Janet's posterous

A mix of photos and stories

Mother's Day card collage

In honor of Mother's Day a bit early I made these two cards for my mom and grandma. It was last Friday night while sitting on the floor thumbing through old magazines I thought about making collages. In the past year or two I've forgotten to make mother's day cards, something of a regular tradition between my sister and I for holidays and birthdays, more of my doing given how much I like crafty projects and my sister just helps or watches or I just include her name. A combination of limited time, laziness (majority of the reasons) and an excuse that just showing up was enough meant many gatherings where I show up, buy lunch or dinner and it seems enough. This year I decided not to be lazy and return to one of my favorite traditions of making something for these special gatherings. 

So I started ripping out pages of ads, pictures from stories and just interesting fonts. This is my end product. There is one for my mom and one for my grandma. 

For no particular reason I decided to bend the corner for my mom's card and glue some photos from the magazine that represented my thanks for her support, faith and just being an awesome mom. For my grandmother's card I thought the photo of the sky would be fitting. It would remind her of the infinite possibilities that are still out there as a widow and that my grandpa who is buried at Skyline Memorial Park is watching over her. 

I also included a pound of fava beans from my CSA to give my grandma for Mother's Day. My grandma when May comes around shops around carefully for fava beans being somewhat price conscious, thrifty and with limited transportation options. For my mother I brought a few slices of vegan Mexican chocolate cake.


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Mother's Day card collage

In honor of Mother's Day a bit early I made these two cards for my mom and grandma. It was last Friday night while sitting on the floor thumbing through old magazines I thought about making collages. In the past year or two I've forgotten to make mother's day cards, something of a regular tradition between my sister and I for holidays and birthdays, more of my doing given how much I like crafty projects and my sister just helps or watches or I just include her name. A combination of time, laziness (majority of the reasons) and an excuse that just showing up is enough. This year I decided to resurrect an old tradition of making something for these special gatherings. 

So I started ripping out pages of ads, pictures from stories and just interesting fonts. This is my end product. There is one for my mom and one for my grandma. 

For no particular reason I decided to bend the corner for my mom's card and glue some photos from the magazine that represented my thanks for her support, faith and just being an awesome mom. For my grandmother's card I thought the photo of the sky would be fitting. It would remind her of the infinite possibilities that are still out there as a widow and that my grandpa who is buried at Skyline Memorial Park is watching over her. 

I also included a pound of fava beans from my CSA to give my grandma for Mother's Day. My grandma when May comes around shops around carefully for fava beans being somewhat price conscious, thrifty and with limited transportation options. For my mother I brought a few slices of vegan Mexican chocolate cake.


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Give and get

It was sometime in late April the North Beach Citizens group held the final closing reception for their "Reflections" art show. Compared with the opening reception where I was busy talking to people about the photos I submitted, the final event gave me an opportunity to slow down and look at all the other works of art on display. It was also one of the few times I was not overwhelmed with stuff mentally and physically (I tend to carry all my commuting stuff with me everywhere I go as a habit.)

My friend Anne and I were surveying the art that had not been sold. One of the nice perks about the closing event were the prices had been marked by 50% or more. All the art on display was very affordable including these two pieces I purchased for a little less than $50. I ended up just making a donation in a larger sum to the North Beach Citizens. The evening conversations with the staff and seeing how their work has impacted the lives of several people I know closely made me want to give more. 

I made a mental note that I wouldn't buy anything as I'm constantly "spring cleaning," lately more so than usual. As my friend and I continued surveying the art this painting titled "country girl in the city" caught my attention. I debated it throughout the rest of the night reminding myself I wasn't supposed to buy more 'stuff.' Then I decided to just let it go and buy the painting. It was a bargain at $34. Then my friend suggested the mirror by a very talented 6th grade boy. I didn't really quite understand the red dot and 'you are here' text but decided not to overanalyze the art so much and just appreciate its beauty.

So after several weeks of failed attempts at coordinating a pickup time I nearly gave up trying to pick them up. The really kind staff members knew a mutual friend who offered to meet me anytime during the weekday when I was available to make the exchange. So Mike agreed to meet me at Cafe Trieste on Monday even after I had to text a few times to explain I was still running late and could meet at 8pm. Then the bag with the paintings sat in my kitchen for several days waiting for me to do something. It was partially laziness and not wanting to open the stuffed drawers in my kitchen to find the hammer and nails. Luckily it was still where I originally jammed them and put myself to work. 

Originally I had opted for the painting to be linear but there was already a hole in the wall and decided to use that one . The kitchen feels like home even though the the painting hangs a bit higher and the mirror hangs directly below. There is a feeling that life has been lived and continues to live from looking at the photos. Cheers to giving!

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The forest and the tree

The Bay Area is a special place. I grew up here and this place has not only become my home but a place to explore cultural and ethnic diversity, overwhelming variety of cuisines, and eclectic festivals. But it really comes down to the people and close friends that make the area feel like home. 

Last Saturday I walked an hour from the MacArthur BART station to Dracena Park in Piedmont for my friend's birthday picnic. Yes, an hour. It was supposed to be 45 minutes but I stopped and popped into stores or took photos along the way which extended the original plan. It's not every day or even every month I see close friends. There's work, location, priorities, transportation and time factors that prevent the meeting from happening. So it was a huge opportunity I couldn't pass up even with all the other things that wanted my attention. 

The park itself is small and atypical - it was the size of a large oval with grass, a playground, a mini climbing wall and benches. The real gem of the park was hidden away on the other side of the playground. There were tree stumps as makeshift chairs and a table where the birthday girl staked out a beautiful spot surrounded by trees. There were 6 of us sitting around the table on a warm Saturday afternoon with the shrubbery shielding the fierce sun from scorching our bodies. The scene was part forest and part just a spot with many trees. 

So we celebrated the guest of honor's birthday a week early sitting around sharing stories about our creative pursuits, sustainable eating, free range eggs all while eating black beans and brown rice, chips and salsa with guacamole, drinking horchata's and just enjoying the afternoon. The real highlight came when the guest brought out her guitar and performed a few numbers of her own. The lyrics were very Oakland-centered and it was inspiring to see passion for one's work through art and creativity. 
 
We ended the evening with vegan Mexican chocolate cake, a group photo and new friends. I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate a friend's birthday. Saludos!

 

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To come full circle

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Sometimes plans are disrupted and changed unexpectedly no matter how much you envision they occur. 


I was all set to travel to New York City celebrate with my sister on this day to celebrate our birthday (we're twins). That didn't happen as I'm sitting in my apartment wondering if we'll both remember this birthday as another one we didn't celebrate together. But the best laid plans change and we make do with the new ones. My sister met friends for dumplings in Manhattan's Chinatown and well when travel plans don't work out, there are the people who are even closer to you in distance - your friends, neighbors, community and life around to be experienced outside your doorstep. In the end we both moved on and what was more important was bringing together the people who've made a tremendous impact and influence in the last few years. I decided at the last minute to have everyone come over for a potluck-style dinner where we traded stories on the Loma Prieta earthquake and where we were, debating between Shazam or Soundcloud or getting into intense debates about racism and politics. Looking around the room at everyone I saw what I loved about my city: the diversity, the people, the cultures, the sharing of ideas and mostly everyone just coming together. 

While the last two years have been challenging, frustrating and exciting I'm grateful for the experiences because they've made me a stronger person inside and outside. I'm lucky to have family and wonderful elders nearby to support, motivate and guide me through decisions and reassure me in difficult times. I have figured out what I want, my values, what's important and to reflect on the past through the photos and words I share here is exciting. Maybe it's too bold to say I've come full circle.

While we sort of "age" with the passing of time and the people we love start to fade, grow closer or further apart, I've accepted those things. I've accepted that things are temporary such as the people you love will one day leave and some just enter your life briefly and leave without warning but to appreciate the time you had to learn and move forward. 

So we ended the evening with this lovely vegan Mexican chocolate cake I baked as a trial run for a friend's upcoming birthday and decided what better way to celebrate than to share it with friends. 

Saturday morning rain

Writer's block should be easy to overcome the more you recognize and sense what's causing it. Sometimes that block is caused by something lingering in the mind or a feeling that something you cannot control will happen - good or bad and you're at the edge of your seat wondering how to prepare. Or it could be the rainy and overcast weather that cast its dark spell the last few weeks.

These sudden and unexpected weather shifts are therapeutic even if it does mean writer's block. On Saturday morning I found myself up unusually early (7am) wanting to reach for the cell phone to call my grandma and see how her visit to New York was going. The phone being a bit far I decided reaching for my camera was more manageable. So I settled on taking photos from my viewpoint with various focal lengths. It's interesting how the metal half circle still sits in the corner from the Oakland half-marathon in 2009 and to the left the envelope of red onion seeds a former coworker gave me to plant from 2010. 

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Theme: Self-reflection

I'm sitting in this large swath of space in my apartment on this rainy Saturday preparing my submission for an upcoming art exhibit. The theme is "reflections." As I was going through my archives I found quite a few that got me thinking about growth, transformation and the passing of time. It probably sounds like too many 'heavy' topics for a weekend morning. However it seems fitting given how much is on my mind about what I should do next.

As I look at all the variations of "self reflection" photos I notice some consistent patterns - camera is typically in front of my face to allow the camera to capture the other details such as the layers of colorful scarves, the details of my blazer or the turquoise bracelets. What I've also discovered about myself is how much I love color - yellow, purple, turquoise and navy blue, draping scarves and a curiosity about what the self-reflection end result looks like once I've hit the shutter release button. 

This selection includes a reflection of an old man I met in Astoria, Queens when my sister used to live in the neighborhood. There was a place where one could place bets on which horses would win. I walked in there one day and met a group of old men, and this particular gentleman approached me and asked if I was lost. I did look a bit out of place. We did have one thing in common: we both lived in Fremont, California at one point. He and his friends were hanging out discussing their wins and losses so I found a spot to take his portrait against the wall. The yellow umbrella and his photo taken off to the side was not what I had intended. Looking back the photo is particularly special because r I try to track down the same people I've met from previous visits to see if they are still around and to find out if anything in their lives have changed. 

 

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Occupy DC with Special Ed

After dinner one night I spotted the Occupy DC tents and decided to be mindful yet polite in my queries. Earlier in the day I had passed through wondering about these tents. Luckily our organizer explained they were part of Occupy DC and we all wondered aloud why they  won't just get jobs even if the pay isn't what they expected or desire.

As I walked by the tents a man calling himself Special Ed wearing camouflage passed by and I asked for permission to take a photo of him and the adorable service dog. It was too dark outside so we went inside the tents where upon looking closer I saw he had no legs. They were manufactured legs. 

So I asked what happened to his legs. It seemed rude to ask but there was no way to avoid the obvious. He was "ambushed" during the Vietnam War. He was part of the crew that had to survey a certain area to ensure there were no bombs and enemies. Long story short something exploded and his legs were shot. He didn't feel pain at that moment. He had to wait for the crew to rescue him and then much later it was discovered his legs were inoperable. I started to pry further as to what wearing manufactured legs feels like but he stopped right there. He bluntly explained he didn't want to talk about it anymore. So I changed topics realizing I hit a sore spot and focused on Occupy DC.

I explained to him my frustration with the things I see in our society such as wages haven't kept up with inflation, people are being exploited at corporations for low pay and a desire to want real change. Yes I am naive in that I have a huge desire to make things better and help people at the bottom. He described the 1 percent as the Wall Street bankers and wealthy CEOs profiting at the expense of their employees while the rest of the 99 percent are struggling to make ends meet. 

Special Ed is a disabled Vietnam veteran. Back then there was no GI bill and funding so when he became disabled that's when everything went downhill. He believes consistent protests and having the tents visible will get Occupy DC's message across. 

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Penn Quarter rooftop

On Saturday night the host and organizer of the trip invited missionaries to meet and greet before the big events. So we headed over to visit our host whose wife is a lovely DC tour guide. She gave us the roof top tour where we could see the monuments and famous buildings. But I preferred the view standing inside with the door shut closed. The strong winds and 30-some degree temperatures were too much. So while standing in front of the doorway I decided to let the camera works it magic and wait for the rest. The shadows and colorful spots were the surprise outcome of this experiment.

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DC diversity through food

DC isn't a place known for distinct ethnic communities. Even their version of Chinatown - the trite and often used "gate" is a very lame attempt to be diverse. I found diversity is better represented through their restaurants and dining options - there was the now defunct North Korean restaurant in the suburbs, plenty of falafels and Middle Eastern food, Ben's Chili bowl and Ethiopian. 

My friend and I stopped into dinner at a Middle Eastern place for some gyros and vegetable curry. Upon entering the colorful beads, the loud thumping dance music and hookahs welcomed us to the table. 

While the food was lackluster it was the music and watching people dance to the fusion of mainstream tracks from Rhianna, hip hop and what sounded like Middle Eastern but turns out was a Dutch trance group blaring over the cooking and people talking. 

As soon as the music came on nearby diners got up and started dancing. I love watching people live life and when they started dancing I had to take the photos. 



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