myself through and through
Since I found peace within my flaws.
For I am perfect in my imperfections,
It proves I'm merely human.
I simply have to remember this
Whenever self-doubt is looming:
That I can only grow as a person
As I overcome my faults.
God made me who I am--I'm perfect.
And thus my worries halt.
--------
My three influences for this poem: 
1. At church this morning, a member of the congregation talked about how he was striving for perfection, and was dejected as he knew he wasn't at that point in life. But while he dwelled on the thought, he realized that we are already perfect. "We are perfect in our imperfections."And so I stole this phrase and ran with it.
2. Tupac Shakur. I've recently finished his collection of poems, The Rose That Grew From Concrete, and it was absolutely beautiful. Every word that was written was saturated with passion. I thought to myself, I want to write like that. I want to evoke all my feelings, whether it be through music, art, literature or any medium of emotion. I want to inspire others to do the same, to influence with words, to move with words, to express with words. And though I know that I have greater potential, I hope this poem does just that.
3. Many times I catch myself comparing myself to others. This either leads to building my ego or destroying my self-esteem. In a way, I wrote this poem for myself. I need to accept my imperfections. We need to accept our own imperfections. They are what separates us, human beings, from emotionless and unfeeling robots. Yes. Um...and now I don't know how to segway into a closing...

Thanks for reading my poem, friends.
Happy Sabbath.