Day 31: End of a decade

Yeah... This box pretty much sums up my ignorance for the past decade or so. It was one of two boxes on display at the Huntington Library's store, and since the two Johns are the masterminds behind QI, how could I not get this?

It was beautiful... The botanical gardens gathered exotic plants from all over and thank heavens for my uncle's camera. There was the Chinese Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Rose Garden, the Desert Garden, etc... The only place I didn't get to visit was the mausoleum, where the Mr. and Mrs. Huntington are buried. I heard it's picturesque, but quite the distance away from the other attractions, and we only had about four hours to tour the entire area. I had to prioritize. Although I missed a lot of the galleries, I did visited the major ones. I saw the Gutenberg Bible. I saw the Ellesmere Chaucer. I even saw Pamela, which really surprised me, for I didn't expect to find Richardson in one of the galleries. I didn't get to visit the library, which is a shame, because it houses countless original manuscripts and millions of rare books. Apparently, only those who've attained a doctoral degree are permitted access to the collection, which really is an incentive for me to work towards my PhD. If I owned a home nearby, this would've been my backyard.

Oh, before I move on, allow me to mention an achingly embarrassing mistake two posts ago. It was supposed to be faux flora, not fauna. I must've been that frustrated that it completely slipped my mind. One of the silly mistakes I've decided to leave it unchanged, as a sore reminder of how sour moods spoils my writing.

So we usher in a brand new year with a bang. In my frame of reference, an all you-can-eat seafood buffet. None of the plates were photogenic enough. They taste much better than they look in photographs, so I didn't bother to take any. I hope you don't mind. I tasted raw oysters for the first time and I'm not sure if I want to endeavor myself to another for a long time, though my aunt convinced me that the fresh ones taste much sweeter. Everything else wasn't too shabby, for the price. I was just happy they prepared sushi.

It was cold tonight. I absolutely had to put on a coat.

And tomorrow marks the beginning of a brilliant new year, which also calls for a new wardrobe too~ I only brought three of the six items, and I'm wearing them all for tomorrow's trip to Sequioa National Park. Apparently, it might rain on New Year's Day. There's even a chance that we might encounter snow.

...

I still wanna hug a tree.

Day 30: There is beauty in the world

Hello ya'll. Today's post will be a highly visual experience, because I had a lot of fun with my uncle's camera, which is super simple but super awesome.

I absolutely adore this kid. He just happened to be at the right location, at the right time, for me to snap this gorgeous scene with his head tilted slightly to the right. Here's another one, along with many other beautiful pictures.

Well, that's all folks. I'll be sure to update everyone with the infinitesimal details that are absent from these images tomorrow.

Day 29: I just need a shoulder, and silence.

I feel exactly as I am pictured. Irritable. Annoyed. But mostly, drained. It is exactly because I haven't done anything, in which I would have deemed significant if I had done, that my mood's presently foul.

The bird and the bee helped a little, if only momentarily. About three minutes to be exact. And then I'm sour again. My head's ringing, and pre-recorded music from an electronic keyboard isn't alleviating my condition. In fact, I'm getting more annoyed by the cheesy Chinese-restaurant tune. Not that the music's Chinese, but that it reminds me so. Frankly, I don't even know why Chinese would be it, only that much of my childhood references to fine dining would involve chopsticks, rice and karaoke themed music.

I guess the only eventful thing that happened today was dinner. Food somehow soothes the soul; anywhere, anyhow, anytime. So long as it's palatable, and the one that I had for tonight was, thankfully.

Ruben's Kitchen. Apparently they serve authentic Malaysian cuisine, though what I had pictured above wasn't anything close, even with it's Asian flavor. I usually save the yolk for last, which is usually good, but this one was unusually peculiar tasting. If... that's any way to describe something.

If only life was as simple as the mentality as a thirteen year old. I'm speaking generally, because my younger cousin then asked, "Why thirteen? Why not fourteen?" Hah. Go figure that one out yourself, Darren. The question itself is valid, of course, but the number thirteen implies something more obvious. He just seems so carefree, with nary a worry of everything else. How money comes about, that he's able to languish it all on, not everything, most of the thing he desires. His options in life at this point are either "yes" or "no."

I take that back. No, that's not him. He always confounds me with replies like "Or am I?" or "Or do I?" which I find extremely tiring to even attempt to answer. Frankly, I couldn't be bothered. If one would wants to try slipping on a banana peel when the other tells one not to, I say go for it. Perhaps falling and physically knocking one's head on the floor is painfully effective than any other viable method. I'd hate to nag, so why not?

My goodness, I'm whining. Like I said, I'm excruciatingly irritable at the moment. Perhaps I should take a warm shower and proceed to bed. Or maybe I should have another go at Lewis, to confound my head even more, and then proceed to bed. Either way, I'm so irritable at the moment, that neither aids. "What ails you?"

Faux fauna. They're pretty nonetheless.

Day 28: Nothing much. Really.

I didn't even bother to take a picture, because we never went out. Well, we did for a while, but I never left the car. The initial plan was to drive to this huge outlet mall, and then, there was traffic. We got Sansai Grill for dinner instead, and then we got home.

It's strange to not have an opinion over something - I can't freaking post anything worth posting today. Hmm...

Day 27: A time to study

Today marks the entrance of three books (well, one of them is actually a compilation) into my mini library:

1. Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

2. C.S. Lewis's Signature Classics - Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Abolition of Man, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and A Grief Observed.

3. Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall.

In which, I am completely enamored with the cover of Waugh's satirical novel.

At long last, I've completed Dinty W. Moore's Between Panic & Desire. It's an extremely short piece for a memoir, only because it's experimental and that it investigates certain aspects of Moore's past. Substitute fathers, televised cultural explosions, terrorism, etc. The page numbers insist I finish this in an afternoon, but the prose demands more from the average reader. Moore refers to plenty pop cultural references, particularly during the 60s, so I'm really not his intended audience. My dad might find it enlightening. Take his strict Malaysian upbringing in a rural backdrop and paste it behind Moore's kaleidoscopic stage, often affected by his frequent acid trips. Or just plain high over dope.

Great book, though some of his humor eluded me due to unfamiliar references. Maybe I should watch more of his TV.

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I forgot to take a picture of what I wore. Again. I got lazy, so it was just the plain black shirt and jeans. Pleasant weather, got a little sun. Great for random stretches along the sidewalk.

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"How can you not shoot a damn pumpkin out on a field, and not have fun?"

The two negatives here rendered the question into something nonsensical. I believe it to be...

"How can you not shoot a damn pumpkin out on a field? And if you did, how can you not have fun?"

But hey, how can anyone be an ass to point this error in syntax to a dude growing a handsome white mustache and beard, in a pair of shades and a colorful hippie cap (well... a beanie too small for the man's head would be a better image, but still colorful nonetheless. Think Jamaica), who smokes cigars and says, "rules are meant to be broken. Just don't get caught in the act."

Wait... I think I might be morphing two similar-looking individuals into one persona.

Oh well, the point is, I'm typing this just as Darren is watching the Science Channel's Punkin Chunkin. Enthusiasm over big, muscled machines. Exaltation for the laws of physics. Loud farmers, who just happen to be ingenious inventors and innovators. And of course, the pumpkins. First, there were no rules. And then, they decided on one. Then five. Then twenty five. And now a little book. Not even the committee could tell you every single one of them if prompted. But I've got a bone to pick with this.

I can't friggin' read C.S. Lewis with such an awesome distraction flashing right above the edges of my book.

Day 26: Appearance over matter

I did not manage to take a photo of what I wore for today, but if it's any consolation, it's exactly the same outfit I wore to Disneyland. My pathetic excuse would be because my phone died on me in the evening while we were still out, and by the time I've recharged it, I've already changed into my jammies. The reason for the swift depletion of the battery would be because of the innumerable photogenic locations throughout the Getty Center, which lured me into snapping away. That and I forgot to charge my handphone the previous night.

This next picture is one of my favorite photographs of the day:

If only the water arcs were slightly more visible, and if lighting conditions were much more camera-phone-friendly, this shot would've been prefect. A harmonious blend of nature and architecture. Richard Meier at his best. Go figure, it's his signature Meier white tiles in the background. But Meier was also noted for another thing:

Notice how symmetrical this area looks and feels. Though bare, the trees look imposing; whose upward, twisted branches contrast the sharp and sleek design of the museum. Yet, somehow, it all looks harmonious. Here are some more of Meier's demands for order and symmetry:

Most of the trees displayed are separated very precisely, as if planted on a grid itself, a reflection of Meier's tiles. But this perfect world of Meier's was challenged by an artist. Chief designer of the Central Garden, Robert Irwin, was not a landscape artist. Although he was an Installation artist, he was by no means a horticulturalist. As soon as he received the assignment, he quickly immersed himself into gardening books and invested hours upon hours into learning different plants. His idea was simple: See a plant he likes on a page, then plant them.

Irwin opposed everything Meier stood for. He championed chaos. Even his aligning and matching of plants were never considered by avid gardeners. A South American foliage might be placed right next to flora native to Spain. Yet, it was through his peculiar vision that the garden was possible:

This last picture above shows Irwin's design for a ripple, seen in the shapes of the hedges. Below are more random pictures of foliage that I took around the center:

I had such a good time taking pictures of everything green and grassy that I only had enough battery life for one sculpture inside the museum:

This is a family portrait. The mother, dressed as Athena, shields her son from metaphorical harm. The young son, approximated to be about fourteen, symbolizes the classical notion of beauty through youth and nudity. The father, on the shield at the bottom, signifies wisdom, for his profile compares to that of a philosopher, with a matching toga wrapped around his shoulders. Though it is odd to have a marble sculpture identified to be a portrait, the ingenious thing about it is the sculptor's virtuosity with marble itself. The drape hanging over the son is so thin that it's almost transparent to sunlight. Just imagine... a single crack, and it's a complete do over.

Well, I hope that visual journey was rewarding to you as it was pleasurable to me. Until tomorrow then~