p i p e d r e a m

Here is a quick dialogue that I just overheard from a kid and a mother. The kid, probably around 3 or 4 years old watched his mother hold his little brother's hand in an upright position, they were all steps above a grass block area in front of this coffee shop where I just arrived. Kid: "Why you're holding him like that?" Mom: "Is to teach your brother how to walk by himself" his little brother is probably almost one year's old. Kid: "Ohh, Just like me ya mom? I can walk on this grass well" He said lightly while performing a little run proudly in front of them. Mom: "Yes, dear, but your brother cannot just yet" They both a little yelled at each other to talk over the cry from the little one. (He seemed to hate to be held like that, and wiggled uncomfortably) Kid: "So, when is he gonna be able to walk on the grass? and also to walk on the water?" Mom: "What? he can't. I also can't walk on the water, and you also...

There are many things that I don’t understand, even if I tried to. It's always puzzling to me why people say life is so fleeting when it is the longest thing we will ever do. How people said that they love the rain but hated it when they get wet. I never understand how people can be so contrary to their own belief. I don’t understand the guts some people had for thinking that they are bad in someone else stories, but not bad in general. You think you’re so smart? No. you’re arrogant. I don’t understand the critic some people give to others who fall too fast in love and proceed to make commitment even faster with their own partner a year later. I don’t understand how entitled some people are. To think that they deserve something they don’t and to treat other people like they owe you something. No, they’re not. Even more with people that feels superior towards others, do you think you ever fought in a war or save a human race? No, you are not special. I don’t understand how difficult...

I was well into my thirties when I learned “Liberal Arts” as an academic course. So, the general meaning is education to learn about philosophy, literature, sociology, culture, creative art, and history. Lessons that are hard to quantify but essential to shaping your thinking and perspective in life. In other words, academics tend to be more concerned about physics, math, and biology as introductory courses at school. What disappoints me is that we usually have “Religion” as a required course, even in undergraduate study, no matter what class you took. The problem was not it as part of formal education, but when we do not have a liberality to accept it. In my opinion, religion is great if you believe in God, whichever one you want to know and believe. But it shouldn’t be required as a human being? Much as being told to have a religion since you were young because otherwise, you are going to hell. For me, morality, humility, empathy, and kindness are much more important things to have a...

The Upside of being a girl So lately, I have been into FRAN LEBOWITZ   talks and interviews. I purchased her book "The Fran Lebowitz Reader" a year after finishing her Netflix series "Pretend it's a City". I just never hear someone who talks and thinks like that [I clearly love her but I wanted to stay calm] [below are a few text transcripts of some of her interviews/speaking that I really like. And I just wanted to remember some of them. Because life moving so fast one of these days, I can get back to these notes that will lead me to re-listen / re-watch them whenever I wanted to relax on some laughs and perspectives.] Spotify podcast called >> "It's a Long Story" << by Sydney Opera House station on Spotify. Total 42:34 minutes interviewed by Edwina Throsby   Q : Are you a feminist?  A: I never really thought of myself that way, because I never really think of myself as a person who agrees with that many people, you know. I live in th...

This lovely small house stands almost like a silent spectator to the sound of kids playing every other afternoon. When visiting the old existing house at the beginning of the project, I know that a humble and raw design will be a great addition to such a serene neighborhood.  The client, a young couple, was imagining their first house to be renovated as a growing house. Space-efficient, and budget-wise, but structurally able to be expanded in the future. A thoughtful owner and the amount of time and energy they put into this house construction helped me a lot to understand and put every idea into the visual design. I came to understand that the smaller the scoop, the more intimate practice they require. We focus more on the utility and structure addition in order to accommodate new service functions on the layout. A small addition of a concrete slab is a must as a service area. I once read a description about White House, a home design by Kai Liu, a Shanghai-based architect, about ...

To quote Charles Dickens,  “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, (and yes it wasn't originally Taylor Swift's lyric). That sentence is probably what I will tell my grandnieces to describe this crazy-odd era of a second-wave pandemic. It's been a while since the last time I write on this blog so a 'reality is the last thing I wanted to write about. Let's write about pleasant things like a movie review and that scientific proof of music can be a painkiller. Interesting enough? *Disclaimer: spoiler alert I finally watch Kodachrome after this movie file sits long enough in my folder to the point I forgot the excitement I have when I was looking for it. Kodachrome is this one color film by Kodak which discontinued after about seventy years of use in the analog photography market. This movie follows a story of a young man who reluctantly joins his father's trip to Kansas to develop his last Kodachrome roll films before the process is permanently unavai...

No, it is not a post about food recipes. {sorry to disappoint you, my non-existent reader}... Just this morning I had a revolution on how to cook savory oatmeal as one of the few new things that I welcome in my life, other than, a new house and hair color. Today's marked as the first month of living in a new house with a completely different layout and environment. I don't know why I'm making such a big deal about it, but I did cry myself to sleep every day a week before moving out of my old house, my childhood home. I spent almost all my life at the said shelter and it holds many memories of beloved deceased family members, that I realized, once the house deconstructs by the new owner, the moments will be buried for good in the ground. Maybe, God, Himself wanted to slap me in the face for my confusing act. For months, even years, I will pray for a new better life, for a chance to start over for my family and me. Nevertheless, when the days come, I cry because deep down it ...