Pre-Christmas

I check the weather where you are, wondering if you can see the stars...

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I buy my own rocks.
Well...bags at least. Not gonna wait for no guy to buy me presents! I thought since I'm in the UK I might as well splurge on something from a British brand...This is my Christmas gift to myself: the white Burberry Baby Beaton.


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"The one thing you learn when you leave college is that you're immediately obsolete, you have to keep on learning..."
- John Maeda, the new RISD president:
http://www.risd.edu/president/maeda.html
He looks awesome. Geeks are the coolest!

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Ministry of Sound
There has only ever been one period when I enjoyed house music: back in junior high when Gatecrasher CDs were in. 10 years later, I see mixes of the same old songs being advertised, the so called "dance classics". I'd pick hip hop over house any day. I also pick lounges (where I can sit in my 4" heels) over clubs any day. At MOS I was clutching onto my bottle of water for my life! Thankfully, the people I went with were fun, which made up for being in the sweaty warehouse all night. Oh and it was DJ Sasha playing, house fans please don't be angry with me, but I couldn't even tell the difference when he came on...

That's not cigarette smoke by the way (thank god they banned smoking otherwise I wouldn't have lasted 10mins in there).


Lets see who can get the best laser pic...


Hotness!








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If you wanna freeze your arms and legs off, go on the spinning ride at Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland


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I just found my favorite London spot: Sketch. It's 3 restaurants, a bar and a day-time cafe in one venue. They also have the best website I've ever seen for a restaurant/bar. I know it's wrong to judge restaurants by their website but as a graphic designer I refuse to go to a place with bad typography! I'm so happy I finally found a place I like in London! It's so Wonderland.

At The Parlour (the cafe). They have these artsy-fartsy objects and the cutest cakes.












Why would you take a picture in the bathroom..unless it looks like this: you go in egg pods! So kitschy but I like.




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I can't wait to go to Auckland! Thanks Adrian for organizing the Taupo Bay trip!

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I still dream of Dec 2002. It's blurry now but it's always going to be there.
I heard that after you turn 21, your life just flies by. I'm certainly starting to feel that.
Passers by and acquaintances think that my life is full of pretty pictures, but I've fallen too.

People that have hurt me, I don't care whether intentionally or unintentionally: I'm not afraid to say Fuck you and you will go to hell.

The next year is going to be productive. Youth can't be used as an excuse.

Mom says "Nothing is for certain unless you have control over it."
Mom says "If the sky falls, use it as a blanket."

Time, I don't need you to wait for me, I'll just meet you there.
World, happy holidays.
Sunrise, sunset, see you in 2008.

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Edit:
I don't know what triggered it. Recently, I've been having dreams of you. In all these years, I've been trying to live happily alone, thinking: so what if I don't have the one I love, I have my career...
Tell me how to get over you.
Heart, time to come back.

Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose..

Madrid + Barcelona

In chronological order. Raw and un-photoshoped.

Day 1. Madrid
Prado. (highlight: sneaky photo in front of Las Meninas)










Kapital. Biggest (but not the best) club I've ever been to. It was like a department store sized club. Ew.. Madrid people go clubbing at 3am and go until mid afternoon the next day. Jesus, why would you torture yourself like that?..








Day 2:
Museo De Arte Reina Sofia.








Hotel Puerto America. Designer hotel for one night. Yeah ok, I know these photos are crap.








The spaceship like floor I stayed in by Kathryn Findlay. Looks like something out of The Jetsons no?






Don't drool... Ah the vanity...






The other room by Marc Newson.








Day 3
Barcelona. Gaudi's Park Guell.
















Day 4:
Gaudi's Segrada Familia


















Gaudi's Casa Mila (the apartment).










Flamenco. Oh believe me, it was Hot..




Day 5
Picasso Museum.






Thanks Daniel, for way-finding.

That's not all the pictures, more on my flickr.

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Sing it to me again...

+a

My baby.

Young, hardworking, and owning your own company = beauty. Out of all the things I have ever done, this is one thing I am most excited and most happy about. This is my reason: something I can call mine. Check it out:



http://www.plus-a-design.com

Soon to be in your neighborhood!

Launch date is on my birthday (March 26).

Better bookmark it now kids!

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Other stuff in no particular order:

I started working again right after I got back from SF, at a studio in Kingston. Apart from the awful 1hour 10min commute, everything was good, I worked on branding for Nuffield Hospital, (sounds ew but it was actually pretty cool to brand cosmetic surgery etc). Kingston is this pretty little town right next to the Thames, and my desk was literally right beside the river and there are these chill looking swans everyday hanging out on the water. Have you ever seen a sleeping swan? Did you know that they sleep with their necks coiled up!?

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Some pictures in random order:

At Skylon/London Jazz fest at the Southbank Center, thanks Sam!


Tate Modern restaurant, the London skyline at night is nowhere near as impressive as HK or NY. But... city extravaganza gets old and I'm totally asking for more views of London at night.





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Electric Birdcage. That name made me go there...





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At one of the Buttoned Down Disco parties (supposedly secret and underground but not really):






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I love/hate American Apparel.

In the past 3 months, I've spent £200+ on American Apparel clothes and I'm angry and slightly confused. I used to think it was the plainest, most boring clothes in the world, not to mention WAY overpriced just because its made in L.A. Plus I thought I was way cooler cos I wore funky prints, lush materials and dresses with girly details...Poo...I've jumped on the bandwagon.

Maybe because the brand is doing so well here in London.
No...it's cos I miss corny Americans...
No...it's their borderline pornographic print ads...
No...I don't know!

I never even walked into an American Apparel store in the States. They're not good quality either, for what they're priced at. L.A factory workers must have bad skills 'cause I had to go back and exchange an item when I noticed the stitching was all crooked. And its more expensive to get it here because of the exchange rates etc.

Whoever brands American Apparel: good job and I hate you.

Here's a list of American Apparel stuff in my closet:









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I just got the new Alicia Keys album and I listen to it everyday. What a beautiful lady. My favorite track is Lesson Learned feat. John Mayer, listen to it here.

...Life perfect, aint perfect if you don't know what the struggles for
Falling down aint falling down if you don't cry when you hit the floor
It's called the past 'cause I'm getting past
and I ain't nothing like I was before.
You ought to see me now...

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2 final announcements:

1. I'm leaving on Jan 21st to Auckland and will arrive on the 23rd. For the 100th time: I can't wait to go to NZ!!

2. I'm going to Madrid and Barcelona this coming Friday 7th Dec (damn how is it December already?!) to Tuesday.