To Each His Own

After seeing DAY 1 of my 365 Days of Art, my cousin requested for a picture of my nephew who passed away in 2003. I got on it right away, knowing it would make my cousin happy.

DAY 8: January 08, 2010

TITLE: Ramon

MEDIUM: Vector Graphic

Our sweet Ramon, who we were blessed to have, even for a little while. I could only wish I could capture your life and brightness in this little artwork. I miss you!

When he passed away, a poem was handed out at his funeral. It went like this:

To Each His Own

I cannot change the way I am

I never really try,

God made me differnt and unique,

I never ask Him why.

If I appear peculiar,

There is nothing I can do,

You must accept me as I am,

As I've acepted you.

God made a casting of each life,

Then threw the old away,

Each child is different from the rest,

Unlike as night from day.

So often we wiull criticize,

The things that others do,

But do you know, they do not think,

The same as me and you.

So God in all His wisdowm,

who knows us all by name,

He didn't want us to be bored,

That's why we're not the same.

-unknown

Ipan Beach = Happiness!

My wonderful day at Ipan Beach left me inspired to do more paintings. Here's a spin off DAY6's painting:

DAY 7: January 07, 2010
TITLE: Telling Time
MEDIUM: Acrylic on paper

I love the way the sun or moon hits the water during different times of the day. Here's my version of the ocean in the morning, during sunset, and late into the evening. :)

So here are some pictures from that day:

Ipan Beach ♥

My lovely ladies

Me! :)

Viva: "Angel, come in! The water's fine!"

Happiness ♥

I hope to be able to go to the beach again next week. I've really taken the beauty of my island for granted, so I'm trying to make up for lost time. So, with my determination to make happiness happen, Drea and I rounded up the posse and went to the beach!

I'm still trying to accomplish the to-do list I set up for myself a few days ago. I'm having a hard time fullfilling #7 on the list (cooking three new dishes) because there's always a constant power struggle in the kitchen among my mother, my grandmother and me.

Also, my friend Daniel postponed our movie date. Hopefully, we'll get around to it soon. I promised him I'd make some time for him over my break from school.

Otherwise, my to-do list is getting checked off slowly but surely, and I think I'm doing an fairly good job of maintaining my New Year's resolutions. :)

One with the Ocean

Just came back from the beach and thought I'd post this before I open up a book:

DAY 6: January 6, 2010

TITLE: One

Medium: Acrylic on canvas

I had a wonderful afternoon at the beach which inspired me to paint the ocean for today's Art of the Day. This really didn't turn out like I wanted to. I might just paint over it completely or tweak it a bit. Or maybe, tomorrow morning, I might decide that I like it after all and just keep it the way it is. We'll see. :)

Checked a few items on my to-do list (cleaning and going to the beach). Hopefully tomorrow, I'll catch a movie with my friend Daniel and go do a lanmark clean-up or something on Friday.

Love Letters and Designer Shoes

I finally watched Sex and the City (the Movie) last night. I was watching it on the internet and since it took forever to load, half way through the movie, I took a little intermission and went to my sister's house. I was telling her how annoyed at Big I was. Since my sister is normal girl that doesn't live under a rock, she's watched it already. As I continued my Anti-Big rant, she just gave me that look like I was going to change my opinion when the movie was over.

Love letters and designer shoes. Damn it. It's that all it really takes to pull at my heart strings?

So while I cried wishing that my Big would come back and do something to make himself deserving of being taken back, I snapped back into reality. I know he's not coming back and I'm letting my hang-ups get the best of me. So instead, I thought that I may not have my Big, but like Carrie, I got a really amazing set of girlfriends. In fact, they're even more amazing than any set of movie friends. Especially since they're real and they're MINE!

Now, for yesterday's Art of the Day:

DAY 5: January 5, 2010

Title: Rose (No, I can't think of a better title)

Medium: Pen and marker on recycled paper :)

I don't think I like roses. I never thought I could draw them well either, so I here's a practice piece.

Now, off to the beach!!!! Yay!

Things to do before the semester starts

As mentioned in the previous blog, I was bummed out that I couldn't wish my ex-boyfriend a happy birthday yesterday, since he has pushed me away. I tried to ignore the icky feeling, which worked for a bit, but I woke up this morning knowing that in his time zone, it's still his birthday. I had to figure out a way to reconcile this bad feeling, since there's this huge part of me that cares whether or not he is well. I wrote him a message:

May this year take you to all the places you want to go, to the heights your fullest potential enables you, and may this year bring happiness and love into your heart. Happy birthday to a beloved friend.

I know he isn't reading this, but maybe someday, if we can ever be friends, he'll know that he's always had a genuine friend in me.

Aside from that, I spent the afternoon watching a House MD marathon. It was making it a little hard to get stuff done, but while watching I made a list of a few things I want to do before the semester starts in two weeks.

• Clean my room (Again. It never seems to stay clean!)
• Go to the beach
• Watch a movie with my friend Daniel (who I never get to see, unfortunately)
• Do a beach/nature site clean-up (possibly Pagat Caves)
• Go to the EIS meetings (regarding the upcoming Military Build-Up)
• Read 2 books
• Cook 3 new dishes

I decided to tackle the first thing on my to-do list by organizing my shoe rack. For my Art of the Day, I made shoe labels for the shoes I bought within the last couple of months. Like how some people take polaroids of their shoes to use as labels, I draw! :)

DAY 4: January 4, 2010
TITLE: Shoe Labels
Medium: Markers and Pens

Here are the labels, next to their other sisters:

Resolutions accomplished: Honing talents, being organized, proactivity, and attitude adjustment.

Resolution Tree

DAY 3, January 3, 2010
Title: Resolution Tree
Medium: Pen and marker on recycled paper :)

Why "Resolution Tree"?


On New Year's Eve, I told my friends how the negative events of 2009 has caused me to soul-search and found that I have quite a few flaws in me that I want to improve. So I listed down the things that need improvement. Under each of the items on the list, I made specific resolutions on what I can do to fix my negative attributes. In other words, I listed my resolutions in outline form. A little excessive? Maybe...


After sharing this with friends, one of them said "so, you made a resolution tree?"


I thought that this was a great way to describe this system that I created. The little changes I want to make in my life will hopefully make a big positive change in my life, kinda like how little leaves on a tree create one big tree.


Here are a just a few of the many, many things I have decided to work on and examples of what I intend on doing:

• Have better time management by schedules and sticking to them.
• Gain independence by spending "me-time", self-dates, running errands by myself, and cooking for myself
• Be more socially-conscious by making eco-friendly decisions, attending meetings regarding the upcoming military build-up.
• Be proactive with goals by setting priorities, making lists, and making time lines.
• Finish what I start, by ensuring that whatever I start is achievable.
• Hone talents and skills by keeping up with my 365 Days of Art project, writing in my journal, and getting together with my musician friends to sing.
• Control emotions, especially my anger and crying in public.
• Be more health conscious. I know I can't quit smoking cold turkey, so I decided that I won't smoke at home, in my car, or my friend Drea's house (which will cut down my smoking by half).
• Have more faith in God by having regular conversations with Him.
• Be less self-centered by not monopolizing conversations and do more for other people.
• Be less materialistic by not buying this impulsively. If I see something I like, if I really want it, I will wait three days before buying it. If I still want it, and if it's still there, then it's meant to be.
• Stop being complacent by speaking up and change what I want to be changed.
• Adjust attitude by smiling first thing in the morning and turning negatives and positives.

A lot of people have a tendency to critique themselves too harshly. Critique is pointless unless things are done to improve flaws. Every year, people make resolutions. I heard somewhere that 90% of New Year's resolutions are broken. It's probably because people are too unrealistic about their resolutions or are too vague about them.


Another thing I kept in mind when I was listing my resolutions is that some of my flaws are what make me who I am. So, what if I am a little stubborn or a little sensitive? I've learned to appreciate those things about me, so I'm keeping them!

*sigh*

Today is my ex's birthday. I woke up and that was the first thought that entered in my head. It made me sad knowing that it would do no good to greet him, but since I can't really do anything about it, I just smiled and told myself that it will be a good day.

I think my resolutions are working out for me very well!

Pagat Caves = Happiness!

"Happiness is a choice."

During a time when it seemed like everything around me was falling apart, I would hear people say that and I would think, "what a load of CRAP." Then, after getting sick and tired of feeling sad all the time, I thought that maybe it was time to stop looking at external forces as a source of happiness. I should make my own happiness.

So I started 2010 with happiness. I spent the first few hours of the new year with awesome company, while enjoying a lovely night overlooking the ocean, under a full moon.

Then, I spent my afternoon hiking with friends to Pagat Caves. I've been wanting to do this for a couple of months now, since because of the upcoming military build-up on Guam, the area where the caves are might be closed off to be a firing range. It makes me so sad to think about it!

The beginning of our adventure

Drea, taking a picture break

My turn! Inside the cave

A little deeper in the cave

My friend Mark and me

Fresh water inside the cave. It was so refreshing!!

Light peeking through the entrance of the cave

My friend Kevin on the way to the cliff

Beautiful view! My friend Allan is in the way! LOL

Kevin, at the bottom of the cliff

Drea

Love this picture!!

Our friends hanging out at the edge of the cliff, where Drea and I refused to go.

Self-shot to capture the moment!

The view from underneath us.

Peek-a-boo!

Bonz! What a cutie pie!

Oh beautiful Guahan.

This was the path we took to get to the cliff line.

I was trying to take a picture of Drea but moved the camera and ended up with this crazy shot of the trees.

And there is my intended subject. All worn out from the hike back up.

I had so much fun and enjoyed the beauty of nature, and managed to keep up with a few resolutions. I exercised. I did my best not to rely on my friends too much for help during the hike. Most importantly, I made an effort to do something that would make me happy!

Now, here's the Art of the Day:

DAY 2, January 2, 2010
Title: Accidental Trees
Medium: Water color and Acrylic

This piece was inspired by the crazy accidental photo of the trees as seen above. :)